Welcome to the Carnival of the Veil!

We start this edition with a posting from the blog of paranoidfr33k, with a posting explaining why paranoidfr33k is paranoid.

http://paranoidfr33k.blogspot.com/2007/09/why-i-am-paranoid.html

“Why am I paranoid? Because everyone is out to get me. Thats why! If you were in my position, you would be paranoid too.” (ED: That’s not paranoia! It is enlightened self-protection and commonsense! Actually, paranoidfr33k makes some very good points on what it is like to be an exmo if your family is still very much in…)

The next post is from South Bay Soliloquies who is suffering at the moment. My thoughts go out to you. It is tough, but hang on in there…
http://south-bay-soliloquies.blogspot.com/2007/09/loss-of-great-love.html
“I lost a Great Love tonight.I have no one with whom to share my bed, my food, my home, or my life with. Not to mention my dreams, the great sorrows and triumphs of life, and my soul.”

On, now, to Thoughts from Sister Mary Lisa who writes on the topic of Utah drivers. (Who are, probably, mainly Mormon)

http://sistermarylisa.blogspot.com/2007/09/utah-drivers.html

“OK, I had to laugh at Melliferous Pants' blog...she's so damn funny. She recently moved to Utah from California and has discovered the suckiness that is Utah drivers.”
And DO have fun with the comments on the good Sister’s post!

This next one is from Utarnia who has a heartfelt plea that I am sure we can all sympathise with:

http://utarnia.com/2007/09/uncle.html

“I give up! I just want to be normal! No more Mormonism - ever again! I'm sick of the way I get treated. The stares... The pointing... God two year olds have better manners. The inaction and lies from the local police when my business is attacked by lunatics.”

And here is the Eight Hour Lunch contribution
http://www.eighthourlunch.com/archives/20070930.php#episode23

This week’s podcast starts with some cool music and an apology. And it is clear that there has not been a lunch anything like eight hours in length for our host! The podcast includes an interview with the host/owner of http://www.postmormon.org/ and listener’s letters. Including a drink of the week from Nicole, and a whole lot more.

And finally, here is my contribution.

In March 2006 I posted about the bitterness and anger that I felt about the Mormon Church. Someone read this post within the past week and sent me a comment, which I allowed to be published on the site.

This is what Sam said:
“Hey Matt - sorry to hear of your bad experiences with mormonism. You have every right to be angry. Unfortunately as long as you have bitterness and hatred, it still has power over you. If you want to be free, it has to be God's way - through forgiveness. If you want help to come out from under this curse through Jesus, go to freedomkeepers.com or boblarson.com”

Well, that’s kind of Sam. But exactly how do you forgive a Mormon? Can Mormons really accept forgiveness?
http://notamormon.blogspot.com/2007/09/bitterness-and-anger-against-mormonism.html

See you later, in two weeks time.

Bitterness and anger against Mormonism and Mormons and exactly how can you forgive a Mormon?

TBM: “You are just bitter and you hate the Mormon church!”EXMO: “Now, what on earth would I have to be bitter about regarding the Mormon church? And why would I hate it?”

Could it possible be because before my parents joined the Mormon church my mother was a kind, loving and wise person, yet within 20 years had degenerated in to a shrill, hateful sour person who was unrecognisable as the woman who had raised me?

Could that be it do you think? Or perhaps it might be because the Mormon church took my father who was sensitive and creative and fucked him over so much that he became totally dependent on the church for every aspect of his life?

My father used to have hobbies. The Mormon church made certain that he had no time for hobbies. How? Their stupid incessant “busy, busy, work, work” programme of meetings, all part of their cult brainwashing techniques.

Or could it be the fact that my little brother was subject to psychological abuse by the Bishop, do you think? Would that make someone bitter, do you think? Possibly? I wanted to beat the crap out of him, but my mother begged me not to. Years later I feel anger towards myself for NOT beating up the shit.

Do I feel anger that my parents wanted to move us back to our home city, yet were forced by the local Mormons into staying in an area that they really were not comfortable with and in which we never really fitted in? Who, me? Angry?

Do I feel bitter that the Mormon church forced my parents to stay in an area with a very poor educational system, rather than going back to our home city which had a very good educational system so that I would have been able to get a degree and lived a fuller and better life? Who, me? Bitter?

Am I angry that the Mormon church made my parents stay in an area with low job prospects as well as a poor educational system?

Some people will say: “Well, Matt, that’s a little unfair. You cannot blame the Mormon church for every bad thing in your life, since your parents joined the Mormon church.”Oh, really? Who says? I say that everyone who is a Mormon or who was a Mormon has been damaged by the Mormon Church to a greater or lesser extent.

I call it the MDO, or Mormon Domino Theory.

If you have 1,000 dominos, all lined up together, if you push domino 1 down, eventually the who line of dominos will have fallen over and domino 999 will knock down domino 1000. So, domino number 1 had nothing to do with it, then? Why, yes! Of course it did! It started the whole process off!

Another example. Let’s imagine there are three people on a railway station platform. Person three deliberately pushed person two, knocking them into person one on purpose, causing person one to get killed by a train. Who caused the death? Person two? Or person three? It is cause and effect.

A different example. Let’s picture the following scene. A child is walking along a pavement (aka sidewalk) and a drunken driver mounts the pavement and strikes them, causing them such terrible injuries that they lose most of the use of their leg.

Now, for the rest of their life as they grow up, that person will always walk with a limp. They’ll work hard to compensate for it, but they WILL always walk with a limp. Nobody in their right mind would say: “Oh, for God’s sake! Stop walking with that limp! You have walked with a limp for years, ever since the car ran you down!”

And that is another way to view the terrible damage caused by Mormonism. You get up and leave Mormonism (recover from the accident) but there’s always the fact that you were a Mormon and the brainwashing/cult indoctrination damaged the way you think, the way you react to situations, etc.

You CAN recover from Mormonism, but like the person in the Road Traffic Accident, you will always have a limp of some kind, no matter how hard you try to cope with it and to hide it.Bitter against Mormonism? Angry with it? Hell, yes. I AM! And I DEMAND the right to be bitter and angry with the cult that destroyed my family and damaged my life.

I created the above post in March 2006. And it received the following comment within the past week:

In March 2006 I posted about the bitterness and anger that I felt about the Mormon Church. Someone read this post within the past week and sent me a comment, which I allowed to be published on the site.

This is what Sam said:
“Hey Matt - sorry to hear of your bad experiences with mormonism. You have every right to be angry. Unfortunately as long as you have bitterness and hatred, it still has power over you. If you want to be free, it has to be God's way - through forgiveness. If you want help to come out from under this curse through Jesus, go to www.freedomkeepers.com or http://www.boblarson.com/”

Well, that’s kind of Sam. But exactly how do you forgive a Mormon? Can Mormons really accept forgiveness?”

But exactly how could I forgive the Mormon Church? It is not a sentient being, so forgiving the Mormon Church would be impossible.

Could I forgive what Mormons did to me? Did against me? Well, in theory, yes. But exactly how could I offer them my forgiveness?

Mormons are not capable of accepting forgiveness (at least from someone they would view as an heretical apostate) because Mormons do no wrong.

I can think of at least 20 times when members of my Mormon family did the dirty on me, including when they lied to me, lied about me, gossiped about me, backstabbed me, cheated me (in a business deal) when my brother and sister-in-law and Sister and brother-in-law all moved house at the same time (just after my mother went on her mission) without bothering to give me their new addresses or new ‘phone numbers. And those are only a few of my favourite things, to quote Julie Andrews.

But in order to be forgiven, my family would need to understand and accept that their behaviour has been wrong and that it merited an apology and the opportunity to accept my forgiveness.

I actually tried this a couple of years ago. And it was thrown back in my face. I wrote my mother a letter that took me weeks to write, going through several editions. The letter I got back from my mother was vindictive, mean, cruel and filled with lie upon lie.

I reminded my mother why I left the Mormon Church (I put Moroni’s promise to the test.

(Moroni 10:3-5.
3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

Imagine (in 1982) my surprise when I received, in answer to much prayer, a personal answer from God that the Mormon Church was not true.)

My mother wrote back that she did not believe what I had told her: “We know the REAL reason why you left the church!” This “we” referred to the family, so it is clear that I have been a source of constant gossip, lies and innuendo in my family from 1982 to the present day. God knows what my mother meant by her remark. I chose not to ask her as I really did not want to know what sick, warped nonsense they have cooked up against me.

So, it is not possible –for a filthy apostate, at any rate- to forgive a Mormon anything. Because as Mormonism is perfect, the Mormon cannot be at fault. So the only other option is that the other person (the wronged person!) is the one who is at fault!

