Links
We believe Syracuse is a fun place to live, work, and play. Please check out the sites below to find out events, happenings, and fun stuff to do ! ...
Employment Resources
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Music & Arts
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Wednesday, 7 January 2009
Skills assessment
http://www.cpsprofessionals.com/pro/resources/set_skills.html
Skills assessment
We are pleased to offer our clients and our candidates the advanced capabilities of Prove It ! skills assessment programs. We have access to over 900 validated skills assessments. These can be administered upon request: Accounting, Call Center, Financial, Healthcare, Industrial, Legal, Software, International Software, Office/ Professional, & Technical. These unique assessment tools are fully interactive and can be accessed from any location, as the program is web based. This is a truly unique way to measure a candidate’s skill level with certainty!! Email us to request a demo.If you are a registered candidate looking to update your skills, please click here.
Tuesday, 6 January 2009
branch
http://www.pwc.com/ro/eng/ins-sol/publ/bguide/pwc_chapter5.pdf
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Direct investment legislation
The core legislation governing direct investments into Romania is the Ordinance on direct investments (Government Ordinance 92/1997), establishing the rights of investors and the incentives available. However, the Budget Law for 1999 has suspended the fiscal incentives provided in this ordinance (see Chapter VIII).
The core legislation governing direct investments into
Romania is the Ordinance on direct investments
(Government Ordinance 92/1997), establishing the rights of
investors and the incentives available. However, the Budget
Law for 1999 has suspended the fiscal incentives provided in
this ordinance (see Chapter VIII).
Direct investment legislation
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Foreign business entities
The forms of business most commonly used by foreign investors are the limited liability company (SRL), the joint stock company (SA) and the branch (of a foreign parent company). Romanian authorities however, are not well versed in branch operations.
Representative offices are often used as a market entry technique allowing for an assessment of existing opportunities before committing financially to setting up a company or establishing a joint venture, possibly with a former state enterprise that is undergoing privatisation.
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Branches
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Representative offices
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http://www.companyformation.ro/
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Branches
- they are not legal persons
- before beginning their activity they are incorporated in the Commercial Register of the
county where they will operate
- the legal system of the branch shall be applied to any other secondary office, to which the founding company gives the statute of a branch they have the same object of activity as that of the mother company.
...
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V. Corporate and Business Law
...The core legislation governing direct investments into Romania is the Ordinance on direct investments (Government Ordinance 92/1997), establishing the rights of investors and the incentives available. However, the Budget Law for 1999 has suspended the fiscal incentives provided in this ordinance (see Chapter VIII).
Romania is the Ordinance on direct investments
(Government Ordinance 92/1997), establishing the rights of
investors and the incentives available. However, the Budget
Law for 1999 has suspended the fiscal incentives provided in
this ordinance (see Chapter VIII).
...
Foreign business entities
The forms of business most commonly used by foreign investors are the limited liability company (SRL), the joint stock company (SA) and the branch (of a foreign parent company). Romanian authorities however, are not well versed in branch operations.
Representative offices are often used as a market entry technique allowing for an assessment of existing opportunities before committing financially to setting up a company or establishing a joint venture, possibly with a former state enterprise that is undergoing privatisation.
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Branches
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Representative offices
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http://www.companyformation.ro/
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Branches
- they are not legal persons
- before beginning their activity they are incorporated in the Commercial Register of the
county where they will operate
- the legal system of the branch shall be applied to any other secondary office, to which the founding company gives the statute of a branch they have the same object of activity as that of the mother company.
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Updated: A Survival Kit for Fundraising in a Bad Economy
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Jobs for a changing world
http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/106369/Best-Careers-2009-Fundraiser
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http://www.afpnet.org/ka/ka-3.cfm?folder_id=2545&content_item_id=24683
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Jobs for a changing world
While the economic downturn closes some career doors, it opens others. » Where to find career stability
http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/106369/Best-Careers-2009-Fundraiser
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http://www.afpnet.org/ka/ka-3.cfm?folder_id=2545&content_item_id=24683
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draft - bani - fericirea - "The paradox of happiness"
http://downshiftingromania.blogspot.com/2009/01/adam-smith-frankenstein.html
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Adam Smith Frankenstein
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"Violence has become an increasingly serious problem
According to two studies the United States has the dubious distinction of having the highest violent crime rate of any industrialized nation. An average of 20 workers are murdered each week in the U. S. making homicide the second highest cause of workplace deaths and the leading one for females. 18,000 non-fatal violent crimes such as sexual and other assaults also occur each week while the victim is working, or about a million a year. The figures are probably higher since many are not reported.
Certain dangerous occupations like police officers and cab drivers understandably have higher rates of homicide and non-fatal assaults. Nevertheless, postal workers who work in a safe environment have experienced so many fatalities due to job stress that "going postal" has crept into our language. "Desk rage" and "phone rage" have also become increasingly common terms."
