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Article Writing and Distribution for Maximum Free Website Traffic

October 31st, 2010. Published under Construction Articles. No Comments.

by familymwr

Article Writing and Distribution for Maximum Free Website Traffic

Article writing and distribution to article directories can provide you with the maximum free website traffic possible for minimum effort. There are two ways to achieve this: write articles yourself, and then either distribute them yourself or have one or either of these two jobs done for you.

The problem with sub-contracting this work is that it is no longer free traffic. However, professional article ghostwriters can provide you with articles that are search engine optimized for your keywords and so are liable to have a good chance of being listed on Google and other search engine for these same keywords. However, it is still better of you can learn how to achieve all of this yourself.

Why should writing articles offer you free website traffic, and why is article marketing becoming one of the lost popular traffic generation techniques online at the present time? In fact, it is difficult to see article writing being replaced by any other online promotional technique any time soon, and the number of article spinning software packages being offered reflect that.

So let’s examine article marketing and ask a few questions that many people are asking:

A. What exactly are the benefits of writing articles and distributing them to article directories?

B. How do you write articles in such a way as to get the, accepted by most article directories?

C. How do you use articles to make money and generate traffic?

These questions are not going to be answered easily in the space available in one article, but here are the answers to these questions in a basic form, and you should be able to find the rest of the information you need online.

A. Benefits of Article Writing and Distribution to Article Directories

In a nutshell, there are basic benefits of writing articles and having them published on directories:

a) Your article can be listed on Google and the rest of the search engines. Construct the article around good keywords for your topic, with as much demand and as little supply as possible, and optimize it using natural writing, taking into account the LSI (latent semantic indexing) concepts used by Google in determining the relevance of your article to the search terms used by Google users. This could get your listed in a high position with all the traffic that will bring you.

b) Directory users often read the published articles, and you will get many reads for each published article: in some cases over 1000 for each article. Each read is a potential click on the URL to your web page in your resource.

c) Many people use article directories as a source of content for their website, particularly for Adsense pages. Visitors to these pages are liable to click on your URL and visit your website.

d) You get Google PageRank benefit from the backlinks to your website from your articles that are published on directories and other website as in c), above.

These four benefits are very valuable ones, and many people pay a lot of money to get what you are getting free simply by writing articles and submitting them to article directories.

B. How do you Write Articles?

Writing articles in such a way as to get them accepted and published on article directories is a learned skill but there is help online with this. In respect of getting your article accepted by the directories, it is important that you carefully read the Terms of Service and Editorial Guidelines. Then stick to them!

Your title should be eye-catching and the first paragraph keep the reader on the page, Basically, your article must be interesting enough to keep your readers there, and then your resource compelling enough to persuade them to click on your link. There is a lot more than that but basically, if it looks good when you read it and you feel that you would want to click on your link, then that should do for now.

C. How to Use Articles to Make Money and Generate Traffic

This is the hard bit, and where most people fail. Writing articles for article marketing is so popular these days that articles in most niches are a dime a dozen. It takes something special or different to catch the eye and make money. It can be done if you know how, but article marketing cannot be learned in a day and is one of these skills that professionals know about but for which amateurs need a lot of training – or use an article ghostwriter to help you.

Making money from articles and using them to get traffic to your site has become a professional job, although it can be done if you know how to do it.

Article Spinners Beware!

There are many article spinning software packages available on line right now, and many of them are useless. What you must keep in mind is that Google does not apply any ‘duplicate content penalty’ (Google clearly states that) – it is a myth. You should assess the benefit of article spinners against that fact. If you do use them, then make sure that alternatives are true alternatives and not just ‘close’ or your spun article could look nonsense and give you a bad name online.

Very few words are true synonyms of each other and, unless you have a very good grasp of vocabulary and semantics, then you could be digging a grave for your business by using article spinners. You are strongly advised either to avoid them like the plague or to hire professional writers to write your alternates or you might regret your decision in using them.

Some article spinners can work if used properly, but make sure you know what you are doing in which case they might be a benefit. Assess the need, assess the software you use and then make sure your synonyms are exactly that: then and only then, you could benefit.

In conclusion, article writing and distribution for maximum free website traffic is one of the best ways to advertise and to drive free traffic to your website. Professional writing services are available for you, but not essential, although this is one of these best that are best done right. The way an article is written and constructed can make a tremendous difference to the success of your article market campaign, and if you are going to do this then make sure it is done in the most effective way.