Forgiving a Mormon is never easy. Because they have no concept that their behaviour is in any way wrong. Your average Mormon is forever the naughty little boy who, with biscuit crumbs on his clothing, with chocolate daubing his face, with his hand in the biscuit jar who says, through a mouthful of biscuit: “Me, mother? Eating the biscuits mother? Oh, no! Not I!”

In order to be forgiven, a person must first have the self-knowledge that they have done wrong. And most Mormons don’t have that.

Carnival of the Veil

Welcome to Carnival of the Veil for Sunday 9 September, 2007.

In this issue we have the following blog entries

From Sideon we have Mormon Makeover

“Gays and lesbians threaten the very foundation of Mormonism. In God's plans, even Satan had his place, but what in Kolob's name is a Heavenly Father-Figure (who would be HOT if he sang like George Michael) going to do with a fabulous and free-spirited folk? Let me tell you.”

http://sideon.blogspot.com/2007/09/mormon-makeover.html

We also have something from Sister Mary Lisa

Sunday Thoughts
“Sunday morning I walk through the chapel doors, greeted by Brother Jones who hands me a program. I find my usual pew and sit with my children and my dad who's visiting. We hear a beautiful prelude hymn, “O My Father” being played by the organist. I open my Book of Mormon to prepare for my lesson and read through the story of Alma and the sons of Mosiah. My daughter asks me who I'm reading about, and then she asks who my favorite women in the Book of Mormon are. I struggle to think of any, but I assure her there must be some.”
http://sistermarylisa.blogspot.com/2007/08/sunday-morning-i-walk-through-chapel.html

And from South Bay Soliloquies we read the following


“I woke up this morning and had a craving for Vu Villa pizza. Which would be fine except for the fact that the Vu Villa is in Butte, Montana, and I'm here in L.A. I'm fairly certain they don't deliver interstate. This is a sad thing. I guess I'll have to wait until they start marketing frozen Vu Villa pizzas at my local grocery store.”

http://south-bay-soliloquies.blogspot.com/2007/09/vu-villa-pizza.html

And lastly, here is my own contribution

Is a visit by the Mormon missionaries a little bit like getting a spam email? Some of those emails have very interesting and catchy headlines, don’t they? Like: “Important message re your business proposal.”

http://notamormon.blogspot.com/2007/09/are-mormon-missionaries-door-to-door.html

See you in another two weeks!

Are Mormon missionaries door-to-door spam?

Is a visit by the Mormon missionaries a little bit like getting a spam email? Some of those emails have very interesting and catchy headlines, don’t they? Like: “Important message re your business proposal.”

Now, you are expecting an email about a business proposal, so with excitement you open the email… only to find that it is not even selling you something vaguely helpful like a wonderful new Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) scheme (ha!) but something that is totally bogus such as how to enhance your bodily parts, a hot stock tip or a genuine fake watch.

In disgust you delete the email. Hoping that it hasn’t inserted a Trojan in your computer, designed to take over your computer and fill it with programmes that you certainly do not want it to be running.

There is a knock at the door. “Hi. We have a wonderful message to share. Would you like us to share it with you?” Yes. You got it! It is the religious equivalent of spam, a visit by the Mormon missionaries!

The trouble is that with some people (like my parents who were tracted by the Mormon missionaries) they put a mental Trojan into their mind and can take over their thought processes. And fill it with programmes that you certainly do not want it to be running.

Welcome to Carnival of the Veil for Sunday 9 September, 2007.

In this issue we have the following blog entries

From Sideon we have Mormon Makeover

“Gays and lesbians threaten the very foundation of Mormonism. In God's plans, even Satan had his place, but what in Kolob's name is a Heavenly Father-Figure (who would be HOT if he sang like George Michael) going to do with a fabulous and free-spirited folk? Let me tell you.”

http://sideon.blogspot.com/2007/09/mormon-makeover.html

We also have something from Sister Mary Lisa

Sunday Thoughts
“Sunday morning I walk through the chapel doors, greeted by Brother Jones who hands me a program. I find my usual pew and sit with my children and my dad who's visiting. We hear a beautiful prelude hymn, “O My Father” being played by the organist. I open my Book of Mormon to prepare for my lesson and read through the story of Alma and the sons of Mosiah. My daughter asks me who I'm reading about, and then she asks who my favorite women in the Book of Mormon are. I struggle to think of any, but I assure her there must be some.”
http://sistermarylisa.blogspot.com/2007/08/sunday-morning-i-walk-through-chapel.html

And from South Bay Soliloquies we read the following


“I woke up this morning and had a craving for Vu Villa pizza. Which would be fine except for the fact that the Vu Villa is in Butte, Montana, and I'm here in L.A. I'm fairly certain they don't deliver interstate. This is a sad thing. I guess I'll have to wait until they start marketing frozen Vu Villa pizzas at my local grocery store.”

http://south-bay-soliloquies.blogspot.com/2007/09/vu-villa-pizza.html

Abused churchgoers’ forum

In response to the launch of an organisation called Churchgoer Support which has been set up to provide a forum for victims of mistreatment by the Church – be that physical or psychological – and to expose attempts by the Church to cover its tracks, the organisation’s website has been inundated with visitors.

The new website aimed at helping people who have suffered at the hands of their church or minister, which was launched last month by Patricia Davies, herself caused much distress and mental anguish by the actions of a woman priest, is proving extremely popular with many visitors during its first weeks.

The site www.churchgoersupport.co.uk provides a forum for anyone who has been mistreated in any way by the person to whom many people turn for help and comfort – their local priest/pastor/minister/etc – and it is alleged that the Methodist Church has attempted to close it down.

“While I am pleased that many people have been able to visit the site and gained some comfort in knowing they are not alone in facing such situations, it is sad that In this Christian country, in the 21st century, there are still so many people suffering at the hands of the Church,” says Patricia Davies.

The website initially details Mrs Davies’s own experiences of attempting to effect a reconciliation with her Methodist Minister, even though it was the woman priest’s actions when Mrs Davies fell prey to depression that pushed her over the edge into deep mental distress.

The matter has been exacerbated by the Methodist Church authorities threatening to bring defamation, harassment and libel charges against Mrs Davies who, since having her formal complaint against the minister rejected on disputed evidence, has sought to publicise her plight.

Despite everything, Mrs Davies is still seeking reconciliation, but both the minister concerned and the Church continue refusing to consider her pleas, and have instead threatened to have Mrs Davies arrested if she does not drop the matter.

“Whether we can assist in preventing these despicable occurrences ever happening to anyone else in the future is unlikely,” says Mrs Davies, “but at least by creating this forum and encouraging people to speak out, we can cut through the attempts by the Church to cover up its misdeeds and let its victims know that they are not alone in suffering the wrath of local ministers.”

The Churchgoer Support movement can be contacted by email: contact@churchgoersupport.co.uk or writing to Help Project, PO Box 1026, Great Wakering, Southend on Sea SS3 OWX, or by visiting the website: www.churchgoersupport.co.uk

Welcome to Carnival of the Veil 26 August

Carnival of the Veil 26 August

Welcome to this issue of Carnival of the Veil dated August 26. First one edited and put together by me, Matt. Unusually here in the UK we are actually having some summer weather. And after I publish this, I will join my wife sitting in the sun, enjoying a glass of chilled cider. (That's the cider with alcohol, by the way.)


Thank you everyone who has submitted something for Carnival of the Veil for this issue. If you missed submitting something for this issue, do not worry! You can submit something for the next issue in two weeks time.

We start with something from Kita Kazoo

http://seriously.kitakazoo.com/2007/08/jack-and-jill.html

“I’m sitting on the couch and the dog barfs up something really nasty. Bad enough, but then I grab a paper towel and clean it up to find that the garbage can has no liner… AGAIN! I have a hand full of ick and no place to put it!

How many times has he taken out the garbage and forgotten the simple step of putting a fresh liner in? At least twice a week for the last 22 years… this would be 2288 times! How does one forget to do something 2288 times?”

(ED: Don’t you hate it when that happens?)

And paranoidfr33k submits the following:

http://paranoidfr33k.blogspot.com/2007/08/doctrine-of-polygamy.html

The Doctrine of Polygamy

“What do you think a TBM Mormon would say if you asked them if they beleive in polygamy? They'll give you the standard "we don't practice polygamy any more" answer and leave it at that. The fact is that in order to be a TBM Mormon, you must beleive in it. You must beleive that polygamy is divine doctrine”

And Diane writes
Here are a couple to look at; I'm not sure which one would be good:

http://south-bay-soliloquies.blogspot.com/2007/08/no-mormon-for-president.html
http://south-bay-soliloquies.blogspot.com/2007/08/moving-out-moving-on.html
http://south-bay-soliloquies.blogspot.com/2007/08/rise-of-internship.html

(ED: When faced with the choice I decided to bottled it (express cowardice!) and opt for all three!)