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= need for MA; "pain"
Opportunities
Moody's Economy.com - Into the Woods: Mortgage Credit Quality, Its Prospects and Implications This Moody's Economy.com special study utilizes unique data from Equifax and Moody's Investor Services to assess future levels of credit degradation and where the greatest challenges will be realized. The study evaluates the threat mortgage credit problems pose to the housing market and broader economy, and the scenarios under which these problems could result in an economic recession. This special report is written by Moody's Economy.com, Inc., Sponsored by Equifax.
Worst predictions of 2008
***
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090106/ts_afp/germanyautocompanytakeoverporschevw
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the value of the shares soared amid frantic stock market speculation.
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How about opportunities ? :))
***Worst predictions of 2008
Many forecasts from last year were amazingly wrong. Just how bad? » AIG stock, home prices to soar
***
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090106/ts_afp/germanyautocompanytakeoverporschevw
Porsche takes over Volkswagen: statement
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the value of the shares soared amid frantic stock market speculation.
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Monday, 5 January 2009
draft
http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-1748-Salaries-and-Promotions-20-Big-Salary-Jobs-No-Degree-Required/
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http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-1761-Flexwork-Freelance-and-PT-Best-Part-Time-Jobs-for-2009/
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http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-1644-Job-Search-30-Best-Markets-to-Find-a-Job/
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http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-1571-Interviewing-Eight-Worst-Things-to-Say-in-an-Interview/
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http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-1761-Flexwork-Freelance-and-PT-Best-Part-Time-Jobs-for-2009/
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http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-1644-Job-Search-30-Best-Markets-to-Find-a-Job/
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http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-1571-Interviewing-Eight-Worst-Things-to-Say-in-an-Interview/
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Sunday, 4 January 2009
Human Resource Management
http://london.craigslist.co.uk/hum/961429678.html
Job Description:
As an intern in the HR Department, you will recruit new interns in order to always advance and progress the development of our company.
Some of the tasks you will perform are listed below:
Manage recruitment process :
Review & Process applications
Select potential applications
Lead phone & face to face interviews
Manage and control HR databases in a timely and accurate manner
Develop and maintain HR procedures manual and upkeep of HR documents, policies and procedures
Proactively responding to HR enquiries
Process school contrats, paperwork, certificates
Welcome new interns and integrate them to the company
Review interns' reports and supervising their work
Assess the team members and organize promotions
Organize personal meetings and resolve problems
Contact institutions to promote internship programs
Open to university students and recent graduates looking for rewarding work opportunities. If you are interested in this enriching internship please apply on our website Internship-UK or contact us through email and our toll free number 0800 11 23455. If you are interested in other job listings visit Aansoek.
...
Human Resource Management
Internship (London & New Romney)
...Job Description:
As an intern in the HR Department, you will recruit new interns in order to always advance and progress the development of our company.
Some of the tasks you will perform are listed below:
Manage recruitment process :
Review & Process applications
Select potential applications
Lead phone & face to face interviews
Manage and control HR databases in a timely and accurate manner
Develop and maintain HR procedures manual and upkeep of HR documents, policies and procedures
Proactively responding to HR enquiries
Process school contrats, paperwork, certificates
Welcome new interns and integrate them to the company
Review interns' reports and supervising their work
Assess the team members and organize promotions
Organize personal meetings and resolve problems
Contact institutions to promote internship programs
Open to university students and recent graduates looking for rewarding work opportunities. If you are interested in this enriching internship please apply on our website Internship-UK or contact us through email and our toll free number 0800 11 23455. If you are interested in other job listings visit Aansoek.
- Location: London & New Romney
- Compensation: College Credit; Sponsorship of Accommodation & Meals for 6 month contract
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friendly state II
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Mistakes that hurt retirement
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/8-ways-to-ruin-your-chances-brn-13925607.html
Last year Bankrate's Financial Literacy survey found that one in five people expect to work until they die.
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Spend too much
Mistakes that hurt retirement
If retirement seems out of reach, you may be making one or more of these common errors. » Never too late
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/8-ways-to-ruin-your-chances-brn-13925607.html
8 ways to ruin your chances to retire
Monday December 29, 2008, 6:00 am EST
...Last year Bankrate's Financial Literacy survey found that one in five people expect to work until they die.
...
For the dedicated workers who aspire to devote their entire lives to propelling the economy forward with their unceasing toil, the dream of not retiring can be achieved in any number of ways. We came up with eight.
Ruin retirement
Spend a lot
Save nothing
Ignore savings vehicles
Disregard taxes
Overestimate portfolio earnings
Miscalculate lifetime earnings
Adopt the ostrich approach
Be ignorant about investments
Spend too much
... Ralph Lunt, a Certified Financial Planner and Chartered Financial Consultant at Strategic Capital Advisors in Cleveland.
Vacations, new cars, expensive home remodeling can all feel like necessities. "... can I afford it ?" says Lunt. "... maybe if you cut back in other areas you can afford it -- maybe skipping a vacation or not eating out so much."
...
(biggest costs: house, vacantions, banking, insurance - sales & tech. force ? - & salary taxes, ...)
save ... for retirement
Disregard taxes
... people typically think that now that they're retired, they won't have to pay income taxes anymore.
... think they will be in a lower tax bracket, but they may be in a higher one."
