My Chicago Rant

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Novice and professional Webmasters alike can easily upload video(s) into their Site by using the right “Flash Player On Websites” Tool. Nowadays Webvideos are everywhere simply because Webmasters already recognized their powerful potential in generating more traffic and in increasing sales. In the following article you will find out how you can easily encode and play movie files on any of your own WebPages.

Getting some basics

Before you can start playing video(s) on your site you need an advanced “Flash Player On Websites” Tool that’ll enable you to transform and compress your videos into a special file format called .FLV. Once the encoding process is done, all you need is to add is a short .html code onto your page and deliver your files onto the Webhosting server. It is important to know that the following process creates streaming webvideos – they are transmitted to your viewers continuously as they arrive with no need to download them first onto the hard disk.

Advantages

When we examine the benefits provided by this technology, we find the following:

* It helps your visitors feel more comfortable doing business with you online.
* It enables you to be more creative and persuasive.
* No need for any programming skills.
* Easily upload training or demo-videos to promote your products or services.
* This Web-marketing solution is a fraction of the cost of TV commercials.

It won’t be that difficult to find other advantages provided by this tool simply because it opens up various opportunities that enable us to better promote any new or existing online business.

Conclusions

“Flash Player On Websites” Tool can easily fit to any budget size of home users, small businesses, and SOHOs. It is time for action, so at this point it is highly advised to evaluate this unique solution so you could quickly benefit from the various opportunities that it provides.

Ben Goldman
http://www.articlesbase.com/video-articles/quotflash-player-on-websitesquot-tool–the-unbelievable-truth-718209.html

Why is it considered by many household owners as revolutionary? Simply because “Build Off Grid Energy” System enables us for the first time to say goodbye to these irritating and expensive electricity-bills. It may be surprising, but this technique takes no more than just few days to be completed. Read this short report if you want to find out more about this special technology.

Introduction

In order to get this “Build Off Grid Energy” System to work you first need to follow one of these step-by-step guides that instruct on how to professionally assemble the most important part: Solar-Cells. Take your time when choosing a guide; check for real customers case studies, make sure it provides descriptive illustrations, photos, and tech support. This way or another, here are some important benefits and tips that can help you out.

Benefits

The solution described in this report quickly provides the following:

* Helps the environment.
* Cuts down on the usage of non-renewable enr. resources.
* Increases the value of your home by thousands.
* Can produce 1000 Watts +.
* Powers up basically any appliance at home: fridge, washing machine, computer, TVs, lights and more.

Tip to go

Don’t follow guides that do not provide visual guidance – in many cases only detailed illustrations and videos can truly demonstrate complicated processes.

Quick summary

If we look for an outstanding opportunity that’ll help us erase our elec. expenses, no doubt that this advanced “Build Off Grid Energy” System can get us there. It wouldn’t be that hard to find other advantages provided by this one-of-a-kind idea, simply because it is innovative. The best advice would be to try it in order to explore and see how it’ll affect your monthly/annual budget.

Jason Gilford
http://www.articlesbase.com/diy-articles/quotbuild-off-grid-energyquot-system–unbelievable-invention-707462.html

It is highly recommended for Webmasters to get an advanced “Movies To Player” Tool if they wish to easily post video(s) onto their Site. Webvideo marketing offers a new way to deliver your message with a higher impact comparing to other traditional Webmarketing methods. Thinking of an easy way that’ll help you to embed a movie onto any Webpage? Read the following article.

Some basics

By using an embedded engine that converts and ’squeezes’ your videos into the popular .FLV format, “Movies To Player” Tool quickly and easily enables you to display them on any Webpage/Internet browser. When conversion process is done all you’ll need to add is a short .html code onto your Webpage(s) and upload the new files onto your Website’s hosting server. The webvideos created in this process use streaming technology – the media is sent in a continuous stream and is played as it arrives.

Important benefits

Let’s quickly summarize the main advantages of this unique solution:

* It gives your visitors an important and immediate personal connection with you.
* Auto-redirect your visitors to an order page after your Web-Movie ends.
* Branding your Webmovies with your own text and/or logo.
* No need for any programming skills.
* It enables you to be more creative and persuasive.