More information on how to make money and maximize your free website traffic using article writing visit Pete’s site Article Services, ad if you want to find out how to write your articles professionally then visit Article Czar where you will also receive a free writing course and other gifts just for looking.

Article from articlesbase.com

Vice President Joe Biden, joined by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman, announces that average tax returns are up nearly 10 percent this year thanks to tax benefits in the Recovery Act and says that a new Tax Savings Tool is available on WhiteHouse.gov. March 22, 2010.
Video Rating: 3 / 5

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Article Content Engine – Article Marketing on Autopilot!

October 31st, 2010. Published under Construction Articles. No Comments.

Bacterin International Reconstitutes Its Board of Directors and Appoints Experienced Legal and Financial Professionals

October 24th, 2010. Published under Construction Articles. No Comments.

Bacterin International Reconstitutes Its Board of Directors and Appoints Experienced Legal and Financial Professionals
BELGRADE, Mont., Oct. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Bacterin International Holdings, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: BIHI) (“Bacterin”), a developer of anti-infective coatings for medical applications and revolutionary bone graft material, today announced that it has confirmed the appointment of Jon M. Wickwire, a distinguished Washington, D.C. based attorney and Michael A. Lopach, a CPA and founder of …
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Bacterin International Reconstitutes Its Board of Directors and Appoints Experienced Legal and Financial Professionals
Bacterin International Holdings, Inc. , a developer of anti-infective coatings for medical applications and revolutionary bone graft material, today announced that it has confirmed the appointment of Jon M.
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Interim Report January-September 2010
OUTOTEC OYJ INTERIM REPORT OCTOBER 22, 2010 KLO 9:00 AMInterim Report January-September 2010Successful project execution and service sales improved profitabilityJanuary-September 2010 in brief (Q1-Q3/2009): * Order intake: EUR 1,038.2 …
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Trade NAFTA (TN) Status Pursuant to the North American Free Trade Agreement

October 17th, 2010. Published under Construction Articles. No Comments.

by TheeErin

Trade NAFTA (TN) Status Pursuant to the North American Free Trade Agreement

Background

When the North American Free Trade Agreement (“NAFTA”) was implemented on January 1, 1994, the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (“FTA”) was superceded. The Trade Canada (TC”) category for Canadian professionals, which existed under the FTA, was therefore eliminated. However, under NAFTA Canadian professionals are now eligible for Trade NAFTA (“TN”) status. In addition, under the NAFTA, TN status is now available to Mexican citizens as well.

Until January 1, 2004, the processing of TNs for Mexican citizens was very different from TNs for Canadian citizens. Prior to this date, Mexican citizens were required to first obtain a labor condition application and then the proposed employer would be required to file a TN petition with the Service Center. In addition, Mexican citizens were subject to annual limits on the number of TNs that could be approved. However, as of January 1, 2004, Mexican citizens may apply directly at consular sections around the World for a TN visa. No labor condition application or approved petition is required and Mexican citizens are no longer subject to numerical limits.

Canadian citizens are visa exempt under most nonimmigrant categories, including the TN. As a result, Canadian citizens are eligible to seek TN status directly at a preclearance facility located at a Canadian airport or at a land or sea port of entry.

Eligible Professions

Canadian and Mexican citizens who work in specific professions may enter the United States under TN status, in order to work for a U.S. company on a temporary basis. Eligible professionals may also work for Canadian or Mexican companies in the United States.

In order to qualify for TN status, the intended U.S. activity must be in a profession listed in Appendix 1603.D.1 of NAFTA and the applicant must possess the required credentials to qualify. The requirements for each of these categories appear in Appendix 1603.D.1.

The list of TN professionals at Appendix 1603.D.1 is almost identical to the list of TC professionals contained in Schedule 2 of the former FTA. The changes resulting from NAFTA that affect Canadian nationals are as follows: (a) Quebec notaries are considered equivalent to other lawyers, (b) the occupation of mathematician includes statisticians, (c) oceanographers are included within the occupation of physicist, and geographers are included under the occupation of urban planner.

In most but not all of the listed professions, a Baccalaureate (bachelor’s) degree or (or Licenciatura, the Mexican equivalent of a bachelor’s degree) is usually required. Although not specifically stated in Appendix 1603.D.1, United States Customs & Border Protection (“USCBP”) has previously stated that it expects the degree to be clearly relevant to the proposed position.

