Englishmen Caught Trying to Steal: Of course what else can you expect from the British

I skim over some news websites daily and read articles that catch my interest. I am interested in everything from politics to finance to sports to gender issues to music to movies and everything else. I came across an article on the online edition of Times of India titled "British firm's bid to patent ginger foiled" and naturally I wanted to read more. A decade ago Indian government had slumbered while greedy westerners had attempted to patent rice, turmeric and other items that were grown and consumed in India for thousands of years. Only after a public outcry did the somnolent government move to protest.

This time around the government has surprisingly taken a pro-active stand and protested Nicholas John Larkins attempt to patent the medicinal properties of Ginger in fighting cough and cold. The application for patent was filed in 2006 and it has taken over half a dozen years for the UK Patent office to come to the decision to reject it. I am glad that Indian government is taking some proactive action at least now. I am pretty sure it is some patriotic bureaucrat sitting in Delhi taking action and not the politicians.

After feeling the initial rush of pleasure I reflected on the issue a little bit. First off the article in Times of India is just about 200-250 words. This kind of a victory for India should be highlighted in big bold letters and detailed coverage should be given. By showcasing victories of our nation the media will promote national pride and patriotism amongst its readers. I don't think that is the intentino of TOI, the newspaper is there to make money. If there were any anti-Indian newsreport that would have been highlighted - I am pretty sure of that.

Then comes the audacity of the British firm which tried to STEAL. Well what else can you expect from the English? As a nation they stole from the rest of the world for a long time and even to this date they refuse to return stolen artefacts to the owner nations. Britain is a nation built on the soild foundations of blood and lives of innocent people from every part of the world. There is a saying in Kannada which translates to "The trait one is born with will not disappear even after the person is burned (dead)". This saying when it comes to the trait of stealing is so true for British and they have just proved it once again.

The days when they stole physical wealth from different nations across the world is over. Now they are trying to steal intellectual property and ancient knowledge from developing countries like India. I hope they will now learn a lesson and stop attempting to steal ancient knowledge from others. Instead they can try to create new knowledge by investing in original research.

Catholic Church To Buy Famed Crystal Cathedral in California

Catholic Church To Buy Famed Crystal Cathedral
http://www.npr.org/2011/11/18/142518963/future-of-ministry-uncertain-after-cathedrals-sale?sc=emaf

"Everything in this world is for sale, given the right price" goes the often heard saying. The truth of this saying can't be more appropriate anywhere else in the world but in the United States of America. In this capitalist economy if you aint making money and paying your bills and taxes you will be forced to declare bankruptacy and your property will be sold.

That is what happened to the congregation of the Famous Crystal Cathedral of California. I heard this newscast on the radio as I drove to work this evening and boy am I surprised. In a country which prides itself in saying "In God We Trust" and where millions of dollars poured in for a fake pastor who claimed that the world was going to end I wonder why nobody is opening up their purse strings to save this cathedral.

The congregation members of this church are outraged, the pastor says that the church is not a building... but isn't it true that when a place is sanctified by the pious prayers and good vibrations over several years the place becomes truly divine. Since this cathedral is being taken over by another caste (order as it is referred to here), I guess it is ok.

Business Takes Precedence Over Holiday Traditions!!!

Since the inception of the holiday tradition Thanks Giving has always been a time for families to get together and offer prayers to the Lord. Ever since I moved to the US I have noticed that people travel hundreds and sometimes even thousands of miles just to spend quality time with their families. Of course businesses have always used this holiday to sell more and there are discounts galore year after year. All the sales have always happened on the day after Thanks Giving, popularly known as Black Friday. Shoppers would get together with their families on Thanksgiving day, enjoy the Turkey dinner and prayers. Then on Friday early morning as early as 5 am head out to stores to shop. This has been the normal tradition in America till 2010.
 
This year is going to be different. Retailers have decided to open up their stores for black friday shopping on thursday itself. They are trying to entice shoppers to step outside their homes after dinner on Thanksgiving night and shop. This decision of the business owners and CEOs to open up stores on Thursday itself has angered both shoppers and store employees. Businesses seem to only be interested in money and nothing more, they don't care two hoots for tradition.
 
Hitherto I had believed that it was only the liberals, leftist and communists who didn't care for religion, tradition and heritage, but now it is becoming apparent that even hard core capitalist, right-wing conservative, businessmen also don't. I wonder if this is the way forward for the world or not.

