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The hoax of micro credit
MICRO-credit or micro-finance, whatever we call it, is playing an important role in our country. The sources of micro-credit in our country, can be divided into two main categories. The first one is the commercial bank (private and nationalised) and the second is the NGOs -- Non-government organisations. Without analysis of the details, if we compare the overall performance of these two categories it seems that NGOs are doing better. However, we should analyse more details to find out the actual performance scenario.
To find out the actual picture of the micro-credit operation of the NGOs, the following points which need to be discussed critically, are its effective rate of interest, recovery rate, tax implication, foreign donor agency or source of finance and, finally, the government's steps in this regard.
Report: HP Should Buy Security Firm
IBM Corp.'s $1.3 billion purchase last week of security software maker Internet Security Systems Inc. puts pressure on rivals such as Hewlett-Packard Co. to expand their own security offerings, analysts said. In a research report Friday Cowen and Co. LLC analyst Walter Pritchard said that in the wake of Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM's purchase, HP should acquire a major security company. Two of the most probable targets would be McAfee Inc. and Symantec Corp., a large and diversified security provider whose products in consumer and enterprise security, data protection and server management could enhance many parts of HP's business, he said. "Clearly, an acquisition of Cupertino, Calif.-based Symantec would be a broader move than just filling in the security piece," Pritchard wrote.
News in Brief
Edgartown police hope that two arrests on Friday and one on Monday are a step to ending a string of vehicle break-ins stretching back to March in neighborhoods along the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road. Sergeant Ken Johnson said that an investigation into two car break-ins and damaged vehicles Friday morning in the area of Jernegan Avenue and Pilgrim Road, in which various electronic items were taken, led police to the three men. Police arrested Jeffrey Gordineer, 18, and Michael Ellis, 17, on Friday. On Monday, police arrested Michael McDermott, 20. The three men are from Edgartown. They were arraigned on multiple counts of breaking and entering into a motor vehicle, larceny, malicious destruction of property, and receiving stolen property. As of yesterday afternoon Mr. Gordineer, $1,000 cash bail, and Mr.
SFGate News Web by
Comets on Fire will celebrate the release of its latest record, "Avatar," Wednesday at the Great American Music Hall. The album was recorded at Prairie Sun Studios in Cotati and Louder Studios in San Francisco. To download one of the new tracks, "Dogwood Rust," for free, go to www.subpop.com and click on "media." Local tranny-rock sensation Pepperspray is headlining the annual San Francisco Drag King Contest on Thursday at the DNA Lounge. The event, the largest drag king gathering in the country (a drag king is a biological woman impersonating a man), is a benefit for Pets Are Wonderful Support, or PAWS, which helps people with debilitating illnesses care for their pets. Go to www.dnalounge.com for details. San Francisco blues guitarist and songwriter Jeffrey Halford is playing Aug.
Sony NW-E005 (2GB, green)
The good: The Sony NW-E000 features a stylish design with a handy built-in USB interface, and it offers some desirable features, such as an FM radio. It's also competitively priced. The bad: Sony's requisite SonicStage software still leaves much to be desired, and the NW-E000's display is impossible to read in direct sunlight. This player's controls are also rather unintuitive. The bottom line: The Sony NW-E000 is a compact, stylish flash MP3 player that those who can tolerate SonicStage should consider, but beware the unintuitive interface. Reviewed by: Jasmine France Edited by: James Kim Review date: 8/30/06 .
Get your shots
However, it's worth noting that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that anyone traveling to Mexico or Central America be vaccinated against hepatitis A. Now that we've had two public-health mobilizations triggered by people who've been on mission trips, it would be a miserable side effect if they made churches and individuals look at mission trips suspiciously. Karen Jones, associate professor of ministry and missions at Huntington University, says she's never seen reliable estimates of how many American Christians go on mission trips annually. But the impulse to travel, to evangelize and to provide practical help is deeply rooted in this country's churches, from the most liberal to the most conservative. Those trips provide some of the best privately planned and funded international aid this country can offer.
A suitable case for treatment
Keane's lead singer has taken himself off to the Priory suffering from drink and drug problems brought on by the intensity of touring, but will this give the band the rock'n'roll credibility denied them by their critics?
Caspar Llewellyn Smith
Sunday August 27, 2006
The Observer
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