Business Pivot Point

The November 22 edition cover of American news week shows Obama pose as Lord Nataraja. The edition with Nataraja pose of Obama has upset Hindus all over the world. Hindus feel the Newsweek cover has trivialities their venerated God Siva who is worshiped. The headline cover of the Newsweek shows Obama as god of all things and written.

In the statement Hindu statesman Rajan Zed said that the major deity is used indecorously which should not be. Lord Shiva is a important god worshiped in the temples ,homes and shrines which has been used like this. Nataraja cannot be re imagined and used in different versions for dramatic effects hurts the Hindus feelings. It is mortal to use Lord Siva who directors our destinies said Zed in Nevada in USA meeting. Inappropriate usage of these Hindu concepts is showing the selfish agenda which is not okay.

To prove their point of view one cannot bring the Hindu deity into the political wrangles by the Newsweek. We need a proper explanation for the use of Hindu deity to represent Obama in the next issue stated Zed. The casual flirting by the magazine sometimes hurts the serious spiritual doctrines and the revered symbols.

With the advent of technology and especially the net, a lot of things have become much easier in life. It is very easy to get in touch with each other. In fact, rather than just hearing the voice of the loved ones, now, one can also see them as they talk through the video conferencing which can be done over the net itself. The net has also made sharing of material much easier. So easy that one can actually run a university on the net.

And, in fact, online classes are a reality and a number of universities are already conducting them.

One can easily study whichever subject one likes from where one is situated. There is no need to go to a physical university and study. A lot of materials are put online and one can simply start studying whenever one’s time suited him. It frees up an individual. One does not have to worry about attending classes and attendance and missing out on one’s work time. Instead, one can concentrate on studying whenever one had some amount of free time.

Such online education is revolutionizing the world. People can study what they like and do it when they like it. It does not require a physical place.

These are real breakthroughs!

South Korea’s defence minister has resigned amid criticism of his handling of North Korea’s shelling of an island near their disputed maritime border.

President Lee Myung-bak will name Kim Tae-young’s successor on Friday.

Tuesday’s barrage left two South Korean civilians and two marines dead, and sent regional tensions soaring.

South Korea has increased troop numbers on Yeonpyeong and other nearby islands, and announced more rigorous rules of engagement for future incidents.

Mr Kim had been urged to step down by legislators from both governing and opposition parties over his handling of the shelling.

In his resignation statement, the minister said he took full responsibility.

A lot of us have started traveling all across the globe these days. There are travels for business and there are travels also for personal pleasure. The one thing everyone dreads in this whole thing is getting the visa. One can plan the travel and buy the ticket and so on but if one does not get the visa, then everything goes a waste.

However, there are a few things that one has to know to apply for a visa and get it. This applies for any kind of visa. The Global Visas that we are talking about means that it applies to US, the UK and the Australia and so on.

So, typically, what are the learnings on getting the visa across the globe? Where are the problems? What are the key things that one should be aware of? What are the typical Global Visas Complaints from the different immigration and visa officials across the globe?

For, if we know some of these, we would be much better prepared for the visa interviews that typically happen all the time. One needs to know these things so that one is prepared for the interviews and get the visa.

But, is there someway one can prepare for these? Is there some way one can understand these typical issues and Global Visas Complaints so that one can be better prepared?

Yes indeed. There are agencies these days which help people prepare for these interviews and apply for the visa. They help individuals understand the concerns that the visa granting agencies have and they help the individuals prepare for the same.

This immensely helps the people. Such preparation goes a long way in getting the visas.

Once you are clear about why you want to travel the other country and you are clear about how you are going for the same, it becomes easy to prepare for the same.

