St Joan of Arc (c. 1412-1431), also known as the Maid of Orleans, was a French patriot and martyr who challenged the English military ascendancy in France during the Hundred Years’ War.

Born into a peasant family in Domremy, France, Joan at the age of 13 or 14 began to hear the voices of St Michael, St Catherine and St Margaret, telling her to rescue France from English domination in the Hundred Years’ War that was then raging and to free the French city of Orleans from the English who then besieging it.

She was taken to see the Dauphin (the eldest son of the King of France and the direct heir to the throne) Charles, who was to be the future King Charles VII of France, in the castle of Chinon in the Loire Valley. Charles was initially sceptical and had Joan examined by a group of theologians and clergy in Poitiers, who became convinced of Joan’s sincerity and orthodoxy.

Charles then sent Joan with a small force to Orleans, where she joined the French army that was opposing the English forces. Wearing a suit of white armor and flying her own standard, Joan led a number of successful assaults against the English. By May 8, 1429, she forced the English to raise their siege and depart.

Joan now called for Charles the Dauphin to be crowned in Reims Cathedral, a move that she believed would give Charles more authority and would return a sense of national unity to the downtrodden, war weary French people.

Joan accompanied Charles and an army of 12,000 through English-held territory, with the French army clearing the territory of the English to make way for Charles and his party. Charles was then crowned in Reims Cathedral on July 17, 1429 as King Charles VII of France.

In April 1430 Joan and a small group of soldiers went to Compiegne, which was then under siege by the Burgundians, but on May 25 was captured and sold to the English by John of Luxemburg for 10,000 crowns. The English were very pleased to have Joan in their hands as she was becoming an impediment to their military advances in France.

Unfortunately for Joan, after her capture Charles VII made no attempt to negotiate with her captors or to offer a ransom payment.

In January 1431 she was put on trial in an English-constituted court in Rouen. She was originally charged with witchcraft and heresy; however, the trial itself was just for heresy and, moreover, was conducted with various irregularities.

Joan was found guilty and was burnt at the stake in Rouen’s Old Market on May 30, 1431.

Twenty five years after her trial and execution, Pope Callistus III set a formal retrial (known as a Trial of Rehabilitation). The result was that Joan’s 1431 trial was declared irregular – that is, Joan was exonerated by the Church. (Some commentators have suggested that this development was simply to strength the validity of Charles VII’s coronation in the face of any challenges.)

Joan was canonized in 1920. She is now known as Saint Joan of Arc.

St Joan of Arc remains a French national heroine. Certainly, her actions did block the English advance south of the Loire in her time and her military victories and the coronation she promoted gave the French new strength in the Hundred Years’ War while demoralizing their English foes.

But the meaning of Joan’s life and death goes beyond this and are have been explored by many historians and writers of literature over the years, including by the dramatists Schiller, Shaw, Peguy and Brecht.

Can a foreigner engage in retail trade in the Philippines? The simple answer is YES but the requirements are not as simple.

Every day we get several inquiries from foreigners who came to the Philippines to introduce their businesses abroad locally. We have foreigner clients selling pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, religious items from the Dead Sea, and various other products.

They have the capital. They have the source. And they have the marketing know-how. Philippine laws, however, has set certain limitations before these foreigners can engage in retail business.

With good reason, retail trade is reserved to Filipinos. Filipinos who do not have as much capital as these foreigners have will be deprived of earning their living off their sari-sari stores.

The Bureau of Immigration has repeatedly warned foreigners to not engage in retail trade without satisfying the requirements, lest they be arrested or deported for violation retail trade and immigration laws. (December 2012, BID Bulletin)

When is a business a RETAIL business?

If one is habitually selling merchandise, commodities or goods for consumption to the general public, then he or she is engaged in a retail business as defined by law.

What is the requirement before a foreigner can engage in retail trade?

The foreigner or the corporation with a foreign equity must have a capital of not less than Two million five hundred thousand US dollars (US$2,500,000.00).

Are all retail businesses covered by the Retail Trade Liberalization Law?

Not all retain businesses are covered. There are exceptions where foreign ownership is allowed.

For one, sales by a manufacturer of products manufactured by him, when his capital does not exceed One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00), is not considered retail trade.

The same is true with a farmer selling the products of his farm.

Sales in restaurant operations by a hotel owner or inn-keeper, irrespective of the amount of capital, where the restaurant is incidental to the hotel business, is also exempt.

