December 2009

Portland Janitorial

Posted Sun, 12/20/2009 - 01:43 by admin

A maidservant or in current usage maid is a female employed in domestic service. Once part of an elaborate hierarchy in great houses, today the maid may be the only domestic worker that upper and even middle-income households can afford. In the Western world, comparatively few households can afford live-in domestic help, usually compromising on periodic cleaners. In less developed nations, very large differences in the income of urban and rural households and between different socio-economic classes, fewer educated women and limited opportunities for working women ensures a labour source for domestic work.

Maids perform typical domestic chores such as cooking, ironing, washing, cleaning the house, grocery shopping, walking the family dog, and taking care of children. In many places in some poor countries, maids often take on the role of a nurse in taking care of the elderly and people with disabilities. Many maids are required by their employers to wear a uniform.

Portland Janitorial

Palestinian files $110M libel suit over 'Bruno'

Posted Wed, 12/09/2009 - 15:05 by admin

WASHINGTON – A Palestinian shopkeeper and father portrayed as a terrorist in the movie "Bruno" is suing film star Sacha Baron Cohen, talk show host David Letterman and others for libel and slander.
The lawsuit filed last week by Ayman Abu Aita in federal court seeks $110 million in damages.
In the movie, Cohen plays a gay Austrian fashion journalist trying to make it big in the United States. To achieve worldwide fame, Bruno travels to the Middle East to make peace. He interviews Abu Aita, and a caption labels the Bethlehem shopkeeper as a member of the militant Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade.
Abu Aita is suing CBS and Letterman's company Worldwide Pants over an interview before the film's release where the Late Show host and Cohen discussed Bruno's encounter with a "terrorist."
In the interview, Cohen, 37, said he set up the meeting in the West Bank with the help of a CIA agent. Cohen said he feared for his safety and interviewed the "terrorist" at a secret location chosen by Abu Aita. A clip was then played on "The Late Show with David Letterman."
According to the lawsuit, however, the interview with Abu Aita took place at a hotel chosen by Cohen and located in a part of the West Bank that was under Israeli military control.
Film distributor NBC Universal and director Larry Charles are also named in the lawsuit.
A spokeswoman for Universal Studios declined to comment. Tom Keaney, a spokesman for David Letterman, also said he would not comment.
Cohen, a British comedian, also faced multiple lawsuits after his earlier movie, "Borat," including one for $30 million filed by residents of a remote Romanian village who said they were misled into thinking the project was a documentary about poverty. Most of the lawsuits were thrown out.
Abu Aita is prominent businessman, a Christian and a "peace-loving person who abhors violence," the latest lawsuit states. Before the film, he "enjoyed a good reputation for honesty and a peaceable nature" in his community, Abu Aita's lawyers wrote.
They go on to write that any accusations or insinuations that Abu Aita is or ever was associated with the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, or any other terrorist activity is "utterly false and untrue."
Attorney Joseph Peter Drennan said Abu Aita was never offered a release to sign to appear in the film.
"This is an important lawsuit because it is about the dignity of a specific person. It is about his reputation, about his standing in the community," Drennan said.
"It addresses a very corrosive and calumnious slur against any young Palestinian who would be a political activist on the West Bank" who would be called a "terrorist" because of his activism.
Hatem Abu Ahmad, Abu Aita's Arab-Israeli lawyer, said Cohen made millions "on the back of my client."
The film drew disdain from the Israelis and Palestinians portrayed in a place Bruno calls "Middle Earth."
Drennan said he expects a hearing on the Abu Aita's complaint in late January.
___

Associated Press Writer Ben Hubbard in Ramallah, West Bank, contributed to this report.

Officials: Russian nightclub fire toll hits 125

Posted Wed, 12/09/2009 - 13:51 by admin

MOSCOW – Members of a regional government in Russia overseeing a town hit by a deadly nightclub blaze resigned Wednesday as the death toll from the fire rose to 125.
The provincial government in the Ural Mountains city of Perm announced its collective resignation in a statement but did not provide any details about how many people were involved. The move could prove symbolic, however, as the statement said most of the officials are to continue in their positions in an "acting" capacity until an investigation into the fire is concluded. That could mean they end up keeping their jobs.
In a separate statement, regional authotities said the death toll had risen to 125. More than 100 injured people remain hospitalized, including many in critical condition, the statement said. It added that 48 children lost one parent in the blaze, while 15 lost both parents.
The fire at Perm's Lame Horse nightclub broke out early Saturday when an indoor fireworks display ignited the plastic ceiling, which was decorated with branches. The blaze spread swiftly, and hundreds of revelers tried to flee through a single exit.
Four people including the club owner and a pyrotechnics supplier have been jailed pending a negligence probe. Another suspect, the man who leased the club from the owner, died Wednesday in a Moscow clinic from injuries sustained in the fire, the statement said.
Several regional fire safety officials have been suspended over the blaze.

