A compilation of brief news reports for Tuesday, December 22, 2009.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
The 15th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) party will mark the Academy Awards 2007 to take place this Sunday, February 25th.
The event will be held at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, Los Angeles. Sir Elton John and David Furnish will co-host the party. As for this year’s sponsors – Audi, Chopard and VH1 have offered the Elton John Foundation their support. The Grammy nominated rock singer, James Blunt, has been invited to perform at the event.
The annually held gala is found among the major fund-raising events organized by the Foundation. Taking place on the Oscar Night, the party is also aimed to attract international attention towards the fight against AIDS and promote people’s awareness of the terrifying disease. During the period of the last 14 years the event has raised about $ 125 million to support the Foundation in its activities against AIDS, in particular HIV/AIDS prevention and special direct service programs implemented in 55 countries of the world.
The party to be held for the 15th time this year will include a big expanded dinner, live auction and musical performance. Among the guests of the party there will be entertainment community celebrities, Hollywood stars and Oscar winners, as well as the music industry representatives.
Antony Todd, the leading designer of Antony Todd Inc. based in the New York City and involved into special event-designing, has been commissioned to turn Outdoor Plaza of the Pacific Design Center into to a festive arena staged in a designer rectangular tent.
Submitted by: Vladimir Djurovic
The Digital IQ of Prestige Brands in China
An exclusive report from L2 and La
and
The massive potential for retail businesses in China is no surprise to anyoneleast of all prestige brands. After years of annual double-digit growth, Chinas booming economy has left tens of millions of consumers seeking new ways to spend their disposable income. In 2009, China became the worlds second largest luxury market behind Japan, surpassing the United States.
Even though these trends were recognizable at least 20 years ago, many prestige brands are still playing catch-up in this diverse and rapidly changing marketplace. With 384 million internet usersmore than the U.S. and Japan combinedmuch of the competition for customers and brand loyalty will play out online. The investment prestige brands make in their own digital competence could be a deciding factor in their ability to survive and thrive in China, and is likely to become increasingly important as the market matures.
What is Digital IQ and How is it Measured?
In July of 2010, L2, a think tank for prestige brands, partnered with La
and to measure and rank the digital competence of one hundred prestige brands in China . The measurement methodology, Digital IQ, gives each brand a combined score based on website translation, functionality and content, search engine optimization (SEO), social media performance, and digital marketing efforts.
Digital IQ Ranking: China
A Closer Look at the Numbers
These rankings reveal several interesting trends and correlations with other available metrics. For example, the eight fashion brands measured show a strong positive correlation (0.72) between Digital IQ and brand value as reported in BusinessWeeks annual 100 Best Global Brands report . For the six automotive brands measured in both studies, the correlation is also strongly positive, at 0.61. These correlations do not necessarily mean that increasing Digital IQ guarantees an enhanced brand value. Nevertheless, the strength of these correlations suggests that the relationship between brand value and Digital IQ is not arbitrary. It is possible that valuable brands are more likely to have higher brand awareness, and therefore enjoy higher returns on the same or smaller investments in digital. Alternatively, valuable brands may be more likely to have higher marketing budgets and invest more heavily in digital media.
Prestige brands with the highest Digital IQ scores are breaking away from the pack. In mature markets, measurements of digital competence show prestige brands tightly bunched together
leaders do not achieve significant separation from brands with average Digital IQ scores. But in China, digital Geniuses are not just in the leadtheyre winning big. For example, the five brands in the Genius category boast a mean Digital IQ more than 25 points higher than that of the next five brands. In comparison, brands ranked six through ten show a mean difference of only 13.2 points compared to those ranked eleven through fifteen. Digital leaders start breaking away at an inflection point around Digital IQ 120. Brands at the bottom end of the ranking demonstrate a similar but opposite effectthey lag significantly behind brands with average Digital IQ scores.
