Monday, 29 August 2011

The Burj Khalifa-The Tallest Building In The World

The Burj Khalifa: Standing Tall and Proud

The United Arab Emirates owns the distinction of having the tallest building internationally. Measuring a staggering 2,717 feet (828 meters), the Burj Khalifa, formerly known as Burj Dubai, is the highest man-made structure in history. It can be found along Sheikh Zayed Road generally business district in Dubai.

This marks the second time the Middle East has claimed the honor of having the tallest artificial structure in the world. The Great Pyramid of Giza once held that distinction for many hundreds of years until England built the Lincoln Cathedral in 1311.

Named in honor of one or more of the project's top supporters and the actual president of the United Arab Emirates and king of Abu Dhabi, Khalifa bin Sayed Al Nahyan, the Burj Khalifa gained the attention and recognition of the rest of the world. It was constructed with the primary goal of diverting the country's image from a debt-ridden oil-producing country into a tourist mecca generating necessary income and investments. Conceptualization and construction began in 2004 and the building was launched on January 4, 2010 during the rise to the throne of Dubai's Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashin Al Maktoum.

The Burj Khalifa was designed by architect Adrian Smith and engineer Bill Baker who were with Chicago's Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) right at that moment. Among the other groups involved in the actual construction were South Korea's Samsung Engineering and Construction (primary contractor) and Besix and Arabtec. Emaar Properties served as the project's developer. The $1.5 billion tower was inspired by Islamic traditions and culture and featured patterns prevalent in Islamic architecture. The three-lobed base of the building was patterned after the flower Hymenocalli.

Among the lavish features of the Burj Khalifa are the 57 double-deck elevators with modern LCD displays for the visitors' entertainment. There are also eight escalators and a total of 2,909 stairs. The 124th floor showcases the highest open-air observation deck internationally, the At the Top. It was opened to the public on the 5th of January, the day after Burj Khalifa's inauguration and also houses the Behold Telescope.

Apart from being the tallest building ever, the Burj Khalifa holds a number of other records. Among them are:

• The most number of floors (160) - beating the former record holder Willis Tower by 52 floors

• The highest occupied floor (160th floor)

• The highest pool - situated at the 76th floor

• The highest nightclub - located at the 144th floor

• World's highest mosque - discovered on the 158th floor

• The highest outdoor observation deck at 1483 feet - aptly named At the Top and situated at the 124th floor; it is the second highest observation desk on record

• The highest restaurant - At.mosphere that is on the 122nd floor and at a height of 1450 feet, a distant 302 feet over CN Towers' 360 restaurant

• The world's fastest elevator which goes at a speed of 64 kilometers per hour

• The highest elevator installation

• The tallest man-made structure that has residential features, and

• The world's highest New Year's Eve celebration and firework display

Mobile Homes and Their Advantages

Mobile homes are the ones which are movable and can be placed anywhere. People who love to explore different places and add to their experiences, it’s an idea thing. These homes are used quite widely in many countries. They are the ones with free hand to the owner to take them to any place they like. These are mostly used in United States and Israel. These are used in different weather conditions, they can be moved to some other places to avoid rainstorms, heavy snowfalls etc. these homes are lifted on the trucks and heavy machinery to take them to other places. Financing for these mobile homes can be very difficult to arrange. Most banks won’t finance these manufactured homes when there is no land included in the loan. There are some companies that specialize in mobile home loans and mobile home financing. They can finance and refinance mobile homes in parks. There are countries that allow the financing of these mobile homes.

The United States Department of Agriculture has rural development guaranteed loan and direct loan programs for low-income individuals living in small towns and rural areas who currently have inadequate housing. The restrictions on loans involving manufactured homes require that the unit be brand-new, located on a relatively small lot and sold to the new occupant as a package deal. The biggest problem with this program is that once the unit has been occupied, new buyers will not be able to qualify for the same type of loan, as the home is no longer new, making it difficult for the current occupant to "trade up" to a larger or better property. Once you have come up with a mobile home you can use it for either purpose. If you live in a place where there are rain storms and floods you can use this mobile home and can take it to somewhere that is safe.

Other than that these are pretty useful for companies and agencies that provide you with various services and products. You can put the stock in that mobile home and use it commercially for marketing and selling of your items. Also it adds to your safety, while a tornado, hurricanes or heavy winds might cause minor damage to a site-built home, it could do significant damage to a typical built home, especially an older model or one that is not properly secured. Also, structural components (such as windows) are typically weaker than those in site-built homes. 70 mile per hour or winds of more speed and intensity can destroy a mobile home in a matter of minutes. Many brands offer optional hurricane straps, which can be used to tie the home to anchors embedded in the ground. There are many companies who can design your mobile homes according to your want adding to your costs and also to the advantages. In a nutshell, these are multipurpose and efficient that has a lot of advantages and can ease your life.

You Beautiful Lovers Can Sit Back In Your Paris Boats And Enjoy The View

Paris is known to be a romantic city. One goes to this amazing place to be dazzled by the modern beauty is provides but has well kept its historical value. It is the third in the list of being an influential city across the world. It is known to have a beautiful river the Seine River which is flowing across the capital of France.

This Seine River is 777 kilometers in length and is visited by tourist when traveling to Paris. All one has to do is go through the choices of Paris boats and peniche paris to be able to enjoy the scenery that Paris has to offer. The boat rides are known to be heavenly and boats its self is full of colorful decorations that attract the tourists. Going around the Seine River or just along the city canals make you realize and dream how it was in the olden time where people travel through this river. Merchants and lovers sit back in their Paris boats and enjoy the view and as you imagine being them you will be transported to the old time. This is one of the best rides you will enjoy as this provides the unique ambiance one cannot capture in any other country.

It is worth the ride to go around the river as it only takes one day. As you travel around the river you will see the historical beauty the city has to offer however most tourists go through this river to enjoy the history it brings to them. The river is known to have many mysteries and a lot of activities that went on in the past.

As one travels to the city of Paris he should never forget to go through this magnificent river as it is one of the most talked about destinations to visit in the world. However the Barge Paris is not just for a travel along the Seine River you can also use this to travel across other parts of the city.

It is fairly easy to travel along the river. The best way to do it is to rent a boat or a barge. You can opt to bring a tourist guide with you or just travel with a boat man. However it is your responsibility to bring all the necessary documents that is needed by the travel agency to assist you in your tour. They create a tour package just for you based on your plans. They can offer you great evening tours around Paris without having to plan it on their own.

As early as now if you plan to go to Paris start planning your itinerary and look at the different options that are available to you. location de salles.

Duality Vs. Polarity

The one concept that above all others plagues human beings, and has done so for all of recorded history, is the concept of duality. It is a hidden enemy, created in wrong thought (relative consciousness), and fed by fear. It has divided the world of man and has been the instrument of more death and destruction than all the terms we commonly use to describe evil. And yet the people of the world, as a whole, continue trapped in the same belief pattern. What is this thing called “duality”? Virtually every Church and most of the religions of the world have propagated this idea in their doctrine. Why is it such a pervasive idea, and why has it attracted such a following?

Many of the precepts of Hermes Trismegistus, an ancient Master in Egypt, can be found within virtually every world religion. It is possible that misunderstanding of this ancient teaching, interwoven with doctrine, may have led to the belief in dualism. Even initiates of Hermetic teachings today write in such a way that can cause confusion. The Hermetic principle of Polarity is presented as, “all manifested things have two sides, two aspects, two poles, a pair of opposites with manifold degrees between the two extremes.” This is a description of Polarity and not duality, but it is obvious how dualism can spring from an incomplete understanding. It is from the doctrine of Zoroastrianism that the universal struggle is described as the forces of evil against the forces of good is derived.

A clear understanding of three Hermetic Precepts might give you some clues as to how the fallacy of duality has been derived. 1) Correspondence – “As above, so below; as below, so above.” To some people this meant two worlds, as opposed to many planes of the absolute unity of Universal Being. 2) Polarity – “Everything is dual; everything has poles; everything has its pair of opposites; like and unlike are the same; opposites are identical in nature, but different in degree; extremes meet; all truths are but half truths; all paradoxes may be reconciled. The fact that all paradoxes may be reconciled clearly indicates that all paradoxes are a part of the whole. 3) Gender – “Gender is in everything; everything has its masculine and feminine principles; Gender manifests on all planes.” So, we have multiple planes and the masculine and feminine principles are manifested in each and all are part of the whole.

