Backlink creation from provided list of websites by johnscott5

I am after someone to create 10 links per day for 30 days from websites provided. Each week i will provide a list of 70 links which need to be created that week. Some websites may require registration, for which a provided email address will be used… (Budget: $30-$250 AUD, Jobs: Data Entry, Internet Marketing, Link Building, SEO)


WordPress BuddyPress theme enhancement by geeknish

Hi, I have this website http://dev.keabangalore.com which is being built on Buddypress and the theme being used is UNPLUGGED which is an extension of buddypress default theme. I would like to hire a wordpress/buddypress expert with graphic design skills to give the website a good look and feel… (Budget: $30-$250 USD, Jobs: Graphic Design, PHP, Website Design, WordPress)


"Like them all" button for website – Facebook Connect by faithfirst1001

I have a website on which are many “Like” buttons. These “Like” buttons connect with (or are integrated into) Facebook pages I have made. I would like visitors of my website to be able to “Like” all the pages connected with my site with one click… (Budget: $30-$250 USD, Jobs: Facebook, PHP, Script Install, Social Engine, Social Networking)


Looking For Article Proofreader ASAP =0oo| Start Immediately by omd34322

We are looking for proofreaders to check articles for spelling, grammatical, and formatting errors. This would also include checking articles for proper keyword density and that they pass Copyscape. … (Budget: $30-$250 USD, Jobs: Article Rewriting, Articles, Proofreading, Publishing, Research)


Newspaper review

Papers

Nine days after the Wikileaks website began releasing secret US diplomatic cables, and the pressure on its founder Julian Assange is intensifying.

The Guardian expects Mr Assange to appear in court in Britain on Tuesday.

His lawyers have announced he will meet police to discuss an extradition warrant from Sweden relating to allegations of sexual assaults.

The paper says Mr Assange appears to be reconciling himself to a lengthy court battle against extradition.

The Daily Mail quotes Bank of England figures revealing that bank customers are being “crippled” by the highest overdraft charges since records began.

Rates for authorised overdrafts – those agreed in advance – reached just over 19% in October.

The paper says this means the typical customer who goes overdrawn is paying a rate 38 times higher than the base rate of half of one per cent.

The Mail describes this situation as “licensed extortion”.

The Daily Star suggests the freezing conditions are threatening to prevent deliveries of Christmas food and even presents arriving in time.

Meanwhile, the Sun claims that SAS “hit squads” are protecting packed shopping centres from terrorists.

The elite troops are said to be in position to foil any Mumbai-style attack on Christmas shoppers.

According to the paper, security was also stepped up at the country’s airports over the weekend.

The Daily Telegraph says prisoners who declare themselves to be Pagans are to be allowed time off work for festivals celebrating, among other things, promiscuity and lactating sheep.

New guidelines say Pagan inmates must have the same rights as Christians, Muslims and other worshippers.

But, the Telegraph muses, one holiday during which they are unlikely to be granted full rights is Lammas.

Traditionally, worshippers go on country walks.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Fears over pupil tests ‘disaster’

Students in classroomPisa is an international standardised assessment for 15-year-olds
Related stories

Test results comparing Welsh pupils with the rest of the world are expected to be a “disaster”.

BBC Wales understands the assembly government is preparing for another poor performance in the Pisa assessments.

They test up to 10,000 15-year-olds in each of 65 countries in reading, maths, science and problem solving.

The assembly government would not comment until the results are formally released.

But sources close to the assembly government say the publication of the results on Tuesday will be a “reality check”.

The Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) performance tables are carried out every three years and grade teenagers against their peers in other countries.

“”The results must be put in the context of the funding gap between Wales and England”

Rex Phillips NASUWT Cymru

In the last set of results conducted in 2006 and published in 2007, Wales performed the worst of the UK nations.

Although Welsh students performed well on science, the report revealed below-average performances in reading and maths, comparable to eastern European countries such as Croatia and Azerbaijan.

The BBC has been told that assembly government officials are working on the assumption the results will be a “disaster”.

Wales will be under scrutiny to close the gap with the rest of the UK after last time.

After the last set of results the assembly government’s aim would have been to close the gap on Scotland, Northern Ireland and England.

Rex Phillips, Wales organiser of the NASUWT, said the results should not be used as a “stick to beat teachers with”.

