Semua Bisnis Ada Disini

Cari Peluang Bisnis

2010-10-03T04:05:00.000-07:00

Iseng iseng buka facebook.......trus cari peluang bisnis
akhirnya dapet juga.........buat temen-temen yang mau peluang bisnis ada Beberapa Group bisnis nih di Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=96808388491&ref

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=223113395276&ref

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=300622941203&ref

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000012184930&ref

masih banyak lagi loh kawan..............
semoga bermanfaat

Bagaimana Memilih Peluang Bisnis

2010-10-03T03:58:00.000-07:00

Sahabat- sahabat tentu setiap orang menginginkan hidupnya enak.termasuk salah satunya mempunyai usaha atau bisnis yang mapan
buat temen teman yang ingin berbisnis dan sharing tentang usaha/bisnis bisa disini:

Forex Automator Pro - Advanced Trading Manual.

2010-07-11T04:22:00.000-07:00

Forex Automator Pro Provides Traders With An Advanced Trading Manual With Very Sound Methods For Profiting On The Foreign Exchange Market.
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Fap Turbo Expert Guide - Crazy Conversion = Easy Sales!

2010-07-11T04:20:00.000-07:00

Fap Turbo, All-time #1 Selling Forex Robot, Has Over 43,000 Traders Begging For The Expert Money Making Tips Of Our Top Selling Guide. Find Out How To Link To Our Custom Landing Pages For Maximum Sales --- Http://www.fapturboexpertguide.com/blog/aff/.

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Fx Child's Play System - Make 70% In Affiliate Commissions.

2010-07-11T04:19:00.000-07:00

A Step By Step Explained Forex Trading System That Is Extremely Accurate, Highly Profitable, Very Easy And Very Simple To Follow.Simply A 10 Years Old Child Could Understand, This System Truly Is A Rock-solid Product Which Keeps Customer Satisfaction High.
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Secrets Of Successful Traders.

2010-07-11T04:18:00.001-07:00

Make As Much As $120 Per Visitor -- BackEnd ($70) Converts At Whopping 42.39% - Turn $1000 Into $1.9 Million In 1.7 Yrs Trading Stocks. Extra $200 Cash Back Guarantee Has Almost Doubled The Conversion - New Tools For Affiliates Including Viral PDF.

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Ewen Chia's Fast Track Cash - 70% Commissions!

2010-07-11T04:12:00.000-07:00

'The Fastest, Easiest And Laziest Way To Massive Cash Online - With No Experience, No Website And No Product!'.

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ProForexRobot - Market Shaker!

2010-07-11T04:10:00.000-07:00

ProForexRobot.com - Watch Us SkyRocket Overnight! Unheard Of Customer Journey, Lot's Of Up & Down Sells With Hot Payouts! Come On Board & Get Unbeatable Conversion Rates Plus Insane Bonuses From Us! Start Now - ProForexRobot.com/Affiliates.html.

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PennyStockProphet.com -75% Comissions! Top Affiliate - $1,000 P/day!

2010-07-11T04:04:00.000-07:00

Brand New Website - Top Selling Stock/Investment Site On CB! Now Paying 75% Commission! That's $67 Per Sale! Completely New Website, Professionally Written. Conversions Have Doubled Since Launch! Top Affiliate Making Over $1000 Per Day!

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The Lotto Black Book.

2010-07-11T03:49:00.000-07:00

This Radical Approach To An Online Sales Letter Converts In The 3-5%... We've Never Seen Something Like This Since The Early Days Of 2004-2005 And I'm Sure You Haven't Either... We Convert More Than Our Competition And We Pay Out More... Try It!

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Fast Profit Pages

2010-07-11T03:48:00.000-07:00

A Whopping 60% Payout Converts 1 In 18 Hops (that's Big Money On The Click!). Easy Cash Sites Provides 20 Fully Built, Cash Producing Websites For Your Subscribers. Visit Our Jv Page By Clicking Here: Http://www.goldwares.com/products/fastprofit/index 2.

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Infamous Rich Janitor System Converts 70% Easy

2010-07-11T03:36:00.000-07:00

Promote This And You Will See Why RichJanitor Is The Money-making Program Of 2010. Easiest Ways To Make Cash In All Of Existence...

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Time Warner Sells $3 Billion of Debt as Weekly Issuance Volume Doubles

2010-07-09T16:40:00.000-07:00

news from : http://www.bloomberg.com/news/markets/

Time Warner Inc., owner of the Warner Bros. film studio and TBS cable-television channel, helped lead $16.2 billion of U.S. corporate bond sales this week as issuance more than doubled.

Time Warner sold $3 billion of debt in a three-part offering on July 7, the New York-based company’s biggest issue since November 2006, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Overall issuance rose from $7.69 billion last week.

Corporate bond sales jumped as a drop in jobless claims and higher-than-forecast sales at retailers bolstered investor confidence that the economy is stabilizing. The data, along with reports that European Union regulators are carrying out stress tests on 91 banks, was a “positive” for credit markets, said Anthony Valeri, a market strategist at LPL Financial.

Issuers “are taking advantage of a better tone this week,” said Valeri, who is based in San Diego. “The same-store sales kind of contradict the double-dip fears out in the marketplace. With the upcoming stress tests, the fact they’re moving forward and we got some additional clarity was a positive for credit markets.”

Investment-Grade Sales

Investment-grade issuance more than doubled to $13.8 billion this week, while high-risk, high-yield debt rose 47 percent to $2.44 billion, Bloomberg data show. High-yield debt is rated below Baa3 by Moody’s Investors Service and BBB- by Standard & Poor’s.

The extra yield investors demand to own investment-grade corporate bonds instead of U.S. Treasuries fell 4 basis points to 204 basis points, according to the Bank of America Merrill Lynch U.S. Corporate Master Index. Average yields dipped to 4.3 percent on July 6, the lowest since February 2004, the index data show, before ending at 4.35 percent, down one basis point for the week. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.

Even as they increased from last week, investment-grade corporate sales fell short of the $14.8 billion 2010 weekly average, and junk bond sales were less than the $4.5 billion mean, Bloomberg data show.

“On a net basis, there’s just not a lot of incremental supply in the names that investors want,” said Justin D’Ercole, head of investment-grade syndicate for the Americas at Barclays Capital. The new-issue calendar “will remain active, but not overwhelming.”

Forecast Cut

Bank of America Merrill Lynch cut its forecast for U.S. investment-grade debt sales in 2010 to $700 billion from $800 billion, citing growth in company cash balances, according to a report earlier this week.

In response to the recession, nonfinancial borrowers boosted cash and equivalents to $1 trillion in the first quarter of this year from $814 billion in 2008, according to Bank of America data.

Spreads on high-yield, high-risk debt narrowed for the first time in three weeks, tightening 25 basis points to 688 basis points, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch index data. The absolute yield on the debt fell 18 basis points to 9.02 percent, the data show.

Initial claims for benefits decreased by 21,000 in the week ended July 3 to 454,000, Labor Department figures showed yesterday in Washington. Economists had forecast claims would fall to 460,000, according to the median of 36 projections in a Bloomberg survey.

Retail Sales

Sales at stores open at least a year rose more than analysts projected at Nordstrom Inc., J.C. Penney Co. and Macy’s Inc., according to estimates compiled by Retail Metrics Inc. Same-store sales are a key indicator of a retailer’s growth because they exclude results from new and closed locations.

The yield on 10-year Treasuries, the market bellwether, rose above 3 percent for the first time this month yesterday and ended at 3.05 percent, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index rallied 5.4 percent for the week.

Time Warner divided its $3 billion offering evenly among five-year, 10.5-year and 30-year securities, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The five-year debt yields 140 basis points more than similar-maturity Treasuries, the 10.5-year notes yield 175 basis points more than benchmarks, and the 30- year bonds pay a 215 basis-point spread.

The company will use the proceeds to redeem as much as $1 billion of 5.5 percent notes maturing in November 2011, $2 billion of 6.875 percent debt due in May 2012, and $1 billion of 9.125 percent notes dated January 2013, according to a prospectus filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and data compiled by Bloomberg.

Net Volume

The planned repurchases show that net new issuance remains low, D’Ercole said. “Even when borrowers issue new debt, they’re taking bonds out of the market at the same time,” he said.

Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau, the German development bank, led investment-grade debt sales, issuing $5 billion of securities, Bloomberg data show.

Fidelity National Information Services Inc., the payment- processor that private-equity firms including Blackstone Group LP sought to buy, led junk sales this week, issuing $1.1 billion of senior notes, the data show. The company previously planned to sell $1.2 billion of the debt, according to a person familiar with the transaction, who declined to be identified because terms weren’t yet set.

Proceeds will be used to help repurchase stock and to repay debt used to buy Metavante Technologies Inc., a technology products provider, the company said in a July 6 statement.

Earnings Season

Speculative-grade borrowers may hold off on issuing debt as companies begin reporting second-quarter earnings next week, said Sabur Moini, who manages $1.7 billion of high-yield debt at Payden & Rygel in Los Angeles.

“Earnings season tends to create volatility,” he said. “I don’t see the calendar growing dramatically in July and August.”

The so-called earnings season typically begins with a report from Alcoa Inc., the largest U.S. aluminum maker, which is scheduled for the market close on July 12.

Gentiva Health Services Inc., the U.S. home-nursing company that is buying Odyssey HealthCare Inc., plans to sell $305 million of eight-year notes, the Atlanta-based company said in a May 24 regulatory filing, without specifying the timing of the transaction.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sapna Maheshwari in New York at sapnam@bloomberg.net

Business Travel

2009-03-02T22:17:00.000-08:00

Business Travel
Helping you find air travel, hotel accommodations travel agencies and more
Booking business travel is a process fraught with rapid change and pitfalls for the unwary. Business owners often look to the Web for convenient ways to compare options and book quickly at the best rates. But there are many categories to consider – including air travel, ground transportation, limousines and shuttles, train travel and others – so you'll want solutions geared to business in general and your business in particular.
"Some of the business travel solutions you'll find here include extended stay and corporate housing, train travel and charter buses for your business."
Need travel arrangements fast, on a budget? The Business Travel Channel can help you:
Find places to quickly book your own travel 24/7, or professional travel agencies who will do it for you. Many business owners are discovering that it's more efficient to use a travel professional. A good business travel agency can search for low fares and offer travel concierge services.
Navigate the maze of business travel choices, whether you need bus transportation, rental cars or frequent flyer program details.
Control your costs with travel expense management software, credit cards, online services and other tools you need to track your money and keep costs in line.
Bottom line: Targeted business travel resources, contacts and solutions can help you save money and get more out of your business travel dollars.

How To Prepare Your Brochure For Printing

2009-02-02T19:03:00.001-08:00

Brochure printing can be a time intensive task. You have to create your content, make a layout, imagine a design, produce the design digitally etc. By minimizing the time it takes to do the whole process you can concentrate on other aspects of your business, and also you can save costs on hiring staff especially if they are paid by the hour. Time is money as the saying goes. Because of this, we have put together the steps necessary to prepare for brochure printing below. Your experience with brochure printing services should be faster and more productive if you do these steps when going through the whole printing process.

Determine your dimensions
First you need to determine the dimensions of your color brochure. This determines the layout of your brochure design and the size and shape of the paper that it will be printed upon. There are several standard brochure printing dimensions such as the folded letter size dimension (8.5x11) or the more common brochure standard size (11x17). Always set the dimension you want on the image or publishing file of your brochure. This makes it easier for the brochure printing company since they don’t have to resize your brochure design to fit the printing process. This also avoids the hassle of having to re-edit the design to prevent pixels from appearing.

Take note of the folds
When doing your layout and design for your color brochures always take note of where the folds are located. Some people make the mistake in not minding the brochure folds. They think since the brochure will be opened anyway, then it wouldn’t matter where the folds lie. The whole design will be seen once it is open. The trouble with this line of thinking is that some important design elements might be located within the fold area itself. What if an image was caught in a fold area, wouldn’t that wrinkle up the image and make it distorted? If a face or logo got caught up in there wouldn’t that ruin it? Of course if text gets cut because of the fold, then it is downright unprofessional. So always take note of the folds. You can put some digital guide lines on their locations if your imaging software allows it. Or you can actually put in a line or design element within the fold area to mark it.

Brochure Image file settings
Next, always be sure of the brochure image file settings before sending the design of to the printer. First and foremost would be the image resolution. Resolution determines the graphic dots that are present in a digital image per inch. This is called dots per inch or DPI. The printing standard of 300dpi to prevent pixels from occurring applies here. Next, have the correct color settings in your image file. Some printers use the Red, Green and Blue setting (RGB) while others use the Cyan, Yellow, Magenta and Black combination (CMYK). Ask your brochure printing company what color mode they use so that they don’t have to convert your image to another color mode. Lastly, it is better to have the brochure file format in an image software file format rather than a direct image file. This is so that the printing company can make minor changes in your design as necessary without going back to you for the changes. A common file format that is used for digital image design is the Adobe Photoshop file (PDS).

Compensate for printing
Lastly, always allow a leeway or extra space to compensate for brochure printing. This refers to the print “bleed” where your design can go a little beyond the set dimensions. This assures that when the brochures are cut for printing no awkward white spaces or cut design elements appear.

Those should be the important steps you do to prepare for brochure printing. Once you have done with all this the whole brochure printing process should be a snap. Good Luck!

View all Colleen Davis's articles

About the Author:
For more information, you can visit this page on postcard printing

Packing tips to make your move smooth.

2009-02-02T19:00:00.000-08:00

Plan your move keeping only a few things in mind and your packing and relocation will be exciting and non-stressful altogether. Follow these simple tips and relax your nerves to have a smooth packaging before moving next time.

Moving from an old place to a new home is a daunting task. You have uncountable things tucked away in closets, wardrobes, drawer chests, extra rooms and in the back of the cupboards, items that may have been collected over many years. So the question comes - Where do you begin? It is never too early to begin packing for a move. So collect all the things that you would require while packing and get set on.

I have some packing tips to help make your packaging go more smoothly.

Collect all the packing tools at one place like cardboard packing boxes, packaging crates, packing cases, razors and scissors, packing tapes, markers, pallet stretch films, corrugated paper, bubble wrap, cardboard cartons, notepad slips etc. This will make your packing go smoothly as you will not have to wander for things required to seal and tie your boxes.

Make use of sturdy boxes while packing. Good quality cardboard packing boxes and other material like packing tapes, bubble wrap, and packing crates can all be purchased from local wholesale cardboard core manufacturer Supplier Company.

Pack items of each room separately, labeling each box appropriately with a description of its contents and which room the box belongs in. Also label boxes containing breakable items with. Keep a detailed list of what items are packed in each box to make unpacking easier.

Pack your cartons firmly, with heavier items on bottom and lighter ones on top. Place a layer of crushed paper in the bottom of the carton for cushion packaging and fill empty spaces with additional crushed paper. Load the boxes in truck by keeping in mind the size, sturdiness, and weight of your boxes.

Plan your move keeping only a few things in mind and your packing and relocation will be more exciting and non-stressful altogether.

Follow these simple tips and relax your nerves to have a smooth packaging before moving next time.

For more information visit this website http://www.holman.co.uk

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About the Author:
Holmes Mann is a leading wholesale cardboard boxes manufacturer supplier UK providing all types of cardboard boxes, Carton sealers, Case erectors, Cardboard core, Timber Packing Cases, Paper Tubes, Packaging Printed Tapes Crates and all other Packaging Machinery.

Your Booklet Content Can Persuade Your Readers To Buy

2009-02-02T18:59:00.000-08:00

Yes, selling and marketing are not only designated to brochures, flyers and postcards. Your booklet printing can also be an integral part of your marketing campaign, and can do very well in influencing your readers to buy from you.

Printing booklets is almost the same as printing your custom brochures and catalogs. They have the same amount of pages (which is many compared to a one-page flyer), and you can list as many products and services as you want. The only difference is that your booklet printing can also serve as information guide to update your readers of what’s going on with your business. Not only that, printing booklets can also be a means for you to spread valuable information that your target readers can use in their daily routine.

And just like brochures, your custom booklets should be able to attract your target readers for it to become effective. Without readers to look inside its pages, your booklet printing might as well be just another stack of paper that should be trashed immediately.

So what do you do to attract as many target readers as you can handle? You need to beef up on the content and images when printing booklets.

Informative and visually appealing.

Booklets are not made of content alone. In order for you to attract the eyes of your readers, you need to add pizzazz to your project with colors and images. However, what is appealing depends also on the person reading your color booklets. So be sure to create a marketing ad that can encompass most if not all reader preferences. One basic rule to guide you – be sure to have a clean and uncluttered look to your booklet printing. How you print your booklet is a reflection of how you operate your business and the way you deal with your clients.

Simplicity always wins over complexity.

A simple and clean design always gets positive points when it comes to attracting readers to your print ad. Even if you’re a graphic design company or an artist showcasing your talent, a complex design can only distract your audience to what is more important, which is your message.

Just remember the KISS principle – “keep it simple and sweet”. If your elements don’t have a purpose and can only clutter your overall appearance then better forget them. You need to focus on what is important. Highlighting your message is more important than having an attractive design that doesn’t mean anything.

Consistency.

Not only should you beef up on your content and add appeal through your color and images, more importantly, all of your elements should be consistent to your overall look and feel. Consistency to one theme or idea throughout your many pages should be a priority when designing your booklet printing. Everything in your print ad should have one purpose – to emphasize your message.

Relevance and fresh information.

Finally, remember that not only are you providing your readers with your product and service list, you’re also giving information that they can use in their life. What good would that information be if it’s already obsolete? Review and update your content as well as your images so you won’t appear inefficient and inept in running your business.

View all Kaitlyn Miller's articles

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For more information, you can visit this page on business card printing

Get Your Home Internet Business Started and Making a Profit

2009-02-02T18:47:00.000-08:00

A marketing plan is essential for a business home Internet marketing opportunity. To succeed in any business, whether a home business or not, you need a marketing plan that sets out your Internet marketing opportunity campaign. If your firm were a large corporation you'd put several hundred pages of marketing tasks together in one plan. As a small home business noting your organized Internet marketing opportunity plan will probably take fewer than ten pages. But it must be done, and early.

The simplest and easiest way to work with your marketing plan is to place the pages in a three ring binder and refer to it monthly.
For more details go to: www.free-ad-system.com This lets you keep track of what you should be doing in your home business Internet marketing opportunity schedule and if you're on schedule or not. Leave plenty of room for notes on your performance in regard to your written marketing plan.

A plan for taking advantage of the marketing opportunities for a home business should cover a one year period. A business home Internet marketing opportunity plan should not extend any further out because so many things can affect such a small business. If someone leaves the firm, if the market changes, or if customers leave or others come on board, the marketing plan must be altered. A few years down the home business road is the time to rewrite the plan to encompass the next two to five years.

A marketing plan for a home business Internet opportunity will take you at least two months to write, especially if you're a novice at marketing plan writing.

Everyone that has a management or executive say in any aspect of the home Internet business should have an opportunity to contribute to the marketing plan. While the tendency is to hold the information in the plan close to the vest, it won't work without asking for the guidance and input of those involved in the planning, building, marketing and growing, both Internet and otherwise, of your home business.
For can visit to: www.impacts-popup.com Feedback must come from anyone involved in your Internet home business financing, manufacturing, staffing, equipping, and managing. Of course, as in many home Internet opportunity business ventures, the sole proprietor is the only administrator and as such completes the bulk of the marketing plan with some input of paid consultants.

Your marketing plan for your home Internet business must be consistent with your firm's business plan or the opportunity for the two documents to help you succeed is lost. The business plan lays out the company vision for the next five years. The marketing plan dictates how you get to the achievement of that vision and the completion of the various goals along the way. A business plan will talk about the financing needed to start and grow the business, one of which will be the expense of advertising and marketing. The marketing plan will spell out the marketing opportunities you will take advantage of, and the cost of each, to get your home Internet business started and making a profit.

www.tube-traffic.com

www.squeeze-page-profits.com

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www.impacts-popup.com www.auto-hits-machine.com

Authority of Affiliate Marketing and Article Marketing

2009-02-02T18:46:00.000-08:00

Another big advantage is that Article Marketing can put you miles ahead of your competition, especially if you're selling resell rights products or promoting affiliate marketing links, two areas with the most direct competition online. By raising the profile, links to and search engine rankings for your affiliate pre-sell pages, squeeze pages or resell rights sales pages, you can start to see results not matched by any of your competition.

On April 23, 2008, I spent 15 minutes writing each of 3 articles - 45 minutes total. I was careful to pick topics that are tightly targeted to the sites and products I have online, so they were on resell rights, article marketing and affiliate marketing.

That's an important point about successful article marketing - the more tightly targeted your article is to your sites' target market, for more details visit to www.affiliate-manager-pro.com the better your results will be. With article marketing you're actually pre-qualifying your traffic because only those who were sufficiently interested in reading your original article will click the following link to your sites, and if the article was highly relevant then this targeted traffic arrives at your site already accepting you as an expert in the subject area and ready to see what more you have on it.

Back to our article marketing case study... After spending 45 minutes writing the three articles, I then fired my secret weapon - the real trick to doing article marketing quickly, efficiently and effectively. I logged into one of the most-professional article submission services online and uploaded my 3 articles.

A week later as I was about to start week two's article marketing activities, I logged back into the submission service to see what the situation was with the first 3 articles. How does 149 back links in Google alone sound to you?

That's 149 more places for people to run into my name and solid info from me online, 149 more links back to my sites, each capable of attracting tightly-targeted traffic to my sales pages and affiliate marketing pre-sell pages. For one hour's work, for more details visit to www.success-affiliate-marketing.com total. That's the immediate benefit to article marketing - almost instant speeding by the search engines, and a number of new profit conduits set up aimed at your payment button or affiliate links.

Assuming that was the average response rate, over the course of a year that would be about 150 articles you would write and submit, and the results would be almost 7,500 links to your sites, blogs and affiliate links - think that would help your marketing efforts? And even if you could find them, what do you think 7,500 one-way backlinks to your sites would cost?

And believe it or not, that's just the tip of the iceberg with Article Marketing. You see, to already be spidered, indexed and appearing in Google within a week of going online, those copies of my articles are all at article directories or article repositories - the sites online where webmasters, marketers, e-zine publishers, e-book authors and bloggers go to find fresh content.

Assuming even a very small proportion of those people like the articles and choose to use them, the number of sites using the articles, promoting my name and expertise, and exposing people to my links will skyrocket exponentially. So during our sample year, as more directories are spidered, as more webmasters, marketers and bloggers use my articles and are eventually spidered too, the number of links to my sites from those 150 articles could easily reach 15,000, 30,000 or even 100,000 links, each it's own tiny little salesperson for my growing online empire.

And remember too, article marketing is just one area of a professional marketing attack, a small part of the full Web 2.0 traffic-generating techniques, albeit a very powerful part. If you've been missing out on the power of article marketing, you may now have a better idea of why some marketers are doing so much better with resell rights products and affiliate marketing than you have been. Change that today - add the power of Article Marketing into YOUR Internet marketing arsenal today.

www.ppc-profit-marketer.com

www.myspace-marketing-secret.com

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www.impacts-popup.com www.auto-hits-machine.com

Mistakes To Avoid In Catalog Printing

2009-02-02T18:45:00.000-08:00

We are all of course not perfect. In terms of catalog printing some people approach this simple task and turn it into a nightmare of a time. Even some professionals can make mistakes in a print catalog over and over again without actually realizing what they've done. So its important to learn from your mistakes, and maybe even learn from the mistakes of others. If you are just about to start your own catalog printing endeavor, or maybe you are a professional that just needs a little refresher then we have a good guide for you here. Below you will find a few common mistake people make when they print catalogs. Hopefully you can learn from these mistakes and you can improve how your whole catalog printing process works.

Lack of Planning

This is one of the most common mistakes we have seen in catalog printing. Some shop owners think catalog printing is as simple as taking pictures, writing notes and then sending it off to the printers. This is wrong. This will lead them to an extended process of question and answers with the catalog printing company. Questions like the dimensions, paper quality, paper type, color combinations will take time to figure out, and the printer and the shop owner will just waste time in doing so since there was no planning stage.

The design will also suffer from this, since a catalog design should be well thought out with considerations for the catalog printing budget, the target market and of course the products being sold. If the catalog has not been planned well from the beginning you may end up with an increased cost to catalog printing, less than satisfactory sales and products that are misrepresented in the catalog. To put it simply, when you don't plan this thoroughly it will be a mess.

Wrong Concept

Another common error in catalog printing is a failed design concept. Catalogs, like brochures and posters should have a design concept that fits your market and your products. Some people make the mistake in using one design concept for different types of markets. For example, high-end luxury products should usually have a more elegant and sophisticated design. You don't use a “cartoon” concept or a “bargain sale” concept in such things. It may turn off your high end customers. On the flip side, if your “mainstream” color catalogs look too elegant and sophisticated your normal customers might think that your products are too expensive and leave the catalogs alone. Do you see the effect? So always try to match your design concept so that this doesn't happen.

Amateur design

Next, we have the catalogs that seem amateurish. This mistake is usually made by people thinking they can handle publishing or image editing software without training. Of course the new applications these days make it easy to create a design for a color catalog. However, will the end product look professional enough? Amateur looking catalogs will always look off and some people might even say it doesn't look credible. Will you pick up a catalog that seems like it was made by a twelve year old? It is usually best to hire a professional layout designer or graphic artist to do your catalogs. It lends credibility and shows your customers that you are serious about presenting the best of your products.

Sparing Quality

Lastly, some people try to cut corners and cut the quality of their print catalogs. This is a mistake. Catalogs are the extension of your shop or business. If people see that part of your business look substandard then thats how they will judge your company overall. A flimsy catalog with black and white pictures will not garner you any respect, and of course you sales won't be as good as well.

So those are the things you should watch out for when you start you catalog printing. Learn from these mistakes and you should be on the safe side when you churn out your own color catalogs.

View all Kaitlyn Miller's articles

About the Author:
For more information, you can visit this page on business card printing

Google Adsense Help On Improving Your Site Content

2009-02-02T18:44:00.000-08:00

Many people seek information on attaining decent "pr" (page rank) with Google. They usually start somewhere when they begin and usually it’s a pretty simple web page with a Google ad. If they are insistent upon reaching success with Google Adsense that page will turn into something bigger. Usually when someone wants to achieve success they do not want to cut corners. They need to be ambitious and continue to look for a niche. Premade Google Adsense pages usually come with some sort of news feed in RSS and they usually have other auto update features. I don't really like this idea for auto content. for more detail go to:www.thegoogleincome.com.Automated content is not as effective as people would like you to believe.

The reason why is because usually your own auto content feeder is set to update content that is relative to your site. Well every single webmaster that runs a site that has the same content and feeder settings are nearly duplicating your site by coincidence.
Rich fresh content is the ultimate key. I stress this repeatedly throughout all of my Google articles and let me say that it is important. Do not copy content from other websites! Now don't worry. You won't likely get sued for it. It will just keep you from standing out in the search results. And standing out is exactly what you are attempting to achieve! In the short "how to" paragraph below I will explain how to "stay fresh" on the web. I will update this article when my free ebook is finished to allow you to download more information and help on improving your site content and helping you deliver fresher content more often.
A Few Simple Steps to Achieving Fresh Content Daily For Free! First make sure you are not doing the following. I am not copying content from other websites to get fresh content daily.
This is important. Fresh content is your own content! You can NOT get fresh content when you are getting it from another online source. This is a misleading scam that many websites use to get people to subscribe via RSS or to copy and paste snippets of code to increase their pr by having their content on so many other people’s websites. I am not falling for software offers that promise fresh content daily via PHP script. These can be useful in providing stickiness but should not be used as a fresh content daily strategy that you turn on and walk away from. These tools should be used only in addition to your own daily fresh content inserts into your page source. I am not displaying more ads than content!
This one surely doesn't get enough attention! People can tell if you are straining for content when your page is more than 60% ads and 40% or less is decent alluring content. For more help visit to: www.yourgoogleincome.com.Be original and at least attempt to balance out your content so that your pages are unique and can get more people bookmarking them. Nowadays people bookmark pages in so many ways like "Dig" and "Face book" and so many others including "Stumble" and the classic browser bookmarks. These are pr building bookmarks! They work well to build your page rank and are considered Backlinks!
Begin Building Fresh Adsense Pages That Are Rich and Fresh In Content! First you need a niche topic that is really hot! Like maybe a page on celebrities for example. If you watch a lot of television you could keep up to date on this by checking out the Entertainment News channels. Sure its old news by the time it hits your page but the point is it’s written in your own words and you are going to update this daily. This will become your sole duty when online everyday. Always check the top headlines on all of the news channels that cover Entertainment so that you will be quick to jot the new facts down.

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Special Effects Guide To Print Posters

2009-02-02T18:43:00.000-08:00

Common print posters nowadays are taking advantage of the digital image phenomena. With digital images easily manipulated, a poster print can sport a variety of special effects that make them eye-catching, provocative and well “cool.” If you are still unaware of these special effects strategies in poster print or you're a professional just trying to scope out the trends then you are in the right place. Listed below are a few of the popular “special effects” people use in their poster printing designs. Who knows you might get some inspiration in making them.

Vectors and “Posterize”

“Vectored” posters or the ones using the “posterize” feature in image editing applications are one such popular special effect. This involves filtering a photographic image and turning it into straight block colors with hard lines. The effect of course is that the digital photograph becomes a drawing in some sense, but it maintains the reality of it shapes and lines. So basically it seems like an artistic and realistic drawing, but a drawing nonetheless and not a photograph. Most post-modern poster artists use this technique to provide the feeling of a chaotic or an alternative view of the photograph.

Blur Effects

Blur effects are a subtle but effective special effect for color posters. This is popular because it provides a softness to posters. For example, if your subject is a baby, or a puppy, or clouds, adding a subtle blur lends an effect of softness that compliments the features of your subject. Also, blur effects are used to represent a memory or things that happened in the past. If your color poster is about something like that, a blur special effect can convey a “blurry” memory or experience.

Sketch/Paint Effects

Next, we have sketch effects. These are the special effects filters in image editing software that turns images into hand drawn graphics. There can be many variations in this. There are the charcoal effects, paintbrush filters, pencil sketch effects and other “hand drawn” filters. Poster designers use these filters to convey a hands on quality to the poster, disguising it from being a digital image. For example, your poster might be a picture of your mother or friend. Add a paintbrush effect and your color poster becomes a color painting of them.

Textures

You can also add textures to your poster designs of a special effect. This popular special effect involves simulating a certain kind of material where your poster design will be “painted” on. For example your design can be “painted” on soft canvass, concrete, bricks and other kinds of surfaces. Artist use textures to add a certain kind of grittiness to their design make them “come out” of the poster in some may. Also, it is used in specific areas of a poster design to make a design element look like it was painted in something.

Those are just a few of the popular special effects people use for their color poster printing designs. Usually the best color posters use a combination of these factors to get the full effect of them. Try to mix and match these effects and see what you get!

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Understanding common stock and why companies issue them

2009-02-02T18:42:00.000-08:00

Common stocks are the shares of a company, which large businesses and corporate issues to raise funds. Rarely some partnerships or trusts can also offer their shares, but only in special circumstances. Initially company’s shares are held by a group of individuals but when some business is going through significant growth and it needs substantial capital, it can offer its shares to the general public and investors. Companies are said to be “going public” when they list themselves on some stock exchange.

Where to buy these common stocks:
Initial public offerings take place in primary markets. Original issuers will offer these stocks as financial claims to general public; in return of cash they receive from these investors. Sold shares are called “issued and outstanding”. Sometimes the company will purchase some of them back; these shares are kept in treasury and recorded as “issued but not outstanding”.

After the IPO (Initial Public Offering) the shares (or stocks) are traded (repeatedly sold and purchased) in secondary markets. These secondary markets are normally known as stock exchange, for example The American stock exchange or New York stock exchange. Difference between primary and secondary markets is that the original issuer is not going to get any cash from the sales of stock in secondary markets. Stock prices are quite high on the first day of initial public offering and normally big players are involved. Normally companies hire investment bankers to manage the initial offerings process. All companies are allowed to offer only a limited number of shares, which is mentioned in the articles of incorporation (known as authorized shared capital).