The definition of Polarity which says, “Everything is dual” is taken to mean the world is dualistic. A closer look at each of these precepts and it is clear that while these poles and opposites are present they are present within the whole. Man sees forces on the other side where we go when we die. He wants to believe there are other planes but the experience of life and death chill him. He has a hard time reconciling life and death as just phases of the whole. For those who accept duality, the world is full of calamities that are thrown at them by evil forces, and how well they handle them determines whether they go to heaven or hell.

We hear people talk about how a city is racially polarized as if this in itself was proof of duality. In fact, the word “polarity” is proof of exactly the opposite of duality. Duality is a concept that states that there are two forces, good and evil, warring against each other. It is a lie the intellect has created, and we have accepted. There is only one power, and the other is created in our ignorance by the intellect and fed by our fear. When you say that a city is racially polarized, you are actually confirming the unity of humanity. There may be significant differences, culturally and economically, but polarity simply means the extreme points of one thing. If you have racial polarity all that is proved is that we are all human. The Universal Law is Absolute Unity. The perception is duality.

Most theology is dualistic in nature. Only a few Christian churches emphasize that there really is no competing power with God. The Unity Movement has made its statement of belief in the “Absolute Unity of all” the linchpin of its positive affirmations. Their affirmation is “There is only one power and presence in the universe, God the good omnipotent, the everywhere present Principle of Absolute Good.” In virtually every other theology, the universe is a battleground between good and evil. On the one side we have the Almighty God who created the heavens and the earth, and on the other side we have Satan, a fallen angel who reaches for and has an equal power status on earth. In fact, he is depicted as having control of earth. The world turns, and the battle rages for the souls of men. Everything is defined in terms of good and evil.

To say that there is only one power and presence in the universe is not just a statement of adoration and praise to God. It is a statement of principle. It is a statement of the Universal Law of Absolute Unity. When we say this, we are confirming that there is no other power but God. We are in essence renouncing duality and the idea of a second power that can compete and war against God. We are recognizing and affirming that evil and satanic forces are a creation of the intellect and a perversion of the reality of Absolute Unity. One cannot deny that negative and fearful thinking is the cause of negative and fearful consequences. Why? Because all thought creates. Thought will create constructively or destructively, but it always creates. Our world, our lives are our creations. What people refer to as evil might more accurately be seen as the destructive results of fearful, negative and wrong thought. It comes from man’s intellect and creates the perceived barriers to God. It instills in man the belief that there is a separation from God, which has never existed. It cannot and could not be because God is in man and everywhere present. Absolute means ABSOLUTE. If God is omnipresent, he is everywhere. So what could be considered evil? It can only be our perception of separation from God. It has no reality in truth.

Even some of the more enlightened religious systems retain a lingering vestige of the thought that man has somehow been separated from God and must go through a process of purification or karmic learning in order to be reunited with God. The Catholic Church has its purgatory in which the last bits of sin and perdition are removed before man can return to God. Some metaphysical schools, while teaching the Universal Laws, have not been able to get past duality. At least one of these schools actually teaches that there is the Universal Law of Duality. We have those who talk about good karma and bad karma. They say that this bad karma has to be paid in order to go back to God. There is no such thing as good karma or bad karma. There is only karma or balance. One might call it bad karma because an experience is unpleasant. However, all experience is attracted because we need the learning experience. In our pain, we don’t recognize or appreciate the experience, but it is part of the Law of Balance and Equalization.

How do we know that duality is a false perception, and what do we do about it? We can know through the process of identifying and verifying the Universal Laws in our lives. We can know the fallacy because we can understand the Universal Law of Absolute Unity. We understand that to look for solutions, or to place blame outside of ourselves, is a useless exercise. We know there is only one power in the Universe, and it is everywhere present. What we have perceived as a separation from God is only a creation of the intellect. Even with all the evidence of order in nature, we have been able to see only chaos and destruction in the storm. We forget that it is a product of natural order. In our concept of spiritual things we have perceived God as out there somewhere and heaven as up there! What we have perceived as an evil force is a product of fear created and fed by the imagination of the intellect. The intellect/ego, left to its own devices, seeks to establish itself as separate from the whole. It will go to extraordinary extremes to protect itself and establish its own power.

The ego does not need the protection it seeks in separation. It doesn’t need the creation of a great world struggle between good and evil to give it meaning. It does not have to feel smarter, superior or to have been chosen as God’s elite to give it self-worth. It must recognize that it is its own worst enemy because it seeks to block itself from the all-powerful whole of which it is an indivisible part. As Emily Cady writes, “All joy and strength and good spring up from a fountain within one’s own being, and if we only knew this truth, we should know that, because God in us is the fountain out of which springs all our good, nothing that anyone does or says or fails to do or say, can take away our joy and good.” We must deny fear any of the power that springs from our imagination because the imagination will create constructively or destructively. It will create one way as easily as the other. We must deny the intellect the right to create the barrier. We must recognize polarity is found everywhere and in everything, but understand polarity to be parts of the whole. We must become fully aware that polarity and duality are not the same. The first is a fact of existence and the latter a mutant perversion that exists only as a perception of the intellect.

The Kabbalists (Mystic Judaism) say that the spiritual and physical came from the same substance and affirm that the apparent duality is really only a mistaken view of the universe, that in reality there is absolute unity. “A barrier need not be physical, like a gate or fence”, to be effective, declares David Sheinkin, author of Path of the Kabbalah. Men and women die every day because of the barriers erected from their beliefs. The commonly held worldview I refer to as duality contributes most to the barriers. The concepts of good versus evil and God versus Satan could be overcome with awareness of only one power existing in the universe and the concept of separateness from God as a perversion. Even what we call the spiritual dimension and the material dimension cannot truly be understood as duality because they exist in the same place at the same time. They are a part of the whole.

Duality is a perception of man, created by man and is derived from man’s own mistaken concept of his Being. The concept itself remains his greatest enemy because this ignorance of his real nature keeps him thinking that he has been separated from God. The good news from Jesus and other great masters was that God dwells in man. God is at hand within, and all power is available to each of us with the awareness of this presence. God has never left us, and we have never separated ourselves from God because it is not possible. What we have done through the intellect is put on blinders. We have always been with God and will always be with God. We experience in the body for purposes that only the IAM Consciousness knows. It is this consciousness that directs us, and not the relative conscious we know as our ego or intellect. Only human intellect/ego, with its free will, can even conceive the concept of separation from God. Man is the only entity that can come up with this idea! This separation from the Light of God is only in the imagination of the heart where the negative intellect, combined with emotion, strives in a darkness of its own making.

Job Search and Qualifications, the Process

If you are just starting a job search you may find that it does take some effort on your part. It is never easy to look for a new position even if you are currently employed. The job search process can be a grueling one especially if you are not prepared. Of course if you are a day laborer who is looking for manual labor on a day to day basis in a strong economy you can almost always find work if you are willing to work hard for a few hours or days. But if you are in the market for a permanent position that will pay your bills then you need to make a job of looking for that position.

If you have some qualifications then one thing you should do is to write them down. List exactly what are your strengths and weaknesses. Also it might help to list what you really enjoy doing and the things that you really hate to do. For example if you can’t stand to be indoors all day at a desk it probably won’t do you much good to seek that type of employment. Most employers or their human resources departments employ people who can read the applicant and they also ask probing questions that can give them some notice that the job might be a mismatch for you. The same is true if you are highly educated and are applying for an entry level position. The way you speak and carry and comport

yourself is easily spotted by someone experienced in interviewing applicants for jobs.

Once you write down all of your qualifications you will be able to actually talk about them in an interview situation. If you can’t write them down then you won’t be able to discuss them with anyone let alone someone interviewing you. After you have completed this step you can begin a job search. This might entail driving around the area looking for help wanted signs. It could mean going to a local job bank or looking in a local newspaper. If you are looking for a position you can also attend the local city council meeting and talk to the people who attend. They may have a lead or two as they generally are familiar with their city. Also attend local Chamber meetings as many business members attend them on a regular basis. At all of these you must be prepared to discuss what you are seeking and what your qualifications are for that position.