“No Mormon For President
Yes, Romney needs to answer questions about his religion

I think this article sums it up quite nicely. I personally don't want the guy giving the green light to a missile silo in North Dakota or Montana to say that he was going off of what 'the spirit' told him. That doesn't make me feel good!”

“Moving Out, Moving On
I've moved my blog. I suspected an ex-boyfriend was cyberstalking me, and I decided that it would be best to move my blog and excise any/all mention of him from its text. If you happen to be the bastard who I'm referring to, please leave me alone. I don't want you in my life and the next step for me is to quit blogging permanently”

“The Rise of the Internship
Service Learning

I didn't have any internships when I was in college.

Not that I tried. One year I refused an internship on principle (the company dicked around with my application, then wanted me to fill out an internship application after I had been interviewed), one year I didn't get any internship because I was busy with the Marines and when I was through with them it was too late to find any summer work, and one year I didn't get an internship because, well, no one wanted to hire me.”


It all began back in June, says Fiddley Gomme
http://fiddley.com/archive/200706/age_of_accountability
Then in July...
http://fiddley.com/archive/200707/operation_covert_covenant
Then culminating in trouble in August...
http://fiddley.com/archive/200708/washed_away
http://fiddley.com/archive/200708/saturday
http://fiddley.com/archive/200708/did_it_just_get_awkward_in_here
http://fiddley.com/archive/200708/a_split_decision

Thus proving that Mormonism and families do not mix…

And in closing, here is my conrtibution to the mix with tales of my idiot brother

My idiot brother.

My brother has decided to emigrate with his wife and kids to Canada. And unless my mother had not accidentally let it slip when I phoned her one day (she doesn’t phone me, however…) I would not know that they were leaving the country.

He spoke to me on the phone, but he seemed really pissed off that our mother had told me that he was emigrating to Canada.

Why?

It is, I fear, because I am a lost cause. The evil uncle. However, I know that my brother’s son is drinking spirits at friend’s houses. Some who are TBMs, too. My brother has not taught my nephew about safe drinking, so he has been running a little wild.

At a family party (the birthday of a nevermo aunt) I gave my nephew the kind of advice my stupid brother had not given him. I told him to steer clear of spirits and, if he was going to drink, to drink beer (real ale rather than lager) and to take into account how many units of alcohol he was drinking. He thanked me for my advice and revealed that he had never had a similar chat with his father. Which is sad, but only what I would have expected.

Sadly, my brother –who was a rebel as a youth- drills it into the head of his children that they must be perfect in all things, and, as a result, is driving them away from himself.

Some videos of steam trains and the like

I am a fan of steam trains and also of steam engines in general. I have posted these videos to share them with you. I hope you like them.

Hobsons Mild ale voted best beer in the UK

Hobsons Mild from Hobsons Brewery in Shropshire was today judged to be the best beer in Britain by a panel of brewers, beer writers and journalists at the Great British Beer Festival at Earls Court.

The beer is described in the 2007 edition of CAMRA's Good Beer Guide as: “A classic mild. Complex layers of taste come from roasted malts that predominate and give lots of flavour.”

The Shropshire brewed beer was chosen as the overall winner from over fifty finalists in eight categories including beers from tiny micros to major regional brewers.

Roger Protz, one of the finalist judges and Editor of the Good Beer Guide said: “It’s a great victory for a traditional British beer. It’s bursting with flavour and, unusually for a Mild, it’s got plenty of hop character.

“It’s great to see a classic copper coloured beer take the top award.”

Nick Davis, Director of Hobsons said: “What a great surprise! It’s a nutty mild and despite being only 3.2% abv it’s packed full of flavour.

“I would like to thank all the team at Hobsons in Cleobory Mortimer for their outstanding work in achieving this prestigious award.”

The Silver award went to Mighty Oak brewery in Essex for their Maldon Gold. The Bronze was awarded to Green Jack brewery in Suffolk for Ripper.

CATEGORY WINNERS – Note: The winner of the Champion Winter Beer of Britain (“Ripper” from Green Jack Brewery in Suffolk) was already in the final after being entered in February at the National Winter Ales Festival.

Milds
Gold: Hobsons Mild (Cleobory Mortimer, Shropshire 01299 270 837)
Silver: Nottingham Rock Mild (Radford, Nottingham, 0115 942 2649)
Bronze: Brains Dark (Cardiff, 029 2040 2060)

Bitters
Gold: Castle Rock Harvest Pale (Nottingham, 0115 985 1615)
Silver: Twickenham Crane Sundancer (Twickenham, Middlesex, 020 8241 1825)
Joint Bronze: Surrey Hills Ranmore Ale (Gilford, Surrey, 01483 212 812)
Joint Bronze: Fyne Piper's Gold (Cairndow, Argyll, 01499 600 238)

Best Bitters
Gold: Purple Moose Glaslyn Ale (Porthmadog, Gwynedd, 01766 515 571
Silver: George Wright Pipe Dream (Rainford, Merseyside, 01744 886 686)
Joint Bronze: Fuller's London Pride (London W4, 0208 996 2000)
Joint Bronze: Nethergate Suffolk County (Sudbury, Suffolk, 01787 283 220)
Joint Bronze: Station House Buzzin' (Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, 0151 356 3000)

Strong Bitters
Gold: York Centurion's Ghost (North Yorks, 01904 621 182)
Silver: Inveralmond Lia Fail (Inveralmond, Perth 01738 449 448)
Bronze: Brains SA Gold (Cardiff, 029 2040 2060)

Speciality Beers
Gold: Nethergate Umbel Magna, (Sudbury, Suffolk, 01787 283 220)
Silver: Little Valley Hebden Wheat, (Hendon, West Yorks 01422 883 888
Bronze: St Peter's Grapefruit, (Bungay, Suffolk, 01986 782 322)

Golden Ales
Gold: Mighty Oak Maldon Gold (Maldon, Essex 01621 843 713)
Silver: Oak Leaf Hole Hearted, Gosport, Hampshire, 023 9251 322
Bronze: Otley 01 (Pontypridd, Mid Glamorgan, 01443 480 555)

In CAMRA’s Champion Bottled Beer of Britain Competition, the awards went to:

Gold: O’Hanlon’s Port Stout (Devon 01404 822 412)

Joint Silver: Titanic Stout (Staffordshire 01782 823 447)

Joint Silver: Wye Valley Dorothy Goodbody’s Wholesome Stout (Herefordshire 01885 490 505)

Bronze: Wapping Baltic Gold (Merseyside, 0151 707 2242)

Judging at the Champion Beer of Britain finals is done on the morning of the first day of the Festival starting at 10.30am. Judging is carried out by panels of 6 tasters drawn from CAMRA trained tasters, brewers, licensees, beer writers, and a smattering of personalities, MPs etc who are beer drinkers. All tasting is done blind, in so far as the judges know which class of beer they are judging but do not know which are the particular beers.

Each panel judges about 6 or 7 beers from a class such as Bitter, Speciality Beers and Golden Ales and chooses a first, second and third. The winners of all the classes go on to the final judging panel where a new panel of judges taste the beers to judge the Champion Beer of Britain (typically, the bitter and best bitter classes include more entries, and therefore the gold and silver category winners go through to the final). The winner is then announced later in the day during the Trade Session at the Great British Beer Festival.

An Even Fairer Cup of Tea

Next time you make a brew spare a thought for tea farmers across the developing world. Most are poverty stricken because the price they receive on the world markets doesn’t bear any resemblance to what it actually costs them to produce it.

So thank goodness for Teadirect’s unique minimum pricing scheme: it means growers are always protected from the extreme lows of the commodity market. Cafédirect, the company behind Teadirect, has recently increased its minimum price to ensure that all growers supplying Teadirect are rewarded for the quality of the tea that they produce.

This way they can make a decent living from their crop and you can enjoy a decent cuppa!Teadirect is available in packs of 40, 80 and 160 tea bags and for those who wish to cut down on caffeine there is also a decaffeinated version.

Expect to pay around £2 for a box of 80 Teadirect tea bags. Cafédirect’s range of teas, coffees and drinking chocolate is 100% Fairtrade and is available from most supermarkets, Oxfam shops, Traidcraft mail order and independent wholefood retailers.

You can also enjoy Cafédirect and Teadirect away from home, as more and more offices and public places stock the range.

New global online church launched

A new online church aims to reach those with no experience of God or church Holy Trinity Ripon launches evangelistic church 'plant' on the internet www.church-on-the-net.com

Holy Trinity Ripon (Derbyshire) has launched an online 'church' for people who are not already engaged with the Christian faith, and who are looking for answers, but may not feel ready (or be able) to walk into a church building.

