Families, Employers, Educators Prepare to Roll out the Red Carpet for the Next Generation on Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day, April 27

Families, Employers, Educators Prepare to Roll out the Red Carpet for the Next Generation on Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day, April 27

Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work Day is Thursday, April 27, 2006. Millions will be participating.

New York, NY (PRWEB) April 24, 2006

A new generation at work will find out what it takes to be part of the nation's workforce as families and businesses all over the country participate in this year's Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work Day® on Thursday, April 27.

Employees' daughters, sons, nieces and nephews will get some first hand, on-the-job experience through activities that build on the lessons they learn in the classroom. With the help of their parents, teachers and the community, girls and boys discover what it will take to achieve the full and balanced futures they desire.

"Parent involvement is a key to a child's educational success. Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work Day is an opportunity for parents to share part of their work life with children and to show them that work is an integral part of everyone's life. This special day is also an opportunity for PTAs, schools, and communities to work together to provide a learning experience for our nation's children," said National PTA CEO, Warlene Gary.

Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work is an internationally-celebrated program. Interactive and educational experiences help girls and boys connect what they study to the actual working world. It builds an educational platform on which parents, school administrators, business executives and community leaders can inspire and guide girls and boys toward successful, rewarding career and life choices.

"It is a day to inspire our future workforce," said Sara K. Gould, President and CEO of the Ms. Foundation for Women. Reports indicate 16 million participate on the actual day. Other communities create their own unique programs for other times more convenient. "The Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work educational program allows flexibility for all communities and we applaud the millions who participate each year."

On this day parents, businesses, and teachers introduce children to different workplaces and vocations, thereby connecting today's schoolwork with future career paths. Girls and boys begin to consider what it takes to balance work, life, and family as they share ideas and dreams with adults and peers they respect. It surpasses a "career day" experience and becomes a whole-life "discovery day" for the girls and boys who participate. Workplace coordinators find curriculum and new activities each year: http://www. DaughtersAndSonsToWork. org (http://www. DaughtersAndSonsToWork. org).

The program was launched in 2003 and evolved from the Ms. Foundation for Women's extraordinarily successful Take Our Daughters To Work(r) Day, which began in 1993.

About the foundation:

The Ms. Foundation for Women Inc., founded in 1972 with headquarters in New York City, is the first and the leading national women's philanthropy. We lift women's and girls' voices and promote their power to create a more equitable society. The Ms. Foundation for Women provides approximately $4 million in grants and practical training to community-based and national activist women's organizations throughout the U. S. each year. Our support makes these organizations stronger and more capable of driving social change and public policy advances in the areas of health and safety, economic security, and women's and girls' leadership. The Ms. Foundation is the creator of the award-winning national public education program, Take Our Daughters To Work Day®, which began in 1993 and evolved to Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work Day® in 2003. For more information about the Ms. Foundation for Women, please visit our Web site at http://www. ms. foundation (http://www. ms. foundation).

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Minister of Health Asked to Investigate Psychiatry In The Suicide Death Of Ellie Boisvert

Minister of Health Asked to Investigate Psychiatry In The Suicide Death Of Ellie Boisvert

The commission has also asked the Minister to not allow any psychiatrists to participate on the task force saying that it would be similar to hiring a fox to guard a hen house.

(PRWEB) May 28, 2006

The Citizens Commission on Human Rights, a psychiatric watchdog group established by the Church of Scientology, has asked the Minister of Health, The Honorable George Abbott, to instruct a proposed suicide-reduction task force to put the psychiatrist responsible for the care and “treatment” of Ellie Boisvert and psychiatry’s “treatment” procedures in general under the microscope.

The commission has also asked the Minister to not allow any psychiatrists to participate on the task force saying that it would be similar to hiring a fox to guard a hen house. Instead, the commission is recommending that members of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, members of the legal profession and lay people comprise the task force.

