Afghanistan's first-ever one-day international against Pakistan achieved what no other sport had managed -- support from the once cricket-hating Taliban, according to an official.

"Friday's match was a big milestone for Afghanistan, so much so that the Taliban sent a message of support, saying they are praying for the success of the team," Omar Zakhilwal, president Afghanistan Cricket Board told reporters on Saturday.

Although Afghanistan lost by seven wickets in the first-ever one-dayer against Pakistan on Friday, they gave a good account of themselves, scoring 195 and then capturing three early wickets before succumbing.

Cricket has become the top sport in the war-ravaged country in the last three years after it was introduced by youths who learnt the game in refugee camps in Pakistan following the Soviet invasion of their country in 1979.

Under the Taliban regime no outdoor sport was allowed and grounds were primarily used for executing political opponents who defied the hardliners.

But since the ouster of the Taliban, following the war on terror led by the United States in 2001, cricket has taken root with Afghanistan winning one-day status in 2009.

Zakhilwal, also the finance minister in the Hamid Karzai-led government, said cricket is uniting the nation.

"Even president Karzai was watching the match and wished the team well," said Zakhilwal.

"Across the country 80-90 percent of the kids were watching the game as this was a big occasion for our cricket."

Zakhilwal said no other thing unites Afghanistan like cricket.

"On streets you can see kids playing, there is no other sport which mobilises the people, neither politics nor any other event, neither the reconstruction, there is nothing which can match cricket.

"This (cricket) becomes an example of progress in other areas as well. Even with little peace in our country we have achieved this much in cricket. We can achieve more -- when there is a will, there is a way, with the support of the people."

Zakhilwal said his board will push other nations to play his team.

"We are pushing the top teams," said Zakhilwal, praising Pakistan for giving them the opportunity.

"It was great support from Pakistan. We are pushing India, Australia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and with this kind of performance and following I see no reason why they don't play us."

Zakhilwal urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) for more help.

"They have done their part but they should help us get more chances against top teams," said Zakhilwal, hoping countries would not shy away from facing his team.

"My personal opinion is that top teams shy away from playing us because winning against Afghanistan is not huge but losing against them would be big for them.

"I think we are a team and have broken the ice by playing Pakistan and the team has shown maturity and strength," said Zakhilwal, predicting the day when his country would host international matches was not far ahead.

"We now have two international stadiums -- in Kabul and Jalalabad -- and we are open to all teams. If they can't come, they can play us anywhere in the world," said Zakhilwal.

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Even Taliban seduced by Afghan cricket success story

LAS VEGAS -- Whitney Houston's death has had a deep impact on some in the Las Vegas entertainment community. One local singer received her personal inspiration from Houston.

Cheaza Figueroa is a rising star, singing at Planet Hollywood. She comes from a family of singers, but she can trace her creative roots back to an early conversation she had with Whitney Houston.

Cheaza, as she goes by on stage, is a lead singer at Holly Madison's Peepshow in Planet Hollywood. She traces her creative growth to the songs she heard Houston sing. She never knew Houston well, but a meeting Cheaza had with the singer in Hawaii inspired the local performer.

"She said, 'You know what, keep going. You've got a career ahead of you. Never stop dreaming,'" she said. "How many of us really get to get that close to our idols? She was truly an idol for me."

Cheaza and Houston met once again at the Grammy Awards. She credits Houston's genuine emotion during performances as her most important professional lesson.

Despite Houston's personal troubles, it's not hard to see just what legacy she leaves behind for local singers when it simply comes to vocal range and stage presence.

See the article here:
Singer Credits Whitney Houston for Success

by admin on February 8, 2012

Here are 14 tips that helped me greatly in my blogging and personal life. I share them with you in the hope that they’ll help you as well. Let me know if anything jumps out at you.

