Thursday, May 12, 2011

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Democracy on the march in INDIA

Dear friends across India,

Wow - with over 7,00,000 of us now joined together by Avaaz in India, our brand-new movement is already racking up victories almost every week! Scroll down to see highlights of the last month...

Avaaz India is also part of an amazing 82 lakh-strong global community, which is winning battles everywhere for a better world -- one free from corruption, oppression, and extreme poverty.

You can feel it and see it -- democracy is on the march in India. The Jan Lokpal bill must enter the parliament for a vote in this monsoon season. Until then, we'll meet every challenge and block every dirty tactic to ensure we get the strong and effective anti-corruption law that all Indians want.

Here's a quick summary of the last few weeks in our amazing people-powered community in India:


Anna Hazare "I would like to thank the people of India for their immense support" -- Anna Hazare
Candles in front of India gate

Direct Delivery to Committee

Anna cutting the cake

Photo of Billboard
For a strong Lokpal: In just 36 hours 6,50,000 of us stood with Anna Hazare in calling for a strong Lokpal bill. By delivering our message directly to the Prime Minister and the media we helped built enough pressure to force the Government to agree to Hazare’s demands -- and turned this into the most viral campaign in online campaigning history.

Rapid-response action against the smear: We immediately reacted and fought the Government’s smear campaign of civil society calling on PM Singh to stop the slander. We were a lone voice holding the Government accountable for their dirty tricks and attempts to derail the anti-corruption movement, but days later the smear campaign vanished from the front pages of media -- and we’ll be ready if it returns.

Solidarity at India Gate: We joined a powerful citizen’s march on May Day culminating at India gate in Delhi where candles were lit in the formation of 6,57,371 -- symbolizing the hope of thousands of Indian Avaaz members for a strong Lokpal.

Direct high-level delivery of our message: Our call for a strong Lokpal was delivered directly to Lokpal drafting committee members, in front of the media, as they began their second meeting to work on the anti-corruption bill. Civil society and media called the second meeting cooperative and commented that finally the government was beginning to show its commitment to a strong anti-corruption bill.

6 ft Lokpal-cake: In a potent symbolic gesture of starting good deeds, we offered sweets to the Lokpal committee members. Avaaz members and children from the Salaam Balak Trust wearing khadi kurtas and Gandhi caps delivered a giant 6-foot cake with our numbers, that was then cut by Anna Hazare and other members of the drafting committee.

Our message resonates at the heart of Delhi's political life: We further intensified the people-powered pressure against corruption by posting a large billboard near parliament to hold the committee members accountable -- it reads ’Either way, history will remember you’. And we will continue to post hard-hitting messages on the billboard all through next month.


Many say India is a place that will only ever change slowly. This past month we’ve just scratched the surface of our true potential to bring about an even greater India -- but already we’ve proven that great changes can happen in days. If our vision stays broad, our determination solid and our hope strong, there’s no telling what we can do in India, and in the world.

With hope and gratitude for this amazing community,

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Specifications of Mercedes Intercity Coach



Body Structure
 
Passenger door Standard - Inswing pneumatic
Seats 45 reclining seats with 2 point seat belts on 5 seats (4 front row+1 middle seat last row) with armrests on either side.
Seats Rear Magazine net , grab handle and bottle holder
Driver Seat Mechanical with 3 point seat belt with headrest
Co-driver Retractable seat with seat belt
 
Dimensions (mm) +/- 10 mm  
External  
OAW Front 2600
OAW Rear 2600
OAH with AC 3656
OAH w/o AC 3443
OAL 11995
Angle of approach (in degrees) 11.2°
Angle of departure (in degrees)
Internal  
Saloon length 10385
Saloon width 2450
Saloon height 2010
Gangway / Aisle 520
 
External Panels  
Side panel Galvanised coated sheets
Hatches / Ventilators 2 nos, Mechanically operated
Roof panels Galvanised coated sheets
Front panel FRP fire retardant
Rear panel FRP fire retardant
Paint Solid paint - Glasurit
 
