The government confirmed yesterday that they are totally scrapping the forest sell-off. The phoney consultation has been cancelled. The sinister legal changes to pave the way for privatisation have been dropped. – This is absolutely fabulous news!!

Caroline Spelman, the environment secretary, has issued an unequivocal apology to the House of Commons after taking personal responsibility for the "wrong" decision to change the ownership of 258,000 hectares of state-owned woodland.

Spelman, who agreed with David Cameron to bring forward the announcement of her U-turn by 24 hours to allow MPs to be informed before their half-term break, opened with a simple statement. "I would first like to say that I take full responsibility for the situation that brings me before the house today," she said.

Tory MPs, who had been warning Downing Street of a backlash across the country against the sell-off plans, sat mostly in silence as Spelman offered an apology.

"I am sorry, we got this one wrong, but we have listened to people's concerns," Spelman said. "I would like to thank colleagues for their support through what has been a difficult time. I now want to move forward in step with the public."

The power of people has done it again!

Next time someone tries to tell any of you that signing petitions or emailing our MPs doesn’t work, you’ll know exactly what to say:“People power does work. Just look at the Save Our Forests campaign”.
38 Degrees members voted to start this campaign. They knew that making forests safe for future generations was something worth fighting for. So they signed the petition, emailed our MPs, put up posters in our local woodlands, organised local events, and chipped in for a people-powered opinion poll and national newspaper ads.

Local groups joined in, as did national organisations like the National Trust, Friends of the Earth, and Greenpeace, and celebrities who spoke out in the press. “Together we stopped the sell-off plans.”
38 Degrees isn't funded by big business, government or political parties - winning campaigns relies on thousands of us chipping in. To help keep us campaigning on the issues that matter to you, you can chip in by making a:
Direct Debit donation:http://www.38degrees.org.uk/Direct-Debit

One-off donation: http://www.38degrees.org.uk/we-saved-our-forests

Highlights of the campaign:

• Thousands of 38 Degrees members voted to launch the Save Our Forests campaign in October 2010 when the government first announced their plans
• Over 500,000 38 Degrees members signed the “Save Our Forests” petition
• Over 100,000 38 Degrees members emailed or called their MPs urging them to stop the forest sell off
• Hundreds of 38 Degrees members donated to fund a people-powered YouGov poll which found that 84% of the public wanted the forests kept in public hands
• Thousands of 38 Degrees members chipped in nearly £60,000 to pay for ads in national newspapers to highlight that 84% of the British public opposed the forest sale
• Over 30 local groups around the country sprung up to campaign to stop the sell-off
• Over 220,000 38 Degrees members shared the campaign on Facebook.

ADORABLE: ‘Rare’ Twinnies born in the wild…

Did you know that the Eastern gorilla is the world's largest living primate?

Twin mountain gorillas have been born in Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda.

Fewer than 800 mountain gorillas are thought to remain in the wild, though numbers are thought to be increasing.

The twins are both boys. CUTE!

The pair are thought to be the first Gorilla twins born in the African country since 2004 - and only the fifth pair to be born there ever.

Mum Kabatwa gave birth to the pair on 3 February 2011 in the Virunga Massif National Park

There are thought to be less than 800 mountain gorillas left in the wild

The Virunga Massif is so big it spreads into three countries in Africa, and although numbers of mountain gorillas are low they are thought be increasing.

Saving apes

Ape Alliance, an organisation that work to try and save apes, said: "Gorilla mothers usually have only one baby every four years or so - which is one reason why they are so vulnerable - so twins give a rare double gain in one birth."

 
=)

T-Mobile US are giving Away phones for Valentine’s Day: FREE!

What’s the catch?

Perhaps Cupid shot T-Mobile’s PR department in the backside?


Haha, whatever happened, T-Mobile have decided to make all of their phones free for February 11 and 12, as part of a Valentine’s Day deal. The offer applies to all phones, even their fastest 4G smartphones.


Wondering what the catch is? Too right, because T-Mobile would have to be crazy to give away smartphones and get nothing in return.  The catch, quite simply, is that you must ink a 2-year deal with the wireless carrier, which is something most smartphone buyers do anyway.
The goal of the promotion is to reach a larger market with their data plans.  Often, people may be able to afford the monthly fee but cannot afford the initial cost of the phone.
This could however, backfire, as people who can afford neither may opt for the free phone but may be unable to make the monthly payments.


T-Mobile is a German mobile wireless carrier and the 10th largest in the world.  Its smartphone offerings include the Android-powered T-Mobile G2, T-Mobile myTouch 4G, and Samsung Vibrant, the BlackBerry Curve, the HTC HD7, and many others.

