My Online Business Empire Review – Another Obvious Scam?

Name: My Online Business Education (MOBE)

Website url: www.mobe.com
Price: $49 + 19.95/mth + upsells (up to $29,997)
Business Location: Malaysia
Owner: Matt Lloyd
Recommend For: People With Substantial Budget

MOBE, How to Determine if It’s For You

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Is My Online Business Education (also referred to as MOBE)  a legitimate opportunity or another run of the mill Internet scheme? I am going to help you come to the conclusion within this review by offering you the facts and walking you through the various aspects of the program.

You may have seen information online where this program is referred to My Top Tier Business or My Online Business Empire (along with a couple of domain name changes).  This is because these were the former names prior to it’s name today. They are all connected.

Within this review, I am going be explaining exactly why many folks share a negative opinion on this program. I am going to explore exactly what this system involves and what Matt Lloyd and the team over at MOBE are offering to their members and how they are building a business by offering products that cost $10,000’s.

At the end of the day, it is you that works very hard for your money so before you invest it into any program online, you should truly understand how something works and how much outlay of money is involved.

The Pros vs. Cons of My Online Business Empire

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Pros:

• Some good training (lots of it directed at promoting MOBE)
• High commissions (if money is your only focus, not value)

Cons:

• Too many unnecessary “upsells”and “downsells” within the system
• Poor customer support and a low level “community”
• Feels like you are buying products just so you can sell them
• Products are VERY expensive
• The system is built off of big name gurus with big lists
• Very difficult to get a refund (they make it tough)
• There is little focus on creating a “niche” business

What Exactly Do You Do As a Member of My Online Business Education?

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Good question.

When you join a program like this, you are anticipating like the name indicates, that you are going to be building an online business with MOBE.  But what does that entail?

To be completely honest, not what you may be expecting in particular if you have been sold on the idea of the $49 top tier business 21 step program .  This MOBE scheme, like many of the MLM (Multi-Level-Marketing) programs is focused on you buying into the program itself so that you have the “right” to promote the very same product to others.  There is no obligation to do so, but if you want to earn more commissions, the quickest way to do so is to upgrade your membership to one of their memberships.

These include the following tiers:

Standard Affiliate: $19.95 per month
MLR: $2,497 one time + $99 per month (inner circle)
Titanium: $9,997 + $199 per month (inner circle)
Platinum: $16,667 + $299 per month (inner circle)
Diamond: $29,997 + $299 per month (inner circle)

The typical form of payment within the program is done through bank wire as there are 3% additional processing fees tacked on if you want to user your credit card to purchase.

Although it is stated that you can build a business within any niche you like (and you probably could), the very essence of the program and the commission structure sets you up in a way where you are more than likely going to end up promoting MOBE.  Whether it is as a Standard $19.95 per month affiliate or through the MOBE Marketplace or selling people on the upper tiers of the program which range from $2,497 to $29,997 in price.

Is a $49 Product What You Are Being Sold On?

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Many folks have voiced their complaints in respect to the fact that affiliates of this program are encouraging them to join for $49 only to realize that there are more costs associated with the program if you want to promote the higher ticket programs.

Level 7 of the 21 step training will indicate this in more detail if you do decide to buy the program, but as you BUY INTO the higher membership tiers (up to $29,997 for the Diamond package)…you will be able to promote these. You will then be taught a variety of marketing methods, many of which are geared towards how to sell other people into the My Online Business Education (formerly known as Empire) system.

All of the successful folks within this program (and I wouldn’t doubt some of them are great marketers), are making money through selling MOBE.  You don’t find many people sharingtheir wild success in the dieting niche…or within the hair loss niche, every single success story within this program that has been arrived upon in my research has been those selling MOBE to others.

Why?  Because naturally if you spend money on one of the upper tier mobe memberships (MLR, Titanium, Platinum, Diamond) you are doing so in order to earn higher commissions, thus you are investing in the system so you can promote MOBE as your main product to others.

The initial $49 price point is very deceiving to some..    You have bought into the program but it is just brushing the surface in respect to the overall costs.

The My Online Business Education Membership Upsells. Ready for the REAL Price?  

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Like most of the multi-level-marketing programs  in the opportunity industry, MOBE’s product hierarchy and compensation plan can be quite confusing.

