Archive for July 3rd, 2010

America is Braced for the General’s Verdict

Two decades ago, General David Petraeus, the man charged with winning America’s second war in Iraq, wrote a thesis for his PhD in international relations at Princeton.

Its 328 pages were an intense study of the legacies of a war that had stretched the US military, riven world opinion and deeply divided American political life. It was entitled The American Military and the Lessons of Vietnam. In one passage, the young officer took on the idea that public opinion in the US could not abide a military quagmire. ‘Vietnam was an extremely painful reminder that, when it comes to intervention, time and patience are not American virtues in abundant supply,’ Petraeus wrote in 1987. Now Petraeus is delivering another survey of an unpopular, divisive war. Only this time his audience is not a college tutor: it is the whole world.

In less than two weeks, Petraeus will appear before the US Congress and deliver a report into the progress of the ‘surge’, the military strategy launched by President George W Bush that was designed to win the Iraq war. It has been billed as a ‘make or break’ moment that could either trigger the beginnings of an American withdrawal or build on the first signs of real military success. And it will be scoured anxiously in London, where the political debate about the timing of a withdrawal of the remaining British forces is gathering pace.

In America, both sides of the political divide are breathless in anticipation. The Democrats await any hint of criticism. The Republicans have prepared a PR barrage of ‘good news’ to try to turn public opinion back behind the war effort. White House officials hail Petraeus as a ‘warrior scholar’ who finally gets what is needed to win in Iraq. They see him as a man who can save the Bush presidency.

But the reality is far more complex. The brutal truth is that the Petraeus report is unlikely to change a thing when it comes to policy on the ground: the surge and the war will go on. Its true importance lies in how it will be used politically: by the White House, by leading Democrats such as Senator Hillary Clinton, by Republican presidential hopefuls such as Rudy Giuliani.

And not least by Petraeus himself. For the highly media-savvy general has political ambitions of his own. This is his moment to shine.

A story often told about General David Howell Petraeus concerns a brush with death at Kentucky’s Fort Campbell in 1991. During a training exercise, a soldier tripped and accidentally fired his rifle. The bullet hit Petraeus in the chest. Yet he refused to leave the exercise, only relenting when a more senior general ordered him carried away on a stretcher. Even then – with the bullet missing his heart by inches – he managed to get himself discharged early from hospital after he did 50 push-ups in front of his doctor, just a few days after being shot.

The anecdote leaves little doubt that Petraeus is tough and driven. He was born in 1952 to Dutch American parents – his father, Sextus, was a seaman – and he grew up in the upstate New York town of Cornwall. It lies almost in the shadow of West Point, America’s military academy, where Petraeus duly gained admission. He excelled at high school and then graduated in the top 5 per cent of the West Point class of 1974. He also married the superintendent’s daughter. From there he carved out a successful career culminating in the rank of general.

A reputation as a ‘Washington general’ was wiped out by two tours of duty in Iraq. First he led his unit in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and then won plaudits for pacifying the northern city of Mosul in 2004. Then he took charge of the retraining and rebuilding of Iraq’s army, again winning praise for swiftly and decisively bringing on the scheme. He then co-authored the military’s new manual of counter-insurgency before, at the start of 2007, being appointed to command US forces in Iraq.

‘He’s a straight talker and he’s very highly thought of militarily,’ said Professor Donald Goldstein, a military expert at the University of Pittsburgh. Petraeus fits a lot of energy and focus into his 5ft 9in frame. He is famed for his five-mile runs, carried out even on Baghdad’s hottest days. One subordinate called him the ‘most competitive man on earth’. But his macho army bluster is also tempered by a keen intellect. His Princeton PhD is no accident. He is flexible too: he knows the war in Iraq is rarely just about bombs and bullets. In Mosul, one of his most famous catchphrases on the subject of bringing peace to the city was ‘money is ammunition’.

Yet he is not without critics. Some say he is overly fond of the media and has skilfully crafted an almost flawless public persona of the skilled tactician. Others say his focus is not just about the facts on the ground, but about his own advancement. ‘He is a sycophant incarnate. He’s a smart guy, but he’s playing politics in this,’ said Larry Johnson, a former CIA anti-terrorism official. They also point out that Petraeus’s record in Iraq can be criticized. The peace he brought to Mosul proved shortlived, and there is now a criminal investigation into missing supplies and weapons that involves officials close to Petraeus. His time in Iraq has seen the emergence of death squads and heightened sectarianism. ‘This has all happened on his watch,’ said Johnson.

But what will his report say? First, some media spin needs to be cut through. Petraeus has been used as an impressive, patriotic figure on which to hang such an important study. That suits both the White House and Petraeus himself. But his tough persona masks a more nuanced approach from the administration.

In fact, the Petraeus report will be a mix of analyzes from Petraeus and the US ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker. Its exact wording will have heavy influence from White House officials. For those hoping that the report will contain a damning indictment of the war or prompt any meaningful troop reduction – or full withdrawal – there is almost certain to be deep disappointment. ‘It is frankly delusional for anyone to think it is going to change policy,’ said Charles Pena, a senior fellow at think-tank the Independent Institute. ‘They [Petraeus and Crocker] have no choice but to try to implement administration policy.’

And that policy is showing some signs of success. The military surge of troop numbers pushed by Bush has had an impact. The report will probably point to success stories in former hotbeds of Sunni insurgency such as Ramadi, Tal Afar and Mosul, where the security situation has been brought under some degree of control. In these areas, strategic alliances with Sunni tribes have seen former insurgents working with the US against Islamic jihadists. ‘There has been progress militarily. It is fair to say that,’ said Professor Rick Stoll, a defence and warfare expert at Rice University.

A taste of what Petraeus’s presentation might look like has already been given. On a recent trip by Democrat and Republican politicians to Iraq, he sat down, armed with charts and Powerpoint slides, to illustrate the advances made by the surge. An account of the meeting by Democrat Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky gives the lie to anyone expecting a military withdrawal from Iraq. She revealed to one newspaper that Petraeus told her America would be in Iraq in some way ‘for nine to 10 years’.

While the surge has changed the nature of the conflict, it has not yet brought it much closer to an end. As the brutal Sunni insurgency has tailed off, it has been replaced by Shia violence. The report is likely to note that the war has now become a fight between Shia militant groups and the US military. By last July, according to US officials, Shia fighters accounted for 73 per cent of attacks on coalition forces. That has been matched by a total failure of the Iraqi political process and a collapse of relations between the majority Shia – represented by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki – and the US. The surge’s aim was to ‘buy time’ for reconciliation between Iraq’s warring sectarian factions, but instead the feuding blocs have grown more violently apart. ‘No one wants to talk about reconciliation. No one wants to listen,’ said one official recently returned from Iraq. ‘The only reconciliation that is taking place is between the US military and some Sunni insurgents. That is not going to solve Iraq’s problems in the long run.’

So that will be the twin messages of Petraeus and Crocker. The military aspect of the surge is starting to turn the tide. But the political opportunity it was designed to create is being wasted by the Iraqis. If that sounds familiar, that is because it is the official White House stance on Iraq. ‘He is going to say that, from a military standpoint, it is going well, but, from a political standpoint, it is difficult and the Iraqis have to stand up for themselves. That is what Bush says,’ said Goldstein.

But if the contents of the report appear predictable, its impact is harder to ascertain. One thing is clear: it is unlikely to precipitate any rush significantly to withdraw US forces. It will allow the White House to claim that its strategy is working and that to halt the surge – as most Democrats wish to do – would be to snatch victory away from their troops.

Most experts believe that the White House will keep US troop levels at the current force of about 160,000 until at least April. Then to maintain the surge the army would need to extend its current rotation period from 15 months to 18 months. That is seen as too much of a burden by many military leaders.

