Arts Entertainments

Taken movie review

Movie review taken Monday, March 23, 2009 3:16 PM Jeremy Grauer May ’09 – May 12, 2009 Neeson hits the DVD world hard. Taken’s punchy, action-packed sequences deliver what every movie should. Great acting, suspense and lots of action that keeps you glued to the television.

AN ACTION FOR THE AGE

Liam Neeson delivers a forceful performance that he hasn’t seen since his crusade as Rob Roy. This is not to say that he hasn’t lived up to his expectations since then, but he has now shown once again why he is the star that he is. While Neeson delivers the action all viewers crave, co-star Famke Janssen continues to play the luscious, seductive woman we’ve grown to love and admire.

Taken is the story any parent would fear to be a part of. Bryan Mills (Neeson), a former CIA agent, and his ex-wife Lenore (Janssen) have agreed to send his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) on a trip to Paris. With the paranoia that something bad will happen to Kim, worrying Mills, the unlucky one emerges.

Albanian gangsters take Bryan’s teenage daughter hostage and offer the former US government employee a ransom. Fortunately for Mills, this is his specialty. However, when it comes to his blood and family, kidnapping is unacceptable. When the ransom is made, an unexpected twist comes from Mills’ words as he vows to find the kidnappers and kill them.

This is a PG-13 recommended movie (PARENTS GUIDE). Pick this one up at the rental video store this week, you might be ready for a ride.

SAYINGS: “Do not visit EUROPE before seeing ‘Taken’

Technology

Online Branding For Musicians How To – Why Branding Your Band Is Essential

Before I start writing this article, I would like to say that most artists and musicians are sometimes intimidated by the word BRAND. Many, or even most, have no idea what it stands for or what it is, and more importantly, how crucial it can be in setting yourself apart from the thousands of other acts out there; and be the band that finally achieves success.

First, let me point out that building your digital brand is not as complicated as you might think. In fact, it’s probably one of the easiest and least expensive ways to promote your music and band. As I indicated, I am going to expose this step by step so that it is very easy to follow and implement. So, let’s get into this a bit:

YOUR LOGO:

This is probably the simplest form of your brand. Every act must have a logo that in one way or another represents who you are. It should be simple and easy to understand. But you must have one. Don’t rush: make lots of different ideas and samples until you choose the final version. Collaborate with band members, fans and friends to get different ideas. Six heads are better than one.

YOUR HISTORY:

Remember, you essentially want your digital brand to tell the story of who you are. Focus on the details that describe your image and likeness, your consistent appearance on stage, and a consistent look for your websites and social media. Once you put the slogan to your brand image, exploit it everywhere. When fans move from website to website or watch you perform, your brand needs to be consistent. Wherever people search for you, they should absolutely be able to tell that you are, simply by seeing your consistent logo, brand, and image. It must be unforgettable!!

BUILD A COMMUNITY OF FOLLOWERS:

Personalize your interaction experiences with fans. Build trust and affection in your close personal community. Participate as often as possible. Possibly use brand-infused giveaways as a way to increase engagement from your followers.

Use Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook to constantly spread the word about your brand and expose it to as many followers as possible. By all means, shoot professional videos. Video will enhance your brand and give your fans a closer look at what you are and get closer to you.

Outshine your competition:

Dominate your particular music market by being distinctive in all aspects of your digital and traditional marketing efforts. Some examples are their official website, their social media sites and posts, new CD releases, and especially on their merchandise. Your merchandise must be distinctive and express your image and brand in its designs. Along with your logo, your merch designs should also reflect your band’s character and overall story. Designs must be original and fashionable. If they’re really cool designs, people will buy them even if it has nothing to do with your band; therefore, more collateral exposure for your brand.

RELATIONS WITH ADVERTISING AND MUSIC MEDIA:

Exploit your brand in the media, interviews, radio and music review blogs. Getting coverage in any of the media outlets will create a lot of attention and awareness for your brand and make it even better. This type of outreach is best handled by an experienced music publicist. It takes a great deal of time, experience, and an accumulation of high-profile media contacts. It is extremely difficult for the media to take the average artist seriously. A professional music publicist, trusted by the media, may cost you a few bucks, but is worth every penny.