Fifty-nine percent of the luxury brands in the study of Digital IQ in China were also measured in a separate study of the Digital IQ of luxury brands in the U.S., dated September 2009. Brands measured in both indices demonstrated a correlation of 0.58 between their Chinese Digital IQ and their U.S. Digital IQ, suggesting that digital competence in one market can be leveraged in another. Beauty brands Lancme, Clarins, and Este Lauder show the greatest positive disparity between Chinese and U.S. Digital IQ. This suggests their recognition of the opportunity to build brands in China through digital media. Meanwhile, champagne brands Veuve Clicquot, Mot & Chandon, and Dom Prignon demonstrate the largest negative disparitynone of them support a Chinese language version of their brand site. Negative disparities may speak to inability or carelessness when translating digital competence from West to East.
Missed Opportunities and Winning Strategies
Most prestige brands earning high Digital IQ scores in China share at least two attributes: local relevance and availability across a broad range of media.
Local relevance stems partly from familiarity with Chinese sites like Baidu, Kaixin, and Youku, which can be loosely compared to Google, Facebook, and YouTube, respectively. But brands doing business in China must recognize that for Western sites and their Chinese counterparts, different strategies are required; simply translating site content is often ineffective.
While homegrown search engine Baidu boasts 62 percent market share in China , only 39 percent of measured prestige brands come up first in its organic results when searching by English brand name. Meanwhile, 94 percent of brand sites came up first on Google.cn (prior to its departure from China) when using English names. When searching with Chinese names, approximately 30 percent of brand sites are not among the top three search results on either search engine. This indicates the difficulty of brand name translation for many multinational brands. These numbers suggest that many brands approach search visibility with a Google-centric mentality that fails to recognize the Baidu algorithm and other local nuances.
One way brands can enhance SEO is by creating more opportunities for consumer interaction through a combination of social network sites (SNS), microsites, bulletin-board systems (BBS) and e-commerce and mobile websites.
Although many prestige brands are eliciting thousands of user-generated comments, video uploads, blog posts, and photos on popular SNS like RenRen, Qzone, Kaixin001, and YouKu, very few are interacting directly with consumers on these sites. As consumers are increasingly expecting brand communications to be interactive, rather than one-way broadcasts, digitally savvy brands that are beginning to engage directly with users on SNS platforms stand to gain an edge. Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and BMW host contests on RenRen, while Dior has a page on Qzone. Digital Genius Lancme boasts an official group on Kaixin001 with more than 250,000 members. Johnnie Walker also hosts a group on the platform.
Four of the brands in the study have invested in branded online communities. Digital Genius Lancme launched an online community called Rose Beauty in 2006 and has four million subscribers. Este Lauder and Clarins also host branded beauty communities. BMW has created a community for the estimated 150,000 BMW drivers in China through its MyBMWClub.cn site. Meanwhile, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche have created simple-interface BBS to help facilitate discussions with avid fans. Although the appropriateness of microsites as a means of online consumer interaction is debatable, efforts from these brands demonstrate a heightened commitment to the Chinese marketplace.
On average, brands that embrace e-commerce boast Digital IQ scores 50 points higher than brands that do not sell online. The size of the e-commerce market in China may have quadrupled from 2006 to 2009 , but only ten of the 100 prestige brands in the study offer online transactions. The Beauty & Skincare category leads with six of 13 brands selling online. Many prestige brands opt against e-commerce for fear it will reflect poorly on the brands premium status and diminish control over the sales experience. However, as fashion brand and China first-mover Ports 1961 is the only foreign brand outside of the Beauty category to sell online, making e-commerce available would be a clear point of differentiation within many prestige categories.
In addition to website enhancements, SEO, and SNS, it is imperative for luxury brands to develop a mobile strategy. There are an estimated 745 million mobile phone subscribers in China , and more than one quarter of mobile users access the internet through their phones . China has considerably lower in-home internet penetration than most developed nations, and many Chinese consumers move directly from no internet to mobile internet. Yet, only 42 percent of the measured brands have mobile-enabled sites. Hong Kong brand Shanghai Tang is one of the first luxury brands to incorporate a Chinese language iPhone application.