Therefore it is widely predicted that the US presence in Iraq could be down to pre-surge levels of 130,000 troops by September next year. That could be presented as the beginning of a withdrawal, but it is hardly the sort of conflict-ending momentum that many Democrats – and much of the American public – seem to want. However, there is little political pressure on Bush to change policy in Iraq. He does not face re-election and the Democrats have shown that they are unwilling to do the one thing that could end the war: cut off funding. Again, the Petraeus report will not provide them with motivation to harden their stance. ‘The President has called the Democrats’ bluff. They don’t have the stomach for defunding, so there is no political pressure on the White House,’ said Pena.

But that is not true for any of the presidential candidates. They are all feeling the heat. For the Democrats, the Petraeus report is likely to contain enough bad news for them to continue their largely symbolic push for a troop withdrawal, but it will also have the risk that they will look as if they are undermining the first signs of success on the ground. For Republicans, it poses the opposite problem. The top-tier candidates, such as Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney, have seen what happened to the campaign of John McCain, the most vocal supporter of Bush’s surge policy: his support has almost collapsed. Yet the Petraeus report is likely to force them to toe the White House line more tightly and in the face of much public hostility. Or it could cause them to go against the White House, following a pro-withdrawal line and opening up huge splits in the party itself. Those chasms are already becoming evident, with some top Republican figures, such as Senator John Warner, already calling for troop withdrawals to begin this year.

But above all the political squabbling will be Bush. No matter what happens, he will be President for all of 2008. And he shows no sign of any significant change of tack. Despite being billed as a watershed moment, the only real prospect of a reversal of Iraq policy will come in January 2009, when a new President walks into the Oval Office. The brutal fact is that there remains no meaningful end in sight for the US involvement in Iraq. Vietnam proved that the difference between when a war becomes unpopular and when it ends can be many years. In July 1967, the public approval rating of the Vietnam war dropped forever below 50 per cent, yet America did not leave Vietnam totally until 1975.

A similar process could be repeating itself in Iraq. Petraeus – as a keen student of history – would probably privately think that a tragedy. In his PhD thesis 20 years ago, he wrote: ‘Vietnam was a painful reminder for the military that they, not the transient occupants of high office, generally bear the heaviest burden during armed conflict.’

That is a trenchant analysis. But it was written by the Petraeus of Princeton. The Petraeus of next month is a general playing the highest political stakes of his career in front of the eyes of the world. He is unlikely to be so candid again.

Iraq benchmarks

Iraq has failed to meet all but three of 18 congressionally mandated benchmarks for political and military progress, according to a draft of a Government Accountability Office report to be presented to Congress on Tuesday.

Achieved: The protection of the rights of minority political parties in the Iraqi legislature. It is the only one of eight political benchmarks to have been met, the report says. However, the report does not concern itself with attacks on these parties outside of the legislature.

Failed: In other areas, the political process is judged to have been a failure, including the continued non-passage of legislation on constitutional reform, new oil laws and de-Baathification. Observers say the parliament rarely has sufficient members in attendance to have a quorum to consider legislation.

Mixed progress: On the security front, Iraq has met on two benchmarks. Despite the surge, violence remains roughly at the same levels. However, the number of Iraqi army units capable of operating independently has dropped from 10 in March to six last month.

Tags: America, Braced, General's, Verdict

Saturday, July 3rd, 2010 Grants No Comments

Tips For Shopping For Bathroom Showers

Ask anyone who has never redecorated a bathroom and they will tell you that all bathroom showers are alike. There’s a glass door that slides, a handle, a spout, and a drain. But take another look and you will see that there are many different types of bathroom showers available and if you are going to remodel your bathroom, you have to be aware of all the possibilities before you make your decision on which one is best for you.

The first consideration you should make, of course, is budget. If you can’t afford it, don’t get it! You can find showers in almost any size or shape at an affordable price, although the quality or length of warranty might not be as long as the more expensive models.

Bathroom showers are sometimes built into a tub, with the doors sliding on rails along the side of the tub. If you currently have a tub in your bathroom and want to turn it into a shower, then this is the easiest way. With the help of a plumber and perhaps a tile worker, you can affix the rails and doors to the tub, put in a little pipe and the handle, and you will have a shower.

However, if you are looking at a shower that is not in a bathtub, then you actually have many more options. There are pre-fabricated fiberglass showers that can be put in the corner of a bathroom, attached to the wall, and you’re in business. These come in all sorts of materials, colors, and styles, with features such as soap dishes or built-in stools. For an affordable option, this would probably be your best choice.

Of course, you can always have a tiled shower. If you have a fiberglass shower that you are not happy with right now, it can be ripped out and you can go shopping for tiles that would be appropriate for bathroom showers. These make for a spectacular shower, one that is far more luxurious than a fiberglass one, but it takes time to put it in, and it is not cheap by any means. However, if you are looking to add value to your home, then this is a good way to do it.

Some bathroom showers are strictly for show, while others will be the main shower of the home. Your first priority should be to make your primary shower just right for you. If it looks good but is too small, doesn’t have the features you like, is too slippery, or gets dirty too quickly, you will never be happy.

So, spend some time before you start shopping to determine what you are actually looking for. Many women find that they like a stool or seat in the shower, which makes shaving their legs easier, while men often appreciate a soap dish that is located a little higher. Get everyone in the family in on the discussion, and you will be able to design a bathroom that is right for everyone.

Tags: Bathroom, Shopping, Showers, Tips

Saturday, July 3rd, 2010 Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) No Comments

Micro Business Loans: An Alternative for Bad Credit Business Owners

The micro business loan program fits the needs of entrepreneurs who only need a small amount of financing and cannot qualify for traditional bank loans. This program provides small loans to start-up, home-based or micro-businesses. Loan amounts are available from $1,000 up to $35,000 and must be repaid within six years.

Who Can Apply

Start-up businesses, home-based businesses, existing and growing businesses.

Maximum Loan Amount

The average loan amount is $13,000; however, small business owners can borrow from $1,000 to $35,000.

How You Can Use The Loan Proceeds

Loan proceeds can be used for working capital, acquisition of materials, inventory, supplies, furniture, fixtures, machinery and equipment. Micro loans may not be used to acquire land or property.

Microlenders

Nonprofit agencies, private foundations and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) operate microloan programs. While the SBA does not provide loan funds directly to borrowers it provides low-cost loans and grants to nonprofit intermediaries such as community economic development and nationwide microloan centers. Loan funds are redistributed to small businesses and loan guidelines are established by the intermediary agency.

Terms, Interest Rates and Fees

The maximum term allowed for a microloan is six years. Loan terms vary according to the size of the loan, the planned use of the funds, the requirements of the intermediary lender, and the needs of the small business borrower. The rates are typically between 8% and 13%.

Collateral

The community based intermediary establishes its own lending criteria. Some intermediaries may require collateral but not likely. A credit report is pulled on the small business owner but it is not the only requirement when considering approval. Bad credit business owners are often approved with a solid business plan and business training.

Training and Assistance

The intermediary is required to provide small business training and technical assistance to the borrower. Small business owners may be required to complete a series of training or a business planning courses as a precondition before the loan is approved and funded.