It is quite amazing the way internet has influenced business, commerce and even daily life of men. It has made life quite easy for us. People are so much used to internet that they get restless if they are not able to be online for few days. We depend on internet for most of our work. We do not have to visit a bank for transactions. It can be done online. We can pay our utility bills online. We can even take classes online, attend exams online. When we want any services or products, we search over the internet and find out which one would be best for us. We rely on internet heavily for communication. We would have almost forgotten writing letters by hand. We are more used to sending emails. Internet can facilitate us to share photos, videos, files etc.

Not only that we can finalize any deals over internet. Suppose, we want to see some invitation pattern or Logo Design Packages, we can see the samples online. The order and payment could be done online too.

It is also now easy to get internet connection. Now that we have wi-fi and other wire free infrastructure, we may be able to get connection within 24 hours.

Have you decided to buy some furniture? Very good. You are in safe hands. I am going to give you a few tips on buying the right furniture at the right price. In fact, everything in the world comes down to this : are you buying the right stuff at the right price?

Let us start with what you really want. Do you like the traditional stuff or the modern stuff? Do you like big flashy ones or the small compact ones? You need to be real clear on these things before you buy. Whether it is the log beds that you buy or the kitchen ones that you buy, there is no point wondering what you have bought after you have bought it. You might as well wonder before you buy and decide whether you need it and whether you like it and then decide accordingly.

A few other things also are to be kept in mind : never buy what you don’t need. However good the timber looks and however good the furniture looks, if you really don’t need that piece in your home, don’t burn that money on that thing. There are things that you can better do. Also, remember to buy from reputed stores and brands.

Cambodia is holding a day of mourning for more than 450 people killed in a festival stampede.

Prime Minister Hun Sen is due to join officials and grieving relatives for a religious ceremony at the footbridge where the tragedy happened.

A preliminary investigation has found that the swaying of the bridge near the capital, Phnom Penh, triggered a panic.

Witnesses said some people were crushed on the bridge, while others fell into the river and drowned.

Crowds of revellers had been crossing the bridge to reach an island where an annual water festival was being held on Monday.

Before buying anything, one has to think through. This enables to make the money count and to stretch the same. There are lots of goods which are important to us. But, there are lots of coupons also which are out there which can be used to bring down the price at which we end up buying different things. Take for example, the miche bag coupon. If you have it, you can buy it at about 20% or so lesser than otherwise. And, it is not as if it is difficult to get those coupons. It is not. But, one needs to just put in the efforts to get those coupons.

What does it take to locate these? One can use a number of sites to locate the coupons. There are coupon locating sites. There are sites which announce new products to consumers and as a process, also give out these coupons for immediate trials to happen.

Whatever it is, all one has to do is to spend some quality time on the net and one can find all these goodies. Imagine the savings one can have by spending a few minutes on the net while buying. All of these savings add up. The only thing one has to ensure that one does not buy what one does not need.

The Irish government has unveiled a range of tough austerity measures designed to help solve the country’s debt crisis.

Among the spending cuts and tax rises are a reduction in the minimum wage, a new property tax and thousands of public sector job cuts.

The four-year plan is designed to save the state 15bn euros ($20bn; £13bn).

The government is also negotiating a bail-out package with the EU and IMF, expected to be worth about 85bn euros.

If there is one thing we all understood as a nation because of the financial crisis that we all went through is that we should not over leverage debt. It gets us into a mess. But, we as a nation are a debt friendly one. We love to get into debt. Even if we have the money to pay for something, we would rather pay it with a loan. Even if we had the cash in the pocket, we would still use the credit card. That is the habit. Nothing wrong with the habit except that it can land us in real trouble if we don’t pay up properly.

One of the things that we should ensure is to make the credit card settlement happen without fail. It is a cycle. One individual does not pay his bills, he goes broke. Millions of individuals default, then the card itself defaults. The bank itself goes bankrupt.

So, one should ensure that one understands this and makes it a habit of paying one’s card dues as and when they are due. If you pay it later, one has to pay unnecessary interest charges also on top of the due to be paid.

Ensuring that the debt - whether the card debt or a loan taken is paid properly, is the first step towards financial security.