Conclusion
While at least rudimentary digital competence is essential for prestige brands operating in China, specific digital strategies should be customized based on a brands vision and personality, opportunities and positioning, rather than a check box approach. As with other brand communication and media, digital strategy should be informed by comprehensive and up-to-date market research, strengthened by sound analysis and concrete brand positioning, and executed with distinctive and compelling creative work. Ultimately, brands with a deeper understanding of their Chinese customers, local competition, and familiarity with their own reputation and strengths will fare better, both online and off.
About the Author: About the Author: Vladimir Djurovic is the founder and Managing Director of Labbrand, a Shanghai based innovative brand agency specialized in brand research, strategic and creative services. Labbrand website at:
labbrand.com/
is also the portal to Labbrand branding blog:
labbrand.com/e
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Submitted by: Anthony Malibu
Getting your ex girlfriend to miss you… it seems complicated, right? But in fact, your girlfriend could
already
be missing you, and just not even showing it. Especially if she’s the one who broke up with you, your ex will be very guarded about what she lets you see, and not see.
If your girlfriend broke off your relationship and you still want her back, making her miss you is job number one. Because until she actually
needs you
in her life again, you really have no shot of reversing your breakup.
There are 4 stages your ex will go through after breaking up with you, and each one brings you a little bit closer to reconciliation. The more you can subtly guide your ex girlfriend along this very lonely path, the easier it will be to get her back.
Stage One – Burying Her Feelings For You
The first thing your ex will do after giving you the breakup speech is start burying any leftover or residual feelings she still has for you. Ignoring feelings is always easier than dealing with them, and it’s especially easy while the breakup is still fresh.
The more you push her at this stage, the further removed from you she’ll be able to emotionally get. Don’t shove your ex away by pressing or trying to change her mind immediately after the breakup… getting her to miss you is more about leaving her alone and allowing her the time to experiencing the breakup in a very solo way.
Stage Two – The Hole Where You Used To Be
After a few days go by, your ex girlfriend will really start to feel the impact of not having you around. She’s probably filled those first few days with activites, keeping herself busy with family and friends. But afterward, those first few lonely nights without seeing or hearing from you will get her thinking about you once again.
Remember, while you dated you were a huge part of your ex’s daily life. In breaking things off, you abruptly disappeared. This left a hole in her life that she’s trying to fill with other stuff. She’ll start missing the things you used to do together, and the places you used to go.
Stage Three – Facing The Breakup Alone
When a week’s worth of time has passed without hearing from you, the realization will dawn upon your girlfriend that she’s really, truly alone. Hopefully you’ve left her alone and haven’t called, emailed, or texted her. By NOT doing those things, your ex has to face the breakup all by herself – without the strength and comfort of knowing you still want her back.
This is where she’ll get uncertain. Your ex will start questioning the breakup during this phase, simply because she hasn’t heard from you. In her mind, you should’ve probably tried to get her back by now. The fact that you haven’t is a very big blow to her ego, and to her resolve to keep the breakup going.
Stage Four – Seeing You Move on With Your Life
The timing of this stage depends on certain factors, but it occurs the first time your ex actually sees or hears about you again. This is where it’s important to be out, active, hanging with friends, doing cool things, and generally having a great time without your ex. Because once your girlfriend gets wind of these things? She’ll miss you ten times as much as before.
Your ex doesn’t want to see you successfully moving on with your life right now. It’s not that she wishes bad things on you, it’s more that she’d rather see you upset and miserable because you can’t be with her anymore. This is what would justify the breakup, and make her feel confident in her decision. But seeing you act as if the breakup hasn’t affected you one bit? That’s going to drive your ex crazy with jealousy, as well as make her miss having and sharing those good times with you.