Blog consistently. This is a marathon, not a 100-meter dash. Pick a posting frequency and stick to it.
 Know the difference between accounting and finance. Keeping track of the past is accounting. Planning for the future is finance. Separate your business from your personal stuff. Set up a new bank account just for your blog. Don’t mix the personal and blog accounts together. Understand the difference between good debt and bad debt. Good debt makes you money, bad debt cost you money. Use credit cards to your advantage. Earn air miles or get cash back, but NEVER carry a balance. Surround yourself with success. Find the most successful people in your field and get on their radar. Don’t be afraid of rejections. Many will agree to mentor you if you respect their time. If you’re going to hang with success, then it also means you need to stop hanging with failures. Don’t let well-meaning friends or family member bring you down with bad advice. Take your advice from people who are where you want to be. Treat your business partners well. Never try to screw them over. What goes around comes around and payback is a bitch. Think positive. You attract to you what you are, and you are what you think. Negative thinkers attract negative people. Positive thinkers attract positive.
 Live below your means. While I do live in a nice house, I don’t drive a $250,000 sport car or have any flashy cloths. In fact, I get most of my cloth by taking all the free T-shirts at various trade shows. Always keep working on your brand. It’s what separate you from the other 120 million+ blogs
. Don’t take things too seriously. Have fun at this. It’s not the final destination that matter, it’s the journey along the way that’s important. Enjoy it. It’s not how much you make, it’s how much you give. Most people equate success with how much money you make. However, I think the true measure of success is not how much you make, it’s how much you give. While it’s great to have a bunch of fancy toys, you have to keep in mind that you can’t take it with you when your time comes and God isn’t going to judge you based on how many fancy cars you drove. If you want to live with masses, serve the classes. If you want to live with the classes, serve the masses. If you look at any successful businesses, you’ll see that they serve a lot of people. The more they serve, the richer they get. Google serves millions of web surfers everyday. Walmart serves more customers than any store in the world. They’re among the richest companies in the world. The rich got rich because they serve the masses. The masses being their customers, employees, shareholders, etc. The poor are poor because they serve the classes (their boss). The more you serve, the richer you become.
 You attract what you give out. If you give out negative vibes, you’ll get negative vibes back. If you want people to smile at you, just smile at them. If you want love, give your love. If you want money, give your money. It will all come back to you in greater amounts than you gave.

This article courtesy of 14 Tips for Blogging and Personal Success

Tagged as: advice, business, difference, masses, money, personal, richer, think-the-true, time, world

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14 Tips for Blogging and Personal Success

Photo by Brandon Dill, Brandon Dill/Special to The Commercial Appeal
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Stonie Fitzgerald is a graduate of the LifeLine to Success program. LifeLine offers ex-offenders counseling, education on re-assimilating into society after being incarcerated and work opportunities around Memphis.

Photo by Brandon Dill, Photos by Brandon Dill/Special to The Commercial Appeal
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LifeLine to Success founder DeAndre Brown (left) talks with one of the program's participants, Mario Shaw, during a break in the group's class. LifeLine offers ex-offenders counseling, education on re-assimilating into society after being incarcerated and work opportunities clearing and cleaning blight around Memphis.

Stonie Fitzgerald takes notes alongside fellow participants in the LifeLine program during class at the group's facility in Frayser.

Webster's dictionary defines stony as "manifesting no movement or action." Residents of the North Memphis neighborhood of Frayser define Stonie as the total opposite -- a manifestation of movement and action.

This Stonie is Stonie Fitzgerald of Frayser, ex-offender and graduate of the LifeLine to Success program.

Lifeline to Success, run and directed by DeAndre and Vinessa Brown, would be just another faith-based reintegration program if it weren't for people like Fitzgerald, who grabbed that lifeline and ran with it. Not every program reaches every person, but this program reached Fitzgerald, and he is reaching back to offer lifelines of his own.

He works with LifeLine to Success and the Frayser Community Development Center, but his real goal is to meet at-risk individuals on their own turf.

Fitzgerald recites his personal mission as, "Hopefully, doing things like going to the parks and playing basketball with the kids and recruiting them for good, like the gangs do for bad, I can make a difference, be an example. I know what it's like. I've been there."

He admits that as a teen, in his search for something in which to be involved, he stole a skateboard and became so good at the sport he was represented by a skateboard company in competitions.