Here is a full list of the products and an explanation of them.  I know these are not promoted heavily at the outset of the program because if they were, it might scare those folks off that don’t have the money to invest.

$19.95/mth Standard Affiliate Program Fee – This fee applies if you want to market most of the products located within the MOBE Marketplace.  You earn anywhere from 10%-50% commissions. It is unusual for an affiliate program to charge you to sell their products.  Most affiliate programs are free.  Charging people to promote your products is something that is much more commonplace within the MLM world.

$49 My Top Tier Business – This is the most common entrance points you will hear folks chatting about online (and that you will be “offered”).  This is a 21 step program that includes a variety of training and a “free live coach”.  What happens when you join through this entrance point, it indicates that you have “money” and upon you being a customer, your live coach will be in touch with you in the early stages of the training to determine how much purchasing power (how much they can sell you) within the program.

This is usually the point where someone is earning affiliate commissions off of your purchases and if you upgrade to any of the higher tiers, your sponsor is going to reap commissions as a result (along with the company, in a split commission)

$2,497 MOBE License Rights (Full Program) -If you are interested in joining the MOBE partnership you are going to be asked to pay the lofty sum of $2,497.  This is a full license to My Online Business Education, which essentially gives you the rights to promote this same stuff to others.  This does include some training:

• MOBE Licensee Kit
• My Online Business Empire (8 hours)
• Funded Proposal (17 hours of training)
• Affiliate Bonus (11 hours of training)
• OPT formula (14 hours of training)
• Amongst a few other modules (always being updated/added to)

If you are interested in earning higher commissions by promoting the My Online Business Education program to other people, you will need to pay for the license rights.   Here are just some of the products that you will earn a 90% commission rate with if you purchase MLR Rights:

• $99 per month – The Vault
• $97 per month – MOBE Elite Earners
• $194 – Email Marketing Empire
• $194 – The OPT Formula (Outsourcing Formula)
• $291 – Affiliate Bonus Domination
• $194 – Funded Proposal
• $9.95 – IM Revolution Handbook
• $297 – MOBE Licensing Kit
• $297 – Traffic Masters Academy
• $39.95 – Instant Info Product

And that is not it…there are PLENTY more products in this program.  These are the MOBE products you will earn 50% commissions with:

• $1997 – 10,000 Leads in 100 Days
• $997 – Online Income Revolution
• $997 – The 90 Day Challenge
• $997 – Six Figure Coaching Secrets
• $997 – Add the Nitrous
• AND SEVERAL OTHERS

And then there are “services” that you will be able to earn.  These range from $97 for “Done for You Emails” to “$19,997” for 3 days at the MOBE Studio.

Within the MOBE program, there are currently 7 different products that you can earn 90% commissions on (if you at minimum the MLR program which is $2,497) and several higher ticket products that you earn 50% .   You can also earn 50% commissions selling MLR to others, total of $1,250.

**There is one loophole in which you can become part of the next tier without paying.  If you generate 5 “commissionless” sales at a particular tier directly above you.  If you wanted to become MLR for example, you would have to forgo five $1,250 commissions (totalling $$6,250).  Otherwise you are required to pay for the tier above you in order to be able to earn commissions within that tier.

Then there are 3 Upper Tiers:

Titanium: $9,997
Platinum: $16,667
Diamond: $29,997

These offer you what the MLR tier offers you plus the ability to earn commissions within the respective tier you upgrade to.  If you want to earn commissions on Diamond upgrades, then you will need to be a Diamond member.

When all is said and done,  if you were to purchase all of these products you would have to spend $29,997 + $299 per month for the privilege to promote the highest tier membership (and associate products) to others.

Or you could put a down payment on a house for this same amount.

You are also expected to travel to and attend conferences and meet-ups, which can easily lead to $1,000’s more of expenditures.

Not exactly what most folks bargained for when they joined the $49, 21 step program.

This is a very common marketing approach.  Target people with a low price/entry point on the front end making you believe you get everything you need, when in reality there is the not-so-subtle expectation that you will be investing much MUCH more once you get inside and you are put through their highly refined sales process.

If you don’t have decent sized budget and you don’t feel like selling the same high ticket products/services to other folks, then this may not be the program for you.  If you want to pay lots of money for the privilege of making high commissions  then this program may be for you.

Can You Get Support From Matt?  How Responsive is Their Support Team?