Its goal is to help people discover if God is of relevance to them today, providing a safe and self-directed way to find straightforward answers to questions about Christianity. Longer-term, the goal is to encourage them to find a local church where they can feel at home.

Very few churches exist purely online, and Church on the Net (www.church-on-the-net.com) is unique because it is evangelistic, rather than designed to serve believers or any pre-existing fellowship.

The team behind the project says that as well as agnostics, atheists and seekers, however, the online church may be useful to new Christians afraid of asking 'silly' questions, Christians who have slipped away from an active faith, and those who find it difficult to meet together (such as the housebound, carers, and those in remote areas or who face persecution).

"As odd as it may seem to Christians, who have all the advantages of fellowship through belonging to a traditional church, there are huge numbers of people who are accustomed to being part of online communities, whose 'friends' they may never meet face-to-face," says Mark Tanner, vicar of Holy Trinity Ripon. "The idea of doing things online feels safe and attractive to them, so why not introduce church into that lifestyle?"

Church on the Net is divided into three sections: - a reference section, with 85 articles offering explanations or perspectives on many issues relating to God, church and Christianity, including common and difficult questions - a weekly article, updated every Sunday, exploring the Christian faith and how it is lived out on a daily basis. T

he launch address has been provided by the Rt Revd John Packer, Bishop of Ripon & Leeds - an interactive community area, where visitors can engage with the site and one another through forums and blogs. Site content is provided by an editorial panel of ordained and lay people drawn from within Holy Trinity Ripon, plus guest writers.

"In an increasingly secular world, we are in danger of making assumptions about what people already know about our faith - which may not be much!" says Nicola David, project leader of Church on the Net. "This hit home when a teenager asked me if Christmas was when Jesus married Mary. So our articles try to be as clear, conversational and jargon-free as possible - particularly because we expect the majority of our audience to be outside of the UK, and won't have English as a first language."

40% of visitors to Holy Trinity Ripon's own church website (www.holytrinityripon.org.uk) are overseas, and come looking for answers to spiritual questions. Most commonly, these are seekers from China, Brazil, Vietnam, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Korea, Morocco and Israel.

"Church on the Net is one of a range of ways Christians are extending a new invitation to community, to exploration and to faith through fresh expressions of church. I warmly commend it," says the Revd. Dr. Steven Croft, archbishops' missioner and team leader of Fresh Expressions (www.freshexpressions.org.uk). Plans are already afoot for phases two and three of the site, which will introduce extensive new functionality and features. Church on the Net is registered as a fresh expression of church with Fresh Expressions.

It exists under the authority of Holy Trinity Ripon (a church in the Church of England) and the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds. It is co-funded by Holy Trinity Ripon, the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds, and charitable grants.

£1Million bet on proving the afterlife

A self-syled paranormal investigator is hoping to collect ONE MILLION POUNDS from bookmakers William Hill in the UK, after placing a bet that conclusive proof of an after-life will be forthcoming.

Ross Hemsworth, of Glastonbury,England, has bet £100 at odds of 10,000/1 with William Hill as a means of supporting his own belief that the afterlife is close to being proved to exist, and coinciding with the imminent publication of his new book,

The Dead ARE Talking. "We are used to taking bets on matters as bizarre as the existence of the Loch Ness Monster; whether Elvis Presley is still alive and when UFOs may land, even on whether ghosts exist, but this is the first time we have ever taken a bet that conclusive proof of the existence of the after-life will be forthcoming." I've no idea what that evidence may be, but if Ross produces it before the end of the year, we will be paying him £1million said Hill's spokesman Graham Sharpe.

Ross Hemsworth is a business entrepreneur and owner of Glastonbury Radio (www.glastonburyradio.net), and is also a well known paranormal radio and TV presenter, scientific investigator of anomalous phenomena and an intriguing and entertaining speaker at events worldwide.

He has been hailed as a 'forward thinking visionary' and 'prolific investigator' and also promotes positive thinking and 'cosmic ordering' and making things happen rather than waiting for six numbers to make you rich in the lottery stakes!

He is also co-founder of The Phantom or Fraud Project. (Visit www.nowthatsweird.co.uk) As a successful speaker, and now author with his first book (The Dead ARE Talking) Ross tours the world promoting the growth of spirituality, and science's more open-minded approach to the paranormal.

He also has some intriguing views on inter-dimensional entities, what some people call aliens He will be compere and lead speaker at The Forbidden Knowledge Conference in Glastonbury on Saturday July 14th where he will also be signing copies of the limited first edition of his new book.

Ross announced today that he will be bringing together a number of the world's leading scientific investigators of the paranormal to form a team to work on this project, and will be splitting any winnings from the bet with them to help fund further research! Ross Hemsworth can be contacted at ross@glastonburyradio.net

New Buddhist temple opened in Kings Bromley, Staffordshire

The official opening of the Buddha Vihara Temple at Alrewas Road, Kings Bromley, Burton on Trent Staffs DE13 7HR will take place on Saturday 30th June at 2pm.

The ceremony will be attended by a broad cross section of dignitaries and representatives of many organisations together with members of the Thai Sangha (monks) from Thailand, Europe and the UK.

The Temple is in fact a historic local house just outside the village on land previously owned by Lord Lichfield. The Temple was previously based in inner city Birmingham and an appeal has been launched to help raise the £800,000 that was needed to purchase the new building.

The Temple draws supporters from Thai and English communities in many parts of England. It has strong support in the West Midlands, Birmingham, Coventry, East Midlands, Nottingham, Loughborough, Derby.

Support from other Midland areas includes Northampton, Peterborough. Cambridge, Oxford and Milton Keynes, in addition, in Yorkshire it has supporters from Huddersfield, and Leeds; from Bournemouth, Bristol and London/South of England together with Manchester and Liverpool in the North West.

Supporters number approx. 1500 people in the UK and Europe – which includes the Netherlands, Germany, France, Switzerland, Denmark and Norway.

Gett your butt out and start saving water!

The UK's Environment Agency estimate, as one example, that if we turn off the tap while brushing our teeth the individual saving would be approx 5 litres of water, and this assumes we brush our teeth for only an average of 1 minute. Not much you may think, but if every adult in the U.K. were to do the same, the saving would be 180 million litres a day, enough to supply nearly 500,000 homes!

Water... is anybody saving it ? We all know water conservation makes sense. So why aren't more people doing it ? That's the question the guys at greenandeasy.co.uk have been asking and they've come up with the answers.

The leading environmental portal is offering advice and information on simple, cost efficient ways for everyone to make the most of the wet stuff. "Water is fundamental to our eco-system supporting plant, animal and human life. As our climate changes then conservation of water is likely to become an area where we all need to get involved," explains green & easy's co-founder David Smethurst.

"The good news is there are a number of simple steps we can take as individuals to save water, in fact some may seem so straightforward it's easy to think they won't make much of a difference. However, the concept of 'one to the power of many' could have a very powerful effect when it comes to water conservation."

From always waiting until your dishwasher is full to toilet flushing practices, the website is overflowing with simple tips on how to save water. For those wishing to take things further, a system to recycle grey water in the home can cost less than £20 and a cistern water saving device is just £15.

Water butts are probably one of the easiest ways to harvest rainwater and will certainly pay for themselves many times over - your garden will also be thanking you!

"There is often the misconception that being green isn't easy, especially in our fast paced world," continues David. "I challenge that and I challenge people to start making a difference and being more environmentally friendly in their everyday lives. Water conservation is a great place to start. It isn't radical and it isn't difficult. It's green - and easy!"

www.greenandeasy.co.uk was launched in August 2006 to promote and sell environmentally friendly products and provide simple steps to greener living. Co-founders David and Jackie Smethurst can be contacted on 0845 2570550 (in the UK) or via mail@greenandeasy.co.uk.

My wife, myself, the barbecue and the racist abuse aimed at us

We had a fascinating day, yesterday. We had been invited to a barbecue with a couple we are or were, friendly with.

He arrived an hour after he said he would (he always does, so we were expecting him to be late) but for some reason she decided to start up on him. She really ripped in to him and whilst we were sat, shocked, in their back garden, they continued the argument indoors.

Within seconds it had degenerated into a nasty physical fight, with both of them trading blows. We were then subject to a quick bout of racist abuse from him (he is a Sikh and she is white) and he advised that he "did not want f**king neighbours interfering in his business," and advised us to "f**k off" and he went on to refer to us as "white f**kers". This was especially and deeply offensive to my wife as her family originated in India before moving to Wales, so his remark was well out of order.

So, not unnaturally, we left.

