Saturday, March 3, 2012

Vogue for the veiled in Turkey

New magazine caters to pious Muslim women, but both conservatives and secularists are asking whether fashion can coexist with Islam.

? A local, slice-of-life story from a Monitor correspondent.
In Turkey, where Islamic and Western social values collide, what women cover up is often more controversial than what they flaunt.

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So when the new monthly lifestyle magazine ?l? launched last year to cater specially to the tastes of pious Muslim women, it prompted conservatives and secularists alike to ask whether fashion can coexist with Islam.

With glossy pages filled with demurely smiling, stylishly head-scarved young women, ?l? has been dubbed the ?Vogue of the Veiled? by one Turkish liberal newspaper. After six issues, its circulation has increased to 30,000, with some 5,000 subscriptions sent abroad.

While some secularists believe the magazine is evidence of the creeping Islamization of Turkish society, conservative Muslims have claimed it is violating Islamic notions of female modesty by encouraging covered women to beautify themselves.

Although Turkey has been governed by an Islamist-rooted party since 2002, it is still technically illegal for women to wear head scarves at Turkish universities, and they are also banned in a range of public-sector jobs: a legacy of the state-imposed secularism that dominated the country for much of the 20th century.

?l??s editor in chief, Seyma Yol Kara, is less interested in the magazine?s critics than in the millions of head-scarved women who she says have long been ?second-class citizens.?

With clothing advice, interviews with successful Muslim women, articles on mental health, and photos of readers, ?l? is aiming to give them a voice, says Ms. Yol Kara, who herself wears a head scarf.

?We are trying to bring new products and new options to women who wear head scarves and women in whose lives Islam plays an important role,? she says. ?I?m happy to be helping women who think like me.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/i-_Pp8C81Xk/Vogue-for-the-veiled-in-Turkey

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Friday, March 2, 2012

My Two Cents on Impact Investing

By: Lonnie Shekhtman

Allow me to make a confession: I don?t invest in anything. In fact, when it comes to money management, I am woefully unsophisticated. For instance, I have some money sitting in a conventional savings account, where it collects zero interest.

Now, I?m not loaded by any stretch of the imagination, but I do have enough savings to do something useful with, so I?ve decided that 2012 is going to be THE year I finally get hip to investing my hard-earned cash. And I am particularly motivated this year because impact investing ? which focuses not only on financial returns but on social and environmental ones as well ? has seriously piqued my interest and provided the inspiration to invest that I?ve been missing.

I have a keen personal and professional interest in mission-driven business in general, and I?ve been keeping a close eye on microfinance specifically, because when done right, it is one of the most effective ways to help the poor cope with poverty and move from survival to planning for the future. Granted, the industry has had some ups and downs and still grapples with the occasional controversy, but I believe that responsible brokers and microfinance institutions (MFIs) are making an impact in impoverished communities around the globe, so I?ve decided to take a closer look at investing in microfinance projects through MicroPlace.

Here are the primary reasons I?ve decided to be a MicroPlace investor:

  1. Impact investing makes perfect sense to me: While I want to help people who are way less fortunate than me, I know that giving money away is not a sustainable option (plus, I can?t afford it) so I?ll invest in microfinance institutions that are providing loans, savings, and other basic financial services to people who have traditionally had no access to such services. Not only do I anticipate getting my money back with interest, but I will invest in people who really need the help.
  2. The issuers MicroPlace works with (who sell the investments to folks like me and use that money to fund projects), historically have had?a 100% repayment rate?to MicroPlace investors, so the risk of losing my money is relatively low.
  3. The?rate of return on investments through MicroPlace is higherthan it is through a CD or Money Market account at my bank (MP: .5% ? 3.1% vs. money market through my credit union: .3%.) Of course, my bank accounts are FDIC insured ? or insured by the government ? whereas investments on MicroPlace are not.
  4. There?s a $10,000 minimum to open a Money Market account at my bank, whereas I?can invest as little as $20 through MicroPlace.
  5. I feel confident about investing through MicroPlace?because it is registered with the SEC, owned by eBay, and operated by PayPal, the biggest online payment company in the world, processing tens of billions of dollars in financial transactions.

Over the next several months I?ll be writing a series of blog posts about my experiences as a new impact investor. I?ll explore the variety of investments available through MicroPlace; the various issuers MicroPlace works with, and the projects and MFIs they support; the process of opening a MicroPlace account and making investments; and other learnings I pick up along the way. I hope you?ll join me on this journey and chime in with your own experiences and questions.

Source: http://www.triplepundit.com/2012/03/cents-impact-investing/

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Air Playit Allows Streaming of Over 320 Video/Audio Formats To ...

?

Air Playit application developed by Digiarty Software is a great way to stream your video/audios to your iPhone and iPad inside of your home network or anywhere using 3G on your iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad as well as Android.

AirPlayit can stream over 320 different video & audio formats to your mobile devices via WiFi and 3G/4G network.? Think of it as a personal audio video cloud server and lets you watch videos on the go.