Where To Apply

Small business owners should apply for a microloan in their community. The difficulty with microloans is that intermediaries distribute the loans in their own communities and if you do not live in an area of an intermediary this type of loan may not be available to you. If this is the case you can research your State and local government agencies as an alternative as some offer loans similar to the microloan program. A nationwide microlender with an online application is www.accionusa.org

For more information on finding a microlender visit: Microloans

Tags: Alternative, Business, Credit, Loans, Micro, Owners

Saturday, July 3rd, 2010 Grants No Comments

Official Saudi Attacks Against Subjugated Shia Yemenites – Revelation of the Wahhabi Evilness

In five earlier articles, entitled ‘Freedom for Tyrannized Najran, Yemenite Territory Under Illegal Saudi Control’, ‘Stop the Saudi Tyranny in Yemenite Najran! Call for a UN-organized Referendum in Najran’, ‘Freedom and Respect for the Rights of the Tyrannized Ismailis of Najran – Saudi Arabia’, ‘A Paradise Turned to Hell: Yemenite Province Najran Annexed by Saudi Arabia’, and ‘Najran Yemenites: Victims of English Colonialism and its Pawns, the Ignorant and Inane Wahhabis’, I stressed the troubles of the tyrannized Yemenites of Najran, who have been forced by the colonial plans of England to be incorporated within the homonymous province of Saudi Arabia.

The Shia Yemenite Najranis have been terribly tyrannized and their persecution and oppression has been carried out by the English colonialism’s best children, the ominous Sunni Wahhabites who are the focus of all sorts of terrorism and evildoing necessary for the eschatological and pseudo-messianic plans of the Apostate Freemasonic Lodge that controls the English and the French political, military and financial establishments.

Recently, the leading NGO Human Rights Watch focused on the issue and published a devastating report that provides with a detailed record of Human Rights violations practiced by the Sunni Wahhabite authorities of Saudi Arabia – the undeservedly and shamelessly venerated ‘allies’ in the War against Terrorism –, which definitely underscores the political need for immediate secession of Najran from Saudi Arabia and reunification with Yemen.

In the aforementioned articles, I published the first four chapters (Summary and Recommendations, the Background, Relevant International Standards, the Clash and Crackdown of April 2000, and the Aftermath) of the comprehensive Report, which is entitled “The Ismailis of Najran – Second-class Saudi Citizens”.

In this article, I republish the Report’s sixth chapter, which focuses on official attacks on Ismaili Ethnic and Religious Identity. In forthcoming articles, I will complete the republication of the entire Report that should be taken into consideration in any case of decision-making with respect to the wider area of the Middle East.

Longer Najran remains annexed in Saudi Arabia, greater the danger of a Shia revolt against Saudi Arabia is. Najran must be given the possibility to select the country they want to belong to by means of a UN-organized and monitored referendum.

The Ismailis of Najran – Second-class Saudi Citizens

http://hrw.org/reports/2008/saudiarabia0908/index.htm

Official Attacks on Ismaili Ethnic and Religious Identity

http://hrw.org/reports/2008/saudiarabia0908/6.htm#_Toc208817530

Following Najran’s incorporation into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a result of a 1934 treaty with Yemen, King Abd al-‘Aziz made an undertaking to the Yam tribe of Najran to respect their religious and ethnic rights.126 However, as the central state became more active in Najran by expanding public schooling, improving infrastructure, and enlarging the state bureaucracy, these promises eroded. Teachers, engineers, and bureaucrats from outside the region came to Najran to administer local affairs, bringing with them Wahhabi-inspired curricula and Sunni-influenced welfare programs, and building Sunni mosques.

The king appoints the governors of Saudi Arabia’s 13 provinces based on nominations from the minister of interior. From the early 1960s until 1996, Najran was governed by members of the Sudairy family.127 In 1996, Prince Mish’al bin Sa’ud bin Abd al-‘Aziz Al Sa’ud was appointed governor.

Ismailis from Najran complain that under Prince Mish’al, their identity as Ismailis came under threat and that they suffered increased discrimination and interference in their affairs. They give examples of officials disparaging the Shia faith, and the Ismaili faith in particular; of increased missionary and discriminatory charitable activity by Sunnis from outside, including in schools; of increased restrictions on Ismaili religious practices; and of a perceived plan to reduce the demographic weight of Ismailis by naturalizing Sunni Yemenis. These factors provide the background for the Holiday Inn hotel events of April 2000.

Ismailis’ most acute concern at present is the naturalization of tens of thousands of Yemenis who have migrated into the Najran area at various times as refugees from southern Yemen, fleeing political persecution under the authoritarian leftist government of the former People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen. These refugees often share the Wahhabi religious thought that prevails in Saudi Arabia and have found jobs as teachers and judges in Najran. Their naturalization affects the demographic composition of the region, where Ismailis presently constitute a large majority.128 Viewed alongside existing discrimination and the forced transfers of Ismaili officials out of the province, the influx and perceived favored treatment of naturalized Yemenis lead Ismailis to fear that continued naturalizations threaten their ethnic and religious identity and the future of the spiritual capital of Sulaimani Ismailism.

Coupled with the issue of naturalization of Yemeni tribes is the battle over land in Najran. Many Ismailis have waited for a decade or more to receive land grants from the state. Meanwhile, Ismailis have seen the government build cities with free housing and municipal services and distribute land plots to these Yemenis, whether they have become Saudi citizens or not. One satellite township erected around 2000 and since expanded, called Mish’aliyya after the governor, provides housing and city services for thousands of Yemenis.129 Many Ismailis see Prince Mish’al as the force behind a policy of restricting Ismaili access to land and jobs and suppressing their religious freedom.

Saudi officials regularly malign the Ismaili faith, which under the Fatimids of Egypt in the 10th and 11th centuries was the faith of the leading power in the Islamic world. In a fatwa (religious edict) issued on April 8, 2007, the Permanent Committee for Religious Research and Opinion, a subsidiary body to the Council of Senior Religious Scholars tasked with officially interpreting Islamic faith, ritual, and law, declared that “to call that state Fatimid [after the Prophet Muhammad’s daughter, Fatima] is a false label,” because “its founder was a magician,” and “he and his followers are corrupt infidels, debauched atheists.”130
Statements like this by government-appointed clerics put an official stamp of approval on an interpretation of Islamic history that disparages the Ismaili Fatimids.

The statement and its implications go beyond a characterization of a historical period by proclaiming that the Fatimid state wrought havoc on Muslims “which suffices to repel anyone who raises its flag and who advocates for it.” The Ismailis of Saudi Arabia feel historically connected and religiously bound to the Fatimid state, while not advocating for a return to it, but by the April 2007 fatwa state clerics declared that historical and religious allegiance impermissible: “[I]t is not allowed … for us to call on people to adhere to that deviant state of ‘Ubaid” (referring to the founder of the Fatimid caliphate, ‘Ubaid Allah al-Mahdi).131 The Ismailis of Najran considered this statement a grave insult aimed at delegitimizing their religious identity as Ismailis and as Muslims. Ismaili leaders, on April 24, 2007, presented a complaint to the governmental Human Rights Commission decrying “expressions of doubt and declarations [of Ismailis] as infidels” in the Committee’s statement.132 The government took no known steps to revise or clarify the fatwa.

