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3.Education: American Jewish Historical Society
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The mission of the American Jewish Historical Society
is "to foster awareness and appreciation of the American
Jewish past and to serve as a national scholarly resource
for research through the collection, preservation and
dissemination of materials relating to American Jewish
history."
Constituting the oldest ethnic historical organization
in the United States, the Society provides detailed information
on its activities on its Web site, which includes the
publication of the American Jewish History quarterly journal
and its research resources available for scholars and
other interested parties.
These resources include a library (with locations in Waltham,
Massachusetts and New York) with 50,000 volumes and an
archive containing approximately 40 million documents.
Information about their reference services are also available
online, along with a quiz on American Jewish history.
This site will be helpful to visitors hoping to do extended
research on the Jewish experience in America from the
colonial period to the recent past. Visit
their website.
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4. Business: Investing in Art
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The
world's art markets take up the investment slack when
stock markets stumble.
The
world's stock markets have fallen steadily this past year,
while the art market remains robust, lending support to
the theory that when wealthy investors take fright from
equities they often put their cash in pricey paintings.
To read the latest report go to our NEW
DESK link
Editors Note: For more information on the
value of sound investments in various areas, such as art,
collectables, off shore and more, visit our web page on
Investing
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5. Business: Warning on Off Shore Investing
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The
US Treasury recently announced the launch of a new set
of rules designed to simplify and clarify tax shelter
disclosures rules for individuals and corporations.
The new regulations, which are set to come in force in
January 2003, require that taxpayers report involvement
in, and tax shelter promoters to maintain client lists
for six categories of transactions. To read the full report,
go to our NEWS
DESK link.
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6. Business: Dell Computers helping the needs of
education in South Africa
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Johannesburg - Dell Computer this week launched its SA
Foundation, which the US-based computer company said would
focus on youth education and technology training.
Thurmond
Woodard, Dell's vice-president for global diversity, said
yesterday the foundation was another step in the company's
strategy of investing in people to grow talent, which
would boost the country's competitiveness. To read the
full story, go to our NEWS
DESK link.
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7.Global Trade: Mission impossible? Is aid to Africa
actually producing results?
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In his stinging new book, journalist David Rieff says
that the Red Cross and other international relief groups
have raised their ambitions but lost their ideals.
The do-gooders aren't taking it lying down. If any group
of people is making the world a better place, it would
seem to be humanitarian relief organizations.
Outfits like the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC), Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), Oxfam, and the
International Rescue Committee (IRC) have thrust the plight
of victims of war and hunger to the center of the world's
consciousness, forcing the Western public to care about
battered, faraway lands.
By giving people beds for the night, and by providing
medicine and food, they have created hope where there
was none. They have shamed Western governments into pressuring
oppressors to honor humanitarian principles they would
otherwise have flouted.
Humanitarians would seem to be above reproach, beyond
politics itself, the vanguard of what the writer Michael
Ignatieff has called a ''revolution of moral concern.''
How can you help in the efforts to aid the underprivileged?
Visit our web page click
here
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8.Global Trade: Poverty, AIDS and Children's Schooling:
A Targeting Dilemma
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Read this new report written by Martha Ainsworth and Deon
Filmer of the World Bank. This 44-page working paper examines
the relationship between orphan status, household wealth,
and child school enrollment.
Drawing on data collected in the 1990s from 28 different
countries within Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and
the Caribbean, the authors conclude that there are such
divergent patterns within the data, that broad generalizations
are almost impossible.
One interesting finding was that the gap in school enrollment
between female and male orphans was not that much different
than the gap between girls and boys with living parents.
In conclusion, they offer multiple policy programs to
alleviate the plight of orphans, stating, "Policymakers
need to resist the temptation to advocate a single 'best
practice' model for all countries regardless of the extent
or source of orphan enrollment differentials."
To obtain a copy in PDF format visit
their site
.
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9.Global Trade: AIDS in Africa, What is the Answer?
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The
World Bank has committed $1-billion to fight HIV/Aids
in Africa and much of the support will be in the form
of grants, the bank's Vice President for Africa Callisto
Madavo said on Sunday.
Analysts
say Aids is decimating the cream of African professionals
faster than replacements can be trained and millions of
dollars are required by each country for prevention and
awareness campaigns as well as to boost healthcare.
Aids
has killed more than 20 million people and infected 40
million more, most of them in Africa.
To
read the full story, go to our NEWS
DESK link.
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10.Global Trade: South Africa Launders as much as
$8 billion each year
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Pretoria - It has been estimated that drug dealers, pimps
and possibly terrorists, launder between $5 billion and
$8 billion a year through South African institutions.
Globally,
the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that about
$3.5 trillion a year is cleansed of all traces of its
illegal origins. To read the full story, go to our NEWS
DESK link.
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11.Global Trade: China On the Rise
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The following is a personal report from an associate
with extensive knowledge of China.
As
Chinese leaders met with President Bush in Washington
today, we realize that we are hearing increasingly about
the growing commercial power of China. A close friend
recently returned from a two-week business visit stunned
by the speed of transformation. He says the third-world
country of a decade ago is now a first-world country.
Skyscrapers and cars are everywhere, he tells us, and
the commercial zeal and energy of the Chinese is second
to none. China is already regarded as the world's fourth
largest industrial power after the U.S., Japan, and Germany.
China now makes more than 50% of the world's cameras and
30% of the air conditioners and TVs. And that's just the
top of a long list. My friend, who is British, says with
a twinge of sentiment that "the 19th century was
British, the 20th century was American, and the 21st century
will be Chinese."
