Afghanistan & Money
Posted: February 17, 2012 at 4:06 pm
In response to:
Afghanistan: The Best Way to Peace from the February 9, 2012 issue
To the Editors:
As a presumably average reader of The New York Review who considers the magazine a tool and source to fashion informed personal opinions on a broad spectrum of issues outside my own area of expertise, I was bothered by the lack of economically based arguments in Anatol Lieven’s otherwise informative article on Afghanistan [“Afghanistan: The Best Way to Peace,” NYR, February 9]. It seems to me that the widely reported presence of natural resources on Afghan territory might well be a reason and a solution for its problematic role in international affairs. While all the arguments in Mr. Lieven’s article need to be considered in working out a permanent solution, I wonder if the economic facts should not play an important role in this process.
Klaus Peters
Sherborn, Massachusetts
Anatol Lieven replies:
Klaus Peters raises a very important point, which I should perhaps have discussed in my essay. If I did not do so, it was partly for lack of space, but also because the future of the Afghan economy is so uncertain—and this is above all true of Afghanistan’s reportedly huge mineral and energy resources and their possible role in peace and stabilization. In principle, of course, the development of Afghanistan’s resources should contribute greatly to this.
Unfortunately, the Congo suggests that where a country is already racked by conflict, its natural resources can actually fuel that conflict further. Nigeria and other cases also demonstrate how energy resources in particular, if captured by greedy elites, can fuel corruption, increase social tension, and hinder economic growth. The record of the Afghan government since 2001 is not very encouraging from this point of view.
My sense is, therefore, that if an Afghan peace settlement can be reached that gives the different warring parties a reasonable share of power, then the profits of Afghanistan’s resources may give them a greatly increased stake in maintaining the settlement and rejecting a return to war. The development of these resources may also increase the regional stake in Afghan peace. This is above all true of China, which has won the biggest deals so far in the mineral and energy sectors, and which might be able to use its influence in Pakistan to keep that country committed to a settlement. It seems to me, though, that while a peace settlement will have to include detailed agreements on sharing the benefits of economic development, this would only be one part of a deal, and peace would have to be established before development can actually begin.
Excerpt from:
Afghanistan & Money
Personal Group – Dividend Announcement and Notice of Results
Posted: at 4:06 pm
Press Release
17 February 2012
Personal Group Holdings plc
("the Company")
Dividend Announcement and Notice of Results
The directors of the Company are pleased to announce that the first dividend for 2012 of 4.45p per share (2011: 4.35p per share) will be paid on 23 March 2012 to members on the register on 2 March 2012. Shares will be marked ex-dividend on 29 February 2012. If business continues as anticipated the Company expects to pay dividends of the same amount in June, September and December 2012, which would represent an increase of 2.3 per cent over the 2011 dividend level.
The Company intends to announce its results for the year ended 31 December 2011 on Monday 26 March 2012.
- ENDS -
For more information please contact:
Personal Group Holdings Plc
John Barber, Financial Director
+44 (0)1908 605 000
Cenkos Securities Plc
Stephen Keys
+44 (0)20 7397 8926
Media (Frankfurt: 725292 - news) enquiries:
Notes to editors:
Personal Group Holdings Plc (AIM: PGH) is a leading provider of employee benefits and financial services, established in 1984 and with offices and clients across the UK.
The group primarily provides tailored employee benefits programmes to businesses throughout the UK. These programmes include insurance products such as hospital and convalescence plans, death benefit and income protection plans; lifestyle benefits such as holiday and retail discounts; flexible benefit programmes; a range of tax efficient benefits such as childcare vouchers; and employee assistance programmes. The group generates the majority of its revenue through the underwriting of hospital and convalescence plans. Through its expertise in producing, communicating and implementing successful benefit solutions, the group has helped over 400 leading UK companies recruit, retain and motivate the best people. In total the group provides access to benefits for 1.2 million employees, and clients include Pirelli (Milan: PC.MI - news) , Brake Bros, TNT (Hamburg: TNT.HM - news) , UK Mail, Regatta, Road Chef and Vinci (Other OTC: VCISF.PK - news) .
In addition the group offers financial planning and broking services as well as private medical insurance through its Berkeley Morgan and Universal Provident brands.
The group boasts considerable financial strength, with a 25 year track record of profitable growth since 1986. For the year to 31 December 2010 the group reported revenue of £27 million. With a strong balance sheet and a progressive dividend policy, Personal Group (LSE: PGH.L - news) 's vision is to be the provider of choice in employee benefits and financial services. The group's development to date has been achieved principally through strong organic growth.
Personal Group is headquartered in Milton Keynes, was floated on AIM in 2000 and today employs over 160 people.
For further information, go to http://www.personal-group.com.
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Personal Group - Dividend Announcement and Notice of Results
"Be a Life Coach or a Business Coach" Online Training Class – Video
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"Be a Life Coach or a Business Coach" Online Training Class - Video
E-learning production – Video
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Intimate Partner Violence is Focus of New Online Continuing Education Course from Professional Development Resources
Posted: at 4:05 pm
Professional Development Resources, a nationally accredited provider of continuing education (CE) to psychologists, social workers, counselors, speech-language pathologists, registered dietitians and occupational therapists, has released a new online CE course on intimate partner violence.
Jacksonville, FL (PRWEB) February 17, 2012
Professional Development Resources has announced a new addition to its online continuing education (CE) curriculum for mental health professionals: Domestic Violence: Child Abuse and Intimate Partner Violence. The course, which is presented in two parts, is intended to help mental health professionals maintain a high state of vigilance and to be well prepared with immediate and appropriate responses when partner violence is disclosed.