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Instead of speculating (which I am not a fan of), I will give you the straight proof directly from the founder himself.

See the founder of My Online Business Education response to to complaints about poor support within their system.

Matt Lloyd Said It Best on Warriorforum.com

I suppose this sort of honesty can definitely be respected these days, but on the same token, if you join something you expect a high level of support, in particular when you are spending $1,000’s of your hard earned money.  They have increased their support team in the past few years and now offer more dedicated support than they did, so things have improved.

One thing that you might find a little confusing though is where the community is located.

Instead of MOBE having a community of help within their actual back office where you can get help from your sponsors/members, you will find everyone hanging out on Facebook within their group or offering support through Facebook PM’s (assuming you have upgraded to a higher level, aka playing nice).

If you want to pay more for their dedicated support, then you can do so.   But if you are a $49, 21 step program customer you are not going to get the personalized support you need as your free coach will give you more of a “meet and greet” experience showing your options within the program.

Here is an example screenshot of the Facebook group that is run by MOBE:

A Group on Facebook.com is FREE to create. Where’s the value?

When you invest a considerable amount of money, you should expect to get unbelievable, high quality and expert support.  Just make sure that you always ask and query a company before paying them money what type of support they are going to be offering you, how it will be delivered and are the people giving it qualified to give it (have the been in the trenches).

This is where you might be able to find Matt Lloyd on occasion if you ever do need help and there is also going to be help and interactive elements if you do spend the money to upgrade and travel to the live events.

Deep Pockets, Requires Even DEEPER Ones to Recoup Your Costs

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At the end of the day, MOBE is a program you buy into, giving you the rights to promote the program to others.  The more products you buy and the more you spend, the more you can promote.

Whether you believe this is the type of organization you want to get involved with is up to you.  Chances are you have come to this page because someone is promoting MOBE to you.  The reason they are promoting MOBE to you in the first place is because they get commissions (typically 50-90%) if you end up joining this program, rather than actually selling you training, they might be selling you into the “idea” of success.

Your goal once you get involved in the program is likely going to be to sell the system to others and push them towards the higher ticket upsells so you earn more commissions, or you will be able to sacrifice a % of your commissions and have the MOBE sales team get people to buy more stuff (which might make life easier).

You refer people to this system (often times your friends/family/social network) and the engine behind MOBE will take care of the upsells.  People buy in for $49 and will realize they are going to have spend more though very quickly.  These pricing upgrades are going to range from $2,497 to $29,997 for the Business Affiliate Membership Fees (with the exclusion of the $19.95 Standard Affiliate Program).

Are There More Cost Efficient Ways to Start a Business?

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At the end of the day you are in control of your online/offline purchases, but if you are looking to invest into a business all websites should be completely transparent with you about the very “low” cost to entry to start a business online.

First, you can get started for free.  There is great deal of information and platforms out there that can help get started online which are completely free…and this includes everything from your websites, your hosting, your training, your mentorship, etc.

Second, to buy the services required to run a business online is very low…even if you are going to be purchasing quality, industry reputable services.

To give you a breakdown on the “high” end of what it should cost to start a business online, here is some info:

• Hosting: $25-50 for quality hosting (WP Engine, SiteRubix.com)
• Email Autoresponder: $20 per month (Aweber.com)
• Domain: $15 per year (Namecheap.com)
• Website Builder: FREE (SiteRubix.com, Weebly.com)
• A Passion/Interest: FREE (you decide!)

So for $45-70 per month, you can be operating a successful business in ANY niche you want.  You can be building your own brand, you can be building a successful business, and you can be utilizing the TOP services in the industry for under $70 per month.  Everything included.

This is a big difference from $29,997 membership cost + $299 per month in the Diamond tier of MOBE.

If you have someone promoting the $49 program, there is nothing wrong with inquiring about the other potentials costs of the program/business.  The program is MUCH MORE involved than just the 21 step program (which is the most common entrance point being promoted to folks).

Want to Take a Passion and Create a Business? See How it Works!

My Final Product Overview for MOBE

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Name: My Online Business Education (MOBE)
Website url: www.mobe.com
Price: $49 + 19.95/mth + upsells ($2,497, $9,997, $16,667, & $29,997)
Owner: Matt Lloyd
Overall Rank: Doesn’t Meet Criteria
VERDICT: VERY EXPENSIVE, aggressive marketing, expensive, limited support unless you have lots of money to spend.