The task force was recommended as the result of recent coroners inquest conducted by Regional Coroner Rose Stanton. According to evidence brought out at the inquest Ellie Boisvert, 56, left the Eric Martin Pavilion, the psychiatric ward of the Royal Jubilee Hospital, on July 29, 2005, on a four to six-hour pass. Ms. Boisvert didn’t return from her pass and was found dead on Aug. 17, 2005, in Layritz Park. Near her body was a suicide note. Ms. Boisvert said in the note that she didn’t want to spend one more moment in the “EMP.” Nor did she want to continue living as a psychiatric patient growing steadily worse. “It’s not life.”

Brian Beaumont President of the Vancouver Chapter of CCHR said “Psychiatrist Dr. Donald Milliken’s rant at the inquest about Canada not having a national suicide prevention program was obviously a covert way of shifting the blame for Ms. Boisvert’s suicide onto a wrong target and thereby taking no responsibility at all for her death. After all, he treated her for 10 years prior to her suicide”.

Another fault in the psychiatric industry, according to a study by Lisa Cosgrove, a psychologist from the University of Massachusetts and Sheldon Krimsky, a Tuft University professor, is psychiatry’s billing bible itself, the Diagonstic and Satistical Manual of Mental Disorgers (DSM). The study documents how pharmaceutical companies who manufacture drugs for “mental disorders” funded psychiatrists who defined the disorders for the manual. One hundred percent of the “experts” on DSM-IV panels overseeing so-called “mood disorders” (which includes “depression”) and “schizophrenia/psychotic disorders” were financially involved with drug companies. These are the largest categories of psychiatric drugs in the world: 2004 sales of $20.3 billion for antidepressants and $14.4 billion for antipsychotic drugs alone.

The Citizens Commission on Human Rights is an international psychiatric watchdog group co-founded in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and Dr. Thomas Szasz, Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus at the State University of New York Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, to investigate and expose psychiatric violations of human rights.

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Grameen Foundation Guarantee Engineers $1.5 Million in Financing For ProMujer Bolivia

Grameen Foundation Guarantee Engineers $1.5 Million in Financing For ProMujer Bolivia

Grameen Foundation’s first Growth Guarantee in Latin America facilitates US$1.5 million for partner Pro Mujer Boliva, one of that country's fastest growing microfinance organizations. The transaction represents a significant breakthrough for the microfinance industry, and signals a growing willingness by Bolivian banks to engage the microfinance sector.

Washington, DC (PRWEB) May 20, 2006

Washington, D. C., May 18, 2006—Grameen Foundation, a leading global microfinance organization, today announced two loan guarantees that secure US$1.5 million in funding for Pro Mujer Bolivia (Pro Mujer), a Grameen Foundation partner and one of the fastest growing microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Latin America. The deals with Banco de Credito de Bolivia and Banco Bisa, both Bolivian-based commercial banks, were facilitated by guarantees totaling US$750,000, and will fuel ProMujer’s plans to expand their unique model of “one-stop” financial and healthcare services.

Unlike most MFIs, ProMujer provides all of its services at one location. In addition to providing credit and financial services to clients, it offers direct basic primary health care at its centers, as well as required vaccinations for children and Pap tests for early cancer detection.

“In Bolivia, which is considered one of the most advanced microfinance markets globally, almost 70 percent of microenterprises still lack microfinance services” said Alex Counts, president and CEO of Grameen Foundation which first partnered with Pro Mujer in 2005. “We are pleased that our Growth Guarantees will help Pro Mujer increase their national network of financial centers and reach their goal of 105,000 total clients by 2009.” These are the first Latin American transactions from the Grameen Foundation Growth Guarantee program which secures loans in local currency for poverty-focused MFIs.

The simultaneous funding for ProMujer from two banks is also a significant breakthrough for the industry, and signals a growing willingness by Bolivian banks to engage the microfinance sector. In addition, the funding from Banco de Credito de Bolivia is noteworthy as it is part of Banco de Credito Peru, one of South America’s largest banks.