Innovative marketing!

Image via WikipediaOne of the reasons that American corporations have dominated the consumer product industry across the globalized world is their innovative marketing strategies. The corporations are willing to invest money into research to find out what exactly the consumer wants and then modify existing products or launch new ones to fulfill these needs. A recent example is the new packaging of ketchup by Heinz. Hitherto the company marketed tomato ketchup in the form of large bottles and small single serve sachets. Both these products were squeezer products.

Sometime ago, probably after receiving consumer feedback, the company launched a research to find out how many are squeezers as against dippers. In the sense they wanted to find out how many ketchup eaters prefer to squeeze ketchup over their food such as hamburgers, french fries, hot dogs, etc and how many like to dip their food into the savory sauce. The results were skewed in favor of dippers and in order to satisfy the majority the company changed their packaging into a dual purpose one. If one likes to squeeze they can do so and those who like to dip can do so too. The new package can be used both ways.

I am pretty sure this will increase Heinz's market share in the ketchup market. I wonder how many Indian-owned companies employ these kind of strategies to enhance sales and get greater market share. I would be curious to know if there are any and what they do.

Predict your life span with a blood test!

Every life form on this planet will fight to the end with any greater force for existence... i.e. to preserve its life, to thrive, to live longer. Human beings are the smartest of all life forms and have devised ways and means to combat common diseases and live longer.

I remember one Hindi saying on this subject: "Jaan Hai to Jahan Hai" meaning if life is there then the whole world is there. I heard this quote in the film the Mummy: "Live today to fight tomorrow". Life is celebrated and death is feared in almost all cultures across the world.

In this quest there are hoary sciences such as astrology, palmistry, tarot, etc, whose practitioners claim to accurately predict the future. Unfortunately most of them fall short sometime or the other. To this list of paranormal/ occult/ predictive sciences we can add biology/ medicine. A new test devised by scientists in Europe is said to effectively predict how many years one is going to live.

I read about the test online on Washington Post. According to the article the Telomere test, a simple blood test like the can predict the lifespan quite effectively.

Now wouldn't that put a spanner in the works of astrologers who have hitherto held sway over people who have been trying to unravel the mysteries of their future. It would also create a great catastrophe like the author points out if Insurance companies were to come to know about your test results, or even if your employer were to know your test results.

I think this is a great test and should be made accessible to everyone, making the results public could be left to the discretion of the individual.

Finding the best webhosting company!!!

Having a website is vital for the survival, growth, and prosperity of any business; large or small. People are increasingly going online to buy products, search for restaurants, get directions, find soul mates, friends, etc. With the proliferation of internet use on mobile phones the relevance of websites is more now than ever.

Having a website is not enough, one has to ensure that the hosting service provider is reliable and offers adequate bandwidth. With so many web hosting companies in the market it becomes difficult to find which one is best suited for our needs.

One way to find out if a hosting company is reliable or not is to check with people who have used their services. How is that possible? One way is to visit sites that offer webhostinghub ratings, reviews from customers and companies that have used their services.

The ratings on this website are compiled from worldwide reports, this is the largest independent web hosting rating company and is driven by a quest for quality and to provide honest and unbiased ratings. Moreover since ratings and reviews are written by direct customers there is no way of the site owners influencing the decisions.

I would simply say that if you are a small business owner and wish to host your own website, you should first read ratings of your hosting service provider and then sign the dotted line.

Cards to Project a Positive Business Image

Since I moved to the United States about 3 years ago I have learned a lot about this country and the way the economy functions here. There is a huge emphasis on business and entrepreneurship and everyone wants to have their own business. This is specially so in the state I live in, Texas and Dallas area is acclaimed as one of the most small-business-friendly areas in the country.

When you are in business projecting a positive image about the entrepreneur and the enterprise is very important. There are many ways to do it. The simplest way perhaps is by having a well designed business card. I recently came across an online store that sells ultra-creative customized business cards. Their rationale is pretty straightforward, they help the business owner i.e., you design the business card by enabling you with the right tools.

For example their computer business cards features several creative templates. IT professionals have the opportunity to choose from the wide range of smart and stylish templates that illustrate the wonders of modern technology. These cards give an opportunity to the professional business owner to demonstrate their expertise in the way they wish to project themselves, serious, tech-savvy, humorous, etc.

