Do you need a helping hand? - The Nation

guru speak

Janejit Ladpli March 5, 2013 1:00 am

Or if you are just relaxing at home on a Sunday, suddenly you notice a water stain on the wall. Oh, no! An upstairs water pipe has sprung a leak. You call the plumber, but he's off work. Who else can you call?

What about suffering from altitude sickness while holidaying in Bhutan, or cracking your tooth during lunch at a remote resort? Who can you call?

In all of these emergencies it might be impossible to get immediate assistance.

In some cases, your insurance agency or your personal doctor might be able to help. But if you don't keep their contact details handy, or if they are out of touch, who else would be available for these urgent needs?

Naturally, you might think, a credit-card call centre wouldn't be on your list.

Surprise! That's no longer the case. The scope of services offered by some credit-card operators now goes beyond just financial transactions. Not only are they on call 24 hours a day to help you financially or to guide you toward desirable credit-card privileges, roadside assistance and emergency medical services have also become part of their extra deliverables.

And not just for these emergencies; sometimes the extending of special wishes or a "secret mission" for an executive requires the assistance of someone else who is not the secretary.

If a top manager wants to express his special admiration for someone he likes, he might want to surprise her with a bouquet of long-stemmed imported flowers without letting anyone know. This can be smoothly arranged and, of course, the mission is highly classified.

Other tasks that are simple but time-consuming, like searching for a contact and the working hours of embassies, getting a weather forecast, booking a round of golf or a hotel room, planning for a special show, or visa arrangements, are also part of the card call centre's concierge-like service.

But why would credit-card providers trouble themselves with all these hassles? This is not their core business, nor is there a fat margin. Besides, when the task is service-oriented, it is a promise that could easily jeopardise their brand image, especially when they are not really experts in the field.

Is this worth it?

Certainly, the bottom line should not be to diversify their businesses to the extreme, as the training of their logistics staff is not in this area of expertise.

Generally, these additional services are outsourced at their own cost and delivered to particular groups of customers in order to create brand loyalty.

Because pricing will no longer guarantee loyalty, to hold on to customers, they have to shift to sophisticated services and value-added benefits to differentiate themselves from other brands.

In the end, when you, a cardholder, appreciate their distinct services, their card will become your first choice.

Janejit Ladpli is vice president of travel & leisure marketing, Krungthai Card Public Company Limited.

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Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/Do-you-need-a-helping-hand-30201225.html

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How to Find a Great Copywriter

If you'd like to make money online, you're going to have to have a site. If you want that site to help you bring in money, it needs to be very well written. Unless you're good at copywriting already it's wise to engage the services of someone qualified to compose the text on your site. A skilled copywriter will generate lots more profits than you would ever even be able to hope to see if you went and did all of the writing by yourself. Obviously, not all copywriters are created equal. Some are very talented. Some just wish they had talent and are trying to make a bit of money because someone told them writing online would be easy. Below are a couple of ways to help you tell the good from the bad.

Does the writer have a site of his or her own? Any copywriter who is itnerested to compose web copy must have a site that contains their bio, a resume, several samples and anything else they want to share. If the copywriter doesn't have his or her own site, how can they help you build yours? Pay attention to the copy on their site too. If there are many grammar errors and typos, this is a bad sign.

Do you react well while you are reading the web copy on the copywriter's site? This is more involved than merely finding grammatical errors and syntax errors. Does the copy cause you to experience any sort of emotional response? Does the copy move you to like him or her? Does the web copy make you want to follow up and learn more about the copywriter? Does the copy make you feel like you should hire the writer straightaway? Does the copy make you want to run for the hills? Does the copy cause you to be inflamed? These are all vital reactions and you must pay attention to them.

Look into the writer's's background a bit. Try to find reviews on online discussion boards and independent sites. It is probable that the only reviews on the copywriter's site are going to be positive ones. You want to do a search for the writer's name to determine if there are any testimonials or reviews on sites that aren't run by or able to be faked by the writer him or herself. Closely examine these reviews. It is a good idea to ask the writer to provide you references too. See to it that you follow up and really contact those references so that you can obtain an honest opinion from them.

