macarthur grant 2009

Synonymous with wealth, glamour, power and opulence, the name “Waldorf” has figured into tales of Manhattan for generations. In movies it has meant everything from broken hearts to fortunes made. For Americans of all stripes, it has meant spending New Year’s Eve in front of the television watching Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians playing “Auld Lang Syne” from the hotel’s Starlight Roof.

One of the country’s more expensive overnights, the luxury hotel properly called the Waldorf Astoria New York is a superior stay for humble history lovers. Its story goes back to 1893 when the wealthy William Waldorf Astor opened his Waldorf Hotel on Fifth Avenue, attracting a monied clientele. William’s cousin, John Jacob Astor IV, opened a similar hotel right next door in 1897, drawing his well-to-do friends and associates. The two Astors linked their buildings with a corridor and the complex became known as the “Waldorf Astoria.”

In 1929 these successful luxury hotel owners sold their high-priced Manhattan real estate to make way for the Empire State Building. Profits from the deal went into building the present Waldorf Astoria New York. When it opened on October 1, 1931, to President Herbert Hoover’s words of congratulations broadcast on the radio, the 2,200-room New York luxury hotel was the earth’s largest, filling in the block from 49th to 50th Street and stretching 42 floors above the pavement.

Since opening as the world’s first skyscraper hotel in 1931, the Waldorf Astoria New York has played host to movie stars, royalty, business tycoons, and every U.S. president since Herbert Hoover, a permanent resident of the New York luxury hotel’s exclusive Waldorf Towers. In the words of one guidebook author, “There’s a certain electric thrill about being here, even among the well-heeled guests.”

Commonly called the “Waldorf,” this New York luxury hotel wove its way into the social history of the 30s, 40s and 50s. Its staff claims it was the first hotel to introduce room service, to abolish the separate ladies entrance and to encourage frequent guests to make their suites permanent homes; the top 12 floors, called the Waldorf Towers, are made up entirely of residential suites. Some of the Towers’ residents have been President Herbert Hoover and five-star generals Dwight Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur and Omar Bradley.

The initial restoration of this New York luxury hotel’s Art Deco treasures in the 1980s revealed a long-lost cache of exquisite artwork that had been covered up for decades, victims of the “modernization” craze that swept the country in the 1950s and 60s. Underneath a carpet in the Park Avenue lobby, for example, was the magnificent, 148,000-piece “Wheel of Life” mosaic by French artist Louis Rigal, whose 13 allegorical oil murals on the adjacent walls were hidden under heavy draperies. A dropped ceiling covered ornate mouldings and gold leaf decorations. Art Deco medallions, grillwork, and other adornments are found throughout the hotel’s public areas.

With a pair of 42-story towers rising from an 18-story base, the Waldorf Astoria New York commands a prominent perch on majestic Park Avenue. The entrance to the Waldorf Towers is just around the comer on East 50th Street, and there’s another main portal on Lexington Avenue. Just short walks away are midtown landmarks like Grand Central Terminal, Rockefeller Center, and St. Patrick’s Cathedral, plus the smart shops of Fifth and Madison avenues.

The Waldorf’s lobby offers comfortable seating ensembles, accented with marble, dark wood, potted palms, and dim lamps, conveying overtones of formal living rooms from a bygone era. The dress code here stipulates “T-shirts, tank tops, faded jeans, cut-offs, and casual hats are not permitted” in the lobbies and lounges.

Dominating the Waldorf Astoria New York’s main lobby front desk area is an ornately carved bronze clock from the 1893 Chicago’s World Fair, which has become a symbol of this luxury hotel and a well-known meeting place. Set on an octagonal marble-and-mahogany base and topped with a shiny bronze Statue of Liberty, the two-ton, nine-foot-tall clock was made by Goldsmith of London. Carved faces on the sides include Queen Victoria, Benjamin Franklin, and Presidents George Washington, Andrew Jackson, and Ulysses S. Grant.

For people from all walks of life, staying or dining at the Waldorf Astoria New York is the ultimate Manhattan experience, a magic carpet ride fit for a king or queen. With flair and finesse, this imposing palace on Park Avenue treats every guest like royalty.

This article has been contributed by Louise Revelas-Canham, owner/operator of the popular website A1 Luxury Hotels which epitomizes the grand hotel experience. Here you will be presented with the finest hotels, best service and the most amenities. A1 Luxury Hotels, “When Only The Very Best Will Do”.