What kind of rights do you get with these stocks?
As stated above, common stocks are financial claims. When you purchase and hold a share, you become one of the (many) owners of that company. Stockholders are entitled to vote for the appointment of company’s directors and some other major decisions. One share means eligibility to cast one vote. Voting (through majority voting system or cumulative voting system) is needed for various decisions. Stockholders are also entitled to receive dividends when the board of directors decides to pay. Corporations can pay these dividends in cash or they can simply offer more shares to their stockholders. You can also earn by reselling these stocks for higher prices at stock exchange. At the liability side, the stockholders have “limited liability” i.e. the amount of shares they own is the most they can lose if the company gets into trouble or goes bankrupt.

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William King is the director of UAE & Dubai Real Estate & Property Portal , Karachi Real Estate & Karachi Property , Property & Real Estate Directory and UK Wholesale Suppliers, Distributors, Dropshippers & Manufacturers . He has 18 years of experience in the marketing and trading industries and has been helping retailers and startups with their product sourcing, promotion, marketing and supply chain requirements.

Advantage of Creating Video Product

2009-02-02T18:40:00.000-08:00

The spending for creating video-product has lessened significantly in the past few years. Technologies brought by the Internet such as video pod casting gives you an effective avenue to creating video product and make it sold to subscribers online worldwide through downloads- For more help visit to: www.info- product-profit-revealed.com. without spending on other media like CDs or DVDs. The Internet made these things possible. By just having simple tools, Internet connection, you are able to broadcast your video-product worldwide.

The significant advantage of creating video product nowadays is that you need not a big capital or investment capital to get it started. For more help visit to: www.instant-cd-products.com. Creating a video product, of high quality, is possible and you can bring this to consumer worldwide. If you have Bluetooth video phone, you can have your video product creation started; just remember to consider important elements in creating a video so that you will succeed on your venture.

Creating video-product that is inspirational and instructional has always a healthy place in internet market today. It is a wrong concept that you are not able to compete with giant media corporations in the production, marketing and distribution area. Remember that video-product subscribers is growing rapidly that some big media companies can not accommodate all by themselves alone- you have a chance! Some websites that cater videos are proof to that.

Various big corporations doubt to allocate their expensive tools and resources to work and make use of small projects that need highly specialized skills and knowledge. So, niche market now plays its role. If you are able to identify a specific niche market that can be a target for your video product, surely, you will achieve tremendous success in creating video product online.

Add something of value to your customers' lives
What you need to understand is this: Your profit depends on producing valuable information-not on the overall viewing experience, as is the case with feature-length films and commercial television productions. Your customers won't care about your packaging if you deliver high-quality content. In fact, delivering video content on the Internet even lets you do away with the packaging completely. This allows you to focus all your energy on creating and marketing the best product possible. Your customers will appreciate the added value in your video products that your increased focus brings.

However, to really succeed, you have to consider some essential elements in creating a video. Your gain is actually dependent on producing a worth-valued video-product. It must be something that relates to your target audience, it must be informative enough and not just by posting a video that the substance is unclear.

If your objective is to develop the best video-product ever created of gardening of cabinet-making, for example, you can compete with others in the world. Remember always, in creating video product, touch the desire of your audience. Make your video product appealing by storytelling strategy, by making them motivated or inspired to pursue their career or hobby.

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Internet Marketing: -Made a Substantial Amount of Money Digging for Gold

2009-02-02T18:39:00.000-08:00

It has long been the question that has plagued Internet marketers for many years. Do you dig for gold or sell those shovels? Well, there is no reason why you have to pick one or the other. Believe it or not, there is way that you can do both. However, if you're going to do both, there is an order in which they should come if you're going to have any credibility at all. This article is going to show you a fool proof way to dig for gold and then sell all the shovels you want...afterwards. So pay very close attention. There is going to be a quiz at the end of this article.

Digging for gold is easier than you realize. The key is staying out of the "make money online" niche. See, when you're selling make money products, you have to have some credibility that you've actually dug for gold and succeeded first. This is the mistake many marketers make. So what you have to do is some simple niche research. Find yourself a niche that doesn't require you to prove that you've made money, such as health, sports, debt relief, for more details visit to www.outsource-beginners.com and music and so on. You need to build a list for each specific niche that you are marketing. For example, it would make no sense to market dog care products to people who want to make money online. Create a small product, put up a web site and squeeze page, collect some leads and make a few sales. It's not hard, trust me.

Then, after you have made a substantial amount of money digging for gold, create an ebook on how you did it. Go over every step of the process in detail. Don't leave anything out. Show peoples the money that you made right on the sales page. Let them see that you actually earned money in another niche other than Internet marketing. This will have people convinced, for more details visit to www.popups-generator.com beyond any doubt, that you know what you're talking about and your IM product will sell like hot cakes.

If this seems like it's just too simple, it's not. This is how you build a credible IM business, if you want to actually make money selling shovels to other marketers. Now, if you just want to keep digging for gold, you can do that as well. There is no reason why you can't do both or just the one. However, you can't sell shovels successfully until you've dug for gold first.
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What Do The Courses Do for You?

2009-02-02T18:36:00.000-08:00

They must be doing something right because a small number of Ebay power sellers made over 11 million dollars last year. Yes, that is right, over 11 million dollars. Sky High Auctions has come up with a plan for creating power sellers that can make money if they go by the plan designed for them. Well, who is group that is so good at teaching others how to make money, you ask?

Sky High Auctions is a group of Ebay power sellers with experience in earning money from online auctions on Ebay for help visit www.auction-extreme-package.com. It is credited with the following steps that will make you a power seller too. Therefore, if you are tired of working your life away for someone else, you should take a close look at the courses that have been developed for teaching how to get the maximum income from your Ebay selling.

1) They teach you the precise products that you should sell for the maximum return.

2) You will learn how to source these products.

3) A course includes how to get your customers to purchase your products over and over.

4) A tutorial on setting up your own website from which to sell your products will be another benefit of these courses.

5) You need an auto responder to save you time and money by answering your emails as they come in. so that your customers will not think that you are a stranger.

The power sellers that make up the Sky High Auctions group come from all over the world. They each have an area in which they are experts. Fifteen members have created the course that shows an ordinary person how to create an income they can be proud of.

Here is a fact that should give you plenty to think about. The fifteen power sellers who started the Skyline Auctions group have made $4 million this year. This is only the second year they have been operating and selling on Ebay.

Since there are over 800,000 sellers on Ebay making either a full time living or part time, this fact is not surprising for help visit www.auction-words.com. Now this company has realized that some people are not going to believe that it is possible to make the amount of money that is being claimed. That is why if you go check them out, read the testimonials, and still you do not believe, they are offering free lesson, 6 of them to show you some of the ways you can make money on Ebay.

This website explains the importance of some items that you must have to be successful at selling your items on Ebay. Like for instance an auto responder as mentioned above. The necessity of having an auto responder is that it can do in a few minutes what it may take you hours to do. Plus, you do not need to be tied up for hours responding to email if you are going to be concentrating on making money.

The Skyline Auctions group promises that you will be satisfied with your purchase and if not they do have a refund policy of 100 money back if you are not. At the present time, this program is selling for $267, which is down from the regular price of $497.

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Software Driven Analytical Technology

2009-02-02T18:28:00.000-08:00

This is a plane language outline of a suggested Intellectual Property (IP) protection strategy that is appropriate for a typical financial services company's R&D position, one which provides flexibility to react to future challenges to such a company's proprietary IP assets.

In highly competitive fields, especially those driven by for more detail go to: www.software-index-website.com. "bleeding-edge" technologies, such as the Investment & Financial Analysis field, the question of how to appropriately protect an especially advantageous advancement is a difficult question to answer. This difficulty is compounded if the advancement is software driven or relates to other art fields where the post-release product life-cycle can be relatively short, i.e., five to ten years.

Generally, in the US, where software based technologies are routinely protected under existing intellectual property (IP) laws, there are two sets of laws under which a protective strategy can be formulated: Trade Secret law and Patent law [1]. Although these two bodies of law are separate and distinct, they are not mutually exclusive for the purpose of developing and implementing an IP protection strategy in a situation where the protection of a highly sensitive proprietary technology is desired for an indefinite but relatively short period of years - as compared to the term (20 years) of an issued US patent.

The purpose of this Memorandum is to suggest an IP protection strategy for a Highly Sensitive, Short Life-Cycle, Software Driven Analytical Technology, which strategy concurrently combines aspects of both Trade Secret law and Patent law: (1) to preferentially keep the technology secret, but (2) which has the flexibility to respond to the technology being copied by others in the market place upon the loss of secrecy (due to theft, reverse engineering or independent discovery). For more detail go to: www.viral-toolbar-builder.com. Alternatively, if the company should envision a substantial licensing opportunity, it can be very beneficial to have a patent application available on the technology to facilitate exploiting the opportunity.

Establish and implement a Trade Secret policy within the company and in other business-to-business interactions. As we understand it, a Trade Secret policy is to be addressed by another firm. Nevertheless, we include a few notes on the protection of Trade Secrets applicable to the US. The specifics of this policy should include: development & use of standard non-disclosure/confidentiality agreements for inclusion in an employment manual, and for presentation to vendors; modularizing software development; etc.).

Establish and implement a Patent protection policy. It is this aspect of the IP protection strategy that we are to address here in at least a general way. Our suggestion is that the company's IP protection strategy should include implementation of the following steps:

The above suggested Patent protection strategy is intended to assure that as long as there is a US patent application pending on the technology, if the trade secret aspect of protection is breached or otherwise overcome, then the company will still have the possibility of protecting the technology, after it has become known to the public. Further, another purpose is to better ensure that the company can continue to practice the invention, despite being informed of third party patent rights (cross-licensing or foreclosing competitor's entry into the market).

The above patent protection strategy can be thought of as a variation on the old "submarine" patent strategy [2]. A "submarine patent" is an old, informal term used to describe a patent application that is kept secret for a long period of time, and is not published before it is granted - a relatively long time after the initial application was filed. The term is used as an analogy to a submarine, the presence of which is unknown to the public so long as it stays under water (i.e., remains unpublished). Once the technology becomes generally used in the field, the hidden application is then allowed to issue into a "submarine patent" and to "torpedo" the competition, catching them off guard. Abusive aspects of this practice were previously possible under the US patent law, but were largely eliminated when the US signed the GATT/TRIPS agreement (administered by the WTO) which limited patent terms to 20 years measured from the original filing or priority date.

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Portable Software Relates To Applications Capable Of Operating

2009-02-02T18:27:00.000-08:00

The term Portable Software relates to applications capable of operating on something other than a standard computer and includes a device such as the U3 platform. In fact any storage device that can be plugged into a USB port on a computer. The only restriction with portable software is that it can only operate on a computer with the same operating system, different to software portability that is capable of running on various operating platforms courtesy of minor alterations. However the beauty of portable software is that it can be run on any computer with the same operating system even if the application is not installed on the computer. In addition after you unplug your device with the portable software on board no one will know that the application you used was any different to the applications on the computer because no trace of it is ever left behind, for more details visit to www.text2speech-converter.com and that includes any of the documentation that you were working on. Portable software has been designed to make life simpler and does an excellent job.

The reason portable software has arrived is an indication of the increasing consumer demand for mobile storage facilities that can be easily carried on the person. Compactness with ability is the goal currently being pursued by both hardware manufacturers and software developers who together work on a single deployment platform that soundly replaces the 3.5 floppy disk. It is worthy of note that after decades of practice for a 3.5 floppy drive to be included on every PC sold, the practice has finally begun to die out as major manufacturers no longer supply their newest machines with a 3.5 floppy drive, for more details visit to www.quick-selling-software.com while ensuring a host of USB ports are available instead.

The types of storage facilities being described are those that can be linked to your key ring. Thinking physically small in relation to device size but big in relation to applications is about to play a major role in all future storage device designs. In addition with demand for new technologies higher now than ever before manufacturers will be pushing the technological boundaries hard in order to provide enormously useful but physically small devices to a global market that can barely wait to receive them.

The popular USB flash drives make captive, manufacturers who want and need to be competitive. With prices of USB drives falling the market for them is growing making it obvious that portable software will have a niche in all future developments. Interestingly, and something not likely to last for much longer because it simply doesn't make economic sense for it to do so, is the fact that there are still some brand application manufacturers that do not yet provide portable software applications.

Well known applications currently available as portable software include freeware such as Open Office suite, yes that's right the entire suite of applications; Byword (portable word processor); Fixit PDF Reader a worthy competitor to the Adobe Reader; Essentialism (Information Management i.e. Calendar, contacts list and more); Notepad2 a first-class lightweight notepad that's an improvement over Windows Notepad; Firebox Portable 2.0 Beta 2 - the portable edition of Mesilla Firebox in its latest incarnation. Application manufacturers are racing to fill the shelves with portable software examples of their products making it possible to find a specific application for the majority of categories.

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Membership Site: -Enjoying Numerous Benefits by Purchasing a Travel Club Membership

2009-02-02T18:26:00.001-08:00

Have you ever considered a vacation club membership? If you or your family members love to travel and do so even just once a year, you very well could be saving money and enjoying numerous benefits by purchasing a travel club membership. Not every vacation club is the same, however. Do your research before making such a purchase as many are lifetime investments. The following questions should help you make your decision about which vacation club may be right for you.

Question #1 - How much is the initial purchase price of the membership? Some vacation clubs have an exorbitant initial membership cost. The majority of vacation memberships will have an initial cost between $10,000-$20,000. In an article that I read recently, one family paid $37,650 for the rights to 600 points per year with Disney Vacation Club. Because most of these have limited weeks as well as limited resorts, for more details visit to www.starting-membership-site.com the value of such a membership seems unlikely to be reclaimed. There are several luxury vacation clubs, however, that has significantly lower membership costs and provide equal to superior quality.

Question #2 - Are there additional fees associated with the purchase? Definitely avoid vacation clubs that charge yearly "maintenance fees." Shell Vacation Club, for example has a yearly maintenance fee over $500. If you're looking to transfer to a different resort, it will cost you $275. Maintenance fees with other vacation memberships can be as high as $1,000 per year.

Question #3 - How many weeks per year can this membership is used? Many clubs limit members to a certain number of weeks per year. Many, in fact, mandate what week you can travel. Booking additional weeks with most clubs will cost you several hundred dollars. Look for clubs, however, that allow unlimited weeks without incurring additional costs.

Question #4 - Does the membership have the potential to produce income? This may not interest everyone, but there are some lucrative vacation club memberships that pay up to $2,000 commissions per referral. Don't overlook this opportunity as many have made sizeable incomes referring the same vacation club membership they purchased.

Question #5 - How many destinations does this vacation club have access to? Steer clear of clubs that are limited in the number of destination options. If you travel primarily in the United States, for more details visit to www.secure-member-area.com be sure to do your homework to make sure that there are numerous resorts to choose from domestically. One reputable membership option has over 5,400 locations worldwide with many locations in the US within driving distance.

Question #6 - Am I bound to a specific location or can I travel to any destination I choose? This is critical. Never purchase a membership that attaches you to one location. Gather your facts to know whether you will be required to pay a resort transfer fee. Most vacationers choose varied destinations every year and thus a vacation club membership that allows any location you choose would be most desired.

Question #7 - Are there guest passes? If so, do I have to purchase additional weeks if family and friends want to benefit from my membership? You definitely want to look for a membership that allows guest passes without additional charges or fees. For those memberships that offer an income opportunity for referrals, this can also is an incredible chance for your friends or family to preview the product to possibly purchase later.

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The growth of Internet or online advertising

2009-02-02T18:24:00.000-08:00

Advertising is the only way to become aware about the products or services or brands presence in the current market. One need to advertise their products and services worldwide in terms of internet advertising, mobile advertising, radio advertising, print advertising, airport advertising, television advertising and outdoor advertising to become popular in the challenger market. Initially internet advertising is not so popular because of its long and tedious process for finding any information and also we were not sure about the information whether the information we are getting is accurate or not. Currently with the help of advertising in terms of internet advertising, mobile advertising, radio advertising, print advertising, television advertising, we can access the right path to the internet and get the relevant information.

With the boom in worldwide advertising in terms of internet advertising, mobile advertising, radio advertising, print advertising, television advertising and airport advertising; about 85% of the internet traffic today is generated from search engines, as searches are performed frequently with the help of search engines. The cost per lead of internet advertising is lowest among all available marketing channels. Nowadays search for products and services is performed on the web. With the increased awareness of web users of internet, more and more online portals are being built to drive sales through internet advertising. Gone are the days when traditional method of advertising was the only way to create awareness of a company's products or services. Companies allocate huge amount of budget for internet advertising as well as other advertising strategies like television advertising, outdoor advertising, mobile advertising, airport advertising, and print advertising. The added advantage of internet advertising is not only it helps in creating brand awareness and helps in offering information about different products and services but at the same time it is a very important medium of generating sales. We all approach for easy and convenient ways of getting work done due to a busy life style. This has lead to huge amount of sales resulting directly through internet because it can be accessed any time any where, only we need to have the accessing device with the internet connectivity. Apart from a recent research conducted; about Billions of offline sales was result of online searches made through internet advertising.
Different Mediums of Internet Advertising –
1. Search Engine Optimization also known as Organic or Natural Search Results
2. Advertisement on popular portals also known as Banner Advertising
3. Pay Per Click Advertisements also known as Paid Advertising
4. E-mail Marketing
5. Affiliate Marketing
6. Comparison Shopping
7. Optimization of social media
8. Forum Posting, Bogging, Directory Submissions, Article Submissions and Press Releases.
9. Viral Marketing
With people getting more and more driven to internet, it is very important for companies now to focus on generating traffic to their business through internet as well as creating ways to generate sales through online mediums. So start focusing on internet advertising now!

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How To Make Them Stop And Read Your Ads

2009-02-02T18:23:00.000-08:00

Postcard printing is one of the best ways to get your message to your audience instantly. With just one page, it’s easy for your target clients to read it in one glance. Everything in your postcard print is in plain sight that your readers would know right away what you have to offer.

But it’s more than just getting your message up front. Your postcard printing needs to make your target readers want to stop and read your ad. And more than that, your postcard print should be able to make them respond and do what you want them to do, which is to buy from you.

There are three ways to make your readers sit up and take attention:

1- Significance.

It’s all about what you have to offer, and to whom. This means that your message should have value to the person reading your ad. Is your message right to your target clients? Would you offer meat products to vegetarians? Or would you sell your tobacco to non-smokers? It’s the significance of your message that would make them want to take the time to get to know you more.

Even with the best design and attractive postcard print, you’ll have a very hard time convincing those who don’t have a need for your business. So why spend your time and money persuading them? You’re better off focusing on your target market and understanding what they need to improve your postcard printing.

2- Simplicity.

Designing your print postcard is like putting on make-up. Too much can only ruin an otherwise simple and pretty face. You don’t need to put on too many elements just so you could add pizzazz to your postcard. You’d definitely get a lot of attention, but not the ones you need to improve your business.

Just remember that you’re dealing with a limited space so you have to make sure that you use it wisely and strategically. Putting too many elements in one cramped area could only clutter your ad and confuse your readers to what you really want to say. Again, less clutter equals clear and obvious idea.

3- Consistency.

One basic guideline is true for all print ads; there should be consistency in the overall look and feel of your postcard printing. It doesn’t matter what elements you put in your postcard, as long as each one would point to one central idea. Emphasize what is the most important by getting your other elements to direct your readers’ attention to your message. The more focused your ad to one message, the better it is for your readers to understand what you’re trying to offer.

Before you start your postcard ad, be sure to have a clear idea of what you would want to say to your readers and what would make them want to read it. Eventually, your final goal is to make them want to know more and act on your offer.

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Easy Writing Tips For Your Ad

2009-02-02T18:19:00.000-08:00

People in general don’t want to read ads that are long, dense, and don’t explain the benefits clearly. Ads are supposed to get your target clients’ attention in a snap. Unless your ad or article clearly outweigh the time it takes to learn your benefits, then whatever you have to say would just be lost that quickly.

Often, consumers have scarcely the time to stop and read whatever it is that business owners write when printing articles in their ads. Bear in mind that target clients are already busy with other things to keep them alive. And most of the time, readers would only invest their own time to reading content that are useful to them, as well as those that are easy to read.

Time is scarce for most clients. As long as you remember that in your next marketing campaign, then you’ll have a much better chance of getting their attention and keeping it.

Here’s a few suggestion on how to increase the effectiveness of your marketing content when printing articles:

Start with the most important. –

Think of your ad as an inverted pyramid. The most important message should be at the top. Consumers don’t like reading very long and dense marketing copy. If you can give them the gist from the very first paragraph, they would be able to grasp what you would want to say even before boredom sets in.

Include lists. –

Include lists in your print ad so your readers can easily scan and understand your message, without even having to read through your article.

Be clear and concise. –

Nobody has the time to read so many words nowadays, so don’t make it hard for your clients to read your ad. If you can write your 100-word graphic design articles for example, in say, 50 words or less, the better. The point here is to respect your target client’s time and say your message quickly.

Write a good headline and title. –

Readers often decide whether they will read on or not with the headline you have. Your title can make your target clients want to invest more time to getting to know more of your message. If you can tell your reader exactly what they can expect from your printing articles, then it won’t be too hard for them to actually stop and read more of what you got.

Use shorter paragraphs. –

Shorter paragraphs make it easier for your readers to get your point. Try to have one thought in each paragraph. And if you can, use a maximum of 3 sentences to emphasize your thought.

Increase the chances of your ad getting read. Reduce your words and you’ll surely get your readers to stick around to get your point.

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For more information, you can visit this page on business card printing

Create Brochures That Do More

2009-02-02T18:17:00.000-08:00

If you’re having a hard time making your brochure printing work the way you want them to, maybe it’s time for you to do a facelift. Print brochures that are designed to do more than they’re supposed to can get you more clients to buy from you.

For your brochure printing to become effective, they need to work double time. People nowadays need information, and they need it fast. Your color brochures can be effective marketing materials if they can provide your readers what they need. Other than showcasing your many products and services, why not print brochures that carry valuable information that your target readers can use.

Let’s see how you can change your brochure printing’s purpose to make it more effective:

As a pocket folder-

Include in your brochure a pocket folder that your target readers can use to keep your other marketing materials. The more information they have on your products and services, the better it is for them to decide to buy from you later on.

As a template-

When you print brochures, make sure that you have a ready template that you can use later for your other marketing materials. You can include elements that don’t change that much so you won’t have to create another template for your other ads. Your template can include your logo and contact information. All you have to do is to work on the template and then add the information you need to design the other documents that will then be inserted in your pocket folder.

As a difference page-

Apart from the description you have of your products and services, you can also add a page or a portion where you can explain how you are different from the other companies. This will be your difference page. Showcase all the benefits of buying your products, as well as tell your readers what you can do for them as well. This is a chance for you to emphasize a different kind of brochure printing where your readers are the priority instead of your business.

As a service list-

Just like your difference page, this part of your brochure can help your readers understand not only what you have to offer, but more importantly, what you can do to help them.

As a showcase for case studies-

Case studies prove theories and assumptions. Adding case studies in the information you have in your print ad shows your conviction and belief in your business. This demonstrates that you have a wonderful product, and that you believe in providing valuable service to your target clients. It also makes it easier for your readers to see how you can help them through more concrete examples.

As a display for testimonials-

Testimonials from real live clients always get results. People in general have the penchant for imitating what others have done. This is the principle behind testimonials. If other people swear by your product’s effectiveness then it would be easier for your readers to decide to buy your product.

And as always, don’t forget to tell your story. Tell them about your business with openness and honesty, and you’ll surely enjoy a lot of clients that will be devoted to the same ideals that you offer.

View all Colleen Davis's articles

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For more information, you can visit this page on postcard printing

Google Adsense Contextual Advertising

2009-02-02T18:13:00.000-08:00

Be that as it may, let me turn to what a few website owners faced while trying to claim a pie of Google Adsense earnings. And the 10th dumbest thing NOT to do with Google Adsense is to let the other nine things stop you from running an honest site that’s designed to make the most out of this very profitable opportunity that Google offers. For more detail go to:www.youradsenseprofits.com. Implementing and maintaining Google Adsense program on a content site requires very little effort and can often bring a steady stream of additional revenue for webmasters.

- If you happen to be an affiliate who owns a website, you’ll learn how to maximize the money you get for ads placed on your site. (Product) Red for Google Adsense would be a great tool. Specifically, Google will display these Adsense ads on your site to match how they perceive the contents of your blog. The advertisers pay Google for every click on their ads and an adsense- participating webmaster gets a portion of this revenue, when the clicking is done on his/her website.

If you don’t, won’t or can’t do that, get a blog, post your code and make money through your Google Adsense account. Ad Center also allows advertisers to run their ads on specific days of the week, and even on certain times of day, a feature Google Adsense only adopted recently. Keep updating your website, keep marketing the site, and you will soon see Google Adsense Profits. Well, technically, someone could make some money off of 100 visitors a day, but what good does 100 visitors a day do you when it comes to generating money through your Google Adsense ads.

Sign up with Google Adsense or another contextual advertising company, and let them place their ads on your pages. Most of this site solely exists to generate ad revenue from Google’s Adsense program, or affiliate relationships. These get spider by Google bots, for more help visit towww.google-atm-machine.com. and so long as you leave a link back to your page, people will be able to find your page easily and your adsense revenue will go up. Google Adsense is a way for webmasters to generate income from their sites by displaying text or image advertisements from companies participating in the Google Ad Words program.

Besides placing advertiser’s ads on your Blog, you can also make money Blogging by placing Google Adsense into your Blog. The Adsense Decoded site even says that this is not something that Google has made any official statement about. Yeah, everyone is in rush and attracted to Google Adsense. Before you can understand why Google Adsense is so important to content sites,

Google has recently added a new type of Adsense format, called Ad links. Much of the complaints about Google Adsense were related to their so called "unfair" banning of many publishers for click fraud, which to them can mean anything from clicking on your own ad unit, to spamming, to almost anything that violating the program's terms of service. Note that Google Ad words enable you to get paid for advertising and Google Adsense is when you will have to pay for advertising.

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www.product-launching.com www.instant-video-suite.com

Postcard Printing Amidst The Recession: How To Minimize Cost

2009-02-02T18:09:00.000-08:00

Yes, you have heard it all over the news we are in a recessions. This affects all of us from different industries. That is why the trend all over business firms nowadays is to cut or minimize cost. Since I come from a firm that uses postcard printing for marketing we had to think of a few ways to minimize the cost in producing them. Print postcards cost a significant amount of money because of the design time involved and of course the whole printing costs using postcard paper. If you are on the same boat as we were then, you are reading the right article. Below you will see the few strategies we did to minimize the cost of postcard printing Hopefully this too will help you through these trying times and maybe even give you the opportunity for growth.

Look for a cheap graphic designer: Yourself

The first thing we cut in terms of the postcard printing budget is the graphic designer. We usually had the postcard printing company find us a designer to make our marketing postcards. Unfortunately we had to axe him (Sorry Billy). As a brilliant idea they chose a cheap alternative to the designer, myself (actually “ourselves” since it was a group effort). Hiring professional graphic designers can be a significant part of your postcard printing budget. So eliminating that cost can save you some decent dough.

Of course be sure that you or any of the team that was picked, has knowledge of what he is doing. Image editing applications these days can be easily learned so don't fret if nobody knows how to do it. Keep in mind though that before starting the design, it is better know first how the design software works or you will be wasting your time. Once you have a pretty good idea of how to design using software they you should be on the safe side in creating your own design for the postcard. Of course at no extra cost.

Make it a little smaller

There are several sizes of postcards approved by the United States Postal office. They can be as big as 8.5 x 11 inches (just like a letter size paper) or it can be as small as 6 x 4.5 inches. There are a few more sizes in between that range like 7x5, 8.5x6, 9x6 and 11x6. If you are using a certain larger sized postcard you can cut cost by switching to smaller sized postcards. Of course smaller sized postcards are cheaper to produce than bigger ones. Just be sure to adapt your design as the size or dimensions change.

Paper Quality vs. Design Quality

The quality of the postcard can be judged by its paper and its design. You can minimize your cost by sacrificing that expensive full gloss postcard paper and switching to a medium quality paper. Also if your postcard is glossy on both sides, it might be better to have just one side of it set to glossy. With your paper down to medium quality, you just need to compensate for it by doing a better design. As an example, you can use special shading and lighting effects in your postcard printing design to substitute the effect of “gloss.”

Search for the best deals in postcard printing

Lastly, try to find the best postcard printing deals when looking for printing companies. Try to make your search as extensive as possible so that you can maximize all your options. Chances are if you search good enough you'll find the best postcard printing deals for your budget. A good tip would be to look for printing companies that specialize in postcards. These may have lower rates since their equipment is already set for postcards.

Those are the strategies we did to minimize the cost of postcard printing. It saved us some significant amount of funds, and we still got the exposure and marketing opportunities that we needed. Hopefully you can apply this to your own postcard marketing schemes as well. Good Luck!

View all Kaitlyn Miller's articles

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For more information, you can visit this page on business card printing

Why Electronic Gifts Ruined My Holidays: Case In Point The Electronic Postcard

2009-02-02T17:59:00.000-08:00

Did you receive all those electronic greeting cards and postcards this past holiday season? What happened huh? I remember the days of “physical” postcard printing where I actually had something to hold on to (and probably cry with joy about). The postcard print has been replaced by this hi-tech but otherwise impersonal monstrosity that is the electronic postcard. Even my grandmother sent me one (which was actually cool but that is beside the point). Electronic postcards have ruined the holidays for me. Having family and friends all over the world, it is nice to get some actual mails or print postcards from them which I can hold and appreciate. However due to the lack of imagination or maybe even effort, giving our postcard printing designs have been replaced by online ones.

Don't get wrong however. Email greeting cards and postcards are of course still appreciated. However there is something slightly off when you send them. There is something impersonal and even commercial about it that just irks me. So if you are planning to dump color postcard printing and go for the electronic kind, I have a pointers to tell you young man/lady. They are not as good as they are supposed to be.

I just can't keep them

It is hard to keep electronic postcards. Unlike actual color postcards that can be kept in memory boxes or magnetized into the refrigerator, an electronic postcard is in the computer. There is no novelty in such a thing. I can't glance at it as I go about the house, and I can't view it with other memory keepsakes like letters and figures.

Of course one can argue that I can print those electronic postcards. If that is your argument, then why don't you just fax the darn thing? Oh yeah, that's worse but it is has the same effect. They are just hollow representations of what should be a real thing. Besides some people might have to buy themselves a good printer before even trying to print those.

Most of them are templates which are impersonal

Next, electronic postcards can be impersonal. There is nothing like seeing your friend or family member's handwriting in a greeting card or color postcard. You know that their hand actually wrote the thing. Electronic postcards have no such personal touch. For all you know, it was just sent by someone other than your friend or family. Of course the designs themselves look like they are just from postcard templates. There is hardly anything special about that.

You want to know about special postcards? Some people actually send custom postcards (that are printed). These are postcards where the image is actually a custom picture of the one who sent it to you. Now, those kinds of postcards are worth printing and receiving. A personal touch like that is very much appreciated.

I still have to do something to open it

Lastly, there is the effort in opening electronic postcards. To view them I have to boot up the PC and go online. What if my PC gets busted, or the Internet connection gets screwed? These things happen. If you sent a custom postcard printing this would not be a problem at all.

So you see? Electronic greeting cards and postcards have a lot of major disadvantages. They are novel and cute in some ways, but their impact is lackluster even disappointing at times. I guess this is a message to my family, friends and to all others out there that send electronic postcards. Try sending real postcards. They are more special and well worth the effort. As for me, I'll keep sending you postcards an maybe even a fruitcake.

View all Colleen Davis's articles

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Is Different Better In Your Business Cards?

2009-02-02T17:57:00.000-08:00

Is it better to have a different business card? Better yet, is an unusual design to your business card printing right for your business?

