The Prism Scandal

The Spying PRISM

The electronic surveillance data mining program operated by the United States National Security Agency (NSA) is called PRISM. The National Security Agency’s desire to address the agency’s need to keep up with the immense growth of the social media gave birth to PRISM. The growth of government surveillance began under the Bush administration after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and since then has expanded under the Obama administration.

The revelation of the existence of Prism in the US by the former NSA computer specialist Edward Snowden created a stir the world. He reveled that the government is collecting data of all Verizon customers’ phone records in the US and overseas too. It has also been found that the federal government has been collecting information on foreigners overseas since six years from nation’s largest internet companies like Google, Facebook and Apple, in search of any national threats.

On June 19, 2013, U.S. President Barack Obama, during a visit to Germany, confirmed that the NSA's data gathering practices constitute "a circumscribed, narrow system directed at us being able to protect our people”. “We know of at least 50 threats that have been averted because of this information - not just in the United States, but in some cases threats here in Germany," he added.

The Prism scandal has dissolved any trust business partners could have in the privacy of US-based companies. According to a new report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the US could end up losing out a lot of dollars in the cloud-based computer businesses.

European government is now demanding the private investigation of the spying program PRISM and the extent of the surveillance effect on the world. US have confirmed that it has filed a criminal case on Edward Snowden who has admitted giving away classified information.

Your Artbay

YourArtBay – Online Crowdfunding Platform for Art lovers and Artists Alike

It may sound a little strange at first, but crowdfunding through art is a new platform that is on the go now. People who love Artwork and the real creative and hard working artists come together on this platform to invest and create respectively.

YourArtBay is one such crowdfunding platform which appreciates Art and Antiques and helps in buying and selling Artwork. The sellers don't pay any commission for selling here, unlike on other crowdfunding sites. The sellers are asked to register for free, and create a Pitch to fund the Art. YourArtBay reviews the pitch, facilitates valuation of the Artwork, and authenticates the artwork. Once through with all this process and approved, the seller is all set to sell.

The buyer gets the accessibility to buy art and antiques through YourArtBay . Long term capital growth awaits the buyer and also gives the buyer an exposure to the International market of Art and Antiques. The buyer gets affordable equity in the Artwork funded for and gets to choose the right Art of interest.

Check out this UK based online Crowd funding platform to Buy & Sell Art Shares -www.YourArtBay.com . The Art lover in you would come alive for sure!

The Aromatic and Colorful Saffron

“The saffron of virtue and contentment
  Is dissolved in the water-gun of love and affection.
  Pink and red clouds of emotion are flying about,
  Limitless colors raining down.”

The botanical name for Saffron is Crocus sativus Linn. The name ‘Saffron’ is derived from an Arabic word za’fran which means ‘to give fragrant flavor and vibrant color to’. Saffron is the slender, dried, reddish-brown, flattened stigma of a lavender flower of the iris family.

Saffron is sold in two forms, powder and threads. Pure saffron is made up of tiny, bright-red threads. The quality of Saffron is measured by the brightness of the color, the more the color, the more pure it is. Powdered Saffron though from the same pure strands is less used as it is mostly sold adulterated with the mixing of turmeric.

The active components of Saffron have medicinal values and so saffron is used in anti-septic and antidepressants. The red stigma of the lavender flower has anti-oxidant properties and also disease preventing properties for diseases like Cancer.

The fragrance of saffron in milk puddings and other sweets, made in some countries revives the senses and the taste buds alike. Some vibrant and fragrant rice dishes are topped with strands of Saffron to give it a royal look. Use of Saffron always measures the richness of the dish as this little colorful strand is way too expensive for daily use.

Saffron is to Food as Happiness is to Life-both enhance the quality of the other!

Baby Boomers VS. Gen Y Women!

“Just like the ocean, each wave covers the one before.”

This is very true in the corporate sector with women employees throughout the world. The new generation called the Gen Y is taking over the reins of any company from the hands of the older generation.

From approach to work, to being technology friendly, the younger generation women are more in demand than the older generation today. Experience is expensive and so the more the experience the less the chances of getting a job is the new scenario of the corporate world.

Growing old in a company is taking a toll and it is becoming difficult for the higher authorities to terminate them without a sense of guilt. Nevertheless, they do it because they want more efficient young college graduates who have new ideas and new technology to boost the value and profits of the company.

Gen Y women recognize work as an integral part of life. They take care of work and personal life equally well and expect the employers at the workplace to acknowledge the different facets of their life. The older generation was reluctant to talk to the world about their personal lives and thus, their balance of work and life got entangled which in turn, at times, affected their work.

From their comfort with technology to their multicultural perspectives, to their insatiable desire for making a difference, Gen Y is expected to revolutionize the workplace. There is a sense that Gen Y’s approach to work is different from previous generations. Baby Boomers or the older generation “live to work,” whereas the younger generation or the Gen Y “work to live.” And thus, the choice is made to hire a young lady instead of an experienced woman! Fair enough, right?!

Another Royal Baby has graced the Earth!