It is vital to actually go over any samples supplied to you by the writer. It is a good idea to inquire about samples beyond those that are displayed on the site. This is especially vital if the copywriter claims he or she is an expert in a particular field. If the writing is vague and reads like a regurgitated Wikipedia article, it is time to move on.

You have plenty of options available to you when you're trying to figure out whether or not to pay for a copywriter. You should do some homework and find out more about the writer in terms of his or her ethics, reputation and personal character.

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Source: http://articles.submityourarticle.com/how-to-find-a-great-copywriter-318623

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China "Fully Prepared for Currency War" Says China's Central Bank ...

Given the world's central bankers are already in a currency war, a policy statement made by a deputy-governor of China's central bank should not come as a surprise (except for the fact it was publicly and bluntly stated).

Please consider China well-prepared for currency war: official.

China is fully prepared for a looming currency war should it, though "avoidable," really happen, said China's central bank deputy governor Yi Gang late Friday.

A currency war could be avoided, Yi said, if policymakers in major countries observed the consensus, reached at the recent G20 meeting, that monetary policy should primarily serve as a tool for domestic economy.

"China is fully prepared," Yi said. "In terms of both monetary policies and other mechanism arrangement, China will take into full account the quantitative easing policies implemented by central banks of foreign countries."

Nonsense Over Domestic Tools

Yi's statements raise as many questions as they answer. Was the big finger-point at Japan the US, or both?

And what does "fully prepared" mean other than print like mad to infinity? It can hardly mean anything else, but given the US and Japan are already conducting QE like mad (with no exit policy), is the statement an immediate warning?

Look at the fuzziness of Yi's statement "monetary policy should primarily serve as a tool for domestic economy." Isn't that exactly what Japan and the US claim right now?

I ask "what difference does it make?" Indeed, isn't the domestic economy always the reason (albeit severely misguided) for currency debasement?

Debasement turns into "war" as soon as multiple countries are involved.

And that of course is where things are already. Thus, the statements by Yi are perhaps an indication the already ongoing war is about to escalate.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

Source: http://townhall.com/columnists/mikeshedlock/2013/03/03/china-fully-prepared-for-currency-war-says-chinas-central-bank-deputy-governor-n1524750

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Teacher standoff stokes debate over standardized tests

SEATTLE (Reuters) - A boycott by Seattle teachers a widely-used standardized test has attracted national attention and given new momentum to a growing protest movement that seeks to limit standardized testing in public schools.

The revolt by Seattle public school teachers and students elsewhere comes at a time of bitter political wrangling over how best to reinvigorate a $525 billion public school system that leaves American children lagging their counterparts in countries like Finland and South Korea.

Standardized tests have played an ever-more prominent role in public schools over the past decade.

Yearly testing in reading and math for elementary school students required by former President George W. Bush's 2002 landmark testing law, known as "No Child Left Behind," exposed stark achievement gaps in many schools, mainly along racial and economic lines, and spurred interventions to help struggling kids.

Sandy Kress, a former advisor to Bush on the law, and lobbyist for Pearson, said focusing too much on test scores alone will, in the end, cheat students out of the kind of quality education that sometimes can't be measured by standardized tests.

"If it's all back to just grades... a lot of people will have an easy time for about 10 years, (but later) our kids will suffer dramatically," Kress said.

The Obama Administration supports regular testing but has signaled some flexibility.

"Should you assess kids every year? Yes," Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said recently. He added he was "more than sympathetic" to growing concerns about over-testing in school districts, some of which run standardized tests multiple times each year.

"There's a common-sense middle ground," Duncan said.

Increasingly, standardized tests carry high stakes. Teachers are often evaluated in part by their students' scores, and students may have to pass a standardized test to advance to the next grade in elementary school or earn a high-school diploma.

To prepare students for those high-stakes exams, and to monitor their academic progress more closely, many school districts - like Seattle - give additional standardized tests throughout the year.