If you have any questions or comments or you would like to offer your own personal review or feedback of MOBE (formerly My Online Business Empire, now My Online Business Education), please share your thoughts within the comment form at the very bottom of this page.

What Scientists Know About Jewel Beetle Shimmer

Iridescent green beetles could provide a blueprint for light reflecting materials. That's the conclusion of scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta who recently discovered jewel beetles change color because of the light reflecting properties of the cells that make up their external skeletons. They say the finding could be important for industries such as car manufacturers that look to reflective light paints for automobiles. When light hits a surface that's difficult to see through, the surface either scatters, absorbs or reflects the light to produce colors. In the case of the jewel beetle's external skeleton, its five, six and seven sided cells spontaneously arrange themselves to reflect light at certain wavelengths that produce green, yellow and red colors.

Research suggests the cells come from spontaneous arrangement of glucose-like particles called chitin molecules that form as cones like those in a cholesteric liquid crystal. When these cones solidify, they preserve their structures and produce colors as light hits them from different angles.

The beetle's structure also forms helices similar to a cholesteric liquid crystal in that its straight cells sit on or are used to form the curved structure of its external skeleton. Research shows that when the pitch of the helix of cholesteric liquid crystals is close to the wavelength of visible light, they reflect light with specific wavelengths, leading to brilliant metallic colors.

Miniature optical devices and photonics such as those envisioned for microlasers and implantable medical sensors could benefit from the finding. Scientists already are studying ways to commercialize and apply materials that have properties similar to jewel beetles.

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion

OTEC, or ocean thermal energy conversion, is an energy knowledge that changes solar radiation into electric power. OTEC systems use the ocean's natural thermal gradient—the information that the ocean's layers of water have unlike temperatures—to drive a power-producing cycle. As long as the temperature between the warm surface water and the cold deep water differs by about 20°C (36°F), an OTEC system can produce a significant amount of power. The oceans are thus an enormous renewable resource, with the potential to help us generate billions of watts of electric power. This potential is predictable to be about 1013 watts of base load power generation, according to some experts. The cold, deep seawater used in the OTEC process is also rich in nutrients, and it can be used to culture both marine organisms and plant life near the shore or on land.

The economics of energy production today have delayed the financing of a lasting, continuously operating OTEC plant. However, OTEC is very hopeful as an alternative energy resource for tropical island communities that depend heavily on imported fuel. OTEC plants in these markets could provide islanders with much-needed power, as well as desalinated water and a variety of mariculture products.

Poisonous plants to humans

Many native and exotic plants are poisonous to humans when ingested or if there is skin contact with plant chemicals. However, the most common problems with poisonous plants arise from contact with the sap oil of several ever-present native plants that cause an allergic skin reaction—poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac.

Poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac release oil, urushiol, when the leaf or other plant parts are bruised, damaged, or burned. When the oil gets on the skin an allergic reaction, referred to as contact dermatitis, occurs in most exposed people as an itchy red rash with bumps or blisters. When exposed to 50 micrograms of urushiol, an amount that is less than one grain of table salt, 80 to 90 percent of adults will develop a rash. The rash, depending upon where it occurs and how broadly it is spread, may significantly impede or prevent a person from working. Although over-the-counter topical medications may relieve symptoms for most people, immediate medical attention may be required for severe reactions, particularly when exposed to the smoke from burning these poisonous plants. Burning these poisonous plants can be very dangerous because the allergens can be inhaled, causing lung irritation. Outdoor workers may be exposed to poisonous plants.

Prevention
Workers can prevent contact with poisonous plants by taking these steps:
• Wear long sleeves, long pants, boots, and gloves.
o Wash exposed clothing separately in hot water with detergent.
• Barrier skin creams, such as a lotion containing bentoquatum, may offer some protection before contact.
o Barrier creams should be washed off and reapplied twice a day.
• After use, clean tools with rubbing alcohol (isopropanol or isopropyl alcohol) or soap and lots of water. Urushiol can remain active on the surface of objects for up to 5 years.
o Wear disposable gloves during this process.