SO, IN SUMMARY:

Remember, don’t get too intense or complicated. And most importantly, don’t get frustrated. Take your time, do it right, and keep it simple. Don’t forget to work with all of your band members, fans, friends, and supporters when it comes to establishing your logo, story, image, and designs. Six heads are better than one. Take a look at the wildly popular acts you admire – see how they approach the brand. You may want to consider emulating some of their ideas.

Branding is serious business. It is not something to be ignored. It is the visual representation of you as an artist. Just have fun and do it!

Business

10 reasons why you should pay for search engine optimization

Most people who are internet savvy probably assume that it is much easier to do search engine optimization themselves without the need to hire professional search engine optimization assistance. In some cases this may work, but in most cases it is an utter injustice to your web business. Marketing is an important and viable aspect of any business and without proper marketing attention, a business can easily fail. The following are 10 reasons why you should hire a professional search engine optimization consultant or SEO company.

Search engine optimization takes time, effort and dedication

It takes an extreme amount of time, effort, and dedication to successfully complete a search engine optimization campaign. Search engine optimization consultants and companies usually have time dedicated to working on your search engine optimization project, giving you a controlled and managed search engine optimization campaign. Large companies, as well as many small businesses, can provide your search engine optimization campaign with the SEO effort and architecture it needs. Trying to carve out your own time can sometimes be overwhelming, and without strict self-discipline, you can easily get sidetracked. Also, the progress of your search engine optimization campaign may take time to see results, this fact can decrease your motivation to complete your own search engine optimization campaign.

SEO tools, SEO strategy and SEO expertise go a long way

The SEO tools available are constantly changing, but most SEO experts have a set of SEO tools that they maintain and use to run reports and other processes such as keyword research, keyword density reports, competition reports. of keywords, traffic reports, etc. . Like any profession, you need the necessary tools and essentials to get the job done, experienced use of SEO tools will help in any SEO campaign. Professional SEO consultants and companies create SEO strategies and roadmaps to successfully market clients’ websites. This strategic roadmap outlines in detail the planned effort to bring client websites to market. SEO strategy is essential for any SEO campaign. Having an experienced SEO professional on your side is always ideal. SEO experts stay up to date with the latest SEO news and trends. By having experienced SEO, your website can impressively gain rankings in a short time and much more effectively, providing a higher return on investment (ROI).

Search engine optimization is not easy

Search engine optimization is not simple, it is not just about starting a website and launching hundreds or thousands of links. Those days of search engine optimization are gone. Now it is more about strategy, method and architecture. Search engine optimization is a form of engineering these days. Real search engine optimization engineers keep themselves up to date with the search engine algorithm and search marketing. Knowing the trends is important, but that doesn’t necessarily mean following the trends, true search engine optimization engineers use experience, skill, historical methods and best practices to market websites successfully. Researching trends and not just following trends is very important, a good search engine optimization engineer uses their good judgment to know which methods work and which methods are unethical or useless.

SEO services do not have to be very expensive

Most full SEO campaigns are expensive, but relatively affordable compared to other advertising avenues like: print advertising, broadcast advertising, etc. Find SEO services that match your budget and marketing needs. Don’t settle for the highest bidder, compare the highest bidder rate to the rates of other SEO companies and consultants. Contact various SEO consultants and SEO companies to receive a free personalized quote. Negotiate the fee and SEO services until it fits your budget and needs. Get a fair and honest deal you’re happy with.

Search engine optimization can take your website to new heights

It’s no secret that having your site ranked in the top 10 of search engine results is very rewarding and can bring you a lot of traffic, if you rank for the right keywords. Search engine optimization can make your website stand out through the ranks and get your website to the top of search results for virtually any keyword of your choice. It is important that the search engine optimization company or consultant you choose is targeting the top search results for the top 3 search engines (Google, Yahoo and MSN). By having top search results in the top 3 search engines for a popular search term, you are sure to increase sales and website exposure.

Professional and experienced SEO services can be the difference between you and your competitors

Most of the online companies and services invest in professional and experienced SEO services. Top search results for popular keyword terms usually have professional and experienced SEO firms and consultants in their corner, leading their online marketing campaign. By having a professional and experienced SEO working for you, your website will naturally outperform your competitors who use the DIY method of SEO services. Staying one step ahead of your competition is always imperative and you are more likely to do so with the help of experienced and professional SEO services.