Another way that is growing is an internet job search. There are many websites dedicated to posting jobs. Some of them you have to join others are free for anyone searching for a position. Some of the websites are job type specific such as medical related positions or senior management elated or even for outdoor sales staff. Others are more general in nature and will have different categories of employment available. It is all a matter of going for it before you can get it.

What To Do When Your Friends and Your Girlfriend Don't Gel

There are many reasons why couples round the world struggle to sustain a healthy relationship. A major problem that sometimes crops up is that a person's significant other just doesn't seem to like his closest friends. If you are facing the same situation, you have probably had to confront a lot of negative energy from your wife or girlfriend. However, you needn't think that this situation is beyond redemption. You can still make your relationship work, if you are prepared to take the right steps.

The Cause May Not Be Your Friends

If you have just got past the honeymoon period of your relationship, what you are facing is not very uncommon. You need to consider the possibility that your partner is probably reacting to the fact that other things have started to edge their way into your life, which she thinks are pulling you away from her. Your friends may be one of these 'externalities.' Perhaps she doesn't have too many close friends herself, so she struggles to understand your exclusive relationship with your friends. If you think that, at the end of the day, what she is grudging is not the personalities of your friends, but the fact that you may be moving away from her, you need to reassure her that she is mistaken. Even if you can't spend as much time with her as before, try to make the time you do spend special.

When She Genuinely Doesn't Like Them

Obviously, there is also the possibility that she genuinely doesn't like certain friends of yours. If that's happening, you have to accept the fact that she has a right to form her own judgments and impressions, and those could be very different from yours. However, check with her who she doesn't like and why. You should also tell her why you like them. If you both are open and communicative, you will prevent barriers from forming between you two.

Making Plans With Her and Friends

If you perceive that your wife or girlfriend doesn't like some friends of yours, respect her for that and don't include her into plans she would rather not be a part of. If you have been pressurizing her to share the company of people she doesn't like, it will adversely affect her mood, and all her grievances will be rightly directed towards your behavior.

Never Give Up Your Friends

The one thing you should never do is discard your friends or drift away from them just because your wife or girlfriend doesn't like them. A healthy relationship can only be sustained when two people are prepared to accept that they both have the right to an independent space for themselves. Your friends are part of that space. The moment you get pressurized into giving them up, you will start forming a grudge against your partner, and it will come out in an ugly and hurtful manner in a fight.

Finally, to maintain a happy relationship with your girlfriend, you need to always remember to communicate clearly. The more you repress yourself, the more difficult it will become to have a calm conversation on the issue.

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Eco friendly modern wedding invitations

Wedding invitations have traditionally been sent out using specialized card or paper. They may look pretty, but paper wedding invitations may end up costing you more money and may even contribute to damaging the environment. Not only do you need to pay for materials, you also need to pay for the postage.

Modern wedding invitations do not need to be like this however as they can be sent by email or other electronic means.

Electronic wedding invites are kinder to the environment as they will not need to use any paper or envelopes. They will also save you money as you will not have to pay for the material or for postage.

Planning a wedding can be very stressful and time consuming, so saving time in the run up to the big day can be invaluable. Sending electronic wedding invites means that in just one or two clicks, hundreds of guests can be invited. It also means that family or friends who live at the other side of the world can also receive their invitation at the same time as the friends who live around the corner. This means you will have a smaller carbon footprint as you will not have to send the invites by airmail or spend a fortune on postage.

There will also be no chance of the invitations getting lost within the mail system either as sending the invitations electronically means they will never fall prey to freaky weather conditions, like those that brought the UK to a standstill last winter.

By sending the invitations by email, you also make things easier for your guests too as they can send their RSVP back quickly without having to post it back. Final numbers for the guest list can then be passed on to the venue so things can be finalized well in advance.

The Kingdom of Magical Thinking

In 1935, an oilman visiting the Middle East reported back to his headquarters, "The future leaves them cold. They want money now." Although the temptation of overspending has repeatedly undermined oil-rich governments from Caracas to Tehran, Saudi Arabia avoided this trap over the last decade through fiscal discipline that has kept its expenditures below its swelling oil receipts.
But in a recent report striking for the candor of its unpalatable conclusions, Saudi investment bank Jadwa laid out the kingdom's inexorable fiscal challenge: how to balance soaring government spending, rapidly rising domestic oil demand, and a world oil market that gives little room for further revenue increases. And that was before the recent economic turmoil knocked $20 per barrel off oil prices.
Saudi Arabia's government spending, flat since the last oil boom in the 1970s, is now rising at 10 percent or more annually. And it will rise faster still: The House of Saud's survival instinct in the wake of the initial Arab revolutions led King Abdullah to announce $130 billion of largesse in February and March. The resulting increases in government employment and salaries can be cut only at the cost of more discontent.
And that's only what the kingdom is spending on its "counterrevolution" at home. Saudi Arabia will pay the lion's share of the pledged $25 billion of Gulf Cooperation Council aid to Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, and Oman. With Iraq, Syria, and Yemen likely flashpoints yet to come, the bill will only increase. Already, nearly a third of the Saudi budget goes toward defense, a proportion that could rise in the face of a perceived Iranian threat.
Meanwhile, fast-growing domestic demand poses a serious threat to oil-export revenues. The kingdom is one of the world's least energy-efficient economies: With prices fixed at $3 per barrel for power generation and $0.60 per gallon of gasoline, Saudi Arabia needs 10 times more energy than the global average to generate a dollar of output. Subsidized natural gas, too, is in short supply, undermining an economic diversification drive focused on petrochemicals. As much as 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil are burned for electricity to meet summer air-conditioning demand, yet Jeddah, Saudi Arabia's second-largest city, still suffers frequent power cuts. By around 2026, Jadwa projects that domestic consumption will be over 5 million bpd, exceeding exports, which will never again reach their 2005 peak.
This combination of higher spending and lower exports shortens Saudi Arabia's time horizon. Usually considered, on shaky evidence, to be a "price moderate" within OPEC, the kingdom now requires $85 per barrel to balance its budget. That figure will rise to $320 by 2030, according to Jadwa. (Of course, just because the Saudis need a certain oil price to balance the budget does not mean they can get it. Higher prices today come at the inevitable cost of future revenues, as economic growth is reduced and consumers choose more efficient vehicles.)
Savings cushion the budget for now. But the experience of the last oil price cycle is likely to recur: $180 billion of assets in 1980 had become $176 billion of debt by the end of 2002, and despite the oil-price crash, Riyadh was able neither to cut spending nor to grow a viable non-petroleum economy. This time, Jadwa foresees that the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency will be forced to draw down its $500 billion of foreign assets to the point where, by 2030, the country's fiscal position will be under severe strain