To get things rolling,? you?ll need to download and install the powerful Air Playit Server media software to your PC or Mac.? Then download and install? the Air Playit client app, which acts as a personal video & audio cloud.

The Set up minimal and you?ll have all your media at your finger tips in no time flat.

Features:

* Live Convert and Streaming Video & Music
Air Playit is able to convert videos on the fly and stream videos to your devices. Play MKV, AVI, WMV videos on your iPhone iPad immediately without doing any tedious converting beforehand.

* Offline Conversion and Download to your iPhone iPad.
With offline task manager, you can add and manage video conversion tasks on your iPhone iPad, and download the videos to your devices over air. Watch the videos later when you have no network connection.

* Streaming Audio and Auto Cache Music Library.
Air Playit automatically caches all playing music stream to files. Play the cached music without using WiFi/3G/4G bandwidth. Support MP3, AAC, AIFF, WAV audio formats.

* Built in HTTP Server
The built-in HTTP server lets you access the audios and videos stored on your PC or Mac via any web browser. Air Playit Server supports M3U playlist format. Play the streaming video via VLC or Apple QuickTime player.

* Support Apple TV-Out
Air Playit supports Apple TV-Out so that you can easily stream video & music to TV via iPhone iPad.

You get AirPlayit now on your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad in the App Store for Free!

?

iPhoneman76

Dedicated Father, Husband, and iDevice addict. Admin, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of iDeviceDaily.com. Active member in the Jailbreak iCommunity. Thanks for reading. Join the movement.

More Posts ? Website ? Twitter

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Source: http://idevicedaily.com/air-playit-allows-streaming-of-over-320-videoaudio-formats-to-your-iphone-ipod-touch-and-ipad-free/

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Thursday, March 1, 2012

Probate Attorney Acts As Executor's Guide | Nirenstein, Horowitz ...

Feb 29, 2012 ?/? By: Barry D. Horowitz, Estate Planning Attorney ?/? Category: Probate

A last will is not a document that is just read around the kitchen table after your funeral. The probate court is going to be involved, and this process can be rather complicated in a lot of cases.

People often times pass away with some financial liabilities that have not been paid in full. So, creditors and claimants can step forward during the probate process in an effort to seek satisfaction. There is also the matter of final taxes. And, any challenges to the wishes of the deceased that may exist would be heard by the probate court.

In addition to the above matters the assets that are part of the estate must be inventoried and readied for distribution to the heirs. Depending on the form of these assets and the wishes of the deceased this can be a complex task that requires a certain brand of expertise.

It is the job of the executor of the estate to handle these affairs, but because your executor is probably not going to be familiar with the probate process he or she will need the guidance of a Hartford probate lawyer.

A holistic approach would be to arrange for the attorney who assists you as you are drawing up your will to act as the probate attorney after you pass away. Your lawyer will enter the process with an existing understanding of your wishes, knowledge of the dynamics of your family, and a familiarity with the last will document itself. This will result in an optimal situation that allows for a smooth passage through probate.

Nirenstein, Horowitz & Associates, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Tags: Estate Planning, Inheritance Planning, Probate

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Source: http://www.preserveyourestate.net/blog/probate/probate-attorney-acts-executors-guide/

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Called by Name: Spiritual Fatherhood Seen in a New Light

My latest missive from the Catholic Telegraph:

As I do talks on the priesthood, inevitably questions arise about priestly celibacy.? In responding to this question, I compare how the love of a husband and wife erupts in the creation of natural life, while the priest?s love for the Church begets a spiritual life in her children, especially through the Sacraments.? Practically, though, I cannot imagine doing what I do and also having to try to support a wife and family, but that is another story.

Because of the work I have done as a priest, initially teaching full time in a high school and now working in the Vocation Office, I have not always been able to see the results of this spiritual fecundity that I knew was present as a priest, but not always so overtly.? When I talk to my classmates, I feel a little abashed that I have not done near the number of weddings, funerals, and/or baptisms that they have; as they have all had full time parish ministry responsibilities; but God continues to call us where He wills, so I will get there sooner or later.

However, I had a recent opportunity that allowed me to glimpse directly into the heart of what it means to give spiritual life to another, and the experience was one I will always remember.? I have recently struck up a friendship with a young man who is going through the RCIA process.? He did not know many Catholics at the time he started inquiring, so a mutual friend connected us on Facebook and we have gone from there.? As a life long Catholic, I love walking someone through the mysteries of our faith to help them discover the interconnections between the teachings of the Church, gleanings from science, how the Old and New Testaments are interconnected, etc.? That he is soaking this all up as quick as I can feed it to him is icing on the cake!

As I got to know him, I also got to know his mother, who also started to desire full Communion with the Church.? Unlike her son, however, she was already Baptized, so she did not need the full RCIA process, and being homebound, it would be difficult to get to classes anyway; so we started meeting at their home and she soaked things up almost as quick as her son.? (I want to chalk it up to being a good teacher, but that had little to do with it, I fear!)