First Aid
• Immediately rinse skin with rubbing alcohol, specialized poison plant washes, degreasing soap (such as dishwashing soap) or detergent, and lots of water.
• Rinse frequently so that wash solutions do not dry on the skin and further spread the urushiol.
• Scrub under nails with a brush.
• Apply wet compresses, calamine lotion, or hydrocortisone cream to the skin to reduce itching and blistering.
• Follow the directions on any creams and lotions. Do not apply to broken skin, such as open blisters.
• Oatmeal baths may relieve itching.
An antihistamine such as diphenhydramine (Benadryl) can be taken to help relieve itching.

Benefits of Yoga

Yoga is recognized to increase flexibility; yoga has position that triggers different joints of the body. Including those joints that are not acted upon with usual exercises routines.

Yoga in addition increases the lubrication of joints, muscle and tendons. The well-researched yoga positions exercise the different tendons and ligaments of the body.

Yoga also massages every organs of the body. Yoga is possibly the only exercise that can work on through your internal organs in a methodical manner.

Yoga acts in a healthy way on the various body parts. This stimulation and massage of the organs in turn benefits us by keeping away disease.

One of the far-reaching benefits of yoga is the eerie sense of awareness that it develops in the person who is practicing yoga of an impending health disorder or infection.

Yoga provides a complete detoxification of the body. It smoothly stretches the muscles and joints as we massage the various organs, yoga ensure the best blood supply to various parts of the body.

Yoga is also an excellent way to tone your muscles. Muscles which have been sagging and weak are stimulated repeatedly to shed excess fats and flaccidity.

Environmentalist

An environmentalist is a person who protects the environment through changes in public policy or individual behavior.

In 1995,Chewing Norphel retired civil engineer joined the Leh Nutrition Programme and had a channel with retaining walls an a sluice gate dug to control the flow of water .The water freezes to form glacier and in summer ,melts and provides water to the farmers in the area.

Mahesh Chandra Mehta This lawyer is known for battle to protect the Taj Mahal, which was losing its sheen due to air pollution.From 1984,be began his battle at last after 10 years , succeeded in moving the coal industry to a safe place.

Valmik thapar His mission to save tigers is something he has been striving towards single-mindedly for over 30 years. He has written 14 books and set up a foundation (Ranthambore) in 1988 to try and find peace among people, tigers and forest.

Arvind Gupta The winner of many awards, including the first national award for science popularization among children, he has initialized the making of low-cost, co-friendly toys from recyclable materials.

Prof Veer Bhadra Mishra known over the world for his efforts to clean the Ganga, he dedicated his life to this cause. His Clean Ganga campaign earned him the title of One of the Heroes of this planet in TIME

CEW Beauty Awards

The board of Cosmetic Executive Women has announced the winners of its fourth annual Beauty Awards, following a total of 301 product entries and votes from over 400 key figures in the beauty industry. Designed to, "take the guesswork out of beauty shopping with an...edited collection of the best products out there," according to CEW President Caroline Neville, the awards honoured several leading brands including Neal's Yard Remedies which scooped the Best British Brand gong, Clinique which received three awards in total, and Coty which picked up the Best New Celebrity Fragrance award for Kate Moss' Velvet Hour. Least surprising award of the night? The Best Iconic Beauty Product title went to Elizabeth Arden's must-have Eight Hour Cream, of course.

Source: http://www.vogue.co.uk/

Horrible Traffic Jam

Barbie Dolls: Timeless Beauty

Katrina Kaif had this to say about Barbie, "I am grateful to be bestowed with this honour of being the first ever Indian Celebrity for whom a doll will be made in my likeness. This is a very special moment for me personally as I have always loved Barbie ever since I was a little girl. Barbie is the ultimate fashion icon and is the most popular doll in the world, I am very excited about this association since it’s the ideal fashion statement for any Fashionista.

She is every young girl’s fashion icon, what with that blonde ponytail, sleek clothes and snappy heels. She came on the scene and took the toy world by storm. Now years later, she is still going strong. Books have been written about her, films were made with her as the star, cars and motor homes have her name on them, in fact, she even has a painting by Andy Warhol to boot, and that’s the story of the inscrutable Barbie doll.

In her five decades, Barbie and her many friends have pioneered career choices. And it’s not just kids, who love Barbie. Her audience has grown to include adults, both men and women, particularly in the past two decades.

So what is it about Barbie that has captured the hearts of girls and collectors the world over?