Part 1 of the course is about child abuse. Part 2 deals with Intimate partner violence (IPV) which is, unfortunately, a pervasive part of life in U.S. society. According to the 2010 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS), over 35% of women and 28% of men say they have been raped and/or physically assaulted and/or stalked by a current or former spouse, cohabiting partner, or date at some point in their lifetime. Survivors of these forms of violence may experience physical injury, mental health consequences like depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and suicide attempts. Other health consequences like gastrointestinal disorders, substance abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, and gynecological or pregnancy complications are also common.
The NISVS 2010 report further describes five types of IPV, including sexual violence, physical violence, stalking, psychological aggression, and control of reproductive or sexual health. The latter category includes refusal by an intimate partner to use a condom. For a woman, it includes times when a partner tried to get her pregnant when she did not want to become pregnant. Conversely, for a man, it includes times when a partner tried to get pregnant when the man did not want her to become pregnant. IPV affects individuals from all ethnic and socioeconomic groups, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and HIV-affected (LGBTQH) communities.
A very important and sensitive issue is a victim’s decision to stay with the batterer in spite of ongoing abuse. To a casual observer, it is hard to understand why a person would choose to stay in a destructive relationship. Victims frequently hear from their friends and family members: “why don’t you just leave?” This represents a failure to appreciate the complexity of the problem. According to physicians Rose Fife and Sarina Schrager in their 2012 book Family Violence: What Health Care Providers Need to Know, the decision to leave – or not – is one of the most difficult choices victims will have to make, and possibly the most dangerous.
“Leaving a relationship is a process that occurs over time,” says Leo Christie, PhD, licensed marriage and family therapist and president of Professional Development Resources. “It must be understood that typically a victim cannot do so immediately, and often not for a long time. There are many reasons for this: she may think this lifestyle is ‘normal’; she may agree with the abuser that she is bad or stupid or deserves this; she may have no idea how to leave or where to go; she may have no job skills and fear that she and her children will starve. But mostly she is afraid, and her fear is valid. A woman’s risk of being killed is highest when she tries to leave.”
The central purpose of this online CE course is to help clinicians appreciate the likelihood that many of their clients are living in violent relationships, whether they have disclosed it or not. It includes training for detecting abuse when they see it, screening for the particulars, and responding with definitive assistance in safety planning, community referrals, and individualized treatment plans.
About Professional Development Resources, Inc.
Professional Development Resources is a Florida nonprofit educational corporation founded in 1992 by licensed marriage and family therapist Leo Christie, PhD. The company, which is accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA), the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB), the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC), the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly the American Dietetic Association) – as well as many other national and state boards – has focused its efforts on making continuing education courses more cost-effective and widely accessible to health professionals by offering online home study coursework. Its current expanded curriculum includes a wide variety of clinical topics intended to equip health professionals to offer state-of-the art services to their clients.
Contact:
Leo Christie, PhD, CEO
Professional Development Resources, Inc.
904-645-3456
###
Leo Christie, PhD
Professional Development Resources
(904) 645-3456
Email Information
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Intimate Partner Violence is Focus of New Online Continuing Education Course from Professional Development Resources
Susan Gilbert: The Economic Advantage of Online Education
Posted: at 4:04 pm
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Susan Gilbert: The Economic Advantage of Online Education
Online education coalition sues over state budge cuts
Posted: at 4:04 pm
OLYMPIA — An online learning coalition has filed a lawsuit against the state, claiming that budget cuts have hit alternative-education programs harder than traditional schools, violating the state constitution.
Members of the Washington Families for Online Learning filed the lawsuit in King County Superior Court this week.
It alleges that lawmakers last year cut Alternative Learning Experience (ALE) programs, which includes K-12 online education offered by dozens of school districts, an average 15 percent more than traditional schools.
They said a state Supreme Court decision issued last month reinforced their decision to sue. The court ruled that the state is failing to meet its constitutional duty to provide a basic education to all the state's children.
"We were singled out because all public schools and districts took the same cut, but they targeted students in ALE programs, like online schools [by cutting more]," said Gigi Talcott, coordinator for Washington Families for Online Learning and a former state representative.
The Office of Superintendent for Public Instruction declined to comment about the lawsuit.
Legislators have cut about $1.8 billion from K-12 for the 2011-13 biennium. Traditional public schools were also hit with cuts, including a 1.9 percent reduction in teacher salaries, a 3 percent reduction in school administrative staff and the suspension of Initiative 728, which reduced K-4 classes in 2000.
Previously traditional public schools and online schools received about $5,000 per student per academic year in state funding; now, online schools receive an average of $4,250 per student — 15 percent less.
The cut is expected to save the state about $6 million.
The state now has about 9,000 full-time equivalent students enrolled in online schools. More than 50 school districts statewide offer online school programs, including Federal Way, Tacoma, Olympia and Spokane.
Stephanie Kim: 360-236-8266 or skim@seattletimes.com
Mrs Pinkelmeyer Life Coaching Tips + Interview 2012 New York International Toy Fair – Video
Posted: February 16, 2012 at 5:28 pm
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Mrs Pinkelmeyer Life Coaching Tips + Interview 2012 New York International Toy Fair - Video
Success Life Coaching – Video
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Develop a High Appreciation For Life – Coach Gig’s Daily Locker Room – Video
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Develop a High Appreciation For Life - Coach Gig's Daily Locker Room - Video