Maybe you’re thinking that with the fast changing times, the standard black-on-white cards are just so obsolete and should be made to retire. And that a different design would get you the attention you need to gain new clients.

Having an effective business card printing depends on how your clients see you. Your being unique and different define how you are perceived as a market mover in your industry. Most of the time, being different and unusual gets you to stand out from the rest of the competition. That’s why many marketers and gurus would tell you that different is often better.

But before you jump in and start designing your “unusual” business card, you might want to consider the advantages and disadvantages of having a non-traditional business card printing.

The Benefits Of An Unusual Design

- Being different definitely gets you noticed. Even if you have a ho-hum personality, often, a well designed card can impress the socks out of your recipients. Since it’s the first item that your client would see from you, it is better to give them a card that’s worth remembering.

- They are usually kept as souvenirs. Because it’s something new and different, unique business cards are more often kept than the standard ones, usually more for their design value than the actual information in it.

- They last much longer than the standard print business cards. Since they’re printed on durable materials, they last far longer than an ordinary one made of paper. Online business card printing sites offer a wide array of choices from plastic material, to wood and even metal stock.

- A different kind of business card is great collateral to complement a particular product or service. A print card made of wood can emphasize your antique furniture business.

- Non-traditional design also provides different purpose to your cards. For sticker cards or magnetic cards, you hand them out as a regular card but they can be used to stick on brochures, computer screen, or as magnetic decoration on the fridge.

On the other hand, the disadvantage of having an unusual design is first and foremost, it’s expensive. Of course you’re using a different kind of stock for your cards so it follows that it will cost you more to print an unusual card design than a standard one.

Second, as their shapes are different, they are commonly very hard to store. As most stocks such as metal and wood have unusual thickness, business cards made of these stocks can’t be easily tucked inside an album or a regular card holder. Hence, it’s easier to lose these cards.

Lastly, it’s difficult to write on its surface especially if it’s made of plastic or metal. Most recipients usually write additional information for them to be able to match the card to its owner. Unusual cards make it hard to do such a thing.

Whether it’s online business card printing or the more traditional way of printing your cards, to understand both sides can help you make the most suitable decision for your marketing collaterals.

View all Kaitlyn Miller's articles

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Freedom Plaestina !!!!!

2009-01-28T04:40:00.000-08:00

FREEDOM PALESTINA !!!!

Mengenang Sembilan Tahun Kesyahidan Sang Muhandis Hamas يحيى عياش Lembaran kehidupan yang mencerminkan keteguhan iman, jihad dan perjuangan. (1) من المؤمنين رجال صدقوا ما عاهدوا الله عليه ..

Xandrox as a Hair Replacement

2009-01-22T03:00:00.000-08:00

As the evolution of so many shampoos and other hair treatments, we could never forget to mention the Xandrox. It is one of the popular hair loss treatments today. It could be considered as hair replacement medication.

Hair replacement as we all know comes in many forms. It could be procedural, systems or medication. Xandrox medication is one hair replacement that can get back ones hair naturally. It is also more affordable than hair transplantation. It can also be used easily as it only requires application to the balding area.

Xandox comes in three varieties: Day Formula, Night Formula and Xandrox 12.5 percent. Its a cream that is applied on the frontal hair line. Many people choose to use this product over other hair loss treatments because of it has less side effects. Its contents are made up of minoxidil 5% or 12.5%, azelaic acid 5% and dihydrotestosterone. FDA approved the Minoxidil because it is proven to be effective in curing hair loss. Azelaic Acid contains active formulas that are potent inhibitor of 5-alpha reductase in the body. Also it reduces dihydrotestosterone in the human body. If dihydrotestosterone is less, the hair loss problem will also lessen. These two merged ingredients results to a more effective treatment than just Minoxidil alone.

But still we can’t say that there is still no side effects. The medicine can cause itching, and flaking. Azelaic acid also may cause burning and irritation of the scalp. However, there is another type of Xandrox which contains the Bethamasone Valerate Corticosteroid counteracts this bad effect. Corticosteroids may be one of the problems you will experience if using this for a long period. Thinning of the skin, skin damage, and may lead to brittle bones or diabetes another possibility. Betamethasone-free Xandrox is more recommended if itching will not occur. Betamethasone-free Xandrox and regular Xandrox is claimed to be effective as well.

Overall, you must only use this medication under the assistance and recommendation of qualified physician. At least, if there are any problems, the physician can be a ready help to reduce side effects. He may even recommend other solutions to your hair loss.

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To know the latest trend in Brooklyn bridal gowns, bridesmaid dresses, mother of the bride and all wedding accessories and jewelries, simply visit this site

Agoraphobia Treatment

2009-01-08T06:52:00.000-08:00

Whenever agoraphobia is the topic of discussion, the question what

agoraphobia treatment is best, eventually comes up? But in truth it’s very
difficult to say. It’s a little bit like asking which pop group is best? The old
saying “one mans meat is another mans poison” is true for agoraphobia treatment
in more ways than one! It’s really a matter of preference and one of weighing up
the odds.

Medication is a prime example, some people find Anti-anxiety agents, such as
Ativan helpful in controlling their symptoms, while others hate the thought of
taking any form of medication, it really is “horses for courses.”

Not everyone gets on with counselling either, spending hours reliving traumatic
life events, over and over is particularly stressful to many people and progress
is often slow if any is made at all. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is
another area of agoraphobia treatment that has its supporters and detractors,
with many people complaining about the lengthy treatment duration

and achievement of only a desensitising rather than complete removal of the
agoraphobia.

Of all the difficulties experienced by people seeking agoraphobia treatment,
perhaps the most serious is the difficulty in receiving treatment at home. There
are very few opportunities for this either privately or through the public
health system and this one hurdle often represents the biggest single challenge
faced by agoraphobia sufferers.

One company offering home visits is BeOnForm, who use effective modern methods,
far removed from traditional CBT or counseling. The fact that their therapy is
conducted at the clients home, is totally non invasive and free from any type of
medication, makes them almost unique in agoraphobia treatment.

This modern approach to agoraphobia
treatment uses a combination of
Thought Field
Therapy (TFT) and Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) to tackle the root
causes of agoraphobia in a fast efficient manner.

Whilst this doesn’t work for everyone, their success rate is in the order of 95%
a far cry from traditional medicines meager achievements. Little wonder then,
that many people believe that this modern private healthcare, delivered at home,
represents the best agoraphobia treatment option available.

http://www.beonform.com/

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Herbal Weight Gain

2009-01-08T06:50:00.000-08:00

Yin and Yang are the two most fundamental concepts in Chinese medical philosophy. In anatomy, the human body is divided into yin and yang as follows: The internal region is yin, while the external region is yang; the fire viscera are Yin, while the six bowels are Yang.

In physiology, Yin stands for storage of energy while Yang stands for human activities. In pathology, Yin and Yang are used to describe two basic patterns of drainage. When Yang wins a victory there will be fever; when yin wins a victory there will be chill.

When yang is in deficiency, it will cause chill sensation in the superficial region; when yin is in deficiency there will be internal heat. Among the treatments based on this principle are sedating the excess and toning up the deficiency.

Herbal Weight Gain Principle in Action:

Herbal Weight Gain pills are used to improve the deficiency, for example yin or yang deficiency, energy deficiency , blood deficiency , shortage of fluids etc..

Herbal supplements helps improve food digestion, increase your appetite and strengthens your body’s absorption of vital nutrients. As a result of this higher metabolic absorption of the nutrients in our bodies, herbal weight gain supplements help your body convert food into body weight much more efficiently. In short, herbal weight gain supplements assists you to gain weight faster.

Please visit http://www.ngweightgain.com.sg/herbal-weight-gain.htm for more information...

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DZRH http://dzrh.prepys.com/ Manila, Philippines
More Supplements articles

Choosing the Right Protein For Bodybuilding

2009-01-08T06:43:00.000-08:00

Protein – it is a large part of what your muscles are made of, and if you want to get the best kind of results from your bodybuilding you have to know how much protein you need, what kind of protein you need and when you need it.

There are three primary sources that bodybuilders go to for protein – one is foods rich in protein such as meat, eggs and cheese. Another popular source of protein is the protein shake – a kind of drink which generally contains whey protein (a rich kind of protein which is extracted from milk and easily absorbed into the body, especially when dissolved in liquid!). Finally, many bodybuilders choose to purchase protein supplements in powder form and mix their own protein shakes and drinks.

The amount of protein that you should consume varies depending on your goals. Many athletes take about 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight over the course of a day to build muscle, but some bodybuilders take as much as 2 grams per pound of their bodyweight in one day. Depending on your bodybuilding schedule and the amount of exertion you are undergoing, it is likely that you are going to want to take less than that.

To get the benefit, use common sense and focus on getting the majority of your protein from natural food sources, with the possible addition of whey protein sources and supplements at specific times when you want a protein boost. For example, when you have just finished a work-out at the gym and your body is shifting between the modes of breaking down materials for energy and building muscles, increasing protein uptake helps ensure that you have all of the protein ready in your body for immediate muscle growth.

A protein shake after a work out, combined with the common bodybuilding strategy of spreading out your protein uptake over the course of the day with six small meals instead of three large ones, gives your body the best access to protein and helps you get the kind of bodybuilding results that you are looking for.

Timing is as much an important part of protein consumption as it is with your exercises themselves. Protein which is consumed at a time when your body is not actively engaged in the uptake of protein for muscle is more likely to simply pass through your system without you getting the benefit. Similarly, protein taken before an exercise session instead of after may have some benefit, but it is mostly from whatever protein is left over and not yet broken down by the time that you finish your exercise and your body’s real work of muscle building begins.

By combining a good diet and a healthy level of overall activity, both weightlifting and aerobic exercise, with eating at the right time and getting the right amount of protein (as well as all other vitamins and minerals that your body needs), you can ensure that you are doing everything that you have to in order to get in better shape now.

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Knowledgeable about exercise, nutrition, supplements used for muscle building and weight loss.

The Dirty Secret Behind Female Libido Boosters

2009-01-08T06:29:00.000-08:00

If you\\\'ve ever researched the options for female libido booster products, you know that the selection is overwhelming. From health food stores, doctor\\\'s offices, and conventional pharmacies, you are bombarded with an array of supplements, creams, and tinctures. Consumers
can easily become doubtful. With so many options and theories how do you know what works? Also, what is the theory behind libido enhancers, and do they actually work?

Many female libido enhancing products are made from all natural ingredients that have stood the test of time. The main function of these products is to lower stress levels, increase well-being, and aid in circulation throughout the whole female body. Especially the genitals. By strengthening the reproductive system and enhancing the necessary hormones, these natural remedies send the signals to your body that it\\\'s time to get sexual! Stress
and depression can destroy a woman\\\'s libido, and these compounds effectively alleviate the negative feelings that rob your sex life.

All natural products pull a double punch because they enhance your sex drive without side effects. They work in harmony with the woman\\\'s body, and that means greater satisfaction and more intense orgasms. When a woman feels better and has greater sexual stimulation, her
confidence and well-being soar.

Female libido supplements are specially designed to work with a woman\\\'s hormones and body chemistry. When a woman is not experiencing the pleasure that she could be, libido enhancing supplements have the power to restore her confidence and well-being.

So, you\\\'re probably wondering how long it takes before you experience the wonderful effects of libido enhancing supplements? Pretty quickly, according to many women. Studies have shown that these supplements take effect almost immediately. Now, that\\\'s what I call instant
gratification.

One of the greatest things about natural libido enhancers for women is that there are no side effects. When your doctor prescribes medicine, you\\\'re always given a laundry list of possible problems associated with the drug. Most natural enhancers not only have no side effects, but do not mix improperly with your prescription medicines. It\\\'s still important to inform your doctor when you decide to use one of these natural medicines.

All natural supplements of superior quality are not cheap. You won\\\'t be paying exorbitant amounts of money, but you should be prepared to put down the appropriate cash for quality. Often you can get a discount when you purchase more bottles at a time. If it\\\'s your first time trying the female libido booster supplement, it\\\'s probably a good idea to start with one bottle, and then go from there if it\\\'s effective for you.

The best way to research the options is to go online and read descriptions and reviews of the most popular products. You just have to experiment to find what works for you. Every woman\\\'s body is different. If you\\\'re diligent, you will eventually find that one killer supplement that transforms your experience of sex and orgasms. It\\\'s time for you to light a real fire under your libido!

Want a better libido? Compare the top 5, expert recommended female libido enhancement products. Review them now at http://FemaleLibidoReviews.org right now to spice-up your sex-life!

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Want a better libido? Compare the top 5, expert recommended female libido enhancement products. Review them now at http://FemaleLibidoReviews.org
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The best drug which has capability to regain lost hair

2009-01-06T02:49:00.000-08:00

Propecia has revolutionized the whole world with its incredible results in respect to curb male pattern hair loss. Propecia which was propecia no prescription has, now, acquired such strength which can tackle male pattern hair loss in any stage. Online propecia is available now for your service at any time of the day or night. You are allowed to discount propecia according to your buying power with same effect to perfect your dull hair and enjoy the most style you may have seen but not enjoyed before due to male pattern hair loss.

Proscar as a cheap propecia online is much affordable with bare biological influence to help your head get hair again. Besides even if you cannot buy that cheap propecia you have the right to discount propecia according to the strength of your pocket. We do not claim much but propecia has capability to remove all your doubts and apprehensions.

Propecia is a complete remedy to satisfy all your hair-related needs.

Do not waste your time just visit online stores to discount propecia. Propecia can be discounted to suit your style. With the help of propecia you can get back to your teen age with certain hair styles.

Proscar or Generic propecia is delicately shaped to be taken easily with water. However the timing of drug should be followed more importantly. Propecia’s use as a complete prescription is quite famous with majority of the people these days. The doctors have been prescribing the drug to curb male pattern hair loss with 100% results.

Merck & Co a Brazilian pharmaceutical entity had been trying to culminate propecia into a complete remedy. However Merck generics since 90s were making several efforts but could not succeed to pass the clinical tests. In 1997 propecia happened to pass all the necessary examination and given certificate help the patients with open use.

Nowadays propecia prescription has shouldered hair on to get natural growth.
Subsequently you can buy propecia or order propecia which is conducive to your male pattern hair loss problem.

To buy propecia online you have to go through a simple process. It takes you to order propecia with any online store. We have organized facility for you to discount propecia and get served properly with original propecia prepared by Merck Genericks.

We sell propecia at considerable discount and cheap prices compared to all other stores online. You hold the very right to compare first and buy later because we have confidence in our product which will help all your primary necessities of the hair.

Buy propecia online to curb the lingering problems of your hair. The best remedy at cheap rates is available to make stand your falling hair with one product with perfect results. You have easy access to buy propecia, order propecia or discount propecia online. Various pharmacies give you an edge to the moving modern drugs which are pharmaceutically manufactured to help your hair problems. Whereas, one remedy for all the hair problems generally and male pattern hair loss particularly is Generic propecia or proscar.

When you have a chance to regain your lost hair why not acquire the blessed state of the hair. Propecia gives you that chance to improve health of your hair but if you have lost the hair you can have them back. Some advices should be followed to acquire more benefits from Propecia. Online consultancy is encourages.

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2009-01-06T02:46:00.000-08:00

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A Shake to Eliminate Acne

2009-01-06T02:43:00.000-08:00

Fruit shakes provide you a unique way to eat fruits and mixed with other ingredients and nutrients can serve as a way to help you to clear or eliminate your acne. .Blended fruits provide nutrients that are digested quicker. In liquid form, fruit will take about one to two hours to digest bring in nutrient quickly into your body.

Shakes help you detoxify your body by creating extra urine and bowel movements. When you have acne detoxifying should be number one on your list. During the period where you have acne, drink more shakes to detoxify toxic matter in your colon and else where in your body.

If you lack mineral and vitamins, shakes are a way to bring these nutrients quickly into your body. Here is a shake you can make each morning for your acne.
Strawberry Shake

Mix in a blender the following ingredients.

1 banana
1-teaspoon of lecithin granules
1-teaspoon of any type of bran, but oat bran is best
1 cup or more 50:50 rice dream: almond milk
Now add strawberries one by one with the blender on until you get the consistency you like, but start with about 10 of them
Now in a coffee grinder, grind the following and add them to the blended strawberry mix:
1-teaspoon flax seeds
1 or 2 teaspoon sunflower seeds
1-teaspoon sesame seeds
1 tablespoon of powdered vitamin C
This shake has a high concentration of fiber. Betty Kamen, Ph. D., talks about how fiber helps skin diseases,

"Treatment of any skin condition is always more effective when the intestinal tract is free of disease-producing fungi. Vegetable fiber is recommended to reduce yeast colonies between your intestinal villi - the threadlike projections covering the surface of the mucous membranes lining your small intestine…Fiber also helps to avoid yeast cells from invading your lymph tract and circulating blood. This is effective in clearing seborrheic eczema (the kind that causes excessive discharge from the sebaceous glands, forming greasy scales and cheesy plugs) and other skin conditions."

Drink your shake slowly. Do not drink it like water. The best way to drink it is to move the mixture around in your mouth so saliva is mixed with the shake ingredients. Drinking a shake too fast can lead to excess gas to form in the stomach, which can cause some discomfort.

Once your shake is made, drink it within a five minutes, since the contents start to oxidize and breakdown. This oxidation process reduces the nutritional value of this shake.

Since the shake ingredients will start to decay quickly as it has air mixed in from the blending process, fill a thermos to the top, you can use the shake for later. By adding vitamin C powder, the shake will last longer before losing it strength and power.

Use a health shake to help you get rid of acne. Also, use other methods, with a health shake, to help you eliminate acne.

To get more free tips and information on how to get rid of acne go to: Free Acne Tips

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How a Footbath Can Reduce Your Acne

2009-01-06T02:41:00.000-08:00

Using a footbath for helping you get rid of acne is a pleasant and relaxing way to deal with your acne. Now, you can do either a footbath or a hand bath. Once you prepare a container with hot water you can put your feet or hands into it and get the same results. The bottoms of your feet are one of the body areas that quickly absorb what is put in that area.

If you already have foot spa, you're in for a treat. If you don't, you can buy one for $20 or $30. Buy one that allow you to change the temperature and that has a reticulation option.

When you use a heated footbath, veins in your feet start to expand. Over a period of 15-20 minute, the warm water affects your entire vascular (blood) system and you get improved blood circulation and that helps to move the herbal nutrient in your bath throughout your body quickly.

By adding an herbal infusion into the hot water in the footbath, minerals, vitamins and other phytochemicals from the herbs enter the soles of your feet and into your blood stream quickly and easily.

During your footbath, these herbal nutrients and chemicals quickly move throughout your body and neutralize acid, kill bacteria, and improve your skin circulation.

Here is an herbal combination you can use. This herbal blend attacks external skin disorders by purifying the blood, carrying away waste, and improving the blood ability to function. Here is the herbal combination:

* Dandelion root - purifies blood and improves liver function
* Yellow dock root - purifies blood, helps liver, is anti-bacterial
* Saraparilla root - has antibiotic action, promotes waste elimination through urine
* Echinacea - increases immunity and promotes skin healing
* Licorice - protects the liver so that it can detoxify the blood better
* Kelp - provide minerals and vitamins and binds heavy metal that are bad for health
* Chaparral - is anti-microbial making effective against acne.
* Fresh Garlic - Garlic is has antibacterial properties.

Buy 1 oz of each herb and mix them in a glass jar. When not in use close the jar and keep it in a dark place or cabinet.

Here's how to do the herbal hand or footbath,

* Place 2-3 tablespoons of herbal mix into 1 ½ cups of water
* Boil the water with herbs - use only a glass, porcelain, or stainless steel container
* After water starts to boil, pull the container off the stove
* Let tea sit for 15-30 minutes. The longer the tea sits the stronger the tea and its effects
* Prepare your foot spa with water
* Strain the tea to remove leaves and roots
* Poor tea and cut garlic into the foot spa
* Place your feet or hands in the hot water for 15 - 30 minutes.

Use this footbath daily for 14-21 days in the morning or evening, for getting rid of acne. And, at the same time, enjoy a relaxing twenty minute footbath.

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How to date older women

2009-01-06T02:37:00.000-08:00

Gone are those days when people sneered at Anne Bancroft as Mrs. Robinson trying to seduce a young Dustin Hoffman in ‘The Graduate’. These days, Demi Moore doesn’t shy away from strutting with her toyboy Ashton Kutcher. Keep in mind age is just a number. Compatibility and communication, not calendar years, keep a relationship going. Her experience, if combined with your energy and intelligence, can surely lead to a mind-blowing chemistry.

Here are some tips for making your dating hour with older women a roaring success:

Elder women yearn for respect far more than the younger lot. So, pay her the respect she deserves. Don’t ever show that you are doing any mercy to her by taking her out for a date.

Never try to remind her of her actual age and don’t ever take advantage of her age. Showing embarrassment in front of her due to your age gap can make her feel awkward.

Two persons from two separate generations can surely share the same likings. Make her favorite movies and music your topic of discussion.

Use every sort of superlatives while complementing on her looks, make-up, hairstyle and sense of dressing. Try to mention the best of her features. Make her feel like a queen.

Stop from reminding her of her previous unsuccessful relationships and failed marriages. It can spoil her date. You can ask her about her about her past experiences, but you should also know when and where to draw the line. Don’t force her to speak about her ex-husband or former boyfriend. Always try to concentrate on such topics in which she is comfortable to converse.

There’s no need to feel that your lack of experience may become an obstacle in your relationship. Instead, try to sharpen those qualities of yours that have lured the older lady to go on a date with you. If she is not concerned about the age difference, then it mustn’t bother you either.

She may have come for a date to rejuvenate her love life. Make her day by presenting her a bouquet of roses. Make your sense of humor your strongest weapon. Making her laugh too often indicates you two are going ahead for a steady and healthy liaison.

If you try too hard to look and act like a matured guy, then it may turn her off, because it’s your youth and exuberance that have drawn her closer to you. Be yourself and if showing a little bit of immaturity makes her heart aflutter, then let it be. Give her some time to understand your level of maturity.

Behave like a gentleman when she introduces you in her circle of friends. They may not accept your relationship easily, so keep your cool. You are free to ‘back out’ at the last moment if your dating situation turns out to be too serious for you.

Never develop such notion that she has lost the appetite for sex. She needs as much as sexual pleasure as you do. Remember that with age, certain changes take place in a woman’s body that leads to slower rate of sexual arousal. So, you are supposed to be a bit more patient while initiating sexual foreplay and act accordingly. But, instead rushing for sex, spend precious time discussing about each other’s hobbies and passions. Keep talking about your innermost fantasies. That can help in igniting her lost passion.

Your ego may get a huge blow if you see her more successful in the professional sphere. How will you feel when your financially more affluent partner pays the bill after dinner? So, try to reach a compromise through discussion with your partner and make her understand your situation.

Dating an older woman doesn’t mean that you will leave all your work and join the party she is enjoying along with her friends. There should be enough space between your and her social lives. If you devote considerable amount of time in your own activities besides meeting her regularly, then it will surely help in earning her admiration. Your success will make her smile and she will be proud of you.

Older women, being naturally insecured, are often jealous of their younger counterparts. So, your words of reassurance are essential to calm her down. Always be caring and nurturing towards them. If you serve her food in your on hands, she will be more than happy. Be her strong support system at the time of despair.

Don’t assume that being younger, you will take an upper hand in the relationship. Don’t throw tantrums and act like a spoilt brat when things are not going your way. Never try to play with her emotions. She may not be forgiving always. If she feels, she may teach you a lesson or two. She has seen a lot more of life. So, never take her for granted.

And… after a few dates…

Ask yourself whether you are ready to become the stay-at-home-dad of her children from previous marriage. What will be your answer?

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2008-12-27T20:29:00.000-08:00

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No Smoking

2008-12-24T05:07:00.000-08:00

What's to blame for lung cancer in people who never smoked, and what that means for treatment and survival.
After feeling achy and winded for a few months in 2005, Angie Lee-Ow finally visited her doctor. Fluid filled Lee-Ow’s right chest, clouding her X-ray and hiding a 3.5-centimeter tumor.
Soon after her chest fluids were drained, Lee-Ow was diagnosed with lung cancer—adenocarcinoma. She never had a cigarette in her life.

The tumor lurking in her right lung had spread into her chest, shoulder bones, and lymph nodes. “It was like getting slammed with a Mack truck,” Lee-Ow says. “I never smoked, I had no health problems, I did all the normal screening—mammograms and Pap smears. Shocking would be an understatement.”

Lee-Ow, 56, lives in Sacramento, California, and is one of about 25,000 never-smokers (defined as having smoked fewer than 100 cigarettes in a lifetime) who are diagnosed with lung cancer every year in the United States. Estimates from the American Cancer Society state close to 214,000 people will be diagnosed with lung cancer in 2007—making never-smokers, two-thirds of whom are women, 10 to 15 percent of newly diagnosed lung cancer patients.

“It’s not like everybody who smokes gets lung cancer, and this—lung cancer in never-smokers—is the flip side of that,” says Heather Wakelee, MD, a thoracic oncologist at Stanford Comprehensive Cancer Center in California. “Why do these people get lung cancer at all?”

Actress and singer Dana Reeve, who died of lung cancer at age 44 in 2006 and never smoked, brought national attention to the issue. Now, in a series of recent journal articles and clinical trials, Dr. Wakelee and other researchers are beginning to unravel the disease, which often plays out quite differently than lung cancer in current or former smokers. Many researchers hope understanding the differences between lung cancer in smokers and never-smokers will lead to better treatments for both.

What's the Difference

In people who never smoked, lung cancer is most often a type called adenocarcinoma, a cancer that usually arises from cells on the periphery of the lung. For some types of adenocarcinoma, prognosis seems to be a bit better than in other types of lung cancer. In smokers, lung cancers are more evenly divided among adenocarcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas, which arise from thin, flat cells lining the lung’s airway. Both are non-small cell lung cancers—more common, slower to grow, and somewhat less likely to spread than small cell lung cancer.

Although many clinicians say they’re seeing more and more cases of lung cancer in never-smokers, researchers have not been able to definitively say it’s increasing. “It’s hard to get solid numbers, because most of the databases that track lung cancer didn’t actually keep good records about smoking history,” says Jill Siegfried, PhD, a lung cancer researcher and pharmacologist at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. “In the past, clinicians just assumed everybody smoked.”

Still, tantalizing evidence from a handful of studies across the globe hint the disease in never-smokers is on the rise. Even if that trend fails to hold up in further research, the current incidence of lung cancer in never-smokers is quite significant. “Clinicians need to know this,” Siegfried says. “If a never-smoker comes in with a chronic cough or other symptoms, you cannot assume that just because they never smoked, they can’t have lung cancer.”

Nancy Rackear, 52, of Pompano Beach, Florida, got regular screenings since her mother, father, and all four grandparents had various types of cancer. At 47 and at her sister’s urging, Rackear asked for a chest X-ray, although she had no symptoms of lung trouble.

Her doctor was concerned about the image, and three specialists reading a follow-up PET (positron emission tomography) scan had different interpretations: One saw a suspicious tumor, another suspected metastatic lung cancer that was headed to her brain, and a third thought there was no way she had lung cancer, just a thyroid problem. “He said, ‘There isn’t any reason for you to have lung cancer,’ ” Rackear says.

Rackear herself couldn’t accept she might have lung cancer. “I couldn’t believe that I would have to go through surgery to prove to everyone that they were wrong, but I also knew I couldn’t live with not knowing definitively.”

She did go ahead with surgery, and Rackear’s surgeon discovered a 5-centimeter tumor that was just about to perforate the lung. He removed the left upper lobe. “I was lucky,” Rackear says.

The Search for Reasons

Patients who never smoked say they have spent uncountable hours wondering what caused their lung cancer. Lee-Ow worried most about environmental factors. “But you stop asking why, because it will drive you crazy,” she says.

Molecular changes play a key role in lung cancer in never-smokers.Certain types of mutations contained only in tumor tissue (not inherited) make some patients much more responsive to life-extending medications called epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors, one of which is Tarceva® (erlotinib), a drug approved for lung cancer in November 2004. Ironically, the same EGFR mutation may make these never-smokers more likely to get lung cancer.
Midway through chemotherapy, Lee-Ow learned her cancer cells had the mutation, which she considered good news. “I learned that having the profile of being a non-smoking Asian woman might give me a better chance of responding to Tarceva,” says Lee-Ow, who was relieved to know there was a back-up plan—one she eventually needed.

“It’s potentially hormonal, too,” Siegfried says. Researchers have found estrogen receptors in lung tumors of never-smokers—more receptors in women than in men. (In breast cancer, estrogen encourages cancer cells to proliferate.)

“This could potentially drive lung cancer in women, and it might be more important if you don’t smoke,” Siegfried says. Smoking loads up the lung with so many mutation-triggering carcinogens that other pathways to lung cancer may be harder to discern. Those other pathways, which could explain lung cancer in never-smokers, may involve a very low background rate of mutation.

It was like getting slammed with a Mack truck. I never smoked, I had no health problems, I did all the normal screening. Shocking would be an understatement.
—Angie Lee-Ow

Siegfried and other scientists have also searched for a role of human papillomavirus in lung cancer. The virus is a known cause of cervical cancer in women, and a similar virus is linked to a pulmonary cancer in sheep. Siegfried says HPV has been found in one of about 300 lung tumors of never-smokers in patients of Asian ethnicity, but rarely in the tumors of white or Western patients.

Other risk factors have emerged in epidemiological studies, including long-term exposure to radon. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates radon—a radioactive gas that occurs naturally in many places—causes lung cancer that kills more than 20,000 smokers and never-smokers combined each year. However, research continues regarding the precise amount of risk and the specific number of lung cancer deaths attributable to radon.

The California Environmental Protection Agency calculates secondhand smoke, also called passive smoke, kills 3,400 annually in the United States. Dr. Wakelee says some researchers still disagree about the secondhand smoke evidence, but it could help explain why women never-smokers are more likely than their male counterparts to get lung cancer: “More men smoke, so women never-smokers may be more likely to be exposed to passive smoke,” Dr. Wakelee says.

Evidence also suggests lung cancer is triggered by certain types of air pollution—“small particles in the air” that can penetrate deep into the lungs and affect both smokers and never-smokers. Lung cancer in never-smokers has also been linked to workplaces that expose workers to asbestos and other toxic substances, such as cadmium, nickel, chromium, benzene, and formaldehyde.

Finally, genetics plays a strong role in the development of lung cancer in never-smokers, as it does for other types of cancer. National Institutes of Health researchers have identified a lung cancer susceptibility region on chromosome 6, which could eventually lead to the discovery of a gene or genes responsible for the disease.

People inherit various versions of other genes that help the body build detoxifying enzymes. Some of those varieties are known to be better than others at breaking down the carcinogens in tobacco smoke, and could also help deal with toxins in secondhand smoke or air pollution.

Treating Non-Smokers

Lee-Ow’s first-line treatment was fairly typical for patients who present with advanced, unresectable non-small cell lung cancer: carboplatin and Taxol® (paclitaxel) for three months to kill as many cancer cells as possible. Her primary tumor shrank and the fluids receded.

Soon after starting therapy, Lee-Ow lost her hair, experienced low blood counts, and lost some feeling in her hands and feet (a condition known as neuropathy). Chemotherapy was followed by Erbitux® (cetuximab) administered every week intravenously as part of a clinical trial. Erbitux—Lee-Ow nicknamed the drug “Erbi”—is an EGFR inhibitor that prevents cancer cells from proliferating.

Her cancer responded to the drug for eight months, “which is a pretty good response time, before the fluid in my right chest began to increase again.”

Lee-Ow immediately started on Tarceva, which is taken orally and generally has fewer side effects than chemotherapy. Side effects of Tarceva are similar to those of Erbitux, including a painful rash that some people cannot tolerate, even if the drug appears to be working. It can also make open wounds more susceptible to infection.