Still in the gang scene, however, he went on to commit other crimes and finally served six years in a correctional facility. It was when he went from being incarcerated to living in a halfway house that his life really changed. That was where he met the Browns and began the LifeLine to Success program.

Fitzgerald has repaid his debt to society and now he is "paying it forward" through community service work over the last two years.

The next step he hopes to take is to get children involved in music and theater.

He wants to audition teens and cast them for the play he has written.

He said his goal has never veered from hoping that he can help others get off their own personal stony paths, smoothing out the way for them to also contribute to a better Memphis.

Julie Ray is a resident of Uptown.

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Personal Success 'Paying it forward'

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 9 (Bernama) -- The establishment of the Personal Data Protection Department following gazetting of the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 will lead to higher "e-commerce" and "e-business" transactions.

This will expedite development of the electronic networking system in the country, said Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Utama Dr Rais Yatim.

He said the government's move to recognise an individual's importance via the Personal Data Protection Act would instil confidence among the masses, practitioners of e-commerce and the electronic network that their personal information was adequately protected.

The Act would also help propel Malaysia to emerge as the hub for communications, electronic commerce and an attractive industrial investment and multimedia destination, he said when opening the department and an awareness seminar on personal data protection.

Rais said the Act would also provide the guarantee for personal data protection in accordance with the international standard to Malaysia's foreign trade partners.

"Higher electronic-based transactions have raised the status of personal data which previously did not have high commercial value. The value was equivalent to that of the main commodities," the minister said.

Rais said a person's integrity and personal data protection were crucial factors for Malaysia's transition from a manufacturing-based economy to a knowledge-oriented nation backed by information and communications technology infrastructures.

So far, more than 100 countries have and are introducing the personal data protection legislation, he added.

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Personal Data Protection Act to boost online transactions: Rais

KUALA LUMPUR: The establishment of the Personal Data Protection Department following gazetting of the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 will lead in higher "e-commerce" and "e-business" transactions.

This will expedite development of the electronic networking system in the country, said Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Utama Dr Rais Yatim.

He said the government's move to recognise an individual's importance via the Personal Data Protection Act would instil confidence among the masses, practitioners of e-commerce and the electronic network that their personal information was adequately protected.

The Act would also help propel Malaysia to emerge as the hub for communications, electronic commerce and an attractive industrial investment and multimedia destination, he said when opening the department and an awareness seminar on personal data protection.

Rais said the Act would also provide the guarantee for personal data protection in accordance with the international standard to Malaysia's foreign trade partners.

"Higher electronic-based transactions have raised the status of personal data which previously did not have high commercial value. The value was equivalent to that of the main commodities," the minister said.

Rais said a person's integrity and personal data protection were crucial factors for Malaysia's transition from a manufacturing-based economy to a knowledge-oriented nation backed by information and communications technology infrastructures.

So far, more than 100 countries have and are introducing the personal data protection legislation, he added. - BERNAMA

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Personal Data Protection Act will boost E=Commerce, says Rais

You are here : Bernama › News

February 09, 2012 16:52 PM

Personal Data Protection Act Will Boost e-commerce, e-business Transactions - Rais

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 9 (Bernama) -- The establishment of the Personal Data Protection Department following gazetting of the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 will lead in higher "e-commerce" and "e-business" transactions.

This will expedite development of the electronic networking system in the country, said Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Utama Dr Rais Yatim.

He said the government's move to recognise an individual's importance via the Personal Data Protection Act would instil confidence among the masses, practitioners of e-commerce and the electronic network that their personal information was adequately protected.

The Act would also help propel Malaysia to emerge as the hub for communications, electronic commerce and an attractive industrial investment and multimedia destination, he said when opening the department and an awareness seminar on personal data protection.

Rais said the Act would also provide the guarantee for personal data protection in accordance with the international standard to Malaysia's foreign trade partners.

"Higher electronic-based transactions have raised the status of personal data which previously did not have high commercial value. The value was equivalent to that of the main commodities," the minister said.