Finally, sales which are limited only to products manufactured, processed or assembled by a manufacturer through a single outlet, irrespective of capitalization, are likewise outside the coverage of the Retail Trade Liberalization Law.

If the foreigner has Two million five hundred thousand US dollars (US$2,500,000.00) capitalization, can the business be wholly foreign-owned?

If the capitalization is at least 2.5 Million dollars but not more than 7.5 Million dollars, the foreigner can own up to sixty percent (60%) of the business. If the capitalization is at least seven million five hundred dollars, then it can be wholly foreign-owned.

Also, enterprises specializing in high-end or luxury products with a paid -up capital of the equivalent in Philippine Pesos of Two hundred fifty thousand US dollars (US$250,000.00) per store may be wholly owned by foreigners.

Is the foreigner required to keep the amount of capitalization in a Philippine bank?

While the foreign investor shall be required to maintain in the Philippines the full amount of the prescribed minimum capital, it is not required to be kept in the bank. It is required to be actually used in their operations in the Philippines. Actual use of the funds will be monitored by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Tesla Motors, one of the original electric vehicle start-up companies and currently the most important player out of the few that remain, recently reiterated its plans to end production of its all-electric sports car, the Tesla Roadster, by the end of 2011. The Tesla Roadster has been Tesla Motors’ main money-maker ever since it was released, with the first hundred units selling out in three weeks and the second hundred in just under a year from its release date.

Why then would Tesla end production of the vehicle that made them a household name in the electric car industry? It could have something to do with Tesla Motors’ primary stated goal as a company, which is not simply to make a profit and allow its CEOs to retire in style, but to increase the variety and popularity of electric vehicles on today’s car market. Selling its cars is only one of the three ways Tesla has declared as a strategy to accomplish this goal.

The other two involve selling the technology in Tesla’s electric motors to other car manufacturers to help them along the EV path, and providing a positive example to the auto industry that it is possible to create electric vehicles that are efficient, high-performance, and popular.

Although the Tesla Roadster has helped rocket Tesla Motors to international fame, possibly the geniuses behind the company have decided that it has completed its course. Tesla Motors is working on something even bigger than the amazing success of the Roadster. There has been a bit of buzz in the recent media about Tesla’s new EV, the Model X.

Although not much is known about the Model X, reports are that it will be in the wildly-popular crossover SUV genre and that the platform will be based on another Tesla model, the Model S. This brings to mind a strategy hit upon by the Big Three automakers, in the 1980s. They each developed a solid vehicle platform, just one was necessary, and began using it as a base for scores of different car models. With just one vehicle platform, these companies produced cars, trucks, SUVs, and crossovers of all shapes and sizes, dropping different body styles on top of the same platform. This strategy allowed them to quickly make a killing on the market.

Possibly, ending production on its Roadster is Tesla’s way of diverting necessary resources to this one-platform strategy. If they can perfect their Model S platform, they will be able to cheaply make many different electric models – SUVs, minivans, sedans, practically whatever they like – using the Model S as a base.

There is just the small matter of being able to keep their heads above water in the six month interim between the end of the Roadster and the beginning of the Model X. Tesla recently announced plans for an issuing of 5.3 million of their shares to the public to help them raise money and survive as an independent company until the Model X takes off. Could this strategy be the key that will finally allow them to reach their company’s goal of making electric vehicles a part of the everyday life of the mainstream consumer?

What we’ve uncovered in the first seven tips are some simple basic strategies that can deliver a very powerful marketing effect and sales repercussions for you.

I know that you worked really, really, hard to get to this point. You have five, or ten, or twenty, or thirty thousand dollars to spend. Maybe more, maybe less, but in round numbers you’ve got a few dollars put aside to help market your product or service. That’s fantastic. I’m always thrilled to hear that because you can never give a media buyer, that’s me, enough money.

That being said, your buyers should be very smart and efficient and be a responsible steward of your advertising resources. No matter how big or small. But one thing I want to caution many advertisers about is an unrealistic expectation that your ad campaign will transform your business overnight. There have been a few notable exceptions. In the majority, too many advertisers have delusions of grandeur that this new ad is going to suddenly trigger an avalanche of revenue overnight. It’ll be viral in 48 hours and we’ll be swimming in money.

Well if that happens and yours is the one-in-a-million shot, where everyone plunks down their credit card and suddenly you’re in the money, fantastic! I am so thrilled and excited for you. That is a wonderful, wonderful result and you should celebrate.