Internal Trims  
Side trim ABS fire retardant
Roof trim ABS or Carpet - fire retardant
Wood finish High quality wood finish
Floor Anti - skid fire retardant vinyl
Hat rack Open ABS hatrack with AC vents at service set and AC nozzles at hatrack aluminium section border lining
Luggage flaps Panthographic hinged with dual function handles
Luggage boot floor Vinyl flooring, anti skid fire retardant
Service sets with adjustable AC vent console, lights and speaker integrated, with service call switch, speaker switch and light switch
 
Glass  
Front windshield Laminated
Side glass Toughened 5 mm with green tint
Rear windscreen Toughened 5 mm with green tint
Standard fitments  
AC type New Gen Parallel flow - Carrier AC 136(2), 32kW w/o heating,190kg, 6600Cu m/h
AC drive Engine driven
Special Air vents In front headers over driver and co-driver and on dashboard for driver and co-driver + air vents at rear header for seats/sleeping berth
Rear view mirror Electrically adjustable rear view mirror, mechanically adjustable bumper mirror with anti-fog.
Wiper Wide sweep, with inbuilt spray with approx. 10 litre tank.
Entertainment System DVD Player with 17 (at front header)and 15 (middle of bus length) LCD monitors
Speakers Integrated with service set
Driver area lamp Installed in the header above the driver
Stowage area for driver At cockpit and behind driver seat
Passenger entry lamps Yes - overhead spot at co-driver area.
Front Blinders/Sun visor on the Windshield 2 nos integrated in front header
Blinders/ Sun visor on the vanity panel 1 no. on LH, 1 no. on RH integrated in front header at beginning of hatrack
 
Electrical Equipment  
External  
Head lamp 3 lamps on each side
Fog lamp 1 lamp on each side
Tail lamp Integrated cluster
Side Lamps & Blinkers Standard - 5 side markers each side + 1 blinker each side
Internal  
Engine compartment 1 nos
Engine flap Illumination for license plate
Luggage compartment light Standard - 6 nos
Saloon lamps Longitudinal lamps with 3 functions - white light, yellow dim lights, blue night lights
Dashboard Soft touch, superior design, with functional indication for switches with illumination at night
Digital clock Yes with night illumination above 17 LCD screen at front header
Fire extinguishers 2 standard (engine compartment + driver cockpit)
Emergency hammers Yes - six units
Individual reading lamps Integrated with service set
 
Luggage space ( cu.m. )  
Saloon hat rack 0.9
Luggage compartment 10 approx
* Some of the media elements and related information visible on this website are sourced from the Mercedes Benz global media library and may reflect globally available products and optional equipments which may not be a part of the standard specifications. Products available in the Indian market may vary. Mercedes-Benz reserves the right to make changes to the design and specifications.