This fatwa is not an isolated incidence. In August 2006, on the date Muslims believe that the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven from Jerusalem, Shaikh Salih al-Luhaidan, a cleric and Saudi Arabia’s supreme judge, gave a lecture in the Holy Mosque of Mekka. That night (lailat isra’ wal-mi’raj) is of particular religious significance to Ismailis, and they were present in large numbers in the Holy Mosque. In his lecture, al-Luhaidan said the Ismailis, “came from Morocco, Tunis, and Egypt, and they are Fatimids, and they are here [in Saudi Arabia] and there [in Egypt]. Outwardly they appear Islamic, but inwardly, they are infidels, infidels, infidels.”133

These incidents contradict the 2003 claim of a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official who told the UN committee evaluating Saudi Arabia’s report on its anti-discrimination measures that Saudi Arabia made use of all available educational and cultural means and the media to promote tolerance and eliminate discrimination. Religious and other academic curricula emphasized the firmly established Islamic principles prohibiting discrimination.134

A former teacher told Human Rights Watch that only in the 2004-05 (1425-26) editions of the history curricula did the Ministry of Education remove references to “deviant sects” (tuyur munharifa), which included the Ismailis by name.135

This stigmatization of Ismailis at the national level by leading government officials tasked with interpreting religion, and (by extension in Saudi Arabia) the law, contradicts King Abdullah’s professed goal of treating all subjects equally.136 In his April 2007 speech to the Shura Council, an appointed body, King Abdullah said that his goal was to preserve national unity and strengthen its guarantees … Kindling sectarian disputes, reviving regional feuds, and one group in society seeking to dominate another group stands in contrast to the guarantees of Islam and its liberality and constitutes a threat to the national unity and the security of the society and the state.137

“Kindling sectarian disputes” was the effect of an interview Najran’s governor Prince Mish’al gave to the Saudi-owned pan-Arab Al-Hayat newspaper on January 4, 2005. Nearly two years later, several Ismailis told Human Rights Watch how upset they were over the governor’s choice of words.138 Prince Mish’al, responding to a question about the extent of religious freedom that the Ismai’lis and Zaidis enjoy in Najran, said that he “invite[s the reporter] personally to visit the existing temples in Najran, and that [he] call[s on the reporter] to visit the person that they consider the number one in Ismailism, that is Shaikh al-Makrami,” to ask about freedom of religious practice.139 The Ismailis in Najran expressed their dismay at having the governor refer to their mosques as “temples,”140 a term Muslims generally use to indicate religious practices of non-Muslims, whereas Ismailis consider themselves to be nothing other than Muslims.

Only a few years earlier Ismaili leaders complained, in a petition to then-Crown Prince Abdullah, that “[t]he Minister of Interior described the people of the [Najran] region in the media as deviant and [practicing] sorcery and at one time the governor of Najran Prince Mish’al described Najran in the newspaper Okaz as the pit of corruption, ignorant [people].”141 In an undated letter written after 2005, Ismaili elders complained that Prince Mish’al insulted Ismailis in his majlis and via the press.142 In the wake of the Holiday Inn events in April 2000, Prince Mish’al described Ismaili cleric Muhammad al-Khayyat as a “sorcerer” illegally residing in Saudi Arabia whom the government had arrested “after obtaining incontrovertible evidence that he had been persistently practicing and teaching sorcery.”143

In November 2006 King Abdullah visited the region as part of his first tour of the provinces after acceding to the throne in August 2005. This was the first visit of a Saudi king to Najran in decades, and King Abdullah brought with him promises of a university and a technical college, a new hospital and other healthcare facilities, and other infrastructure projects with a total value of SAR 3.3 Billion [$893 million].144 He also pardoned a number of prisoners (see above).145

The authorities prohibited an exclusively Ismaili reception for the king. On October 12, 2006, Ahmad al-‘Ajalan, the office director of Prince Mish’al, made three local shaikhs, Ahmad Al Sa’b, Mas’ud Al Haidar, and Zaid Shuyul, pledge not to host a reception for the king, who had already agreed to come to such an event, lest it overshadow the official reception by the governor.146 Ismaili leaders alerted human rights organizations on October 28 that the minister of interior had given instructions to ban the reception on security grounds.147 Najranis later learned that Prince Mish’al had also restricted access to the official celebrations to those with identification badges distributed by the governorate. According to Najrani elders, only members of the Sai’ar and Karab tribes, from the largely Sunni town of Shurura, obtained such badges.148

To detract from this evidence of continuing discord between the governor and local Ismaili shaikhs, unknown persons placed a full-page advertisement in Al-Watan newspaper that falsely presented shaikhs Mas’ud Haidar and Ahmad Al Sa’b as thanking Prince Mish’al, King Abdullah, and Crown Prince Sultan for the “renaissance and development” of Najran. Neither of the shaikhs had placed the advertisement, and strongly disagreed with the message. After the shaikhs complained in court, the king ordered a committee to investigate the matter, which persuaded the shaikhs to drop the dispute.149

The king’s visit was overshadowed by an apparent mistake in the pardoning of one prisoner. A Sunni judge had sentenced Hadi Al Mutif to death in 1994 for allegedly insulting the Prophet Muhammad. Al Mutif was beaten in the court room, his Ismaili religion insulted by the judge, and he never received a copy of the court’s verdict to file an appeal. His case had attracted international attention around the time of the king’s visit, and authorities at Najran prison were processing him for release following the king’s pardon. A last minute phone call sent him back to prison after officials realized that his death sentence was for a crime against God (hadd), which is not subject to royal pardons.150 (The case is discussed further in Chapter VIII.)

2007 saw signs of rapprochement. The Da’i, Abdullah al-Makrami, who assumed his functions upon the death of Husain bin Isma’il al-Makrami in June 2005, invited Prince Mish’al to visit Khushaiwa. In November 2007 the Ministry of Interior in Riyadh directed officials in Najran “not to interfere in affairs pertaining to the creed or jurisprudence of the followers of the Ismaili school of thought.”151 Najranis writing on local websites welcomed these instructions. In January 2008 Shaikh Mas’ud al-Haidar, an elected member of the city council and a critic of the governor’s earlier policies, invited Prince Mish’al to his house, congratulating him for his recent efforts on behalf of the region.152

Notes

126 Human Rights Watch telephone interview with an Ismaili, Najran, IN1, February 12, 2008. He said that it was a verbal undertaking given to the head of the al-Saq tribe.

127 The Sudairy family is extremely close to the Al Sa’ud. King Abd al-Aziz took several wives from the Sudairys. The sons of one of these marriages hold senior government positions.

128 Human Rights Watch is in possession of numerous documents detailing the naturalization of these Yemeni refugees and governmental service provision for them. We are, however, unable to assess the procedural irregularity Ismailis claim occurred in granting citizenship, and, while we were able to verify the governmental provision of housing and services to these Yemenis, we were unable to determine conclusively that these Yemenis received preferential treatment not based on need.

129 Human Rights Watch visit to Mish’aliyya, Najran, December 15, 2006.

130 “The Permanent Committee for Religious Research and Opinion Issues an Explanatory Statement: Calling ‘Ubaid’s State ‘Fatimid’ Is False and Forged”, Al-Riyadh, April 9, 2007, http://www.alriyadh.com/2007/04/09/article240297.html (accessed January 17, 2008).

131 Ibid. See also Andrew Hammond, “Arab History Spat Highlights Sunni-Shi’ite Rift,” Reuters, May 14, 2007.

132 Complaint by 66 Ismailis from Najran to Shaikh Turki al-Sudairy, Chairman of the Human Rights Commission, April 24, 2007, and Human Rights Watch interview with two Ismailis, IR2, IR3 Riyadh, May 20 and 22, 2007.

133 Human Rights Watch telephone interview with an Ismaili present at al-Luhaidan’s lecture in the Holy Mosque on August 21, 2006, IEP1, Eastern Province, February 2007.

134 Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Sixty-second session, Summary Record of the 1558th Meeting, March 5, 2003, CERD/C/SR.1558, March 10, 2003.

135 Human Rights Watch telephone interview with Ismaili teacher, IN4, Najran, April 29, 2008. The “deviant” sects were the Sabaiya, the Batiniya, the Khawarij, and the Ismailis.

136 King Abdullah to the Citizens: I Pledge that I Take the Quran as a Constitution and Islam as an Approach. My Job is to Realize Right, Establish Justice and Serve the Citizens Without Differentiation. Speech on the occasion of acceding to the throne, Ash-Shura Magazine (vol.7, no. 70), August, 3, 2005, http://www.shura.gov.sa//ArabicSite/majalat/majalah70/malaf.HTM (accessed July, 24, 2008).