Lee-Ow’s rash went away after a few months, but she still gets deep fissures in the skin on her fingers and feet. “They’re like really deep paper cuts that don’t heal,” Lee-Ow says. “But it’s worth it.”
Since she started Tarceva in April 2006, Lee-Ow's chest fluids have nearly disappeared, the primary tumor is stable, and it appeared nearly silent in recent PET scans that indicate tumor activity levels.

Rackear’s lung cancer was caught early, had not spread and was localized enough to be surgically removed. Under normal circumstances, Rackear says she would have followed up with an oncologist, and might have been given chemotherapy. However, she returned home after surgery to a letter saying her employer was going out of business, and her health insurance would be terminated.

“So I never made that appointment with an oncologist,” Rackear says. Three months post-op, with new insurance papers in hand, she consulted with a local thoracic oncologist. He discussed her case with well-known Indiana University oncologist Lawrence Einhorn, MD. Given that Rackear was a never-smoker with no metastases, and with successful surgery three months ago, Dr. Einhorn’s recommendation: “No chemo. Just monitor it,” Rackear says. “I was given a new life.”

Patients who have never smoked tend to have slightly better survival rates than smokers or former smokers, says Adi Gazdar, MD, a molecular oncologist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. “It could be because they have healthier lungs or because they’re healthier in general, and it could be because smoking activates a different pathway” leading to lung cancer, Dr. Gazdar says.

He’s impressed with the success of Tarceva and related drugs, including Iressa® (gefitinib), which are far more effective in never-smokers than in smokers. Former and current smokers in a phase III clinical trial did no better on Iressa than on placebo, but never-smokers had a reduced risk of death. A recent study of Tarceva reported the response rate at close to 25 percent for never-smokers, and less than 4 percent for smokers and former smokers, probably reflecting more cases of tumors containing the EGFR mutation among never-smokers, rendering these tumors more sensitive to drugs like Tarceva.

Other therapies are in the pipeline for never-smoking lung cancer patients, including Sutent® (sunitinib), an oral drug already approved for advanced kidney cancer and gastrointestinal stromal tumors. Sutent blocks the activity of multiple tyrosine kinases that are involved in cancer growth. “[Other drugs] target EGFR kinases specifically. Sutent is also a kinase inhibitor, but it is more broad-reacting, which may be good or may not,” Dr. Gazdar says. “It could have unpredictable effects.” Another kinase inhibitor approved for kidney cancer, Nexavar® (sorafenib), is undergoing testing for all lung cancers.

As research into the intricacies of treating never-smokers continues to reveal new insight, Lee-Ow feels fortunate. “The five-year survival rate for lung cancer (all stages) has not changed significantly in the past 30 years, but that doesn’t include people like me who have responded to these new therapies,” she says. “I intend to be among the long-termers.”

Japan History Meiji Period (1868 - 1912)

2008-12-24T04:46:00.000-08:00

In 1867/68, the Tokugawa era found an end in the Meiji Restoration. The emperor Meiji was moved from Kyoto to Tokyo which became the new capital; his imperial power was restored. The actual political power was transferred from the Tokugawa Bakufu into the hands of a small group of nobles and former samurai.

Like other subjugated Asian nations, the Japanese were forced to sign unequal treaties with Western powers. These treaties granted the Westerners one-sided economical and legal advantages in Japan. In order to regain independence from the Europeans and Americans and establish herself as a respected nation in the world, Meiji Japan was determined to close the gap to the Western powers economically and militarily. Drastic reforms were carried out in practically all areas.

The new government aimed to make Japan a democratic state with equality among all its people. The boundaries between the social classes of Tokugawa Japan were gradually broken down. Consequently, the samurai were the big losers of those social reforms since they lost all their privileges. The reforms also included the establishment of human rights such as religious freedom in 1873.

In order to stabilize the new government, the former feudal lords (daimyo) had to return all their lands to the emperor. This was achieved already in 1870 and followed by the restructuring of the country in prefectures.

The education system was reformed after the French and later after the German system. Among those reforms was the introduction of compulsory education.

After about one to two decades of intensive westernization, a revival of conservative and nationalistic feelings took place: principles of Confucianism and Shinto including the worship of the emperor were increasingly emphasized and taught at educational institutions.

Catching up on the military sector was, of course, a high priority for Japan in an era of European and American imperialism. Universal conscription was introduced, and a new army modelled after the Prussian force, and a navy after the British one were established.

In order to transform the agrarian economy of Tokugawa Japan into a developed industrial one, many Japanese scholars were sent abroad to study Western science and languages, while foreign experts taught in Japan. The transportation and communication networks were improved by means of large governmental investments. The government also directly supported the prospering of businesses and industries, especially the large and powerful family businesses called zaibatsu.

The large expenditures led to a financial crisis in the middle of the 1880's which was followed by a reform of the currency system and the establishment of the Bank of Japan. The textile industry grew fastest and remained the largest Japanese industry until WW2. Work conditions in the early factories were very bad, but developing socialist and liberal movements were soon suppressed by the ruling clique.

On the political sector, Japan received its first European style constitution in 1889. A parliament, the Diet was established while the emperor kept sovereignty: he stood at the top of the army, navy, executive and legislative power. The ruling clique, however, kept on holding the actual power, and the able and intelligent emperor Meiji agreed with most of their actions. Political parties did not yet gain real power due to the lack of unity among their members.

Conflicts of interests in Korea between China and Japan led to the Sino-Japanese War in 1894-95. Japan defeated China, received Taiwan, but was forced by Russia, France and Germany to return other territories. The so called Triple Intervention caused the Japanese army and navy to intensify their rearmament.

New conflicts of interests in Korea and Manchuria, this time between Russia and Japan, led to the Russo-Japanese War in 1904-05. The Japanese army also won this war gaining territory and finally some international respect. Japan further increased her influence on Korea and annexed her completely in 1910. In Japan, the war successes caused nationalism to increase even more, and other Asian nations also started to develop national self confidence.

In 1912 emperor Meiji died, and the era of the ruling clique of elder statesmen (genro) was about to end.

History Doraemon

2008-12-24T04:38:00.000-08:00

In December 1969, the Doraemon manga appeared simultaneously in six different children's monthly magazines. The magazines were titled by the year of children's studies, which included Yoiko (good children), Yōchien (nursery school), and Shogaku Ichinensei (first grade of primary school) to Shogaku Yonnensei (fourth grade of primary school). By 1973, the series began to appear in two more magazines, Shogaku Gonensei (fifth grade of primary school) and Shogaku Rokunensei (sixth grade of primary school). The stories featured in each of the magazines were different, meaning the author was originally creating more than six stories each month. In 1977, CoroCoro Comic was launched as a magazine of Doraemon. Original manga based on the Doraemon movies were also released in CoroCoro Comic. The stories which are preserved under the Tentōmushi brand are the stories found in these magazines.

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Since the debut of Doraemon in 1969, the stories have been selectively collected into forty-five books published from 1974 to 1996, which had a circulation of over 80 million in 1992. In addition, Doraemon has appeared in a variety of manga series by Shōgakukan. In 2005, Shōgakukan published a series of five more manga volumes under the title Doraemon+ (Doraemon Plus), which were not found in the forty-five Tentōmushi pipi volumes. Many other series have since been produced, some not from official supplies.

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2008-12-20T08:34:00.000-08:00

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2008-12-20T08:31:00.000-08:00

Here's a page you'll get when you click on the Layout --> Page Elements --> Blog Posts Edit tab. You might have used a template that didn't work properly in that some of the options you checked in the boxes above didn't show up in your blog posts.

We've fixed all the newer templates so that all these options work fine. All of these templates are labeled BPE ok (Blog Posts Edit ok).

However, the old templates also work fine, except that you might find the boxes "Links to this post", "Show Quick Editing", and "Show Email Post Links" don't show up in the blog posts. No big deal actually, and it doesn't really affect much of your blogging anyway. And the "Links to this post" show up on the post-page below the Comment section anyway, so you won't lose out on that.

If you're using older templates where the Blog Posts Edit Pencil button might not be working. If you want it turned on, read this instruction.

And if your 'Links to this Post' link, or the Backlink, is not working, read this instruction.

Colors and fonts are easy to customize

2008-12-20T08:27:00.000-08:00

Here's what it means. If you want to quickly change some colors or fonts, you'll go to the Layout --> Fonts and Colors page like the one on top. This is the easiest way to customize your own template if you don't know how to play around with the code.

But sometimes the things you can change are limited. For example, if you use the basic templates provided by Blogger, you have only about 10 - 20 items to customize. Other free templates also provided a limited number of things to change from, at most probably about 40 items.

But when using the templates provided here at Ourblogtemplates.com, you can change around 70 - 100 items, depending on the templates you use. That's way a lot more than the rest. This option is great if you got easily bored looking at the same templates, or if you want something a little bit different with your own taste.

If some of the items you want to customize don't change if you choose different colors or fonts, don't worry because those items might have been left there from a previously designed templates and are not meant for the templates you're using. The rest of the customizable items will work just fine.

If you're still not sure what I mean by all this, just try using one template designed here on a test blog that you can easily create (don't try on your main blog yet if you're not sure). You'll see how easy it is to customize the template

Expandable Posts

2008-12-20T08:22:00.000-08:00

What is it?
The "Read more..." option (aka "expandable posts") allows you to show a shorter version of a longer post, or a summarized version, in the main page of the blog. The readers can then expand the post to its longer full version in the post-page by clicking the "Read more..." button. This option is great if you have posts that are too long to be shown on the main page.

For this code, the "Read more..." link will only show up for the posts that have been selected to show the link, which is a good thing. There are other versions of the code that won't function properly: the "Read more..." link shows up even if you don't want it to show up.

To get all the templates with this Expandable Posts function, make sure the templates are labeled with Expandable posts.
How to use it?
Most of the new templates here have been added with the 'Expandable Posts' code. You pretty much don't have to do anything much. The only thing you need to do is to separate each post you publish into two parts:
The summary part that will show up both in the shorter version and the full version.
The other part that shows up only in the full version in its post-page.
To do this, you first have to click the 'Edit Html' button, and add the following code (in red) into your post editor and separate your post according to the example below. You can continue writing in the 'Compose' mode but the fullpost-separator tags won't show up.

Type your summary here

Type rest of the post here

Digital SLR Camera: Pentax K-m

2008-12-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

Pentax overview of the Pentax K-m model: "Designed primarily for beginning digital SLR photographers, this new entry-class model offers simplified, user-friendly operation, and an easy-to-maneuver compact, lightweight body. The PENTAX K-m was developed as an entry-class digital SLR camera offering simple, straightforward operation, making it possible for first-time digital SLR users and family photographers to enjoy high-quality digital SLR photography with little trouble or confusion."

User-friendly functionalities:
Compact, lightweight body for enhanced portability and maneuverability
Simplified operation system for easy camera handling
PENTAX-original Shake Reduction mechanism for sharp, blur-free images
Comprehensive Dust Removal system with prevention, removal and confirmation devices
Auto Picture mode for automatic selection of optimum shooting mode
High-quality image 10.2 effective Megapixels
High-speed continuous shooting at approx. 3.5 frames per second
High-precision 5-point AF system
Auto sensitivity control up to ISO 3200
Large, easy-to-view 2.7-inch LCD monitor
Digital filters for unique visual expressions

Pentax Detailed Description of Pentax K-m:

An Easy-to-Operate, Entry-Class Digital SLR Camera Featuring Shake Reduction, Scene-Specific Shooting Modes and an Array of User-Friendly Functions in a Compact, Lightweight Body.

HOYA CORPORATION PENTAX Imaging Systems Division is pleased to announce the launch of the PENTAX K-m digital SLR camera. Designed primarily for beginning digital SLR photographers, this new entry-class model offers simplified, user-friendly operation, and an easy-to-maneuver compact, lightweight body.

The PENTAX K-m was developed as an entry-class digital SLR camera offering simple, straightforward operation, making it possible for first-time digital SLR users and family photographers to enjoy high-quality digital SLR photography with little trouble or confusion.

It features an upgraded version of the PENTAX-original Auto Picture mode, which automatically detects the type of subject or scene, and sets the proper shooting mode for the photographer. It also features a host of advanced features and sophisticated functions — including the innovative in-body Shake Reduction mechanism — to assist the photographer. It also offers a compact, lightweight body, designed by incorporating PENTAX’s advanced downsizing technologies, accumulated over the years of digital SLR development, into different body parts. As a result, the PENTAX K-m assures simple operation and outstanding operability, even for inexperienced first-time digital SLR users.

Along with the PENTAX K-m, PENTAX will also launch two DA L-series interchangeable zoom lenses: the smc PENTAX-DA L 18-55mmF3.5-5.6AL and the smc PENTAX-DA L 50-200mmF4-5.6ED. Designed for exclusive use with PENTAX digital SLR cameras, these DA L-series lenses are designed to be more compact and lightweight than conventional counterparts, without sacrificing any of the exceptional optical performance common to all PENTAX lenses.

Main Features

1. Compact, lightweight body for enhanced portability and maneuverability:
Despite the incorporation of a large-sized image sensor (23.5mm by 15.7mm), the PENTAX K-m offers a compact, lightweight body to assure remarkable portability and maneuverability. This was made possible by the development of a compact, lightweight and high-rigidity stainless-steel chassis, the downsizing of the Shake Reduction mechanism and circuit boards, the employment of latest high-density packaging technologies assuring most efficient positioning and layout of various parts, and the repositioning of the battery compartment. The camera grip has also been redesigned to assure firm, comfortable hold of the camera body.

2. Simplified operation system for easy camera handling:
The PENTAX K-m features a newly designed control system, which positions most of buttons and levers on the camera’s grip side, making it easier for first-time digital SLR users stepping up from their compact models to operate the camera. What’s more, the functions of each button or lever are instantly displayed on the camera’s LCD monitor with a single press of the help button to facilitate camera operation — especially for those who are unfamiliar with digital SLR cameras.

3. PENTAX-original Shake Reduction mechanism for sharp, blur-free images:
The PENTAX K-m comes equipped with the PENTAX-developed SR (Shake Reduction) mechanism, which effectively reduces camera shake for sharp, blur-free images even under demanding shooting conditions — such as when using a telephoto lens, shooting in the dark or at night without supplementary flash illumination, or using extended exposures for sunset scenes. This innovative SR mechanism shifts the position of the image sensor vertically and horizontally at high speed using magnetic force, while adjusting the shifting speed in proportion to the amount of camera shake detected by a built-in sensor. It offers an outstanding compensation effect — up to the equivalent of approximately four shutter steps. As a result, it does not require special anti-shake lenses, and can be used with almost all existing PENTAX interchangeable lenses.

4. Comprehensive Dust Removal system with prevention, removal and confirmation devices:
The PENTAX K-m features the user-friendly DR (Dust Removal) system to prevent dust from appearing on captured images. Applied to the CCD image sensor surface (or low-pass filter) through the vapor deposition process of a fluorine compound, the PENTAX-original SP (Super Protect) coating effectively removes dust and stains from the surface. In the next step, dust that still remains on the surface will be shaken off when the SR system shifts the image sensor at high speed. Finally, the dust that is shaken off the image sensor will fall onto an adhesive sheet positioned at the bottom of the SR unit, eliminating any possibility of it returning to the image sensor surface. This DR system even offers a Dust Alert function, which allows the user to confirm the dust-adhesion status of the CCD in advance.

5. Auto Picture mode for automatic selection of optimum shooting mode:
The PENTAX-developed Auto Picture mode is programmed to automatically select the most appropriate shooting mode — from such choices as Portrait, Landscape and Macro — for a given subject. With the PENTAX K-m, this user-friendly mode is further upgraded, with automatic detection of situations requiring the Night Scene Portrait mode. Since all camera settings, including aperture, shutter speed, white balance, saturation, contrast and sharpness, are automatically adjusted by the camera for optimum results, the user can concentrate on image composition and shutter opportunity.

6. High-quality image:
The PENTAX K-m combines a large, high-performance CCD image sensor (23.5mm by 15.7mm) with the sophisticated PRIME (PENTAX Real Image Engine) as its imaging engine. With its approximately 10.2 effective megapixels, it produces beautiful, fine-detailed images with subtle gradations and delicate texture description. It also features a Custom Image function, which offers a choice of six finishing touches to help the user create intended images.

7. High-speed continuous shooting at approx. 3.5 frames per second:
The PENTAX K-m lets the user keep shooting images at the speed of approximately 3.5 frames per second (in the JPEG recording format), allowing the user to capture a sequence of a fast-moving subject with great ease.

8. High-precision 5-point AF system:
The PENTAX K-m incorporates a five-point wide-area AF system (SAFOX VIII with five cross-type sensors) to assure dependable, high-precision autofocusing. Using the five sensors positioned in a cross pattern over the image field (one in the middle, two at sides, and two at top and bottom), this system automatically and unfailingly selects the optimum sensor for a given subject. It also allows the user to fix the AF detection point at the middle sensor. Thanks to a thorough review of the AF algorithm, this AF system also offers improved autofocusing speed under poor-lighting conditions, in which conventional AF systems take longer to focus on the subject.

9. Auto sensitivity control up to ISO 3200:
The PENTAX K-m’s auto sensitivity control function automatically sets the optimum sensitivity between ISO 100 and ISO 3200, based on such data as the subject’s brightness level and the lens’ focal length. Since this function allows the user to take advantage of faster shutter speeds in poor lighting situations (such as indoor sports events and nighttime scenes), it helps the photographer to effectively reduce camera shake and subject shake and prevent blurred images.

10. Effective gradation compensation:
The PENTAX K-m’s dynamic-range expansion function allows the user to expand a dynamic range (or a range of gradation reproduction) to minimize white-washed areas in the image. On the other hand, its shadow compensation function minimizes pitch-black areas lacking details. Combined, they help the user to produce beautiful, rich-gradation images when shooting high-contrast subjects.

11. Large, easy-to-view 2.7-inch LCD monitor:
The PENTAX K-m features a large 2.7-inch color LCD monitor with approximately 230,000 dots on its back panel. This monitor’s wide-view design allows the photographer to check the on-screen image from approximately 170 degrees both vertically and horizontally. It even offers digital zooming of playback images up to 16 times for easy confirmation of the image’s focusing status and details.

12. Bright, clear viewfinder:
Thanks to a combination of a lightweight penta-mirror prism, a PENTAX-original finder optics and the acclaimed Natural-Bright-Matte focusing screen, the PENTAX K-m’s viewfinder delivers a large, bright subject image with an approximately 96-percent field of view and an approximately 0.85-times magnification.

13. Digital filters for unique visual expressions:
The PENTAX K-m’s built-in digital filters let the user effortlessly add some creative and artistic touches to recorded images — without the use of a PC. The user can select one of 14 different digital filters — including the new Toy Camera and Retro filters — to create a desired visual effect.

Game Bush

2008-12-18T23:00:00.000-08:00

Play

Download

About Valentino Rossi

2008-12-18T22:20:00.000-08:00

> VALENTINO ROSSI dilahirkan di Urbino tanggal 16 Februari 1979. Anak dari Graziano Rossi [juara tiga 250 cc World Championship tahun 1979], Valentino, mulai membalap di kejuaraan motor mini pada tahun 1992.

> Tahun 1993 memulai debutnya bersama Cagiva di kejuaraan Italiano Sport Production kelas 125 cc dan menduduki posisi ke-12 musim itu. Tahun 1994 masih bersama Cagiva ia menduduki urutan pertama di klasemen. Tahun 1995 ia pindah ke tim Sandroni-Aprilia dan memenangkan kejuaraan 125 cc Italia dan di tahun yang sama berada di urutan ketiga di kompetisi Eropa.

> Tanggal 31 Maret 1996, kesempatan itu datang juga, debut di kejuaraan dunia kelas 125 cc masih bersama Aprilia di tim Scuderia AGV, Valentino terbang ke Malaysia untuk balapan pertamanya. Dia masih berusia 17 tahun, berat 70 kg, termasuk pemain paling berat di kelasnya. Saat itu dia finish di urutan keenam. Kemudian di seri berikutnya di Spanyol dan Italia, Valentino finish di urutan keempat.

> Kemudian Valentino akhirnya berhasil naik podium di Austria, saat dia finish di urutan ketiga. Hari itu tanggal 4 Agustus 1996. Tavullia pun mengadakan pesta. Itu belum semuanya. Dua minggu kemudian dia menang di Brno dan kemudian berada di posisi kelima saat berlomba di Imola. Dengan sedikit kecewa, karena Imola hanya sepelemparan batu dari kota kelahirannya!
- Final Championship position [125 cc musim 1996] : urutan ke-9 dengan 111 angka
- Menang: 1 kali [GP Ceko]

> Pada tahun 1997, Valentino kembali mencoba merintis jalan untuk meraih gelar juaradunia di kelas 125 cc dan kali ini dia berhasil, meraih 11 kemenangan dalam satu musim: diantaranya termasuk kemenangan di Mugello dan Imola. Setiap kemenancan Valentino selalu dimeriahkan dengan aksi kreatif khas Vale: mulai dari bergaya ala Robin Hood sampai dengan membawa sebuah boneka karet yang diberikan oleh fansnya.
- Menjadi pembalap termuda kedua [18 tahun 196 hari] yang meraih gelar juara dunia 125 cc bersama Nastro Azzura Aprilia Team
- Final Championship position [125 cc musim 1997] : urutan ke-1 dengan 321 angka
- Menang : 11 kali [Malaysia, Spanyol, Italia, Perancis, Belanda, Imola, Jerman, Brasil, Inggris, Catalunya dan Indonesia]

> Tahun 1998 Vale naik ke kelas 250cc, tetap bersama tim Aprilia Nastro Azzura, dan setelah melalui awal yang buruk [banyak sekali mengalami kecelakaan saat membalap], Vale memenangkan lima seri terakhir musim itu meskipun tidak bisa meraih gelar juara dunia [sebagai catatan, musim itu setiap kali Vale berhasil finish tidak pernah di luar tiga besar, selalu naik podium].
- Final Championship position [250 cc musim 1998] : urutan ke-2 dengan 201 angka

- Menang : 5 kali [Belanda, Imola, Catalunya, Australia dan Argentina]

> Tahun 1999 Vale yang masih betah di Aprilia, memulainya dengan tidakmenggembirakan, tapi setelah dua seri, dia bangkit dan memulai serangkaian sukses sampai akhir musim dengan 9 gelar juara seri, dan membawanya menjadi juara dunia kelas 250 cc saat dia baru berusia 20 tahun.

- Menjadi pembalap termuda [20 tahun 250 hari] yang meraih gelar juara dunia 250 cc bersama Aprilia Grand Prix Racing Team

- Final Championship position: urutan ke-1 dengan 309 angka

- Menang : 9 kali [Spanyol, Italia, Catalunya, Inggris, Jerman, Ceko, Australia, Afrika Selatan dan Brasil]

> Tahun 2000, Valentino berkat pendekatan dari Michael Doohan, memutuskan pindah ke tim baru, Nastro Azzuro Honda, dan hijrah ke kelas lebih tinggi 500 cc. Sampai setengah musim Vale tampak berusaha menyesuaikan diri dengan motor barunya, dia sering terjatuh, sama seperti saat dia baru masuk ke kelas 125 cc dan 250 cc, dan kemudian bangkit di pertengahan musim. Vale mulai stabil naik podium demi podium, tapi kebangkitannya sudah terlambat, karena selisih nilai dengan Kenny Roberts terlanjur jauh.

> Sampai akhir musim Vale mengoleksi dua gelar juara [Inggris dan Brasil], 3 posisi kedua dan 5 posisi kelima dengan total poin 209, dan itu sudah cukup membuatnya menduduki urutan kedua dunia dan menyabet gelar Rookie of The Year. Dengan kata lain, Vale harus menunggu gelar juara dunianya sampai musim 2001.

> Tahun 2001, seperti diperkirakan pengamat, menjadi tahunnya Rossi. Empat seri pertama musim ini menjadi milik Valentino. Dan gp seri 14 di Phillip Island circuit Australia jadi saksi penobatan Rossi sebagai juara dunia, melengkapi koleksi gelar juara dunia menjadi tiga kali dan pembalap termuda sepanjang sejarah yang pernah meraih juara dunia di tiga kelas yang berbeda.

Mantan presiden Dilempar Sepatu?

2008-12-18T22:02:00.000-08:00

PELEMPARAN sepatu terhadap Presiden Amerika Serikat George Walker Bush saat jumpa pers dengan Perdana Menteri Irak Nuri Al Maliki beberapa hari lalu menjadi perbincangan hangat baik dari kalangan pejabat, politisi, hingga tukang ojek di warung-warung kopi.

Sebagai sebuah berita, peristiwa ini merupakan berita yang sangat seksi, langka, dan menghebohkan. Bagaimana tidak, seorang presiden dari negara adidaya bisa ditimpuk sepatu begitu saja oleh seorang wartawan lokal. Di manakah CIA, FBI, dan Secret Security Amerika yang selalu didengung-dengungkan paling hebat ketimbang di negara lainnya?

Meski begitu, beruntung Bush memiliki reflek yang cukup bagus. Sehingga sepasang sepatu yang dilempar Muntazer Al Saidi, seorang wartawan Televisi Al Bhagdadia ini tidak berhasil mengenai muka Bush.

Memang, dari peristiwa itu Bush tidak merasakan sakit apapun, karena sepatu milik Muntazer tidak mengenainya. Namun, sorotan televisi yang menangkap peristiwa ini dan menyiarkannya ke seantero dunia, merupakan 'pelemparan sepatu' yang sesungguhnya. Mungkin lain lagi ceritanya, jika peristiwa ini tidak berhasil ditangkap kamera.

Muntazer mungkin hanya mendapatkan ancaman penjara 15 tahun, namun hukuman bagi Bush lebih berat lagi. Pasalnya, dia akan mengakhiri masa jabatannya pada 20 Januari mendatang. Pelemparan sepatu tersebut merupakan hadiah paling buruk dari invasinya ke negara Saddam Husein tersebut.

Di mata Bush dan pendukungnya, Muntazer bisa disebut sebagai seorang penjahat, penghina kepala negara, dan julukan buruk lainnya. Tapi di negara-negara di mana Bush dan Amerika adalah musuhnya, maka Muntazer akan dielu-elukan sebagai pahlawan yang pemberani. Atau bahkan di Irak, popularitas Muntazer bisa saja melebihi Saddam Husein.

Peristiwa ini bisa terjadi di mana saja. Bahkan di Indonesia sekalipun. Bahkan, saking takutnya virus 'sepatu Bush' ini menjalar ke Indonesia, Wakil Presiden Jusuf Kalla dengan berkelakar meminta agar wartawan mengikat tali sepatunya.

Namun, bukan berarti kejadian hampir mirip tidak pernah terjadi di Indonesia. Masih ingat dengan peristiwa Dirut PLN Eddie Widiono yang dilempar telor busuk oleh mahasiswa.

Mantan Presiden Abdurahman Wahid atau Gus Dur juga pernah mengalami hal yang mirip. Mantan Ketua PBNU ini pernah diusir laskar Front Pembela Islam saat mengisi diskusi di Solo. Bahkan, kabarnya Gus Dur pernah ditimpuk dengan aqua karena pernyataannya, namun tidak sampai mengenainya.

Selain itu, almarhum Sukowaluyo, pendiri Partai Demokrasi Pembaruan, juga pernah diludahi pendukung Megawati di daerah, saat sedang mengkampanyekan pembaruan di PDIP, sebelum kongres di Bali.

Peristiwa demi peristiwa ini kemungkinan besar akan terus terjadi. Tidak tertutup kemungkinan di Pemilu 2009 di mana suhu politik memanas, akan ada upaya menjatuhkan citra calon presiden dan calon wakil presiden dengan cara tersebut.

Lalu bagaimanakah cara mengatasinya? Apakah setiap calon pejabat negara harus dilatih agar memiliki reflek yang baik, agar tidak kena timpuk sepatu seperti Bush. Atau pertemuan antara pejabat dengan masyarakat atau wartawan diperketat?.

Namun, menurut penulis peristiwa tersebut tidak akan terulang sepanjang pejabat negara dalam mengeluarkan kebijakannya, berpikir dengan matang dan tidak merugikan rakyat banyak, apalagi rakyat dari negara lain.

JANGAN PERNAH MENUKAR KEBAHAGIAAN DENGAN KEMEWAHAN

2008-12-14T00:55:00.000-08:00

JANGAN PERNAH MENUKAR KEBAHAGIAAN DENGAN KEMEWAHAN

Zaman dahulu kala, hiduplah seorang Raja.
Raja ini seharusnya puas dengan kehidupannya, dengan segala harta benda dan kemewahan yang ia miliki. Tapi Raja ini tidak seperti itu. Sang Raja selalu bertanya-tanya mengapa ia tidak pernah puas dengan kehidupannya. Tentu saja, ia memiliki perhatian semua orang kemana pun ia pergi, menghadiri jamuan makan malam dan pesta yang mewah, tetapi, ia tetapi merasa ada sesuatu yang kurang dan ia tidak tahu apa sebabnya.

Suatu hari, sang Raja bangun lebih pagi dari biasanya dan memutuskan untuk berjalan-jalan di sekitar istananya.
Sang Raja masuk ke dalam ruang tamunya yang luas dan berhenti ketika ia mendengarkan seseorang bernyanyi dengan riang... dan perhatiannya tertuju kepada salah satu pembantunya. .. yang bersenandung gembira dan wajahnya memancarkan sukacita serta kepuasan. Hal ini menarik perhatian sang Raja dan ia pun memanggil si hamba masuk ke dalam ruangannya.

Pria ini, si hamba, masuk ke dalam ruangan sang Raja seperti yang telah diperintahkan. Lalu sang Raja bertanya mengapa si hamba begitu riang gembira. Kemudian, si hamba menjawab, "Yang Mulia, diri saya tidaklah lebih dari seorang hamba, namun apa yang saya peroleh cukup untuk menyenangkan istri dan anak-anak saya. Kami tidak memerlukan banyak, sebuah atap di atas kepala kami dan makanan yang hangat untuk mengisi perut kami. Istri dan anak-anak saya adalah sumber inspirasi saya, mereka puas dengan apa yang bisa saya sediakan walaupun sedikit.
Saya bersukacita karena mereka bersukacita.

"Mendengar hal tersebut, sang Raja menyuruh si hamba keluar dan kemudian memanggil asisten pribadinya masuk ke dalam ruangan. Sang Raja berusaha mengkaji perasaan pribadinya dan mengkaitkan dengan kisah yang baru saja didengarnya, berharap dirinya dapat menemukan suatu alasan mengapa ia seharusnya dapat merasa puas dengan apa yang dapat diperoleh dengan sekejap tetapi tidak, sedangkan hambanya hanya memperoleh sedikit harta tetapi memiliki rasa kepuasan yang besar. Dengan penuh perhatian, sang asisten pribadi mendengarkan ucapan sang Raja dan kemudian menarik kesimpulan.

Ujarnya, "Yang Mulia, saya percaya si hamba itu belum menjadi bagian dari kelompok 99.."
"Kelompok 99? Apakah itu?" tanya sang Raja.

Kemudian, sang asisten pribadi menjawab, "Yang Mulia,untuk mengetahui apa itu Kelompok 99, Yang Mulia harus melakukan hal ini.. letakkan 99 koin emas dalam sebuah kantung dan tinggalkan kantung tersebut di depan rumah si hamba, setelah itu Yang Mulia akan mengerti apa itu Kelompok 99."

Sore harinya, sang Raja mengatur agar si hamba memperoleh kantung yang berisi 99 koin emas di depan rumahnya. Walaupun ada sedikit keraguan mucul, dan sang Raja ingin memberikan 100 koin emas, namun ia menuruti nasihat si asisten pribadi dan tetapi meletakkan 99 koin emas.