Search engine optimization gives you the best bang for your buck

When you compare search engine optimization to other media advertising efforts, such as print advertising, television commercial advertising, and radio broadcast advertising, then search engine optimization gives you the best bang for your buck. While other advertising methods can cost millions of thousands of dollars in advertising, search engine optimization has minimal cost compared to these other advertising methods. Let’s say you spend $25,000 on an entire search engine optimization campaign and you spend (say) $100,000 on a TV commercial that runs 1 full week in prime time (I know that ad is a lot more than that, but this is just an example). Search engine optimization campaign is much cheaper and return on investment is much higher for search engine optimization campaign. Why? Because the search engine optimization campaign has a broader reach, it can reach anyone around the world, while the TV commercial is specific to local or national broadcast within its network. Second, the search engine optimization campaign is much more targeted and relevant to the customer’s needs, because the customer actually initiated the search and was looking for it, whereas the TV commercial is an interruption to the marketing program. customer viewing and the customer is more likely to ignore the commercial, especially if it doesn’t appeal to them.

SEO services can help dramatically increase business sales

Increasing business sales has never been so easy. If you have a brick and mortar that sells products, it is recommended that you also have an online store to sell your products. Having an online business while investing in professional and experienced SEO services will help your business expand and grow dramatically. Like any wise business decision, as a business owner you are always looking for new ways to monetize, expand and stay ahead of the competition, SEO services for your online business are the perfect solution to achieve this.

Professional search engine optimization can increase your search ranking in a shorter period of time

Professional search engine optimization services can rank your website in less time than doing it yourself. With the help of experienced and professional search engine optimization, your website can rank within the search engines in weeks, maybe even days. Finding the right professional with the skill level you need can be very rewarding.

Treat your website like a business

If your website is going to be a part of your financial life, then it makes sense to treat your website like a business and hire professional search engine optimization services. Good business sense is to outsource or employ others to complete day-to-day tasks and projects, such as search engine optimization and search engine marketing, so you can have more time to focus on running a successful business. Many businesses fail due to the do-it-yourself model. Doing things yourself is ‘okay’ if the task you’re doing is your profession or directly related to your business service, but trying to do things yourself because it’s your hobby, interest, or saves you money can be detrimental to your business. business as you need to treat your website like a business and only seek professional and experienced assistance for your business needs.

I highly recommend that any true website owner who is interested in achieving top search results seriously consider professional and experienced SEO services for a complete search engine optimization campaign. SEO services can be an expensive advertising avenue, but as we discussed earlier, it’s much cheaper than its advertising counterparts and the payoff is much higher. Search engine optimization has long been a mystery to many people and foreign to some, but with the help of professional and experienced SEO services, you will easily increase website sales, traffic and exposure. If you hire the right search engine optimization company or consultant, I can almost guarantee that you will have a rewarding experience and you won’t regret it.

Home Kitchen

DIY Staging Tips for Home Sellers

The buzzword today among residential real estate agents is staging. Staging a home can change the atmosphere of a home that attracts homebuyers and can bring a higher price and speed up the time to market. By adding small decorative touches, rearranging or removing furniture, or creating vignettes, a home can look like a professional set designer was hired.

Mark Nash, author of 1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home, has seen the best and worst of staging a home as a Chicago realtor and shares some do’s and don’ts for home sellers. who want to test your house.

behind

-Collect recent home decor magazines. If you’re not up to speed on current decorating trends, it will help you become familiar with how interior design is marketed. Tab pages with low cost ideas that will make your home say today.

– Invite a friend or real estate agent. A second or third set of eyes will help you bring out the best and edit out the worst in your home. Be prepared for some constructive criticism. You want to hear it before you put your home on the market, not as feedback from potential buyers. Go room by room with a worksheet so you can take notes. Depending on how much time you have available for an upgrade or makeover, you’ll need to prioritize and figure out what will give you the most performance. Do this at least two months before you put your house on the market.

-Organize a home office if you don’t have one. They are not a trend; they are required for homebuyers in 2006. Many homebuyers today work from home part-time or full-time or want a space where they can organize their lives and park a computer. Find an extra bedroom, walk-in closet, or unused nook and turn it into a home office. Make sure there is a convenient power, telephone, and cable supply.

-Focus on living spaces. These areas are where most homebuyers will spend their time. Place a side table and a floor lamp next to a comfortable chair as a reading corner. Float sofas and coffee tables away from the walls for a designer look. Use throw rugs to anchor groups of furniture to bare wood and tile floors. Living spaces must have matching table lamps. Optimize family photos and put green plants in the room. Fireplaces should always be operable and lit in season. Place clusters of candles and clear glass bowls filled with natural potpourri on coffee and end tables. Substantial wicker baskets can organize magazines, remote controls, and toys. Limit trinkets to make room for staging materials.