Getting Back Together With Your Ex Girlfriend
If you can get your ex to miss you, you can certainly get her back. Reconciliation is only a few steps away, once your ex girlfriend has a genuine need for you in her life again.
That said, you need to be careful with how you proceed. Move too fast and you could tip your hand. Move too slowly and you could give the wrong impression: that you no longer want to get back together. Somewhere in the middle is the right approach, and it’s always best to have a step by step plan when you want to get your girlfriend back.
About the Author: There are 6 Individual Steps necessary to
Getting Her Back
, so find out what they are! The faster you get proactive about handling your breakup, the sooner you can get her to miss you again. And for more information on reestablishing contact, check out
Contacting Your Ex Girlfriend
.
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Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Arlen Specter, the Republican senator from Pennsylvania has directly challenged President George W. Bush in a showdown with Congress saying that Bush is “not the sole decision maker” in regards to sending over 21,500 troops to Iraq.
The response comes after Bush declared that he is “the decision-maker” when it comes to war.
“I would suggest respectfully to the president that he is not the sole decider. The decider is a shared and joint responsibility,” said Specter.
The Senate Judiciary Committee began the groundwork today in order to block President Bush’s plan to send 21,500 more US troops to Iraq, or set limits on the war.
During the Congressional hearing today, attorneys told Senators that they do have the power to stop the sending of troops to Iraq and even to stop the war altogether.
“I think the constitutional scheme does give Congress broad authority to terminate a war,” said one of those lawyers present during the hearing, Bradford Berenson.
“It is ultimately Congress that decides the size, scope and duration of the use of military force,” said another attorney who was also present during the hearing, Walter Dellinger.
Not everyone agrees that Congress has the authority. University of Virginia School of Law teacher, Robert Turner says that “in the conduct of war, in the conduct of foreign affairs, the president is in fact the decider.”
Friday, May 16, 2008
The Supreme Court of California in a 4–3 decision has struck down California’s ban on gay marriage. The decision struck down two laws, one from 1977 and another more recent one due to a referendum in 2000. Prior to this case, California allowed extensive benefits to gay couples that were in practice close to those given to heterosexual couples.
The case in question consisted of a consolidation of six cases being appealed. Parties included a variety of gay couples and the city of San Francisco which wanted to recognize gay couples.
The opinion, written by Chief Justice Ronald M. George, stated that that there was no legitimate basis to discriminate based on sexual preference. Moreover, the court found that the laws were unconstitutional given the protections of the California Constitution. The opinion was also signed by Justices, Kathryn Werdegar, and Carlos Moreno and Justice Joyce Kennard who also wrote an additional concurrence. Justice Marvin Baxter wrote dissent also signed by Justice Ming Chin. Finally, Justice Carol Corrigan wrote a dissent saying that although she personally favored gay marriage the people of California clearly had not and the popular will should not be overruled by the court.
Supporters of gay marriage said the ruling was a milestone. “This decision will give Americans the lived experience that ending exclusion from marriage helps families and harms no one,” said Evan Wolfson, executive director of Freedom to Marry, who noted that same-sex marriages are now legal in South Africa, Canada, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands.
James Dobson, head of the conservative Christian organization Focus on the Family called the ruling an outrage and called on the people of California to pass a constitutional amendment barring gay marriage saying that “Only then can they protect themselves from this latest example of judicial tyranny.”
| This decision will give Americans the lived experience that ending exclusion from marriage helps families and harms no one. | ||
Edward Zelinsky of Yeshiva University, whose work was cited in the brief of California’s attorney general supporting the law, characterized the court’s opinion as “problematic in important respects.” He criticized the court for failing to explain adequately why its logic does not apply to other non-traditional forms of marriage such as polygamy.
Since the decision is based upon the California Constitution, it cannot be appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States.