In other words, an alien with a bachelor degree in English will usually not qualify as a computer systems analyst. However, an alien with a mathematics degree should be able to qualify for TN status as a computer systems analyst, since it can usually be shown that systems analysis requires the application of mathematics principles. Similarly, an alien with an accounting degree should be able to seek TN status as a computer systems analyst if the proposed position involves designing accounting applications.

The list of eligible professions also includes occupations which do not necessarily require a bachelor’s degree as a minimum requirement. Some professions require a post-secondary diploma or certificate plus several years of experience. The term “post-secondary Diploma” means a credential issued, on completion of two or more years of post-secondary education, by an accredited academic institution in Canada or the United States. The term “post-secondary certificate” refers to Mexico’s equivalent of a post-secondary diploma. As in the case of an alien’s formal education, if work experience is required it must be shown to be relevant to the proposed position.

Some of the more complex TN cases are discussed below:

Scientific Technician/Technologist

A business person under his category must possess:

Theoretical knowledge in any of the following disciplines: agricultural sciences, astronomy, biology, chemistry, engineering, forestry, geology, geophysics, meteorology or physics; and The ability to solve practical problems in any of those disciplines, or the ability to apply principles of any of those disciplines to based or applied research.

Since November 7, 2002, the following guidelines [which currently appear in the Inspector's Field Manual ("IFM")] apply to scientific technicians and technologists (“ST/T”):

Individuals for whom scientific technicians/technologists wish to provide direct support must qualify as professional in their own right in one of the following fields: agricultural sciences, astronomy, biology, chemistry, engineering, forestry, geology, geophysics, meteorology or physics. A general offer of employment by such a professional is not sufficient, by itself, to qualify for admission as an ST/T. The offer must demonstrate that the work of the ST/T will be inter-related with that of the supervisory professional. That is the work of the ST/T must be managed, coordinated, and reviewed by the professional supervisor, and must also provide input into the supervisory professional’s own work. The ST/Ts theoretical knowledge should have been acquired through the successful completion of at least two years of training in a relevant educational program. Such training may be documented by presentation of a diploma, certificate, or a transcript accompanied by evidence of relevant work experience. U.S. authorities will rely on the Department of Labor’s Occupational Outlook Handbook to establish whether proposed job functions are consistent with those of a scientific or engineering technician or technologist. ST/Ts should not be admitted to perform job functions that are primarily associated with other job titles. Not admissible as ST/Ts are persons intending to do work that is normally done by the construction trades (welders, boiler makers, carpenters, electricians, etc.) even where these trades are specialized to a particular industry (e.g. aircraft, power distributions, etc.)

The IFM requires that the work of the ST/T must be managed, coordinated, and reviewed by the professional supervisor, and must also provide input into the supervisory professional’s own work. Although previously many immigration officers were lenient in relation to the degree in which the professional supervisor had to control the ST/T, the wording of the current guidance suggests that professional supervisor’s control over the ST/T must be considerably stronger than in the past.

The IFM also requires that the ST/T possess theoretical knowledge gained through at least two years of training in a relevant educational program. Previously, there was no specific minimum educational requirement. However, ST/Ts currently require at least two years of relevant education. It is unclear from the language whether this education must be gained through a two-year diploma program or whether an applicant may qualify based on two one-year certificates in a relevant field.

Medical Laboratory Technician

A business person in this category must be seeking temporary entry to perform in a laboratory chemical, biological, hematological, immunologic, microscopic or bacteriological tests and analyses for diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of diseases. This limitation appears as a footnote to Appendix 1603.D.1 and also in the IFM. The requirement that the alien perform laboratory tests in specific fields limits this category. For example, other medical technicians such as ultrasound technicians or ECG technicians will probably not qualify.

Physicians

Appendix 1603.D.1 clearly indicates that physicians may only enter for the purposes of teaching or research. It does not include direct patient care.

Notwithstanding this fact, USCBP permits patient care that is clearly incidental to teaching or research activities. According to the IFM, patient care is incidental when it is casually incurred in conjunction with the physician’s teaching or research.

To determine if the patient care will be incidental, factors such as the amount of time spent in patient care relative to teaching and/or research, whether the physician receives compensation for such services, whether the salary offer is so substantial in teaching and/or research that direct patient care is unlikely, or whether the physician will have a regular patient load, should be considered by the officer.