If we search a little more, we could easily find other benefits provided by this innovative technology simply because it this powerful web-marketing tool provides so many opportunities for quick and creative web-marketers.

Quick summary

It is important to know (especially for newbies) that “Movies To Player” Tool installation is quit easy and requires no special technical or professional skills. The best advice would be to test this technology in order to explore and see how it can easily improve productivity of your online business.

Ben Goldman
http://www.articlesbase.com/video-articles/quotmovies-to-playerquot-tool–the-unbelievable-truth-703671.html

Today’s musicians, it would seem, go to great lengths in order to promote new material: Radiohead initially released InRainbows via download only, Coldplay gave away downloads to promote their new album whilst Oasis employed the raw talent of street buskers in New York to promote their latest offering, Dig Out Your Soul.

Manchester’s answer to the Beatles has really caused quite a stir with this latest offering to the public as hoards of excited and expectant fans gathered across the five boroughs of New York city in anticipation. The event was a collaborative effort between their label, Warner Bros, and the New York marketing and tourism organisation.

Brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher met the eager street performers early in the morning for a private rehearsal of the works. New songs; The Turning, Bag It Up, (Get Off Your) High Horse Lady and The Shock Of The Lightning were given to the buskers and rehearsed before they were sent off to various destinations across the city.

Aside from the rain, the performances were widely received as nothing short of excellent.

The idea of letting street buskers promote their new music is the latest way in which Oasis have shown their commitment to the Take It Away scheme, as pioneered by the Arts Council. The band have also agreed to give away sheet music for three of their tracks to readers of NME magazine in an attempt to encourage more people to pick up instruments.

Noel Gallagher, guitarist for Oasis, stated that “the gift of music is special… anything that can bring music into a kid’s life is an incredible thing.”

The Take It Away scheme is an initiative pioneered by the Arts Council which encourages young people to play a musical instrument. Take It Away is available to everyone over the age of 18 years and allows individuals to apply for a loan of up to 2,000GBP for the purchase of any kind of musical instrument. In the past 12 months alone, the Arts Council have given out 6m GBP in loans.

Not happy at just giving away their music for free, Oasis are securing their spot in the limelight for some time yet. Once the music has been distributed in NME’s 17 Septmeber, 2008 issue, the band will be holding a competition encouraging fans to send in their renditions of the songs. Entries will be sent to a micro-site (which is part of the official Oasis web-site) where they will be judged. The winner wins a VIP trip to see the band in concert – anywhere in the world.

This scheme sounds all very well and good, but one can’t help but recall Noel’s rants about giving music away for free. In reference to Radiohead’s latest offering, and proposal’s that Oasis might follow suit, the star commented ” I didn’t spend a year in the most expensive studio in England, with the most expensive producer in America, and the most expensive graphic designer in London to then give it away. F*ck that.”

So it would appear that Oasis aren’t just helping the Arts Council out, they are in fact attempting their own clever marketing tricks to help boost sales of the latest album. Did I hear somebody say that Noel is down to last 4m GBP?

In this modern day environment where you have to use every media available to promote your work, Oasis are really up against it. Reality TV talent shows dominate prime time slots, forcing pop music upon us and when you turn to the internet, there is always a band running some sort of promotion or give away in the name of boosting sales.

Music fans may remember RedBoxBlue’s attempt at breaking into the limelight earlier this year. The band used social networking site, Facebook, to promote themselves in a series of live streamed gigs entitled Five Nights on Facebook. They have since released a single and plan more gigs on the site in 2009.

Not the first to use the internet to create instant stardom, RedBoxBlue hoped to follow in the footsteps of Sandi Thom who became a legend after her webcast gigs from the basement of her home in 2006. The star, who is now famous for songs such as I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker and What If I’m Right, came under much scrutiny after the gigs were broadcast as critics accused her of working with larger companies to produce the gigs as opposed to the indie route that she so claimed.