The fight is over, but the hostilities continue

We shouldn't be surprised that Moscow and Kiev have (for the moment) settled their differences over Russia's supply of natural gas to Ukraine. A lot of that gas is ultimately destined for Europe, and cash-strapped and natural gas-dependent Europeans had applied considerable pressure to bring the two sides together. The increasingly heavy impact of the global financial slowdown added even more pressure. Ultimately, the Russian and Ukrainian governments reached agreement because both understood that the time for compromise had come.
But real damage has been done, and the genuine bitterness on both sides encouraged them to fight harder and for longer than either side could really afford. That's not a good sign for where we go next.
Russia's was always the stronger position. It's their gas, and Ukrainians aren't the only ones who need it. So why did the Kremlin push so hard? If all Moscow wanted was to bully its way into a better supply contract with Kiev, the fight might have ended much sooner. Even if it wanted to teach the Ukrainians a lesson and to create a demonstration effect for other governments, they needn't have inflicted so much lasting damage on their own reputation as a reliable energy supplier for Europe.
In part, the answer comes from a broader view of Russia's foreign policy goals. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, still very much in charge, sees the conflict in geopolitical terms and is speaking to a wider international audience. When Russia responded to Georgia's provocations in a pair of breakaway provinces last August by striking Georgia directly, the Ukrainian government backed the Georgians. We shouldn't underestimate the anger that that decision generated inside the Russian government. Some in the Kremlin probably wanted Ukraine (and others) to see that anger-and to raise the cost of efforts to embarrass Russia or to obstruct its plans.
Like the Israelis, the current Russian government sometimes feels it must strike much, much harder than its opponents can...to send a message that further provocations will not be tolerated. The Russians also worry that the West (and the US, in particular) is meddling in Moscow's commercial relations with Kiev. Moscow hopes the United States and EU will back away from active support for Ukraine by making that support appear self-defeating.
In Ukraine, there are three heavyweight political actors who agree on very little, virtually paralyzing the policymaking process on all but the most urgent economic questions. President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko both wanted to resolve the gas problem, but they agree on little else, particularly when it comes to engaging Russia. Opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych is waiting for both to fail.
It was Tymoshenko who got the gas deal done because the Russians consider her much more flexible than Yushchenko. (She's a "nationalist" but doesn't push nearly as hard as the president on Ukraine's bid to join NATO.) The Russians were ultimately willing to compromise on some issues if cutting a deal with Tymoshenko damaged Yushchenko and relieved stress on Gazprom. But the deal is unlikely to help build some new consensus within the Ukrainian government on how to improve the broader relationship with Russia.
All these calculations make clear that the agreement on gas supplies that finally emerged will not create a foundation for longer-term improvement in Russian-Ukrainian relations. The agreement does help reduce tensions to a simmer, but the next flashpoint could be just behind the horizon. That's bad news for the United States, the European Union, and for everyone else who cares about stability in the region where Europe collides with the former Soviet Union.
It's especially tough to guess Russia's next move, because its government is extremely opaque and because sensitive information and real decision-making authority rests in so few hands. In fact, Putin holds more power than any other individual in the world. All of these factors bolster the country's political stability -- at least for as long as Putin remains in charge. But they make Russian foreign policy especially difficult to predict, because there's little need to build consensus in advance of a geopolitical gamble and fewer officials within government who know what's about to happen.
It won't be long before Russia and Ukraine are at it again -- over energy supplies or something else. President Barack Obama would like to improve U.S.-Russian relations, and Europeans want to have confidence that Russia will provide steady supplies of energy. More trouble between Moscow and Kiev will prevent either from happening any time soon.

Ukrainian Democracy Watch, 2011 - Issue 2

Ukrainians take to the streets: celebrating unity on the day of national independence and demonstrating intentions to protect their economic rights. Meanwhile the government is implementing hasty administrative reform, without having settled on its foreign-policy strategy.

What direction does the foreign policy of Viktor Yanukovych take?

In just one month Viktor Yanukovych will celebrate his first year in the office of the President of Ukraine. During this time the approach to national foreign policy has changed dramatically. From being overtly pro-western and Euro-Atlantic during the term of president Yuschenko it appears to now to focus on Russia. With new legislation coming into force Ukraine also declared insulation from any blocks and unions as well as cancelled the provisions for integration into NATO. Various political steps suit Russia exclusively: Russian businesses were incorporated in to privatisation tenders allowing the take-over of Ukrainian companies, particularly in strategically important sectors of economy; The agreement with the Russian Naval Base included a long term extension, in exchange for a short term gas discount. Thus even though Yanukovych tries to demonstrate that he intends to preserve friendship with president Dmitriy Medvedev Russia is gradually increasing its pressure on Ukraine. This will result in the Head of Ukraine either yielding to Moscow’s economic influence entirely, or a hasty political rapprochement with the West to balance the Russian influence.

Although the first official visit by Yanukovych as President of Ukraine was to Brussels, at present the relations with the European Union are increasingly troubled by concerns over the Ukrainian authorities restricting the democratic rights and freedoms of Ukrainian people. The latest visits of European Commissioners to Kyiv proved that the intentions of the EU's policy makers are to prevent the establishment of Belorussian-esque regime in Ukraine. Viktor Yanukovych should personally value the support of the European Union as it will allow him to not only balance relations with Russia but also enjoy his trips to the EU, communicate with European leaders and be welcomed as a member of the European elite. To achieve these goals he should terminate the establishment of the Russia model of control over society irrespective of its successes in Russia and resume dialogue with the people. Otherwise we face not only sanctions from the EU and the USA, but an increased dependence on Russia and the potential for a social explosion of similar magnitude to that of the "Orange Revolution" and equally unexpected as was the case in Egypt.

People First Comment:

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs have stated that the policy of this government will be to express the independence of Ukraine. There would be no dependence on Russia but there would be close economic ties. There would be no dependence on the EU although Ukraine would follow a path of economic and later political integration with Europe. There would be no formal engagement with NATO but they would continue to participate in the partnership for peace programme. One year on the picture is very different and the country is now looking more isolated than independent.

Relations with Russia are at best cool, the EU is becoming outspoken in its criticism whilst the military, starved of funds is becoming less and less effective to a point where joint NATO exercises serve little purpose. The political parallels with Belarus have not gone unnoticed. What has happened as a result of current policy is that Ukraine is now no longer a hindrance to Russian-EU relations as both recognise that the country has backed it’s self into a corner and can now be virtually ignored in real East-West relations. Ukraine has become a problem for both the EU and the USA as the economic and social conditions deteriorate and so rather than expressing Ukrainian independence all that seems to have been achieved is an expression of Ukraine’s ineptitude.

Isolationism is not a policy; it is a result of a lack of real policy. Ukraine needs a strong economic and political relationship with both Russia and the EU. Ukraine needs to demonstrate that it has real direction, that it is serious about partnerships, that, importantly, it fully understands European and western values and that the Ukrainian culture and heritage has something of real value to the world. The present policy can only reduce Ukraine to a disruptive international problem that the world does not need.

Ukraine remains separated on the day the country declared its sovereignty

The true depth of Ukraine’s social and political disruption was illustrated recently by public action on the day of symbolic national reunion of the western and eastern regions. The authorities confined themselves to typical protocol: an on-screen presidential greeting, a concert for top officials and provocative warning by the Minister of the Interior concerning possible "bloodshed" by the opposition. The still divided opposition celebrated the Day of Independence separately. The majority, including "Batkivshchyna" of Yulia Tymoshenko, All-Ukrainian Union "Svoboda" and "Narodna Samooborona" gathered at the historical Sophievska square, where they denounced the Kharkiv Agreements with Russia, called for the resignation of the government and stressed the importance of alliance between all patriotic forces. This political meeting gathered between 20-40 thousand people. Other parties, who have declared themselves as oppositional to the government, such as "Front Zmin" led by Arseniy Yatsenyuk, held their own meeting on Kontraktova square. Some party fellows of the former president Viktor Yuschenko joined this meeting alongside several thousand citizens.

In contrast Ukrainian citizens, especially young people, demonstrated more aspiration for a political reunion of Ukraine than that described by politicians. Ukrainians in all major cities including Kyiv came out in celebration of unity by joining hands and creating ‘live chains’. In Kyiv young people connected the two banks of the Dnieper river with a symbolic ‘live chain’, proving that Ukrainians feel united, despite attempts by politicians to instil a sense of separation in the country. Such a burst of spontaneous patriotic activity inspires hope for the development of civil society in Ukraine. It also illustrates the vast and widening gap between the attitudes of the people, and their authorities that have chosen to ignore the citizens of Ukraine on the Day of Independence. Thus due to an indifferent government and separation within the opposition, hopes for civil society become the most powerful factor of the development of democracy in Ukraine and marginally raise its potential to become a successful European state.

People First Comment:

Is it any wonder that the good people of Ukraine are not prepared to demonstrate their enthusiasm for the nation when the political parties have singularly failed to deliver anything but more suffering on the nation. In 1991 when Ukraine broke away from the Soviet Union the nation had suffered from a lack of real investment for something like 20 years. The people had watched their standard of living slowly deteriorate as the lack of investment in industry, schools, hospitals, housing, roads and infrastructure really began to bite. Today the GDP of Ukraine is 30% lower than at independence in 1991.

With the declaration of independence the nation believed, and the politicians promised that democracy and freedom would create a new Ukrainian utopia. The reality has been somewhat different. Initially nationalist sentiment ruled and the authorities wasted valuable time on matters of national pride and ignored national priorities. The international community invested millions in promoting market economics but virtually nothing on democracy education and institution building and in this area Ukraine was left to fend for its self. As a result the authorities and the opposition began to bend the rules of democracy and democratic good practice under the weight of corruption. Money has become the deciding factor to a point where today the national philosophy has disappeared in a fog of self interest.

The political parties have become little more than money making personality cults. None have parliamentarians that have been locally elected from grass root support therefore it is little wonder that the people feel disenfranchised. None have presented well thought out and fully budgeted manifestos preferring the creation of policy on the hoof. The people have little to believe in and little faith that any politicians will work in their interests, therefore nobody should be surprised if they prefer to celebrate the Day of National Unity away from the limelight of political rallies.