Ultrathin $499 Dell Vostro V13 Aimed at Entrepreneurs (NewsFactor)

Posted Wed, 12/09/2009 - 13:03 by admin

On Tuesday, Dell rolled out a new laptop aimed at mobile entrepreneurs, the 13.3-inch Vostro V13. With a starting price of $449, Dell is sending a combined message of value and innovation with the latest addition to its small-business line of Vostro laptops.

The Vostro V13 is less than an inch thick and weighs 3.5 pounds. The laptop is equipped with ultra-low-voltage (ULV) Intel processors, encased in brushed aluminum with reinforced zinc hinges for durability, and has a suite of features to make mobile entrepreneurs more productive.

"Ultrathin laptops with processors in the ULV class compare favorably with netbooks," said Roger Kay, principal at Endpoint Technologies Associates. "The value proposition for small-business travelers is simple: For slightly more money, you get all the portability you want but a lot better experience."

Mobility and Affordability

The V13 offers an integrated webcam and microphone so users can make Internet calls, conduct video conferences, and remotely exchange files. Users also have multiple wireless options, including 802.11g/n wireless, Bluetooth and WWAN mobile broadband.

The laptop runs Windows 7 and offers 4GB of DDR3 SDRAM memory and data-encrypted hard drives. Dell is also offering entrepreneurs remote on-call support through DellConnect or Dell ProSupport to troubleshoot IT issues that road warriors may face.

"Not long ago, business travelers like me had to choose mobility and affordability at the expense of performance. That's no longer the case with the V13," said Sam Burd, global vice president of Dell Small and Medium Business. "This 13-inch small business laptop is in a category all its own, as entrepreneurs now have quality performance, battery life, and security combined with a thin and lightweight design sturdy enough for today's business."

Dell's Place in the Markets

According to Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT, the PC market has been roiled during the past 18 months by a pair of continuing trends: Apple's ability to succeed in multiple markets despite the worst economic downturn in a generation and the public's apparently insatiable desire for low-cost/low-performance netbooks.

As King sees it, the Vostro 13 is the latest example of Dell's design renaissance, which began with the redesign of the Latitude family earlier this year. Once excoriated for clunky utilitarianism, he said, Dell's Latitude models have become slimmer, shinier and more colorful. The new Dell Latitude Z and Adamo laptops, he added, are as slender and snazzy as anything in Apple's stable, proving the company is perfectly comfortable playing at the high end of the market.

"The new Vostro V13 demonstrates that Dell is taking that same 'no prisoners' attitude down market to small businesses, and by doing so seems ready and willing to challenge HP's traditional leadership position," King said. "While the V13's lightweight yet sturdy features and performance specs make it an excellent choice for business travelers, its eye-catching design shows that the company can successfully deliver stylish yet substantial business laptops at price points that press the netbook envelope."

Most importantly, King said, the Vostro V13 demonstrates that Dell understands the sometimes-conflicting needs of mobile small-business owners and employees who need to be careful with their budgets but don't want to be saddled with laptops that look and work as if they were rescued from a bargain bin.

Canada knew of Afghan detainee abuse risk: general

Posted Wed, 12/09/2009 - 12:03 by admin

OTTAWA (Reuters) –
Canada's top soldier detonated a political bombshell on Wednesday when he admitted that, contrary to previous assurances, some Canadian troops knew detainees handed over to Afghan authorities could be abused.

The unexpected announcement by General Walt Natynczyk is a major embarrassment for the military as well as the minority Conservative government, which have both long insisted there was no credible evidence that prisoners might be harmed.

Legal experts say handing over detainees in the knowledge they could be abused is a war crime.

Opposition legislators immediately stepped up demands for a formal inquiry and for Defense Minister Peter MacKay to resign over the affair.

The ruling Conservatives, although still ahead of the main opposition Liberal Party, have slipped in recent polls amid intense media coverage of the abuse allegations.