The harsh reality is, those moments, those one in the millions are exactly that. The other nine hundred thousand nine hundred plus are still labouring every day to capture their audience’s attention. To make sure that they are delivering the message efficiently, and effectively. While you are hopeful that will happen overnight, you have to temper that with the reality that yours is only one of maybe two hundred to perhaps one thousand messages that every consumer is exposed to every day. That’s either wildly exaggerated or terribly conservative depending on whom you talk to.

There are a number of studies out there that have measured the amount of ads that we are exposed to on a daily basis in some way, shape, or form. You will find a link at the end of this article exploring how many ads we see per day.

Audio, video, print, in whatever format around us, and so we are constantly inundated. Respectfully dear advertiser what makes you believe that your little ad is going to be a world changer?

Here is a snippet for you to bear in mind. There are over a hundred daily newspapers still being produced in Canada. Dozens more of the ethnic language newspapers. Plus many more of the free daily newspapers. There is a host of other newspapers specific to a particular field. The average daily newspaper, if you cut it all up, the total content of words and pages amounts to approximately three voluminous novels every day.

You prepared to read three novels? This becomes THAT thick, and in the midst of it, you’re hoping that yours is the ad that stands out.

I hope so. Really and truly I do hope that manifests itself for you. But when I’m up against all of that other competition of texts and messages just in one vehicle, I want to make sure that I’m doing enough to keep my profile as prominent as possible.

Work for the slow build because, no-nobody, this is a personal aside ladies and gentlemen. nobody but nobody has jumped out of bed saying … Goodness sake, Where can I find a good media guy?… that hasn’t happened. But by regular consistent marketing and advertising and letting people know what it is I do, that has stood me in good stead for winning new business.

I want the same for you to have a consistent steady drip of messaging. One which demonstrates who you are, what you do, what your product or service is, and over time you will develop the trust and the confidence to do business, with people who like doing business with you. You want to earn their confidence and their trust.

The reality as I mentioned says otherwise that despite your best efforts, yours might not be the one-in-a-million shot

In a previous article I suggested that you create a calendar and how you map out the year.

Now let’s take another piece of paper and this time write down ahead of time what it is you want your ad to do.

Is it to stimulate sales right now?

Is it to get people to sign up for a free report on the website?

Maybe you want them to call you to set up an appointment?

Is it to cutout this coupon and save on the trial offer?

How are you going to measure? What’s your metric or metrics if it’s successful?

Right now you have a benchmark of zero awareness, zero sales.

By spending $500 or $5,000 or $50 thousand dollars on your campaign, what do you hope to achieve? What’s your metric for whether it performed well or not?

As I mentioned previously you want the ad to bring back at least what it costs. But clearly you must identify upfront what you want or expect the end result to be.

IE: We spent fifty thousand dollars on this campaign, we want to see a minimum of seventy-five thousand dollars come back. Okay that’s a good measure. You want to see one and a half dollars return for every dollar you spent. That’s not unachievable. But you need to know what it is you’re trying to achieve so you can measure whether or not you’ve hit your target.

And if you exceed that, and your fifty thousand dollars spent brings back two hundred thousand dollars, kudos you’ve done something tremendously right. Well done. But you can’t deliver to your expectations if you don’t know what they are, and set them out ahead of time.

So please go into your campaign with a clear understanding and an open mind of what this sales messaging is trying to do.

When you know what it is you’re after, and not just flippantly, oh let’s just run an ad..there’s a lot more art and science behind it than just that. I want to see that your spending is done smartly and efficiently and effectively. Regardless of how much you are spending, remember, you will spend the same amount of money whether the campaign works or not.

So spend it well. And as always, I’ll be glad to help. Until the next time, have a great day.

As promised: This is one source who is a lot more scientific in their approach about the ads we see each day. http://blog.telesian.com/how-many-advertisements-do-we-see-each-day/

Most juicer recipes rely on either fruits or vegetables as the primary ingredient. Some use both together. These recipes are typically very healthy and are geared toward supporting or increasing good health, with most of them focusing on one type of base fruit or vegetable.

Some of the favorite juicer recipes rely on fruit as the main ingredient. Fruit recipes are usually rather sweet. Orange Julius is a spin on orange juice and is one of the favored ones. Another favorite is grape juice cocktail. Fruit juice can be focused on assisting the body with all types of bodily functions.