He added: “The (education) minister should avoid knee-jerk reactions and work with the teaching profession, not against it.

“The results must be put in the context of the funding gap between Wales and England.”

A Welsh Assembly Government spokesman said they would not be commenting until the confidential results are released.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Facing poverty in old age

Three generations of womenDifferent generations of women are witnessing an altering pensions landscape
Related stories

Young people are facing poverty in old age by turning their backs on saving for a pension.

Official figures show that the number of women aged 22 to 29 in the UK who are signing up for a workplace pension has fallen for four years in a row, marking the most rapid decline of any age group.

Pensions Minister Steve Webb has told the BBC that people are waiting “decades” after starting work before they consider how to pay for retirement.

And now experts are warning that a new scheme to ensure employees get into the savings habit will be insufficient and offer workers a false sense of security.

At the moment, more than half of the UK’s single pensioners have a pension income of less than £10,000, the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show.

The UK has an ageing population. By 2034, 23% of the population is projected to be aged 65 and over, up from 15% in 1984.

An estimated eight million workers have no pension provision, and face having to rely on the state pension – currently £5,078 a year – and benefits to pay for 20 years or so of retirement.

And it is workers aged under 30 who are the least likely to have signed up for a workplace pension scheme – generally the most generous pension policies. Fewer than 40% of men and women aged 22 to 29 contribute to a scheme offered by their employer.

Workplace pension scheme membership graphic

For today’s 20-somethings, pensions have fallen on the priority list as they face up to more pressing financial concerns.

Steve Webb

“In the past the pension system assumed that women did not need a pension they needed a husband”

Steve Webb Pensions MinisterHow to save for a pensionAsk your question to an expert

“I am struggling to pay off debt and so at the moment every penny of my monthly salary is needed for rent, living and debt,” says Kate Croxton, a 27-year-old charity worker from Sheffield.

“After my debts are cleared I think the focus at my age is to start saving to invest in property. This seems more relevant and urgent than a pension at this point in my life.”

It has often been said that the only people aged in their 20s who think about pensions are those who sell them.

But Pensions Minister Steve Webb says he is concerned that complications, as well as poor awareness of pension system, has turned many young people away from thinking about how they will fund old age.

“Most young people starting in a job do not get around to thinking about pensions for decades,” he says.

“When young, they think they will live forever, and pensions is something for their granny. There is a danger in thinking that your home will be your pension.

“None of us are expecting 20-somethings to become pension geeks, but what we do want is to demystify it, make it simple and ask the question – ‘what sort of standard of living do you want when you are old’.”

He also called on women especially to give it more thought.

“We want to make sure that more women have their own pension pot. In the past the pension system assumed that women did not need a pension they needed a husband,” he says.

“That is a ridiculous notion now.”

He believes that a new system that will automatically enrol people into a workplace pension scheme will get young people into a savings habit.

It will also tackle the dividing line between pension provision depending on people’s choice of career, he says.

At present, workplace pension scheme take-up is more than 90% in public sector jobs such as public administration, defence and social security, compared with just 6% in shorter-term accommodation and catering work.

Key pension factsPensioner couples received an average income of £564 a week in 2008-9In 2008-9, 53% of single pensioners had a total pension income of less than £10,000 a yearAbout 34% of men and 38% of women aged 22 to 29 are members of an employer pension schemeBetween 2005 and 2009, women aged 22 to 29 were among those who experienced the biggest decline in pension scheme membership

Source: Office for National Statistics

Those without access to a workplace pension, aged 22 or more and earning at least £5,715 a year, will be enrolled by their employer into the National Employment Savings Trust (Nest) scheme.

Contributions from staff and employers will also be phased in. Until October 2016, the minimum overall level of contributions will be just 2%, with 1% coming from employers.

From October 2016 to September 2017, total contributions will be 5% with 2% coming from employers. From October 2017, the total minimum contribution level will be 8%, with employers contributing at least 3%.

Questions have been raised as to whether these contributions will be sufficient for an adequate standard of living in retirement.

The BBC asked actuary firm Barnett Waddingham to estimate how much a single man, aged 25, earning a relatively typical £26,000 a year could expect in retirement from the Nest scheme.

Sheena Khanna

“Retirement just seems so far off, I am 24 and it is 40 years until it’s going to be relevant to me”

Sheena Khanna Theatre employee‘Retirement just seems so far off’

With investment returns of 7%, he could expect an annual pension of £8,870.