An hour later he was round at our house, apologising, and inviting us round for the bloody barbecue! But he was unaware that we had heard his racist abuse. Actually, his racist outburst at me was hurtful, but it was my wife I felt for mostly, as he is fully aware that my wife is very proud of her Indian heritage.

From the attitude of his wife and of himself afterwards (you know what I mean by that, I am sure) it became clear that the fight was nothing but a charade! It would seem that she starts a fight, hits him, then goads him into hitting her, then they make up by rutting like goats!

Now, if they have the kind of sick relationship that believes that domestic violence is a normal and healthy part of a sexual relationship, then all I can say is: "Sorry, kids! No can do!"

I firmly believe that if a couple want to bash seven bells out of each other as part of a "loving" (sic) relationship, then that is their concern. However, I deeply, deeply resent a pair of arseholes trying to drag us into their sordid little dirty fantasy world.

I also have issues with this kind of behaviour interfering with the way the police deal with genuine cases of spousal abuse. After all, if the neighbours had dialed 999 and asked for the police to come, they would have found a happy, smiling (though scratched and bruised) couple. The police would have gone away, irritated that their time had been wasted.

But the next time they attend a report of spousal abuse they might not react as diligently as they might, remembering what had happened the last time they had received such a call. And a real victim of spousal abuse could be lying on the kitchen floor, dead, with a carving knife sticking out of their back.

Our friends (well, former friends?) quite clearly need counselling to help them understand that their behaviour is not normal, not safe and certainly is not appropriate. However, as they both seem firmly convinced that their behaviour is normal, then all the counselling in the world will not help them, and counselling is not an option for either of them, I would have thought.

The woman in the relationship whined to us recently that they do not seem able to keep friends. She blames it on the fact that they have a mixed relationship and that he drinks a lot. After their disgusting display yesterday, we suddenly realised that, in all probability, we are just the last in a long line of friends to suddenly realise what a sick pair of sad deviants they are...

Anyone else have weird 'friends' that make you go: "huhhhh?"

Online Gothic and Alternative Gift Store Gets Makeover

This week, Online retailer Black Cats and Broomsticks has launched their newly updated website and is now available for visitors to see. The new site boasts new features such as Gothic and Biker Events calendar, a free to use links database for sites of the motorcycling, gothic, pagan, wiccan, and new age genre, a new online gallery featuring the famous Black Cat Collage where visitors can upload their pictures and make their moggy famous.

The site owners hope to add more features soon. The constantly expanding gothic and alternative gift section of the site now has a lot of new stock on it, which will please existing customers and first-timers alike.

Black Cats and Broomsticks ( www.blackcatsandbroomsticks.co.uk ) will be attending many events and shows over the summer to promote the new site. If there are any interested parties, such as Gothic Events or Motorcycle Rally organisers that would like to have Black Cats and Broomsticks at their event, they should contact the business through the website.

Throughout May 2007, new sign-ups to the store section that make a purchase during the month shall receive a free gift with their first order.

Scams, schemes and dreams

Utah, or so we are told, is the World Capital City of scams, schemes and dreams.

As I have asked before, WHY do so many Mormons get into MLM schemes or other direct selling schemes and try to sell Amway, Noni Juice, Nu Skin, Mary Kay, Nature’s Sunshine Products, Herbalife, Nutra-Smart, XanGo, Living Scriptures, 4Life Research, NSA, Pharmanex, Quixtar, Shaklee, Kirby, Unicity International, USANA Health Sciences, Inc., and the like?

Well, I blame the grandpappy of all Mormon propaganda films, Meet the Mormons. You have to be of a certain age to have seen this film, originally made for the World's Fair in 1960 something, because some utter arse allowed the Mormons to have a special Mormon Pavilion there.

The film was shown to all new 'prospects' (a term borrowed directly from the insurance sales industry, which shows just exactly HOW the Mormon church feels about people) and I would guess that it was a major factor in tricking my parents into joining.

"Do you want to be in Heaven with your family?" What kind of pondscum would say no to that question? You'd have to be an idiot NOT to agree with that, right? Right. And that's how they scammed people.

I was hoping to find it on Google or Youtube, but it is not there. Yet. Here is a link to a copy of the book that went with the film, on sale http://www.elephantbooks.com/item_list.asp?category=Religion+and+Inspiration%3AMormonism&major_id=72

The film helped prime people to be gullible. It helped to ensure that the Mormons grew up as ideal victims of scams, schemes and dreams. Ideal for plucking by fellow Mormons as desperate as themselves, or by fellow Mormons who were cynical and who were looking for other Mormons who they could fleece and rip-off.

Could YOU take the last $10 or £10 from a needy family with pie in the sky dreams of a multi-level marketing structure that was "just so right for them and their young, hungry family?"

Children who were not thriving because you can't thrive on TVP and other such crud? (Yes, we had to eat TVP. It was vile and tasted awful. Still, it was OK, because by mom and dad paid tithing and fast offering.

As a side point, we once had a Bishop who questioned the modest amount of our fast offering. My mother showed the SOB exactly how much money we had to spend on food, after we took 10% out of my father's meager wage. He was shocked by what we had to live on. Not shocked enough to offer us help you understand! But then that wasn't the Mormon way in Britain.

"Only the Saints in America enjoy the fruits of the Church Welfare Programme", as one pompous British Mormon pontificated one day.

I am tarting to ramble now, so I will finish here!

The Mormon PBS programme

Have you seen the Mormon PBS TV programme? As you can see by my extra 'm' and the 'e' in program, I am living in the U.K. and have not seeen the programme.

Could you please let me know what you thought of the programme? The best replies will be posted here.

The editor's decision, though biased and partial, will be final!

'Beer & Food' Traces the Triumph of Beer Over Grain Scarcity, War and Prohibition and Serves Up Its Frothy Influence on American Cuisine

Like a grilled bratwurst and a satisfying brew, beer historian Bob Skilnik's latest book, "Beer & Food: An American History" ($24.95, hardcover, 280 pages, Jefferson Press, ISBN: 0977808610) is the perfect complement to A&E's recent television airing of "The American Brew."

From the quirky brews of the colonial era, the food rationing of world wars and the devastation of National Prohibition, Skilnik's sixth book weaves a tale of beer's movement from a homebrewed colonial staple, the key to saloons with their "Free Lunch" practice, and today, as a growing part of contemporary American cuisine.


"The convergence of centuries of brewing technology and the introduction of refrigeration into American households in the 1920s, plus the return of legal beer in 1933, probably led to one brave man hollering out to his wife in her Repeal-era kitchen, 'Honey, while you're up; can you get me a beer from the fridge?'

While it's an amusing anecdote, it demonstrates that historically, beer's role as an everyday household commodity is a relatively recent occurrence." Post-Prohibition is also the time when beer's pairing with food became solidified, in large part due to the efforts of the now defunct United States Brewers Association. It's not an accident that when we think of certain foods, we also think of enjoying a beer with them. The U.S.B.A. was responsible for one of the most effective marketing campaigns in U.S. history, promoting the idea that at home or away, "Beer Belongs."

The success of its post-Prohibition efforts helps explain why there might be a beer in your refrigerator today.With a foreword by Jim Koch, founder of the Boston Beer Company and its growing portfolio of Samuel Adams beers, "Beer & Food: An American History" weaves a fascinating history of the evolution of American beer and its eventual pairing with food. The book also contains over 90 beer-related food recipes, including contributions from contemporary breweries, brewpubs and beer trade organizations.

Bob Skilnik is an alumnus of Chicago's Siebel Institute of Technology - the oldest brewing school in the U.S. - where he earned a degree in brewing technology.

He is the former associate editor for the American Breweriana Journal, and has contributed to the Chicago Tribune's Good Eating food section, trade journals, magazines and newspapers. He has appeared on ABC's "The View," the Fox News Channel, ESPN2, and Chicago Public Television. "Beer & Food: An American History" is his sixth book. For more information about Bob Skilnik and "Beer & Food: An American History," visit www.beerinfood.com.

Spare some change and change America!

Three young entrepreneurs searching for capital for their startup business are taking a unique approach to fundraising; and they are calling on all Americans to help them out. What does America get in exchange?

The opportunity to help write a book detailing what Americans want to see changed in America. Who will get that book? The current President of the United States, and the field of candidates for the 2008 presidential election will receive it.

Jason Timm, Nick Ewing, and Michael Brown of Vancouver, Washington have launched www.HelpWithChange.com. For a one dollar donation every American is invited to contribute what they want to see changed in America.

Everyone is then able to vote on the ideas for changes they most agree with. The top suggestions for change as voted on will then be included in the book.

HelpWithChange.com was launched on April 4th, 2007 and will be taking suggestions for change, and the spare pocket change that goes with them until July 4th, 2007. The top 500 ideas will then be selected, published, and distributed.