-Give attention to the Kitchens. Keep all kitchen towels and rags in a practical drawer. Reduce recipe boxes, cookware barrels, excess cooking machines and cookbooks by two-thirds to open up counter space. For a quick upgrade, put new hardware in the cabinets. Find a secluded spot for a portable dishwasher. Clean everything on the refrigerator door. Skip the rugs scattered around the kitchen. Clear window frames to open up outside views. Organize cabinets with clear containers. If you can’t see the back wall of a cabinet, buyers will think you don’t have enough storage space. Ditto cabinets. Budget to keep a variety of fresh fruits in a glass container on the counter. Edit family bulletin boards. Remove old curtains and install new wooden shutters on the windows.

-Spend time in sleeping and bathing spaces. Often overlooked in the rush to get a house on the market, these spaces can make or break a home. Purchase a set consisting of a matching bed skirt, bedspread, matching pillowcases and blinds. Buy a new shower curtain and separate liner. Wash the liner frequently if mildew develops. Add complete sets of towels to match your new shower curtain. Wipe off all cosmetics from the vanity. If you have a cabinet over the toilet, consider removing it and putting a piece of art in its place. Remember to keep items in the “too much information” category out of sight. If you have a king-size bed in a small room, you’ll pay for buyers to outweigh this negative, so get rid of it now. Clean the dresser and nightstands of excess. Make sure the bedroom gets as much natural light as possible. Install closet organizers in closets. Eliminate wall and door hooks for clothes. People can look under your bed, no surprises please.

-Remember first impressions on tickets. A simple console table with a mirror above it makes a nice entryway. Make sure this space is well lit day or night. Put adhesive under rugs so shoppers don’t trip or slide.

not to do

-Use cheap silk flowers. Nothing distracts shoppers more than old-fashioned, seasonally inappropriate, or mixed-up silk flowers. Throw them out now.

-Forget about upgrading Fido’s bowl. I have experienced more unhealthy pet food bowls, water stations, and litter boxes than I care to remember. We know you love your pet, but show it to homebuyers.

-Ignore window coverings. Today’s buyers think less is more in window fashion. They want the most light and the least amount of window decorations. And no sheer panel layering, please.

-Use low voltage light bulbs. Dim, dark rooms are not attractive to homebuyers. They want to see what they could buy. Replace light bulbs with manufacturer-recommended wattages, especially those that are burnt out. The newer energy saving light bulbs do not cast a flattering light on the home or people.

-Think that everyone loves wallpaper. No two people have the same taste in this instant finish decorator. If it is more than three years old, take it apart and paint it a neutral color. And the wallpapers are out.

-Painted with commitment colors. If you’ve determined you need to paint, stay away from flashy colors, or as I call them, compromise colors. Engagement colors are those that buyers either love or hate. It can be difficult for buyers to layer their style on them. As a client told me “I don’t live in a magazine”.

-Think that cleaning is part of the staging. Cleaning is what you do before staging. Everything must sparkle and shine. Don’t forget the windows.

Use these DIY tips to get your house on the stage at your local movie house for sale.

Auto

Giant dragline excavators from the 1960s

Today’s dragline excavator sizes are much smaller than they were more than 40 years ago. Larger draglines like the Bucyrus model 4250W and Marion 7900 made the 1960s the era of super draglines. The mining industry has valued the extremely low disposal cost benefit of these machines over their high capital cost.

Little information is available to the public about Utah International’s Marion 7900. The largest of the former Utah Construction and Mining Company dragline excavator sizes had a boom length of 275 feet (83.8 meters) and a bucket capacity of 40 cubic yards (30.6 cubic meters). He was digging 7,000 tons of coal a day. The large dragline unit was disassembled for a major inspection in 2005. Repairs and upgrades in Morocco have returned the machine to smooth operation with smaller dragline excavators.

CEMEX’s operation outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, purchased a 2,000-ton walking-type dragline. The Marion 7820-M, nicknamed ‘Brutus’, discovered the limestone needed to make cement. She has a boom length of 305 feet and a working radius of 289 feet. The bucket can carry 45 cubic yards of materials and can dig up to 170 feet. The 4,000,000 pound weight was somewhat common for dragline excavator sizes of the time. It was originally manufactured for Pyramid Coal Company’s Rockport Surface Mine in Rockport, Kentucky, in the 1980s.