With the release of Oasis’s new album quickly approaching, it will be interesting to see if the band’s own spin on clever marketing pays off. If so, we could well be seeing the emergence of yet another technique in the war on ailing record sales. In the meantime, we can all enjoy the legitimate free music offering without the worry of our ISP sending us nasty letters through the post.

Samantha Gilmartin

Webvideo marketing provides countless opportunities and benefits for any site owner – “Create Videos On Site” Tool is the ‘Entry Ticket’ that can get you there. If you look for a quick way to stream your digital movie(s), you should try this advanced technology. Learn more about innovative ideas that will easily enable you to promote your Website by using digital movies.

Quick overview

This advanced “Create Videos On Site” Tool performs one important task – that is encoding and compressing your videos so they can be displayed on any Web page and on any Internet browser. Once the conversion process is finished all you need to do is: 1) Add a small .html code to your Web page 2) post the files onto your Site’s hosting server. This encoding process transforms files into streaming webvideos – the media is sent in a continuous stream and is played as it arrives.

Main benefits

Using this advanced technology definitely brings a wide range of advantages:

* Compressing raw movies to 10% or less of their original file size!
* Enables you to auto-redirect your visitors to an affiliate link & get a % of their purchases.
* Easily converts popular file formats such as: AVI, WMV, MOV, MPG, FLV, VOB, ASF, and MP4.
* It enables you to upload your Webvideo(s) to video-sharing sites and attract more visitors.
* It gives your visitors an important and immediate personal connection with you.

We could easily find many other pluses provided by this advanced tool simply because it eliminates many technical difficulties involved with this encoding process.

Summary

“Create Videos On Site” Tool can easily fit to any budget size of home users, small businesses, and SOHOs. Now that you know more about this technology it is advised to check it by yourself in order to explore and see how it can easily improve productivity of your online business.

Ben Goldman
http://www.articlesbase.com/video-articles/quotcreate-videos-on-sitequot-tool–the-unbelievable-truth-697079.html

On 16 January 2008, the Paris Tribunal de Grande Instance upheld the majority of these claims and found Total (jointly with owners, managers, and Class) liable to pay €192m in compensation. This judgment has been extensively commented on worldwide.

On 24 June 2008, in an offshoot of The Erika main proceedings which had gone relatively unnoticed so far, the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) rendered a judgment (C-188/07) which results in Total SA, which was not the named Charterer of The Erika, being potentially exposed to unlimited liability for the “waste” disposal costs, as “producer” of “waste”.

Facts and Procedure

The City Council of Mesquer (“Mesquer”), a small village in southern Brittany had its coast affected by The Erika oil spill.

In addition to joining in the main claim before the Tribunal de Grande Instance of Paris, Mesquer commenced a distinct claim based on “waste” disposal and the “polluter pays” principle under French statute 75-633 (article L 541-2 of the Code de l’Environnement) which implements Directive (EC) 75/442. (Directive 75/442 has since been replaced by Directive 2006/12/EC, but the relevant provisions in this context are the same.)

Mesquer argued that Total, as the owner and producer of “waste” within the meaning of EC Directive 75/442, should pay all the costs arising out of the disposal of that “waste” which had washed ashore, notwithstanding any relevant international or domestic legislation limiting/excluding Total’s liability.

After being defeated in first instance (Tribunal de Commerce de Saint-Nazaire) and on appeal (Cour d’Appel de Rennes), Mesquer’s claim reached the Cour de Cassation (French Supreme Court) which referred the case to the ECJ for a preliminary ruling on (EC) Directive 75/442.

Questions referred to the ECJ and judgment

The questions referred to the ECJ were :

(1) Does heavy fuel oil sold as a combustible fuel fall within the definition of “waste” under article 1(a) of (EC) Directive 75/442;

(2) Does heavy fuel oil that is accidentally spilled into the sea following a shipwreck fall to be classified as “waste” within EC Directive 75/442;

(3) Does the producer/seller of the heavy fuel oil carried on board a chartered ship which breaks down and releases her cargo have to bear the cost of disposing of the “waste” thus generated?