False start of administrative reform

The Ukrainian authorities have decided to spread reforms onto the administrative sector. By the Presidential Decree titled "On Optimisation of Central Executive Authorities System" Viktor Yanukovych has attempted to reform the state machine, as well as middle and top-ranking state officials, in accordance with the challenges that Ukraine faces today. There are currently around 350,000 state officials in Ukraine. The declared first step of the reform involves the removal of around 100,000 officials from various levels. Moreover, the number of top-ranking officers has been reduced leaving each minister with just two deputies. Central executive authorities are divided into six types in accordance with European practices: ministries, services, inspections, agencies, independent regulatory bodies and authorities with special status. A positive outcome of the reform also includes the reduction of expenditures on the maintenance of state officials from national budget and a small restriction on the opportunities for corruption.

At the same time the authorities claim that in order to implement similar reforms in other spheres of Ukraine it is necessary to not only reduce staff in state departments but also to increase their efficiency; The IMF offers the same solutions in its official recommendations. The reforms appear to have got of to a false start prove to be poorly thought through. The majority of the reduced ministers will receive equivalent positions in extended government services preserving an old and ineffective management approach. The number of central executive authorities does not be reduced but will in fact increases from 45 to 56. There is no clear concept for these reforms leaving the government's new approach unexplained to its people. One clear effect of these reforms is the assistance to Viktor Yanukovych in further centralising power to his hands through the right to personally appoint the heads of all the central executive authorities. Due to the fact that the administrative reform was developed without requesting recommendations from the EU, thus the functions of the executive authorities will have to be reviewed once the Association Agreement enters into force. Besides, the reform fails to address the issue of self-governance which is one of the key requirements of the European Union. As a result of undue haste this latest attempt of the Ukrainian authorities to implement administrative reform in Ukraine may eventuate in failure.

People First Comment:

Playing the numbers game with the civil service is in reality a deception. The question should not be ‘how many do we really need’ but ‘what do they actually contribute to the management, development and growth of the nation’. It may well be that the country needs 350,000 bureaucrats working efficiently to ensure that the nation is consistently running at peak capacity. Cutting the numbers may well reduce the options for corruption but it does not guarantee that the nation will be run any more effectively.

The Ukrainian civil service of today is virtually identical to that of the former Soviet Union, little or nothing has been done to stream line systems as reducing the bureaucracy would in many cases hurt the revenue streams set up to maximise the opportunity for corruption. In reality the civil service has done an excellent job in protecting its own back but this relatively untrained and undisciplined civil service may well be the President’s Achilles heel. For the President to achieve the targets he promised in his election campaign he needs a civil service that not only understands what has to be done but also has the will to make it happen.

Cutting the numbers may go some way to streamlining decision making and drawing the civil service into some sort of order but unless there is fundamental reform of the systems of public administration, in reality little may change. If the President where to combine the streamlining of the civil service with a programme of incentivized targets then this would be a radical change as it would break the back of the corruption that is currently strangling many aspects of the governmental machine. The reforms are a step in the right direction but in reality may not be a step far enough.

Conflict between the authorities and entrepreneurs in Ukraine may lead to another revolution

After giving protestants' demands token consideration the Ukrainian authorities adopted a new version of Tax Code which demonstrates a somewhat nonchalant attitude towards the interests of entrepreneurs. Thus, the government led by the Party of Regions chose to safeguard the interests of business heavyweights and mark small and medium sized businesses as a primary source of taxation, without considering the hostile environment menacing the SME sector. One of the provisions of the new Tax Code provides the tax administration with the right to freeze any ‘offender's’ bank accounts but fails to present a procedure for unblocking such accounts.

The administrative pressure on entrepreneurs participating in the protests at the end of 2010 was indicative of an aggressive attitude among the authorities. In Kyiv and other regions of Ukraine there have been reports of the authorities purposefully shutting down the trade places of those entrepreneurs who participated in protests. Substantial increases in the number of inspections and interrogations by the militia have become common indicators of pressure.

Thus the population engaged in small and medium sized business - the bulk of the middle class and a fundamental of civil society in Europe - has begun to mobilise itself. As a result, fresh protest actions against the government have already been planned for February 2011. The schedule of demonstrations was recently confirmed by Igor Gurnyak, head of the Coordination Council of the Assembly of non-governmental organisations of small and medium-sized businesses in Ukraine. New protests will voice such demands as the cancellation of the new Tax Code, resignations from the Cabinet of Ministers, pre-term elections for the Verkhovna Rada and the cancellation of a new Labour Code that jeopardises the social security of hired workers. The ongoing battle between entrepreneurs and the policy of the Party of Regions demonstrates a shift away from the typical apathetic population, as segments of the population band together to protect their rights. If the government proves incapable of accommodating the demands of its people, instability in the socio-political and economic fields may get significantly worse before the end of the year.

People First Comment:

What is interesting about the recent public out cries in Tunisia Jordan, Yemen and Egypt is that these revolts are characterised by cries for democracy, jobs, lower food prices, an end to corruption and political reform. This public reaction to social injustice has not been by a radicalised few but by the middle class and ordinary people who simply want a better standard of living. Recent national research carried by the People First Foundation has found that the average middle and working class Ukrainian family’s primary concerns are: jobs, food prices, education, medical care, corruption, representation in government and the rule of law.

Successive governments have ignored job creation, in fact now we see the opposite as the tax police, enforcing the new tax code, force thousands of small and medium sized enterprises to the wall. Food prices continue to rise not simply because of world pricing but also because of the cartels that have been allowed to develop unopposed in the food and food supply industry. Education and healthcare bare the brunt of budget cuts. Corruption is costing the country literally billions in illegal offshore transactions, VAT scams and over pricing, democracy is under direct attack and the majority of Ukrainians now believe that justice is a tradable commodity.

The parallels between the social conditions in North Africa and Ukraine are uncannily similar particularly with the authoritarian clamp down and the middle class tax revolt. The only difference being that in Ukraine the opposition is even less likely to solve the problems as they are cast from the same die. The authorities had better rethink their policies lest Ukrainians learn from the North African and Middle Eastern examples and follow suite.

Historical quote of the week:

It is high time for me to put an end to your sitting in this place, which you have dishonoured by your contempt of all virtue, and defiled by your practice of every vice; ye are a factious crew, and enemies to all good government; ye are a pack of mercenary wretches, and would like Esau sell your country for a mess of potage, and like Judas betray your God for a few pieces of money; is there a single virtue now remaining amongst you? Is there one vice you do not possess? Ye have no more religion than my horse; gold is your God; which of you have not barter'd your conscience for bribes? Is there a man amongst you that has the least care for the good of the Commonwealth? Ye sordid prostitutes have you not defil'd this sacred place, and turn'd the Lord's temple into a den of thieves, by your immoral principles and wicked practices? Ye are grown intolerably odious to the whole nation; you were deputed here by the people to get grievances redress'd, are yourselves become the greatest grievance. Your country therefore calls upon me to cleanse this Augean stable, by putting a final period to your iniquitous proceedings in this House; and which by God's help, and the strength he has given me, I am now come to do; I command ye therefore, upon the peril of your lives, to depart immediately out of this place; go, get you out! Make haste! Ye venal slaves be gone! Go! Take away that shining bauble there, and lock up the doors. In the name of God, go!

Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England, 20 April 1653

Mid Eastern Muslim Brotherhood

It is claimed that the Arab Muslim Brotherhood is deliberately holding back on its religious message for the moment, in the middle of a people-driven revolt that is purportedly not being determined by either Islam or politics.

The organization proclaimed its support for opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Mohamed ElBaradei, a secularist with Western democratic principles, as a transitional president, if the Mubarak government was put out of office.

Esam Shosha, a movement member said "The revolution does not belong to any one group. We are one country. It's not just about the Brotherhood, at least not now; it's about all Egyptians."

"They don't want to appear as if they're using this revolt to seize power. What they want is free and fair elections to allow them to take power transparently," an analyst at the Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo, Wahid Abdul Magid, said.

The Muslim Brotherhood is the world's most influential Islamist movement and the oldest and largest Islamic political group. Their goal however, is to also penetrate and take over other Muslim organizations in order to unite all Muslims to the general aims of the brotherhood.