... your retirement savings ... distributions will be taxed as ordinary income. "That could be 25 (percent) to 30 percent less in retirement dollars that someone isn't expecting," says Woods.
...
Though they're completely unavoidable, taxes have to be considered when planning for retirement income. If you go to all the trouble of saving and then end up with less income than you expect, it can definitely ruin your retirement -- or at least put a damper on it.
...
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Real Cost of Living
Real ways to grow wealth: ... opp. accounts ..
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Your real cost of living
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Your real cost of living
http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/104073/Your-Real-Cost-of-Living
Your Real Cost of Living
Friday, December 21, 2007
... consumer prices ...
Probably ... your personal consumer price index diverges from the national average.
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Like real estate, most shopping is local and prices vary by region.
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Nor can you possibly be average, statistically. That's because the official consumer price index reflects an array of households simultaneously.
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Furthermore, the feds use extensive surveys to weight the importance of items in their CPI basket of consumer goods. Spend more than average on items whose prices are rising faster than average, and your personal inflation rate could soar.
For example, we'll make an educated guess that your personal inflation rate is well above average if you have a son or daughter in college. For one thing, the CPI assumes that only about 3% of spending goes to education. For another, college-cost inflation has been running around 5% to 8% a year, more than double the average inflation rate in recent years.
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Critics say bureaucrats understate the CPI by assuming shoppers will sub cheaper items for pricier ones, and by adjusting price hikes downward to reflect quality improvements in what we buy.
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says Bureau of Labor Statistics economist Patrick Jackman.
The news isn't all bad. Apparel prices are falling ...
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More From Kiplinger's Personal Finance:
• Track the Cost of Living in Your Metro Area
• Calculate Your Cost of Living
• Best Cities for Every Stage of Your Life
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8 easy ways to save cash
http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/104449/Eight-Sure-Fire-Ways-to-Sock-Away-$100
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3. Compare Prices
The Internet has leveled the playing field when shopping for such things as auto insurance and homeowners insurance.
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You can take this a step further depending on how dedicated you want to be by price comparing all your major purchases through sites such as PriceGrabber or Shopping.com and save hundreds more.
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5. Start Haggling
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6. Get a Lower Credit Card Rate
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Many people don't realize that all it takes to lower your credit card interest rate in many cases is a simple phone call asking. A 2002 study found that over half the people who had good credit and called their credit card company to get a better interest rate were able to do so with the average person reducing the rate by one-third.
If you have a $5000 balance at 21% interest and were able to knock that down to 14%, you would save $350 a year. The 15-minute call will also knock years off the time it would take to pay the debt off.
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eBay or Craigslist...
8. Refinance Your Home
With interest rates at the lowest level in years, it's time to see if refinancing your home loan (or any outstanding loan you have) is worthwhile.
Knocking off a point can save thousands of dollars over the lifetime of the loan.
Even if you have a nonconforming loan -- or jumbo loan -- which made it difficult to refinance in the past, this soon may no longer be the case.
As part of the economic stimulus package that President Bush says he will sign into law this week, conforming loans that are backed by the Federal Housing Administration will increase to a $729,750 limit from $417,000.
Since nonconforming loans usually carry a higher interest rate, this will allow some with jumbo loans to refinance into a conforming loan.
While the difference in interest rates vary, a conforming loan can be a full percentage point less expensive since it is backed by the government.
A jumbo 30-year fixed loan that was 6.75% before the law, for example, would have a payment of $3,892 a month. Once enacted, the buyer would be able to obtain the same loan of $600,000 at an interest rate of 5.75%.
The monthly payment would be $3,502 which would save the borrower $390 a month, or $4,680 a year.
While refinancing is a bit more complicated than the other saving methods and will take a bit more time to complete all the necessary work, the amount saved per year is huge and thus well worth the effort.
Note: To make the savings last, you need to set the money aside that you save after completing the above tasks.
If you merely congratulate yourself for saving money, but don't separate the money into another account, it will likely be spent on other things and the savings will never materialize.
TheStreet.Com
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Mother's status
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bible_and_slavery#Slaves_as_property
...
If a male Hebrew slave was given a wife by his owner, the wife and any children by their marriage during his tenure remained the property of the slave owner. (Exodus 21:1-4) Adam Clarke comments "It was a law among the Hebrews, that if a Hebrew had children by a Canannitish woman, those children must be considered as Canaanitish only, and might be sold and bought, and serve for ever. The law here refers to such a case only."
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bible_and_slavery#Israelite_slaves
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If a male Hebrew slave was given a wife by his owner, the wife and any children by their marriage during his tenure remained the property of the slave owner. (Exodus 21:1-4) Adam Clarke comments "It was a law among the Hebrews, that if a Hebrew had children by a Canannitish woman, those children must be considered as Canaanitish only, and might be sold and bought, and serve for ever. The law here refers to such a case only."
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bible_and_slavery#Israelite_slaves
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A father could sell his unmarried daughters into servitude, with the expectation that the master or his son would eventually marry her. Apparently the resulting period of servitude took the place of a dowry.