Wow, maybe that will come to pass and maybe not. I don't
know. But I remember how the Japanese phenomenon appeared
invincible in the '70s and '80s. Eventually some of that
country's internal shortcomings (hidden at the time) slowed
Japan to a crawl. And that prompts us to ask: Are there
internal barriers to Chinese ascendancy? Economic growth
is dependent on more than desire and the size of a population.
There's politics for one. Can China's command-from-above
political system adapt to the growing power of its commercial
classes? Will the politicians share power? They will have
to be flexible if China is to develop peacefully - and
we hope that it DOES happen peacefully. Our point is that
double-digit growth is not easy to achieve for short periods
of time, and has rarely been sustained for long periods.
What would a Chinese, or an Asian, "century"
bring? Well, creative new trends, for one thing. Frankly,
I'm getting tired of "natural" foods, pit bulls,
and all things "Xtreme." We need a breath of
fresh air, and Asia has a new take on clothes, among other
things. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that
Asians have a passion for cutting-edge duds. (Ouch, bad
use of the term.) If you have a chance to visit shopping
emporiums on the Pacific Rim, look for these items:
This
story is from Strong Capital Management Inc., USA.
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12. Marketing: Keep your marketing and customer
target up to date with market research.
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We
had an amusing "sales pitch" put across our
desk recently, which related to the selling of chemicals
to users of "septic tanks.' For the uninformed, a
septic tank is used as an alternative to the old "cess
pit" and also the more modern method of having your
property connected to the municipal sewer system.
What
has changed dramatically over the past few years in the
USA and even in underdeveloped countries like Kenya and
South Africa, is that most properties, even in semi-rural
areas have been gradually connected to the municipal sewer
system, primarily because of the health risks involved.
Our
fellow salesman was still enthusiastically offering a
chemical, which prevented "toxic back-up" from
the septic tank system, and he claimed the product was
"one in a million." Little did he realize (not
being informed of the latest statistics) that more and
more properties are now connected to the municipal sewer
and the properties that use septic tanks are reducing
by the month?
Our
realization was that this product, although still of use
to individuals who have septic tanks, was now being pitched
to a market that is shrinking by the day. This product
"one in a million" is probably a good product,
but if we take the population of the USA at 290 million,
the product is being targeted at merely 280 individuals,
which does not appear to be a worthwhile market to target
when costs and time are factored into the campaign.
The
moral of this story? If you are involved in sales or marketing
of any kind, first establish that it is an expanding market
and not a shrinking or dying market, because if you find
statistics indicate that your target market is reducing
month by month, you must either get out of sales and marketing
altogether, or select another product or service which
has a future growth. We recommend that you visit our web
page "Market
Your Business,"
If
you are looking for potential business opportunities go
to our web
page.
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13. Travel: Depressing News for the Travel Industry
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US
travelers are keeping their heads out of the clouds and
their feet firmly on the ground - or at least a few feet
above the road or train tracks. AP reports that security
checks, random searches, higher fees and other hassles
since last year's September 11 attacks have kept many
people off US domestic flights, particularly for short
trips. To read the full report go to our NEWS
DESK link.
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14. Travel: The Castles of Wales
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Jeffrey L. Thomas has created this online trove of visual
and written material dedicated to providing visitors to
his site with information about the castles of Wales.
Himself a devotee of Welsh culture, Mr. Thomas offers
a site that features background reading on castle construction,
the Welsh language, medieval Welsh history, and a glossary
of terms related to castles.
From the main menu, users can browse a list of Welsh castles
or select any of the Welsh castles from an interactive
map of Wales divided into six sections. Every castle entry
on the site has a historical sketch of the castle's history,
often with a description of current archaeological work
in progress around the site.
Rounding off the site is a series of essays on different
topics, including "The Castles of Wales in Art."
Individuals traveling to Wales or those with even a passing
interest in the histories of these structures will find
a great deal to enjoy here. Visit
this website
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15. Travel: A day in the life of a flight attendant
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After
recently traveling to Africa and Europe on business, one
of our senior partners was discussing the future prospects
of the airline industry and prospects for employment as
a flight attendant.
We
came across this very interesting article, "A
Day in the Life of a Flight Attendant" - by David
Silverstein. Have you ever wondered what it is really
like to be a flight attendant?
Read this article to find out if it's the career of your
dreams. Go to our NEWS
DESK link.
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16.Travel: The Cost of a UK Passport to Increase
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From 21 November 2002, the UK Passport Service will increase
the cost of 10-year passports by £3, to £30
for an adult and £16 for a child. The fee to amend
a document will rise by £4.50 to £22.50. For
more details on Passport Services visit our Travel
Page.
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17.Travel: Visitors from Zimbabwe to the UK will
now Require Visas
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Zimbabwean
nationals traveling to the UK will be required to have
visas unless they have a right of abode here, the Home
Office has announced. For full details got to our NEWS
DESK link
This
Month's Quote:
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and
human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
Albert Einstein
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in compiling and checking
the information contained
in this Newsletter is accurate,
the publisher shall not be
held responsible for any errors,
omissions or inaccuracies
in this electronic publication,
or for any consequences arising
there from.
Editorial materials published
herein are provided for information
only. The publisher expressly
disclaims any and all liability
to any person, whosoever,
in respect of any loss, damage,
death, personal injury or
other consequences, by their
use of, or reliance upon in
any way, the information contained
in this electronic publication.
Copyright 2002 by "Delamere-Pennine
Associates - International Business
Consultants" All Rights
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