Macarthur (Paperback) $10.46 Douglas MacArthur is best remembered for his ability to adapt, a quality that catalyzed his greatest accomplishments. Adaptability has become an indispensable trait for military leadership in an era of technological leaps that guarantee the nature of war will radically change during the span of an ordinary career. One of the first proponents of a new dimension in warfare–the Air Force–MacArthur was also unmatched historically for his management of peace during the U.S. occupation of Japan. For generations to come, MacArthur`s legacy will yield profitable–and entertaining–examples to Americans in and out of uniform.

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peace policy grant

Imagine how it would feel to be debt free and have money in the bank. No more hounding calls from debt collectors trying to collect money you don’t have. No more juggling the bills each month, knowing that someone will be left out, worrying that things will be cut off or repossessed. You really can have this peace of mind, even if things look bleak now.

It’s difficult to stick to a budget when there are more bills than there is money. No matter what you do, you know you can’t pay all the bills. Unfortunately, many people across the country are in this very situation. However, there are solutions to debt problems and by getting started now to eliminate debt, you can change your future for the better.

Maybe you don’t have all the answers and that’s OK. That’s why there are professionals here to help you sort out your situation, regardless of how bad it is. Instead of worrying yourself sick, take some action now that will lead to a brighter, debt-free future. If you find that you’re unable to pay your bills and you’re not getting anywhere with your creditors, now may be the time to let someone else handle the negotiation process.

Debt settlement companies employ professionals who are used to dealing with all kinds of creditors. Whether you’re drowning in credit card debt or have a variety of debts you can’t pay, let the professionals guide you through a pathway that will lead you to a debt free lifestyle. Professional debt settlement companies are well versed in the negotiation process and can handle the toughest of situations. You will learn how to raise your credit score while settling old debts and you will have the peace of mind of knowing that there is a brighter future ahead. Get started today by letting the professionals show you how to settle the past and plan for the future.

By the way, by researching and comparing the best debt settlement services in the market, you will be able to determine the one that meets your specific financial situation. Nonetheless, it is advisable going with a trusted and reputable debt counselor before making any decision, this way you will save time through specialized advise coming from a seasoned debt advisor and money by getting better results in a shorter span of time.

Hector Milla runs the Best Debt Settlement Companies website – where you can see his best rated debt settlement service recommendation.

Visit for further information and read our full review of the best debt settlement company, plus articles and video training about how to get the most of your debt settlement process.

Grant $18.9 This large, one-volume biography of Ulysses S. Grant finds much to praise. It reviews his career after the war and as President, and sees him as one who dealt with difficult challenges such as Reconstruction, the growth of the nation, and foreign policy with confidence. It also deals forthrightly with the criticism of Grant both in his time and by historians. A New York Times Notable Book for 2001.

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emergency medical services grants

BPO (business process outsourcing) should not fundamentally alter the strategic quality management plan of an enterprise. BPO should be thought of, generically, as any outsourcing partner anywhere, not limited to the special case of India or other developing economies. BPO may fundamentally alter the structure of a firm and the lives of the people within it, but the strategy for delivering extraordinary quality experiences to clients should not be altered. Correlative to this, the tactics required to hold the strategy on point must be altered dramatically, in some cases. It is critical to understand this interplay of strategy and tactics around major BPO efforts to ensure that the client experience is maintained or enhanced.

Let’s get on the same page by differentiating quality strategy from tactics to clarify the argument. A firm’s “mission” identifies the goal or objective. For example, the mission might be “we’re going to obtain a 5% share of the Chinese payment products marketplace over the next ten years.” Naturally there are various business strategy statements that support this mission, but let’s isolate the quality strategy component.

Broadly speaking there are only three alternative quality strategies (and hundreds of slight derivatives) that could be considered. First, “we’re going to achieve the strongest client loyalty in our industry by delivering the best customer experience.” Second, “we’re going to achieve the highest customer satisfaction by reducing cycle times, eliminating waste, and minimizing process errors. Third, “we’re going to minimize the costs of bad quality.”

The first is suitable for a world-class brand appealing to the upper segments of the market. The second is appropriate for approaching a broad consumer segment with acceptable risk profiles. The third is perfect for a sub-prime lender maximizing profits by gouging high-risk segments with few alternatives.

Any of these three can achieve superior shareholder returns. The choice of quality strategy must match the company’s culture and product/brand positioning, but it is primarily the match that is critical, not the approach. Many paths can be taken as long as you wear sensible shoes.