- "And if a man sells his daughter to be a female servant, she shall not go out as the male servant do. If she does not please her master, who has betrothed her to himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has dealt deceitfully with her. And if he has betrothed her to his son, he shall deal with her according to the custom of daughters. If he takes another wife, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, and her marriage rights. And if he does not do these three for her, then she shall go out free, without paying money." (Exodus 21:7-11)
Foreigners who dwelt among the Hebrews were not to be oppressed, but loved as one of their own (Leviticus 19:33-34), and could also buy and sell Hebrew slaves. However, these could be redeemed out of slavery by close kin, for a price corresponding to the year of the jubilee. If not redeemed he was to then go free at that time. (Leviticus 25:47-55)
unlawful
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bible_and_slavery
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosaic_Law#Biblical_law
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_law
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antinomianism
... or lawlessness (in the Greek Bible: ἀνομία,[1] which is "unlawful"), in theology, is the idea that members of a particular religious group are under no obligation to obey the laws of ethics or morality as presented by religious authorities.[2] Antinomianism is the polar opposite of legalism, the notion that obedience to a code of religious law is necessary for salvation.
...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antinomianism#Charges_against_Quakers
Quakers were charged with antinomianism due to their rejection of a graduate clergy and a clerical administrative structure, as well as their privileging of the Spirit (as revealed by the Inner Light of God within each person) over the Scriptures. They also rejected civil legal authorities and their laws (such as the paying of tithes to the State church and the swearing of oaths) when they were seen as inconsistent with the promptings of the Inner Light of God. See also Christian anarchism.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antinomianism#Antinomianism_in_Buddhism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosaic_Law#Biblical_law
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_law
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antinomianism
... or lawlessness (in the Greek Bible: ἀνομία,[1] which is "unlawful"), in theology, is the idea that members of a particular religious group are under no obligation to obey the laws of ethics or morality as presented by religious authorities.[2] Antinomianism is the polar opposite of legalism, the notion that obedience to a code of religious law is necessary for salvation.
...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antinomianism#Charges_against_Quakers
Quakers were charged with antinomianism due to their rejection of a graduate clergy and a clerical administrative structure, as well as their privileging of the Spirit (as revealed by the Inner Light of God within each person) over the Scriptures. They also rejected civil legal authorities and their laws (such as the paying of tithes to the State church and the swearing of oaths) when they were seen as inconsistent with the promptings of the Inner Light of God. See also Christian anarchism.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antinomianism#Antinomianism_in_Buddhism
Among Buddhists there are three main types of antinomians: naturalist/spontaneous antinomians, ritualist/philosophical antinomians, and empirical antinomians.[citation needed] There may also be those who subscribe to all or some combination of these three basic types.
The naturalist antinomians believe that enlightened beings may spontaneously break dhamma codes of conduct while living out their natural state of enlightenened mind.[citation needed] One counter view is that an enlightened mind responds to circumstances pased on Buddhist morality rather than the legalism of the codes for monks and is not therefore a "spontaneous break" of any kind. There are many tales of mad saints in the crazy wisdom school tradition of Buddhism who perform acts which may appear to be bizarre and immoral to unenlightened persons.[citation needed] [25]
Ritualist antinomians, such as some Tantric Buddhists, may break dhamma codes of conduct in specific religious rituals designed to teach non-duality or some other philosophical concept. They may for example have sex during a religious rite or perform some other ritual inversion of a rule, while such acts would be unacceptable to them outside the ritual context.
Empirical antinomians, such as followers of the Great Western Vehicle.[citation needed][26], may break or disregard traditional dhamma rules which they believe are unconducive to the individual's contemplative life. They view dhamma codes as arising in a specific historical-cultural context and as such they may not always in every case be supportive of Buddhist training. It is up to the individual, and the community, to test and verify which dhamma rules promote and which hinder enlightenment. An empirical antinomian Buddhist monk may for example determine that eating after noon (which is forbidden) is actually conducive to their personal meditative practice rather than hindering. One may be an omni-antinomian as well, believing in all three types of antinomianism. Or one may be a naturalist-empirical, or a ritualist-empirical, or a naturalist-ritualist antinomian.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antinomianism#Antinomianism_in_Islam
- See also: Naskh (tafsir)
In Islam, the law—which applies not only to religion, but also to areas such as politics, banking, and sexuality—is called sharīʿah (شريعة), and it is traditionally organized around four primary sources:
- the Qurʾān, which is Islam's central religious text;
- the sunnah, which refers to actions practised during the time of the prophet Muḥammad, and is often thought to include the ḥadīth, or recorded words and deeds of Muḥammad;
- ijmāʿ, which is the consensus of the ʿulamāʾ, or class of Islamic scholars, on points of practice;
- qiyās, which—in Sunnī Islam—is a kind of analogical reasoning conducted by the ʿulamāʾ upon specific laws that have arisen through appeal to the first three sources; in Shīʿah Islam, ʿaql ("reason") is used in place of qiyās
Actions, behaviors, or beliefs that are considered to violate any or all of these four sources—primarily in matters of religion—can be termed "antinomian". Depending on the action, behavior, or belief in question, a number of different terms can be used to convey the sense of "antinomian": shirk ("association of another being with God"); bidʿah ("innovation"); kufr ("disbelief"); ḥarām ("forbidden"); etc.