“The returns on a standard Nest savings plan may not be that great, even after 40 years of contributing,” says Malcolm McLean, consultant at Barnett Waddingham.

“There is a risk that people will switch off and just save the minimum amount and think that is me sorted, I have got a pension plan, it is all in hand. We need to get it across that auto-enrolment and Nest might be just their starting point.”

A report by the Royal Society of Arts, published this week, argues that the UK has an inadequate pension provision compared with the rest of Europe.

Although it welcomes Nest, it says that the scheme is being hamstrung during the early years of its existence by a limit on individual’s contribution levels at about £3,600 a year.

Others argue that an entire change of culture is needed to make pensions affordable.

“What I find astonishing is that this good news story – that we are all living for longer – is becoming a bad news story that we are all going to be poorer,” says Ros Altmann, director general of Saga.

“It does not need to be that way.”

She says that people need to rethink the way they approach later life. This could mean working part-time during pension years.

Without adequate savings, many people may no longer have the choice other than to stay at work.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Ireland faces ‘tough’ budget vote

Protesters in DublinIreland’s deal to secure bail-out aid brought thousands of protesters onto the streets of Dublin

The Republic of Ireland is set to unveil more details of its controversial budget cuts.

The ruling Fianna Fail party is due on Tuesday to present what will be the toughest budget in Dublin’s history.

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan is planning an initial 6bn euros (£5bn) of cuts in welfare spending and job losses.

It is part of a deal to secure an 85bn-euro bail-out, but Fianna Fail’s slim majority means the vote could be close.

Once the budget is cleared by parliament it will trigger the first tranche of bail-out funds from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

The government previously announced cuts under a four-year National Recovery Plan unveiled two weeks ago.

Dublin is looking to save about 15bn euros over the period as it struggles to balance the books after its banking and property.

But on Tuesday prime minister Brian Cowen’s government is to announce its spending programme for this financial year, having already warned that 2010/11 was likely to see the biggest cuts of the four-year plan.

The Irish Republic’s generous welfare budget is a prime target for the axe.

Child benefit is being slashed, and social welfare spending – state pensions excluded – is being cut by 5%.

Thousands of public sector jobs will go. Civil service pay freezes will be imposed, and reform of the tax system will bring thousands of Irish people into the tax net. The minimum wage will be lowered.

Analysis

Dublin is a very cold place these days and the mood of the people matches the weather.

Politicians from the ruling Fianna Fail coalition usually enjoy a friendly and gregarious relationship with voters on all sides but that is no longer the case.

Voters are champing at the bit to get to the ballot box and punish this government.

That urge will intensify today when even further swingeing cuts are announced in the budget for 2011 including a de facto rise in income tax by dramatically widening the tax net as well significant cuts on social welfare.

Usually budgets contain some sweeteners for political reasons. One suspects that no amount of Canderel or Hermacetas would be able to sugar coat this most bitter of fiscal pills.

That the populace must endure this hardship so that failed Irish banks can be propped up is likely to live long in memories.

Mr Cowen says the cuts are necessary because Ireland was living way beyond its means.

Surging bond yields – the interest rates Dublin pays to borrow money – forced the government to ask for a bail-out on 28 November, as the Republic could no longer afford to raise money in the financial markets.

Mr Cowen, with his poll rating at a record low, needs to push the budget through to avoid having to call a snap election.

Failure to do so could plunge the Republic into a deeper crisis, one that could help spread contagion throughout the heavily-indebted eurozone.

Mr Cowen’s government only has a majority the Dail, or lower house of parliament, thanks the support of two independent MPs.

One of these MPs, Michael Lowry, pledged his support for the budget on Monday evening.

“The consequences of not passing a budget would be disastrous for Ireland and its people,” he said in a statement.

“Despite some adverse reaction in my constituency to this decision I feel duty bound to put the country’s interests first.”

The other independent MP, Jackie Healy-Rae, had yet to comment on whether he will vote for the budget.

And it is not clear if all opposition MPs will oppose the budget. There has been talk of some MPs abstaining from the vote, strengthening Mr Cowen’s hand.

But it is not essential that all parts of the budget are cleared on Tuesday.

The vote will be conducted via four separate ballots, and the budget must be passed within four months of Mr Lenihan presenting it to parliament.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.