137 Muhammad al-Ghanim, Bandar al-Nasir, and Muhammad al-Shishani, “King Abdullah: You Have the Right to Expect Me to Beat the Pests of Tyranny and Oppression with Justice”, Al-Riaydh, April 15, 2007, http://www.alriyadh.com/2007/04/15/article242026.html (accessed February 12, 2008).

138 Human Rights Watch interviews with several Ismailis , IN5, IN6, IN2, Najran, December 13, 2006.

139 “Interview with Prince Mish’al bin Sa’ud,” Al-Hayat, January 4, 2005 (23/11/1425).

140 Human Rights Watch interview with Ismailis in Najran, IN5, IN6 December 13, 2006.

141 “First Petition to Deputy Prime Minister and Crown Prince Abdullah, 13 Ismaili Shaikhs,” point 7.

142 Mas’ud Al Haidar and Shaikh Ahmed Al Sa’b, “Justice is the Foundation of Rule”, Letter to King Abdullah, undated (c. post-August 2005), p. 4.

143 “Ismaili Unrest in Saudi Arabia: Isolated Incident or Serious Trouble?” Mideast Mirror, April 25, 2000, quoting an official statement issued by the Saudi Press Agency.

144 “King Abdullah launches development projects in Najran,” Saudi Embassy, Washington, DC, November 1, 2006, http://www.saudiembassy.net/2006News/News/GovDetail.asp?cIndex=6624 (accessed January 17, 2008).

145 “On the other hand an official source of the Ministry of Interior said today that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz has pardoned a number of those convicted in Najran incidents and those sentenced to serve terms in prison of the remaining periods of their verdicts and ordered their release, except those who were convicted to be killed for carrying arms, reducing their convicts to life imprisonment.” Ain al-Yaqeen (official news website), November 3, 2006, http://www.ain-al-yaqeen.com/issues/20061103/feat1en.htm (accessed May 17, 2008).

146 Human Rights Watch interviews with Ismaili tribal elders (names withheld), Najran, December 12, 2006; and “Najran: The Governorate Summons Regional Leaders to Make them Abort Popular Celebration of the King’s Visit”, Al-Rasid News Network, October 16, 2006, http://www.rasid.net/artc.php?id=13138 (accessed November 9, 2007).

147 Email communication from an Ismaili, IN7, to Human Rights Watch, October 28, 2006.

148 Human Rights Watch interview with Ismaili tribal elders, IN5, IN6, Najran, December 12, 2006.

149 Ibid.

150 He remains in prison, and attempted suicide several times. Human Rights Watch telephone interviews with prisoners present during the processing of Al Mutif, November 1, 2006, and with Ismailis in Najran (names withheld), December 12, 2006. “Saudi Arabia: Mentally Ill Prisoner Put in Solitary,” Human Rights Watch news release, February 2, 2007, http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/02/02/saudia15243.htm; and Letter from Human Rights Watch letter to King Abdullah, “Saudi Arabia: Pardon Isma’ili Sentenced to Death,” October 10, 2006, http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/10/10/saudia14372.htm.

151 “Instruction from ‘Interior’ to Respect Ismaili School of Thought and the Special Characteristics of Its Supporters”. Al-Rasid News Network, November 7, 2007, http://www.rasid.com/artc.php?id=19051 (accessed November 9, 2007).

152 Ali ‘Awn al-Yami, “Prince Mish’al bin Sa’ud Honors Celebration of the Deputy President of Najran’s Municipal Council”, Al-Riyadh, January 17, 2008, http://www.alriyadh.com/2008/01/17/article309625.html (accessed February 12, 2008).

Note
Picture: Typical landscape of Najran, an oasis turned to Hell

Tags: Against, Attacks, Evilness, Official, Revelation, Saudi, Shia, Subjugated, Wahhabi, Yemenites

Saturday, July 3rd, 2010 Grants No Comments

Maldivian Royal Searches Yemeni Roots – Part One

PART ONE

The Maldives in the Indian Ocean
The Maldives are string of attols in the Indian Ocean, a thousand islands nobody could count accurately. They emerge from beyond endless blue horizons. Like a fine rain from a thick cloud. A veil of peace and serenity. Like round crescent moon of the new month in the sky. A pond of water lily leaves adrift in the mid ocean heavy with history. Their destiny has not been written completely in a single book, but that it should unfold wave after wave to the rhythm of the Indian Ocean. Here one can walk along the beach on the wet sand and under radiant moon. The wind from the sea is heavy with cries and smell. A mini world of its own….

The Maldivian archipelago lays in the most strategic position for any navigator who wanted to round the southern point of Asia. The 64 km strait between India and Sri Lanka is full of reefs and too shallow to permit safe sailing. To get around the Indian subcontinent sailing vessels had to go so far south, they would round Sri Lanka, and then they would inevitably have to force a passage through the long chain of the Maldive Islands. The Maldives lay there as a treacherous barrier. No admiral could have planned a better strategic line, if he had wanted to chain off with mines a sailing route obligatory for any mariner who wanted to sail east or west past the southern point of Asia. The early navigators did not know weather they will encounter death or glory. Death will come and then the waves of the sea, they may have thought. They no longer saw land, or sun, or the end of the journey.

The islands are so low above the waves that, were it not for the tall coconut palms they would be invisible until the ship was cough in the surf. Only near the southern end of this long coral barricade there the channel open in two which permit safe passage through one side of India to the other. The dots on the map became alive, green jade neck laces, and scattered emerald jewelry placed on ocean blue velvet and cloudless tropical sky. Total some 1.190 islands. In fact nobody knows for sure for some islets grow out of submerged reefs, and others are eaten away piecemeal by the ocean and disappear. Only 202 of the islands are inhabited although other have the ruins of former habitation.

Ancient maritime station
Maldives was another of the many maritime way stations for some of the great seafaring civilizations. Also the Maldive voyages to distant lands were certainly not the result of mere hazard. Some of the descendants of old local builders and seafarers there still possess knowledge of ports around the ocean that surrounded their own micro world. Ports in India, Yemen, and Somalia were well known.

As early as in the seventh century have the Arabs, mostly Southern Arab, established an oversea trading center in Calicut. The island of Zanzibar, on the other side of the Indian Ocean, for example was part of the pre Islamic Kingdom of Saba from 115 BC to 525 BC, also known as Sheba. It is now suggested that Sabeans may have called on Maldive islands, or possessed knowledge of Maldivian archipelago.

European were the late comers in this ocean. They were only very late visitors to an old maritime Maldivian sultanate. The sun and the monsoon winds had sent the early voyagers from Southern Arabia on the first expeditions into these open parts of the Indian Ocean. The sun suggested the best place to search and the monsoon the best time to come. Seen from afar the Arab dhows may have looked like a procession, from close, a village for which all lands are far away, even the land one comes from or the land one would be crossing. Riches, brother believers, consists not in the things one possesses but in the things one can do without, they chanted.

Cowrie shells islands
The wealth of the people of these islands is constituted by cowrie shells. After woods the Arabs had started to take over the ancient trade routes off the coasts of India when Sulaiman, the merchant in the period AD 850 to 900 recorded how travelers had visited the Maldives and witnessed the importance of the cowrie shells. The islanders sell them for rice to the people of Bengal, where they are used for money he writes. They are sold in the same way to the people of Yemen who use them for ballast in their ships in place of sand. The Arabs, in particular, southern Arabs, have taken over the trade in Maldive cowries up the Tigries river, and to the caravan routes beyond.

Maldives – an important port of call for advanced civilizations navigating the Indian Ocean
The geography, the location of these Maldive islands perhaps combined with the cowrie shells, had made them an important port of call or transit station for advanced civilizations navigating the Indian Ocean. The ruler of these cowrie islands was customarily a queen.