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The Bible and slavery
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bible_and_slavery
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Slavery was customary in antiquity and taken for granted, as part of the economy and society of the time. The Torah neither encourages nor discourages slavery. However, in the event that a person has a slave, it sets minimum rules on their treatment (eg Leviticus 25:44-46; Exodus 21:7-11).
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http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Bible_(World_English)/Leviticus#Chapter_25
...
...
Slavery was customary in antiquity and taken for granted, as part of the economy and society of the time. The Torah neither encourages nor discourages slavery. However, in the event that a person has a slave, it sets minimum rules on their treatment (eg Leviticus 25:44-46; Exodus 21:7-11).
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http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Bible_(World_English)/Leviticus#Chapter_25
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35 "'If your brother has become poor, and his hand can't support him among you; then you shall uphold him. As a stranger and a sojourner he shall live with you. 36 Take no interest from him or profit, but fear your God; that your brother may live among you. 37 You shall not lend him your money at interest, nor give him your food for profit. 38 I am Yahweh your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.
39 "'If your brother has grown poor among you, and sells himself to you; you shall not make him to serve as a slave. 40 As a hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with you; he shall serve with you until the Year of Jubilee: 41 then he shall go out from you, he and his children with him, and shall return to his own family, and to the possession of his fathers. 42 For they are my servants, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt. They shall not be sold as slaves. 43 You shall not rule over him with harshness, but shall fear your God.
44 "'As for your male and your female slaves, whom you may have; of the nations that are around you, from them you may buy male and female slaves. 45 Moreover of the children of the strangers who sojourn among you, of them you may buy, and of their families who are with you, which they have conceived in your land; and they will be your property. 46 You may make them an inheritance for your children after you, to hold for a possession; of them may you take your slaves forever: but over your brothers the children of Israel you shall not rule, one over another, with harshness.
47 "'If a stranger or sojourner with you becomes rich, and your brother beside him has grown poor, and sells himself to the stranger or foreigner living among you, or to a member of the stranger's family; 48 after he is sold he may be redeemed. One of his brothers may redeem him; 49 or his uncle, or his uncle's son, may redeem him, or any who is a close relative to him of his family may redeem him; or if he has grown rich, he may redeem himself. 50 He shall reckon with him who bought him from the year that he sold himself to him to the Year of Jubilee: and the price of his sale shall be according to the number of years; according to the time of a hired servant shall he be with him. 51 If there are yet many years, according to them he shall give back the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for. 52 If there remain but a few years to the year of jubilee, then he shall reckon with him; according to his years of service he shall give back the price of his redemption. 53 As a servant hired year by year shall he be with him: he shall not rule with harshness over him in your sight. 54 If he isn't redeemed by these means, then he shall be released in the Year of Jubilee, he, and his children with him. 55 For to me the children of Israel are servants; they are my servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Bible_(World_English)/Exodus#Chapter_21
1 "Now these are the ordinances which you shall set before them.
2 "If you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years and in the seventh he shall go out free without paying anything. 3 If he comes in by himself, he shall go out by himself. If he is married, then his wife shall go out with him. 4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself. 5 But if the servant shall plainly say, 'I love my master, my wife, and my children. I will not go out free;' 6 then his master shall bring him to God, and shall bring him to the door or to the doorpost, and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall serve him for ever.
7 "If a man sells his daughter to be a female servant, she shall not go out as the male servants do. 8 If she doesn't please her master, who has married her to himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, seeing he has dealt deceitfully with her. 9 If he marries her to his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters. 10 If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, and her marital rights. 11 If he doesn't do these three things for her, she may go free without paying any money.
...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exodus#Bondage_in_Egypt
... Moses encounters God, and God tells him to return to Egypt and lead the Israelites into(Canaan) the land promised to Abraham.
On Moses' return to Egypt, God instructs him to appear before Pharaoh and inform him of God's demand that he let God's people go. Moses and his brother Aaron do so, but Pharaoh refuses. God causes a series of plagues, but Pharaoh does not relent. God instructs Moses to institute the Passover sacrifice among the Israelites, and then God kills all the firstborn children of the Egyptians. Pharaoh agrees to let the Israelites go. Moses explains the meaning of the Passover: it is for Israel's salvation from Egypt, so that the Israelites will not be required to sacrifice their own sons, but to redeem them.
Slaves, status and obligations
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_Romania#Status_and_obligations
[edit] Status and obligations
The slaves were considered personal property of the master,[20] who was allowed to put them to work, selling them or exchanging them for other goods and the possessions of the slaves (usually cattle) were also at the discretion of the master.[21] ... the only obligation of the master being to clothe and feed the slaves who worked at his manor.[22] ...