Many people have already logged on and contributed what they want to see changed.When asked what inspired them to do this the trio replied "We want help change America by pursuing the American dream and launching our business. Who better to include in that process than America itself?"Jason, Nick, and Michael have all experienced the difficulty of finding someone to listen to them and that has become the driving force behind this project.

"It takes so much effort to get someone to listen to what your business idea is, and to have them show interest in funding you," Michael states.
"The same seems to go for the average American as well, sometimes they feel like they have no individual voice in the political world."Anyone can get their message for change to their political leaders and help Jason, Nick, and Michael pursue the American dream by visiting: http://www.helpwithchange.com/. For further information write via email to info@helpwithchange.com .





Thieves, stopped!
The air was electric as central station operators at HSM Electronic Protection Services worked tirelessly to help police apprehend three would-be thieves that had broken into a customer's store.Their persistence and dedication to their customer was what earned HSM the 2007 First Line of Defense Award. The Award is presented annually by the National Burglar & Fire Alarm Association (NBFAA) in conjunction with SDM Magazine to the company that goes above and beyond the call of duty to save lives and property.The First Line of Defense event took place on Sept. 8, 2006 at a Sports Authority store in Houston, when three suspects entered the premises after hours through a roof opening and tried to make off with merchandise.The first burglar alarm, an interior motion alarm, was received at the HSM central station around 10:36 that evening.Within seconds, HSM dispatcher Toni Brask received the signal and immediately contacted the location. Upon receiving no answer she contacted the Houston police and then proceeded to make the appropriate customer notifications.When the Houston police arrived at the location they could see no visible sign of a break-in and cleared the call as a false alarm."We continued to receive alarm signals in clearly defined patterns that suggested someone was walking around inside the store so we contacted the police and requested that they return to the location and take another look," said Steve Walker, director of HSM's ProtectionNet Customer Service Centers in Plymouth, Minn. and Santa Ana, Calif.At this time the store manager called into the HSM central station and provided an update that he was in route to the store and would meet the police on location.After the store manager arrived at the site several police units with well over a dozen officers showed up with a helicopter circling overhead. Three suspects were quickly apprehended. Police canine units were used to search and secure the area. All of the stolen merchandise was recovered. For winning the award, HSM received a free trip to Las Vegas for select staff and their customer along with a full spread article in SDM Magazine.Visit www.alarm.org and in its quarterly magazine, Newsline.
Labels: alarm, thief
posted by Thatsnews at 8:02 PM 0 comments links to this post



Urban Music Celebrities to Cosmetic Brands
Urban music industry song writer for Brit Award winner Shola Ama and Mobo Award winner Rishi Rich has launched her own award winning cosmetics brand, Yana Cosmetics, suitable to include all skin tones from very light to very dark.Finding the perfect foundation has been a serious challenge for the majority of makeup wearing women for decades. Yana Cosmetics puts an end to that quest with its fantastic ‘Custom Blended Foundation’, makeup individually mixed to match your skin.“I was frustrated by the small range of foundations colours available for my skin”, remarks Yana, owner of the brand, “nothing matched and the formulations were often unsuitable.” The custom blended foundation is appreciated by all skin tones with the ability to conceal dark circles under the eyes, Pink blotches, birth marks and scars.The Yana team custom blend your foundation and can compliment your cosmetics needs with a Yana Beauty Treatment by booking eyebrow or body waxing, a facial, professional make over. Once in possession of your individual blend you will find it hard to try another.Not only does the foundation give the results it promises but it also represents great value for money. The brand has recently launched a franchising display option with ready to wear premium cosmetics, suitable for all skintones.
Labels: Asian, make-up, makeup, Rishi Rich, Yana
posted by Thatsnews at 7:55 PM 0 comments links to this post



Stopping the Major Cause of Accidents and Injuries in the Workplace - The 90% Solution
Human error is involved in over 90% of all accidents and injuries in the workplace. The remedy, relative to both process safety and occupational safety, requires a focus on worker behaviors and work methods (the culture) at all levels within the organization.Until now, few organizations have been able to devote the resources required to gain any real ground in this area. The Practicing Perfection Institute, Inc. is now directly offering safety professionals the tools and strategies by which to rapidly, sustainably, and cost effectively effect the necessary culture change within their organisations.The statistics involved in virtually all recent studies of process safety and worker safety confirm that over 90% of all accidents and injuries involve human error. As a remedy, study after study has recommended a focus on worker behaviors and the methods by which people do their work. This is a grand idea; however, outside of academic recommendation, there is little indication that this approach has gained much ground.Culture Profiles conducted by the Practicing Perfection Institute, Inc. (PPI) over the past two years have revealed that(1) most organisations recognize the benefit of taking safety performance to the 'next level' (and have a genuine desire to do so),(2) inconsistencies between organizational, process and front line priorities continue to set people up to make mistakes, and(3) the results of downsizing combined with competitive pressures have created organizational workloads that afford little time for understanding and tackling issues that will create substantive and sustainable improvements in process and worker safety.PPI further indicates that while responsible and forward-thinking organisations have a stated desire to take safety performance to the 'next level', they tend to balk when it comes to planning, execution, and making real progress.This is because most of the arrows are pointing to the "human element" within the organization (at all levels, not just the front line)."Between 84 and 94 percent of all human errors can be directly attributed to process, programmatic, or organisational issues," stated Tim Autrey, Founder/CEO of PPI."It is fundamental to understand this, and it is fundamental to understand that people created (and continue to create) this 84 to 94 percent. Mistakes don't just happen on the frontline."So, what's the answer?"The answer is to engage the workforce at all levels within the organization," continued Autrey, "and do so in a manner that actually changes the culture. Apply enough resources, and you can drive performance within any organization in one direction or another for a period of time, but if you want to achieve 'next level' performance (and sustain it), you must change the culture. Culture ultimately determines results."PPI has worked with many organizations over the past two years, helping them to enhance their cultures to 'next level' performance through a process known as Practicing Perfection®. "There are hundreds of maps that promise to get you there," offered Allan Reed, Safety Trainer at the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA), "but very few deliver. Practicing Perfection helped us discover our most powerful weapon against accidents…our employees."Until now, the culture enriching process of Practicing Perfection® has only been available to organizations directly through PPI; however, the Institute is announcing a First Wave opportunity for dedicated safety professionals to become Certified in the use of these powerful strategies and tools."Achieving PPC Certification," said Autrey, "will be an amazing career opportunity for individuals fortunate enough to grab a participant slot (especially in this First Wave). Likewise, it will be an incredible tool for any organization wanting to elevate its Safety Culture and jump ahead of its competition. We're rapidly approaching the 'knee in the curve'. As the proven effectiveness of Practicing Perfection® takes hold, it's destined to become the next "excellence" in organizational performance."Details on this First Wave Certification opportunity are available via the following link: First Wave for Safety.
Labels: health, safety, workplace
posted by Thatsnews at 7:47 PM 0 comments links to this post



Over a Million Make Friends Online
MakeFriendsOnline.com, one of the web's most successful UK-based Dating & Friendship Communities, has today announced the acquisition of its Millionth Member.This reflects a runaway 40% growth in the past year and is a huge milestone for the website launched in 2000 by two school friends hoping to meet new people. It also proves an online community can still be successful whilst refusing to be drawn into the seedier side of online dating.True to their founding ethics, MakeFriendsOnline owners, Martin Bysh and Marcus Hamilton, have always insisted their community exists for people to make friends, not to wreck marriages. Uniquely in it’s online environment, MakeFriendsOnline removes and excludes users who attempt to use the site to cheat on a partner.This has resulted in an average 250 users being removed from the site each month and has resulted in voluntary refunds totalling over £300,000 since the site was founded. It is therefore with undeniable pride they are now able to announce a membership of over a million despite refusing to be drawn into profit-led but ultimately unsavoury membership recruitment methods.Today’s MakeFriendsOnline is a huge online community featuring bustling Chat Rooms, lively Message Boards, private messaging facilities and on-site support in the shape of the highly popular Dating Doctor and Agony Aunt sections. In common with most sites, MakeFriendsOnline can boast countless marriages and babies but, unlike most sites, those couples usually remain part of the community which bought them together, enjoying the ongoing social gatherings and friendships whilst encouraging and supporting new members.With MakeFriendsOnline thriving, Martin & Marcus have recently been eyeing the market with a view to seeing where else their skills and ethical approach might benefit. They noted there was a great demand for free-membership sites but such sites were almost always populated by users seeking ‘a bit on the side’ or banner ads for highly questionable services and products.From this observation, MakeFriendsOnline’s sister site, Smooch.com was born. Smooch is not a cheap alternative; it is a fully faceted online portal providing most of the features which have made MakeFriendsOnline so popular.And like it’s sister site, Smooch is also ethically led, disallowing dishonest members and undesirable contributions. Unlike MakeFriendsOnline, however, Smooch will be sustained solely by advertising, thus making such a site accessible to those who cannot afford monthly membership fees.In the 16 weeks since it’s launch, Smooch.com membership has exceeded all expectations in both member acquisitions and page views, while www.MakeFriendsOnline.com continues to grow from strength to strength, making it clear to those who doubted that there is plenty of room in this market for both free and premium services.
Labels: friends
posted by Thatsnews at 7:20 PM 0 comments links to this post