Currently in the United States different states have taken different positions. Although a variety of states allow civil unions, at present only Massachusetts has legalized gay marriage. State courts have disagreed as to whether gay couples should be treated like heterosexual couples.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Wikinews has learned that the Church of Scientology has begun to falsely accuse the internet protest group Anonymous of a 2007 school shooting in Finland.
The Church, on October 18, 2008 accused Anonymous of being involved in the November 2007 shooting at Jokela High School, in which a man named Pekka-Eric Auvinen shot and killed nine people, including himself.
“Anonymous member Pekka-Eric Auvinen shot and killed seven students, a nurse and a teacher at Jokela High School in Finland before turning the gun on himself and taking his own life,” said the Church in the October 18 press release. On October 17, the President of the Church of Scientology in New York City, John Carmichael, also accused Anonymous of being behind the shooting.
| According to the leader of the criminal investigation of the Jokela High School Shooting in 2007, there was no link between the group called ‘Anonymous’ and the offender [Auvinen]. | ||
One month ago, an article on CNN‘s citizen journalism wing, iReport, also accused Anonymous of being behind the shooting, and several other alleged terrorist plots. The article also went on to accuse Anonymous of being behind the suicide of 14-year-old Megan Meier who killed herself after being ‘cyber-bullied’. Scientology says the initial attack was done by a member of Anonymous named Josh Evans, who later turned out to be a false alias created by Lori Drew, the mother of one of Meier’s friends. Meier’s mother had previously had a falling out with Drew.
Wikinews contacted the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Finland by e-mail, seeking evidence or a statement to confirm or deny any connection to Anonymous and verify or debunk the claim made by the Church. Wikinews was able to confirm that there was no connection between Anonymous and the 2007 shooting.
“According to the leader of the criminal investigation of the Jokela High School Shooting in 2007, there was no link between the group called ‘Anonymous’ and the offender [Auvinen],” said Tapio Ahola, Detective Chief Inspector of the NBI to Wikinews.
The Church also accuses Anonymous of plotting terrorist attacks against other schools, stadiums and even plotting a mall massacre which would allegedly have taken place in Los Angeles, California.
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The Church says that Jarrad Willis, who was arrested and questioned after posting the hoax massacre threat on 4chan.org, committed suicide while awaiting charges of internet crimes. Wikinews found that his suicide happened just one day before he was to be charged for a crime unrelated to the threat and that authorities had dropped all other charges against him, in relation to the hoax.
The accusations appear to be part of a Scientology tactic developed by the organization’s founder, L. Ron Hubbard called “fair-game“. The Church uses this tactic to harass people, often fabricating lies and defamation against those who protest or criticize their beliefs. Wikinews contacted the Church several times by e-mail for a statement, but the Church has yet to reply.
Submitted by: Deep Rana
At a time of economic turmoil when businesses are closing down or laying off part of their workforce in order to survive any new industry that provides employment or income is to be welcomed.
Since the onset of the global economic crisis in 2008 and as the time it is taking to recover has lengthened the importance of waste recycling services has increased.
There are a number of reasons why recycling has become more important and while the most obvious is the need to take action on the environment and address global warming, there are sound economic arguments as well.
As investors look for safe havens for their wealth commodity prices for raw materials such as metals, particularly Rare Earth Elements, have risen. This has made scrap metal recovery a viable industry and also provided opportunities for consumers to make a little cash back on appliances and used cars that are beyond repair, rather than paying to have them hauled away and dumped at the nearest landfill site.
When household living costs and unemployment are both rising the opportunity to get some cash for household junk has to be welcomed. Almost all metals can be recycled into sufficiently high quality new metals.
The recycling industry in the USA is a good example. It has been estimated that U.S scrap yards process approximately: 1.5 million tons of copper scrap, 2.5 million tons of aluminium scrap, 1.3 million tons of lead scrap and 300,000 tons of zinc scrap each year. The industry has created several hundred thousand new jobs.