Esok harinya, ketika si hamba baru saja hendak melangkahkan kakinya keluar rumah, matanya melihat sebuah kantung. Bertanya-tanya dalam hatinya, ia membawa kantung itu masuk ke dalam dan membukanya. Ketika melihat begitu banyak koin emas di dalamnya, ia langsung berteriak girang.
Koin emas... begitu banyak! Hampir ia tidak percaya.
Kemudian ia memanggil istri dan anak-anaknya keluar memperlihatkan temuannya. Si hamba meletakkan kantung tersebut di atas meja, mengeluarkan seluruh isinya dan mulai menghitung. Hanya 99 koin emas, dan ia pun merasa aneh.
Dihitungnya kembali, terus menerus dan tetap saja, hanya 99 koin emas. Si hamba mulai bertanya-tanya, kemanakah koin yang satu lagi? Tidak mungkin seseorang hanya meninggalkan 99 koin emas. Ia pun mulai menggeledah seluruh rumahnya, mencari koin yang terakhir. Setelah ia merasa letih dan putus asa, ia memutuskan untuk bekerja lebih keras lagi untuk menggantikan 1 koin itu agar jumlahnya genap 100 koin emas.

Keesokan harinya, ia bangun dengan suasana hati yang benar-benar tidak enak, berteriak-teriak kepada istri dan anak-anaknya, tidak menyadari bahwa ia telah menghabiskan malam sebelumnya dengan bekerja keras agar ia mampu membeli 1 koin emas. Si hamba bekerja seperti biasa, tetapi tidak dengan suasana hati yang riang, bersiul-siul seperti biasanya. Dan si hamba pun tidak menyadari bahwa sang Raja memperhatikan dirinya ketika ia melakukan pekerjaan hariannya dengan bersungut-sungut.

Sang Raja bingung melihat sikap si hamba yang berubah begitu drastis, lalu memanggil asisten pribadinya masuk ke dalam ruangan.
Diceritakan apa yang telah dilihatnya dan si asisten pribadinya tetap mendengarkan dengan penuh perhatian. Sang Raja bertanya, bukankah seharusnya si hamba itu lebih riang karena ia telah memiliki koin emas.

Jawab si asisten,"Ah. . tetapi, Yang Mulia, sekarang hamba itu secara resmi telah masuk ke dalam Kelompok 99." Lanjutnya, "Kelompok 99 itu hanyalah sebuah nama yang diberikan kepada orang-orang yang telah memiliki semuanya tetapi tidak pernah merasa puas, dan mereka terus bekerja keras mencoba mencari 1 koin emas yang terakhir agar genap 100 koin emas. Kita harusnya merasa bersyukur dengan apa yang ada, dan kita bisa hidup dengan sedikit yang kita miliki. Tetapi ketika kita diberikan yang lebih baik dan lebih banyak, kita menghendaki lebih! Tidak menjadi orang yang sama lagi, yang puas dengan apa yang ada, tetapi kita terus menghendaki lebih dan lebih dan memiliki keinginan seperti itu kita membayar harga yang tidak kita pun sadari. Kehilangan waktu tidur, kebahagiaan, dan
menyakiti orang-orang yang berada di sekitar kita hanya untuk memenuhi kebutuhan dan keinginan kita sendiri.
Orang-orang seperti itulah yang tergabung dalam Kelompok 99!"

Mendengar hal itu, sang Raja memutuskan bahwa untuk selanjutnya, ia akan mulai menghargai hal-hal yang kecil dalam hidup.

Sahabat, berusaha untuk memiliki lebih itu bagus, tetapi jangan berusaha terlalu keras sehingga kita kehilangan orang-orang yang dekat dengan kita, jangan pernah menukar kebahagiaan dengan kemewahan!

Apabila UMK = 1000 ciuman

2008-12-14T00:42:00.000-08:00

Saat ini jaman serba susah. Harga BBM naik, turun
UMK jauh di bawah KHL,
Bulan ini dan seterusnya para pekerja tidak bisa lagi memberikan BELANJA
uang untuk istrinya seperti biasanya , (gak cukup , hanya bisa untuk 3 minggu saja) Ia hanya bisa mengirim surat .
Isinya demikian:

Istriku Tercinta,

Maafkan kanda sayang, bulan ini Kanda tidak bisa

mengirimkan uang untuk kebutuhan keluarga di rumah.

Kanda hanya bisa mengirimmu 1000 ciuman.

Paling cinta,

Kanda Panjul

Keesokan harinya kemudian Panjul mendapat surat balasan

dari istri tercintanya:

Kanda Panjul tersayang,

Terima kasih atas pemberian 1000 ciumanmu.

Untuk bulan ini Dinda akan menyampaikan laporan
pengeluaran keluarga :

Tukang minyak bersedia menerima 2 ciuman setiap kali

membeli 5 liter minyak tanah.

Tukang listrik mau dibayar dengan 4 ciuman per

tanggal 10 setiap bulannya.

Pemilik kontrakan rumah mau dibayar cicil dengan

3 x ciuman setiap harinya.

Engkoh pemilik toko bahan makanan tidak mau

dibayar pakai ciuman. Ia maunya dibayar dengan

yang lain.. Ya terpaksa Dinda berikan saja.

Hal yang sama juga Dinda berikan buat kepala sekolah

dan gurunya si Udin yang sudah 3 bulan nunggak

uang sekolah..

Besok Dinda mau ke pegadaian untuk tukerin

200 ciuman dengan uang tunai, karena yang punya

pegadaian sudah bersedia menukarkan

200 ciuman + bayaran lainnya dengan uang 650ribu,

lumayan buat ongkos sebulan.

Keperluan pribadi Dinda bulan ini mencapai 50 ciuman.

Kanda tersayang.. bulan ini Dinda merasa jadi orang

yang paling kaya di kampung, karena sekarang Dinda

memberikan piutang ciuman ke banyak pemuda

di kampung kita dan siap ditukar kapan pun Dinda butuhkan.

Kanda, dari kanda masih tersisa 125 ciuman,

apakah kanda punya ide? Atau saya tabung saja ya?

Paling sayang,

dari Dinda seorang.

........ Gedubrak!! Panjul pun Pingsan

Bisnis

2008-12-10T17:44:00.000-08:00

Assalamu'alaikum wr. wb.
sahabat-sahabat semua saya berniat menjalankan bisnis baik itu bisnis online atau offline.....
buat sahabat-sahabat yang punya info bisnis hubungi saya lewat :

sebelum dan sesudahnya saya ucapkan terima kasih

wassalamu'alaikum wr. wb.

Buy Back BUMN Baru 3,89% dari Jatah Rp 6,51 Triliun

2008-12-01T06:45:00.000-08:00

Jakarta - Program pembelian saham kembali alias buy back yang dilakukan sepuluh Badan Usaha Milik Negara (BUMN) hanya mencapai 3,89 persen dari total alokasi dana yang disiapkan bersama.

Dari total dana yang sudah disiapkan hingga Rp 6,51 triliun, yang sudah diserap pasar
hanya Rp 253,32 miliar setara dengan 171 juta lembar saham.
Dari data paparan BUMN dalam rapat kerja Kementerian BUMN bersama Komisi VI DPR RI di Gedung DPR, Jakarta, Senin (1/12/2008) disebutkan rincian masing-masing emiten BUMN yang melakukan pembelian saham kembali hingga tanggal 27 November 2008, antara lain sebagai berikut:

PT Telkom Tbk menganggarkan dana buy back sebesar Rp 3 triliun. Total saham yang
sudah dibeli kembali sebanyak 10,41 juta lembar saham senilai Rp 61,8 miliar. Nilai
tersebut setara dengan 2,06 persen dari total alokasi dana.

PT Jasa Marga Tbk menganggarkan dana buy back sebesar Rp 100 miliar. Total saham
yang sudah dibeli kembali sebanyak 8,75 juta lembar saham senilai Rp 6,19 miliar.
Nilai tersebut setara dengan 6,19 persen dari total alokasi dana.

PT Kimia Farma Tbk menganggarkan dana buy back sebesar Rp 20 miliar. Namun perseroan sama sekali belum melakukan program buy back.

PT Aneka Tambang Tbk menganggarkan dana buy back sebesar Rp 200 miliar. Total saham yang sudah dibeli kembali sebanyak 15,42 juta lembar saham senilai Rp 13,43 miliar.
Nilai tersebut setara dengan 6,72 persen dari total alokasi dana.

PT Timah Tbk menganggarkan dana buy back sebesar Rp 100 miliar. Serupa dengan Kimia Farma, perseroan belum melakukan program pembelian saham kembali.

PT Perusahaan Gas Negara Tbk (PGN) menganggarkan dana buy back sebesar Rp 450 miliar. Total saham yang sudah dibeli kembali sebanyak 1,85 juta lembar saham senilai Rp 2,5 miliar. Nilai tersebut setara dengan 0,56 persen dari total alokasi dana.

PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam Tbk (PTBA) menganggarkan dana buy back sebesar Rp 1 triliun. Total saham yang sudah dibeli kembali sebanyak 2,88 juta lembar saham senilai Rp 14,21 miliar. Nilai tersebut setara dengan 1,42 persen dari total alokasi dana.

PT Semen Gresik Tbk menganggarkan dana buy back sebesar Rp 1 triliun. Total saham
yang sudah dibeli kembali sebanyak 51,59 juta lembar saham senilai Rp 140,19 miliar.
Nilai tersebut setara dengan 14 persen dari total alokasi dana.

PT Wijaya Karya Tbk menganggarkan dana buy back sebesar Rp 140 miliar. Total saham
yang sudah dibeli kembali sebanyak 77,48 juta lembar saham senilai Rp 14,3 miliar.
Nilai tersebut setara dengan 10,22 persen dari total alokasi dana.

PT Adhi Karya Tbk belum ada laporan hingga 27 November sehingga menggunakan data per 17 Oktober 2008. Perseroan menganggarkan dana buy back sebesar Rp 500 miliar. Total saham yang sudah dibeli kembali sebanyak 2,64 juta lembar saham senilai Rp 681,68
juta. Nilai tersebut setara dengan 0,14 persen dari total alokasi dana

Pelatihan Produktivitas Disnakertrans Provinsi Jawa Barat

2008-12-01T04:14:00.000-08:00

assalamu'alaikum
sahabat-sahabat....tanggal 25 s/d 29 November kemarin saya mengikuti Pelatihan Produktivitas Disnakertrans Provinsi Jawa Barat di hotel Bumi Makmur Indah Lembang bandung,disana saya banyak bertemu dengan teman2 baru dari berbagai perusahaan dan UKM.

buat sahabat2 yang kemarin ikut semoga kita tetep bisa bersilaturahmi...amin
salam buat Nurul, Eka, Fitri, Isna, Ibu clara, Pak Teguh, sandri, andri, ridwan,kang pepen,kang mawan,Pak Atang, Pak nonot dan yang lainya....( maaf tidak saya sebutkan semuanya....cape ngetiknya he he he )
banyak pengalaman yang saya dapat dari pelatihan itu....yang jelas menambah wawasan saya tentang pentingnya pelatihan produktivitas menghadapi krisis global yang kita alami sekarang ini....
sepulang dari pelatihan .....hari senin tgl 01 Desember 2008 saya langsung presentasi di perusahaan...Alhamdulillah lancar
semoga temen2 sekalian sukses selalu dan bisa meraih cita2.Amin

wassalamu'alaikum

Adult Education Articles

2008-11-23T08:40:00.000-08:00

Adult Education Articles

Articles on adult education for adult learners, teachers, and other educators. "Adult education is the practice of teaching and educating adults. This is often done in the workplace, or through 'extension' or 'continuing education' courses at secondary schools, or at a College or University. The practice is also often referred to as 'Training and Development'. It has also been referred to as andragogy (to distinguish it from pedagogy)." Source: Wikipedia.

1: Adult Learning Disabilities (1.67/5)
by Patrick Hartell You have to deal with a number of issues if you have a learning disability, even if that disability was diagnosed in the childhood. The issues will be different and many more in adulthood than they were in your childhood years. Hence you will have to find new ways to cope with these challenges and issues posed by the learning disability. Most children plan on marrying, having children, and being a productive member of their society. If you have a learning disability, y

2: It Is Never To Late To Learn (1.67/5)
by Rose Mary There are people who do not pursue college education during their early days. For those who do, some of them do not continue with graduate education immediately after completing their first degree. These people have several reasons for not pursuing their studies at that time. Firstly, they may lack the financial support for their study. Secondly, they may not be able to meet the entrance criteria set by the college. Thirdly, they may lack the interest to study. Fourthly, the

3: Adult Learning Theory (0.00/5)
By Gabriel Rise It goes without saying that nowadays we are all confronted with an environment of continuous change and speedy shifts. Technology has altered the very nature of business and this had greatly influenced the employment market. Jobs requiring expertise and technical skills are growing in nearly every sector of the economy. The continuous change in what employees need to know and be able to handle suggests that learning, training and education will occur over the length of a car

4: 5 Reasons Why You Should Learn a Foreign Language (1.67/5)
During the modern age, with globalization at its height, knowing one or two secondary languages has become more than a simple feat of high class and intelligence but also a strict requirement in many occasions. Whether it’s for professional, social or personal reasons, learning at least one foreign language is a must for anyone that wants to keep his or her head up high in today’s society. Let’s take a focused look on 5 of the main reasons that should turn you towards learning a foreign language

5: Online education and the challenge of motivation (0.00/5)
by Timothy D. Arnold Getting an online education is both a very thrilling proposition and a challenging one as well. It is quite exciting to learn through a very new and non-traditional form of education and it offers a set of new challenges that would compel individuals to really immerse themselves in what they are doing. Unfortunately, even with an educational format as new as online education, the same old problems that plague students would usually crop up. The most common difficulty

6: Financial Aid Options For Adults Who Want To Continue Their Education (0.00/5)
By Gary Stuart Approximately 90 million adults in the United States are now enrolled in some kind of training or educational program. Four out of every ten college students are over twenty-five years of age. Another 800,000 take the General Educational Development (GED) test every year to earn high school diplomas. Adult education and re-training is a big trend! Some of the pressure to get more education is coming from a job market that demands up-to-date skills, especially in technology.

7: Facing Your Fears as an Adult Returning to School (Not Rated)
by Matt McAllister In case you hadn't noticed, career colleges aren't just for learning a vocational trade anymore. Nowadays, career colleges can help you obtain a Bachelor's, Master's, or even Doctorate Degree in just about any field of study, or they can even help you simply brush up on skills you might already have on your way to earning a certification or Associate's Degree. So while some career schools might still specialize in vocational trades like auto body repair, masonry or hair

Bingung Mau Posting Apa

2008-11-17T07:46:00.000-08:00

assalamu'alaikum
dimalam yang sunyi ini saya bingung mau posting apa..mentok otak saya...males berpikir untuk posting apa..yang jelas sebenernya saya pengen posting............tapi.bener-bener males.......sahabat jangan meniru kebiasaan jelek saya ini ya

PKS .....Komentari dong ????

2008-11-14T08:17:00.000-08:00

assalamu'alaikum
Saya salah satu simpatisan PKS ( partai keadilan sejahtera )....pengen berbagi ilmu nih tentang pks....menurut saya PKS partai yang sangat bagus di jaman sekarang...selain misi politik, pks juga punya misi dakwah yang sangat bagus...menurut sahabat-sahabat gimana nih pendapatnya??? sharing dengan saya ya....sebelum dan sesudahnya saya ucapkan terima kasih...
wassalamu'alaikum

Sakit Diare

2008-11-12T07:40:00.000-08:00

assalamu'alaikum
sahabat semua...hari ini saya mendapat cobaan dari Allah.. penyakit diare menyerangku...sakit rasanya.....perut perih...mual....dll,pokoknya campur aduk gitu deh....

Alhamdulillah saat saya posting tentang diare ini saya sudah sedikit baikan...

yang jadi masalah nih....tadi pagi saya bingung cari obat apa yang cocok.....awalnya saya kira cuma magh aja jadi saya minum obat promagh ( buat produsen promagh iklan gratis nih ) ....tapi kok nggak sembuh-sembuh.......akhirnya saya coba minum air gula merah hangat.....alhamdulillah terasa baikan........timbul pertanyaan kan obat apa yang sebenernya cocok untuk diare?? baca tips di bawah ini

Resep Memilih Obat Diare

Diare sebenarnya bukan merupakan penyakit, tetapi merupakan gejala gangguan kesehatan. Artinya, kalau kita menderita diare berarti ada sesuatu yang tidak beres di tubuh kita, terutama di saluran pencernaan. Diare biasanya ditandai dengan buang air besar yang encer dan frekuensinya lebih dari tiga kali sehari. Gejala ini biasanya diikuti dengan rasa mulas, tubuh lemas, muka pucat, dan kadang-kadang disertai mual, muntah dan demam. Walaupun ada yang dapat sembuh sendiri tanpa diobati, diare tidak boleh dipandang remeh. Sebab jika tidak segera ditanggulangi, diare dapat membawa kematian.

Diare dapat disebabkan oleh bermacam-macam hal. Dapat karena infeksi (infeksi virus, amoeba, atau bakteri), dapat juga karena sensitif atau tidak tahan terhadap makanan-makanan tertentu, misalnya makanan yang terlalu asam, terlalu pedas, terlalu banyak bumbu, dan lain sebagainya. Ada juga orang yang tidak tahan terhadap kacang tanah atau susu, sehingga setiap kali makan makanan yang banyak mengandung kacang tanah seperti gado-gado dan pecel, dan setiap kali minum susu langsung sakit perut. Ada juga diare yang disebabkan efek samping obat.

Beberapa obat-obat tertentu, misalnya antibiotik, obat-obat pengontrol tekanan darah dan obat maag yang mengandung magnesium, dapat menyebabkan diare. Diare juga dapat disebabkan oleh gangguan emosional, misalnya karena stres, tegang (nervous), depresi atau gangguan emosi lainnya. Air minum kurang bersih dan tidak dimasak dengan baik juga dapat menyebabkan diare. Demikian pula makanan yang tidak dijaga kebersihannya dapat menyebabkan diare, sebab dalam air minum dan makanan yang tidak bersih tersebut tumbuh bakteri-bakteri yang dapat menyebabkan diare.

Diare karena salah makan? Memang bisa terjadi. Salah makan di sini artinya, makan makanan yang kurang bersih, sudah basi, atau yang mengandung zat-zat yang dapat menyebabkan diare sebagaimana yang tadi telah diuraikan.

Diare yang bukan disebabkan oleh kuman spesifik seperti amoeba, kuman disentri, atau karena radang usus, disebut juga diare aspesifik. Diare aspesifik ini yang paling sering dan paling banyak diderita masyarakat pada umumnya. Biasanya diare aspesifik tidak memerlukan pengobatan khusus. Yang perlu dilakukan adalah menjaga agar penderita tidak mengalami dehidrasi atau kekurangan cairan tubuh, dan agar penyebab diarenya dapat dihilangkan sesegera mungkin.

Buang air besar yang sering (bisa sampai belasan kali sehari) dengan kandungan cairan yang banyak tentu akan menghabiskan cairan tubuh. Dehidrasi dapat menyebabkan kematian, terutama pada bayi dan anak-anak. Sebab itu, langkah pertama penanggulangan diare adalah pemberian cairan pengganti cairan tubuh. Ini dapat dilakukan dengan memberikan oralit atau larutan gula-garam disertai minum air yang banyak.

Oralit dapat diperoleh dengan mudah di apotik, toko obat, atau di puskesmas. Minum oralit atau cairan pengganti cairan tubuh jangan dipaksakan harus sekaligus banyak. Ini justru dapat menyebabkan penderita muntah atau terangsang untuk buang air lagi. Setelah dilarutkan satu sachet/bungkus oralit ke dalam satu gelas air matang yang sudah dingin (jangan air panas), berikan kepada penderita dua atau tiga teguk.

Biarkan oralit terserap ke dalam tubuh untuk beberapa saat (sekitar lima menit). Jika penderita sudah bisa minum lagi baru berikan beberapa teguk lagi. Demikian seterusnya sampai habis. Berikan air putih sebanyak-banyaknya yang bisa dikonsumsi oleh penderita tanpa menimbulkan rasa mual atau ingin buang air besar.

Jika diare masih belum berhenti, pemberian oralit dapat diteruskan sampai 5-8 sachet/bungkus. Sementara itu, kepada penderita dapat juga diberikan makanan bergizi yang lunak dan tidak merangsang seperti sup hangat dan bubur nasi. Hindarkan dulu mengonsumsi makanan bersantan, yang mengandung susu, atau yang bersifat merangsang gerak peristaltik usus. Sayur, buah dan makanan yang berserat tinggi sebaiknya juga dikurangi dahulu sebab dapat menimbulkan banyak gas di dalam usus yang dapat memperparah diare.

Dengan tindakan ini biasanya diare aspesifik dapat diatasi dengan cepat dan efisien, sehingga tidak memerlukan pengobatan tambahan. Pada dasarnya diare merupakan mekanisme alamiah tubuh untuk mengeluarkan zat-zat racun yang tidak dikehendaki dari dalam usus. Bila usus sudah ''bersih'' maka diare akan berhenti dengan sendirinya.

Namun, jika Anda merasa perlu obat antidiare tambahan dapat saja Anda memberikan obat-obat antidiare yang dapat dibeli bebas (tanpa resep dokter). Pertimbangannya adalah jangan cepat-cepat memberikan obat yang langsung menghentikan diare. Sebab, pada orang yang menderita diare diperkirakan ada zat racun atau zat penyebab diare dalam saluran pencernaannya yang justru perlu dikeluarkan. Apabila diberikan obat yang langsung menghentikan diare, maka pengeluaran zat-zat tersebut akan terhambat. Akibatnya, efek racun zat tersebut di dalam usus akan berlangsung lebih lama, bahkan dapat menyebar ke seluruh bagian tubuh.

Yang sebaiknya diberikan adalah obat-obat atau bahan-bahan yang dapat menyerap gas, racun, dan zat-zat penyebab diare di dalam saluran pencernaan dan yang dapat membentuk massa feses (tinja) sehingga lebih mudah dikeluarkan. Zat-zat bersifat menyerap, misalnya norit, atau obat-obat yang mengandung atapulgit. Sedangkan, zat-zat yang dapat membentuk massa feses antara lain yang mengandung kaolin dan pektin. Anda dapat melihat kandungan zat atau komposisi suatu obat di kemasannya.

Pengobatan sebagaimana yang diuraikan tersebut biasanya sudah mencukupi. Namun, Anda tetap harus waspada dan mengamati apakah gejala-gejala diare mulai menghilang, menetap, atau bahkan bertambah buruk. Jika setelah tiga hari gejala diare tetap belum hilang, atau penderita demam atau menunjukkan gangguan kesehatan yang lebih parah, sebaiknya Anda meminta pertolongan dokter. Demam biasanya menunjukkan adanya infeksi, yang penanganannya memerlukan obat-obat khusus yang memerlukan pengawasan dokter. Demikian yang dapat kami sampaikan, mudah-mudahan berguna

Fastest Cars in the World

2008-11-10T21:12:00.000-08:00

Fastest Cars
Welcome to Fastest Cars. We have pictures and data of almost all uber cars on the Internet.Only the fastest and most unique. It is here for your entertainment and education.Bugatti Veyron, Enzo Ferrari, Porshe GT and every other fast car.

Bugatti Veyron( 252 mph/407 km/h )

252mph, 1001PS, 16 cylinders, four turbos, 8.0-litres... the Veyron's numbers are staggering. It can hit 60mph in 2.5 seconds thanks to four-wheel-drive traction, shoots to 125mph in 7.3 seconds and reaches 200mph in less than 20. The Veyron 16.4 is the most powerful, most expensive, and fastest street-legal production car in the world , with a proven top speed of over 400 km/h (407 km/h or 253 mph top speed).

The obvious question: Why would anyone build such a car? Surely no one sees doing 250 mph on the highway. There can be no commercial logic behind such a crazy machine, even with the Veyron's price tag of one million euros (at the current exchange rate, that's $1.2 million). Not even as a "halo model" -- a reputation booster -- for the VW group that builds it does the Veyron make sense. No Bugatti owner wants it known he's driving a Volkswagen. Bugatti Veyron Data
Base Price 1,000,000 euros (1,300,000 USD)
Power 1000 hp
Zero to 60 mph 2.5 s
Zero to 100 mph 6 s
Top speed 253 mph (407 km/h)

History

Development of the Veyron began with the 1999 EB 18/4 "Veyron" concept car . Introduced at the Tokyo Motor Show , it was similar in design and appearance to the final Veyron production car. One major difference was the EB 18/4's use of a W18 engine with three banks of six cylinders. The Veyron was designed by Hartmut Warkuss of Volkswagen rather than Giorgetto Giugiaro of ItalDesign who had handled the three prior Bugatti concepts.

Gambar Soeharto Pada Iklan PKS

2008-11-10T20:56:00.000-08:00

Gambar Soeharto Pada Iklan PKS

assalamu'alaikum
Iklan PKS ( partai keadilan Sejahtera ) yang menayangkan gambar soeharto banyak menimbulkan kritik...sebagai masyarakat indonesia dan simpatisan PKS saya juga akan menanggapi tentang iklan tersebut....

kalo menurut saya bagus-bagus saja.....malahan kalo menurut saya PKS sangat jeli dalam kampanye pemilu 2009 dengan mencari topik kampanye seperti itu....memang soeharto banyak sekali kesalahan untuk indonesia...tapi kita juga harus belajar dari hal-hal yang baiknya....ingat kan jaman soeharto......bensin murah.....nilai tukar rupiah ke dollar bagus.....yang jelas rakyat merasa aman tentram dan sejahtera...
so....kembali ke diri kita masing-masing untuk menanggapi iklan tersebut....yang jelas saya merasa senang dengan iklan itu tanpa keberatan sedikitpun....
sukses untuk PKS....semoga dengan iklan itu PKS tambah terkenal,diminati masyarakat indonesia dan dunia..amien...
Majulah PKS untuk memenangkan pemilu 2009 nanti....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
wassalamu'alaikum

What's AdSense?

2008-11-10T20:43:00.000-08:00

Google AdSense is the program that can give you advertising revenue from each page on your website—with a minimal investment in time and no additional resources.

AdSense delivers relevant text and image ads that are precisely targeted to your site and your site content. And when you add a Google search box to your site, AdSense delivers relevant text ads that are targeted to the Google search results pages generated by your visitors’ search request.

Kronologi Eksekusi Mati Amrozi Cs

2008-11-09T03:09:00.001-08:00

Kronologi Eksekusi Mati Amrozi Cs
dikutip dari www.detiknews.com
Jakarta - Tiga terpidana mati Bom Bali: Amrozi, Ali Gufron alias Mukhlas, dan Imam Samudra telah mati ditembak. Kejagung sebagai eksekutor memastikan ketiga otak peledakan bom Bali itu meninggal pukul 00.15 WIB, Minggu (9/11/2008).

Bagaimana kronologi eksekusi dan apa yang terjadi pada detik-detik menjelang eksekusi? Kejagung belum menjelaskan secara detil.

Seorang sumber detikcom di dalam LP menceritakan kronologi sebagai berikut:

Pukul 14.00 WIB, Sabtu (8/11/2008)

Amrozi, Muklas, dan Imam Samudra terlihat di sel-sel isolasi mereka di LP Batu Nusakambangan. Dari wajahnya, mereka terlihat santai, dan gembira. Mereka memberi salam kepada napi yang lewat depan sel mereka.

Pukul 23.00 WIB

Ratusan anggot Brimob dan Densus memenuhi bangsal LP Batu Nusakambangan. Kemudian secara serentak, mereka masuk ke dalam sel-sel Amrozi, Muklas, dan Imam Samudra.

Pukul 23.15 WIB

Ratusan aparat Brimob dan Densus keluar dari sel dengan membawa serta Amrozi, Muklas, dan Imam Samudra. Ketiga terpidana mati itu tampak jelas di antara kerumunan polisi itu. Amrozi cs memekikkan takbir berkali-kali saat berjalan di lorong. Takbir mereka disambut pekikan takbir oleh para napi lainnya yang terpaksa tidak tidur saat itu. Suasana cukup gempita.

Pukul 23.25 WIB

Amrozi cs sudah tiba di luar, tak terlihat lagi dari dalam bangsal. Saat itulah suara takbir yang mereka serukan terputus. Pintu bangsal ditutup lagi.

Pukul 23.30 WIB

Ketiga bomber itu dimasukkan ke dalam mobil-mobil yang dipersiapkan. Ada banyak mobil yang berkonvoi. Termasuk truk polisi.

Pukul 23.45 WIB

Setelah persiapan siap, rombongan kemudian berangkat menuju Bukit Nirbaya. Pemberangkatan dipimpin oleh seseorang yang diduga polisi melalui semacam upacara.

Pukul 00.05 WIB

Amrozi cs tiba di Bukit Nirbaya dan langsung digiring ke tiang eksekusi yang telah disiapkan. Mereka diposisikan di tiang-tiang eksekusi itu. Sementara anggota polisi berbaris. Perangkat lain, seperti rohaniawan dan tim dokter juga bersiap di tempat yang disediakan.

Pukul 00.15 WIB

Tiga regu tembak Brimob Polda Jateng melakukan tugasnya menembak Amrozi, Imam Samudra, dan Muklas dalam waktu bersamaan.

Pukul 00.20 WIB

Tim dokter memastikan bahwa ketiga terpidana bom Bali itu sudah meninggal dunia.

Pukul 00.25 WIB

Ketiga jenazah kemudian digotong dan diangkut ke dalam mobil. Kemudian dibawa menuju ke poliklinik LP Batu dengan kawalan banyak anggota Brimob dan Densus.

Pukul 00.45 WIB

Ketiga jenazah tiba di Poliklinik dan kemudian dimasukkan ke dalam ruang otopsi. Jenazah ditangani oleh tim medis untuk dikeluarkan peluru yang bersarang di badan mereka.

Pukul 02.10 WIB

Ketiga jenazah dimandikan. Adik Muklas dan Amrozi, Ali Fauzi, ikut memandikan.

Pukul 05.00 WIB

Jenazah masih berada di LP Batu. Belum ada kejelasan kapan jenazah akan diterbangkan

Noticias | Mientras unos suben otros bajan

2008-11-07T08:15:00.000-08:00

Mientras que Nokia baja casi un 13% en el mercado, Appel y RIM suben 17% y 15% respectivamente. El aumento de Apple está claro que se debe a la fuerte expansión por el mundo en tan poco tiempo. En la actualidad, Appel, se posiciona en el segundo mayor fabricante de teléfonos del mundo.

Por su parte parece ser que Nokia se está descuidando en sus teléfonos y esto les está costando más de un disgusto.

phone, ipod, interner and more

2008-11-07T08:11:00.000-08:00

Introducing iPhone 3G. With fast 3G wireless technology, GPS mapping, support for enterprise features like Microsoft Exchange, and the new App Store, iPhone 3G puts even more features at your fingertips. And like the original iPhone, it combines three products in one — a revolutionary phone, a widescreen iPod, and a breakthrough Internet device with rich HTML email and a desktop-class web browser. iPhone 3G. It redefines what a mobile phone can do — again.

3G speed worldwide

2008-11-07T08:07:00.000-08:00

3G technology gives iPhone fast access to the Internet and email over cellular networks around the world. iPhone 3G also makes it possible to do more in more places: Surf the web, download email, get directions, and watch video — even while you’re on a call.

Greeting for u OBAMA.....................

2008-11-06T05:43:00.000-08:00

Obama Picture

2008-11-06T05:27:00.000-08:00

Barack Obama gives his victory speech in Chicago

2008-11-06T00:56:00.000-08:00

President-elect Barack Obama spoke to the world from his home city of Chicago as he became the first black president of the United States. Here is the full text of his victory speech:

"Hello, Chicago.

"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

"It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voices could be that difference.

"It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled, Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states.

"We are, and always will be, the United States of America.

"It's the answer that led those who've been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

"It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment, change has come to America.

"A little bit earlier this evening, I received an extraordinarily gracious call from Senator McCain.

"Senator McCain fought long and hard in this campaign. And he's fought even longer and harder for the country that he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine. We are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader.

"I congratulate him; I congratulate Governor (Sarah) Palin for all that they've achieved. And I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.

"I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart, and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on the train home to Delaware, the vice president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

"And I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last 16 years, the rock of our family, the love of my life, the nation's next first lady Michelle Obama.