MacKay has repeatedly told the House of Commons there is no evidence soldiers knew prisoners might be abused. Last month MacKay and senior officials publicly denigrated a Canadian diplomat based in Afghanistan who said he had repeatedly warned of the risk of torture in 2006 and 2007.

A contrite Natynczyk said on Wednesday he had just received information about an incident in southern Afghanistan in June 2006 that showed soldiers knew what could befall detainees.

Reading from the field notes written by a Canadian section commander after troops arrested an Afghan man, he said: "We then photographed the individual prior to handing him over to ensure that if the Afghan National Police did assault him, as has happened in the past, that we would have a visual record of his condition."

Natynczyk said he would launch a full inquiry to discover why the additional information had only come to light now.

"This does beg a number of questions," he admitted.

Canada has 2,800 troops in Afghanistan on a combat mission that is due to end in 2011. So far 133 soldiers have died and recent polls show support for the mission is slipping.

The military has already revealed that the detainee in question was abused by the Afghan National Police (ANP). Canadian troops later rescued him.

Natynczyk, and government ministers, initially said the man was arrested by Afghan troops taking part in a joint operation and was never in Canadian custody.

"I want to correct my statement ... the individual who was beaten by Afghan police was in fact in Canadian custody and then the ANP took control of him," said Natynczyk.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper still had full confidence in both MacKay and Natynczyk, a spokesman said.

MacKay, Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon and former Defense Minister Gordon O'Connor are due to testify to a House of Commons committee on Afghanistan later on Wednesday.

The Liberals said Natynczyk's revelation only underscored their demands for a formal public inquiry into the case.

"A judge with all the necessary power could get to the truth ... I'm fed up with all these stories," said Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff, accusing the government of continually changing its tale on the abuse affair.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; editing by Rob Wilson)

Wedding Rings

Posted Wed, 12/09/2009 - 09:52 by admin

“ 1 necklace of flat speckled chalcedony beads including: 34 flat speckled chalcedony bead, [and] 35 gold fluted beads, in groups of five.

In the late 20th century, the influence of modern primitivism led to many of these practices being incorporated into western subcultures. Many of these practices rely on a combination of body modification and decorative objects; thus keeping the distinction between these two types of decoration blurred. As with other forms of jewellery, the crossing of cultural boundaries is one of the more significant features of the artform in the early 21st century.

Wedding Rings

UK lowers forecast for 2009 GDP

Posted Wed, 12/09/2009 - 06:23 by admin

LONDON – British Treasury chief Alistair Darling has announced a one-off tax on bankers' bonuses.
The 50-percent tax unveiled in the government's pre-budget report on Tuesday will be levied on 2009 bonuses of more than 25,000 pounds ($40,800).
The charge will be imposed on the pool of bonuses, rather than individual payments. It will be paid by banks — not the employee.
The government has sharply criticized bonuses paid to bankers — especially those paid by companies saved from collapse by taxpayers' money — and the measure is likely to prove popular with the general public.
The Labour government's pre-budget report is seen as key to setting the tone for a debate about how best to fuel Britain's slow recovery from recession ahead of next year's general election.

Hunger, family homelessness on rise in U.S. cities

Posted Wed, 12/09/2009 - 02:44 by admin

CHICAGO (Reuters) –
Hunger is spreading while the number of homeless families is increasing as a result of the recession and other factors, according to a report on Tuesday.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors said cities reported a 26 percent jump in demand for hunger assistance over the past year, the largest average increase since 1991.

Middle-class families as well as the uninsured, elderly, working poor and homeless increasingly looked for help with hunger, which was mainly fueled by unemployment, high housing costs and low wages.

The 2009 report is based on a survey of 27 cities, including Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia and San Francisco, that comprise the group's task force on hunger and homelessness.

Looking ahead to 2010, cities said they expect it will be difficult to meet increased demands for food due to the impact of state and local budget cuts, a decrease in grocery store donations and higher food costs.

Just over three-fourths of the cities reported a jump in homeless families due to the recession and lack of affordable housing. Individual homelessness, on the other hand, was level or down in 16 of the cities.

"This is an indication of the success of policies aimed at ending chronic homelessness among single adults with disabilities," the report said.

Only 10 cities reported having so-called tent cities or other concentrations of the homeless.