He was supposed to be a Leo, a leader for the next generation of the Royal family! He is still a leader, an heir to the royal family though a Cancerian! At 4.24Pm, on July 22^nd, a healthy royal baby was born to Prince William and Lady Catherine in London.

George Alexander Louis!

The royal baby of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge is named George Alexander Louis. The name ‘George’ is after Queen Elizabeth’s father King George VI. ‘Alexander’ is a Greek name which means ‘the defender of men’. ‘Louis’ was the first name of Lord Mountbatten, uncle of George's great-grandfather Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and mentor to Prince Charles. It means ‘renowned warrior’. A true leader in the making, the royal baby is aptly named.

Britain and the whole world are celebrating along with William and Kate, the birth of an heir for the new century. The next day of the birth of the royal baby boy, he was taken home. On Tuesday, June 23^rd, when the baby was coming out of St. Mary’s hospital in the arms of his ‘dad’ Prince William and his ‘mom’ Duchess of Cambridge, Catherine, taking turns in holding him, the media and well wishers were waiting outside to see the new heir to the British throne. It was an event to be remembered as the proud parents showed off the royal baby and the media waved gleefully to the royal innocence cuddled up in a cream color blanket, oblivious of the world. 31 years ago Lady Diana and Prince Charles had walked down the same steps of the hospital with their new born baby.

"He's got her looks, thankfully," William said, joking with the reporters. "He's a big boy, he's quite heavy," he added as he held the royal baby in his arms. "It's such a special time," Kate said. "Any parent will know what this feels like." Like any normal parents who show off their baby to friends and family, the Duke and Duchess debut their royal baby, the third in line to the throne, to the media and well wishers. The couple looked relaxed and had broad smiles on their lips as they talked to the photographers and reporters, joking that the royal heir had more hair than his ‘daddy’!

When the 81 year old great grand mum, Queen Elizabeth met the royal baby prince, it was an event in itself. The Queen spent half an hour with them. The new royal baby, the first Prince of Cambridge to be born after 190 years, weighed 8lb 6oz. The Duke and Duchess spent a happy first day with their royal baby as Congratulation messages flocked from all important names across England and the World. As is always done for every birth of a prince or princess, gun salutes were fired on the arrival of the prince into this world. Prince William and Duchess Catherine registered the birth of Prince George Alexander Louis on August 2^nd.

Branding Small Companies

All companies today want a lot of publicity at a low cost and in effective time. And the best way they do that is by advertising on the web. Every company now has a website and a blog to benefit their company. Online businesses, small businesses, small scale industries and startup companies essentially need a website if not to grow their business then to prove that they are real.

In a world where there are n numbers of companies sprouting up every second, the brand that you portray to the world is the first important thing. Branding is what remains in the subconscious minds of customers and hence it is how you sell your brand that is important. For example, when you see a tick mark, you think of Nike and when you see a horse and a man, you think of Polo shirts. Logos are not the total branding but they create a place in a person’s mind and so are important. Branding for you is something which captures your sub consciousness and doesn’t let it go.

First impressions are the best impressions. When you have a website for your company, it is very important that the writing style be unique and uniform throughout. Just as they say that a person gets to know about you in the first few minutes of your meeting, so also is a website. If the first page doesn’t attract the person or grab his attention, he wouldn’t be interested in proceeding further.

The background and colors of the website should be consistent too and should in some way go with the flow of the website. For example, if it is a website promoting the restaurant, it is necessary that the colors that you might have used in your restaurant should be the colors that you use on the website.

The domain of your website should be easy to read and remember. It should be original and have a feel of what to expect from the website or the company that it is portraying. Share your domain name and your website link in social networking sites and also at local businesses to grab more attention and get more customers.

It is not easy to run a business or a company, but with a little effort these days, it is easy to advertise your company and brand so as to reach a larger audience through the web. You could just be an online company or be a company that is in a remote country, even then, it is now accessible to people all over the world through websites.

Cute Dresses

There was a time in the recent past, when people didn’t like the word ‘cute’ except for babies. Now it is a ‘cool’ word used for everything and everyone! Isn’t that cute?

If revamping your wardrobe is on your mind now, you need to revamp it with a style. I came across some cute dresses recently and was impressed by them. The skirts, the blouses, the shirts or the tops, everything looked so fashionable yet so cute. And the best part is that they are at reasonable prices not exorbitant prices.

On a ‘cute’ day, wearing one of the cute but sexy short skirts with the cute bamboo viscose white top would make a woman look chic. The chevron print blouse on any slacks of your choice would flatter your figure and make you look sensuous.

From elegant blouse to colorful top , for every woman of style, for all sizes and body shapes, there is one for everyone over this cute site. Taking care of the summer, the spring or the winter is done in a jiffy if you care to spend some time and money for an unique experience of shopping with free shipping always.

A sexy Everly baby doll dress would make you stand out instantly to your boyfriend, wouldn’t that make you run into his arms?. The super stylist Dakota jacket is soft and warm and is all you need on a cool date evening to go with your jeans, did I mention the first impression that it would create?!

Cute indie dresses are for everyone, irrespective of their shape, size and color, for you get to turn yourself into cuteness personified if you tend to wear these cute dresses that are made keeping in mind the woman of style!