Whatprice Launches New Pricing Calculators
Whatprice are proud to announce the launch of a new suite of pricing calculators to help budding home improvers understand how much their projects should cost them. Whatprice have trawled their extensive pricing database and analysed pricing trends in certain home improvement areas.With a bit of online wizardry these pricing trends are transformed into simple forms to fill in and present you with detailed estimated costs of your home improvement activity. There are 3 pricing calculators available at present with many more in the pipeline:Conservatory Costs “Specify the size and design of your desired conservatory along with a few details such as type of glass, air conditioning and types of blinds. The results are a complete breakdown of rough estimates to get the entire conservatory build by a professional. www.whatprice.co.uk/tools/conservatory.phpCentral Heating Installation Enter your property dimensions, the number of radiators you think you need and the type of boiler you want. With these figures Whatprice can estimate your total central heating installation costs including labour costs, pipe work, water tanks and anything else required to complete the installation. www.whatprice.co.uk/tools/central-heating-costs.phpPainting a Room “This calculator works out how much of each type of paint you will need and estimates the total cost of decorating a room. Just enter the rough size of the room, number of doors, windows and the type of paint you want to use. You'll get a full breakdown of costs and well as the amount of time it should take to complete the job. www.whatprice.co.uk/tools/decorating-costs.phpAll of these calculators make a few assumptions about the type and quality of work that is required; however they are valuable estimates that will allow consumers to judge what sort of home improvements they can afford, and more importantly, whether they are paying over the odds. After all, no one likes to get ripped off!
Labels: building, calculator
posted by Thatsnews at 3:55 PM 0 comments links to this post



UK needs to move forward to accept higher broadband speeds
A recent report has highlighted how the UK needs to move its technology forward in order to cope with the very high speed broadband that is expected in the future.According to the report,the UK is running short of time to update its technology in order to cope with the faster broadband speeds of the future, and telecom companies will have to quickly start looking at ways in which to create faster networks.The report comes from the Broadband Stakeholder Group. According to the BSG unless these technological changes are made, the UK could face financial and social problems because of the effect that the dated technology will have upon broadband use.With the Internet and broadband become an ever increasing part of our business and personal lives, the BSG believes that next generation networks are essential to enable the UK to cope with increasing broadband speeds that will be available in the UK and other developed countries.The group states that it is now essential that telecom companies start thinking to the future with regards to their network speeds, so that very high speed broadband can be handled by the networks in the future. The chairman of the group, Kip Meek, stated: "Broadband matters. There's plenty of evidence that broadband itself has had a very beneficial impact on economic performance. The move from narrowband to broadband has been very important and our hunch is that the move from low-speed broadband will be just as important."He also added it was unlikely that the current telecom infrastructure in the UK would be able to handle very high speed broadband and enable consumers to benefit from these high speeds.He said, however, that there was little encouragement for providers to improve the network speeds, adding: "The point we have come to, whatever technology is adopted be it fibre, wireless or whatever, is that there will be a hefty bill. We have to create the circumstances in the UK where someone is prepared to write out the cheques to do that."His views were echoed by Yvan Bamping of broadband comparison site www.broadband-expert.co.uk who stated: "There have been massive advances in broadband speeds and availability over recent years, it's important the UK has the correct infrastructure to continue this trend."
Labels: broadband, Internet
posted by Thatsnews at 3:52 PM 0 comments links to this post



The Cornish Candle Company launches new handmade teacup candles
The Cornish Candle Company are proud to launch a new range of handmade teacup candles from their website www.thecornishcandlecompany.co.uk.The pretty teacup candles are available in 4 wonderfully yummy English fragrances; Parma violets, Cinnamon and Rose water, Cottage linen and Cucumber and Fig. Each candle is handmade in the Cornish countryside from 100% natural soy wax, and 10% quality fragrance oils.Each individual candle will arrive wrapped in white tissue paper and a pretty ribbon, making them the perfect indulgent treat, or gift for someone special. At only £7 (with 10% for the first month), these beautiful handmade candles are not to be missed!
Labels: candle, Cornish
posted by Thatsnews at 3:49 PM 0 comments links to this post



Think you can't afford your own plane? Think again.
Introducing the newest, lightest jet on the market, The Eclipse 500 (www.eclipseaviation.com)This is a small 6-seat very light jet produced by Eclipse Aviation and it is making waves in the aviation industry. It is the second in its class of business jets, known as Very Light Jet, previously termed Microjet.The aircraft is powered by two lightweight turbofan engines in tail-mounted nacelles. When it was first launched, the purpose was to bring a new marketplace to small jet aircraft and the Eclipse is attempting to market the jet to a segment of the marketplace that has not had a jet participating in its product line.This makes it a strong competitor for turbo aircraft, The Eclipse is centralizing its marketing plan on low service costs as well as a comprehensive service and maintenance program for its consumer.With its ability to land at well over 10,000 airports in America, the Eclipse and other light jet producers are hoping this will create an air taxi role for their planes. With over 2,500 orders on the books, the expected success of the Eclipse is said to skyrocket. Eclipse has yet to clarify what an order actually means as there are different deposit amounts for the individual customer.They had hoped to have 10 aircraft delivered by the end of 2006, but were only able to provide even their second plane. The initial cost of the Eclipse is said to be around the 1.52 million USD mark which is even still much lower than any of its competition which sits around the 2.62 million USD point.Eclipse plans to produce about four aircraft each day by the end of 2008. "We look forward to receiving our jet sooner rather than later," said Peter Klamka, an Ann Arbor, Michigan investor with extensive travel needs.Currently DayJet is Eclipse's largest customer hoping to obtain about 250 light jets for air taxi roles. Low operating costs are the focus of the Eclipse and they hope to guarantee owners such as DayJet a cost of $209 per flight hour for a minimum of three years.The company is utilising advanced electrical systems, manufacturing practices, and business economics to produce very light jets that will cost a third of today's standard small jet plane. Eclipse has as its goal the notion of bringing 'personal' into the aviation marketplace, making it feasible for commercial passengers to move between cities in an efficient, affordable fashion.This will make the Eclipse a much safer and simpler aircraft to operate than those in today's market. This will then lower the cost of ownership every obtained in a jet plane. "We see an opportunity to service corporations with immediate travel needs with services like DayJet," added Kimberly Tavil, an independent corporate travel planner.www.eclipseaviation.comhttp://williamkilgore.livejournal.com/617.html
Labels: airport, aviation, Eclipse, fly, jet
posted by Thatsnews at 3:43 PM 0 comments links to this post



Brand new Maternity website makes mums sexy, again!
There's a brand new maternity website, www.onesexymother.com, which aims to hlep mothers feel and be sexy again.The site has been designed to make life easier for mums to be and mums just been. With a range of shopping partners, including ebay and Blooming Marvellous, www.onesexymother.com is looking to put fun and sexy back into motherhood."There is a plethora of maternity websites on the we," said a spokesperson for the founders, "but most of them take a somewhat 'mumsy' approach to the maternity lifestyle. Onesexymother.com is aiming to take a different approach with lifestyle tips, the right kind of advice and the best shopping partners on the web"."Onesexymother will soon be adding to the site with articles from lifecoaches and parenting experts, so keep checking back for updates."
Labels: Mother, sexy
posted by Thatsnews at 3:28 PM 0 comments links to this post