Relevant provisions of (EC) Directive 75/442

Article 1 of the Directive provides :

(a) “waste” shall mean any substance or object in the categories set out in Annex I which the holder discards or intends or is required to discard.

(b) “producer” shall mean anyone whose activities produce “waste” (“original producer”) [...]

(c) “holder” shall mean the producer…or the… person who is in possession of it.

Article 15 of the Directive states:

In accordance with the ‘polluter pays’ principle, the cost of disposing of waste must be borne by:

– the holder [...], and/or

– the previous holders or the producer of the product from which the waste came.

Directive 75/442 has since been replaced by Directive 2006/12/EC, but the relevant provisions in this context are the same.

ECJ judgment

The ECJ, in its judgment dated 24 June 2008, answered “no” to question (1) and, in essence, “yes” to questions (2) and (3). It held:

(1) Heavy fuel oil sold as a combustible fuel does not constitute “waste” under the Directive where it is exploited or marketed on economically advantageous terms and is capable of actually being used as fuel without requiring prior processing;

(2) Hydrocarbons accidentally spilled at sea following a shipwreck, mixed with water and sediment and drifting along the coast of a member state until being washed up on that coast, constitute “waste” where they are no longer capable of being exploited or marketed without prior processing;

(3) The Courts of member states may regard the seller of the hydrocarbons and Charterer of the ship as producer of that “waste” and, thereby, as a “previous holder” if he contributed to the risk that the pollution would occur.

The ECJ did not say when fuel oil which had leaked from The Erika had become “waste”, but gave the test to be applied i.e. the lack of commercial exploitability/marketability without prior processing.

The Court recognized that Member States are parties to the Civil Liability and Fund Conventions 1992, and that these require their national legislation to give effect to exemptions and limitations of liability which they contain.

The Court observed that the EU is not a party to the Conventions and that they did not, therefore, preclude the Community from legislating in different terms if it saw fit to do so. Nonetheless, although its remarks on the relationship between the Conventions and the Directive may be open to more than one interpretation, it expressed the view that they were compatible in as much as the Directive did not prevent national laws based on the Conventions from providing for limitations or exceptions of liability of the Owner and Charterer.

Accordingly the Court expressed the view that the Directive provided a remedy in cases where full compensation could not be obtained under the international compensation regime, or from the charterer of the ship due to his liability being excluded by CLC 92. In such cases Member States’ national laws must provide for the “producer” of the product from which the “waste” came to pay for the costs of disposal if he has contributed by his conduct to the risk that the pollution will occur, for example by lack of diligence in the choice of carrier.

Conclusion

This ECJ judgment is binding upon Member States’ Courts. How the ECJ judgment is implemented in the domestic laws of Member States, and applied by their courts, remains to be seen; but it is clear now that the “producer” of a product which is carried by sea and which, having become “waste”, accidentally washes ashore is exposed to a risk of unlimited liability if by his conduct he has contributed to the risk.

Whatever the precise legal relationship may be between the Directive and international conventions, in practice claimants seeking compensation have no incentive to bring a claim under the Directive, and to assume the burden of proving that the defendant’s conduct contributed to the risk of pollution, if an adequate remedy is available under international strict liability regimes.

Consequently, where the damage results from a spill of persistent oil from a tanker, claimants have no such incentive unless – as in The Erika – the established claims exceed (or may exceed) the maximum amount of available compensation. This amount has been increased considerably by the entry into force in 2005 of the Supplementary Fund Protocol, which applies in most EU member states. Under the Protocol the ceiling is now SDR 750 million, over five times the amount available to The Erika claimants under the 1992 Fund Convention.

In rare cases where the compensation limit is exceeded, the Directive may provide a further remedy against other defendants. Whilst the ECJ judgment is not totally clear on this issue, the court apparently accepted that liability under the Directive of the charterer could be excluded in such a case by the “channelling” provisions in CLC 92, but that it could be imposed on other parties who are not similarly protected, e.g. the shipper of the goods.