Here is the critical point relative to BPO: The BPO organization chosen must also match the quality strategy. Just as there are three broad quality strategies, there are three broad categories of BPO partners. Some BPO groups delivery extraordinary client experiences, some focus on efficient and effective processes and some crank through high volume service interactions for the lowest possible price. It is impossible for any one firm to deliver some measure of each strategy they can only do one well or all poorly. It’s not a law of physics yet, but someday it will be.

You can never, never, never, raise a BPO firm’s quality outcomes beyond the upper limits of their current control charts within a determinant time period. Given unlimited time, of course, anything can change, but you won’t have your job that long. If you need special considerations or abnormally stringent requirements then purchase from someone who is already doing it better than your own resources. Speaking from disastrous experience you cannot raise the bad to good or the good to better. Quality outcomes are impacted by the way people breathe, the way the restrooms are cleaned, the CEO’s smile or frown as they walk past the desks. Nothing in your contract, no matter how lucrative, is going to alter those irreducible elements in the short term.

Once this strategic match has been established the tactical management approach must also be aligned.

Those brands and BPO partners that are targeting extraordinary customer experiences should be managed as if the BPO were an integral part of the host company. There should be no difference in the response to a customer’s emergency situation at the BPO location or the host company’s service center. Any differences highlight a lack of alignment on principles, values, and culture. These relationships take into account the total cost of quality but also include, albeit tacitly in most cases, the value of the brand over the long term. In many cases the BPO vendor is not chosen strictly on cost, but because of a unique capability that commands a value premium in the market.

Those companies (note the deliberate elimination of “brand” from this second tier) and their BPO vendors (note the deliberate use of vendors and not “partners”), aiming for high levels of satisfaction and efficient processes, are tightly integrated around service contracts and measured outcomes, but typically do not link at the level of principles, values, and culture. These relationships take into account the total cost of quality at the process level and attempt to optimize enterprise costs over the near term.

The low cost producers who have outsourced their service to a commodity BPO establish a tactical relationship primarily around price and complaints. The host company often manages complaints through various escalation mechanisms and the contractual relationship is the principle governing mechanism. The BPO’s job is to reduce the cost of transaction processing irrespective of the total cost of quality. This is never stated explicitly because of the tacit assumption that there will not be an adverse impact on the cost of quality; however, this is rarely the case. These relationships still make good economic sense overall, but they are almost always calculated in a manner that optimizes the appearance of local savings versus considering the true enterprise-level savings.

By carefully aligning quality strategy and tactics with a BPO relationship that supports the company’s market segmentation there is an attractive opportunity to gain flexibility, expansion capacity, and value-added capabilities. The risk premium associated with BPO, if done well, should be value neutral to the shareholders, worst case, and offer significant opportunities best case.

Copyright © 2007, Lotus Pond Media

Steven Grant is a former customer service executive from American Express with over 25 years devoted in Fortune 500 companies analyzing, improving and delivering on enhanced customer experiences. Share your experiences and suggestions on improving the customer experience at http://www.customerresearchcenter.com or email Mr. Grant at scgrant@customerresearchcenter.com

Pet E.R. Guide $18.95 The 200 page Pet E.R Guide, published by Trailer Life Books, will help you quickly locate the closest 24 hour or after-hours medical facitlity for your pet. It also provides information to help you plan ahead and care for your pet in the event of an emergency. Also included is a pet travel checklist to identify the necessities you need to keep your pet happy, safe and comfortable on your next trip. Being prepared and well informed before a pet emergency occurs can help you more confidently obtain the medical care your pet needs. Order your copy today.

Emergency Medical Services $48.44 Drawn from research conducted over several years, this report considers the emergency medical services (EMS) in the US and their place in the overall health system. EMS must often to serve as primary care providers for an increasing number of Americans, but may not receive the appropriate levels of support needed to be completely effective. This report describes the education of staff and the operating procedures of a typical EMS, future models of services, and the need for more integration with the rest of the US health care system. It comments on the need for more specialized training, recruitment and retention techniques, the role of leadership, the impact of new system infrastructures (including dispatch and other communication systems) and the need to prepare for disasters. The authors recommend conducting more research to bring EMS in the US to its optimal state. Annotation )2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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Graça Machel on Women’s Health and Rights

The International Women’s Health Coalition honored Graça Machel with an award at our 2009 gala, but she couldn’t be there in person so we taped a video interview with her.