Another large unit is the 4250 W dragline unit from Central Ohio Coal Company (a division of American Electric Power). He was popularly known as the ‘Big Muskie’. It took three years for mining equipment manufacturer Bucyrus International, Incorporated to build the machine that made other sizes of dragline excavators seem less powerful. The 27 million pound (12 million kilogram or 12,000 ton or 13,000 metric ton) earthmoving machine operated in Muskingum County, Ohio from 1969 to 1991. The only dragline of its size ever built extends at 487 feet, 6 inches (149 m.) with boom lowered. Its width of 151 feet 6 inches (46 m) necessitates an eight-lane highway to circulate; while its height of 222 feet 6 inches (68 m.) will be more than enough to look down from the roof of a 22-story building. The machine was later scrapped in 1999 after demand for high-sulfur Ohio coal plummeted in 1991. The 220-cubic-yard (165-cubic-meter) bucket weighing 230 tons is preserved as a monument to miners from southeastern Ohio.

Today, construction and mining equipment manufacturers have considered the risks of building large excavators. The new models, although much smaller in size, can be used for both civil engineering projects and infrastructure construction and open-pit mining operations, such as moving tailings over coal and oil sand extraction.

Digital Marketing

The Five Sources of the Sublime in Emma Duffy – Marvel Sands by Comparone

The term “Sublime” is understood as the highest excellence of artistic expression in literature. Longinus, the author of the treatise On the Sublime, finds five important sources of sublimity: (1) the power to conceive impressive thoughts, (2) the capacity for strong emotion, (3) the proper use of figures of thought and speech, (4) nobility of diction, and (5) dignity of composition.

To explain the ideas of Longinus’s On the Sublime, Emma Duffy-Comparone’s recent short story called Marvel Sands is the most applicable type of literary work that corresponds to the concept of the five sources of Sublimy.

The first source of the sublime has to do with the writer’s greatness of thought. The use of images in this font is useful because it helps readers understand the writer’s concepts, which may appeal to one or more of the five human senses. Several parts in the Marvel Sands passage could be classified as the writer’s way of showing the reader the intended image of the work, rather than telling them. And some of them are as follows: (1) using the first person perspective when telling the story, the readers experience the foolishness of the main character to leave sand on the floor and not put the bills in the same way in the tray and ( 2) the backdrop of seagulls and silence reveals his mature vision and reflects his still learning world.

The second source of the sublime is genuine emotion. If some emotions, such as anger, require that the personality of the emotion be believed to exist, even though it does not actually exist, the author made it possible for readers to feel the intuitive feeling of the fictional character throughout the story.

The third source of the sublime is the poetic use of language. There is a line in the story where the author used a particular figure of speech called a metonymy: “When I got home, I could see the TV flickering blue through the living room window.”

The fourth source of the sublime is diction which includes the choice and arrangement of words. In the Marvel Sands story, the character said the following lines: “I felt a wave of laughter in my chest and I swallowed it”, “I was standing outside the cockpit, watching storm clouds build up in the west like big bruises”. “And when you really look at them, it’s all too obvious that the use of stylistic flourishes (simile and hyperbole) is the only way for the author to express her ideas through figurative language.

The last source of sublime is the dignified and elevated arrangement of diction for the greatness of the composition. The descriptive type of storytelling shows the author’s technique of letting the readers participate in the experiences of the characters.

This analysis leads to Longinus’s belief that “great writing does not convince; it draws the reader out of himself.”

Relationship

The Most Useful iPhone Apps for Teenagers

Teenagers enjoy being in contact with friends by cell phone. Beyond the traditional voice communication capabilities of these devices, teens also like to use mobile apps. Different iPhone applications can be used to play games, interact on social networking websites, and find directions to the mall.

In fact, some iPhone apps even improve child safety. With so many great mobile apps available on the Apple Store, let’s take a look at a few that are especially useful for teens.

MapQuest 4 Mobile

The MapQuest iPhone app is great for teens to download. This free, versatile app uses the iPhone’s native GPS functionality to let kids find directions to different places. Teens often get lost while driving, and apps like these help keep them safe.

For teens learning to drive, MapQuest is a wonderful service. It can be difficult to learn how to navigate to various places, and this app offers a perfect solution.