"Sasha and Malia I love you both more than you can imagine. And you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the new White House.

"And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother's watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight. I know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

"To my sister Maya, my sister Alma, all my other brothers and sisters, thank you so much for all the support that you've given me. I am grateful to them.

"And to my campaign manager, David Plouffe, the unsung hero of this campaign, who built the best - the best political campaign, I think, in the history of the United States of America.

"To my chief strategist David Axelrod who's been a partner with me every step of the way. To the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics, you made this happen and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.

"But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to. It belongs to you. It belongs to you.

"I was never the likeliest candidate for this office.

"We didn't start with much money or many endorsements.

"Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington. It began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.

"It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give 5 and 10 and 20 to the cause.

"It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy, who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep.

"It drew strength from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on doors of perfect strangers, and from the millions of Americans who volunteered and organised and proved that more than two centuries later a government of the people, by the people, and for the people has not perished from the Earth.

"This is your victory.

"And I know you didn't do this just to win an election. And I know you didn't do it for me.

"You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime - two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.

"Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us.

"There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after the children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage or pay their doctors' bills or save enough for their child's college education.

"There's new energy to harness, new jobs to be created, new schools to build, and threats to meet, alliances to repair.

"The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.

"I promise you, we as a people will get there.

"There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president. And we know the government can't solve every problem.

"But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And, above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it's been done in America for 221 years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

"What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter cannot end on this autumn night.

"This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were.

"It can't happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice.

"So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other.

"Let us remember that, if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers.

"In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let's resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.

"Let's remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House, a party founded on the values of self-reliance and individual liberty and national unity.

"Those are values that we all share. And while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress.

"As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.

"And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too.

"And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces, to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.

"To those - to those who would tear the world down: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security: We support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright: Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.

"That's the true genius of America: that America can change. Our union can be perfected. What we've already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

"This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight's about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

"She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons - because she was a woman and because of the colour of her skin.

"And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America - the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

"At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

"When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs, a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

"When the bombs fell on our harbour and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

"She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that 'We Shall Overcome'. Yes we can.

"A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination.

"And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change.

"Yes we can.

"America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves - if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

"This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment.

"This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.

"Thank you. God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America."

versi terjemahan transtool (tidak saya edit- ada yang mau ngedit ngga?):

Barack Obama memberi pidato kemenangan nya di Chicago

President terpilih Barack Obama berkata kepada dunia dari kota rumah nya Chicago ketika ia menjadi presiden hitam dari pertama Amerika Serikat. ini adalah teks yang penuh dari pidato kemenangan nya:

"-Salam, Chicago.

"- Jika ada siapapun di luar sana yang masih ragu bahwa Amerika adalah suatu tempat di mana segala sesuatu mungkin, yang masih bimbang jika mimpi tentang pendiri-pendiri kita(kami hidup di dalam waktu kita(kami, yang masih pertanyaan-pertanyaan kuasa(tenaga dari demokrasi kita(kami, malam ini adalah jawaban mu.

"- ini adalah jawaban yang dicoretkan di sekitar sekolah-sekolah dan gereja-gereja dalam jumlah bangsa ini belum pernah melihat, oleh orang-orang yang menunggu tiga jam dan empat jam, banyak untuk pertama kali di dalam hidup mereka, karena mereka percaya bahwa ini waktu harus yang berbeda, bahwa suara-suara mereka bisa adalah bahwa/karena perbedaan.

"- ini adalah jawaban yang dibicarakan oleh setiap orang, lemah(miskin dan kaya, Democrat dan Republican, hitam, putih, Hispanic, Asia, Asli Amerika, gembira, lurus/langsung, cacat dan bukan dilumpuhkan, Orang Amerika yang mengirim suatu pesan kepada dunia bahwa kita tidak pernah sekedar suatu koleksi individu atau suatu koleksi negara yang merah dan negara biru.

"- Kita adalah, dan selalu akan ,Amerika Serikat .

"- ini adalah jawaban bahwa memimpin itu orang mengatakan, bahwa who've untuk waktu lama oleh begitu banyak untuk bersifat ragu-ragu dan menakutkan dan sinis tentang apa yang [kita kami] dapat mencapai untuk menaruh tangan-tangan mereka di busur lingkaran/lingkungan dari itu sejarah dan tekukan sekali lagi terhadap harapan dari suatu hari yang lebih baik.

"- Itu adalah lama waktu datang, hanya malam ini, karena apa yang kita bertindak dengan tanggal/date ini di dalam pemilihan ini pada saat penjelasan hal ini, perubahan sudah datang ke Amerika.

"- Sedikit sebelumnya nanti malam, aku menerima satu panggilan secara luar biasa sangat ramah dari Senator McCain.

"- Senator McCain berkelahi panjang dan sulit(keras di dalam kampanye ini. Dan ia dilancarkan bahkan yang lebih panjang dan lebih keras untuk negeri bahwa ia mencintai. Ia sudah memikul/ bertahan korban-korban untuk Amerika bahwa kebanyakan dari kita(kami tidak bisa mulai untuk membayangkan. Kita lebih baik karena layanan yang disumbangkan oleh pemimpin hal ini tanpa pamrih dan pemberani.

"- Aku memberi selamat dia; Aku memberi selamat Governor (Sara) Palin walaupun demikian mereka sudah dincapai. Dan aku menanti-nanti akan bekerja dengan mereka untuk memperbaharui hal ini, janji bangsa di dalam bulan-bulan di depan.

"- Aku ingin berterima kasih kepada mitra ku di dalam perjalanan ini, laki-laki yang berkampanye dari [hati/jantung] nya, dan berbicara atas nama orang-orang dan wanita-wanita, ia tumbuh dewasa dengan di jalan-jalan dari Scranton dan menaiki dengan di atas kereta api rumah ke(pada Delaware, presiden sifat buruk memilih tentang Amerika Serikat, Orang Laki-Laki Mengundang?menawarkan.

"- Dan aku tidak akan sedang berdiri di sini malam ini tanpa dukungan yang tak mau mundur dari sahabat baik ku untuk 16 tahun yang terakhir, batu karang dari keluarga kita(kami, kasih dari hidup saya, istri presiden milik bangsa tersebut yang berikutnya Michelle Obama.

"- Sasha dan Malia I mencintai anda kedua-duanya lebih dari (sekedar) anda dapat membayangkan. Dan anda sudah berpendapatan anak anjing yang baru yang sedang datang dengan kita(kami kepada Gedung Putih yang baru.

"- Dan selagi dia sudah tidak lagi dengan kita(kami, aku mengetahui menyaksikan nenek ku, beserta keluarga bahwa membuat aku yang aku adalah. Aku luput(kehilangan mereka malam ini. Aku mengetahui bahwa hutang ku kepada mereka adalah luar biasa.

"- Kepada saudari ku Maya, saudari ku Alma, semua saudara-saudara ku lain, terima kasih banyak karena semua dukungan bahwa anda sudah memberikan kepada aku. Aku mengucap syukur kepada mereka.

"- Dan untuk manajer kampanye ku, Daud Plouffe, pahlawan tak dinyanyikan dari kampanye ini, yang dibangun yang terbaik -kampanye politis terbaik, aku berpikir, di dalam sejarah dari Amerika Serikat dari Amerika.

"- Kepada ahli strategi pemimpin ku Daud Axelrod yang adalah suatu bersekutu dengan aku setiap langkah dari cara. Kepada regu kampanye terbaik pernah; selalu merakit di dalam sejarah dari politik, anda membuat hal ini terjadi dan aku adalah selamanya berterima kasih atas apa yang anda sudah mengorbankan untuk membujuk untuk mengerjakan menyuruh kerjakan: 'you.

"- Tetapi di atas semuanya, aku tidak akan pernah melupakan yang kemenangan ini sungguh [masuk/kepunyaan]. Itu [masuk/kepunyaan] anda. Itu [masuk/kepunyaan] anda.

"- Aku tidak pernah paling mungkin calon untuk kantor ini.

"- Kita tidak mulai dengan banyak uang atau banyak pengesahan.

"- Kampanye kita(kami tidak diarsir di dalam hall/aula-hall/aula dari Washington. Itu mulai di dalam halaman belakang dari Des Moines dan ruang; kamar yang hidup dari Concord dan serambi-serambi medan; bagian depan dari Charleston.

"- Itu dibangun dengan bekerja para laki-laki dan perempuan yang menggali ke dalam uang tabungan yang kecil yang yang mereka harus memberi 5 dan 10 dan 20 kepada penyebab.

"- Itu tumbuh kekuatan dari yang muda orang-orang yang menolak dongeng dari kelesuan generasi mereka, yang meninggalkan rumah-rumah mereka dan keluarga-keluarga mereka untuk pekerjaan bahwa menawarkan upah kecil dan lebih sedikit tidur.

"- Itu [menggambar/menarik] kekuatan dari orang-orang not-so-young yang braved dingin pahit dan menghanguskan panas untuk mengetuk di pintu-pintu orang asing yang sempurna, dan dari berjuta-juta Orang Amerika yang volunteered dan yang diorganisir dan dibuktikan bahwa lebih dari (sekedar) dua berabad-abad kemudiannya suatu pemerintah dari orang-orang, oleh orang-orang, dan karena orang-orang tidak binasa dari Earth.

"- Ini adalah kemenangan mu.

"- Dan aku mengetahui anda tidak melakukan hal ini hanya untuk kemenangan satu pemilihan. Dan aku mengetahui anda tidak melakukan itu untuk aku.

"- Anda lakukan nya karena anda memahami berapaberatnya tugas berada di depan. Karena bahkan waktu kita merayakan malam ini, kita mengetahui tantangan bahwa besok akan membawa adalah yang terbesar tentang seumur hidup kita(kami -dua peperangan, suatu planet di dalam risiko, krisis yang terburuk keuangan di suatu abad.

"- Bahkan waktu kita berdiri di sini malam ini, kita mengetahui ada Orang Amerika pemberani bangun di dalam ganjaran dari Iraq dan pegunungan dari Afghanistan untuk mengambil resiko hidup mereka bagi kita.

"- Ada para ibu dan para ayah siapa yang akan [berada/dusta] terjaga setelah anak-anak tertidur dan bimbang bagaimana mereka akan membuat rekening/daftar hipotek atau upah dokter mereka atau selamatkan cukup untuk pendidikan perguruan tinggi anak mereka.

"- Ada energi baru untuk memanfaatkan, pekerjaan baru untuk diciptakan, sekolah-sekolah baru untuk membangun, dan ancaman-ancaman untuk temu, persekutuan-persekutuan untuk memperbaiki.

"- Jalan di depan akan panjang(lama. Kita(kami memanjat akan curam. Kita mungkin tidak ada di sana dalam satu tahun atau bahkan dalam satu stasiun/terminal Tetapi, Amerika, aku tidak pernah lebih penuh harapan dibanding aku adalah malam ini bahwa kita akan ada di sana.

"- Aku menjanjikan anda, kita sebagai suatu orang-orang akan ada di sana.

"- Akan ada kemunduran-kemunduran dan awal-awal palsu. Ada banyak yang tidak akan memufakati setiap keputusan atau kebijakan aku membuat seperti(ketika presiden. Dan kita mengetahui pemerintah itu tidak bisa memecahkan setiap masalah.

"- Tetapi aku akan selalu adalah jujur dengan anda tentang tantangan, kita menghadapi. Aku akan mendengarkan anda, terutama ketika kita tidak sependapat. Dan, di atas semua, aku akan minta(tanya anda untuk gabung dalam pekerjaan tentang bangsa pembuatan ulang ini, satu-satunya cara itu adalah dilaksanakan di Amerika untuk 221 tahun -halangi oleh blok, batu bata oleh batu bata, tangan calloused oleh tangan yang calloused.

"- Apa yang mulai 21 bulan yang lalu di dalam kerendahan dari musim dingin tidak bisa bertemu pada dua ujung musim gugur malam ini.

"- Kemenangan ini sendirian bukan perubahan kita mencari. Hanyalah kesempatan bagi kita untuk membuat bahwa berubah. Dan bahwa tidak bisa terjadi jika kita kembali ke berbagai hal jalan adalah.

"- Itu tidak bisa terjadi tanpa anda, tanpa suatu roh yang baru dari layanan, suatu roh yang baru dari pengorbanan.

"- Maka marilah kita memanggil suatu roh yang baru dari patriotisme, dari tanggung jawab, di mana masing-masing dari kita tekad untuk menyingsingkan lengan baju dan bekerja lebih keras dan memelihara tidak hanya diri kita sendiri hanya satu sama lain.

"- Marilah kita ingat bahwa, jika krisis keuangan ini mengajar kita(kami apapun, adalah yang kita tidak bisa mempunyai suatu tumbuh subur Wall Street selagi Jalan Raya menderita.

"- Di dalam negeri ini, kita naik atau jatuh sama bangsa nya, seperti(ketika orang-orang nya. Marilah kita membalas godaan itu untuk bersandar sikap berat sebelah dan kepicikan yang sama dan ketidak dewasaan bahwa sudah meracuni politik kita(kami untuk waktu lama.

"- Marilah kita ingat bahwa nya adalah seorang manusia dari status(negara ini yang pertama membawa panji dari Republican Party itu kepada Gedung Putih, suatu pesta(pihak berdasar pada nilai-nilai dari kepercayaan pada diri sendiri dan kebebasan individu dan kesatuan nasional.

"- Mereka adalah nilai-nilai bahwa kita semua berbagi. Dan selagi Democratic Party sudah menang suatu kemenangan yang besar malam ini, kita melakukannya dengan suatu ukuran dari kerendahan hati dan penentuan untuk menyembuhkan membagi bahwa sudah menahan kemajuan kita(kami.

"- Seperti Lincoln berkata kepada suatu bangsa jauh lebih membagi dibanding milik [kami/kita], kita bukanlah musuh hanya para teman. Meskipun [demikian] derita(nafsu mungkin punya tegang, itu harus tidak pecah(rinci ikatan-ikatan kita(kami kasih sayang.

"- Dan untuk itu Orang Amerika dukungan siapa aku masih harus mendapatkan, aku mungkin tidak menang suara mu malam ini, tetapi aku mendengar suara-suara mu. Aku memerlukan bantuan mu. Dan aku akan presiden mu, juga.

"- Dan untuk semua yang itu menyaksikan malam ini dari di luar pantai-pantai kita(kami, dari parlemen-parlemen dan istana-istana, sampai mereka yang berjubel di sekitar radio-radio di dalam yang dilupakan sudut dunia, kisah-kisah kita(kami bersifat bentuk tunggal, tetapi tujuan; masa depan kita(kami dibagi bersama, dan suatu dinihari yang baru dari kepemimpinan Amerika sudah dekat.

"- Kepada mereka -kepada mereka yang akan mencabik dunia menurun/jatuh: Kita akan anda kekalahan. Kepada mereka yang mencari damai dan keamanan: Kita mendukung anda. Dan untuk semua yang mereka yang sudah heran jika rambu suar/batu duga Amerika masih membakar sebagai yang terang/cerdas: Malam ini kita membuktikan sekali lagi bahwa benar kekuatan bangsa kita(kami datang bukan dari kekuatan dari lengan kita(kami atau skala dari kekayaan kita(kami, tetapi dari kuasa(tenaga yang kronis dari idaman-idaman kita(kami: demokrasi, kebebasan, peluang dan harapan tak mau mundur.

"- Yang adalah genius benar dari Amerika: bahwa Amerika dapat berubah. Perserikatan/pipa sambung kita(kami dapat disempurnakan. Apa yang [kita kami] telah mencapai berikan kepada kita mengharapkan apa yang [kita kami] dapat dan harus mencapai besok.

"- Pemilihan ini mempunyai banyak pertama dan banyak kisah bahwa akan diberitahu untuk generasi-generasi. Tetapi nya yang dalam pikiran ku malam ini's mengejar wanita yang melempar surat suara nya di Atlanta. Dia adalah banyak seperti orang banyak dari orang lain yang antri untuk membuat suara mereka mendengar di dalam pemilihan ini kecuali satu hal: Ann Nixon Cooper adalah 106 tahun usia.

"- Dia dilahirkan sekedar suatu perbudakan generasi yang lampau; satu waktu ketika tidak ada mobil-mobil di jalan atau naik pesawat terbang di langit; ketika seseorang seperti nya tidak bisa memilih dua pertimbangan -karena dia adalah seorang wanita dan oleh karena warna dari kulit nya.

"- Dan malam ini, aku memikirkan semua yang dia dilihat sepanjang abad nya di Amerika -kepiluan dan harapan; perjuangan dan kemajuan; waktu kita diberitahu bahwa kita tidak bisa, dan orang-orang yang buru-buru untuk syahadat Amerika itu: Ya kita dapat.

"- Pada waktu yang sama ketika suara-suara wanita-wanita silenced dan harapan-harapan mereka dipecat/ dibubarkan, dia [hidup/tinggal] untuk melihatnya pembawa pesan iklan dan angkat bicara dan menjangkau untuk surat suara. Ya kita dapat.

"- Ketika ada keputus-asaan di dalam mangkuk/pasu debu dan tekanan ke seberang lahan, dia melihat suatu bangsa menaklukkan ketakutan diri sendiri dengan suatu New Deal, pekerjaan baru, suatu perasaan(pengertian yang baru dari tujuan yang umum. Ya kita dapat.

"- Ketika pengeboman-pengeboman jatuh di pelabuhan bandar dan kekejaman kita(kami mengancam dunia, dia ada di sana untuk bersaksi suatu kenaikan generasi kepada kebesaran dan suatu demokrasi diselamatkan. Ya kita dapat.

"- Dia ada di sana untuk bus-bus di Montgomery, pipa karet di Birmingham, suatu jembatan di Selma, dan seorang pengkhotbah dari Atlanta yang mengatakan kepada suatu orang-orang itu 'Kita Akan Mengalahkan'. Ya kita dapat.

"- Seorang manusia mendarat di bulan, suatu dinding turun di Berlin, suatu dunia dihubungkan oleh ilmu pengetahuan dan imajinasi kita sendiri.

"- Dan tahun ini, di dalam pemilihan ini, dia menjamah jari nya ke(pada suatu layar, dan melempar suara nya, karena setelah 106 tahun di Amerika, melalui terbaiknya dari waktu dan yang paling gelap dari jam, dia mengetahui bagaimana Amerika dapat berubah.

"- Ya kita dapat.

"-Amerika, kita sudah datang sejauh ini. Kita sudah melihat sangat banyak. Tetapi ada jauh lebih banyak untuk lakukan. Maka malam ini, marilah kita minta(tanya diri kita sendiri -jika anak-anak kita(kami perlu hidup untuk melihat abad yang berikutnya; jika para putri ku harus sangat beruntung untuk tinggal(hidup sepanjang Ann Nixon Cooper, apa yang perubahan akan mereka lihat? Apa yang kemajuan akan kita sudah buat?

"- Ini adalah kita(kami kebetulan jawaban bahwa panggilan. Ini adalah saat kita(kami.

"- Ini adalah waktu kita(kami, untuk menaruh kita(kami orang-orang kembali ke(pada pekerjaan dan pintu terbuka dari peluang untuk anak-anak kita(kami; untuk memulihkan kemakmuran dan mempromosikan penyebab damai; untuk mereklamasi/meminta kembali mimpi Amerika itu dan menegaskan lagi kebenaran pokok itu, itu, ke luar dari banyak orang, kita adalah nya; bahwa ketika kita bernafas(meniup, kita berharap. Dan di mana kita dialami sifat yang sinis dan keraguan-keraguan dan mereka yang menunjukkan bahwa kita tidak bisa, kita akan menanggapi dengan syahadat yang terus-menerus tersebut bahwa meringkas roh dari suatu orang-orang: Ya, kita dapat.

"- Terimakasih. Tuhan memberkati. Dan boleh Allah memberkati Amerika Serikat dari Amerika." .

Barack Obama Detailed Biography

2008-11-04T01:19:00.000-08:00

Barack Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on August 4, 1961, to Barack Obama, Sr. (born in Nyanza Province, Kenya) and Ann Dunham (born in Wichita, Kansas). His parents met while both were attending the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where his father was enrolled as a foreign student. Barack Obama's birthname is Barack Hussein Obama.

Barack Obama is the junior United States Senator from Illinois and a member of the Democratic Party. The U.S. Senate Historical Office lists him as the fifth African American Senator in U.S. history and the only African American currently serving in the U.S. Senate.

Born to a Kenyan father and an American mother, Barack Obama grew up in culturally diverse surroundings. He spent most of his childhood in the majority-minority U.S. state of Hawaii and lived for four years in Indonesia. After graduating from Columbia University and Harvard Law School, Barack Obama worked as a community organizer, university lecturer, and civil rights lawyer before entering politics. He served in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004, launching his campaign for U.S. Senate in 2003.

Barack Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention while still an Illinois state legislator. He went on to win election to the U.S. Senate in November 2004 with a landslide 70% of the vote in an election year marked by Republican gains. As a member of the Democratic minority in the 109th Congress, Barack Obama co-sponsored the enactment of conventional weapons control and transparency legislation, and made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

He is among the Democratic Party's leading candidates for nomination in the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Since announcing his candidacy in February 2007, Barack Obama has emphasized ending the Iraq War and implementing universal health care as campaign themes. He married in 1992 and has two daughters. He has authored two bestselling books: a memoir of his youth entitled Dreams from My Father, and The Audacity of Hope, a personal commentary on U.S. politics.

Barack Obama's parents separated when he was two years old and later divorced. His father went to Harvard University to pursue Ph.D. studies, then returned to Kenya, where he died in an auto accident when the younger Obama was twenty-one years old. His mother married Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian foreign student, with whom she had one daughter, Maya. The family moved to Jakarta in 1967, where Barack Obama attended local schools from ages 6 to 10. He then returned to Honolulu to live with his maternal grandparents while attending Punahou School from 5th grade until his graduation in 1979. Barack Obama's mother died of ovarian cancer a few months after the publication of his 1995 memoir, Dreams from My Father.

In the memoir, Barack Obama describes his experiences growing up in his mother's American middle class family. His knowledge about his absent Luo father came mainly through family stories and photographs. Of his early childhood, Barack Obama writes: "That my father looked nothing like the people around me�that he was black as pitch, my mother white as milk�barely registered in my mind." The book describes his struggles as a young adult to reconcile social perceptions of his multiracial heritage. He used alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine during his teenage years, Barack Obama writes, to "push questions of who I was out of my mind."

After graduating from Punahou, Barack Obama studied at Occidental College for two years, then transferred to Columbia University, where he majored in political science with a specialization in international relations. He received his B.A. degree in 1983, then worked for one year at Business International Corporation. In 1985, Barack Obama moved to Chicago to direct a non-profit project assisting local churches to organize job training programs. He entered Harvard Law School in 1988. In 1990, The New York Times reported his election as the Harvard Law Review's "first black president in its 104-year history." He completed his J.D. degree magna cum laude in 1991. On returning to Chicago, Barack Obama directed a voter registration drive. As an associate attorney with Miner, Barnhill & Galland from 1993 to 1996, he represented community organizers, discrimination claims, and voting rights cases. He was a lecturer of constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1993 until his election to the U.S. Senate in 2004.

Barack Obama was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1996 from the state's 13th District in the south-side Chicago neighborhood of Hyde Park. In 2000, he made an unsuccessful Democratic primary run for the U.S. House of Representatives seat held by four-term incumbent candidate Bobby Rush. He was overwhelmingly reelected to the Illinois Senate in 1998 and 2002, officially resigning in November 2004, following his election to the U.S. Senate. Among his major accomplishments as a state legislator, Barack Obama's U.S. Senate web site lists: "creating programs like the state Earned Income Tax Credit"; "an expansion of early childhood education"; and "legislation requiring the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases." Reviewing Barack Obama's career in the Illinois Senate, a February 2007 article in the Washington Post noted his work with both Democrats and Republicans in drafting bipartisan legislation on ethics and health care reform. During his 2004 U.S. Senate campaign, Barack Obama won the endorsement of the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police, whose officials cited his "longtime support of gun control measures and his willingness to negotiate compromises," despite his support for some bills the police union had opposed. He was also criticized by a rival pro-choice candidate in the Democratic primary and by his Republican pro-life opponent in the general election for having voted either "present" or "no" on anti-abortion legislation.

Obama was sworn in as a Senator on January 4, 2005. He hired former Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle's ex-chief of staff for the same position, and Karen Kornbluh, an economist who was deputy chief of staff to former Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin, as his policy adviser. In July 2005, Samantha Power, Pulitzer-winning author on human rights and genocide, joined Obama's team. An October 2005 article in the British journal New Statesman listed Barack Obama as one of "10 people who could change the world." Three months into his Senate career, and again in 2007, Time magazine named Obama one of "the world's most influential people." During his first two and a half years in the Senate, Barack Obama received Honorary Doctorates of Law from Knox College, University of Massachusetts Boston, Northwestern University, Xavier University of Louisiana, and Southern New Hampshire University. He is a member of the Senate committees on Foreign Relations; Health, Education, Labor and Pensions; Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; and Veterans' Affairs; and the Congressional Black Caucus.

In February 2007, standing before the Old State Capitol building in Springfield, Illinois, Obama announced his candidacy for the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Describing his working life in Illinois, and symbolically linking his presidential campaign to Abraham Lincoln's 1858 House Divided speech, Barack Obama said: "That is why, in the shadow of the Old State Capitol, where Lincoln once called on a house divided to stand together, where common hopes and common dreams still live, I stand before you today to announce my candidacy for President of the United States of America." The announcement followed months of speculation on whether Obama would run in 2008. Barack Obama's campaign raised US$58 million during the first half of 2007, topping all other candidates and exceeding previous records for the first six months of any year before an election year.

In 1988, while employed as a summer associate at the Chicago law firm of Sidley & Austin, Obama met Michelle Robinson, who also worked there. They were married in 1992 and have two daughters, Malia, born in 1999, and Natasha ("Sasha"), born in 2001. The family moved from their Hyde Park, Chicago condominium to a nearby US$1.6-million home in 2005. Barack Obama plays basketball, a sport he participated in as a member of his high school's varsity team. Before announcing his presidential candidacy, he began a well-publicized effort to quit smoking. "I've never been a heavy smoker," Obama told the Chicago Tribune. "I've quit periodically over the last several years. I've got an ironclad demand from my wife that in the stresses of the campaign I don't succumb. I've been chewing Nicorette strenuously." Replying to an Associated Press survey of 2008 presidential candidates' personal tastes, he specified "architect" as his alternate career choice and "chili" as his favorite meal to cook. Asked to name a "hidden talent," Barack Obama answered: "I'm a pretty good poker player."

A theme of Obama's keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, and the title of his 2006 book, The Audacity of Hope, was inspired by his pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. In Chapter 6 of the book, titled "Faith," Barack Obama writes that he "was not raised in a religious household." He describes his mother, raised by non-religious parents, as detached from religion, yet "in many ways the most spiritually awakened person that I have ever known." He describes his Kenyan father as "raised a Muslim," but a "confirmed atheist" by the time his parents met, and his Indonesian step-father as "a man who saw religion as not particularly useful." The chapter details how Obama, in his twenties, while working with local churches as a community organizer, came to understand "the power of the African American religious tradition to spur social change." Barack Obama writes: "It was because of these newfound understandings�that religious commitment did not require me to suspend critical thinking, disengage from the battle for economic and social justice, or otherwise retreat from the world that I knew and loved�that I was finally able to walk down the aisle of Trinity United Church of Christ one day and be baptized."

Barack Obama has authored two bestselling books. The first, "Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance", was published after his graduation from law school and before entering politics. His second book, "The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream", was published in October 2006, three weeks before the 2006 midterm election.

ALEXA

2008-10-28T18:30:00.000-07:00

About Alexa Internet

Founded in April 1996, Alexa Internet grew out of a vision of Web navigation that is intelligent and constantly improving with the participation of its users. Along the way Alexa has developed an installed based of millions of toolbars, one of the largest Web crawls and an infrastructure to process and serve massive amounts of data.

For users of Alexa's Toolbar and web site this has resulted in products that have revolutionized Web navigation and intelligence. For developers this has resulted in a set of tools unprecedented in scope allowing whole new services to be created on the Alexa data and platform.

Alexa Products and Services

Alexa Toolbar

Alexa could not exist without the participation of the Alexa Toolbar community. Each member of the community, in addition to getting a useful tool, is giving back. Simply by using the toolbar each member contributes valuable information about the web, how it is used, what is important and what is not. This information is returned to the community as Related Links, Traffic Rankings and more.

Want to help? Install the Alexa Toolbar, and tell your friends. The more people use Alexa, the more useful it will be.
Alexa.com

Alexa's Web site is built on the notion that timely and relevant information is essential to a vital web experience.

Alexa Search and Browse - Alexa has taken search and browse to the next level and made it more complete, more relevant and more useful. Some key features include thumbnail images of sites and traffic information both of which help you to make quick decisions about which results are useful to you and which are not. Try Search and Browse.

Alexa Site Information - Alexa has built an unparalleled database of information about sites that includes statistics, related links and more. All of this information can be found on Alexa's Site Overview pages, Traffic Detail pages and Related Links pages. To access these pages, simply type the URL of any site into the Alexa Search box.

Alexa Top Sites - Alexa has lists of Top Sites available by country, language or in a category. You can download a CSV file of up to 100,000 global top sites that includes estimates of monthly visitors and pageviews.
Webmaster Services

Alexa has created a series of tools specifically for web site owners. These tools can help to drive traffic, make money, find broken links and more! Go to Webmaster Services.
Alexa Web Services

In November 2005, Alexa released Alexa Web Information Service V 1.0 on the Amazon.com Web Services platform. Gain access to Alexa's processed information about the Web, including traffic details, related links and more. See Alexa Web Services on Amazon.com.

Daftar alamat Google seluruh dunia

2008-10-26T03:07:00.000-07:00

Alamat umum Google adalah www.google.com, selain itu ada alamat lain sesuai server yang ada di setiap negara. Dibawah ini merupakan daftar Alamat Google web search Terlengkap, Untuk memudahkan semua link diurutkan berdasarkan nama negara.