I believe if a business card is creative potential clients keep it in front of them and when they need IT services, you will be the first person on their mind. So get your business cards and get ahead in your business.

Customer service promises

The US is a highly capitalistic economy. Businesses in every sector have to compete for every dollar they earn. The customer is spoilt with choice and corporations try everything possible to lure them into the door.

I noticed this hoarding enroute to school and truly I'm wonderstruck by this kind of promises made by a hospital. On one side hospitals are trying to cut staff and increase profits and on the other they want to promise the moon to the consumer. This kind of advertising even before the healthcare facility has been built.

I wonder tomorrow when the hospital is complete how they will live upto this promise.

Promotional Calendars - Business Enhancement Tools

Businesses need to be constantly present in front of their customers, and prospects. One of the best ways to achieve this is to be part of something that the consumer will look at several times in a day or at least once every day. The best place to be is in the calendar, everyone looks at his/ her calendar to plan their days, weeks, and months ahead.

It is easy to be part of the calendar, just get your business to make promotional calendars well before the new year starts and distribute it among your established clientele and prospects. Your promotion starts from there, especially if you are the first person to give the calendar or if your promotional calendar looks attractive and has many colorful pictures, meaningful quotes or things like that.

Small businesses tend to think that creating promotional calendars is an expensive affair and they would rather not do it. I would say that the money invested in promotional items such as calendars will yield benefits at a much higher rate than any other forms of advertising. In this case you are aware of who has the calendars and you can be sure that they remember you every time they look up some date.

Hosting Your Website With a Reseller!!!

Website design, development, hosting, and search engine optimization have all become the keywords of a new breed of entrepreneurs who are trying to cash in on the viability of internet as a platform for doing business. While it is largely true that it is quite impossible for a business to succeed without a strong online presence, entrepreneurs would be better served if they are careful about where they are hosting their websites.

There are several models of website hosting service providers. There is the do-it-yourself model where the service providers just give you a username and password and you do the rest. Then there is the full service model where the service provider will register your domain, design the website and host it on his server. Often these full service models are operated by entrepreneurs who take advantage of reseller hosting.

While reseller hosting doesn't change the way you operate your business online or offline, it does matter in a variety of different ways. For example, how much of live time does your service provider offer. How quickly will their servers come back up if it goes down? How much bandwidth do they offer? How well optimized is the server for the web? The best way to decide which service provider is best suited for your need is to read user reviews and ratings. The greater number of positive reviews and five star ratings a service provider has the better it is for you.

Finding the right Dentist!

Finding the right dentist for your family can be a challenging task. Dentists are not only as important as any other medical professional you would consult with, but they are the ones who can make or mar your smile and facial appearance. Hence it is important that you find the right dentist for your entire family. I recently came across this Plano Dentist who offers services in all aspects of dentistry including cosmetic, general and family dentistry.

This dental office prides itself in making you feel comfortable and relaxed right from the moment you enter their office. Whatever your need maybe, just a routine cleaning or consultation for your child or even enhancing your smile to make it bright and glorious, the dentists here will offer you the right solutions.

And don't worry about the costs, these Plano Dentists don't expect you to pay an arm and a leg for their services. They accept all PPO insurance and will work with your checks, credit cards or cash payments. So if you want your teeth and smile to be in good hands get in touch with the best.

Technology solutions for businesses

With the advancement in communications and telecom, the proliferation of internet is increasing at an exponential pace. This has spawned new markets and created a level playing field for businesses to compete for markets. Now small businesses, irrespective of their size can use the WWW and derive immense benefits, which were hitherto the preserve of large corporations. The ability to reach customers around the world is one of the greatest boons of internet.

But as a small business owner you are probably not quite sure if you want to set up a complete technology division to drive your online business. You don't have to do it, you can just take help from network solutions, a professionally managed company where the focus is on helping small businesses gain a confident and lucrative online presence. Network Solutions works towards enabling small businesses to realize their dreams of self-reliance, entrepreneurship, creativity, and financial independence. Network Solutions will do everything a business needs to establish an online presence. From domain name registration to web design and from search engine marketing to online security, e-commerce solutions, and the whole works.

Network Solutions has been in business since 1979 and has helped numerous businesses succeed and establish strong online presence. Their commitment to customer service has been recognised by J.D. Power and Associates Certified Call Center Program for the third consecutive year. Your business needs support and Network Solutions is best equipped and willing to provide it.