Facebook for iPhone

Almost all teens love to stay in touch with friends on Facebook. This popular social networking website has a massive user base. Since Facebook offers few controls with which profiles can be moderated, mobile apps provide a way to keep an eye on your page on the go.

Facebook for iPhone is a free mobile app that lets you experience most of the site’s features through an intuitive user interface. For those who can’t get enough of this social networking site, this app is particularly useful.

Civilization Revolution for iPhone

Civilization is a great PC game franchise and now it’s available for iPhone. Civilization Revolution is a mobile app-based game that puts players in control of an entire civilization. From the beginning of the tribes to the information age, players can choose their civilization’s technological activities, military technology and city layout based on their own plan.

Civilization Revolution is a great iPhone app for teens because it combines the gaming world with the most important lessons from history. This means that players can learn more about the world around them while experiencing the engaging entertainment of the game itself. Teens benefit from a focus on education, so this is a great iPhone app to consider.

With each passing day, more and more iPhone apps are released on the Apple Store. With so many options, it can be hard to choose useful mobile apps for teens. If you’re looking for some great apps for your teen, consider these examples.

Health Fitness

Is it really possible to melt stomach fat with fat burning pills?

How nice it would be to be able to melt away stomach fat just by taking fat burning pills. You may have already seen these so-called fat burning pills that claim to melt away stomach fat by increasing your metabolism. But do they really work? Really, is it worth the money and potential health risks?

First of all, don’t flatter yourself. These are not magic pills that will instantly melt away stomach fat while you sit watching TV! That’s not how it works. If it were, there wouldn’t be so many overweight people! Actually, fat burning pills can help him lose weight, but only if he already exercises regularly. Depending on the type of pills you take, they will undoubtedly include some amount of caffeine, among other things.

You have to ask yourself if those things are really worth taking. The right regular exercise along with a good diet is all you need to get rid of that belly fat. magic pills that claim to melt away stomach fat won’t make much of a difference in the end, and may actually have a detrimental effect on your health.

If you are reading this article hoping that there are some magic fat burning pills that will allow you to lose weight without having to exercise, then I am sorry to disappoint you. The only way to get rid of stubborn belly fat is through the right kind of exercise and the right kind of diet.

Many people get both wrong even though they think they’re doing the right thing by doing as many sit-ups as they can and avoiding carbs. With proper diet and exercise, you won’t have to search for magic pills to melt stomach fat, it will go away on its own.

Legal Law

Paradigm shift to digital tax could cost Ireland £160m

The digital tax will cost Ireland 160 million euros a year

The tax would cost Ireland €160 million a year. It raises questions about the pace of future FDI in Europe and in Ireland. Of greater importance are the EU rules for establishing a digital permanent establishment (PE). New proposed rules for taxing digital businesses could hurt Ireland’s corporate tax revenue. If a major European-based player in Ireland pays this tax, he could count it as an expense against the tax he claims in Ireland. For the EU, a fair global tax system will ensure greater transparency and sustainable development. The Irish government’s position is that corporate tax reform should be incorporated into the multilateral system. The European Union estimates tax revenue of €5 billion and the distribution of revenue among EU Member States based on population. The digital tax would cost the Treasury between 120 and 160 million euros a year. The resulting taxable profits are subject to tax at the rate applicable in Ireland.

The EU decision is an invasion of Ireland’s sovereignty

Digital Services Tax paid for doing business outside of Ireland can be deducted from Irish CT. Ireland would get €45 million if the tax were proportionally reallocated to member countries of the European Union based on population. If a major European-based player in Ireland pays this tax, he could count it as an expense against the tax he claims in Ireland. The introduction of the digital services tax gives high-profile technology companies new tax bases on profits, therefore the DST charge related to such income is fully deductible. The larger difference in tax rates between Ireland’s corporate tax rate of 12.5% ​​and corporate tax rates with a DST between member countries affects profit shifting from Ireland. EU member states choosing their own tax systems and non-EU countries seeking to maximize tax revenue would result in a seismic shift of benefits from Ireland.