Will you spread the love this year by getting your ‘free’ phone?!

If you want to share the love with T-Mobile on Valentine’s Day, you will have to marry them first.  

MUBARAK NEEDS TO RESIGN. . . however, he still hangs on to power!!

After just hearing Mubarak's speech, I couldn't help but scream at my laptop while I watched..


What on earth was he saying?


As Mubarak continued to talk, it became very clear that he would not be announcing his departure from power. He will stay on until September elections. This news has not gone down well with the crowds gathered in Tahrir Square as well as the millions watching LIVE right now!

Reports say Mr Mubarak is delegating power to his vice-president. It seems he is not stepping down, but he is handing some responsibilities to his deputy.

Egyptian academic Mamoun Fandy says Mr Mubarak's words "will not wash". He says: "These young people are too smart. I don't know whether the disaster will start tonight or tomorrow, but we're in for a huge confrontation. Whoever wrote that speech is living in a bubble."

Mubarak said: "I was a young man as well when I joined the military and pledged to the nation and sacrificed to the nation. I spent my life defending Egypt's life and sovereignty. The best days of my life were when I raised the flag of Egypt over the Sinai and when I flew plans in Addis Ababa. There was no day when I was affected or gave in to foreign pressure."

"I believe that the majority of Egyptians know who Hosni Mubarak is and it pains me what has been expressed by some people from my own country. I am aware of the dangers facing us and out of my belief that Egypt is going through a very significant phase in its history, this compels us all to put the interests of the nation first and put Egypt above any consideration."

Maybe a few days ago his offer would have been accepted...however, now it is merely too late! HE IS JUST A SYMBOL OF CORRUPTION and his words are most definitely not going down well with the people. There will be protests for sure.

Mr Mubarak, 82, had previously said he would leave office only after presidential elections due to be held in September.

Negotiations between the government and opposition groups have made little progress, with protesters disillusioned at plans for reform put forward by Mr Mubarak's government.

In recent days, the US government had stepped up its call for the protesters' concerns to be addressed.

Full quote from Mr Suleiman: "The 25 January movement has succeeded in making a change in the party of democracy, history has begun. Constitutional decisions have been taken, commissions were formed to implement what the president decided in terms of directives in his 1 February speech. What the president announced today stresses once again his national feeling and his siding with the legitimate demands of the people and his commitment to the many pledges he made in the past. It also proves his awareness of the seriousness of the situation that Egypt is going through. The president had put the supreme interests of the people above everything else."

Chowraha: What Egypt Taught Me: People plus Media is equal to Power - an amazing read.


It's doubtful anyone in Tahrir Square just heard Mr Suleiman's speech - the noise of chants and horns is deafening.

The Valentines Effect

Ah, Valentine's Day. Some say it's the most romantic day of the year. Others dismiss it as merely a commercial boondoggle. Some find themselves dateless and depressed. For those of you in the last category, it could always be worse. You could be retaining a divorce lawyer. . .

While many people have been shopping online for Valentine's Day gifts to delight their other half, others hit the Internet for something less romantic...a divorce lawyer!

San Francisco-based LegalMatch, which bills itself as the largest Internet legal-matching service in the U.S, claims that the number of people seeking divorce attorneys, as well as attorneys to help with annulments and prenuptial agreements, increases significantly around Valentine's Day.

The term “Valentine’s Effect” was coined by a San Francisco-based law firm, which discovered that the number of Americans seeking divorce increases significantly around Valentine’s Day.

Twenga certainly knows how to capitalise on an "anti-trend".

Twenga offers thousands of products for everyone who is anti-Valentine's Day this year, whether single or in a relationship.

A gift for each kind of anti-Valentine

• One, tormented by happier days before a betrayal, seeks sweet revenge thanks to Voodoo dolls. 
• Another dreads the evening alone, but secretly knows a foot massager beats most men. 
• Some don’t know whether to bother showing up for dinner or just stay at home with their hot water bottle and sleeping mask set.
• Others will forget Valentine’s past or present and seek refuge in a luxurious box of chocolates.

About Twenga

Twenga, the new-generation search engine, enables millions of shoppers throughout the world to find what they want, at the best price, from the online store of their choice. Thanks to its proprietary technology, Twenga automatically gathers offers from online merchants and displays them in one searchable interface. As a result, Twenga has the most comprehensive listing of online shops. Its search results are objective and not biased by commercial relationships.