The social prestige of a slave master was often proportional to the number and kinds of skilled slaves in his possession, outstanding cooks and embroiderers being used to symbolically demonstrate the high status of the boyar families.[24] Good musicians, embroiderers or cooks were prized and fetched higher prices: for instance, in the first half of the 18th century, a regular slave was valued at around 20–30 lei, a cook would be 40 lei.[25]
However, Djuvara, who bases his argument on a number of contemporary sources, also notes that the slaves were exceptionally cheap by any standard: in 1832, an contract involving the dowry of a boyaress shows that thirty Roma slaves were exchanged for one carriage, while the British diplomat William Wilkinson noted that the slave trade was a semi-clandestine matter, and that vătraşi slaves could fetch the modest sum of five or six hundred piastres.[26] According to Djuvara's estimate, lăieşi could be worth only half the sum attested by Wilkinson.[26]
In the Principalities, the slaves were governed by common law.[10] By the 17th century, the earliest written laws to mention slavery appeared. The Wallachian Pravila de la Govora (1640) and Îndreptarea legii (1652) and the Moldavian Carte românească de învăţătură (1646), which, among other things, regulated slavery, were based on the Byzantine law on slavery and on the common law then in use. However, customary law (obiceiul pământului) was almost always used in practice.[10]
If a slave owned property, one would have to pay the same taxes as the free men. Usually, there was no tax on privately owned slaves, excepting ... On the occasion, each individual over the age of 15 was required to pay a sum of between thirty and forty piastres.[18]
Legal disputes and disruption of the traditional lifestyles
Initially, and down to the 15th century, Roma and Tatar slaves were all grouped into self-administrating sălaşe.[9] Their leaders, themselves slaves, were known as cneji, juzi or vătămani, and, in addition to
sorting legal disputes,
collected taxes and
organised labour for the owners.[9]
With time, disputes between two Roma slaves were usually dealt by the community leaders, who became known as bulibaşi.[28] Occasionally, the larger slave communities elected themselves a başbulibaşa, who was superior to the bulibaşi and charged with solving the more divisive or complicated conflicts within the respective group.[29] The system went unregulated, often leading to violent conflicts between slaves, which, in one such case attested for the 19th century, led to boyar intervention and the foot whipping of those deemed guilty of insubordination.[29]
The disputes with non-slaves and the manslaughter cases were dealt by the state judiciary system.[27] Slaves were not allowed to defend themselves in front of a court, .. the owner being accountable for any such damages, the compensation being sometimes the renunciation of the ownership of the slave to the other party.[27] ...
The Orthodox Church, itself a major slaveholder, did not contest the institution of slavery,[31] ...
Like many of the serfs in the two principalities, slaves were prone to escape from the estates and seek a better life on other domains or abroad ... the duties of collecting wartime tithes and of retrieving runaways were performed by a category called globnici, many of whom were also slaves.[9] Beginning in the 17th century, much of the Kalderash population left the region to settle south into the Balkans, and later also moved into other regions of Europe.[36]
A small section of the native Roma population managed to evade the system (either by not having been originally enslaved as a group, or by regrouping runaway slaves).[29] They lived in isolation on the margin of society, and tended to settle in places where access was a problem. They were known to locals as netoţi (lit. "incomplete ones", a dismissive term generally used to designate people with mental disorders or who display poor judgment).[29] Around 1830, they became the target of regular manhunts, those captured being turned into ţigani domneşti.[29]
A particular problem regarded the vătraşi, whose lifestyle was heavily disrupted by forced settlement and the requirement that they perform menial labour.[37] Traditionally, this category made efforts to avoid agricultural work in service of their masters. Djuvara argues that this was because their economic patterns were at a hunter-gatherer stage.[7] Christine Reinhard, an early 19th century intellectual and wife of French diplomat Charles-Frédéric Reinhard, recorded that, in 1806, a member of the Moldavian Sturdza family employed a group vătraşi at his factory. The project was reputedly abandoned after Sturdza realised he was inflicting intense suffering on his employees.[7]
Roma artisans were occasionally allowed to practice their trade outside the boyar household, in exchange for their own revenue. This was the case of Lăutari, who were routinely present at fairs and in public houses as independent tarafs.[18] Slaves could own a number of bovines, but part of their other forms of revenue was collected by the master.[30] In parallel, the lăieşi are believed to have often resorted to stealing the property of peasants.[18] According to Djuvara, Roma housemaids were often spared hard work, especially in cases where the number of slaves per household ensured a fairer division of labour.[18]
...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_Romania#Marriage_regulations_and_cases_of_sexual_abuse
... through a financial agreement which resulted in the selling ... or through an exchange.[38] ...
Marriage between a free person and a slave was initially possible only by the free person becoming a slave ... Marital relations between Roma people and the majority ethnic Romanian population were rare, due to the difference in status and, as Djuvara notes, to an emerging form of racial prejudice.[34] Nevertheless, extra-marital relationships between male slave owners and female slaves, as well as the rape of Roma women by their owners, were widespread, and the illegitimate children were themselves kept as slaves on the estate.[42]
...
and had a group of landowners sign them up as paid workforce
...
proposed to put an end to slavery by allowing the slaves to buy their own freedom.[55]
...
The political power was in the hand of the conservative boyars, who were also owners of large numbers of slaves and as such disagreed to any reforms that might affect them.[55]
...
the law emancipated all slaves to the status of taxpayers (that is, citizens).