Finally, she seemed ready and in need of the graces of the Sacraments, so we set the date to welcome her into full communion of the Catholic Church and prepared the ceremony.? While it is a fairly simple and straightforward rite, I found it to be particularly moving as this individual who had sought God for so many long years was fully embraced by the Church she now calls mother.? Having played a small part in this process, I have rarely felt so much like a ?dad? as I did in the moments of receiving her testimony of faith, offering the Sacrament of Confirmation and finally giving her Holy Communion for the first time.? This, I finally understood, was Spiritual Fatherhood.? As I stepped out of the Sacristy after Mass and saw so many parishioners greeting her warmly, I knew her long journey was over and now she was home.

As I reflect on this now, there is so much in the journey we all make that is echoed in the journey of this one woman.? Despite the many wanderings and meanderings we all make during life, God consistently and persistently calls each one of us by name closer to Himself.? When we finally do return, we are welcomed as if we never left, as the Magnanimous Father reaches out to embrace his long lost son.

Source: http://fatherschnippel.blogspot.com/2012/02/spiritual-fatherhood-seen-in-new-light.html

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Moody's must face whistleblower analyst's claim (Reuters)

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Reuters - Moody's Investors Service was ordered to defend against a lawsuit by a whistleblowing former analyst who claimed it illegally retaliated against him for questioning its ratings practices for risky mortgage debt.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120228/bs_nm/us_moodys_kolchinsky

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Commercial Property Investment in New Zealand | Commercial ...

If you?re searching for an effortlessly understood investment option, residential property investment is almost certainly the first thing that comes to mind. This kind of investment has become well-liked with real estate investors as it gives reduced risks of the property being vacant lengthy term as well as the benefits of being sold on far more quickly during a slump in the market.

Commercial real estate investment has been commonly overlooked by a lot of investors however, this type of property can offer you far higher levels of return than that from a solely residential investment. And immediate benefit to the investor is that business tenants pay for outgoings on the property such as insurance, rates, building Warrant of Fitness fees, repairs and maintenance and often management costs.

As a real estate investor, if you are interested in diversify your residential investments, then commercial property would be the next logical step. Nonetheless, we come across that residential investors are frequently wary of entering the commercial property market because of their small knowledge of the motivating factors behind commercial investment and perceived threat in reletting a property in the event it becomes empty.

Vacant business properties have undoubtedly suffered far more than residential in the past when it comes to discovering a tenant and sustained vacancies can arise.

It?s essential therefore that you have a lesser level of borrowing than you may well for residential so that you can ride out any prolonged vacancy. keeping this in mind, lenders typically only mortgage no more than sixty percent of a commercial property?s value anyway.

Investment in commercial property has normally focused on the property?s location, even so the associated tenancy is just as essential as this ultimately supplies the investment?s income.

The strength of an occupiers covenant to meet their lease responsibilities and pay the rent is one of the most critical issues in commercial property investment.

Coupled with this the duration of lease term is also important. Lengthy term leases (five years or much more plus renewals) are highly sought after because they give you, the landlord, a much decreased risk profile of having a vacant building, especially when a sound tenant covenant is also provided.

More crucial concerns you need to take into account consist of location to make specific the property is well situated to local service centres, is handy to key roads or highway systems and can where achievable reap the rewards from visibility and profile to passing traffic. As a landlord, you ought to ask, could the building be re-Iet without difficulty and efficiently should the existing tenant vacate?

Buildings ought to ideally be adaptable for a selection of alternate uses to meet future occupant needs. Specialised buildings lack this characteristic and are thus a lot more at risk of prolonged vacancy if an occupant is lostdecides to move on.

Multi-tenancy properties are highly sought after by buyers as they offer a excellent spread of revenue and lower threat associated with having any vacant space in comparison with a single tenanted building. Nonetheless, they do carry with them higher management issues.

All property investments ought to be seen as a long term plan and as a commercial investor you will see that over time you will have witnessed rents rise considerably more than a similar residential investment. When economic times are great, swift boosts in rental levels have been seen. With most lease contracts offering two yearly rent reviews, this can lead to a substantially higher rent roll and value of the property over time.

Current low interest rates have secured good returns on commercial property investment. The costs associated with borrowing for investors may be as low as 6.5 percent , while their returns may possibly be as high as 10 percent, and this positive profit margin is likely to encourage many investors to feel about commercial real estate as a prospective chance.

When it comes to any type of investing, weighing up all of the economic drawbacks and advantages is the key to success. Breaking into property investment with a lengthy term mindset is crucial, since in continually fluctuating marketplace all real estate owners are destined to see as several declining fluctuations as increases. This is especially true in economic challenging times, but all in all investment in real estate is seen to give some of the best long term financial rewards.

Source: http://www.unsitragua.org/commercial-property-investment-in-new-zealand.htm

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