Founded in 2006 by Bastien Duclaux and Cedric Anes, Twenga runs 15 sites, including the United States, the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Brazil, Russia, Australia, India and China, displaying 300 million product offerings from more than 140,000 online shops. Twenga's sites received 45 million visits in November 2010. Twenga won the Red Herring 100 Global Award, the Company of the Future Award for the Paris Metropolitan area, the France Young Technology Leader Award and the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award - Company of the Future Category, for France in 2010.

Website: http://www.twenga.com

SUPERBOWL XLV...If you don't deliver you really bomb!

The Super Bowl: always the ultimate marketing opportunity, with sales boosting better than around Christmas time... The 45th annual edition of the Super Bowl in American football that sees the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Green Bay Packers fighting for the title of NFL champion for the 2010 season is today, February 6, 2011.

In the past, the main media covering the event was traditional media, with random mentions online, and advertisers pumping cash in print, TV and radio commercials and marketing programs. However, now...social media has changed the trend.

I came across an article on the Guardian website that read:

"Super Bowl advertisers likely to pay $100,000 a second"

This being an equivalent of £62,000 a second. AMAZING!!!

Revenue from commercials during the game is expected to top $210m, according to Jon Swallen of Kantar Media, with the audience likely to smash last year's record of 106.5 million. Companies will be paying $3m for a 30-second spot. Prices dipped in 2010 but are now back at the 2009 peak. (Guardian)

"People watch for the commercials. It's the biggest opportunity to build awareness but if you don't deliver, you really bomb." (Swallen)

Check out Super Bowl: great moments in television advertising

The fans look forward to Super Bowl commercials almost as much as the game itself. This year brings some of the hottest names in show biz on screen: Justin Bieber, Ozzy Osbourne, Kim Kardashian… Yes, Kim Kardashian, recently the subject of another “nudity and fame” editorial, strips again, this time not for “W” magazine, but for Sketchers’ Super Bowl ad. 

The Super Bowl commercial that wins in the category “top banned Super Bowl commercials” is without any doubt PETA’s Veggie Love – a 2009 production that makes the headlines again. It is that time of the year, when all advertisements produced for America’s largest national celebration win, no matter how lame, obscure, or kinky. 

“Veggie Love” isn’t the first PETA video banned from the airwaves. PETA has a long list of ads “too hot” for TV, including Casey Affleck’s “Go Vegetarian” public service announcement; Alicia Silverstone in PETA’s first-ever naked veggie testimonial; the Kentucky Fried Cruelty: The Movie; and many others.

This year’s “Veggie Love” by PETA pales by comparison. The video is viral, but it’s unprofessional, and cheap.

Today's big winner might have the best game plan for tweets, links, likes and texts. It's not just about football anymore.

The companies that have forked over about $3 million for every 30-second commercial during the Super Bowl XLV telecast are also using social media more than ever as they seek more bang for their buck.

Long before the game began, big league brands like Pepsi, Doritos, Audi, Chevrolet and Mercedes-Benz kicked off Super Bowl campaigns that leveraged the consumer networking power of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Their goal is to create relationships with viewers that will continue long after the final gun sounds. That has turned the game, as the industry publication Advertising Age labelled it, into the "Social Bowl."

"Marketers are looking for ways to not just hit consumers over the head, but get people involved in the story line," said Mike Parker, president of the San Francisco Bay Area Interactive Group, an organisation for employees of local digital ad agencies and tech companies. "They're saying, 'Here's the start of the conversation. Now come and join in the discussion.' It's not just 30 seconds and out."

The whole of the US is caught up in the 2011 Super Bowl and it certainly means different things to different people. Some will be looking for Super Bowl food ideas: including Super Bowl appetisers, Super Bowl snacks, and other Super Bowl recipes to spice up the weekend. Others will be more interested in the game itself, and others will be watching purely for the adverts!

Kick-off time will be approximately 6:25 pm on the East Coast; 5:25 pm Central; 4:25 pm Mountain; and 3:25 pm Pacific which is around 11.25pm here in the UK.

MLK Sales Day: Marketing, the lowest of the low?

A 'marketing guru' at Kmart knew that Monday (17th Jan) was universally celebrated in the name of the man who once had a dream of freedom. They thought that the best way to honour Martin Luther King was to make an online sale in his name – in other words, to make money using his reputation. Patriotic??! I'll say!

Thalia Surf Shop in Laguna Beach was forced to apologise Tuesday after it received complaints for an online ad it posted offering a 20% discount on all black products in honor of Monday’s holiday.

"Respect. MLK Sale 20% Off All Black Products," read the advertisement, which originally included a picture of Dr. King’s head superimposed on the body of a surfer.