The Maldivians feel strong ties and a sense of debt to the Arabs for the faith and subsequent Cultural Revolution – for that magic year of AD 1153 had brought them when their kings in Male adopted Islam. The population of the islands, however, adopted Islam half a century earlier. The Arabs brought light in a world of shadow. The introduction of Islam over eight centuries ago marked the beginning of the present era.

Ibn Battuta came to the Maldives in 1343.
“I resolved to go to the Dhibat AlMahal, the Arab name for Maldive islands”, he writes in his Rihla. These islands are among the wonders of the world. Ships export from the islands are fish, coconuts, fabrics, the turbans, these last are cotton. The export also vessels of copper, cowries, coir, Ibn Batutta writes further. This cordage is used for joining the boards of their ships, and is also exported to China, Yemen and India. Slaves were brought from Hadhramaut in Yemen twelve generations ago to serve as a selected bodyguard for the Sultan in Male.

Merchandise from all over the world
Ships carrying cargo back and forth between ports in China, India, and Yemen could load and unload in the Maldives almost any merchandise from all over the world, glittering brocade, pearls and precious stones. The history further records how all lines of maritime commerce from China, Indonesia, and India drew together until the tip of South India was rounded and the Maldives were passed. Then they diverged again with different destinations.

A product distribution center in its own right.
Most ships from the east, however upon passing the Maldives would first call at the important harbor of Calicut in the south west India. From there they would either strike westward across the Indian Ocean for Yemen and the Red Sea, or call at the other flourishing ports northwards to Cambay and the Indus valley, and across to the Harmouz straits. What was landed at Aden in Yemen was carried up the Red Sea for delivery to merchants in Jeddah or Cairo.

On the crossroad of maritime nations
The people of Maldives with their favorable location as a midway station were able to furnish water and fresh provisions, benefited greatly from this intercontinental trade in which they themselves took part. They brought their own cowries, and smoked fish to ports as far as Bengal and Yemen. The Arab traveler Abdul Razzak records Maldive merchants among those visiting important port of Calicut and Hormus during his visit there in 1442.

Import and export
Import and export that is what the ships permitted, and how civilization began. The Maldivians settled at a crossroad of all the maritime nations knew that ocean is and always was an open road since man began to build ships.

Early Maldivian history
The earliest Maldivian history has it that an Aryan price found his way through the magnificent, yet perilous sharp coral heads, finding an aboriginal race who marveled at this superb navigator and welcomed him King of Maldives. Whether Prince Koimala is legendary or not, it seems certain that the islands were first settled by Aryan immigrants who are believed to have colonized Sri Lanka at the time around 500 B.C. Further migration from South India, as well as Sri Lanka occured. Historians record the presence of people of Dravidri stock, the Dhivis, Maldivians. Around 947 A.D. the first recorded contact with the outside world began when an early Arab traveler depicts the potential for trade in pearls, spices, coconuts, dried fish and cowrie shells.

Ruling dynasties gave shape to what has become the Republic of Maldives just as volcanic movement shaped the 1.190 islands and coral reefs which rose above the ocean surface some hundred thousand years ago. Recorded in Maldivian history are the names of eighty four Sultans and Sultanas who belonged to six dynasties. The Maley or Theemuge Dynasty lasted 235 years under the rule of twenty six different sultans. The Hilali Dynasty ruled next for over a period of 170 years with twenty nine rulers. During the Hilali period Sultan Kalhu Mohammed invited the first foreign power to Maldives thus opening diplomatic relations with the world. Balmy trade winds brought prosperity to this independent country until the sixteenth century when the Portuguese took more than a passing interest. It is during this time of Portuguese threat that one of the greatest Maldivian heroes, Mohammed Thakurufan, was born on the island of Utheem in the northen atoll of Thiladhummathi. Even today one can hear songs and stories which tell of Mohammed Thakurufaan wiping out the entire Portuguese garrison. Mohammeds twelve years of peaceful reign was one of prosperity and reform. He died 1585 A.D. but his Utheeem Dynasty ruled for 127 years, producing twelve rullers. The winds of war are never calm not even in idyllic islands such as Maldives. The Maldives faced a new treat from the Malabar Coast of South India. Maldivian forces repelled the Malabar forces, drove them back and under the leadership of Ghazi Hassan Izzadden, the Huraage Dynasty was founded. The Huraage Dynasty prevailed until 1968 when the Maldives became a republic.

The Arabs from Hadhramaut
(a province of the modern Republic of Yemen) have been migratory from time immemorial. For over a thousand years they maintained a very special relationship with the Southeast Asia region, the Indian Ocean and its people. Historically, this relationship has been deep and permanent, extensive and continuous, culturally, it has been rich, manifesting itself in a range of ways and in every other sphere it has been pervasive and significant. They have participated in regions politics, histories and economy.

A World without boundaries
The Hadharm, or Yemeni Arabs from Hadramaut cherish a very strong sense of Arab identity which seems to overlap considerably with Islamic identity, to represent the ideal Moslem. The harsh political and economic realities in Hadramaut and the Islamic perception of geography, which considered the world to be a universal unit without territorial frontiers was an important drive behind the migration of the Hadhrami Arabs. The movement of Arabs into the Indian Ocean region was gradual, sporadic and small in scale though always significant. The Arabs engaged in trade, commerce, shipping, shipbuilding, scholarship, missionary activities, diplomacy and even local politics. The most important method the Arabs adopted to achieve this was marriage. It is therefore not at all surprising that many of the national heroes of the region as well as local ruling houses were actually Arab in origin.

Tags: Maldivian, Part, Roots, Royal, Searches, Yemeni

Saturday, July 3rd, 2010 Grants No Comments

America’s Disgust at ‘perfect Angelina’

She’s one of the most beautiful women in the world, a talented actress who lives with a man many claim is the sexiest man on the planet and she has a penchant for doing high-profile good deeds. But now – perhaps inevitably – the Angelina Jolie backlash has begun. The stunning movie star generates headlines almost every day but now those headlines have taken a distinctly negative turn.

For the backers of her new film, A Mighty Heart, which tells the story of murdered Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, negative publicity around Jolie’s recent activities is becoming a potential threat to its success.

First was a disastrous PR gaffe after one of Jolie’s overzealous lawyers tried to force journalists to sign a contract before they could interview her for the film’s publicity drive. The document said they could not ask Jolie any personal questions and that the interview ‘… could only be used to promote the picture’.

Though the world of celebrity interviews is often full of such tacit agreements, the existence of a legal contract saw many reporters, including those from USA Today and the Associated Press news agency, cancel interviews. The fact that A Mighty Heart is about the issue of press freedom made the story all the more ironic. ‘Jolie turns out to be a mighty hypocrite when it comes to her own freedom of the press,’ said Fox TV’s Roger Friedman.

But that move was just the latest in a series of press kerfuffles for Jolie’s staff had previously tried to ban Fox journalists from covering her new film’s premiere, until the studio behind the film, Paramount, intervened. At the same time some of the adulatory coverage of Jolie associated with the film has itself become the subject of intense criticism. Men’s magazine Esquire is putting Jolie – barely clothed – on the cover of its July issue. The magazine is also running a lengthy profile and interview with Jolie inside.

Yet instead of drawing people into watching the movie, the piece has been the subject of intense media-bashing. On the popular online magazine Slate the article was trashed under the headline: ‘The worst celebrity profile ever written?’ And elsewhere a review of the film was headlined: ‘The Mariane Pearl movie can’t escape the shadow of Angelina Jolie’ and went on to say that casting had trumped acting because Jolie was an actress whose ‘global recognizability quotient is exceeded only by that of the sun’ and hence we cannot suspend belief long enough to believe she is Pearl. Its a damning turnaround for the actress.