USA (.com) www.google.com
Afghanistan (.com.af) www.google.com.af
American Samoa (.as) www.google.As
Anguilla (.off.ai) www.google.off.ai
Antigua and Barbuda (.com.ag) www.google.com.ag
Argentina (.com.ar) www.google.com.ar
Armenia (.am) www.google.am
Australia (.com.au) www.google.com.au
Austria (.at) www.google.at
Azerbaijan (.az) www.google.az
Bahrain (.com.bh) www.google.com.bh
Bangladesh (.com.bd) www.google.com.bd
Belgium (.be) www.google.be
Belize (.com.bz) www.google.com.bz
Bolivia (.com.bo) www.google.com.bo
Bosnia and Herzegovina (.ba) www.google.ba
Botswana (.co.bw) www.google.co.bw
Brazil (.com.br) www.google.com.br
British Virgin Islands (.vg) www.google.vg
Bulgaria (.bg) www.google.bg
Burundi (.bi) www.google.bi
Canada (.ca) www.google.ca
Chile (.cl) www.google.cl
China (.cn) www.google.cn
Colombia (.com.co) www.google.com.co
Congo, Democratic Republic of the (.cd) www.google.cd
Congo, Republic of the (.cg) www.google.cg
Cook Islands (.co.ck) www.google.co.ck
Costa Rica (.co.cr) www.google.co.cr
Croatia (.hr) www.google.hr
Cuba (.com.cu) www.google.com.cu
Czech Republic (.cz) www.google.cz
Cote dCase Ivoire (.ci) www.google.ci
Denmark (.dk) www.google.dk
Djibouti (.dj) www.google.dj
Dominica (.dm) www.google.dm
Dominican Republic (.com.do) www.google.com.do
Ecuador (.com.ec) www.google.com.ec
Egypt (.com.eg) www.google.com.eg
El Salvador (.com.sv) www.google.com.sv
Estonia (.ee) www.google.ee
Ethiopia (.com.et) www.google.com.et
Fiji (.com.fj) www.google.com.fj
Finland (.fi) www.google.fi
France (.fr) www.google.fr
Gambia (.gm) www.google.gm
Germany (.de) www.google.de
Gibraltar (.com.gi) www.google.com.gi
Greece (.com.gr) www.google.com.gr
Greenland (.gl) www.google.gl
Guatemala (.com.gt) www.google.com.gt
Guernsey (.gg) www.google.gg
Haiti (.ht) www.google.ht
Honduras (.hn) www.google.hn
Hong Kong (.com.hk) www.google.com.hk
Hungary (.hu) www.google.hu
Iceland (.is) www.google.is
India (.co.in) www.google.co.in
Indonesia (.co.id) www.google.co.id
Ireland (.ie) www.google.ie
Isle of Man (.co.im) www.google.co.im
Israel (.co.il) www.google.co.il
Italy (.it) www.google.it
Jamaica (.com.im) www.google.com.im
Japan (.co.jp) www.google.co.jp
Jersey (.co.je) www.google.co.je
Jordan (.jo) www.google.jo
Kazakhstan (.kz) www.google.kz
Kenya (.co.ke) www.google.co.ke
Kyrgyzstan (.kg) www.google.kg
Latvia (.lv) www.google.lv
Lesotho (.co.ls) www.google.co.ls
Libya (.com.ly) www.google.co.ly
Liechtenstein (.li) www.google.li
Lithuania (.lt) www.google.lt
Luxembourg (.lu) www.google.lu
Malawi (.mw) www.google.mw
Malaysia (.com.my) www.google.com.my
Malta (.com.mt) www.google.com.mt
Mauritius (.mu) www.google.mu
Mexico (.com.mx) www.google.com.mx
Micronesia (.fm) www.google.fm
Mongolia (.mn) www.google.mn
Montserrat (.ms) www.google.ms
Morocco (.co.ma) www.google.co.ma
Namibia (.com.na) www.google.com.na
Nepal (.com.np) www.google.com.np
Netherlands (.nl) www.google.nl
New Zealand (.co.nz) www.google.co.nz
Nicaragua (.com.ni) www.google.com.ni
Norfolk Island (.com.nf) www.google.com.nf
Norway (.no) www.google.no
Oman (.com.om) www.google.com.om
Pakistan (.com.pk) www.google.com.pk
Panama (.com.pa) www.google.com.pa
Paraguay (.com.py) www.google.com.py
Peru (.com.pe) www.google.com.pe
Philippines (.com.ph) www.google.com.ph
Pitcairn (.pn) www.google.com.pn
Poland (.pl) www.google.pl
Portugal (.pt) www.google.pt
Puerto Rico (.com.pr) www.google.com.pr
Qatar (.com.qa) www.google.com.qa
Romania (.ro) www.google.ro
Russia (.ru) www.google.ru
Rwanda (.rw) www.google.rw
Saint Helena (.sh) www.google.sh
San Marino (.sm) www.google.sm
Saudi Arabia (.com.sa) www.google.com.sa
Senegal (.sn) www.google.sn
Seychelles (.sc) www.google.sc
Singapore (.com.sg) www.google.com.sg
Slovakia (.sk) www.google.sk
Slovenia (.si) www.google.si
South Africa (.co.za) www.google.co.za
South Korea (.co.kr) www.google.co.kr
Spain (.es) www.google.es
Sri Lanka (.lk) www.google.lk
St.Vincent and the Grenadines (.com.vc) www.google.com.vc
Sweden (.se) www.google.se
Switzerland (.ch) www.google.ch
Taiwan (.com.tw) www.google.com.tw
Tajikistan (.com.tj) www.google.com.tj
Thailand (.co.th) www.google.co.th
The Bahamas (.bs) www.google.bs
Tonga (.to) www.google.to
Trinidad and Tobago (.tt) www.google.tt
Turkey (.com.tr) www.google.com.tr
Turkmenistan (.tm) www.google.tm
U.S. Virgin Islands (.co.vi) www.google.co.vi
Uganda (.co.ug) www.google.co.ug
Ukraine (.com.ua) www.google.com.ua
United Arab Emirates (.ae) www.google.ae
United Kingdom (.co.uk) www.google.co.uk
Uruguay (.com.uy) www.google.com.uy
Uzbekistan (.co.uz) www.google.co.uz
Venezuela (.co.ve) www.google.co.ve
Vietnam (.com.vn) www.google.com.vn
Zambia (.co.zm) www.google.co.zm

ISLAM IN THE WORLD

2008-10-22T17:12:00.000-07:00

Islam in Japan

2008-10-22T17:09:00.002-07:00

Islam in Japan

Islam's relation with Japan is quite recent as compared to those with other countries around the world. There are no clear records of any contact between Islam and Japan nor any historical traces of Islam's coming into Japan through religious propagation of any sort except for some isolated cases of contact between individual Japanese and Muslims of other countries before 1868. Islam was firstly known to Japanese people in 1877 as a part of Western religious thought. Around the same time the life of prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was translated into Japanese. This helped Islam to find a place in the intellectual image of the Japanese people, but only as a knowledge and a part of the history of cultures. Another important contact was made in 1890 when Ottoman Turkey dispatched a naval vessel to Japan for the purpose of starting diplomatic relations between the two countries as well introducing Muslims and Japanese people to each other. This naval vessel called "Ertugrul" was capsized and sank with 609 people aboard drowning 540 of them, on its way returning to home.

The first Muslim Japanese ever known are Mitsutaro Takaoka who converted to Islam in 1909 and took the name Omar Yamaoka after making the pilgrimage to Makkah and Bumpachiro Ariga, who about the same time went to India for trading purposes and converted to Islam under the influence of local Muslims there and subsequently took the name Ahmad Ariga. However, recent studies have revealed that another Japanese known as Torajiro Yamada was probably the first Japanese Muslim who visited Turkey out of sympathy for those who died in the aftermath of the shipwreck of the "Ertugrul". He converted to Islam there and took the name Abdul Khalil and probably made pilgrimage to Makkah. The real Muslim community life however did not start until the arrival of several hundred Turkoman, Uzbek, Tadjik, Kirghiz, Kazakh and other Turko-Tatar Muslim refugees from central Asia and Russia in the wake of the Bolshevik Revolution during World War I. These Muslims who were given asylum in Japan settled in several main cities around Japan and formed small Muslim communities. A number of Japanese converted to Islam through the contact with these Muslims. With the formation of these small Muslim communities several mosques have been built, the most important of them being the Kobe Mosque built in 1935 (which is the only remaining mosque in Japan nowadays) and the Tokyo Mosque built in 1938. One thing that should be emphasized is that very little weight of Japanese Muslims was felt in building these mosques and there have been no Japanese so far who played the role of Imam of any of the mosques. During World War II, an "Islamic Boom" was set in Japan by the military government through organisations and research centers on Islam and the Muslim World. It is said that during this period over 100 books and journals on Islam were published in Japan. However, these organisations or research centers were in no way controlled or run by the Muslims nor was their purpose the propagation of Islam whatsoever. The mere purpose was to let the military be better equipped with the necessary knowledge about Islam and Muslims since there were large Muslim communities in the areas occupied in China and Southeast Asia by the Japanese army. As a result, with the end of the war in 1945, these organisations and research centers disappeared rapidly.

Another "Islamic Boom" was set in motion this time in the shade of "Arab Boom" after the "oil shock" in 1973. The Japanese mass media have given big publicity to the Muslim World in general and the Arab World in particular after realizing the importance of these countries for the Japanese economy. With this publicity many Japanese who had no idea about Islam got the chance to see the scene of Hajj in Makkah and hear the call of Adhan and Quranic recitations. Beside many sincere conversions to Islam there were also mass conversions which are said to have amounted to several tens of thousands of conversions which took placeduring those days. However, with the end of the effect of oil shock, most of those who converted to Islam disappeared from the scene.

TOWARDS A NEW PHASE:
"In the coming few years there should be substantial developments for Islam in Japan,"says Nur Ad-Din Mori."If not, then we cannot really speak of the future of Islam in this country." Mori maintains it is a turning point now because of the relatively recent return of five young Muslims to Japan after completing their studies on Islam in Arab countries. Two graduated from the Umm al-Qura University, Makkah, one from Islamic University, Madinah, one from the Dawa College, Tripoli, and the last from Qatar University. Though the number may not seem very impressive it is a significant increase in the Japanese scene where, before these five, only six students graduated from universities in Arab countries during the last twenty years, with three of them majoring in Arabic, not Islamic, studies. Mori, who studied theology and general Islamic studies in Makkah, is one of the recent five: he confirms their responsibilities." Islam is a religion of knowledge and we cannot stand well without learning. I think the efforts and activities made in this respect in Japan remain very minor up to this day." Mori's pronouncement also refers to another problem in Japan: there have been few who can teach Islam to the indigenous people in their own language. The history of Dawa in Japan for the past forty years has basically been that of efforts by foreign Muslims who happened to stay here in this mainly Buddhist country.

The Turks have been the biggest Muslim community in Japan until recently. Pre-war Japan was well-known for its sympathy and favour towards Muslims in central Asia, seeing in them an anti-Soviet ally. In those days some Japanese who worked in intelligence circles had contact with these Muslims. A few opened their eyes to Islam through these contacts, and embraced it after the war ended. There were also those who went to Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia as soldiers during the war. The pilots were instructed to say "La ilaha illa Allah", when they were shot down in these regions, so that their lives would be spared. Actually one of them was shot down and captured by the inhabitants. When he shouted the "magic" words to them, to his astonishment they changed their attitudes and treated him rather kindly. He has been keeping his words until this day. These are the Muslims of "the old generation". They found themselves as a minority group of Japanese Muslims after the war, and lived with already established foreign Muslim communities. Generally, the Japanese in those days had quite strong prejudices against Islam and their knowledge of international society was very limited. For example, in an article published in a magazine in 1958, the five pillars of Islam were described under the title "The strange customs of Mohammedans".

The Japanese had a stereotyped image of Islam that it was "a strange religion of underdeveloped countries". Even these days, though modified and corrected in many respects, such an image has not died out. Just a few years ago, a famous writer in social affairs could say in a TV program that Islam is a religion whose followers worship the sun. A comparison of Japanese attitudes towards Christianity is interesting. Christianity has spread in Japan over the last hundred and twenty years as part of its Westernisation and is greatly respected even by those who do not adhere to its creeds. The population of Japanese Christians is one million, which constitutes less than one percent of the total population. Many of them, however, belong to be middle class and to intellectual circles, as demonstrated by the fact that the present Minister of Culture is a Christian writer, so their influence is much greater than their numerical strength may suggest. The spread of Christianity can be ascribed, not only to western influence but also to the long history of its presence in Japan, having arrived more than five hundred years ago.The spread of Islam went eastwards, from India to Malaysia and Indonesia, and was blocked after reaching the southern Philippines by the Spanish colonization of the North. From there, Spanish missionaries were able to carry their message to Japan.

The Japanese invasion of China and South East Asian countries during the second world war brought the Japanese in contact with Muslims. Those who embraced Islam through them established in 1953, the first Japanese Muslim organisation, the Japan Muslim Association under the leadership of the late Sadiq Imaizumi. Its members, numbering sixty five at the time of inauguration, increased two-fold before this devoted man passed away six years later. The second president of the association was the late Umar Mita, a very dedicated man. Mita was typical of the old generation, who learned Islam in the territories occupied by the Japanese Empire. He was working for the Manshu Railway Company, which virtually controlled the Japanese territory in the north eastern province of China at that time. Through his contacts with Chinese Muslims, he was convinced of its truth, and became a Muslim in Peking. When he returned to Japan, after the war, he made the Hajj, the first Japanese in the post-war period to do so. He also made a Japanese translation of the meaning of the Quran from a Muslim perspective for the first time. Thus, it was only after the second world war, that what can properly be called "a Japanese Muslim community" came into existence. In spite of the initial success, however, later developments were quite slow in terms of membership.

Though many Islamic organisations were established since the 1900s, each of them has only a few active members. There is no reliable estimate on the Japanese Muslim population. Claims of thirty thousand are without doubt an exaggeration. Some claim that there are only a few hundred. This probably amounts to the number of Muslims openly practicing Islam. Asked to give an estimate on the actual number of Muslims in Japan, Abu Bakr Morimoto replied, "To say frankly, only one thousand. In the broadest sense, I mean, if we do not exclude those who became Muslims for the sake of, say marriage, and do not practice then the number would be a few thousands." Apparently such a slow development is due partly to external circumstances. Japanese traditional religious atmosphere and highly developed materialistic tendencies must both be taken into consideration. But there are also shortcomings on the part of the Muslims. There exists a difference in orientation between the old and new generations.

For the old generation. Islam is equated with a religion of Malaysia, Indonesia, or China etc. But for the new generation, these East Asian countries are not very appealing, because of their western orientation, and so they are more influenced by Islam in the Arab countries. "The old generation have lived closely connected with non-Japanese Muslims," points out Nur Ad-Din . "It is an excellent act in the spirit of brotherhood. But on the other hand, we cannot deny its side effect, that is, this way of life could not prevent other Japanese from thinking of Islam as something foreign. How to overcome this barrier is a problem to be solved. It is a task for us, the younger generation ." When visiting Muslim countries, the remark that Japanese Muslims are the minority religious group always brings a question from the audience, "What percentage of Japan's total population are Muslims?" The answer at the moment is: One out of a hundred thousand. Nevertheless, the younger generation has aspirations. Perhaps some day it will be said that Islam is a popular religion in Japan.

DA'WA IN JAPAN:
The history of Islam in Japan reveals therefore some random waves of conversions. In fact, religious campaigns are no more successful for other divine revelations or "new religions". The statistics indicate that some 80% of the total population believe in either Buddhism or Shintoism while as few as 0.7% are Christians. The latest results of a poll conducted by a Japanese monthly opinion magazine imply however an important caveat. Only one out of four Japanese effectively believes in any particular religion. The lack of faith is even more pronounced for Japanese youth in their 20s with an alarming rate of atheism as high as 85%. The potential direct agents of da'wah represented by the Muslim community in Japan with its estimated one hundred thousand believers is itself extremely small compared with the total population of more than one hundred and twenty million citizens. Students together with various kinds of workers in precarious conditions constitute a large segment of the community. They are concentrated in big urban cities such as Hiroshima, Kyoto, Nagoya, Osaka and Tokyo but are seldom organised into established units in order to conduct effective programs of da'wah. In fact, the Muslim students association as well as some local societies organise periodical camps and gatherings in an effort to improve the understanding of Islamic teachings and for the sake of strengthening brotherhood relations among Muslims.

There is a continuous need for Muslims to withstand pressures to conform to the prevailing modern lifestyle which appeals to the passionate element of the soul. Further difficulties are faced by Muslims with respect to communication, housing, child education or the availability of halal food and Islamic literature, and these constitute additional factors hindering the course of da'wah in this country. The duty of da'wah is frequently perceived as the single obligation on Muslims to preach Islam to non-Muslims. However, important calls for reform (islaah) and renewal (tajdeed) constitute also distinct forms of da'wah to Muslims.

A betterment of the level of Islamic knowledge and living conditions of the Muslim community is therefore by itself the very da'wah needed in Japan. One should bear in mind however, that unless the attitudes of indifference and passivity of Muslim residents in Japan with respect to Islamic issues of congregational aspect are changed, the risk of the community being uprooted and diluted through severe distorsions of the Islamic belief will indeed grow higher. This likelihood is in fact pertaining to the permanent exposure of Muslims to the influence of many Japanese customs and traditional practices such as deep bowing as a form of greeting and collective participation in religious festivities and temple visits. The problem is perhaps being felt in more acute terms for Muslim children who, in the absence of any Muslim kindergartens or schools constitute indeed easy targets for the transmission and cultivation of unIslamic cultural and social habits. The remarkable lack of educational institutions of Islamic character is also reflected by the existence in all over Japan of a single mosque which resisted with fadhl from Allah s.w.t to the great Hanshin earthquake that nearly destroyed the city of Kobe on the wake of January 17 of this year.

There are permanent efforts to build or transform housing units into masajids in many other cities and with the help of the Almighty, such good enterprises are expected to bear fruits in the very near future insha'Allah. The misconception of Islamic teachings introduced by the western media stands to be corrected in a more efficient approach that takes into consideration the significant feature of the Japanese society of being one of the world's most literate countries. Yet, because of poor distribution, even translations of the meanings of Quran into Japanese language are not publicly available. Islamic literature is virtually absent from bookstores or public libraries to the exception of few english-written essays and books that are sold at relatively high prices. As a result, it should not be surprising to find out that the knowledge of ordinary Japanese about Islam is modestly confined to few terms related to polygamy, Sunnah and Shia, Ramadhan, Makkah, Allah the God of Muslims and Islam the religion of Muhammad ! Will Islam echo louder in Japan ? With increasingly significant evidence of a responsible recognition of its duties and rational assessment of its limits and capabilities, the Muslim community is showing stronger commitment to accomplish its task of da'wah in a better organised fashion. There are indeed strong hopes that the future of Islam and Muslims will be better than their past inshaAllah as we believe that if Allah (s.w.t.) helps us, none can overcome us.

Islam in America

2008-10-22T17:09:00.001-07:00

Islam in America

MUSLIMS IN THE AMERICAS BEFORE COLUMBUS
by
Dr. Youssef Mroueh

Introduction
Numerous evidence suggests that Muslims from Spain and West Africa arrived in the Americas at least five centuries before Co1umbus. It is recorded, for example that in the mid-tenth century during the rule of the Umayed Caliph Abdul-Rahman III (929-961), Muslims of African origin sailed westward from the Spanish port of Delba (Palos) into the “Ocean of darkness an fog.” They returned after a long absence with much booty from a “strange and curious land.” It is evident that people of Muslim origin are known to have accompanied Columbus and subsequent Spanish explorers to the New World.
The last Muslim stronghold in Spain, Granada, fell to the Christians in 1492 CE, just before the Spanish inquisition was launched. To escape persecution, many non-Christians fled or embraced Catholicism. At least two documents imply the presence of Muslims in Spanish America before 1550 CE. Despite the fact that a decree issued in 1539 CE, by Charles V, King of Spain, forbade the grandsons of Muslims who had been burned at the stake to migrate to the West Indies. This decree was ratified in 1543 CE, and an order for the expulsion of all Muslims from overseas Spanish territories was subsequently published. Many references on the Muslim arrival in the Americas are available. They are summarized in the following notes:

Historic Documents
l. A Muslim historian and geographer Abul-Hassan Ali Ibn Al-Hussain Al-Masudi (871 - 957 CE) wrote in his book ‘Muruj Adh-dhahab wa Maadin al-Jawhar’ (The Meadows of Gold and Quarries of Jewels) that during the rule of the Muslim Caliph of Spain Abdullah Ibn Muhammad (888 - 912 CE), a Muslim navigator Khashkhash Ibn Saeed Ibn Aswad of Cordoba, Spain sailed from Delba (Palos) in 889 CE, crossed the Atlantic, reached an unknown territory (Ard Majhoola) and returned with fabulous treasures. In Al-Masudi's map of the world there is a large area in the ocean of darkness and fog (the Atlantic ocean) which he referred to as the unknown territory (the Americas).
2. A Muslim historian Abu Bakr Ibn Umar Al-Gutiyya narrated that during the reign of the Muslim Caliph of Spain, Hisham II (976 -1009 CE), another Muslim navigator Ibn Farrukh of Granada sailed from Kadesh (February 999 CE) into the Atlantic, landed in Gando (Great Canary Islands) visiting King Guanariga, and continued westward where he saw and named two islands, Capraria and Pluitana. He arrived back in Spain in May 999 CE.
3. Columbus sailed from Palos (Delba), Spain. He was bound for Gomera (Canary Islands) - Gomera is an Arabic word meaning ‘small firebrand’ - there he fell in love with Beatriz Bobadilla, daughter of the first captain General of the island (the family name Bobadilla is derived from the Arab Islamic name Abouabdilla). Nevertheless, the Bobadilla clan was not easy to ignore. Another Bobadilla (Francisco), later as the royal commissioner, put Columbus in chains and transferred him from Santo Domingo back to Spain (November 1500 CE). The Bobadilla family was related to Abbadid dynasty of Seville (1031 -1091 CE).
On October 12, 1492 CE, Columbus landed on a little island in the Bahamas that was called Guanahani by the natives. Renamed San Salvador by Columbus, Guanahani is derived from Mandinka and modified Arabic words. Guana (Ikhwana) means ‘brothers’ and Hani is an Arabic name. Therefore the original name of the island was ‘Hani Brothers.’

Ferdinand Columbus, the son of Christopher, wrote about the blacks seen by his father in Honduras: “The people who live farther east of Pointe Cavinas, as far as Cape Gracios a Dios, are almost black in color.” At the same time in this very same region, lived a tribe of Muslim natives known as Almamy. In Mandinka and Arabic languages Almamy was the designation of “Al-Imam” or “Al-Imamu,” the person who leads the Prayer, or in some cases, the chief of the community, and/or a member of the Imami Muslim community.
4. A renowned American historian and linguist Leo Weiner of Harvard University, in his book Africa and The Discovery of America (1920) wrote that Columbus was well aware of the Mandinka presence in the New World and that the West African Muslims had spread throughout the Caribbean, Central, South and North American territories, including Canada, where they were trading and intermarrying with the Iroquois and Algonquin Indians.
Geographic Explorations
1. The famous Muslim geographer and cartographer Al-Sharif Al-Idrisi (1099 - 1166 CE) wrote in his famous book ‘Nuzhat al-Mushtaq fi-Ikhtiraq al-Afaq (Excursion of the longing in crossing horizons) that a group of seafarers (from North Africa) sailed into the sea of darkness and fog (the Atlantic ocean) from Lisbon (Portugal), in order to discover what was in it and what extent were its limits. They finally reached an island that had people and cultivation....on the fourth day, a translator spoke to them in the Arabic language.
2. The Muslim reference books mentioned a well-documented description of a journey across the sea of fog and darkness by Shaikh Zayn-eddine Ali ben Fadhel Al-Mazandarani. His journey started from Tarfay (south Morocco) during the reign of the King Abu-Yacoub Sidi Youssef (1286 - 1307 CE) sixth of the Marinid dynasty, to Green Island in the Caribbean sea in 1291 CE (690 AH). The details of his ocean journey are mentioned in Islamic references, and many Muslim scholars are aware of this recorded historical event.
3. The Muslim historian Chihab Addine Abul-Abbas Ahmad ben Fadhl Al-Umari (1300 - 1384 CE, 700 - 786 AH) described in detail the geographical explorations beyond the sea of fog and darkness of Male’s sultans in his famous book ‘Masaalik al-absaar fi Mamaalik al-amsaar (The Pathways of Sights in The Provinces of Kingdoms).
4. Sultan Mansa Kankan Musa (1312 - 1337 CE) was the world renowned Mandinka monarch of the West African Islamic empire of Mali. While traveling to Makkah on his famous Hajj in 1324 CE, he informed the scholars of the Mamluk Bahri Sultan court (an-Nasir-eddin Muhammad III, 1309 - 1340 CE) in Cairo that his brother, Sultan Abu Bakari I (1285 - 1312 CE) had undertaken two expeditions into the Atlantic ocean. When the sultan did not return to Timbuktu from the second voyage of 1311 CE, Mansa Musa became sultan of the empire.
5.Columbus and early Spanish and Portuguese explorers were able to voyage across the Atlantic (a distance of 24,000 Kilometers) thanks to Muslim geographical and navigational information, in particular maps made by Muslim traders, including Al-Masudi (871 - 957 CE) in his book ‘Akhbar Az-Zaman’ (History of The World) which is based on material gathered in Africa and Asia. As a matter of fact, Columbus had two captains of Muslim origin during his first transatlantic voyage: Martin Alonso Pinzon was the captain of the Pinta, and his brother Vicente Yanex Pinzon was the captain of the Nina. They were wealthy, expert ship outfitters who helped organize the Columbus expedition and repaired the flagship Santa Maria. They did this at their own expense for both commercial and political reasons. The Pinzon family was related to Abuzayan Muhammad III (1362 - 66 CE), the Moroccan sultan of the Marinid dynasty (1196 - 1465 CE).

Arabic (Islamic) Inscriptions
l. Anthropologists have proven that the Mandinkas under Mansa Musa's instructions explored many parts of North America via the Mississippi and other rivers systems. At Four Corners, Arizona, writings show that they even brought elephants from Africa to the area.
2. Columbus admitted in his papers that on Monday, October 21, 1492 CE while his ship was sailing near Gibara on the north-east coast of Cuba, he saw a mosque on the top of a beautiful mountain. The ruins of mosques and minarets with inscriptions of Qur'anic verses have been discovered in Cuba, Mexico, Texas and Nevada.
3. During his second voyage, Columbus was told by the Indians of Espanola (Haiti), that Black people had been to the island before his arrival. For proof they presented Columbus with the spears of these African Muslims. These weapons were tipped with a yellow metal that the Indians called Guanine, a word of West African derivation meaning ‘gold alloy.’ Oddly enough, it is related to the Arabic world ‘Ghinaa’ which means ‘Wealth.’ Columbus brought some Guanines back to Spain and had them tested. He learned that the metal was 18 parts gold (56.25 percent), six parts silver (18.75 percent and eight parts copper (25 percent), the same ratio as the metal produced in African metal shops of Guinea.
4. In 1498 CE, on his third voyage to the New World, Columbus landed in Trinidad. Later, he sighted the South American continent, where some of his crew went ashore and found natives using colorful handkerchiefs of symmetrically woven cotton. Columbus noticed the these handkerchiefs resembled the head dresses and loincloths of Guinea in their colors, style and function. He referred to them as Almayzars. Almayzar is an Arabic word for ‘wrapper,’ ‘cover,’ ‘apron’ and or ‘skirting,’ which was the cloth the Moors (Spanish or North African Muslims) imported from West Africa (Guinea) into Morocco, Spain and Portugal.
During this voyage, Columbus was surprised that the married women wore cotton panties (bragas) and he wondered where these natives learned their modesty. Hernando Cortez, Spanish conqueror, described the dress of the Indian women as long veils and the dress of Indian men as ‘breechcloth painted in the style of Moorish draperies.’ Ferdinand Columbus called the native cotton garments ‘breechclothes of the same design and cloth as the shawls worn by the Moorish women of Granada.’ Even the similarity of the children's hammocks to those found in North Africa was uncanny.
5. Dr. Barry Fell (Harvard University) introduced in his book Saga America - 1980 solid scientific evidence supporting the arrival, centuries before Columbus, of Muslims from North and West Africa. Dr. Fell discovered the existence of Muslim schools at Valley of Fire, Allan Springs, Logomarsino, Keyhole Canyon, Washoe and Hickison Summit Pass (Nevada), Mesa Verde (Colorado), Mimbres Valley (New Mexico) and Tipper Canoe (Indiana) dating back to 700-800 CE. Engraved on rocks in the old western US, he found texts, diagrams and charts representing the last surviving fragments of what was once a system of schools - at both an elementary and higher levels. The language of instruction was North African Arabic written with old Kufic Arabic script. The subjects of instruction included writing, reading, arithmetic, religion, history, geography, mathematics, astronomy and sea navigation.
The descendants of the Muslim visitors of North America are members of the present Iroquois, Algonquin, Anasazi, Hohokam and Olmec native people.
6. There are 565 names of places (villages, towns, cities, mountains, lakes, rivers, etc.) in USA (484) and Canada (81) which are derived from Islamic and Arabic roots. These places were originally named by the natives in pre-Columbian period. Some of these names carried holy meanings such as: Mecca (Indiana) - 720 inhabitants, Makkah Indian tribe (Washington), Medina (Idaho) - 2100, Medina (NY) - 8500, Medina and Hazen (North Dakota) - 1100 and 5000, respectively, Medina (Ohio) - 12,000, Medina (Tennessee) - 1100, Medina (Texas) - 26,000, Medina (Ontario) -1200, Mahomet (Illinois) - 3200, Mona (Utah) - 1100, Arva (Ontario) - 700, and many others. A careful study of the names of the native Indian tribes revealed that many names are derived from Arab and Islamic roots and origins, i.e. Anasazi, Apache, Arawak, Arikana, Chavin Cherokee, Cree, Hohokam, Hupa, Hopi, Makkah, Mahigan, Mohawk, Nazca, Zulu, Zuni, etc.

Islam in West Africa

2008-10-22T17:08:00.000-07:00

Islam in West Africa

SPREAD OF ISLAM IN WEST AFRICA
by
Prof. A. Rahman I. Doi

[The Muslim geographers and historians have provided excellent records of Muslim rulers and peoples in Africa. Among them are Al-Khwarzimi, Ibn Munabbah, Al-Masudi, Al-Bakri, Abul Fida, Yaqut, Ibn Batutah, Ibn Khaldun, Ibn Fadlallah al-'Umari, Mahmud al-Kati, Ibn al Mukhtar and Abd al-Rahman al-Sa'di. Islam reached the Savannah region in the 8th Century C.E., the date the written history of West Africa begins. Islam was accepted as early as 850 C.E. by the Dya'ogo dynasty of the Kingdom of Tekur. They were the first Negro people who accepted Islam. Trade and commerce paved the way for the introduction of new elements of material culture, and made possible the intellectual development which naturally followed the introduction and spread of literacy.
Eminent Arab historians and African scholars have written on the empires of Ghana, Mali, Songhay, and Kanem Bornu. They document famous trade routes in Africa - from Sijilmasa to Taghaza, Awdaghast, which led to the empire of Ghana, and from Sijilmasa to Tuat, Gao and Timbikutu. Al-Bakri describes Ghana as highly advanced and economically a prosperous country as early as the eleventh century. He also discusses the influence of Islam in Mali in the 13th century and describes the rule of Mansa Musa whose fame spread to Sudan, North Africa and up to Europe.]

Spread of Islam in West Africa
Islam reached the Savannah region in the 8th Century C.E., the date the written history of West Africa begins.[17] The Muslim-Arab historians began to write about West Africa in the early 8th century. The famous scholar Ibn Munabbah wrote as early as 738 C.E., followed by Al-Masudi in 947 C.E. As Islam spread in the Savannah region, it was quite natural that commercial links should also come to be established with North Africa. Trade and commerce also paved way for the introduction of new elements of material culture, and made possible the intellectual development which naturally followed the introduction and spread of literacy, and for which parts of the Sudan were to become famous in the centuries to come [18]. In the Kingdom of Tekur, situated on both banks of the Senegal, Islam was accepted as early as 850 C.E., by the Dya'ogo dynasty. This dynasty was the first Negro people who accepted Islam.

It was for this reason that Muslim-Arab historians referred to Bilad al-Tekur as 'the land of the Black Muslims.' War-jabi, son of Rabis, was the first ruler of Tekur in whose reign Islam was firmly established in Tekur and the Islamic Shari'ah system was enforced. This gave a uniform Muslim law to the people. By the time the Al- Murabitun of Almoravids began their attack on Tekur in 1042 C.E., Islam had made a deep impact on the people of that area. Al-Idrisi in 1511 described the Tekur Country as 'secure, peaceful and tranquil.' The capital town of Tekur was also called Tekur which had become center of commerce. Merchants used to bring wool to sell there from Maghrib and in return, took with them gold and beads.

We have enough documents about the history of this region since it was known to the Arab historians as the Bilad al-Sudan, the land of the Blacks. In the medieval period, the most well-known empires that grew there are known until our day: The empires of Ghana, Mali, Songhay, and Kanem Bornu. Eminent Arab historians have written about the glories of these lands, notable among whom are Al-Bakri, Al-Masudi, Ibn Batutah and Ibn Khaldun. Besides these scholars, there were local scholars whose works have come down to us. As for example Tarikh al-Sudan, the history of the Sudan, by Al-Sadi and Tarikh al-Fattash by Muhammad al-Kati.
There were famous trade routes, like the one from Sijilmasa to Taghaza, Awdaghast, which led to the empire of Ghana, and another from Sijilmasa to Tuat, Gao and Timbikutu. There were others which connected the present Nigeria with Tripoli via Fez to Bornu and Tunisia with Nigeria via Ghadames, Ghat, and Agades to Hausa land. These routes had made all the above mentioned places famous trade centers. These centers of trade invariably became centers of Islamic learning and civilization. New ideas came through visiting traders in the field of administrative practices. We shall study briefly the expansion of Islam in each of the ancient empires of Western Sudan.