"TEACHERS' SPRING"

That's what the teachers at Seattle's Garfield High School were protesting when they decided in January to boycott the multiple-choice Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) test, saying the computerized exam is not aligned with the state's curriculum and produces "meaningless results" upon which they are indirectly evaluated.

The Northwest Evaluation Association, maker of the MAP, said its test adapts to a student aptitude and quickly provides educators with a reliable, fair progress report, though the test version used may not adhere to a specific teacher's syllabus.

Seattle schools have given the MAP test three times a year since 2009, on top of two other state-mandated exams. It is used in hundreds of school systems throughout Washington state and elsewhere.

Teachers and students staged rallies, and about 270 parents opted out for their children, some noting that the test was not required for graduation. Hundreds of students protested, either by not taking the test or completing it so quickly or randomly that the results were invalid, Garfield High School testing coordinator Kris McBride said.

"TEACHERS' SPRING"

Educators who did not give the test by February 28, the last day winter MAP test scores are valid, could face disciplinary action, said Clover Codd, a top official with the Seattle School District.

"We hear their concerns, we want to work with them, but we need to do what's right for our children," Codd said. "There may be two rights here."

A district-appointed task force will recommend on May 2 whether to renew a contract to use MAP, which costs the district $436,114 for 36,718 licenses.

The Seattle dissent was mirrored by dozens of high school students in Portland, Oregon, who launched a boycott in February over state-required exams students must pass to graduate, though they can meet the new proficiency requirements using other tests.

In Providence, Rhode Island, high school students splattered themselves with fake blood and acted like zombies to protest over a similar move by state education officials.

Elsewhere, more than 500 school boards in Texas - and several large school districts in Florida - have passed resolutions demanding a reduced focus on standardized tests.

"We are just seeing the very beginning of this testing revolt," Jesse Hagopian, one of the dissenting teachers in Seattle, told Reuters.

"Maybe you can call it the 'Teachers' Spring,'" he added.

The Seattle move has drawn support from education leaders, such as historian Diane Ravitch, and the nation's largest teacher unions.

"As soon as they use an ill-designed test to make a high-stakes decision on someone's employment, I believe it's going to be in court," National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel told Reuters.

After protesters gathered outside Seattle Town Hall, the featured speaker, former chancellor of Washington, D.C., schools Michelle Rhee, expressed her continued support for high-stakes testing.

"For far too long in this country, there was no accountability," Rhee said, later adding that collecting regular testing data was crucial to measure student learning and should factor prominently in evaluations of teachers.

Outside Rhee's talk was Robert Murphy, a math teacher at a different Seattle high school that e said was rife with struggling students who need more instruction time.

"I know the glazed look in their eyes from the same test over and over," he said.

(Additional reporting by Stephanie Simon in Washington; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Barbara Goldberg)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/teacher-standoff-stokes-debate-over-standardized-tests-133700368.html

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Expectant parents die in NY crash; infant survives

NEW YORK (AP) ? A pregnant young woman who was feeling ill was headed to the hospital with her husband early Sunday when the car they were riding in was hit, killing them both, but their baby boy was born prematurely and survived, authorities and a relative said.

The driver of a BMW slammed into the car carrying Nachman and Raizy Glauber, both 21, at an intersection in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, said Isaac Abraham, a neighbor of Raizy Glauber's parents who lives two blocks from the scene of the crash.

Raizy Glauber was thrown from the car and her body landed under a parked tractor-trailer, said witnesses who came to the scene after the crash. Nachman Glauber was pinned in the car, and emergency workers had to cut off the roof to get him out, witnesses said.

Both of the Glaubers were pronounced dead at hospitals, police said, and both died of blunt-force trauma, the medical examiner said.

Their infant son was in serious condition, said Abraham. The hospital did not return calls about the child. The Glaubers' driver was in stable condition, police said. Both the driver of the BMW and a passenger fled and were being sought, police said.

On Saturday, Raizy Glauber "was not feeling well, so they decided to go" to the hospital, said Sara Glauber, Nachman Glauber's cousin. Abraham said the Glaubers called a car service because they didn't own a car, which is common for New Yorkers.