“Until now, getting the leading Bolivian banks to finance our portfolio has been difficult largely because they viewed microfinance operations with uncertainty,” said Carmen Velasco, Pro Mujer‘s executive director. “By borrowing in Bolivianos instead of U. S. dollars, these transactions also allow us to meet the demands of our clients who are increasingly requesting loans in local currency.” Since Bolivia is a highly dollarized economy, ProMujer previously offered loans exclusively in U. S. dollars.

About Grameen Foundation

Grameen Foundation is a global non-profit organization that combines microfinance, technology, and innovation to empower the world's poorest people to escape poverty. Founded in 1997, it has established a global network of 52 partners in 22 countries that has impacted an estimated 11 million lives in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and the Middle East.

The Foundation sprang from the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh. Grameen Bank was started in 1976 by an economics professor, Dr. Muhammad Yunus, who was convinced that women could break through poverty by taking tiny loans to start or expand tiny businesses. Today, Grameen Bank serves nearly 6 million borrowers. As strategic global partners, Grameen Foundation and Grameen Bank share a common vision, knowledge and success models to accelerate the microfinance industry's impact on the world's poorest people. Dr. Yunus, the founder and director of Grameen Bank, is a founding and current board member of the Grameen Foundation. For more information, please visit www. gfusa. org.

About Pro Mujer Bolivia

Created in 1990, Pro Mujer Bolivia is one of the leading poverty focused MFIs in Latin America and provides credit with healthcare and education services throughout Bolivia. Over the past five years, it has expanded rapidly, growing from 27,481 borrowers in 2001 to 64,517 borrowers in 2005, and increasing its loan portfolio from $3.2 million to over $11 million. It is part of the ProMujer network of five MFIs in Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, Nicaragua, and Argentina.

Third Brigade CTO to Present at CSI 33rd Annual Conference & Exhibition

Third Brigade CTO to Present at CSI 33rd Annual Conference & Exhibition

Third Brigade, Inc. (www. thirdbrigade. com), a security software company that specializes in host-based intrusion defense systems, today announced that Brian O’Higgins, the company’s Chief Technology Officer will present at the CSI 33rd Annual Conference and Exhibition.

Ottawa, Ontario and Reston, Virginia (PRWEB) November 6, 2006

Third Brigade, Inc. (www. thirdbrigade. com), a security software company that specializes in host-based intrusion defense systems, today announced that Brian O’Higgins, the company’s Chief Technology Officer will present at the CSI 33rd Annual Conference and Exhibition. http://www. csi33rd. com (http://www. csi33rd. com)

Mr. O’Higgins’ presentation is scheduled for Wednesday, November 8, 2006 at 9:45am ET at the Gaylord Palms Resort, Orlando, FL, entitled “The Perimeter Survives – It Shrinks to the Hosts”.

Network perimeters are porous, and now traditional defenses are not sufficient. That does not mean tools such as firewalls, intrusion detection, and intrusion prevention are deficient, they now have another life as the fundamentals of host-based security. In this world of no network perimeter, we need to do more than identity management and data encryption, we still need to maintain a new perimeter, but in this case it shrinks down to individual servers and computers. This talk describes this transition, outlines various approaches to host-based security, and compares them to network-based perimeter controls. Intrusion prevention is examined in more detail, with a comparison of some very different styles and techniques that are available now with newer host-based IPS approaches. A discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of these approaches is given, to provide insight in what style may be appropriate for your environment, and how this new world of perimeter security will evolve.

Third Brigade will also exhibit at the conference at Booth #320.

Dates and Times: 

Sunday, November 5  5:00pm – 7:00pm

Monday, November 6 9:00am – 3:30pm

Tuesday, November 7 9:00am – 3:30pm  

About Third Brigade

Third Brigade specializes in providing host intrusion defense systems to government, financial services, health care, telecommunications and other organizations that need to detect and prevent attacks that exploit vulnerabilities in commercial and custom software, including web applications. It enables you to create and enforce comprehensive security policies that proactively protect critical applications, sensitive data, and hosts, ensure regulatory compliance, and maximize the performance of your people, processes and hosts. Unlike others, Third Brigade software is not intrusive: it is smaller, faster and simpler. Third Brigade. That’s control.