Similarly, metals recycling in the UK is worth 5.6 billion per year and employs over 8,000 people. Worldwide, over 400 million tonnes of metal is recycled each year.
Now it is economically viable as well as environmentally friendly to salvage used car parts and to recycle appliances. Recycling also saves on energy costs when compared to extracting raw materials from the land. It also reduces greenhouse gas emissions and protects the earths natural resources.
In the USA there are now waste recycling services in every state and most cities, from Washington to Georgia, Houston to Seattle. There are scrap metal companies recycling appliances and breaking down used cars for parts, everything from the aluminium to scrap iron and other metals to the tyres for sale onwards and processing for re-use.
Many will now pay for unwanted cars and appliances and are within easy reach for most householders.
Non-Ferrous metals are metals which do not contain Iron. For example, metals such as copper and aluminum are non-ferrous and play an important role in the components of many modern products. Products like computer wiring and soda cans are inexpensive partly due to the role of the secondary metals industry. We keep costs low because the mining ofthese metal s is more expensive and less efficient .
Recycling is a win-win situation for our customers. Customers receive payment for bringing in recyclable materials and also help the environment and conserve the Earth’s limited natural resources. Recycling keeps these metals out of the Earth’s overflowing landfills. Non-ferrous recycling is also a great way for your civic organization, school, community, or church to raise money.
About the Author: United Recycling Provide that waste recycling services & recycle appliances,it helps to make good envoimental effects.
unitedrecyclinginc.com/ur/
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Articles on energy. Candidate articles cover topics such as electricity generation, liquid fuels, energy price pain, supply tightening, reserves, and alternative energy.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
NASA‘s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has discovered more evidence on the Planet Mars that water may have flowed beneath the surface and that “cracks” that lead below the surface may have, at one time, been “habitable” for “microbial life,” according to the head investigater for the orbiter’s camera, Dr. Alfred McEwen. The location of the find is near the Candor Chasma canyon and images of the cracks were taken in September of 2006.
“This result shows how orbital observations can identify features of particular interest for future exploration on the surface or in the subsurface or by sample return. The alteration along fractures, concentrated by the underground fluids, marks locations where we can expect to find key information about chemical and perhaps biologic processes in a subsurface environment that may have been habitable,” said McEwen.
According to NASA scientists, “mineralization” was found on the surface of the cracks and the crack’s fractures. Scientists say the minerals became visible after layers of sand and dirt eroded away from the cracks. The minerals were likely placed on the rocks after dissolving in water and then evaporating onto the rocks, causing the minerals to become rock. Another possibility on how the minerals were placed there is that the “fluid” circulating on the rock was a gas, which might or might not have contained water.
“What caught my eye was the bleaching or lack of dark material along the fracture. That is a sign of mineral alteration by fluids that moved through those joints. It reminded me of something I had seen during field studies in Utah, that is light-tone zones, or ‘haloes,’ on either side of cracks through darker sandstone,” said University of Arizona, Tucson geologist, Dr. Chris Okubo.
“The haloes visible along fractures seen in the Candor Chasma image appear to be slightly raised relative to surrounding, darker rock. This is evidence that the circulating fluids hardened the lining of the fractures, as well as bleaching it. The harder material would not erode away as quickly as softer material farther from the fractures,” said a statement on NASA’s website.
It is not clear how long the minerals might have been present or how long it took them to get on the rocks.
“It is hard to say how long ago the fluids were there – hundreds of millions or perhaps a billion years ago. But the fact that we see evidence for chemical reactions between the fluids and the rock means that the fluids were sitting there for quite a long time … that’s perhaps good if you want to look for any habitable areas that might support any biological activity,” added Okubo.
“This publication is just the first of many, many to come. The analysis is based on test observations taken even before the start of our main science phase. Since then, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has returned several terabits of science data, sustaining a pace greater than any other deep space mission. This flood of data will require years of study to exploit their full value, forever increasing our understanding of Mars and its history of climate change,” added Okubo.
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