Islam in the ancient empire of Ghana
Al-Bakri, the Muslim geographer, gives us an early account of the ancient Soninke empire of Ghana. His Kitab fi Masalik wal Mamalik (The Book of Roads and Kingdoms) describes Ghana of 1068 as highly advanced. Economically, it was a prosperous country. The King had employed Muslim interpreters and most of his ministers and treasurers were also Muslims. The Muslim ministers were learned enough to record events in Arabic and corresponded, on behalf of the king, with other rulers. "Also, as Muslims, they belonged to the larger body politic of the Islamic world and this would make it possible to establish international relations. [18]"

Al-Bakri gives the following picture of Islam in Ghana in the 11th century: "The city of Ghana consists of two towns lying on a plain, one of which is inhabited by Muslims and is large, possessing 12 mosques one of which is congregational mosque for Friday prayers: each has its Imam, Muezzin and paid reciters of the Qur'an. The town possesses a large number of Jurus consults and learned men." [19]

The end of the Ghana Empire came at the hands of al-Murabitun (Almoravids) in the year 1076 C.E. The Murabitun movement had begun among the militant Muslim tribes of the Barbers of the Sinhaja. The word al-Murabitun is derived from an Arabic word 'ibat which means a sufi monastery. In the 11th century, Tarsina, a Lambtuna leader, went on hajj and on his return proclaimed a jihad on the pagan farmers of Senegal river area.

He was killed in 1023 in this struggle and was followed by Yahya who also went on a pilgrimage and brought with him a famous preacher named, 'Abd-Allah bin Yasin. 'Abd-Allah began to preach Islam among the Goddala. Suddenly Yahya died and 'Abd-Allah felt unsafe. He therefore retired into a ribat where he began to train preachers for spreading Islam among the Berber tribes. Later he used his men of the ribal to launch a jihad. These men of ribat (monastery) are called Al-Murabitun, meaning the ribat dwellers, remembered as Almoravids by European writers. The Almoravids conquered Ghana by 1076 C.E.

Islam in the empire of Mali
The influence of Islam in Mali dates back to the 15th century when Al-Bakri mentions the conversion of its ruler to Islam. There was a miserable period of drought which came to an end by offering Muslim prayers and ablutions. The Empire of Mali arose from the ruins of Ghana Empire. There are two important names in the history of Islam in Mali: Sundiata (1230-1255) and Mansa Musa (1312-1337). Sundiata is the founder of the Mali Empire but was a weak Muslim, since he practiced Islam with syncretic practices and was highly disliked by the 'ulama. Mansa Musa was, on the other hand, a devout Muslim and is considered to be the real architect of the Mali Empire. By the time Sundiata died in 1255, a large number of former dependencies of Ghana also came under his power. After him came Mansa Uli (1255-1270) who had made a pilgrimage to Makkah.

Mansa (Emperor) Musa came to power in 1312 and his fame reached beyond the Sudan, North Africa and spread up to Europe. Mansa Musa ruled from 1312 to 1337 and in 1324-25 he made his famous pilgrimage to Makkah [Hajj]. When he returned from his pilgrimage, he brought with him a large number of Muslim scholars and architects who built five mosques for the first time with baked bricks. Thus Islam received its greatest boost during Mansa Musa's reign. Many scholars agree that because of his attachment to Islam, Mansa Musa could introduce new ideas to his administration. The famous traveller and scholar Ibn Batutah came to Mali during Mansa Sulaiman's reign (1341-1360), and gives an excellent account of Mali's government and its economic prosperity - in fact, a legacy of Mansa Musa's policy. Mansa Musa's pilgrimage projected Mali's enormous wealth and potentialities which attracted more and more Muslim traders and scholars. These Muslim scholars and traders contributed to the cultural and economic development of Mali. It was during his reign that diplomatic relations were established with Tunis and Egypt, and thus Mali began to appear on the map of the world.
Whatever may be said of the expansion of Islam in Mali and other parts of West Africa at that time, the fact remains that Islam was not practiced in its pristine purity. Pagan practices abound in the countries of Western Sudan. Ibn Batutah has given a vivid account of such practices in the Sudan. He says he was shocked by the fact that young women walked naked in the streets, taking food to the Sultan during the month of Ramadhan. He also describes the manner in which one appears before the Sultan:

"When he calls one of his subjects to an audience, the man removes his clothes and puts on worn-out garments and replaces his turban with a dirty skull-cap. Then he enters raising his garments and pantaloons halfway up his shins and comes forward in a submissive and humble way and strikes the ground high with his elbows. He then stands like one bowing in prayer listening to the Sultan's words. When one of them addresses the Sultan and the Sultan replies, the man removes the garments from his back and puts dust on his head and back like one washing with water."

These traditional practices continued along with Islamic ones. Some of the pagan practices were also observed with the Islamic worship. Worship of the local cults and shrines and belief in the local taboos continued in spite of the fact that Islam made enormous progress in the hinter-land of the Western Sudan. Al-Maghilli reports that girls customarily went naked until the time of their marriage, in the city of Jenne in the 15th century, although Islam was firmly rooted in the area by that time. In Hausa land, too, we hear of such practices, as late as the 19th century, when Shehu 'Uthman Dan Fodio launched his jihad to revive and revitalize Islam. We come to know about some pagan customs through the writings of the Shehu, such as covering the head with dust and prostration before the ruler. The monotheistic teachings of Islam frown upon prostrating before any one except one God and considers it as polytheism (shirk).

Islam in the Empire of Songhay
Islam began to spread in the Empire of Songhay some time in the 11th century when the ruling Za or Dia dynasty first accepted it. It was a prosperous region because of its booming trade with Gao. By the 13th century it had come under the dominion of the Mali Empire but had freed itself by the end of the 14th century when the dynasty was renamed Sunni. The frontier of Songhay now expanded and in the 15th century, under the leadership of Sunni 'Ali, who ruled between 1464-1492, the most important towns of the Western Sudan came under the Songhay Empire. The great cities of Islamic learning like Timbuktu and Jenne came under his power between 1471-1476.
Sunni 'Ali's was a nominal Muslim who used Islam to his ends. He even persecuted Muslim scholars and practiced local cults and magic. When the famous scholar Al-Maghilli called him a pagan, he punished him too. The belief in cults and magic was, however, not something new in Songhay. It existed in other parts of West Africa until the time the revivalist movements gained momentum in the 18th century. It is said of Sunni 'Ali that he tried to compromise between paganism and Islam although he prayed and fasted. The 'ulama called it merely a mockery.
Sunni 'Ali's syncretism was soon challenged by the Muslim elites and scholars in Timbuktu, which was then a center of Islamic learning and civilization. The famous family of Agit, of the Berber scholars, had the post of the Grand Qadhi (Chief Justice) and were known for their fearless opposition to the rulers. In his lifetime, Sunni 'Ali took measures against the 'ulama of Timbuktu (in 1469 and in 1486). But on his death, the situation completely changed: Islam and Muslim scholars triumphed. Muhammad Toure (Towri), a military commander asked Sunni 'Ali's successor, Sunni Barou, to appear before the public and make an open confession of his faith in Islam. When Barou refused to do so, Muhammad Toure ousted him and established a new dynasty in his own name, called the Askiya dynasty. Sunni 'Ali may be compared with Sundiata of Mali, and Askiya Muhammad Toure with Mansa Musa, a champion of the cause of Islam.
On his coming to power, he established Islamic law and arranged a large number of Muslims to be trained as judges (Qadhis) to interpret Canon Law. He gave his munificient patronage to the 'ulama and gave them large pieces of land as gifts. He became a great friend of the famous scholar Muhammad Al-Maghilli. It was because of his patronage that eminent Muslim scholars were attracted to Timbuktu, which became a great seat of learning in the 16th century. Timbuktu has the credit of establishing the first Muslim University called Sankore University in West Africa; its name is commemorated until today in Ibadan University where a staff residential area has been named as Sankore Avenue.

Like Mansa Musa of Mali, Askia Muhammad Toure went on a pilgrimage and thus came into close contact with Muslim scholars and rulers in the Arab countries. In Makkah, the King accorded him great respect; he was turbanned. The King gave him a sword and the title of the Khalifa of the Western Sudan. On his return from Makkah in the year 1497, he proudly used the title of Al-Hajj [20].

Askia took such a keen interest in the Islamic legal system that he asked a number of questions on Islamic theology from his friend Muhammad al-Maghilli. Al-Maghilli answered his questions in detail which Askia circulated in the Songhay empire. Some of the questions were about the fundamental structure of the faith, such as 'who is a true Muslim?' and "who is a pagan?" When we read Shehu 'Uthman Dan Fodio's works on jihad, we can see some of his arguments quoted on the authority of Al-Maghilli. In other words, Al-Maghilli's detailed discussions of the issues raised by Askiya Muhammad played a great role in influencing Shehu's jihad.
After Askiya Muhammad Toure, the empire began to crumble into pieces. He was deposed by his sons who had shared power with him since there was no fixed law of succession to the throne. During the period of 60 years(1528-1591), eight Askias came to power one after another. At last, in 1591 Songhay fell in the hands of the Moors and the glories of Timbuktu began to decline.

Islam in Kanem-Bornu Empire
Kanem-Bornu in the 13th century included the region around Lake Chad, stretching as far north as Fezzan. Kanem today forms the northern part of the Republic of Chad. Islam was accepted for the first time by the Kanem ruler, Umme-Jilmi ruled between 1085-1097 C.E., through a scholar named, Muhammad B. Mani, who is credited for bringing Islam to Kanem-Bornu. Umme-Jilmi became a devout Muslim. He left on a pilgrimage but died in Egypt before reaching Makkah. It is surprising that Al-Bakri has mentioned Kanem as a land of pagans even in the 11th century. Perhaps he meant that a large number of pagan practices also continued along with Islam during that period as we have seen in other West African empires. Al-Bakri also mentions that Umayyad refugees, who had fled from Baghdad following plans to liquidate their dynasty at the hands of the Abbasids, were residing in Kanem [21, 22].
With the introduction of Islam in Kanem, it became the principal focus of Muslim influence in the central Sudan and relations were established with the Arab world in the Middle East and the Maghrib. Umme's son Dunama I (1092-1150) also went on a pilgrimage and was crowned in Fgypt, while embarking at Suez for Makkah, during the third pilgrimage journey. During the reign of Dunama II (1221-1259), a Kanem embassy was established in Tunisia around 1257, as mentioned by the famous Andlusian historian Ibn Khaldun (d. 1406 C.E.). It was almost at the same time that a college and a hostel were established in Cairo, named Madrasah Ibn Rashiq. Toward the end of the 13th century, Kanem became a center of Islamic knowledge and famous teachers came from Mali to teach in Kanem. By the middle of the 13th century, Kanem established diplomatic relations with Tuat (in the Algerian Sahara) and with the Hafsid state of Tunis at embassy level. The Kanem scholars and poets could write classical Arabic of a very high standard. We have evidence of this in a letter written by the Chief scribe of the Kanem court dating from 1391 to 1392.

The historian Ibn Khaldun calls Dunama II as the 'King of Kanem and Lord of Bornu,' because his empire had expanded as far as Kano in the west and Wadai in the east. The Maliki school of the Islam was firmly established in the central Sudan region, but the pagan practices also continued. The pre-Islamic tradition of the rulers hiding themselves from the public continued during Dunama II's time. It is said that Dunama II opened a Talisman (Munni or Mune), considered sacred by his people, and thus brought a period of hardship to his people. It was because of his enthusiasm for the religion of Islam that he committed this 'abomination' (perhaps the talisman was a traditional symbol of divine (kingship) and alienated many of his subjects).
In the late 14th century, a new capital of the Kanem empire was established in Bornu at Nigazaragamu by 'Ali b. Dunama, also called 'Ali Ghazi, who ruled during the period 1476 to 1503. This thriving capital continued until 1811 when it was captured and destroyed by the Fulani in 1812. 'Ali revived Islam. He was keen on learning its principles. He used to visit the chief Imam 'Umar Masramba to learn more about the Islamic legal system. He, by his own example, persuaded the nobility and Chiefs to limit the number of their wives to only four.
The Islamization of Bornu dates from the time of Mai Idris Alooma (1570-1602). We come to know about him through his chronicler, Ahmad bin Fartuwa. In the 9th year of his reign he went on a pilgrimage to Makkah and built a hostel there for pilgrims from Bornu. He revived the Islamic practices and made them to be followed by all and sundry. He also set up Qadhis courts to introduce Islamic laws in place of the traditional system of customary law. He built a large number of brick mosques to replace the existing ones, built with reeds.
In 1810 during the period of Mai Ahmad the glories of the Empire of Bornu came to an end, but its importance, as a center of Islamic learning, continued.

Islam in Hausa-Fulani land
There is a well-known Hausa legend concerning the origin of the Hausa state, attributed to Bayajida (Bayazid) who came from Begh to settle down in Kanem-Bornu. The ruling Mai of Bornu of that time (we do not have any information about the time) welcomed Bayajida and gave his daughter in marriage to him but at the same time robbed him of his numerous followers. He fled from the Mai with his wife and came to Gaya Mai Kano and asked the goldsmith of Kano to make a sword for him. The story tells us that Bayajida helped the people of Kano by killing a supernatural snake which had prevented them from drawing water from a well. It is said that the queen, named Daura, married him in appreciation of his service to the people. Bayajida got a son named Bawo from Daura. Bawo, himself, had seven sons: Biran, Dcura, Katsina, Zaria, Kano, Rano and Gebir, who became the founders of the Hausa states. Whatever may be the merit of this story, it tries to explain how Hausa language and culture spread throughout the northern states of Nigeria.

Islam came to Hausaland in early 14th century. About 40 Wangarawa graders are said to have brought Islam with them during the reign of 'Ali Yaji who ruled Kano during the years 1349-1385. A mosque was built and a muazzin was appointed to give adhan and a Qadhi (Shariah-judge) was named to give religious decisions. During the reign of a ruler named, Yaqub (1452-1463), one Fulani migrated to Kano and introduced books on Islamic fiqh (theology). By the time Muhammad Rumfa came into power (1453-1499), Islam was firmly rooted in Kano. In his reign Muslim scholars came to Kano; some scholars also came from Timbuktu to teach and preach Islam.

Muhammad Rumfa consulted Muslim scholars on the affairs of government. It was he who had asked the famous Muslim theologian Al-Maghilli to write a book on Islamic government during the latter's visit to Kano in the 15th century. The book is a celebrated masterpiece and is called the Obligation of the Princes. Al-Maghilli later went to Katsina which had become a seat of learning in the 15th century. Most of the pilgrims from Makkah would go to Katsina. Scholars from the Sankore University of Timbuktu also visited the city and brought with them books on divinity and etymology. In the 13th century, Katsina produced native scholars like Muhammadu Dan Marina and Muhammadu Dan Masina (d. 1667) whose works are available even today.
The jihad literature of Shehu 'Uthman Dan Fodio, his brother, Abdullahi, and his son Muhammad Bello speaks of the syncretic practices of the Hausa Fulanis at the end of the 18th century. The jihad of 'Uthman Dan Fodio in 1904 was introduced as a revivalist movement in Islam to remove syncretic practices, and what Shehu called Bid'at al-shaytaniyya or Devilic Innovations.
The spread of Islam in Africa as well as its resulting distribution of Muslim communities are owing to many factors: historical, geographical and psychological; some of which we have tried to outline in this article. Ever since its first appearance in Africa, Islam has continued to grow. The 'ulama (the scholars in religion) and the imams have been Africans right from the time of its spread. Islam has become an African religion and has influenced her people in diverse ways.

Islam in Africa ISLAM AND AFRICA

2008-10-22T17:07:00.000-07:00

Islam in Africa

ISLAM AND AFRICA
by
Prof. A. Rahman I. Doi

[The famous Arab historian Ibn Khaldun says that the name Ifriqiya was given after Ifriqos bin Qais bin Saifi, one of the Kings of Yemen. To Al-Bakri, the boundries of Ifriqiya were Barga on the East and Tangier on the West, which means that in addition to the Africa proper of the Romans, it included Tripolitania, Numidia and Mauritania. Today, by the use of the word Ifiriqiya or Africa, the Arabs as well as non-Arabs mean the entire continent of Africa which includes North Africa (including the Maghrib), East Africa, West Africa, Central Africa, and South Africa. It was significant that the first shelter of early Muslims was in Africa (Abyssinia, 615 CE). By the time Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) began his mission, the Egyptians and Syrians had partially severed their active link with the Roman Empire.

When the Arab conquest began in 647 CE, the Exarch Gregory had already denounced allegiance to Constantinople and had proclaimed himself as an Emperor. In Egypt, the native Copts were instructed by their bishop in Alexandria to offer no resistance to the Arab Muslims marching toward Egypt. The first serious attempt to expand Islam in Africa is credited to 'Uqabah (Okba) b. Nafi, who is revered to this day as the founder of Muslim Africa. In most of the areas conquered, the former religions of those areas, whether Christianity, zoroastrianism, Judaism or indigenous cults, continued to survive, without generally any oppression for centuries after the conquest by Muslim armies. Thus even in those areas where political authority was in the hands of Muslims owing allegiance to the central power of the Caliphate in Damascus or Baghdad, the actual Islamization of the population was generally a fairly slow process of absorption.
Islam spread in North Africa with remarkable speed, and by the year 732 C.E., which marked the first centennial of Muhammed's death, his followers were the masters of an empire greater than that of Rome at its Zenith, an empire extending from the Bay of Biscay to the Indus and the confines of China and from the Aral Sea to the lower contracts of the Nile. The name of the Prophet, as Messenger of God along with the name of God [Allah] was being called out five times a day from thousands of minarets scattered all over North Africa, South-Western Europe, and Western and Central Asia.]

The Old Ifriqiya (Africa) and its Boundaries
The Arabs call Africa Ifriqiya. They gave this name to the Eastern part of Barbary [1], and called the western part of Barbary the Maghrib, the name used until today [2]. The Romans called it Africa after the destruction of Carthage. They included Barbary in it and later called the whole continent as Africa. Al Bakri interprets the word Ifriqiya as the Queen of Heaven [3]. Al-Masudi holds another view that the name Ifriqiya is given after the name of Ifrigos bin Abraha bin al-Raish who built the town of Ifriqiya in the Berber country [4]. The famous Arab historian Ibn Khaldun says that the name Ifriqiya was given after Ifriqos bin Qais bin Saifi, one of the Kings of Yemen [5]. Some other historians hold that it comes from the name of Ifriq, son of Quatura, the second wife of the Patriarch [Prophet Abraham, pbuh]. Ibn al-Shabbat says that the name is derived from the Arabic word Bariq meaning 'Clear,' because "in Africa there are no clouds in the sky" [6].

Leo Africanus suggests that Ifriqiya comes from the Arabic word Farawa which means 'to divide' since the Mediterranean divides Africa from Europe while the Nile separates it from Asia. Second, Africa lies between the East and the West. Ibn Abi Dinar [7] also gives the same interpretation. But to Al-Bakri, Ibn Khaldun, and Leo Africanus, the word Ifriqiya did not mean the entire continent of Africa as we know it today. To Al-Bakri, the boundries of Ifriqiya were Barga on the East and Tangier on the West, which means that in addition to the Africa proper of the Romans, it included Tripolitania, Numidia and Mauritania. Leo Africanus, distinguished the Numidia from Ifriqiya, like Al-Idrisi, Ibn Khaldun called Ifriqiya the central and the northern part of Tunisia. Until the 17th century, scholars understand the land of Qairawan. Today, by the use of the word Ifiriqiya or Africa, the Arabs as well as non-Arabs mean the entire continent of Africa which includes North Africa (including the Maghrib), East Africa, West Africa, Central Africa, and South Africa.

Islam and Africa
Prophet Muhammad, who was born in 571 C.E., preached the message of Islam until his death in 632 C.E. The early contact of Islam with Africa began during the lifetime of the Prophet. He taught the Oneness of God and abolition of priesthood. The Quaraishites - the priestly class of the Arabs - began to persecute him and his early followers. When their oppression went beyond limits, the Prophet advised the Muslims to migrate and seek shelter in some other part of the world. Acting on his advice, the first batch of Muslims migrated to Abyssinia and sought refuge with Negus, a Christian king of Abyssinia in the year 615 C.E. It was significant that the first shelter of early Muslims was in Africa, and their host who stood firm with them was also an African.

Ibn Hisham has given a vivid picture of these first Muslim-Arab refugees in the court of Negus who were followed by their oppressors, the Quraishites, even up to Abyssinia and wanted to take them back to Arabia. In spite of the appeal of the Quraishite delegation, Negus did not leave the Muslims in the hands of their enemies; on the contrary, he asked Ja'far bin Abi Talib, one of the emigrants, to explain why they had fled Makkah. Ja'far reply has been recorded by Ibn Hisham in the following words:

"We were the Jahilliya (ignorant) people, worshipping idols, and violating peace, with a strong man among us always devouring the weak. Such was our state until God [Allah] sent to us a messenger from amongst ourselves whose ancestry is known to us, and whose veracity, fidelity and purity we recognise. It was the Prophet who summoned us to God in order to profess him as One and worship Him alone, discarding whatever stones and idols we and our forefathers worshipped instead of God. He, moreover, commanded us to be truthful in our talks, to render to others what is due for them, to stand by our families and to refrain from doing wrong and shedding blood. He forbade committing fornication, bearing false witness, depriving the Orphan of his legitimate right and speaking ill of chaste women. He enjoined on us worship of God alone, associating with Him no other and practice fasting."[8]

Africa on the Eve of Expansion of Islam
The power of the Roman Empire was sapped by religious discord. By the time Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) began his mission, the Egyptians and Syrians had partially severed their active link with the Roman Empire. In the year 634, during the first Caliphate of Islam under Abu Bakr, when the Muslim volunteers advanced with their faith toward new territories, Abu Bakr [ra] is reported to have instructed them "to do no harm to women, children and old people, to refrain from pillage and the destruction of crops, fruit trees, and herds, and to leave in peace Christian monks and authorities as might be found in their cells. [9]" When Abu Bakr [ra] died, his mission was taken over by Omar [Umar ibn Al-Khattab, ra], the second Caliph of Islam (634-644).

The state of North Africa, on the eve of the Arab conquest, was far from secure or satisfactory. The Latin-speaking provinces were governed from Constantinople. Although the ecclesiastical policy of the House of Heraclius favored the Christology known as Monothelitism, or the doctrine of the single will, the Pope, under whose jurisdiction the African church fell, frowned upon it and repudiated it as heretical. When the Arab conquest began in 647 AD, the Exarch Gregory had already denounced allegiance to Constantinople and had proclaimed himself as an Emperor. The peasantry was so much oppressed that they had no inclination to fight for their masters. The native Berbers were highly disorganised and lacked leadership. Only those Berber clans, which had accepted a settled life as cultivators, carried some Byzantinian influence; but the others were kept beyond the reach of civilization. Christianity was not planted among them on a firm footing although there was some missionary work done; it is believed that the modern Tauregs were once Christians.

In Egypt, the native Copts were instructed by their bishop in Alexandria to offer no resistance to the Arab Muslims marching toward Egypt. "This is not surprising" says Professor Phillip Hitti, [10] in view of the religious persecution to which they (Copts) as Monophysites had been subjected by the official Melkite (Royal) Church. For years Heraclius had tried through his agent Cyrus to forbid the Egyptian (Coptic) form of worship and to force his new Monothelite doctrine on a reluctant Church. On account of his relentless persecution of the priesthood of the Coptic Church, Cyrus was regarded as anti-Christ by the later native traditions in Egypt. In other words, the existence of Monophysite communities in Egypt and Syria and Nestorian congregations in Persia and Iraq, together with persecution by the Orthodox Church, paved the way for the surprisingly rapid progress of Islam. The Hamites of Egypt looked upon the Arabian new-comers as nearer of kin than their hated and oppressive alien overlords.
It was against this background that during the Caliphate of, 'Umar b. al Khattab, the Muslim volunteer force, in 639 AD under the command of 'Amr b. Al'As penetrated into Egypt. During the days of Jahaliyyah [ignorance], 'Amr b. Al'As had made many caravan trips to Egypt and was familiar with its routes and cities. The following portrait of the advancing Muslim Arabs has been recorded by an envoy of Cyrus:

"We have witnessed a people to each and every one of whom death is preferable to life, and humanity to prominence, and to none of whom this world has the least attraction. They sit not except on the ground, and eat not but on their knees. Their leader (Amir) is like unto one of them: the low cannot be distinguished from the high, nor the master from the slave. And when the time of prayer comes none of them absents himself, all wash their extremities and humbly observe their prayer."

'Amr built the new capital on the site of his camp and named it al-Fustat (Old Cairo). He erected a simple mosque there in 641-642, the first to be used in Egypt.'Amr cleared the ancient Pharaonic Canal to open a direct waterway to the holy cities of Arabia. It was named as Khalij Amir al-Mumineen, the Canal of the Caliph.
In reference to the expansion of Islam in Egypt, a story is concocted that by the Caliph's order 'Amr for six-long months fed the numerous bath-furnaces of the city with the volumes of Alexandrian library. Professor Philip Hitti refutes it saying:
"(It) is one of those tales that make good fiction but bad history. The great ptolemaic library was burnt as early as 48 BC by Julius Caesar. A later one, referred to as the Daughter Library, was destroyed about AD 389 as a result of an edict by Emperor Theodosius. At the time of the Arab conquest, therefore, no library of importance existed in Alexandria and no contemporary writer ever brought the charge against 'Amr or 'Umar."

'Amr's founding of Fustat gave rise to a number of mosques and Madrasahs (Islamic Schools) in Egypt, which helped in disseminating Islam to other parts of Africa and Asia.
The fall of Egypt made the Byzantine provinces, bordering on its west, defenseless. Later Bargah was included in the Islamic provinces without any resistance, and Berber tribes of Tripolis. During the Caliphate of the third Caliph 'Uthman, 'Amr's successor, 'Abd-Allah, advanced through Tripolis and part of Ifriqiya whose capital was Quarter-Jannah (Carthage).
In 652, 'Abd-Allah entered into a treaty with the Nubians[12].

The first serious attempt to expand Islam in Africa is credited to 'Uqabah (Okba) b. Nafi, who is revered to this day as the founder of Muslim Africa [13]. He planted a permanent camp at Kairawan (Qayrawan) in 670 C.E., and thus came closer to the Byzantines and the Berbers. About ten years later, he undertook his famous march to the west and boldly claimed the whole African continent for Islam. This brought Muslims almost close to Europe.
It is reported that 'Uqabah began his march from Kairawan, avoiding the Byzantine towns north of the Awras, and went toward the Central plateau and pushed beyond the Atlas mountains and went as far as Tangier and then turned south to Morocco. In the march, he followed the course of the river Sus to the point where it discharges into the Atlantic Ocean. A story is related to him that when he reached there he spurred his horse into the waves and raising his lance he said: "Great God, if my advance were not stopped by this sea, I would still go on to the unknown kingdoms of the West (Africa), preaching the Unity of Thy Holy Name."

It is said that Uqabah went as far as the Atlantic and died near Biskara near Algeria in 683 C.E. His tomb has now become a shrine. Slowly and gradually, Muslims overpowered Ifriqiya through the statesmanship of Hasan b.Nu'man al Ghassani, who was sent to Africa by Mu'awiyah. The Byzantines' authority and Berber resistance were put to an end. The Byzantines' fled from Carthage in 698 C.E., and Hasan gained absolute power over the Berber country. Soon a Berber revolt broke out under the leadership of a Prophetess (Kahinah) [14], a Berber Deborah. She was also defeated. She gave her life but before dying instructed her son to embrace Islam and make common cause with the Muslims. A few miles to the south of Carthage, a new city was founded on an isthmus joining two salt lakes and was named Tunis.
Hasan b. Nu'man was succeeded by Musa b. Nusair, an able general of the Umayyad Caliph Walid b.'Abd al-Malik. He pacified Morocco and many of the Berber tribes accepted Islam. He extended the boundaries of his province of Ifriqiya up to Tangier.
Professor John Hunwick says that "although this (the expansionist movement of the Arab people) has sometimes been pictured as the greatest religious war of all times, it was in fact a simple imperialist expansion motivated more by economic than by religious factors. In most of the areas conquered, the former religions of those areas, whether Christianity, zoroastrianism, Judaism or indigenous cults, continued to survive, without generally any oppression for centuries after the conquest by Muslim armies. Thus even in those areas where political authority was in the hands of Muslims owing allegiance to the central power of the Caliphate in Damascus or Baghdad, the actual Islamization of the population was generally a fairly slow process of absorption [15]."
The true factor of Islamization lies in the religion of Islam itself. Every Muslim has been asked to carry the message of the Prophet to others. The Prophetic Tradition says: "Preach even if it may be one verse." Wherever the Muslims went, they took their religion and culture with them. The Arabic language formed almost a part of their religion, as the Qur'an was in Arabic. There were long-distance trade routes, running from North to South. The Arab traders and business men and some quiet missionaries, who had dedicated their lives to the cause of Islam, carried the message of Islam wherever they travelled. It is also true that wherever the Muslim conquests took place a large number of Muslims chose to settle down in newer places. The period between 660-670 C.E., was remarkable for the expansion of Islam further into Africa along the Mediterranean coast. Morocco came under Islamic influence in the 8th century and the Berbers began to join the Muslim armies. Islam spread in North Africa with remarkable speed, and by the year 732 C.E., which marked the first centennial of Muhammed's death, his followers were the masters of an empire greater than that of Rome at its Zenith, an empire extending from the Bay of Biscay to the Indus and the confines of China and from the Aral Sea to the lower contracts of the Nile. The name of the Prophet, as Messenger of God along with the name of God [Allah] was being called out five times a day from thousands of minarets scattered all over North Africa, South-Western Europe, and Western and Central Asia.

The Source Material on Islamic Diffusion in West Africa
The scholars who wish to write on Africa, South of Sahara, have to deal with two categories of source material, external and internal. The most reliable external sources are Islamic and taken from some Europeans records, while the internal sources are mostly oral traditions and some later compilations by African Muslim scholars, mostly in Arabic Language.
The Muslim geographers and historians have provided us with excellent records. Ibn Batutah will always be remembered as the earliest Muslim scholar to travel through the thick forest of Africa. The Europeans named the forest as 'the white man's grave,' even in the early 19th century. Early geographers, like Al-Khwarzimi, have indicated various names of African territories. The famous Muslim Scholar, Ibn Hawqal in his book, Surat al-Ardh has discussed the life-style of the black people [l6]. More copious material on West Africa is available from Al-Bakri who wrote in 1067 C.E., and later Ibn Khaldun. The geographical dictionary compiled by Abul Fida and Yaqut between 1212-1229 C.E., gives excellent material on cultural geography of West Africa. Ibn Fadlallah al-'Umari's Masalik al-Absar fi Mamalik al Amsar which was written between 1342-1349, provides accurate material on cultural geography of Mali. He derived his material from people who had lived in Mali.
When the Sankore Mosque University of Timbuktu became a famous seat of learning in West Africa, it attracted a large number of scholars who came and lived in the quarters adjacent to the Mosque. Some works of that period have come down to us while others are lost. The famous African Muslim Scholar, Mahmud al-Kati began to write his magnum opus Kitab al-Fattash in 1519 C.E., and died before it was completed. His illustrious son, Ibn al Mukhtar completed it around the year 1565 C.E. This work provides us with rich material on the Askiya dynasty of the Muslim Empire of Songhay of West Africa. The other famous work of an African Scholar is Tarikh al-Sudan by Abd al-Rahman al-Sa'di who completed it in 1665 C.E.