For media and analyst inquiries only, contact:

Kathryn Schwab

Media and Analyst Relations

Third Brigade, Inc.

(M) 613-858-4407

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Hollywood Beauty Debuts on Passions Soap Opera “Watch NBC’s Passions Beginning May 17, 2:00 PST”

Hollywood Beauty Debuts on Passions Soap Opera “Watch NBC’s Passions Beginning May 17, 2:00 PST”

HOLLYWOOD, CA (PRWEB) May 18, 2004

Actress Yvonne Arias has been cast to appear on daytime soap, “Passions” which airs on the NBC network. Arias will play the character of Dian, a bubbly school girl who becomes friends with “Paloma” played by newcomer, Silvana Arias. The episodes will begin airing on Monday, May 17 – check your local listing for specific times.

Before landing her role as Dian, Ms. Arias produced and hosted a local television show called “Up to the Minute” which traveled the boutiques and hotspots of Hollywood in search of trends, beauty and health. From there, Ms. Arias appeared in numerous commercials and print campaigns for major automotive companies. 

“Working on “Passions” has been an amazing experience and has opened many doors for my career,” says Arias. “I love acting, so I’m really excited to see what the future will bring, maybe a movie?”

Ms. Arias was born and raised in the Los Angeles area where she currently resides. She was first discovered by a casting director friend who encouraged her to pursue acting. Today, Arias has embraced Hollywood and trains with some of the most noted acting coaches in the business.

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Starting a Business has great Advantages

Starting a Business has great Advantages

Owning a business allows a person to control their income and gives them flexibility.

(PRWEB) June 24, 2005

We live in a very insecure world. Many people are wondering how they can make life for themselves and their families a little bit better, a little bit easier and a little bit more comfortable. We live in a two income society and most people must have two incomes just to survive. Even single parents often have two jobs just to make ends meet. So, if you are working two jobs for someone else, can you ever hope to improve your life?

There is a certain amount of security in working for someone else and knowing that on certain days you will have a set amount of money. Also, working for someone else often offers benefits such as health insurance that can be vital for a family. But, have you ever considered the fact that you are working eight hours plus a day to make someone else rich? How about this? If you need more money for something that unexpectedly comes up, can you go to your boss and ask for more hours? Sometimes you can but most of the time you can not.

Kathy Anderson, President of Lone Peak Business Solutions, Inc. states, “I have been a business owner for 26 years and mother of seven children. In those years I have come to realize the advantages to owning my own business. It has literally saved my financial life more than once.”

Two of the best advantages of business ownership are:

1. Owning your own business gives you flexibility. A business owner often is able to arrange schedules around family instead of scheduling family around a job. It also gives one the ability to be there for school events, sports events, graduations, weddings, etc.

2. Owning your own business gives you the opportunity to choose your income. Many business owners have a spouse that has a employee type job. What happens if that spouse gets laid off or is not able to work? A business owner has the ability to market his/her business and increase income.

For more free information on the hows and whys of business ownership go to www. lonepeakbusiness. com.

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EMC, IBM, and Hewlett-Packard Ranked 1, 2, and 3 in Brand Awareness and Preference in Storage Solutions Market, Says New ITSMA Study

EMC, IBM, and Hewlett-Packard Ranked 1, 2, and 3 in Brand Awareness and Preference in Storage Solutions Market, Says New ITSMA Study.