...
The freed slaves had to settle to a town or village and stay there for at least two censuses and they would pay their taxes to the compensation fund.[64]
...
The Romanian abolitionist movement was also influenced by the much larger movement against Black slavery in the United States through press reports and through a translation of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. Translated by Theodor Codrescu and first published in Iaşi in 1853, under the name Coliba lui Moşu Toma sau Viaţa negrilor în sudul Statelor Unite din America (which translates back as "Uncle Toma's Cabin or the Life of Blacks in the Southern United States of America"), it was the first American novel to be published in Romanian, and it included a foreword study on slavery by Mihail Kogălniceanu.[56]
...
slaves
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaism_and_slavery#See_also
...
History of slavery Islam and slavery ... The Bible and slavery
...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_slavery#Slavery_in_the_Muslim_World
...
Male slaves were employed as servants, soldiers, or laborers, while female slaves were traded to Middle Eastern countries and kingdoms by Arab, Indian, or Oriental traders, some as domestic servants,.[123][124][125]
...
A Co = religious co I D A
+ quakers meetings
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_and_slavery
...
The Qur'an, the holy book, and the hadith, the sayings of Muhammad, see slavery as an exceptional condition that can be entered into under certain limited circumstances.[3] They also consider manumission of a slave to be one of many meritorious deeds available for the expiation of sins.[4] According to Sharia, slaves are considered human beings and possessed of some rights on the basis of their humanity. In addition, a Muslim slave is equal to a Muslim freeman in religious issues and superior to the free non-Muslim.[5]
...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alms#Buddhism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alms#Islam
...
...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_slavery#Slavery_in_the_Muslim_World
...
Male slaves were employed as servants, soldiers, or laborers, while female slaves were traded to Middle Eastern countries and kingdoms by Arab, Indian, or Oriental traders, some as domestic servants,.[123][124][125]
...
A Co = religious co I D A
+ quakers meetings
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_and_slavery
...
The Qur'an, the holy book, and the hadith, the sayings of Muhammad, see slavery as an exceptional condition that can be entered into under certain limited circumstances.[3] They also consider manumission of a slave to be one of many meritorious deeds available for the expiation of sins.[4] According to Sharia, slaves are considered human beings and possessed of some rights on the basis of their humanity. In addition, a Muslim slave is equal to a Muslim freeman in religious issues and superior to the free non-Muslim.[5]
In practice, slaves played various social and economic roles from Emir to worker. Slaves were widely employed in irrigation, mining, pastoralism and the army. Even some rulers relied on military and administrative slaves to such a degree that they seized power. However, people do not always treat with slaves in accordance with Islamic law. In some cases the situtation has been so harsh as to have led to uprisings such as Zanj Rebellion.[6] For a variety of reasons, internal growth of the slave population was not enough to fulfill the demand in Muslim society. This resulted in massive importation, which involved enormous suffering and loss of life from the capture and transportation of slaves from non-Muslim lands.[7]
...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alms#Buddhism
[edit] Buddhism
In Buddhism, alms or almsgiving is the respect given by a lay Buddhist to a Buddhist monk or nun. It is not charity as presumed by Western interpreters. It is closer to a symbolic connection to the spiritual and to show humbleness and respect in the presence of normal society.[1] The visible presence of monks and nuns is a stabilizing influence. The act of alms giving assists in connecting the human to the monk or nun and what he/she represents. As the Buddha has stated:
- Householders & the homeless [monastics]
- in mutual dependence
- both reach the true Dhamma.... (Itivuttaka 4.7)[2]
- in mutual dependence
In Theravada Buddhism, monks (Pāli: bhikkhus)and nuns go on a daily almsround (or pindacara) to collect food. This is often perceived as giving the laypeople the opportunity to make merit (Pāli: puñña). Money should not be accepted by a Buddhist monk or nun, although nowadays not many monks and nuns keep to this rule (the exception being the monks and nuns of the Thai Forest Tradition and other Theravada traditions which focus on vinaya and meditation practice). In countries that follow Mahayana Buddhism, it has been impractical for monks to go on a daily almsround. In China, Korea and Japan, monasteries were situated in remote mountain areas where it could take days to reach the nearest town, thus making the daily almsround impossible. In Japan, the practice of a weekly or monthly takuhatsu took its place. In the Himalayan countries, the large number of bikshus would have made an almsround a heavy burden on families. Competition with other religions for support also made daily almsrounds difficult and even dangerous; the first monks in the Shilla dynasty of Korea were said to be beaten due to the Buddhist minority at the time.
In Buddhism, both "almsgiving" and, more generally, "giving" are called "dāna" (Pāli).[3] Such giving is one of the three elements of the path of practice as formulated by the Buddha for laypeople. This path of practice for laypeople is: dāna, sīla, bhāvanā.[4]
Generosity is also expressed towards other sentient beings as both a cause for merit and to aid the receiver of the gift. It is accepted that although the three jewels of refuge are the basis of the greatest merit, by seeing other sentient beings as having Buddhanature and making offerings towards the aspirational Buddha to be within them is of equal benefit. Generosity towards other sentient beings is greatly emphasised in Mahayana as one of the perfections (paramita) as shown in Lama Tsong Khapa's 'The Abbreviated Points of the Graded Path' (Tibetan: lam-rim bsdus-don):
- "Total willingness to give is the wish-granting gem for fulfilling the hopes of wandering beings.