Most of the cities in the survey received additional funding to combat hunger and homelessness from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

"Cities are using (housing funds) to develop central intake systems for homeless services, coordinate services more closely with surrounding areas, or offer homeless prevention assistance for the first time," the report said.

(Reporting by Karen Pierog; Editing by James Dalgleish)

Obama orders Afghan strategy into force

Posted Tue, 12/01/2009 - 06:09 by admin

WASHINGTON (AFP) –
President Barack Obama has given fateful orders likely to send thousands more troops to Afghanistan in a political gamble meant to forge an eventual US exit from a costly and gruelling war.

"The commander in chief has issued the orders," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Monday, as Obama briefed world leaders of his new Afghan strategy, a day before making a major televised address to the American people.

The plan emerged from an exhaustive policy review amid extreme weariness of the war among Americans, and as supporters warned Obama could be risking his presidency by deploying thousands more men to a Vietnam-style quagmire.

Obama is expected to order between 30,000 and 35,000 more troops to bolster the US effort to repel a resurgent Taliban, secure major cities and fast-track training for Afghan security forces, alongside a separate civilian aid surge.

The president will also assure Americans and regional leaders he will not underwrite an indefinite and costly stay in Afghanistan for US troops.

"This is not an open-ended commitment," Gibbs said, painting the plan as an eventual pathway for US troops to come home.

"We are there to partner with the Afghans, to train the Afghan national security forces, the army and the police, so that they can provide security for their country and wage a battle against an unpopular insurgency."

The White House said Obama delivered orders marking the most crucial leadership test of his presidency in the Oval Office so far, on Sunday, after telling top aides of his final decision.

He met generals and top security aides in the Oval Office.

He then spoke directly by secure video-link to Afghan war commander General Stanley McChrystal, who warned earlier this year the conflict would be lost without more troops -- and US ambassador to Kabul Karl Eikenberry.

Obama will address Americans in a major televised speech to cadets at the US Military Academy at West Point at 8:00 pm Tuesday (0100 GMT Wednesday).

He will tell a nation weary of years of conflict and humbled by the worst economic crisis in generations, why it must risk yet more lives and wealth in a war launched after the September 11 attacks in 2001.

His message will be compelling listening for voters, lawmakers and soldiers, US allies, leaders in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and Taliban and Al-Qaeda insurgents battling Washington in a bloody eight-year war.

Many of Obama's core political supporters, and key Democrats worried about ballooning budget deficits, are wary of more troop deployments. Republicans have however demanded the president answer the generals' calls for more help.

As he launched a public relations offensive to market the new strategy, Obama called French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday.

A secure video link-up with Gordon Brown was also planned, after the British prime minister announced he would increase British regular troop numbers by 500 to 9,500 in December.

Obama will also talk to Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who both will be key players in the new strategy.

Asked why Obama was informing world leaders of his plans before telling the American people, Gibbs said that the president would not go into specifics on troop numbers but needed to consult valued US foreign partners.

Intense consultations with key players in Congress, where some majority Democrats have expressed skepticism about new troop deployments, were taking place on Monday and Tuesday, Gibbs said.

Some 35,000 American soldiers were fighting the Taliban-led insurgency when Obama took office. After an initial boost in February there are now about 68,000.

More than 900 American soldiers have lost their lives in Afghanistan and October was the deadliest month since the start of the war in 2001 with 74 US soldiers killed.

The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have cost 768.8 billion dollars and by the end of this fiscal year (October 2010) the price tag will approach one trillion.

Obama Sunday spoke to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by telephone, then met Defense Secretary Robert Gates; Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff; General James Cartwright, the vice chairman of the joint chiefs; White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and General David Petraeus, head of US central command.

Sales Tax Consulting

Posted Tue, 12/01/2009 - 01:51 by admin

http://www.salesandusetax.com/

Since the 1990s, the idea of replacing the income tax with a national sales tax has been floated in the United States; many of the actual proposals would include giving each household an annual rebate, paid in monthly installments, equivalent to the percentage of the tax (which varies from 15% to 23% in most cases) multiplied by the poverty level based on the number of persons in the household, in an effort to create a progressive effect on consumption. While many political observers consider the chances remote for such a change, the FairTax Act has attracted more cosponsors than any other fundamental tax reform bill introduced in the House of Representatives.

Review of company purchases to determine which assets may qualify for exemptions. Finding overlooked exemptions often results in significant savings.