Perhaps some of the backlash is the inevitable consequence of how Jolie and Brad Pitt have skilfully exploited the intense media interest in their lives in return for publicity for charities and causes that they are interested in. But even that has started to backfire. Several US newspapers reported last week that she has abandoned a charity in her eldest son’s name. She established the Maddox Jolie Project to protect the eco-system and watershed conservation values in his homeland of Cambodia. But according to ‘sources’ Jolie has stopped funding it.

Other recent stories in celebrity magazines have criticized her child-rearing skills and speculated that Pitt is reluctant to marry her. She is constantly compared with his ex, Jennifer Aniston.

But she still has support. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell last week heaped praise on the actress for her work raising awareness of landmines and refugees. ‘Her work with refugees is not something to decorate herself. She studies the issues,’ he told Newsweek.

Tags: 'perfect, America's, Angelina', Disgust

Saturday, July 3rd, 2010 Grants No Comments

Virtual Assistants Offer Economic Advantages To Business Owners

Building a successful business can turn into a nightmare of headaches, frustration and exhaustion, if you aren’t careful. Unfortunately, the more successful you are, the more administrative tasks you have; the more time you spend on administrative tasks, the less time you have to generate new revenue.

It’s a vicious, vicious cycle.

So what’s a business owner to do?

Hire a virtual assistant.

What’s a virtual assistant?

Virtual assistants (VA’s)are professional office assistants who provide office services and support without actually being physically present, by using the Internet, fax and telephone. Virtual Assistants also complete work through the use of online collaborative workstations. And since much of their work is done online, they can work locally or globally eliminating the need for you to search for local qualified help.

In a nutshell, the virtual assistant takes the traditional role of the temp worker and elevates it to the status of entrepreneur. Because the virtual assistant is self-employed, bills only the hours work or by tasks completed, and is dependent on referrals and steady work flow from existing clients, she can be the perfect solution for a growing business.

A virtual assistant offers several distinct advantages over a paid employee. When you hire a virtual assistant you get all the benefits of outsourcing – no employee tax and benefits issues. Yet, you still get the loyalty and reliability of a company employee.

How practical is a virtual assistant?

As more and more businesses move their marketing and communications to the Internet, virtual assistants become more and more the obvious solution to staffing problems. For an hourly fee of $25 to $35, less than the cost of temps or employees.

However, it should be pointed out, VA’s with specialized skills and backgrounds do charge higher rates. By using a virtual assistant, businesses can take advantage of professional assistance and a variety of skills at the click of a mouse.

Virtual assistants are already computer trained, and can assist with your specific needs from traditional office support services to highly specialized areas including web page design. Virtual assistants also provide basic word processing, phone answering, bill paying, appointment scheduling and calendar maintenance. You can even custom-train your virtual assistant to go beyond administrative support to client development and marketing support.

As cable Internet, wireless Internet, and other broadband solutions continue to grow at an amazing pace, virtual assistants will become even more vital to business owners.

If you would like more information regarding hiring a virtual assistant, contact Rosalind Harris at:rharris@instantassistant.net or visit http://instantassistant.net

Tags: Advantages, Assistants, Business, Economic, Offer, Owners, Virtual

Saturday, July 3rd, 2010 Grants No Comments

Top 10 Careers

The economic recession which had started in the past few years has had a very substantial impact on the top 10 careers in the industry. A good example can be of Information Technology (IT) careers. Prior to the economic slowdown, these software development careers were on a high; but after the financial crunch, they were hit badly. The most stable careers in the industry, despite of the slowdown, were medical jobs. Let us get a brief overview of the top 10 careers at present.

Top 10 Jobs in Demand

Nurses: These medical jobs can be considered as the top 10 careers for women. A person interested in medical and patient care can become a Registered Nurse (RN), Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), or a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA).

Software Developers and Engineers: The demand for these IT jobs has come up lately. Today, software developers and engineers have a median per annum pay of around $65,000. Likewise, there are several other career opportunities in the IT industry, with an increasing pay potential.

Psychologists: Due to the ongoing job stress in the working class, these jobs have attracted a lot of demand. A psychologist can work in different work settings, and earn an average salary of approximately $80,000 per annum.

Human Resources Managers: The job of personnel management is considered one of the top careers for women. It generally requires a degree in the business or management field and good communication. The average pay rate for this job is about $92,000 per annum.

Educators: If you have a liking for teaching and educating students, you can choose a career as a university lecturer or a school teacher. This teaching job gives emotional as well as financial satisfaction. This is one of the top careers in demand.

Real Estate Agents and Appraisers: At present, the real estate industry is booming, creating a demand for realtors and property appraisal experts. Along with a good pay, real estate professionals also earn good amounts in commission. However, their earning capacity varies as per the demand for property.

Writers: There is a wide range of sectors where writers can provide their services in. Common employers for writers are companies, mass media agencies, publication groups, content writing companies, etc. Writing and editing jobs are amongst the top 10 careers without a degree. The median salary for writers is recorded at around $60,000 yearly.

Physician Assistants: Physician assistants are health care professionals who aid doctors in their everyday work. They provide services in different medical care settings. They get a good amount of average pay which comes somewhere around $83,000 per annum.

Financial Advisors: A majority of companies are searching for ways to invest and get good returns. And this is why the services of financial advisors are being required. The salary of these professionals falls around $95,000 per annum.

Market Researchers: Market researchers are employed especially by companies that are into production, manufacturing, sales, marketing, advertising, and similar fields. The yearly pay of market researchers is recorded somewhere near $80,000 per annum.

Other Jobs in Demand
Network Systems Analysts
Physical Therapist Aides
Radiological Technicians
Veterinary Technicians
Medical Assistants
Data Communications Analysts
Fitness Trainers
Dental Hygienists
Pharmacists
Administrators
These are the top 10 careers in demand. Note that the jobs are listed in a random order, and not on the basis of rankings or salary earning potential.

Tags: Careers

Saturday, July 3rd, 2010 Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) No Comments

Tips on How to Make Money Online Easily

Brick-and-mortar jobs are feasible ways to earn a decent paycheck each month. The only problem with this kind of set-up is that you are also confined to specific tasks each day and are bound to company rules—like the perennial Bundy or the more recent fingerprint machine which will determine if you’re late or not. If you type “how to make money online easily” in a search bar, it will generate thousands of results. This only proves that the internet already evolved from a mere research tool to an online job provider.

But, before you even get started with looking for a job, you should already assess what type of job you would want to land on in the Internet. And that leads us to the first tip.

Tip # 1: Assess what kind of job you want to do in the Internet

Would you want to continue your old brick-and-mortar job—only in a different environment? Or maybe you want a drastic career shift? Maybe you have a background in the sales or advertising department. So where do you want to go?
Sales will get you connected with job descriptions such as Online Ad Sales Personnel. This handles advertising-related transactions for the company website. The Creative department will lead you to fellow writers and web designers. There are tons of careers in the internet that the job descriptions already overlap with each other.

Tip # 2: Find a reputable company that hires people from your field of expertise

Companies are already shifting their hiring activities online. Besides being a cost-effective way of getting a new people of labor force, most job seekers also find online job sites an easier way to apply. So it’s a mutually beneficial meeting point for employers and job seekers.

This is the way on how to make money online easily. Instead of getting involved with unscrupulous and illegal online jobs (which will probably turn out to be scams), better invest your time and effort on legal ventures.

Tip # 3: Just Do It

If you are not interested with the job, then you shouldn’t go the extra mile to get it. While for some people, the paycheck matters more than any other factor that affects their work, your happiness plays a big role in making you earn more money regardless of your occupation. Therefore, the fact that you’re already there says that you are capable of performing the job. Take advantage of the home-based set-up. Brew a cup of hot coffee, get some music going and just do what must be done.

By the time you are already doing the job in your chosen environment, the question of how to make money online easily is already out of the picture. The fact that you love your current job makes everything easier. Put this to the test right away and find a fulfilling career ahead of you. Online jobs are well able to provide you the same amount of pay as your former job—sometimes, even more.