Rais said a person's integrity and personal data protection were crucial factors for Malaysia's transition from a manufacturing-based economy to a knowledge-oriented nation backed by information and communications technology infrastructures.

So far, more than 100 countries have and are introducing the personal data protection legislation, he added.

-- BERNAMA

We provide (subscription-based) 
news coverage in our Newswire service.

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Personal Data Protection Act Will Boost e-commerce, e-business Transactions - Rais

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/d53355/integrating_social) has announced the addition of the "Integrating Social Networking into Your Business Development Strategies for 2012" audioconference to their offering.

In this webinar, ExecSense examines how business development executives are leveraging social media to help fuel their business development strategies for 2012. Take the 60-minutes to view this webinar (on your computer, mobile phone, iPad, Kindle or printed out) to learn how other business development executives are establishing social networking goals for 2012, how they plan to use social networking to drive new deals, and specific ways they plan on using LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and other sites.

The webinar is led by an expert on the topic, Alex Romanovich (Social2B, CMO of EuroSpaClub International), and covers:

In 60 minutes you will be prepared to take a social networking inventory and develop achievable personal and team development goals for 2012, and more How top business development executives define their social networking objectives; performing a situational analysis; determining a target audience; choosing your communication vehicles; designing your tactical calendar and most importantly - metrics for success What are the secrets to international social media networking that most business development executives haven't discovered yet and how to avoid typical cross-cultural traps A look at how top business development executives use LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter; the strategies they have found to be most successful for establishing a professional following Case studies of 2012 social networking plans for 5 leading business development executives, their best tips and techniques, and important lessons learned you can immediately implement in the year ahead

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/d53355/integrating_social

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Research and Markets: Integrating Social Networking into Your Business Development Strategies for 2012

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Business and agricultural groups told Idaho House and Senate tax committees that restoring university research and development budgets, adding incentives for job creation and eliminating Idaho's $130 million personal property tax would all help boost the state's economy.

The House Revenue and Taxation Committee and the Senate Local Government and Taxation committees met Wednesday in a rare joint session, to gather input as they consider Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter's proposal to dedicate $45 million to tax cuts.

House Assistant Majority Leader Scott Bedke told presenters to imagine they were in the tax policy store, hunting for the best product to stimulate the economy.

"I would like to drill down, from each of the industries, from your perspective, how is that going to move the needle on economic development in the state," said Bedke, R-Oakley. "We're on the cusp of setting tax policy here."

Clark Krause, of Jobs for Idaho, a group representing economic development groups across the state, suggested establishing a fund to reward companies that export over 50 percent of their goods and services beyond Idaho's borders. According to his plan, they would be eligible for thousands of dollars' worth of incentives for creating jobs, with the money paid out over four years to ensure that they follow through on their commitments.

"Our idea is to please consider ... a job expansion fund, so that when a value-added job company is looking to grow jobs within the state of Idaho, we have the tools to make sure that they make a decision to keep those jobs here and grow those jobs here," Krause said.

Meanwhile, Food Producers of Idaho lobbyist Brent Olmstead said his group's No. 1 priority would be restoring research and development spending.

That's happening, at least in a limited way, with Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter promoting his IGEM program that will direct $5 million toward universities to partner with private industry on new ideas that could eventually become commercially viable products.

Alex LaBeau, the top lobbyist at the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry, told the panel that the Legislature's failure to eliminate the $130 million personal property tax on business equipment has been a drag on economic development. Dumping the tax would allow businesses to direct newly available cash to job creation, he said.

"This is a bad tax," LaBeau said. "It's the one that all the businesses talked to us about and said, 'This is a nightmare. It has to go away.' "

And recently appointed Department of Commerce Director Jeff Sayer told the panel that one thing he's learned in his four months on the job is that Idaho should develop attractive incentives that go well beyond the state's traditional attributes of low energy costs, a flexible, affordable workforce and quality of life.