Beat Inflation By Increase Your Real Rate of Return on UK Savings Accounts
Shahla Walayat of Moneyforums.co.uk writes - Inflation as measured by the Retail Price Index (RPI) hit 4.8% this week. Which means that many savings accounts on the market are failing to keep pace with inflation and the value of your hard earned savings is falling.Some of the most popular accounts such as Halifax Websaver at 5% and Cahoot Saving Account at 5.25% are paying basic rate tax payers a net return of just 4% and 4.2%. Which is less than the rate of inflation. Even at the top of the market range accounts such as ICICI Savings account at 5.65% fails to deliver a return in real terms, coming in at a net 4.52%.The effect of this failure of UK savings accounts to keep pace with inflation means that your savings are losing value in real-terms. Where even a top rate account will lose you 0.25% in real-terms. let alone the bottom end of the market with poor rates of less than 3%.How to beat inflation ?The key here is to take advantage of tax free savings accounts and instruments such as -The Cash ISA, of which the best paying is Barclays. Despite persistent problems with poor customer service in opening the account with Barclays as reported by people experiencing attempts at opening an account or the that Barclays in a recent survey by fool.co.uk came top as the least trusted bank in Britain.Still it may be worth the extra effort in persisting in opening an account with Barclays given the 1.7% premium over the rate of inflation. This account does include a 1% bonus for 12 months so after a year, savers should contemplate moving their cash isa to a better interest rate. The maximum investment is £3000 per Tax year (rising to £4000 in April 2008).Index Linked National Savings Certificates - These are guaranteed to beat the rate of inflation as measured by RPI, by paying approx 1% plus RPI on the amount invested (depending on the bond term).And as with the Cash ISA, the return is free of UK income tax. Therefore a must have savings product to beat inflation especially for higher rate tax payers where the equivalent return before tax is 9.9% !The maximum investment is £15,000 per issue.Don't delay in making the switch from taxable savings accounts to tax free savings and investments, as every day you delay, your hard earned savings are losing their value in real terms !www.moneyforums.co.uk
Labels: inflation, invest, saving
posted by Thatsnews at 3:26 PM 0 comments links to this post



Luxury Wedding Planners Introduce Their Associates
Susan Smith & Mark Niemierko of Smith & Niemierko, the leading wedding planners in London, introduce their Associations with other high-end brands. Smith and Niemierko pride themselves on their associations with other like-minded organisations who also share their vision and high-level of service.Through associations and relationships with established and sought after brands Smith and Niemierko can provide an unrivalled level of dedication to their clients. Smith and Niemierko couples are given privileges ranging from hotel upgrades, access to private members bars, discounted products, preferential service and appointments at well known fashion, jewellery and beauty houses. Further information on each Associate is listed below.VAN CLEEF & ARPELS, renowned diamond and jewellery houseS&N CLIENT PRIVILEGE: privileged VIP service and appointments at the New Bond Street boutique or at Harrods fine jewellery room.FIRMDALE HOTELS luxury boutique hotels including The Covent Garden, The Charlotte Street, The Soho and the forthcoming Haymarket HotelS&N CLIENT PRIVILEGE: complimentary upgrade, upon arrival, when booking a room at any hotel in the Firmdale group along with a complimentary bottle of champagne and chocolates CARRIER luxury travel, as no two sets of eyes ever see the world the same, so Carrier never create the same holiday twice S&N CLIENT PRIVILEGE: 10% discount on honeymoonsMR & MRS SMITH boutique hotel guides S&N CLIENT PRIVILEGE: discount on Mr & Mrs Guides MILK & HONEY London and New York high-quality members bar S&N CLIENT PRIVILEGE: To make a reservation at Milk & Honey London, or the Clubhouse, Chamonix, please contact the S&N teamMILLER HARRIS PERFUMER LONDON With 17 fragrances including 'classics' such as: 'Coeur de Fleur', 'Fleur Oriental' and 'Terre de Bois' Miller Harris exudes luxurious style in both their products and their shops S&N CLIENT PRIVILEGE: 20% discount on Miller Harris products and complimentary private personal fragrance consultationsJEMMA KIDD fresh and glamorous beauty through make-up S&N CLIENT PRIVILEGE: privileged and complimentary make-up consultations with Jemma Kidd trained Make Up ArtistsAVEDA a trendsetter in hair styling and colouring, makeup, skincare, spa services and professional products S&N CLIENT PRIVILEGE: complimentary Manicure and Make-up consultation during a hair styling appointment LADUREE fine French tea rooms S&N CLIENT PRIVILEGE: priority reservations and 10% off Laduree cakes for your wedding dayNORTON & SONS one of Savile Rows oldest ans most distinguished tailoring houses S&N CLIENT PRIVILEGE: complimentary fully bespoke hand made shirtBROWNS BOUTIQUE including designers such as Oscar de la Renta, Monique Lhuillier & Peter Langner, Browns is second to none for service & style S&N CLIENT PRIVILEGE: preferential appointments at Browns BrideJIMMY CHOO shoes and accessories with elegance, beauty and sexiness S&N CLIENT PRIVILEGE: privileged service and appointments at the Bond Street BoutiqueMYLA LINGERIE elegant, feminine and deeply seductive S&N CLIENT PRIVILEGE: preferential treatment at Myla's Boutiques as well as a 15% discount on Myla lingerie & toysSmith & Niemierko Limited is a luxury wedding design and management company dedicated to bringing a high level of quality and service to discerning couples. Founded in 2005 by Susan Smith (whose previous event clients include P Diddy and Vivienne Westwood) and Mark Niemierko, who have more than 10 years combined experience in organising, designing and managing private and corporate events, specialising in weddings, civil partnerships and society parties.Their full range of wedding services include a Luxury Engagement Service, Wedding Guest Concierge facilities, Fashion styling and Beauty treatments. For further information and enquiries contact: www.smithniemierko.com
Labels: Niemierko, Smith
posted by Thatsnews at 3:12 PM 0 comments links to this post



Look after your HIPS!
Homeowners are being offered buy now, pay later options for Home Information Packs (HIPs), but that could lead to trouble warns one property expert.The introduction of Home Information Packs is now less than six weeks away. Many estate agents are already priming potential clients with 'special deals' such as Buy Now - Pay Later, Pay on Completion; and Sell your home and get a free pack.But are these offers really beneficial to the owner? "Many of these deals are designed so that the contents of the pack are actually owned by the agent and not the property seller," says David Roberts of tickeverybox.com."This could have important consequences if the owner decides to bring in a second agent, switch agents entirely or even pull the property from the market. If the agent owns the rights to the pack, the sellers options could be seriously restricted as they will be inadvertently tied in to a sole agency agreement".The government has started a national advertising campaign to introduce HIPs to the public, but little is being done to tell homeowners about their options when shopping for a HIP. In the majority of cases, sellers will be educated about HIPs by agents who have a vested interest in arranging the pack.Property sellers are urged to check ownership clauses with agents before instructing them to prepare a pack. David added: "There is a danger that a financial incentive that looks attractive at the commencement of marketing could be of no benefit to the seller in the long term."There is potential for homeowners to become unwittingly tied in to an agent. If the agent 'owns' the pack the seller could end up paying for another pack if they want to switch agents or bring in a second agent."There are several ways of obtaining a pack if sellers want to be geared up and ready for marketing."David urges homeowners to shop around for their HIP. "Independent pack providers and conveyancing firms will prepare packs for the public, whether selling with or without an agent. If sellers want to take control, then good research is more important than ever".To see what options are available, property owners can view an impartial guide to Home Information Packs at www.tickeverybox.com/hips
Labels: HIPS, house
posted by Thatsnews at 3:08 PM 0 comments links to this post








Blog Started Around Justin.TV
Justin.TV is a live Internet 'web cam' show starring young San Franciscan- Justin Kan. It's a simple idea - the site broadcasts live video of Justin, living in San Francisco with his friends and spending his time meeting with local startups and personalities.At any given time, hundreds of people might be watching and chatting in real time on the site. Justin.TV is a website created by the partners involved in the calendar Web site Kiko.com. Justin broadcasts utilising a mobile camera (not a webcam) attached to his cap. The camera then streams a continuous live video and audio of what he is experiencing.Justin wears a hat with the camera and microphone attached to it. This shoots the action which is then connected to a computer in a backpack he wears that is powered by a battery pack which lasts approximately eight hours.The feed is then sent to the main website by a battery of Sprint EVDO modems. This mobile system was developed by Kyle, one of the Justin.TV founders. Sometimes, the system overheats in the backpack and stops the show.Internet cam shows have been around since the Nineties but Justin.TV has done something entirely different by strapping the camera to his head. Now viewers can see the world through Justin's eyes.Justin.TV is the first show to go entirely mobile, transforming it from a static video to a 'live action' feed. Now there has been a blog started at: http://justintv247.com. According to the Blogger it's not going to be entirely devoted to Justin.TV but more around the idea of the power of the individual marketer; the process of developing content around domain names that revolve around a person's special interests, passions or even their personality.The Blogger says, "The phenomenon of Justin.TV is just the logical extension of the idea of a 'Global Village' becoming a reality. Now, individuals have the incredible power to harness imagination & ingenuity with technology & communications to reach millions. This blog will explore those possibilities."The http://justintv247.com blog utilises a process called: 'Moguling' pioneered by Phoenix Internet company- DotVentures. Interested in learning more about Moguling? Go here: http://moguling.com