Tags: Easily, Money, Online, Tips

Saturday, July 3rd, 2010 Government Student Grants No Comments

Run-Of-The-Mill Guff-spouter; and Gordon Brown

OH FABIO …

There’s a lot to be said for retaining an air of seductive mystique. The Fiver has long been of the belief, for example, that a humorous tea-time email should always wear gloves to dance a quadrille, never appear in the drawing room before dinner and refrain from performing [censored by Fiver's new in-house ProstateKnackLawyers4U.com consultant] on a first date unless under the influence of at least a liter-and-a-half of dry sherry. By the same process, Fabio Capello’s stock as a managerial clever-clogs has continued to rise through a couple of distinctly iffy showings. The moodiness. The mute, furious look. What was happening in his head? Ooh-ooh, we wished we knew. We wished we knew. But you could bet it was something snazzy.

And so it came to pass that he only went and blew the whole shooting-match by giving his first press conference in English – and publicly outing himself as a disappointingly run-of-the-mill guff-spouter. “I told him he’ll be the captain and he was very, very happy. It’s very important to be a leader and [England's Brave] John Terry is a leader,” Don Fabio hummed this afternoon, announcing that EBJT will be EBSJT against the yee-hawing soccer jocks of USA! USA! USA! tomorrow night. “EBSJT is the nuts,” he added, swallowing another mouthful of the complete seven-volume A-Z of gaffer speak. “He’d run through a brick wall for the shirt – even if it meant actually leaving the field of play to find a brick wall he could run through. He’d do it because he’s a man who eats, sleeps and drinks the armband 24 hours-a-day, which isn’t easy because it’s just an armband and can only produce, at best, a thin kind of gruel when boiled.”

The Fiver may have imagined some of this, having become lost in contemplation as to what it is about Fab that brings to mind Oscar the Grouch. He definitely said it was “too early” to decide whether EBSJT would still be captain against Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday. Presumably in case EBSJT stops being such a wonderful leader at some point in the next three days. But then he also claimed to have “known John Lampard for a long time”. Gah. It’s a bit like finally getting a word out of Mr Darcy and finding out he speaks in a screeching falsetto and lives with his mother. The frown, Don Fabio. Just go back to the frown.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We are indebted to Gemma and Marcus. We desperately want to rescue Coco and give her an adoptive chimpanzee family. We hope they can help us do that” – Alison Cronin, the co-founder of Monkey World in Dorset, thanks Wigan forward Marcus Bent and his girlfriend Gemma Atkinson for their adoption of five-year-old Bryan and their ongoing support in the fight to rescue fellow chimp Coco from Cancun.

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WHAT IS THIS, AMATEUR HOUR?

‘Author’ Tim Lovejoy, ‘football pundit’ Jamie Redknapp, ‘prime minister’ Gordon Brown: there are some amateurs out there who have been given fancy job titles just to shut them up. The Fiver should know; it’s been moved sideways so many times its current job title is Deputy Senior Junior Sub-Assistant Vice-Convener Of Good Spelling And Correct Use Of ,Commas And Syntax. Or, at least that is the case, the Fiver likes to think.

So it’s good to see that Avram Grant took a stand after being let go/sacked/stabbed in the back/made a victim of football’s increasingly myopic short-termism. He was offered his old job of director of football, but revealed today he threw it back in melancholy clown-alike Roman Abramovich’s face. “I understand the offer and why it was made but I thought that from my point of view it was not the correct move,” Grant uhhhhhhhhhhnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnned in the slightly graver than usual monotone he uses when making a Big Point. “What I discussed [privately] will stay private but let’s say that I saw that it was not a good move for me at this stage.”

There was better news for Henk ten Cate, who reckons his job as Coach In Charge Of Arguing With EBSJT is safe. At least until Abramovich sacks him for getting a bad score on Guitar Hero III (Legends of Rock). “[Slippery Pete Kenyon] told me … that the sacking of Grant would have no consequences for me,” he said, desperately trying to beat Michael Essien’s score on Knights of Cydonia. “I would rather believe him than the newspapers’ reports.”

If there is an upside for Grant and, let’s face it, the poor blighter needs an upside, rumour has it that he’s already being scouted out by a Premier League club. Unfortunately for Avram, that club is Human Rights FC, owned by Thaksin Shinawatra, a man who’s been known to sack people before they finish their sente

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THE RUMOUR MILL

Nasty Leeds are skint and in League One. QPR have got loads amoney and are in the Championship. It’s a discrepancy that’s not going unnoticed by Jermaine Beckford.

Dean Winda$$ may soon be giving Liam Fontaine the runaround in the Premier League if, as it says here, the Bristol City centre-back joins Liverpool for £1m.

Ex-Chelsea midfielder Maniche and his chubby cheeks are leaving Atlético Madrid on a choo-choo bound for Middlesbrough.

And if Ailsa from Home and Away continues to put Andre Ooijer on the Blackeye Rovers bench then the Dutch defender is going to do one.

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NEWS IN BRIEF

Kwaku Ampim-Darko, the secretary of the Ghanaian U-17 women’s team, has spoken of his anger after an away game at DR Congo in which the ‘Black Maidens’ were … denied food, travel and accommodation, forced to train on a gravel pitch, endured a harrowing bus attack and, during a 3-0 victory, had their goalkeeper karate-chopped in the neck. “This has gone on for far too long both at the club level and at the national level,” he fumed.

BBC pundit Gavin Peacock will become a priest in Canada after Euro 2008.

Man Utd have cashed in their Gerard Piqué chips in exchange for £4m of Barcelona’s summer transfer kitty.

Brazilian side Palmeiras have been fined and given a home ban after they were found guilty of filling the opposition’s dressing room with a mysterious gas. “The general consensus was that it was impossible to find the guilty party and, therefore, Palmeiras were punished as the host team,” parped a Brazilian football federation suit.

Japanese striker Kazuki Ganaha, who took intravenous garlic infusions after coming down with flu, has had his six-game ban overturned on appeal.

Struggling Argentinian side Racing Club have shifted their training base 50km out of Buenos Aires after angry fans invaded a session in the city last week.

No. Seriously. Gavin Peacock really will become a priest in Canada after Euro 2008.

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STILL WANT MORE?

In the first of our Euro 2008 team previews, Paul Doyle takes a gander at Switzerland’s slim chances, while Rob Smyth casts his eye over the Czech Republic.

T4′s Chris Coleman and a whingeing José Antonio Reyes star in The Sids 2008, La Liga’s end-of-season awards extravaganza.

The blind optimism of a Liberal Democrat MP will come in handy when Lembit Opik supports Romania in Euro 2008.

Even though Jose Mourinho’s return to Chelsea would make perfect sense, the ego daren’t writes Kevin McCarra.

And in tomorrow’s £0.80 Big Paper: more build-up to England’s eagerly-awaited USA! USA! USA! friendly; proper journalist David Conn sheds light on the pitfalls of promotion to the Premier League; and the Society section does what it does best …

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FIVER LETTERS

“I trust Nasty Leeds are to appeal to the Football League over the disgraceful decision to award Doncaster one more goal than them on Sunday” – Andy Stiff.

“I’m not sure which is more alarming – that the Fiver had to crib its definition of a cheque (Friday’s rumor mill) from Wikipedia, or that my life was bleak and empty enough on a Friday night for me to look on Wikipedia and confirm my suspicions” – Pete Green.

Send your letters to the.boss@guardian.co.uk.

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MOUNT OLYMPUS LOOKS TERRIFYING

Tags: Brown, Gordon, Guffspouter, RunOfTheMill

Saturday, July 3rd, 2010 Grants No Comments