Source: http://www.merinews.com/

Candid Camera In The Museum

Key Implications Of The New Strategy

President Barack Obama plans to send thousands of troops to train Afghan security forces as part of a new war strategy that will focus U.S. efforts on destroying safe havens for al Qaeda militants and rolling back the Taliban insurgency.

Here are some key implications of the new strategy:

• By stating that the main mission is to target al Qaeda, Obama is playing down more ambitious goals embraced by his predecessor, George W. Bush, and other NATO leaders.
• They declared at a summit in April last year that their aim in Afghanistan was to help "build an enduring stable, secure, prosperous and democratic state, respectful of human rights and free from the threat of terrorism."
• Although the administration appears to be aiming for less, its new strategy accepts it will have to devote more troops, money and resources to achieve even that goal.
• Obama will send 4,000 troops by this autumn to train Afghan forces, on top of 17,000 troops whose deployments he approved in February. That will bring the total number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan to about 60,000, in addition to more than 30,000 troops from U.S. allies, mainly NATO nations.
• The cost of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan is expected to rise 60 percent from the current $2 billion a month.
• The extra deployments will add to strains on the U.S. military, at least in the short term.
• Although Obama has ordered about 100,000 troops to withdraw from Iraq by August next year, the bulk of that pullout is not expected until after Iraqi elections at the end of this year.
• Many of the ideas presented in the strategy are not new. The administration says the Afghan war was neglected under Bush and is betting that an increase in resources and focus will make existing ideas more effective.
• An expansion of the Afghan security forces is already under way and the administration does not appear to be increasing the target size for the Afghan army and police for the moment.
• Similarly, officials have long spoken of trying to exploit fractures in the Taliban movement and peeling off "foot soldiers" motivated by money rather than ideology.
• The administration's plans to engage Russia, China, Iran and India are bold but far from guaranteed to be successful. Cooperation on Afghanistan risks becoming a bargaining chip in debates with Russia over European missile defense or with Tehran over Iran's nuclear program.
• If the administration stresses its focus on combating al Qaeda too much, it risks exacerbating Afghans' fears that the West is not interested in their welfare and will abandon them. That could play into the hands of the Taliban.
• The administration's pledge to send "hundreds" more civilians to help build the capacity of Afghan authorities to provide essential services for their citizens will be widely welcomed but the details will be important.
• Analysts say such services -- everything from running water to a functioning justice system -- are vital to get Afghans to side with their government rather than the Taliban.
• But it is open to question whether an increase of only a few hundred civilians will give those efforts a major boost.
• Initial descriptions of the new strategy leave many questions about Pakistan unanswered.
• Many experts believe the nuclear-armed country's instability and its al Qaeda safe havens present a far greater threat to U.S. national security than Afghanistan.
• U.S. officials have yet to prove they can persuade the Pakistani military to fully embrace counter-insurgency operations against militants.
• Officials have not said whether attacks on suspected militants by CIA drones will be stepped up. The administration never officially acknowledges the strikes and they are unpopular in Pakistan. U.S. officials say they have played a key role in weakening al Qaeda. (Editing by Peter Cooney)

For More Info: http://www.reuters.com/article/featuredCrisis/idUSN26268096

Arrest Varun Gandhi: Congress

Minutes after Varun Gandhi came out before the media to clarify his ‘communal remarks’, the Congress slammed the BJP candidate for Lok Sabha polls in Pilibhit for refusing to apologise.

Senior party leader Kapil Sibal called for Varun Gandhi’s arrest, saying he had committed a crime by targeting the minority community in his speech.

There is no place for people like Varun in politics, Sibal said, adding the BJP would be a con-conspirator if it failed to act against him.

The BJP, meanwhile, refused to react on Varun’s statement.

Oil Coming Ashore For Weeks

The massive oil slick coating beaches around south-east Queensland will get worse before it gets better, the Queensland Government says.

Moreton and Bribie Island and southern parts of the Sunshine Coast have been declared disaster zones and today Queensland's Sustainability Minister Andrew McNamara warned the worst is yet to come.

"There's going to be oil floating around out there coming ashore over a period of a couple of weeks," he said.

Yesterday the Government said it believed the slick would be cleaned up within seven days, but now it is thought that up to 100,000 litres of oil may have spilled into the sea from a stricken cargo ship on Wednesday.

About 130 people are involved in the clean-up and preventing the oil from spreading further into rivers.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has defended the Government's response so far amid accusations that it has failed to act quickly enough.