Sayer called it "window dressing" — the kind of knockout package meant to catch the fickle eye of head hunters hired by companies to negotiate the best relocation package possible. Without that, companies will consistently overlook Idaho's deeper qualities because the incentives in the store front aren't alluring enough, he said.

"When I walked into this position, I fully expected when it came to recruiting new companies we'd be dealing with the principles of those organizations, we'd be sitting down with the CFOs, we'd be sitting down with the decision-makers, and saying 'These are the benefits of Idaho,' " Sayer said. "That's not the way the game is being played. Companies are literally hiring site selectors, and those site selectors are being compensated on the incentive package that they can bring to the table.

"The biggest issue," he said, "is getting them here."

Read more from the original source:
Idaho biz, ag groups promote economic incentives

Published: Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 3:00 a.m. Last Modified: Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 8:11 a.m.

The idea that hard work and initiative pay off proved true for her father, a truck driver who built his own trucking company and replaced his family's used mobile home with a new three-bedroom house near Port Angeles, Wash.

Lawson parlayed her Harvard Business School idea into a software company that she sold after two years for $60 million, keeping $6 million and going on to hold corporate executive jobs paying as much as $300,000 a year.

Now Lawson, 41, who's lived quietly and privately in San Francisco and San Rafael for 20 years, is engaged in her first-ever political campaign, bidding for the most sought-after political post on the North Coast. She's running as a pro-business Democrat with liberal values, intent on lifting the middle class out of an economic funk.

“I come from those roots. I had the benefit of living the American dream,” Lawson said. “I see that slipping away.”

She has made the progression from entrepreneur to congressional candidate — Lawson calls it an “evolutionary path” — aided by an Indian guru who kindled her spiritual quest and a San Francisco political maven who cultivated her political inclinations.

Lawson, who is single and has been a San Rafael resident for the past three years, has bolted into a wide-open race for the Congressional seat being vacated after 20 years by Democrat Lynn Woolsey, the liberal Petaluma Democrat best known for her steadfast opposition to the Middle East wars.

She is now out meeting voters in the district that stretches from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon border, seeking the 3,000 signatures needed to qualify for the June 5 ballot without paying a $1,740 filing fee.

She's already grabbed attention by raising more than $450,000 for her campaign, and intends to pull in a total of $2million, money she will need to overcome a near zero in name recognition.

Lawson's fundraising has eclipsed one of her leading opponents, activist Norman Solomon, who has spent decades cultivating relations with the North Coast's most liberal Democrats. And she's betting on a November runoff against Democratic Assemblyman Jared Huffman, who has represented the North Bay in Sacramento for five years, has the largest campaign warchest and a long list of endorsements.

On Wednesday night, seven Democratic candidates, including Lawson, Solomon and Huffman, are expected to participate in a public forum at the Petaluma Boys and Girls Club.

Lawson is unknown to most of the district's 400,000 registered voters, but two Democratic heavyweights are already in her corner.

Doug Bosco, a Santa Rosa attorney and former North Coast Democratic congressman, said he is quietly introducing Lawson to his friends.

“Everyone is enthusiastic about Stacey,” said Bosco, who lives in a McDonald Avenue mansion in Santa Rosa and has closed ties to monied Democrats. “She has a charisma and a sense of purpose about her that is appealing to people.”

Pointing to Lawson's business record, Bosco said: “She can take ideas and make jobs out of them.”

Susie Tompkins Buell, who lives in a penthouse apartment in San Francisco's Pacific Heights neighborhood, is among the Democratic Party's most prolific donors and is on Lawson's campaign finance committee.

“She's a great breath of fresh air. What we really need in politics,” said Buell, a co-founder of the Esprit clothing company.

Buell and Lawson met in 2007, when Lawson participated in Emerge California, a political candidate training program for Democratic women and worked together on Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign. Buell co-founded Emerge and serves on its advisory board with Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

Buell, who said her passion is the environment, declined to say how much money she would raise for Lawson. She already has donated the $5,000 maximum personally.

“I'm inviting people to meet her,” Buell said. “Stacey really sells herself. I don't ask for favors.”