The outlet has been criticised for the inane use of Dr King’s image in an advertisement, especially on a national holiday honouring his influential beliefs, with commentators saying the promotion showed 'bad taste' and was 'wildly inappropriate'.

The store’s promotion, initially titled ‘Proud to be Black’ but later changed to the ‘Respect Sale’, offered 20 per cent of all black products sold by the shop on January 17, in honour of Martin Luther King Jr Day.

"It's our slow time of the year, so we're always getting creative," owner Nick Cocores told the Register. "We knew it was going to attract some attention."

The store’s Facebook page was quickly flooded with both supportive and critical messages about the ad campaign. Some called it creative and brilliant, while others were appalled, deriding the ad for being offensive and insensitive. 

BLACK. . .

I watched a Bollywood movie today, while I was feeling under the weather and frankly feeling sorry for myself. A film that was released over 5 years ago – a film I saw back then, that I never forgot.

I decided to watch this movie again as an article I read previously, triggered some thought on the subject.

A story about Michelle McNally, the eldest child of an Anglo Indian family who lived in Shimla, India.

The story is about Michelle and her teacher – a story about two people left incomplete by God, who fought a battle with fate and made the impossible, possible.

The world in her story is different...where sound transcends into silence...and light into darkness. In her world, where nothing can be seen nor heard – there is only one name for her world. . . BLACK!

It was directed by Sanjay Leela Bansali and the first half of the film is an adaptation of Helen Keller’s autobiography, The story of my life.
Helen Adams Keller (1880-1968), was an American Author, Political Activist and a lecturer. She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. The story of how Keller’s teacher, Anne Sullivan, broke through the isolation imposed by a near complete lack of language, allowing the girl to blossom as she learned to communicate.

I have read a tiny part of Helen Keller’s autobiography during University and I would really like to read it all one day.

The film Black was absolutely amazing. In fact, there are no words to describe how well the actress Rani Mukerji played the role of Michelle. A true inspiration.

The film just got me thinking – even though I know that it is just a film, it is based on a true story and there are people out there who are just like Michelle and Helen. Although, technology and medicine itself are much more advanced now then it was...it just goes to show you that if so much could be achieved back then...impossible is nothing!!

The true story of Helen for example, she was successful because she had determination. If you believe in yourself, nothing can stop you from achieving what you wish to achieve. Right?

“Success is never final. Failure is never fatal. It is courage that counts” ~ Winston Churchill.

Anything is possible if you put your heart and soul into it. I think we all need a bit of inspiration at some point, it helps push us in the right direction.

While there are times where one can have too much optimism, or too much self efficacy, we often also experience the reverse. We talk ourselves out of opportunities we could have taken and we convince ourselves we aren’t good enough to take big challenges, and we stop short rather than launching ourselves forward risking failure.

Developing a habit of expecting the best and pushing yourself towards it, almost guarantees that you will experience more spectacular failures. But, it also guarantees some spectacular success.

I read a Psychology article on the train the other day on the awesome power of belief:

Four Things You Can Do 

Here are four constructive steps you can take: 

• Be mindful and stay present. Know that you have worked hard to this point and are willing to work even harder. Mindfulness helps you avoid the downward spiral. 
• Believe in yourself. Even if you don't fully believe, act as if you do. Actions 'speak louder than words.' They speak louder than thoughts, too. 
• Above all else, refrain from struggling with those self-critical thoughts - just let them occur. Trying to suppress or eliminate them only adds to their power. 
• Then, refocus your attention on the trading task-at-hand and do what matters most for your trade and for yourself as a trader.

This can be easier said than done – most definitely! However, like everything worthwhile in your life, you have to work at it – it will be hard but it is not impossible.

‘A trading psychology edge occurs when we start to shift from our old patterns of thinking to constructive ones.’

Believe you can do it – and YOU WILL!

Remember one more thing – BE YOURSELF, BELIEVE IN YOURSELF, AND BE HAPPY. . .

Much love,

Anokhi 

Ban of female education lifted?!

How were women treated by the Taliban?

While in power in Afghanistan, the Taliban became dishonorable internationally for their treatment of women.

From the age of eight, women were not allowed to be in direct contact with men, other than a close blood relative, husband, or in-law.
 Other restrictions were:

• Women should not appear in the streets without a blood relative and without wearing a Burkha.
• Women should not wear high-heeled shoes as no man should hear a woman’s footsteps, to avoid ‘exciting’ men.
• Women must not speak loudly in public as no stranger should hear a woman's voice.
• All ground and first floor residential windows should be painted over or screened to prevent women being visible from the street.
• The photographing or filming of women was banned as was displaying pictures of females in newspapers, books, shops or the home.
• The modification of any place names that included the word "women." For example, "women's garden" was renamed "springtime garden^.
• Women were forbidden to appear on the balconies of their apartments or houses.
• Ban on women's presence on radio, television or at public gatherings of any kind.