"You don't walk in on day one and take all of the sand off the beach only to have more oil overnight coming in on the tide necessitating more sand be taken off on the second and the third day," she said.

"These are sensitive environments and you need to be systematic and clear it with almost military precision."

Vaughan Nash from Maroochy Waterwatch says oil has now reached the Maroochy Bridge, about two kilometres upstream from the mouth of the Maroochy River.

Mr Nash says it is now threatening mangroves.

"We're still seeing wildlife out on the river," he said.

"We saw a few pelicans only about 50 metres behind a few of the slicks and a fish actually jumping through the slicks as well.

"[That was] pretty amazing; we didn't expect a mullet to jump out through an oil slick like that, particularly a thick one as it was."

Up to 100,000 litres of oil leaked into Moreton Bay after the Pacific Adventurer cargo ship was holed on Wednesday morning, and the slicks are now blanketing 60 kilometres of Queensland's coastline.

Unemployment Rate Spikes

The unemployment rate for the Longview area jumped to 5.8 percent in January – the highest it has been for that month in five years, according to figures released Thursday by the Texas Workforce Commission.

The three-county metropolitan statistical area of Gregg, Rusk and Upshur counties had an estimated 6,300 people reported unemployed in January. That number jumped from 4,800 unemployed residents in the three counties in December when the Longview metro area had an unemployment rate of 4.5 percent.

The rate also was up substantially from January 2008 when TWC reported 4,400 people were unemployed with a three-county unemployment rate of 4.2 percent.

Workers at Longview-area businesses like Trinity Industries, Dana Corp. and U.S. Steel were hit hard by layoff notices in January as the impact of the global and national recessions deepened.

The Longview metro area still fared better than the state and nation as a whole in the unemployment picture, according to Texas Workforce officials. Texas had a January unemployment rate of 6.8 percent in January while nationally, the rate was 8.5 percent, representing more than 13 million people qualified as being unemployed.

Longview Partnership President Kelly Hall said the news is of concern to the group's members.

"Many of our companies are feeling the slowdown, and they are positioning their companies strategically to ride out the roller coaster ride we are on," Hall said. "Unfortunately, that means running leaner from an employee standpoint and cutting back on expenses."

Hall said on the flip side, Longview and East Texas are not being hit as hard as the East and West coasts.

"Beginning the first week of January, the Partnership staff has been contacting our chamber members on a daily basis," Hall said. "We have connected with over 50 percent of our members to date in order to gain a better understanding of what challenges they are dealing with from a regulation standpoint and what is happening within their specific industry."

The Longview area also had a lower unemployment rate than nearby Tyler where 6.9 percent of the workforce was off the job in January, according to state figures.

The Longview area unemployment rate in January jumped from 4.5 percent in December, the state reported. The one-month jump in the number of unemployed workers went from 4,800 in December to 6,300 in January, an increase of 1,500 people.

John Stroud, executive director of Longview Economic Development Corp., said about 500 of those jobs were in the retail trade area and represent seasonal changes from the Christmas shopping season.

Elsewhere in Texas, the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission area had the state's highest unemployment rate in January at 10.1 percent. The Midland area, with a rate of 3.8 percent, was the lowest in Texas for January, according to the state.

"The national economic crisis is beginning to have a serious negative impact on our Texas economy," Tom Pauken, chairman of the Texas Workforce Commission, said in a prepared statement.

Investigation On Mumbai Attack

The 11,000 page chargesheet into the 26/11 Mumbai attacks which was presented in a Mumbai court on Wednesday has thrown up some interesting findings.

Investigations have revealed that the VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) calls made by the 26/11 terrorists to their handlers have been traced to a serving colonel of the Pakistani army.

However, the Pakistan army downplayed its link to the Mumbai terror carnage and said that the chargesheet filed on Wednesday is very vague on the link.

Speaking to TIMES NOW, Brigadier Azmat Ali, Pak army spokesperson said, "Chargesheet does not accurately identify armyman allegedly linked to 26/11. There are many Colonel Sadatullahs in the Pakistan army. We are trying to find out if this is true or it is all a media speculation."

Though the chargesheet filed does not spell out the Pakistan army link explicitly, it does name the officer as Colonel R Sadatullah from the SCO.

The SCO, army sources say, stands for Special Communications Organization, a telecommunications agency of the Pakistani government which is run by officers from the army's signals corps.