Lawson's fresh face and fundraising adds “an element of sizzle” to the congressional race, said David McCuan, a Sonoma State University political scientist.

The money makes her “instantly credible,” and Lawson's jobs-first campaign pitch could resonate in a district where unemployment runs as high as 18 percent in rural Trinity County, he said.

“In the primary, you're buying visibility,” he said.

About eight Democratic and Republican candidates are expected to be on the June ballot, and unless someone gets a majority the top two vote-getters will advance to the November election.

If two Democrats make it to the runoff, Lawson's pro-business credentials could appeal to Republicans and independents, who make up 44 percent of the district's registered voters, compared with 50 percent Democrats.

Lawson hopes to follow in Woolsey's footsteps.

Woolsey a former welfare mother, started her own personnel agency in Petaluma, got elected to the city council, then pulled a stunning upset in 1992, the “year of the woman” in California politics. She won a crowded primary with a $62,000 campaign against better-known and far better-funded male candidates.

Woolsey's personal appeal and a cadre of women backers propelled her into Congress, and her liberal politics — in perfect tune with prevailing North Bay sentiments — cemented her two-decade run in office.

Lawson claims the same liberal credentials: abortion rights, marriage equality, open space preservation and clean energy. She is “100 percent on board,” she said, with expanding marine sanctuaries to protect the coast from oil drilling, a legislative goal that Woolsey has pursued for years and hopes to achieve in the 2012 session.

Lawson's campaign mantra, “restoring middle class prosperity,” derives from her upbringing in Port Angeles, Wash., a blue-collar town supported by logging, fishing and lumber mills.

Her truck-driving father prospered by dint of “hard work and handshakes,” she said, enjoying an upward mobility that Lawson intends to rekindle. Her 49-page campaign report, released last week, aims to revive manufacturing and promote technology. Her policy recommendations include repealing the Bush tax cuts for people making more than $250,000 and implementing the Buffett rule, which says millionaires should pay the same tax rate as working people.

But her campaign says nothing about the mantras she learned at an ashram in India in 2004.

That was a pivotal year for Lawson, who wound up walking away from the work that made her rich. “I've always been an entrepreneur,” she said. “I never identified with business per se.”

She earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Washington in 1992 and worked at IBM in San Jose for two years. At Harvard Business School she hatched an idea for industrial design software, and after graduating with a master's degree in 1996 launched her first company, InPart Design, to produce it.

At Parametric Technology Corp., which bought InPart for $60 million in 1998, Lawson helped build a new division into a $300 million a year business. At Siebel Systems, she developed a $100 million a year business from 2001 to 2004.

Stepping away from corporate boardrooms in 2004, Lawson co-founded the Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology at UC Berkeley, a program that has graduated more than 3,000 engineers and scientists and developed 18 companies with more than 1,000 jobs in Northern California.

In 2004, she made her first trip to India, where she met Baskaran Pillai, a guru who teaches that repeated sounds, or mantras, can cultivate a “spiritual awakening.”

In an hourlong audiotape at the Sacred Awakenings Series website, Lawson described her first meeting with Pillai, saying he “touched my third eye” and enabled her to “see the light bodies of all the people in the meditation hall.”

She called it a “turning point” in her life, and has worked with Pillai ever since, combating poverty in India and Southeast Asia. She meditates for two hours every morning, or at least as often as her schedule allows.

In an interview with The Press Democrat, Lawson described Pillai as a “close friend,” humanitarian and “spiritual leader.”

Pillai contributed $5,000 to her campaign, as did Vish Iyer, who serves with Lawson on the board of Pillai's Tripura Foundation, and Iyer's wife, Akila.

Lawson also serves on the board of the Petaluma-based Institute of Noetic Sciences, along with George Zimmer, chairman of the Men's Wearhouse, who joined his wife, Lorri, in giving Lawson a total of $10,000.

The institute, dedicated to exploring the bounds of consciousness, describes Lawson as “equal parts entrepreneur and spiritual leader” on its website.

“I believe in helping make people's lives better,” she said.

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Political newcomer drawing attention, cash