The Glaubers were married about a year ago and had begun a life together in Williamsburg, where Raizy Glauber grew up in a prominent Orthodox Jewish rabbinical family, Sara Glauber said.

Raised north of New York City in Monsey, N.Y., and part of a family that founded a line of clothing for Orthodox Jews, Nachman Glauber was studying at a rabbinical college nearby, said his cousin.

Brooklyn is home to the largest community of ultra-orthodox Jews outside Israel, more than 250,000. The community has strict rules governing clothing, social customs and interaction with the outside world. Men wear dark clothing that includes a long coat and a fedora-type hat and often have long beards and ear locks.

Jewish law calls for burial of the dead as soon as possible, and hours after their deaths, the Glaubers were mourned at a funeral Sunday afternoon. Dozens gathered shoulder to shoulder on the street outside, men in hats and women in shawls or head coverings, nearly everyone in black. The sound of wailing filled the street as the two black-draped coffins were carried from a vehicle.

After the funeral began, a speaker sobbed uncontrollably, his voice choked with grief and echoing over loudspeakers set up outside.

Just before, Sara Glauber spoke admiringly of her cousin.

"You don't meet anyone better than him," she said. "He was always doing favors for everyone."

She said Nachman's mother herself just delivered a baby two weeks ago.

"I've never seen a mother-son relationship like this," said Sara Glauber. "He called her every day to make sure everything was OK. He was the sweetest, most charming human being, always with a smile on his face."

She added that, of him and his bride, "if one had to go, the other had to go too because they really were one soul."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/expectant-parents-die-ny-crash-infant-survives-144618750.html

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Obama on Prop 8: How sweeping is administration support for gay marriage?

Even if the Supreme Court agrees with President Obama's brief arguing?that California's Prop. 8 is unconstitutional,?that doesn't mean there will be a nationwide right for gays to marry.

By Peter Grier,?Staff Writer / March 1, 2013

President Obama speaks to reporters in the White House briefing room on Friday. The president took questions about the amicus brief the White House filed with the US Supreme Court, which argues that California?s Proposition 8, which bans gay marriage, is unconstitutional.

Charles Dharapak/AP

Enlarge

President Obama on Friday said that in recent years, the whole nation has moved toward the position that gay couples should marry ? a change in thinking that mirrors his own.

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That?s a ?positive thing,? he said at a short news conference, and it?s a big reason the administration on Thursday filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the US Supreme Court arguing that California?s Proposition 8, which bans gay marriage, is unconstitutional.

?When the Supreme Court essentially called the question by taking this case about California?s law, I didn?t feel like that was something that this administration could avoid,? Mr. Obama said. ?I felt it was important for us to articulate what I believe and what this administration stands for.?

But do Obama and his administration believe the court should establish a broad national right for gays to wed? That?s a question with a complex answer not entirely reflected in the president?s words.

Strictly speaking, the US did not have to get involved in Hollingsworth v. Perry (12-144), the Supreme Court case on Prop. 8. That?s because the case centers on the constitutionality of a state statute: in this case, a proposition passed by California voters, which amended the state constitution to limit ?marriage? to a union between a man and a woman.

The administration?s brief argues (unsurprisingly) that Prop. 8 is indeed unconstitutional. But it does not hold that all state prohibitions on gay marriage are thus also unconstitutional.

However, the brief?s reasoning still might ultimately lead the Supreme Court, if it agrees, to eventually establish gay marriage as a national right.

Got that? No? OK, we?ll back up and try a fuller explanation.

The reason Prop. 8 is unconstitutional is because California already allows gays full rights and benefits via civil unions, according to the administration brief. Thus there is no reason to deny them the final step of marriage, except simple prejudice, the brief argues. If California thought there was some substantive reason to prevent gay marriage ? say, that it would be bad for children ? then the state would block civil unions as well.

And if gays are being denied marriage due to prejudice, then Prop. 8 runs afoul of the Constitution?s promise that all Americans will be treated equally.