Other Firms With Brand Strength Include Brocade, Dell, Hitachi Data Systems, Network Appliance, Sun, and Veritas

(PRWEB) December 19, 2002

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Rob Leavitt

ITSMA

+1-781-862-8500, ext. 45

Rleavitt@itsma. com

EMC, IBM, and Hewlett-Packard Ranked 1, 2, and 3 in Brand Awareness and Preference in Storage Solutions Market, Says New ITSMA Study

Other Firms With Brand Strength Include Brocade, Dell, Hitachi Data Systems, Network Appliance, Sun, and Veritas

LEXINGTON, Massachusetts—December 17, 2002—Buyers of large-scale IT storage solutions think first of EMC, IBM, and Hewlett-Packard, according to ITSMA, a global advisor to companies that market and sell technology services.

ITSMAÂ’s study of market positioning and brand knowledge in the fiercely competitive storage market showed that EMC is clearly top-of-mind for buyers interested in purchasing storage solutions. More than one-third of storage decision makers mentioned EMC without prompting, and more than one-quarter said EMC is the firm they would most likely call for storage services and solutions. IBM and Hewlett-Packard were the only other firms mentioned by more than 10% of decision makers in ITSMAÂ’s survey of 300 IT executives from large enterprises and government agencies.

“Brand recognition is a critical advantage in today’s storage solutions market,” according to Lori Weiner, Senior Director of Research at ITSMA and author of Storage Solutions: 2002 Market Positioning and Brand Awareness Study. “Buyers are skeptical of new technologies and extremely conservative in investing in new solutions, yet performance requirements for storage systems continue to increase. The answer is often to consider offers only from the most prominent and credible players.”

In addition to the overall brand leaders, buyers gave high marks to a number of other firms for strength in specific categories. Buyers relying exclusively on network-attached storage rate Network Appliance and Dell highest. Brocade Communications received the highest overall favorability rating of any company rated in the study. Hitachi Data Systems showed strength in categories such as storage consulting and storage area network (SAN) solutions. CNT and Veritas received high marks for expertise in business continuity and disaster recovery.

Other findings from the ITSMA study include:

§ More than 50% of large enterprise buyers are planning significant changes to their data storage and networks in the next 12 months

§ Growing volumes of data, data security, and higher availability requirements are the top three drivers for new investments in storage solutions

§ BuyersÂ’ top priority in evaluating providers of storage solutions is protection of storage investments

§ Buyers show a modest but clear preference for bringing together best-of-breed specialists over relying on single firms that can provide one-stop-shopping for all their storage products and services

About the Study

ITSMAÂ’s Storage Solutions: 2002 Market Positioning and Brand Awareness Study provides a detailed assessment of buyer perceptions of todayÂ’s top providers of storage solutions. Based on telephone interviews with 300 IT executives, the study analyzes storage investment priorities, brand awareness and favorability, relative market positioning, preferred company attributes, and vendor selection influences.

Study participants represent seven major market segments: financial services, government and public sector, health care delivery, industrial manufacturing, consumer products manufacturing, communications/energy/utilities, and retail.

Study participants provide ratings and comment on the following companies: Brocade, CNT, Cisco Systems, Dell, EMC, Hewlett-Packard, Hitachi Data Systems, IBM Global Services, Inrange, McData, Microsoft, Network Appliance, StorageTek, Sun Microsystems, and Veritas.

For more information, visit http://www. itsma. com/research/abstracts/bst001.htm (http://www. itsma. com/research/abstracts/bst001.htm) or contact Rob Leavitt at rleavitt@itsma. com or +1-781-862-8500, ext. 45.

About ITSMA

ITSMA is a global advisor to companies that market and sell technology services. Its members account for a significant portion of the worldÂ’s technology services revenue and include industry leaders such as Accenture, Cisco Systems, EDS, Ericsson, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, SAP, and Siemens. Through research, events, education, and advisory services, ITSMA helps companies achieve measurable results in terms of growth, profitability, and customer loyalty. Founded in 1994, ITSMA is headquartered in Lexington, Massachusetts, and has offices in California, the United Kingdom, and Japan. More information about ITSMA can be found at www. itsma. com.

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Copyright © 2002 ITSMA. All Rights Reserved.