Graça Machel is President of the Foundation for Community Development (FDC), a not-for-profit Mozambiquan organization she founded in 1994 that makes grants to civil society organizations to strengthen communities, facilitate social and economic justice, and ist in the reconstruction and development of post-war Mozambique.

Duration : 0:4:56

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government grant checks

The government has provided billions of more dollars to help people stop and avoid foreclosure. These free cash grants can be obtained by American citizens who are behind in their payments, are having trouble paying their bills, and may face foreclosing on their homes. As millions of Americans continue to lose their houses, the economy continues to suffer in a bad way.

With foreclosure grants, the government is making an attempt to not so much help the people that were irresponsible and bought more house than they could afford, but these government grants are to help people who are in serious jeopardy of facing foreclosure and are facing financial hardship.

Once these funds are obtained, government grants never have to be paid back. And there are hundreds of similar programs available that are not just provided by the government, but private foundations as well. These organizations benefit from major tax advantages when they give away money to help people in financial distress, and the government provides these funds as a way to save the American economy.

There are hundreds of government and private foundation grants that range from providing the American people with money to get out of debt, to grants that help US citizens start a new small business. Once you find these funds, you’ll likely realize that there are several that you may qualify for. There’s no limit on how many grant applications you can submit, and grant applications do not require a credit check, down payment or collateral. Just fill out the forms and wait to see how much money you are approved for.

Instantly access to the database to get your foreclosure loan. See how much you can qualify to receive and obtain your check in as little as 7 days just by asking for free grant money…

AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 2 $21.81 An entertaining look at the American government and its development. Topics included: Congress, the Presidency, the Judicial Branch, and the Checks and Balances system. Hosted by Drs. Larry Sabato and Jerry Manheim.

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fire grants for 2009

We all have some antique porcelain bowls and dishes on the closet on the dining room, but did we ever think what is their history? Meissen porcelain is one of the oldest porcelains of the world, while it is the first European hard paste porcelain. It dates back from 1708 when a German genius Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus developed it. Unfortunately he died later that year, but luckily, Johann Friedrich Bottger, also named the father of Meissen porcelain, thinking that porcelain was an expensive invention, moved between European cities trying to sell it. Therefore, many people thought porcelain was his own invention. Porcelain eventually got sold on the market.

On the other hand, selling the porcelain on the market was not the only reason why Bottger had moved on large European cities. He was a desperate alchemist trying to turn worthless materials to gold. He later claimed he had been able to do so, and the King of Poland, August II locked him in his laboratory and ordered him to produce him some gold. But Bottger instead of doing so, he just produced some Chinese porcelain and sent it to the king. Fortunately, the king liked porcelain too and he released him. Bottger continued to do his porcelain related researches in his laboratory and the Meissen porcelain production finally started in 1710.

The Meissen porcelain he produced was the first hard-paste porcelain in Europe. It was white, translucent and it also had great quality, quite equal to the Chinese porcelain. Bottger later revealed that he was producing it by heating a mineral named kaolin, which now is known as China clay, and he substituted alabaster for petuntse. Although Bottger was the person who sold it and spread the Meissen porcelain throughout Europe, we still have to consider Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus as the inventor of the Meissen porcelain, but he was just so unlucky to die so soon, and yet lucky for having Bottger to spread the word about his invention.

For more info on Meissen China porcelain, visit: http://www.meissenchina.net

Grants Travelodge, Grants,NM $47.25 Hotel property Grants Travelodge, 1608 East Santa Fe Ave in Grants, NM, United States

Grants Pass Travelodge, Grants Pass,OR $45.5 Hotel property Grants Pass Travelodge, 1 Star, 1950 Nw Vine Street in Grants Pass, OR, United States

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grant peace policy

In a previous article, I outlined the relative strengths and weaknesses of both sides in the US civil war. In this article, I shall consider whether the South, despite its inherent economic, manpower and political weaknesses could have stayed off defeat in 1865 and held out for longer against the North. Throughout history there are examples of nations or peoples, after having lost command of the open battlefield, continuing to fight long drawn out campaigns, which gradually sapped the strength and will of an apparently superior enemy. Modern examples include Vietnam, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the growth of partisan movements against the German occupiers of Yugoslavia, Greece and the western provinces of the USSR during the Second World War.