Kadapa Bye Elections

YSR Congress Party YSR Congress YSR YS Jagan Mohan reddy YS Jagan TDP MV Mysura Reddy Kadapa Lok Sabha elections Kadapa Lok Sabha by elections Kadapa bye elections Kadapa by elections DL Ravindra Reddy Congress Party Andhra Pradesh
It’s a triangular contest for the Kadapa Lok Sabha bye-election in Andhra Pradesh, but in reality, it has essentially become a rather straight fight between YSR Congress President Y S Jaganmohan Reddy and Telugu Desam Party’s M V Mysura Reddy. D L Ravindra Reddy of Congress appears to be also in the fray only for the sake of it.
The lone question political pundits are asking is not who will win Kadapa but what will be Jagan’s margin of victory. Jagan got elected to Lok Sabha from Kadapa in 2009 on Congress ticket by a margin of over 1.75 lakh votes. But, he quit the party as well as his parliamentary membership in November last year to float his own political outfit.
He is fighting the May 8 bye-election on behalf of his fledgling party, staking claim to his late father Y S Rajasekhara Reddy’s “political legacy.” Now, Jagan’s aim is to secure a victory margin of over two lakh to three lakh votes so as to send a resounding message to the Congress about his political might.
Interestingly, the Congress too is playing the “legacy” card against Jagan claiming Rajasekhara Reddy remained a “true Congressman” till his last breath unlike Jagan who quit the party only to fulfil his “political over-ambition” of becoming the chief minister. Jagan, on the other hand, is banking heavily on the sympathy factor and has been going to the extent of terming the Kadapa by-poll as a fight between Sonia Gandhi and YSR.
“It is a fight for self-respect,” he tells voters as he seeks a mandate for him so as to teach a lesson to the Congress high command. The Congress has raised the BJP bogey against Jagan to attract the two lakh-odd Muslim voters in the Kadapa after the latter indicated that he would consider aligning with the saffron party if it promised ten per cent reservation for Muslims across the country. Jagan himself has promised to provide reservation for Muslims in politics as well.
The Telugu Desam, on the other hand, has focused entirely on the issue of corruption, showcasing how Jagan has allegedly amassed huge ill-gotten wealth between 2004 and 2009 when his late father was the Chief Minister. Jagan, however, is unperturbed over the tirade against him by the Congress and the TDP as he is confident of riding the sympathy wave. Of the seven Assembly segments in Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency, Jagan has a clear edge in four while the TDP is strong in two.

Auction Tips For Buyers


Know the seller
There are several ways in which you can check out a seller.
  • Does the online auction site have the ability to view the sellers other auctions, by looking at this you can decide wether they are traders or not.
  • Does the online auction site have a seller feedback area, if so check out what other buyers have said about the seller, sometimes buyers can rank a seller, if the seller has bad feedback and ratings do the sensible thing and avoid them or your negative feedback will be joining the others.
  • Does the seller have a history of selling items, although if a history and feedback were always required there would be no new sellers, you can still gain confidence for your first few buys by taking these two into account.
  • Is the seller using an anonymous email account, they could be completely honest, but generally dishonest sellers will not have traceable email addresses.
  • Before bidding send the seller an email, especially if they are a new seller, just think of a simple relevant question to ask that is not covered in the description of the item. Good sellers are serious about their sales and will respond quickly, fully and politely. After all do not forget YOU ARE THE CUSTOMER.
  • Does the seller appear to be knowledgable about the item they are selling, this can go a long way to avoid buying fakes, because it is less likely the seller bought fakes in the first place.
  • How does the seller want to be paid? If they want cash chances are you won`t see your item or your cash. For reasons of traceability and some recourse you should try and stick with a credit card payment.
  • When does the seller require payment? If its a short fixed period you may wish to look elsewhere as making payments other than credit card can be delayed and anyway YOU ARE THE CUSTOMER and you should be allowed to pay within a reasonable amount of time.
  • What is the return policy for the item. If its not good don`t bother, you are relying on a photo and a description, the item may arrive and not be what you thought.
  • What is the shipping rate? Has the seller inflated the rate to make more money, if so you need to decide wether the item is worth it and if the seller is worth doing business with when they use practises like that.
Hidden Costs
Check out these costs before you bid, the item may not be worth it.
  • What is the shipping rate? Do your sums, add up the shipping costs, you may need to email the seller to find out the weight and dimensions of the item. ( a good excuse to get in touch )
  • Is delivery type specified, does the item really need to go by the most expensive or fastest way.
  • Does the item require insurance for its journey, if so how much will this cost?
  • Make sure multiple items are shipped and charged as one bulk delivery, not as many separate small deliveries which will be more expensive.
  • If you are using an escrow service how much will it cost.
  • Are there any taxes to pay, import duties may apply for International buyers.
  • Various payment methods cost and should also be added to your hidden costs equation.
Know the item
Check out the item before you bid
  • What would the item cost new from a retailer, is the saving worth it?
  • Always print out the items description, you may need a hard copy later if a dispute arrises.
  • Images are most important for many items, they should be clear well lit, of a size that is easy to view, not a professional stock picture and without any signs of tampering such as retouching, always print them out you may need it if a dispute arrises.
  • Do some research, you may have plenty of time to research the item before bidding. Online auctions can run for weeks.
  • Search the online auction site for similar items before bidding.
Scams
Check out these scams before you bid.
  • Shilling
    The most frequent scam. The sellers and their cohorts bidding the price of an item higher so that the winning buyer (you) ends up paying for the item at a higher price than you would otherwise have.
  • Bid Shielding
    A buyer places a low bid and is then followed by other buyers (partners) who take the bidding up very high compared to the real value of the item, at the last moment the high bidders withdraw their bids and leave only the initial low bid remaining. Basically you end up selling the item for a lower than expected price and no one else has bid because of the high bids that have been withdrawn.
  • Faked Photos
    Its so easy to make something look good or even replace it entirely and take a picture. Once the image is digitized further enhancements can be made. Look at the picture carefully, does it look like a stock shot? Does it have any areas of blur or fuzziness? (a sure sign it has been tampered with) Does it match the description? Print it out and also save it to disc, you may need it later
  • Untrue/Misleading Descriptions
    Again anything can be written about anything. When did you last buy a car, was that dent, rust, bad paint job in the description of the ad, of course not, sellers may fail to mention things they see as minor but you see as major faults and of course the same goes for auctions. Does the description match the picture? Is it a detailed description or just the make and model, sellers should give detailed descriptions and even point out faults, if you contact a seller before bidding and find that a lot of bad stuff has been left out of the description ask yourself if you want to do business with this person.
  • Failure to Deliver Merchandise
    Usually online auctions require the buyer pay for the merchandise before receiving the goods. So you have paid, the cheque has been cashed and you have not received your goods. First contact the seller, if you get no response contact the auction site hosting the auction, tell them the situation and request any details they may be able to give you.
    Be sure to keep a record of all conversations, correspondence and cancelled cheques.
    Many auction sites now require sellers to give credit card details for identification before they can sell, for obvious reasons choose your auction site carefully.