The organization's beliefs are moderate when compared with many of the world's more militant Muslim organizations. However, it rejects the idea that a woman, or a Christian could be president of a Muslim country and would lean the nation's laws toward more rigorous Islamic codes. It would certainly ban alcohol and topless beaches at the resort of Sharm el Sheik. The organization also prohibits dancing and other such pastimes.

Hassan al-Banna, Islamic scholar and Sufi schoolteacher, who believed in reclaiming Islam's manifest destiny, an empire stretching from Spain to Indonesia, founded the organization in 1928.

The organization's goal is to instill the Sunnah and Quarn as the 'sole reference point for ordering the life of the Muslim family, individual and community and state'. It generally opposes violence to achieve its aims, though division has been created within the group, through its stance on no violence.

The Egyptian government accused the group of a campaign of killings in Egypt after World War II, as the organization strongly opposed Western colonialism. The Muslim Brotherhood was banned in Egypt, with members being arrested, in spite of the membership being kept a secret. The brotherhood was involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and assisted in the overthrow of secular Ba'athist dictators in Syria.

Al Qaeda has censored the brotherhood and charged them with 'betraying the cause of Islam and abandoning the 'jihad' in preference to forming political parties and supporting modern state institutions'. While studying at university, Osama bin Laden claimed he was influenced by the religious and political beliefs of many professors, who had strong connections to the Muslim Brotherhood.

Saturday, 27 August 2011

Learn how to Put an end to The Causes of Aggressive Behavior in Dogs





Dog aggression can begin as young as about six weeks of age, a crucial age when a puppy should be socialized to many other dogs and supplied the necessary training that keeps them from biting on other people. This phase of socialization will last till the puppy turns fourteen weeks of age and can increase further beyond that.

This indicates a number of things. First, do not take a pup outside of its litter prior to 8 weeks of age. Never use severe discipline with the new puppy in between 8 and 10 weeks and be sure the puppy is very softly dealt with in that time frame. Hitting, yelling and other hard punitive measures at a young age can easily breed aggressive behavior within dogs as time passes.

Your pet will need to have been properly socialized together with people and also other dogs as soon as your dog got to fourteen weeks to stop any future aggression problems.

Actual aggression can be brought about from several factors. Inheritance along with genes are certainly reasons - some breeds can certainly be far more aggressive than the others - however it's in no way a hard fast rule. Additionally, dogs which have never been neutered or spayed tend to be at risk from aggressive behaviors.

By far, however, the key factor in creating aggressive tendencies in dogs is environment. A dog that has terrible living conditions, harsh owners, zero socializing, or that's terrified or assaulted by a different dog is far more likely to be aggressive as it ages.

Aggression can build from the need to create a pack pecking order. Biting, posturing, along with other aggressive tendencies in many cases are the effect of a dog testing to get dominance. You will need to create dominance at a young age and maintain that role throughout the dog's adolescence to ensure it won't get a chance to take control over the family unit.

Curtailing and Managing Aggressive Behavior in Pet dogs

When your pet dog exhibits aggressive behavior after 14 months old, when it has hit sexual maturity, particularly after it has been nuetered altered, make sure you address the case right away. First, ensure you established yourself as the pack leader. Don't reward the dog for aggressive behavior, even if it is fearful (particularly in this case).

Train your pet to respond to your instructions, control feeding and walking time, and make certain the dog has got a strong alpha dog inside your home. When you defer towards dog or allow it to take liberties at home, it is going to present stronger aggression toward others.

In case your pet dog is defensive-aggressive, it's possibly that they strike out at a person in fear. These dogs might possibly not have been adequately socialized. Keep them faraway from young children (which they may see as direct threats) and attend a dog training program or behaviorist who can gradually adapt your pet to a social atmosphere.

Aggressive behavior in your dog has become a concern that a great many puppy owners have, but it could in fact be managed, even as the dog gets older. If your aggression ever advances to violence, consider employing a skilled professional to intercede before somebody gets harmed and your pet dog will be held accountable.

Keeping Dogs in a Recession

We have all done it, gone out shopping or seen something we like and we buy it disregarding the cost of keeping it and especially in a recession.

Why do we do it?

Because the urge to own what we like is greater than the urge to be sensible.

That is okay if it is an object we can stick in a shed or outhouse and forget it for a while , but if the object is a living breathing Dog then we are in trouble. That is all about commitment for the next ten to fifteen years.

“Oh no! I didn’t expect that. I’ll take it back,” you quickly retort. Your family disagrees and begs and pleads with you to keep it. eventually against your better judgment to give in.

Everyone is happy, you are happy because you made your family happy. Your family thinks you are great, but underlying this is a sneaking suspicion that you can only just afford the upkeep.

Anyway the years pass and your dog has grown into a large dog, along with a large appetite. Your family is also growing with the added expense that comes with having to buy more expensive clothes, food, equipment etc.

You have been able to just keep your head above water as far as money is concerned and everyone is happy. Then suddenly prices begin to rise and everyone including the government tells you that the country is in a recession and jobs may go. Your not unduly worried, because you know you job is relatively safe.

One morning you get a letter from your bank saying the mortgage repayments are being increased, your wife tells you she needs more money for the shopping, your dog is sick and you take him to the vet. He needs a scan costing over a thousand dollars. Your credit card is taking a bashing. How are you going to pay your debts?

You have to make a terrible decision:

Struggle on and hope things get better financially

Let your dog go and cut some of the expense in one go.

You know that the last decision is going to be unpopular and cause trouble in your family. It can even cause the break up of your marriage. Don’t make hasty decision without exploring all the possibilities.What can you do to cut the cost of keeping a dog?  Here are some suggestions:

Prepare your own food.

Ask friends and family to help look after your dog when you go on holiday.

Don’t let your dog become obese. (Health and extra food issues)

Use alternative veterinary services like the PDSA(UK)  and American Animal Hospital Association in the US.

Do an inventory of where your dogs main expenditure is like food, vets bills, kennelling, grooming, etc.

Try and find cheaper alternative sources for your dogs food without compromising on quality.

Stop buying tip bits for your dog like hide chews( they are expensive) look for alternative there are plenty about.

Stop buying expensive play toys and concentrate on cheaper alternatives.

Do not let dog food manufactures persuade you that you want their new product when your dog is doing okay on the old one.

What ever you decide if you are faced with this situation it takes great strength of character to keep your dog. The only way you can do this is to have the full backing of your family. Without their help and commitment you can have even more problems that just debt.

Remember there are organizations that can help you before making a rash decision. I hope you are never faced with this dilemma because it can be heartbreaking.

American Bulldogs – What Every New Owner Must Know?

American Bulldogs are mostly descendants of English Bulldogs, and they were near extinction after World War II. John Summerville is the man who should be given the credit for bringing them back by careful breeding. They are the one who are loved here in America a lot. The breed is known as good hunters and they are one of the breeds that are working. They are very loyal, and thus a good family dog. In addition, these dogs commonly known to be very courageous and gutsy when they have to protect their owners.

Types of Bulldogs

Classic and the standard are the two varieties of the American bulldogs. Standard variety is dogs that have been designated as the Scott. The breed known as Classic is the one that is also called the Bully and another name is Johnson. Although there are many different hybrids with countless combinations of two varieties, the basic characteristics remain the same. The breed standard is short and sturdy and looks very similar to the pit bulls. These dogs are usually white with some red or brindle. They have a short coat, and the nervous system that can be hard or rough to the touch. One has to invest time in cleaning and brushing them on daily basis. Make sure that the brush is stiff. As the jaw is strong these American bull dogs look boxy.

Weight and Size

For those considering bringing home American Bulldogs, it is important to take into account the size and weight of the American bull dogs. On an average the Males are as tall as 27 inches and their weight measures up to125 pounds. On the other hand the Females are 25 inches tall and 100 kilos. The average age of these dogs is 16 years. The variety of English have been raised to help the herd of cattle. Some of its features have been sent to the American variety. Although known to have a strong personality, are fierce and protective as guard dogs, which are also very gentle and get along well with other pets and children in families.

It may be so that the dog is not aware of its own weight and may not even know how strong it is, therefore it is the duty of the owner to train it in this respect. This means when they mingle with the infants in the family they must be aware. If trained well they will abide by your words. One can keep them indoors as they are active there. Just train the American bulldogs perfectly and enjoy their company.