The prospect of liability being incurred under the Directive in such a case is greater if courts take a restrictive approach to the interpretation of the “channelling” provisions in CLC 92, following the judgment in The Erika case given in January 2008 by the Paris Criminal Court. The Court refused to allow Total to benefit from the exemption of liability of the charterer, on the grounds that the entity within the Total Group which vetted the ship was neither the charterer, nor (apparently) considered to fall within the exemption available for the servant or agent of the charterer.

A spill of non-persistent oil falls outside the international compensation regime. Though incidents of this kind are less damaging to the environment and have not led to claims on a par with spills of persistent oil, in theory the Directive could provide a remedy against the shipowner as well as the charterer and shipper, in the absence of domestic laws to the contrary.

The Directive could also be relevant in cases involving bunker spills, especially as the Bunkers Convention 2001, which comes into force in November 2008, does not contain any “channelling” provisions excluding the liability of a charterer. Generally the cargo owner will not be the owner of the bunkers, but liability could be incurred by the Charterer in addition to the owner if he is considered to have acted negligently in approving the vessel for charter. If he is permitted to limit his liability in accordance with the 1976 Limitation Convention then for these purposes his liability should be aggregated with that of the Owner: in that case only a single limit applies and it is doubtful whether the liability of the charterer adds to the recovery ultimately made by the claimants.

In summary, it is probably only in rare cases that the Directive and ECJ decision will materially affect existing compensation arrangements, but the judgment is not completely clear on all points and there is every prospect of reliance being placed upon it in any litigation following an oil spill in Europe.

At present it seems likely that those most at risk of incurring liability under the Directive are those in the same position as Total in The Erika, namely oil companies which owned the spilt cargo and are held to have contributed to the risk of pollution by their participation in the decision to charter the vessel.

Ince & Co – International Law Firm

Ince & Co

How would you like to drive a brand-new car for free? Or, even better, get paid to drive your own car?

Imagine driving a new car that someone else has paid for. You don’t have to buy it, pay a deposit, take out a lease or sign a Hire-Purchase agreement. All you pay for is the petrol you use, and your own car insurance. Stuff you would have to pay for in anycase if you drive your own car.

It may sound too good to be true but there are actually companies that will give you a new car to drive around in. No, the car does not belong to you so you can’t sell it, and once you’ve driven it for a specified time or distance you have to return it to the company. So you don’t get to keep it.

Once you’ve returned their car they will then give you a new car to drive around in. The only catch is that the car they give you has to be your primary car, and you have to be the principal driver – in other words you should use their car as much as you can, and you’re not allowed to let other people borrow it. No worries, I’ll drive their car as much as I can thanks!

All you need is to be a resident of the USA, the UK, France, Spain, or Canada, you need a valid driving license with no violations on it and you need to be 18 years old or older.

Should you prefer you can drive your own car, you will then get paid every month for displaying an advertisement from the sponsor on your car.

While you can’t really choose the exact car you want (I would have chosen a Ferrari if I could have!) you will have some choice between models. It all depends on what is available at the time. Obviously they wouldn’t expect someone with four kids to drive a two seat convertible, and neither would they expect a newly married twenty-something year old to drive a ten seater people carrier.

In these times when cars are so ridiculously expensive this is a very handy method of saving some extra cash every month instead of spending it on a car that loses value from the moment you drive it out of the showroom.

Go ahead, take a look and see if you qualify on my Squidoo page dealing with the subject. What do you have to lose?

E Jonas
http://www.articlesbase.com/cars-articles/get-yourself-a-free-new-car-unbelievable-but-true-701087.html

Leeds is a large and successful city, which is centrally located in the North of England. The City is well known as the commercial and museum capital of the North and has long been known for its extensive manufacturing industry, which is still thriving.

From gorgeous architecture to substantial sites, Leeds boasts some amazing things to do and see.

One of the city’s finest charisma is Kirkstall Abbey, which is a substantial abbey placed in the outskirts of the city. It is widely regarded as one of englands most complete examples of a medieval Cistercian abbey. building on the abbey began in 1152 & it took over seventy-five years to finish. The substantial abbey is now a Grade 1 listed structure.