?The government seeks to vindicate the defining constitutional ideal of equal treatment under the law,? said Attorney General Eric Holder in a statement issued after the brief was filed.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/1yN-nVveGjU/Obama-on-Prop-8-How-sweeping-is-administration-support-for-gay-marriage

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Despite impact, US says Keystone is only option

TransCanada Corp. via Reuters file

The Keystone XL oil pipeline, pictured under construction Jan. 18, 2012, in North Dakota.

By M. Alex Johnson, staff writer, NBC News

Construction of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline would create "numerous" and "substantial" impacts on the environment, the State Department said Friday in a draft environmental impact statement. But the project is a better bet than any of the alternatives, it said in essentially clearing the project to go ahead.

The report concluded that the Canadian synthetic crude oil the pipeline is slated to transport into the U.S. produces 17 percent more greenhouse gases than natural crude oil already refined here. In addition, it said the construction phase of the project would result in carbon dioxide emissions equiavalent to about 626,000 passenger vehicles operating for a full year.

---

Without directly saying so, the report signaled the State Department's belief that the pipeline should go ahead, concluding that other modes of transportation would have the same impacts and that proposed alternatives ? including an above-ground route and a smaller-diameter pipe ? "were not reasonable."

And on a central issue of discussion, it concluded that blocking the pipeline wouldn't make any difference in the U.S.'s high consumption of oil.

Reaction from environmental groups was swift.

"The Sierra Club is outraged by the State Department's deeply flawed analysis today on Keystone XL," the Sierra Club tweeted.

Gene Karpinski, president of the League of Conservation Voters, said the report failed to appreciate the pipeline's potential effect on climate change.

"People who think our climate wouldn't be negatively impacted by Keystone XL have their heads in the (tar) sands," he said in a statement. "... LCV will work to ensure that the millions of Americans opposed to this dangerous pipeline have their voices heard during the comment period and that Keystone XL is rejected once and for all."

But House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, welcomed the report, which he said "makes clear there is no reason for this critical pipeline to be blocked one more day."

"After four years of needless delays, it is time for President Obama to stand up for middle-class jobs and energy security and approve the Keystone pipeline," Boehner said.

The environmental statement is only a draft, not a final decision whether to greenlight the project. A public comment period of 45 days is next.

A final decision on the $5.3 billion pipeline, a project of TransCanada Corp., has been pending for more than four years as environmental activists battle to kill it, contending that it contributes to the U.S.'s dependence on "dirty fuel" that generates higher emissions than crude oil refined in the U.S.

The pipeline would transport synthetic crude oil from oil sands in northeastern Alberta to refineries running along the spine of the U.S. all the way down to Texas. Along the way, the 2,000-page report said, it could also:

• Disturb highly erodible soil along nearly half of the 875-mile U.S. segment ? including 4,715 acres of "prime farmland soil."
• Degrade streams and other surface water.
• Encroach on the habitats of 13 federally protected species or species being considered for that designation, including the whooping crane and the greater sage grouse.
• Be susceptible to potentially disastrous leaks and spill.

On the other side of the balance, the report noted the potential for economic development and growth in impoverished communities along the pipeline's pathway, saying it could produce as many as 42,000 new construction jobs.

President Barack Obama will have the final say on the project, which is being reviewed by the State Department, not the Environmental Protection Agency, because the pipeline would cross national borders. Obama signaled his support for the southern section of the line last year, but he gave environmentalists a measure of hope in January, when he promised to do more to fight climate change in his inaugural address.?

Tens of thousands of protesters jammed the National Mall in Washington on Feb. 17 to urge Obama to reject pipeline. They adopted the slogan "Forward" ? cribbing Obama's own campaign slogan.

The final decision will be a crucial one for Canada, which may need to look elsewhere for new energy markets if the pipeline is rejected.

Tom Capra, Catherine Chomiak and Frank Thorp of NBC News contributed to this report. Follow M. Alex Johnson on Twitter and Facebook.

Watch US News videos on NBCNews.com

This story was originally published on Fri Mar 1, 2013 5:50 PM EST

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/01/17149564-state-department-admits-keystone-environmental-impact-but-says-theres-no-better-way?lite

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