American Bulldogs – Perfect Companion for Families with Children?

American Bulldogs are very popular nowadays all over the world. There are lot of dog lovers who love the strong, well muscled breeds such as Rottweilers and schnauzer. As these dogs are loyal and highly protective they are fit for families.

Features and Personality Traits

Become familiar with the characteristics and personality traits of American Bulldogs as these will help you understand if these dogs are appropriate for your family. These dogs are very lovable, but they can be a bit difficult to train, hard-headed and stubborn at times. When you train them, you will find that they can be very affectionate and loyal, so it is really worth. It is a very intelligent breed, so they will be part of your family. They provide protection and companionship, but you should definitely think twice to bring them home if this is your first time owning a dog. You will need a lot of patience and commitment to train or if you want an animal that is aggressive and provocative and may be simply out of control at times.

Bulldogs with Children

You will have to take extra precaution when choosing an animal as pet if you have children or even infants in the house, because all races are suitable and safe during use. American Bulldogs, fortunately, does not pose a threat to children. It would be important, but to train them well so they will be very careful when they are around babies. Children must also learn to play with pets, so it does not feel threatened or defensive. Children should be encouraged to participate in dog obedience training so that they can familiarize themselves with the controls. When the puppy is well trained, then it will be loyal and affectionate with children and even friendly.

For every family keeping a pet in the house is a great responsibility and something they have to commit to completely. The American Bulldogs are large and heavy, therefore you should also consider this vital aspect when you think running a household with a pet like this. You should consider whether it would be able to handle a dog of this size, and you will be able to spend regular time period. There is also the financial aspect that you have to consider when choosing a pet. Because these dogs are much larger than the average lap dogs, they also tend to eat more. However, if funding is not a problem for your family and American Bulldog can be very nice, friendly, intelligent and loyal animals for the whole family.

Allergies In Dogs - What Can I Do About Dog Allergies Symptoms?

It is suggested that if you are looking for permanent relief for dog allergies symptoms you need to go see a veterinary dermatologist. Here you can find the cause for sneezing in dogs, general allergies in dogs and most of your dog skin problems.

People medicines such as Benadryl and Claritin will only provide temporary relief of the signs and your dog will still be uncomfortable.

In some cases the dermatologist may be able to make up allergy shots if they find out the cause of your dogs allergies. You should not make any diet changes or treat your pet with any medication without strict guidance from a veterinarian.

Changing the dog's diet without the guidance from a veterinarian can make it more difficult for them to isolate the cause of the allergies. It’s entirely possible that the causes may involve specific foods. This requires an extensive food trial. However it could be environmental agents that are causing your dog allergies symptoms which would require further allergy testing.

On your own you could try hydroxizine or atarax for some relief. Do Not use prednisone, it is not the greatest it's a steroid and have several side effects. You can also try eliminating the normal protein source with another protein like fish or venison. It takes up to 2 to 3 months of a diet change to tell if there is any effect.

Allergic contact dermatitis usually shows up in dogs as a hypersensitivity reaction to particular molecules in your pet's environment. Irritant contact dermatitis happens when the skin is exposed to noxious substances in the environment. The symptoms and biologic mechanisms in these two disease structures are closely similar and are often discussed together.

Allergic contact dermatitis is a rare disease, which occurs when an animal's skin overreacts to certain small molecules in the environment. Substances, which can cause allergic contact dermatitis in dogs include some antibiotics applied to the skin, metals such as nickel, materials like rubber or wool and chemicals such as dyes and carpet deodorizers.

Irritant contact dermatitis occurs when the dog’s skin is exposed to intensely irritating chemicals like the sap in poison ivy or road salt.

What are the symptoms of allergic and irritant contact dermatitis?

Lesions occur on the areas of skin that are sparsely haired and exposed to the offending cause. Areas like the back of the paws, abdomen, muzzle, and lips.

The affected areas are usually very red, have small bumps or blister-like lesions, and itch like crazy. Also in irritant contact dermatitis may occur.

The key to managing these dog allergies symptoms is the obvious removing or restricting of exposure to any allergen or contact irritant in the pet's environment. If your not able to do this, then using fatty acids, antihistamines, biotin, and topical shampoos can at least control the itching.

As a rule, for any pet suspected of having an allergy problem that could include an allergic contact component, we recommend:

Glass or stainless steel food and water bowls, cleaned and rinsed well daily

Hypoallergenic detergents for the pet's bedding

Routine hypoallergenic shampoos for the pet to remove any allergens

Restricting walking to sidewalks or paved surfaces-completely avoiding the grass,

if possible.

Be kind to your pooch!

Hopefully in the not to distant future there will be an easier fix for all allergies in dogs.

Save the Butterflies

Are you sick of rainy days? This so-called July weather? Is it dampening your spirits and killing the social calendar? Is it threatening your species? If the answer to the last question is yes, then you are one of the butterflies that feature in this article, if not then you're like me - just another malcontent, fed up with British weather.

Butterflies are one of the few purely decorative insects you can attract and their variety of colours is astonishing, thus making them a welcome addition to any garden, but, due to last year’s wet summer, and the continuing trend this year, Britain has seen a severe decline in several species of butterfly. As most of us know, water and wings don't mix, particularly where insects are concerned. A heavy rainstorm is comparable to a blitzkrieg from a butterfly’s perspective and all this rotten weather has meant they've been less actively pollinating and breeding.

As such, last week’s article on pond cultivation comes closer to the fore, due to it's role as an insect habitat. The obvious plus is the water source it provides, however, butterflies require peace to flourish, so I'd also suggest a wild patch in your garden that will remain undisturbed by usual garden maintenance and thus provide them with a breeding ground. To this end, you might consider a small nettle patch as this will discourage human contact whilst providing a suitable habitat.

The primary means of enticing butterflies into the garden depends on your planting, because nectar is primarily what will invite them. To ensure the most hospitable environment, you'll want a variety of plants that will provide nectar year round, so it is advised you have a balance of spring bloomers such as Daisies, Dandelions, Pansies and Primroses and to compensate their loss in late summer and autumn, a healthy dose of Marigolds, Knapweed and Lavender. Other examples to really boost your butterfly potential are full sun perennials such as Helenium, which will provide bold colour and a large bulbous landing pad to your guests, Lathyrus which offers a daintier foliage and the bonus for us of scent, and the towers of Verbascum, which will dominate the sky line of a butterfly garden - the air traffic control on your own living airfield.

Shrubs that butterflies love include Buddleia, Hebes and Lilac and certain herbs also attract the insect, due to their scent. These include oregano, thyme and mint.

It is important to remember that your butterfly population will be relative to your gardening variety i.e. the greater the number and mix and plants, the greater the potential for their propagation.

Due to their erratic behaviour, butterfly spotting is no simple task, however, look out in your own gardens for species like the Common Blue with their lilac veined wings and white trim, the flambouyant Peacock with big blue ‘eyes’ on its wings, or the small Tortoiseshell, tiger striped with segmented blue edging, to know just how much your helping their species. Other, threatened, types to watch out for are the toffee coloured Small Skipper, the Ginger Lulworth Skipper, Chalk Hill Blue and the Wall Brown species.

Enhancing Your Kids’ Cognition Through Music

Cognition is defined as the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience and the senses. By this definition, we can say that cognition plays an important role in how each one of us learn concepts and apply what we learn in real life. Not only do we limit learning in concepts rather it encompasses life’s lessons and important values. Because of this, concerned parties, including parents have ventured this arena and experimented on how to impart important lessons to others especially their children so as to reach their maximum potential.

And it doesn’t come as a surprise to learn that one of the most enjoyable activities of humankind actually helps in the development of essential cognitive systems. This activity is music making and/or music training. Listening to music passively helps in the brain development but recent research puts more weight in making music or playing musical instruments as boosters of cognitive development. The activities included here are composing music, reading music, analyzing, arranging, notating, and creating music. Accordingly, compelling evidence supports the hypothesis that these activities, collectively known as musical arts, may provide a positive, significant and lasting benefit to learners.

The essential cognitive systems developed in making music include reasoning, creativity, thinking, decision-making and problem solving. Neural firing patterns are activated and synchronized resulting to orchestrate and connect multiple brain sites. This results in the increase of the brain’s efficiency and effectiveness. Many research literatures and academic articles are available explaining more about Music and the Brain.