Vegetable juice rely on vegetables for the majority of the ingredient list. The majority of the vegetable recipes include carrots as one of the staple ingredients. Carrots add sweetness to any of the vegetable juice. It is believed that making juices out of vegetables is better at getting all of the nutrients out of the vegetables than eating them whole or any other consuming methods.

Juicer recipes allow the consumer to get a hundred percent out of their juicer machine. It is believed that processing fruit and vegetables as part of these recipes allows the body to absorb one hundred percent of the nutrients and vitamins that the fruit and vegetables have to offer. The juicer acts as a pre digestion source and a palatable way of preparing fruits and vegetables.

Recipe ideas for juices and such can be found in cook books, online, magazines, and in pamphlets that come with the machine itself. If you look online, you can find a whole plethora for free readily at your disposal. Any search engine will bring up hundreds of recipes right away.

Juices are a great source of nutritious drink and snack options, and delicious juicer recipes provide an opportunity to make sure the five servings of fruit and vegetables are gotten every single day.

If you want to discover how to earn money online then pay close attention to the following vitally important few paragraphs because they reveal, completely for free, the most powerful and effective methods available today for making lots of money from the Web. Making money online offers a dream lifestyle, financial freedom and the unique benefit of never having to answer directly to a horrible boss ever again. However, the truth is, you need to be aware of the most efficacious techniques for earning money online if you want to “make it” in this increasingly competitive industry. Thankfully, that’s where we come in, by revealing to you directly exactly how to make all the money you desire from the Internet, as quickly as possible!

Killer Method #1 – Build AdSense Websites!

If you’re looking into how to earn money online then you may have already heard of making money from AdSense. In a nutshell, this method involves writing articles on any chosen topic you are familiar with, publishing them to your Blog or Website and then signing up to Google’s AdSense program which displays adverts that perfectly match your articles’ topic. When people arrive at your site to read your articles they will see related adverts and, the great thing is, every time a person clicks on one of the ads you get paid. The price you are paid for a click can range from a few pennies right the way up to nearly a hundred dollars, depending on the topic of your site. All in all, this is a fantastic, easy way to get started making money online. It is very realistic to make a few extra hundred dollars a month with this method, although some top AdSense publishers like Spencer Haws actually make over $10,000/month. Truly inspiring, I am sure you’ll agree. Building AdSense websites is more fun than most regular online jobs, however, you probably want to work on it part-time to begin with as it can take a little time to build up.

Killer Method #2 – Help Local Businesses With Online Marketing!

This is one of the easiest ways ever to start making good money online. In essence, what you are doing is, creating your own legitimate full-time online job by offering your online marketing services to offline businesses. The first thing to understand is that 90% of offline “bricks and mortar” businesses are completely clueless when it comes to Online Marketing. As such you can, with a just a little bit of easily and freely acquired Online Marketing knowledge, make tremendous monthly profits by serving just a few offline businesses that are easily found in any decent-sized city or town. Services you can offer include Website Design, Email Newsletter Management, Search Engine Optimization, Pay Per Click, Graphic Design, Blogging, Facebook and Twitter Management and much, much more. Just one average-sized offline business will happily pay several hundred dollars per month for your services if they see a positive ROI and so, as a simple bit of Math will show you, a few of these such clients quickly adds up to a very healthy income. This method for earning money online, where you essentially become your own boss in control of your own time, is one the best types of self-created online jobs you will ever find.

Summing Up!

If you have been searching for how to earn money online then these 2 methods work like gangbusters. Simply get started today and soon you too will be living the dream Internet Lifestyle. Good luck and be sure to get started right now!

A lot of people ask the question, what is the difference between commercial boilers, and a residential boiler system? Some people believe that the difference between these items is the quality of the device. There are people that believe if you purchase something designed for commercial use you will be getting a higher quality product, but the truth is the quality of commercial boilers and residential systems is the same. The difference between the two systems is the size of the units.

These systems are sized by the number of BTUs (British Thermal Units) and not by the actual size of the unit. A BTU is a British Thermal Units. This is a way to measure the amount of heat or cooling capacity a device has. A British Thermal Units is said to be equal to the amount of heat that would be produced by one single match. In order for these units to be described as commercial boilers they must be at least a three hundred thousand BTU device. Anything less than a three hundred thousand BTU device is considered to be appropriate for residential use.

Both types of units can be powered by several different heat sources. The main types of fuels that are used on both these device sizes are propane gas, natural gas, and electricity. In the past coal burning units were fairly popular as were wood burners and oil burners. Heating oil became obsolete do to the price of the heating oil and coal became obsolete as a fuel because of the difficulty in storing and in firing the unit with the material. Wood burners were operated fairly cheaply, but the difficulty in getting the wood and having someone keep the fire going in the furnace made wood obsolete.