The Taliban claimed to recognise their Islamic duty to offer education to both boys and girls, yet a decree was passed that banned girls above the age of 8 from receiving instruction.
This was only meant to be temporary and females would return to school and work once facilities and street security were adapted to prevent cross-gender contact.


The Guardian today has covered the ‘female education ban’ in more depth.

“Afghanistan minister claims leadership has undergone 'cultural change' and no longer opposes female education.”

The Taliban's leadership is prepared to drop its ban on girls' schools, one of Afghanistan's most influential cabinet ministers has claimed.


According to Farooq Wardak, the country's education minister, the movement has decided to scrap the ban on female education that helped earn the movement worldwide infamy in the 1990s.
Wardak said the Taliban's leadership had undergone a profound change since losing power after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.


"It is attitudinal change, it is behavioural change, it is cultural change," he told the Times Educational Supplement.


"What I am hearing at the very upper policy level of the Taliban is that they are no more opposing education and also girls' education."

Female MPs greeted with disbelief the Taliban's supposed softening of stance on schooling for girls.
Marman Gulhar, MP for the north-eastern province of Kunar, was also sceptical. "This is not true and it will never happen," she told the BBC. "The Taliban will never be ready for that [girls' education].
"In fact they are fighting against that. The girls' schools are closed and still are closed."

Government and private schools across Swat are unlikely to reopen when the winter vacations end after a Taliban deadline expired on Thursday – with around 80,000 female students facing a year without classes.

Last month, the Taliban threatened to kill any girl attending classes after January 15, and to blow up any schools where girls are enrolled.
The expiry of the deadline – which did not apply to girls below grade five – has been followed by the closure of around 400 schools in Swat, leaving the education of around 80,000 female students and the careers of about 8,000 female teachers in jeopardy.
Residents are complaining that the government has not responded to the situation. They say the closure of schools has left some parents with no option but to migrate, but the majority cannot afford such a move.

District education officials also said the government had not yet come up with a solution.
The district administration had asked private schools to continue classes, but the request has been turned down. A spokesman for an association of private schools told AFP the resumption of classes was in doubt. “The government has assured us it will provide security, but it is a question of the lives of the students … we cannot take a risk.” The Swat Taliban have already destroyed 122 girls’ schools.

Should India still receive UK tax payers' money?

India has been receiving more British aid since 1998, than any other country - That is a staggering total of £1.5bn in the last 5 years!


AID: What is it for?
         Who should get it?
         What should they use it for?


On one hand, here is a country which, as Andrew Mitchell, the UK secretary for international development, puts it, "is roaring out of poverty". It is the 11th largest economy in the world - spending $31.5bn on its defence budget and $1.25bn on a space programme. . .
So why, in these difficult economic times is the British Government giving aid to India?


On the other hand, India is counted as one the 22 UK priority countries in its aid programmes. Conservatives class India as a prime example for their "charity begins and ends at home" approach. 


When Mitchell came to office, he made a great fuss about cutting aid programmes to China and Russia. India was to be added to the list, but No. 10 prevailed. 

India is still regarded by the UK public as a poor country, despite its recent economic growth and global power. 
Is this perception correct? Maybe so - I mean, a third of the world's poor live in India - more than those in Sub-Saharan Africa. Shockingly, half of all Indian children are malnourished. So, if aid is about relieving poverty, UK aid to India is justified?!

However, India is now so prosperous that it has in fact started a significant overseas aid programme of its own. India is actually thinking of refusing our aid.
India "seems to have become increasingly tired of being cast in the role of recipient."
There has been some speculation in India that the UK deliberations could be short circuited by India itself deciding it no longer wants British aid - refusing and delivering all which is conditional on things such as government reform. 


Should this mean that this 'unwanted' aid could be put to use elsewhere?


In Haiti for example - this devastating earthquake that struck a year ago, that killed more than 230,000 and abolished an already fragile infrastructure. 


I am not at all implying that we have not given aid and supported Haiti - we most certainly have! In fact, the UK Government has spent £20m to support the people of Haiti. 


This issue will be considered by the UK Parliament's select committee on international development this week. This should be a straightforward issue - but it is most definitely isn't!!


The Guardian reported that one key expert admitted that they change their minds from backing to ending aid to India every other day - Well, a lot of money is at stake. . .