- It is the sharpest weapon to sever the knot of stinginess.
- It leads to bodhisattva conduct that enhances self-confidence and courage,
- And is the basis for universal proclamation of your fame and repute.
- Realizing this, the wise rely, in a healthy manner, on the outstanding path
- Of (being ever-willing) to offer completely their bodies, possessions, and positive potentials.
- The ever-vigilant lama has practiced like that.
- If you too would seek liberation,
- Please cultivate yourself in the same way."[5]
- It is the sharpest weapon to sever the knot of stinginess.
In Buddhism, giving of alms is the beginning of one's journey to Nirvana (Pali: nibbana). In practice, one can give anything with or without thought for Nibbana. This would lead to faith (Pali: saddha), one key power (Pali: bala) that one should generate within oneself for the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha.
According to the Pali canon:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alms#Islam
[edit] Islam
Islamic scriptural rules on alms are quite reminiscent of the biblical instructions:
- If you give alms openly, it is well; but if you do it secretly and give to the poor, that is better. - (Qur-an 2:271a)
In Islam, zakat, or the giving of alms, is the third of the five pillars of Islam. Various rules attach to the practice, but in general terms, it is obligatory to give away 2.5% of ones savings and business revenue, as well as 5-10% of ones harvest, to the poor. The recipients include the destitute, the working poor, those who are unable to pay off their own debts, stranded travelers, and others who need assistance, with the general principle of zakaah always being that the rich should pay it to the poor.
[edit] Judaism
In the Jewish tradition, charity represented by tzedakah, justice, and the poor are entitled to charity as a matter of right rather than benevolence. Contemporary charity is regarded as a continuation of the Biblical Maaser Ani, or poor-tithe, as well as Biblical practices including permitting the poor to glean the corners of a field, harvest during the Shmita (Sabbatical year), and other practices. Voluntary charity, along with prayer and repentance, is regarded as ameliorating the consequences of bad acts.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zakat#Causes_.26_Beneficiaries
...
"Alms are only for the poor and the needy, and the officials (appointed) over them, and those whose hearts are made to incline (to truth) and the (ransoming of) captives and those in debts and in the way of Allah and the wayfarer; an ordinance from Allah; and Allah is knowing, Wise." [Qur'an 9:60]
...
Saturday, 3 January 2009
ratings
http://health.yahoo.com/news/ap/rating_nursing_homes.html
By KEVIN FREKING, Associated Press Writer - Thu Dec 18, 1:16 PM PST
WASHINGTON - About 22 percent of the nation's nearly 16,000 nursing homes received the federal government's lowest rating in a new five-star system unveiled Thursday, while 12 percent received the highest ranking possible.
A home could obtain up to five stars based on criteria such as staffing and how well they fared in state inspections.
...
Kerry Weems, acting administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the agency was merely taking existing data already on the agency's Web site and making it easier for patients and families to evaluate a nursing home. He said it can be difficult for people to understand all the aspects of an inspection.
Nursing home industry worries about new ratings
By KEVIN FREKING, Associated Press Writer - Thu Dec 18, 1:16 PM PST
WASHINGTON - About 22 percent of the nation's nearly 16,000 nursing homes received the federal government's lowest rating in a new five-star system unveiled Thursday, while 12 percent received the highest ranking possible.
A home could obtain up to five stars based on criteria such as staffing and how well they fared in state inspections.
...
Kerry Weems, acting administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the agency was merely taking existing data already on the agency's Web site and making it easier for patients and families to evaluate a nursing home. He said it can be difficult for people to understand all the aspects of an inspection.
"This should help consumers in narrowing their choices, but nothing should substitute for visiting a nursing home when making a decision," Weems said.
clear isn't it ? :p :))
...
The ratings are based on three major criteria: state inspections, staffing levels and quality measures, such as the percentage of residents with bed sores. The nursing homes will receive stars for each of those categories as well as for their overall quality.
Consumer groups like the concept, but agreed there are some potential problems with the data. For example, the staffing data is self-reported just before state surveys and is widely recognized as unreliable.
...
also warned that nursing homes may appear in the ratings to give better care than they actually do.
...
The measurement for staffing reports the number of hours of nursing and other staff dedicated per patient each day.
The measurement for quality looks at 10 areas, including the percent of patients with bed sores after their first 90 days in the nursing home and the number of residents whose mobility worsened after admission.
...
States with the highest percentage of homes with five stars were: Delaware, 30.2 percent; Alaska, 26.7 percent; New Hampshire, 24.4 percent; and Hawaii, 23.9 percent.
Industry officials said surveys conducted in some states are stricter than others, so they cautioned against using the new ratings to conclude that one state's nursing homes were better than another's.
___
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Medicare's Nursing Home Compare Web site: http://Medicare.gov/NHcompare
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