The leaders of the Confederacy would have had the successful example of the American Revolution, some eighty years earlier to drawn upon. The British army, despite having won the majority of conventional pitched battles against the American rebels, was unable to end the insurgency and defeat the revolutionaries. The American armies under Washington continued to retreat and avoid destruction. Eventually, foreign powers came to the aid of the Americans and defeated the British.

To some extent, this had been the strategy of the Confederacy from the start of the war. The leaders of the Confederacy were convinced that the industrialised nations of Europe (Britain and France) who relied upon cotton imports would be forced to recognize the South and intervene on the side of the Confederacy. Had Britain intervened in the war, the North could have found itself fighting a two front war, with British troops poised to strike from Canada, just as they had done in the war of 1812.

Intervention from Britain and France would also have nullified the North’s strong industrial and financial advantages against the South. The Federal government recognised the dangers of European involvement. Nevertheless, the South had overestimated the importance of its cotton exports. There were other sources of cotton available in the world. Whilst importing cotton from India was probably less commercially advantageous than the simpler Atlantic route with America, the Union naval blockade of the South had helped to push up the price of cotton. The decline of the South’s cotton trade therefore helped to fuel the growth of imported cotton from British India. Ultimately, Britain and France did not consider it to be advantageous enough for them to intervene and help the Confederacy.

Without the aid of foreign powers, the Confederacy was progressively weakened materially through the stranglehold of the Union blockade. The South’s limited industrial base made it necessary to import rifles, guns and many other essential materials of war. The South’s lack of a sizeable navy allowed the Union to land troops and take possession of many of the South’s ports and coastal waters. By April 1862, the whole Atlantic coast of the Confederacy was under Union control, with the exceptions of Wilmington, Charleston, and Savannah. The early seizure of the South’s largest port, New Orleans in 1861 and General Grant’s western campaign of 1863, effectively turned the Mississippi into a Union river cutting the Confederacy in half.

With the defeat at Gettysburg, the Confederate armies were unable to launch further large-scale offensives against the North.

Despite the progressive decapitation of the South between 1864-1865, the armies of the Confederacy continued to check and inflict reverses upon the Union armies. Notably at Cold Harbour in July 1864, where 50,000 Union troops took part in the largest frontal assault of the war, suffering 7,000 casualties within half an hour. The key point is that whilst the Union could invade and destroy the economy and infrastructure of the South, as long as the Confederate armies could exist, the Confederacy could exist. If they could hold out long enough and force the North into a degree of war weariness the North might just sue for peace. Equally, Grant and other military leaders in the Union army realised that in order to defeat the Confederacy they could not just rely upon slow economic strangulation. They would need to launch an all out invasion of the South and its people. In the final phase of the war, this is precisely what the Union armies did. The objective of the Union campaign now was to destroy the fighting force of the South and its fighting will. General Sherman’s famous march through Georgia in November-December 1864 is remembered as being particularly brutal on the civilian population. Thousands of slaves were freed and plantations and homes looted and burnt. It was this kind of warfare that ground down the social fabric of the South whilst its armies fought on against ever increasing odds.

After Richmond fell on 5th April 1865, Robert E Lee’s army escaped. Apart from his own, there were two remaining Confederate armies, both in full retreat in the face of superior Union numbers. At Appomattox Lee was cut off. There now emerged a dangerous mixture of no supplies, desertion, and the almost incalculable oversupply of the Union forces now roaming the South. He was grossly outnumbered and finally had to send a note to Grant requesting terms of surrender. With Union armies now under effective control over much of the deep South and the principal formations of the Confederate army having either been defeated or surrendered, the Confederacy had ceased to exist as a sovereign political state (or rather a collection of states). This is perhaps why the South did not and could not continue the war as an insurgency. Tens of thousands of Southern boys had been killed or maimed, the slaves had been freed and the economy was in ruins. The war did not continue as an insurgency because it had always been an insurgency. Albeit, one of a larger scale than we might commonly associate with an uprising. The political questions of 1860-1 had been decided by force of arms and thus the war ended.

Alexander Clark

http://www.historyofwarfare.blogspot.com

Grant $18.9 This large, one-volume biography of Ulysses S. Grant finds much to praise. It reviews his career after the war and as President, and sees him as one who dealt with difficult challenges such as Reconstruction, the growth of the nation, and foreign policy with confidence. It also deals forthrightly with the criticism of Grant both in his time and by historians. A New York Times Notable Book for 2001.

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