Armed with this information, Sharon Burch, a music teacher from Iowa, created Freddie the Frog® with the mission of breaking down big abstract music concepts into developmentally appropriate pieces for kids. Believing that parents should begin exposing their kids to music from Day One, Burch created a fictitious land to introduce the treble clef staff and spun different stories that teach musical concepts spanning now to 5 books. From the original story where she used the treble clef staff as a “map” to a child’s eye, she spun characters and places to stories that represent each line and space in the treble clef. Her efforts were so successful in the classroom that she then decided to share Freddie the Frog® and his adventures to other music teachers and to parents as well and ventured out of The Treble Clef Island.

From the first story, Freddie the Frog® and the Thump in the Night which introduces Freddie and Eli and the Treble Clef Island she followed it with Freddie the Frog® and the Bass Clef Monster. And from the title alone, we learn about the bass clef in this book. The third book, Freddie the Frog® and the Mysterious Wahooooo teaches tempo, rhythm and beats. The fourth one, Freddie the Frog® and the Secret of Crater Island is a continuation of the first book introducing the rest of the notes in the treble clef. Her latest, the fifth installment of the Freddie the Frog® book series is all about JAZZ! Freddie the Frog® and the Flying Jazz Kitten introduces kids to the world of Jazz. It will be out in 2011.

Prevent Childhood Obesity - Is It Possible?

We are all quite aware of the growing concern of obesity in our children today. Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions in our society, and we've all heard the various statistics regarding this growing trend. But what really are the childhood obesity facts and what are we prepared to do about them?

Plain and simple these are your childhood obesity facts: our children are consistently eating too much of the wrong foods, and have become the most inactive generation in the history of our society. This is not a genetic problem (which is not to say that there are some adults and children that have a genetic and hormonal predisposition to obesity), this is for the most part a behavioral problem, and behaviors can be changed.

Think about it, is it really necessary for our children to be ingesting the vast quantity of refined sugars, processed foods, and hydrogenated fats that they do every day. Foods and beverages that are consumed in such large quantities that their bodies cannot process and eliminate at the rate that these foods are consumed. And because our children are not 'moving' any more, the results are inevitable: skyrocketing obesity rates, an alarming incidence of type 2 diabetes in children, a significant increase in childhood behavioral problems, with low self-esteem and a rise in depression rates.

These are your childhood obesity facts! The question has to asked, why are we allowing this to happen?

It certainly is not because of a lack of education or knowledge about what the proper foods are and what constitutes a balanced diet: complex carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables, whole grains), adequate proteins, and the right amount of good fats. And we all have an idea of the benefits of exercise both from a physiological and psychological level. We may not know the specifics but we know the generalities. The information and knowledge is at our fingertips, more available and accessible to us than at any time in our history.

Our problem lies in our habits and behaviors. How can we prevent childhood obesity? Change our behaviors. It sounds so simple, yet why don't we? Because changing our habits, changing our behavior is the most difficult thing we do in our lives. We resist change, we are creatures of habit, with the same thoughts, and the same patterns of behavior day after day. This leads to complacency and comfortable laziness, and we pass this on to our children.

Yet we must change for our children sake. All change begins with awareness. Once we become aware of our behaviors and the consequences of them, we can begin to make conscious choices to change our behavior and the behavior of our children. And yes it is a greater challenge in our society today than in past times. It is so much easier to grab a quick dinner from a fast food chain and spend hours interacting with friends on some social media network.

But if we are to change these childhood obesity facts, conscious choices must be made for our children. Behaviors can change, and when they do, the results will change, and the growing trend toward childhood obesity will change as well. Change begins with a decision to change, and that choice is ours.

The powerful software Auto Blogging

The software, called " The most powerful car Blogging Software , is a software that has lived up to its name, so that the dream of many bloggers to create and manage multiple blogs true. Blogs are no longer used as personal diaries. now serve as a very important part of the business and business to stay in touch with current and potential customers. In addition, blogs bring much value to businesses because they are updated frequently, making the information up-to-date for the use of visitors. Therefore, search engines have more preference for blogs.

What Is The Most Powerful Autoblogging Software?

The Most Powerful Autoblogging Software is a cutting edge software that allows you to update and manage multiple WordPress and Blogger.com blog with content on autopilot. It is a blog management software that gives you the ability to manage hundreds or thousands of blogs from a single user interface without having to log into each of the blogs before posting content. You only need to do is find a profitable niche and good product for the niche to promote. Finding good niche markets should not take you much time because you can easily get niche ideas from popular websites like eBay, Google Trends, Amazon, online magazine stores, online book stores etc.

The advantages of a powerful blogging software auto

1. Automatic Content Update - It may be very hard and time consuming to manually update your blog with content on a daily basis. Imagine if you are 20, 50, 100 blog, 500 or 1000. How can you update all those blogs with content daily? This is almost not likely. Even if you have the resources to hire bloggers to post content on those blogs daily, imagine how much that will cost you monthly. This is where The Most Powerful Autoblogging Software comes in. The software will update all the blogs based on schedule.

2. Blogger.com Blogs Management - For those who don't have blogs already or don't have the resources to spend money on multiple domain names for the niche blogs, this software will be useful. With The Most Powerful Autoblogging Software, you can manage an unlimited number of blogger.com blogs and schedule posting to them daily.

3. Full RSS Feed Content Extraction - Most RSS feeds contain only the summary of the content page, usually between 150 to 250 words. This is not enough to create content for a website. What The Most Powerful Autoblogging Software does is that it uses complex algorithms to directly visit each link in the RSS feed and grab the full content and post to your blog. In doing this, it removes items like links, ad codes, scripts, images, etc. which are part of the content but are not relevant to the particular post in the RSS feed.The software filters out unwanted stuff. Other auto blogging tools post whatever is displayed at the source website, making your site classified as spam or junk blog.

4. Unique Content Feature - You may be wondering about duplicate content issues. A duplicate content on a website cannot attract search engine traffic because search engines like Google hate duplicate content. Hence, The Most Powerful Autoblogging Software has a feature that uses online translator services to translate the content from one language to another to make it unique. The software has an in-built translation ability for 23 of the world's most popular languages like Spanish, German, French, Portuguese, Chinese, Arabic etc. The Most Powerful Autoblogging Software automatically detects the language of the content you want to post and translates the content to any language you choose and then back to the original language. Hence, your blog is free from duplicate content penalty issues.

5. Post Scheduling - The search engines, Google for example, can easily fish out automated blogs if a large number of posts are made at once. The software has a feature to allow you schedule the posts with intervals between each post, making the blog appear natural to the search engines. You can schedule posts for days, weeks, months or even years. It is advisable to maintain a maximum of 4 posts per day to each blog in order not to have the blogger blog suspended by Google.

6. Multiple Blogs Management - With the installation of the software on your computer, you can manage thousands of blogs. This is unlike other autoblogging software that would have to be installed into each blog as a plugin. Imagine the time this would take you if you had to install the plugin to 1000 blogs.

The Bad Side

a. Grammatical Errors In Translation - Computers are not yet able to fully understand human languages. Hence, some sentences in the translated RSS feeds sometimes contain grammatical errors. If you want to manage few niche blogs with few articles, it is good to check for any errors and make necessary corrections before allowing the software to start posting. However, if your intention is to manage a blog empire with hundreds or thousands of niche blogs, I think you have no other choice than to leave them like that. The advantage of this is that your adsense click-through rate will increase because visitors would want to get out of your blog by clicking any link they see on your website.

b. Encourages Laziness - Using an automated blogging software makes you lazy because everything is already done for you. Depending too much on a software will prevent you from learning and understanding the individual niche markets and be able to develop a close relationship with your readers.

c. Conflicting Views - Autoposting content to your blogs could make your blog contain some conflicting views on the same issues. Conflicting views will be posted to the blog because you cannot monitor all the posts one by one if the items to be posted are many.

Conclusion

Investing in The Most Powerful Autoblogging Software will not be a waste because it will definitely yield the returns expected. If you are really serious about making money online or you just want to test the waters as to the most profitable niche markets, this is a software you should go for. The software is of high value and high quality at an extremely affordable price. One of the best tools around for the money you pay, and well worth the small investment.