Another name mentioned in the chargesheet is that of 'Major General sahab' whose name crops up repeatedly in the taped conversation between the terrorists and their handlers.

Standardized Charger To Power Them

The aim is to make a standard charging solution for mobile phones

If the GSM Association has its way, by 2012 most phones will use a standardized charger to power them. The association has announced a plan to standardize chargers across a spectrum of manufacturers.

Major manufacturers, including Nokia, Samsung, LG, Sony Ericsson and Motorola have joined the Universal Charging Solution (UCS) consortium. The list also includes major telecom companies like Vodafone, Orange, Qualcomm and Telefonica.
The aim is to make a standard charging solution implemented, probably using micro USB chargers. While some phones already have this feature, other manufacturers too are likely to join in, so that the standardization is achieved.

Apart from various benefits, this move could bring a reduction in the number of chargers produced, as old chargers will not become useless.
The move will also bring a considerable reduction in emission of greenhouse gases during manufacturing and transportation of replacement chargers.
The chargers, while remaining standard, will also be customized for "local" versions as some countries use proprietary plug points like the three pin plug used in the UK.

Verb Object Subject

In linguistic typology, Verb Object Subject or Verb Object Agent - commonly used in its abbreviated form VOS or VOA - represents the language-classification type of which the following sequence of the three constituents, in neutral expressions, is an example: "Eat oranges Sam."

Examples include Austronesian languages such as Malagasy, Old Javanese, Toba Batak and Fijian, as well as Mayan languages like Tzotzil, which are ergative languages. During the 1970s, arguments were put forward by Paul Schachter and others that many Austronesian languages (e.g. Tagalog) lack a well defined notion of subject. While this view has not been entirely rejected, work by Nikolaus Himmelmann and others suggests that the objections of the 1970s were overstated, and there are, in fact, subjects in these languages.

Professional modular digital camera systems

This category includes very high end professional equipment that can be assembled from modular components (winders, grips, lenses, etc.) to suit particular purposes. Common brands include Hasselblad and Mamiya. They were developed for medium or large format film sizes, as these captured greater detail and could be enlarged more than 35 mm.

Typically these cameras are used in studios for commercial production; being bulky and awkward to carry they are rarely used in action or nature photography. They can often be converted into either film or digital use by changing out the back part of the unit, hence the use of terms such as a "digital back" or "film back". These cameras are very expensive (up to $40,000) and are typically not used by consumers.

Abiotic stress In Plants

A plant’s first line of defense against abiotic stress is in its roots. If the soil holding the plant is healthy and biologically diverse, the plant will have a higher chance of surviving stressful conditions.Facilitation, or the positive interactions between different species of plants, is an intricate web of association in a natural environment. It is how plants work together. In areas of high stress, the level of facilitation is especially high as well. This could possibly be because the plants need a stronger network to survive in a harsher environment, so their interactions between species, such as cross-pollination or mutualistic actions, become more common to cope with the severity of their habitat. This facilitation will not go so far as to protect an entire species, however. For example, cold weather crops like rye, oats, wheat, and apples are expected to decline by about 15% in the next fifty years and strawberries will drop as much as 32% simply because of projected climate changes of a few degrees. Plants are extremely sensitive to such changes, and do not generally adapt quickly. Plants also adapt very differently from one another, even from a plant living in the same area. When a group of different plant species was prompted by a variety of different stress signals, such as drought or cold, each plant responded uniquely. Hardly any of the responses were similar, even though the plants had become accustomed to the exact same home environment.

Dromedary

The Dromedary camel (Camelus dromedarius) is a large even-toed ungulate. It is often referred to as the one-humped camel, Arabian camel, or simply as the "dromedary". Its native range is unclear, but it was probably the Arabian Peninsula. The domesticated form occurs widely in northern Africa and the Middle East; the world's only population of dromedaries exhibiting wild behaviour is an introduced feral population in Australia.

The dromedary camel is one of the better-known members of the camel family. Other members of the camel family include the llama and the alpaca in South America. The Dromedary has one hump on its back, in contrast to the Bactrian camel which has two. A good mnemonic for remembering which way around these terms apply is this: "Bactrian" begins with "B", and "Dromedary" begins with "D"; "B" on its side has two humps, while "D" on its side has only one hump.