In addition to Kirkstall Abbey, Leeds boasts many other things to do, which contain the substantial Kirkgate Market.

Often known as the ‘Knightsbridge of the North’, Leeds is a excellent place for shoppers! It boasts over 1,000 stores, containing Harvey Nicholls, Louis Vuitton and more, scattered around its fashionable high streets, state-of-the-art shopping centres, Victorian arcades, big buildings and historic markets.

If you’d prefer to spend your time in Leeds doing more arty activities, you will be pleased to understand that the city has nine great museums and galleries. These include the royal armouries museum & the wonderful henry moore institute, so you are sure to find something to entertain you.

If fast-paced city life gets too much, you will be pleased to understand that Leeds has some beautiful green spaces & stunning parks, containing the award-winning mandela gardens. These beautiful gardens were built at a cost of £12 million to commemorate the millennium & were jointly funded by leeds council & the Millennium Commission. The gardens won a medal at the 2004 Chelsea Flower Show.

Leeds has got some wonderful nightlife, which begs to be tried out. Whether you prefer a relaxing drink in one of the city’s quaint pubs or a glass of wine at one of Leeds’ vip bars, you will have a excellent evening here.

After you have had your drink, why not hit the nightclubs? Leeds has some wonderful nightclubs that cater to any musical style, so you will be spoilt for choice.

Leeds also has plenty of venues to see live music, which include the Cockpit. These venues cater mostly to rock music & attract local & touring acts.

So, whether you are visiting Leeds for a lively evening out, a glam shopping trip or even a cultured weekend away, you will be spoilt for choice by the wide range of exhilarating things to do. For most intelligence on things to do in Leeds and the surrounding areas, just ring the local traveller information board.

You will find Leeds easy to get to by car, bus, coach and train. trains run from Leeds Railway Station, also called Leeds City, to the middle of london, Southampton, Bournemouth, Plymouth, Birmingham, Leicester, Bristol, Manchester, Liverpool and many more destinations throughout the UK.

Krissy Haze

Sagging is a manner of wearing pants or shorts below the waist, revealing some or all of their underwear . It is closely associated with hip-hop music and fashion. Sagging is also common among skateboarders and the Skate punk music scene.

<a href=”http://www.himfr.com/buy-slider_zipper/”>slider zipper</a>Sagging is commonly attributed in the media to have originated in the prohibition of belts for prisoners as belts could be used to commit suicide by hanging oneself, to strangle others, or to use as a weapon in fights.

Also, it is suggested that the trends are said to initially be worn by Southern California gang members, it became popular when gangsta rap artists from Los Angeles became popular in the early 90s.

In early September 2007, the city of Atlanta, Georgia was debating whether to have the fashion statement made illegal under an ordinance sponsored by Council member C.T. Martin. This proposal caused considerable feedback.

In March 2008, the Hahira, Georgia City Council passed a highly controversial clothing ordinance, in the name of public safety, that actually bans citizens from wearing pants that are below the waist and reveal skin or undergarments. The council was split 2, but the tie was broken by the mayor.

In many school districts across the United States, sagging is prohibited. The Virginia General Assembly tried, but failed to approve a law making the sagging style illegal in February 2005. In June 2007, the Town council of Delcambre, Louisiana passed an indecent exposure ordinance, prohibiting people wearing trousers which show their underwear.

The American Civil Liberties Union has associated laws against sagging to be racial profiling.Benetta Standly, statewide organizer for the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia stated, “In Atlanta, we see this as racial profiling… It’s going to target African-American male youths. There’s a fear with people associating the way you dress with crimes being committed.” In Flint, Michigan, The police chief has ordered his officers to start arresting “saggers,” as some aficionados of this sartorial style call themselves, on sight, threatening them with jail time and hefty fines for a fad he calls “immoral self expression.” He later told a local paper the style could give officers probable cause to search saggers.

Also in Pleasantville, New Jersey, it is against the law to wear pants in a sagging manner. A ticket is dispersed for indecent exposure.

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