Natural gas is used the most frequently in the commercial industries because they are capable of having this fuel piped directly to the unit in question. The fuel is cost efficient and it is extremely convenient. In commercial applications convenience and ease of use are often more important factors than the cost of an item. Some residential areas do not have piped natural gas lines so these people will choose either the electric powered units are the propane powered units. All of the devices are efficient and less costly to run than the alternative appliances.

Forced air heating units are the most popular in homes and in commercial settings the forced air systems are also very popular. When a commercial business has several rooms or offices that require heated or cooled air forced air devices are chosen for this job. The forced air device has a central location and duct work is installed in the walls or the ceilings to transport the heated air to each different section. These units are efficient, but they can be slightly noisy. They are quick to raise or lower the temperature of an area and the different sections of the property have the ability to adjust the temperature in their space by using closable vents and thermostat controls.

Does the Ironman treadmill live up to its’ name? Is it the best model for your fitness needs?

There are so many treadmills today that choosing the right one can be very challenging. Fortunately, that process is made easier by online reviews, and of course, the ability to test them out yourself.

These machines are made by Keys Fitness Products, a company that also makes a few other brands of treadmills as well. There are 2 different models of Ironman Treadmills, the more recent T Series and the older M series.

Many of their models are only made for those who are just beginning in the fitness department, but they have a few that are more for serious runners. The prices go from anywhere from less than one thousand to roughly two thousand, depending on whether you want to just walk or run.

You get a wide range of options from which to choose. The Triad, for example, comes with a trendy look and is comparable to the M5. It has the same weight limit as this model, which is three hundred and fifty five pounds, certainly impressive when compared with the models out there.

Many models can handle at most twenty hundred and fifty pounds, just to give you a measuring point. The engine has three horses, quite powerful for its’ class.

It is able to incline at a rate of ten percent, which is pretty standard. It comes with a lifetime warranty for the body of the machine, one hundred and twenty months for the engine, twenty four months for parts, and twelve months for labor. All of these are very impressive when stacked against other famous brand names.

Ironman Treadmills among the highest quality machines anywhere, but they aren’t as high priced as you might expect. They are made for either the most serious of workout enthusiasts, or those whose idea of a workout is a brisk walk. In other words, they are excellent for either helping you drop a few pounds or mold your way into an Olympic athlete.

Regardless of which specific model you get, just about all of them come with a three horsepower engine, as I stated before. These are heavy duty and are certainly not going to give out any time soon.

They have nice cushioning on the belt to protect your joints, and also very long and wide belts which makes them excellent for larger people.

They offer fans to help you avoid overheating while working out. I’ve reviewed many models, but I have to say I’m genuinely impressed by the Ironman Treadmill models. Their combination of affordability, great warranty, and power and cushioning makes them a definite great buy.

The Sony Ericsson W995 Black is a 3G mobile phone that comes with a black casing that offers fantastic features for users to enjoy. Here are the lists:

It weighs one hundred and thirteen grams and measures ninety seven mm in height, forty nine mm in width and fifteen mm in depth, making it an easy to hold and a light to carry handset.

It comes with stereo speaker that users can use to either to listen to their favourite music via the built in music player, or via the FM radio. They can even use these for hands free calls.

The Sony Ericsson W995 Black features an eight mega pixel camera that can be used for taking in excellent quality pictures and videos, which users would definitely love.

Users may also plug in compatible head phones via the 3.5m audio jack and be able to enjoy private listening

Users may also choose to download either polyphonic, MP3 or AAC ring tones, depending on which would suit their taste.

This handset also comes with one hundred and eighteen megabytes of internal memory, but users may still increase this to up to eight gigabytes of additional memory storage, via the expandable memory card slot that can support M2 memory card

The Sony Ericsson W995 Black comes with EDGE technology for high speed data transfers.

There is also Bluetooth and USB connectivity that would enable the user to share files with other devices.

The handset’s phonebook can accommodate up to one thousand names with photo call, while the call records may store up to thirty entries for each call activity.

This phone comes with shake control feature, wherein users would just need to shake the handset, and it would automatically switch to another track.

The Sony Ericsson W995 Black comes with a fitted battery when fully charged, can provide up to twenty hours of music play back time, nine long hours of talk time, and three hundred and seventy hours of standby time.