Irish tax base erosion and profit shifting

Profit shifting is already prevalent in the mutual agreement procedure and correlative adjustment in Ireland. Ireland and some other member states have argued that direct taxes do not fall within the purview of the European Commission. The Commission is moving towards fiscal harmony where necessary to prevent, restrict or distort competition in the internal market. EU member states and non-EU member states will introduce new digital tax policies and, at the same time, change the rules of the digital permanent establishment, along with the proposals set out in the proposed directive regarding a significant digital presence. In either case, the implications are that the effective tax rate on non-US profits from digital companies will increase and Ireland’s corporate tax revenues will erode. Tax may no longer be a compelling reason for a global company to invest in Ireland.

Lifestyle Fashion

So why did you leave karate?

If you are a serious karateka, you will know that the art has changed considerably since its original beginnings on the island of Okinawa. Since then, many people, mostly serious practitioners of the art, have lived, studied, and trained extensively in Japan and Okinawa. What they discovered during that time by reading ancient texts and talking to ancient masters has changed the way many practitioners challenge the type of martial art and some of the techniques related to so-called self-defense techniques that bear no resemblance to actual aggression. unprovoked from the actual fighting with blood and guts you find in the street or alley outside the comfortable environment of the dojo (training room). They are beginning to question the real efficacy of some of the techniques, especially the kata of the established foundations of modern sport karate.

The buzzword in circulation today is combative, a seemingly more effective, straightforward, and easy-to-learn fighting system based on military principles that also covers topics such as pressure testing, managing fear and adrenaline, etc. Yes, I am in favor of adding these subjects to your existing curriculum because I think it is important to know about them. But, there still remains the indisputable fact that the old methods taught a century or more ago predate the advent of sports karate; in fact, it included joint locks, throws, groundwork, grappling, takedowns, chokes, pressure points, and hitting certain areas to damage anatomically vulnerable areas of the human body. Well guess what? All of the above techniques are found in kata, however their existence has been lost over time, until relatively recently. Students and teachers, thanks to pioneering research by a few dedicated professionals, are now sitting up and taking notice trying to discover the very techniques you’ll find in combative training curriculum. In the karate of old they have been there all the time. You just had to know where and how to look for them, sometimes it’s not easy to find the true meaning of a particular app, I admit.

And therein lies the dilemma: where do you start? What is the secret key that will unlock this treasure trove of hidden techniques? The real bunkai. The actual application and analysis of kata technique. I will say here and now, that many people have tried it, but due to the complex nature and time involved they have given up trying too hard to learn, they said.

Practical Kata Bunkai

Originally, the kata contained the fighting concepts and principles for a complete fighting system. The truth is that, today, many of the practical aspects of karate have been lost to time. Unfortunately, this has led many students to wonder about karate kata: why am I doing this move? How does that technique relate to actual personal self-defense outside of the dojo? In many cases, the response they usually get leaves them confused and disappointed. This situation often leads to disillusionment, whereby the student in turn leaves said club or drops out of training altogether.

Whatever the reason, get rid of the myth that kata is useless, has nothing to offer or is worth caring about, you would be wrong. It is a fact, for the vast majority of karateka around the world, nothing that they are currently learning is very similar to what the old masters taught. The younger students did not understand and made little connection with the many underlying traditional concepts. Even the techniques were often different, as the emphasis was on sport karate and recreation rather than personal survival. It wasn’t considered necessary when scoring a point was the name of the game. The essential short-range deadly techniques gave way to ranged fighting and ippon, scoring techniques as practiced in sports karate where hitting the opponent is not allowed. However, now is neither the time nor the place to consider in depth all the various forms and philosophical elements that make up karate do. Kata is skill training, but you need to balance your training schedule. However, kata does not hold all the secrets. Try to find the roots of karate as practiced in the ancient ways, but discovering the true meaning and applied applications remains a relatively unknown discipline in the Western world.

Until the introduction of sport karate, codified rituals (Kata) were passed down through the centuries and served to teach the fundamentals of self-defense. The fixed forms of kata had served as the main vehicle through which the secrets of the ancient masters were passed on. Knowing the katas but not their applications or the principles behind those applications is like listening to a song without understanding the meaning of the words; it’s useless.

Study the past and you will better understand the future, as well as providing important lessons on many of the original learnings done by the old master, because these kata questions will always exist. The ancient traditions of the karate style offer an original legacy of codified defensive techniques and principles intended to identify human weaknesses in the human body (suitable targets) to attack.

Now this kind of advice may seem silly to you, but in an effort to find out the truth like other karateka before you. You will need to find a reason for a particular existence within the kata you are studying and perhaps find a cure for your disappointment. Be patient and you will achieve all things.

Stay safe.