    In the US this is a crime and is classed as mail fraud so take legal advice.

    If the item is expensive use an Escrow service.
    Does the auction site provide insurance, if so it can save you money.
  • False Feedback
    Visit the online auction's buyer feedback page. Sellers are rated by past buyers. The feedback systems can be easily manipulated by the seller using false user accounts and/or by their partners. If a seller has a perfect feedback rating this can mean they are either totally honest and timely with their sales or they are dishonestly posting false feedback, there is no easy way to spot false feedback, although, an average rating is probably a good thing, after all very few people are perfect. If you get burned be sure to let others know by using the feedback sections.
  • Switch and Return
    You as a seller have sent your goods to the buyer, the buyer then switches your goods for older, copied or broken goods of the same nature and contacts you saying they are not satisfied with the goods and demanding a refund.
    You do not know this until the goods have been returned to you, so what do you do?
    Do not give refunds until you have the goods back.
    Before sending the goods take photos of them, describe them and note any model numbers, serial numbers or unique identifying marks.
    Contact the buyer and let them know you know and the evidence you have, then offer to return the goods to them when you receive payment for re-shipping.
  • Pirated or Stolen goods
    If you think the goods may be pirated or stolen contact the seller and ask for details of where and how they acquired the goods, then contact the original supplier to confirm. Software is particularly subseptible to this.

Finally: Online auctions get a lot of bad press, but many people use them and are satisfied enough to continue using them, as in all things there are dishonest people out there and you have to protect yourself. If you follow the guidelines above and advice elsewhere on the Internet you should have no problems. Auctions are the best place for bargains and hard to find items, so if you want the rewards you have to do a bit of work yourself.

Good luck and above all have some fun..

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logoease Create Logo Online For Free   LogoEase
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