Disaster Relief Insurance Claims Adjusters

According to the IFM, such a professional must now submit documentation that there is a declared disaster event by the President of the United States, or a state statute, or a local ordinance, or an event at a site which has been assigned a catastrophe serial number by the Property Claims Service of the American Insurance Services Group, or, if property damage exceeds million and represents a significant number of claims, by an association of insurance companies representing at least 15 percent of the property casualty market in the U.S.

Management Consultants

According to the IFM, management consultants provide services which are directed toward improving the managerial, operating, and economic performance of public and private entities by analyzing and resolving strategic and operating problems and thereby improving the entity’s goals, objectives, policies, strategies, administration, organization, and operation. Management consultants are usually independent contractors or employees of consulting firms under contracts to U.S. entities. They may be salaried employees of the U.S. entities to which they are providing services only when they are not assuming existing positions or filling newly created positions. As a salaried employee of such a U.S. entity, they may only fill supernumerary temporary positions. On the other hand, if the employer is a U.S. management consulting firm, the employee may be coming temporarily to fill a permanent position. This is a restatement of the guidance contained in the old Operations Instructions, which have now been superceded by the IFM.

Computer Systems Analysts

According to the IFM, the computer systems analyst category does not include programmers. A systems analyst is an information specialist who analyzes how data processing can be applied to the specific needs of users and who designs and implements computer-based processing systems. Systems analysts study the organization itself to identify its information needs and design computer systems which meet those needs. Although the systems analyst will do some programming, the TN category has not been expanded to include programmers.

Hotel Managers

The precedent decision of Matter of Sun, 12 I. & N. Dec. 535 (D.D. 1966) recognized that hotel managers could be considered professionals; the vocation of hotel manager appears in Appendix 1603.D.1 for this reason. However, in the subsequent precedent decision of Matter of Caron International, 19 I. & N. Dec. 791 (Comm’r 1988), the Commissioner stated the following about Matter of Sun:

Although it concludes the vocation of hotel manager in its more complex form involving certain duties for a large hotel may be considered a profession, it also concludes “the beneficiary, by virtue of his specialized high-level education in the field of hotel management and his experience in that field is qualified as a member of that profession.” Matter of Sun is distinguishable from this case because the petitioner here has not demonstrated a specific academic degree is required to perform the proposed occupation.

In light of the above, the general manager of a small strip motel will have difficulty establishing that his or her proposed position is professional. Similarly, a lower level manager in a large hotel will also have difficulty establishing that his or her proposed position is professional.

Although a hotel manager may qualify for TN status based on a degree or diploma in restaurant management, he or she may not seek TN status as a restaurant manager, even if the restaurant happens to be located within a hotel. On the other hand, a Director of Food and Beverage Services (the proposed position in Matter of Sun) may qualify because his or her duties involve a key function of the hotel and not just the management of one restaurant.

According to the IFM, hotel managers must now possess a bachelor’s degree in hotel or restaurant management. A post-secondary diploma in hotel or restaurant management plus 3 years of experience in the field will also qualify. In the author’s opinion, this IFM provision does not make sense. It appears to disqualify even an alien who possesses bachelor’s degree in a related business field, unless the degree is specifically in hotel or restaurant management. For example, even an alien with an MBA in marketing would be disqualified from this option.

Certification Requirements for Other Health Care Workers

According to INA 212(a)(5)(C), aliens (other than physicians) who seek to work in the health-care field are now inadmissible. It is now established that the term “health-care worker” in the legislation includes the following occupations:

Licensed practical nurses, licensed vocational nurses, and registered nurses; Occupational therapists; Physical therapists; Speech language pathologists and audiologists; Medical technologists (clinical laboratory scientists); Physician assistants; and Medical technicians (clinical laboratory technicians).

The certification requirement does not apply to health care workers seeking to work as teachers, researchers, or managers of health care facilities. A health care worker may still seek TN status where the proposed position does not involve direct or indirect patient care.

Notwithstanding this ground of inadmissibility, a blanket one-year nonimmigrant waiver of inadmissibility was initially granted for these health-care workers. These blanket waivers were granted automatically at the same time as the TN application.

For most individuals, this blanket waiver ceased to be available on September 23, 2003. However, it continued to be extended until July 25, 2005, for Canadian and Mexican nurses who, before September 23, 2003, held TN or TC status as nonimmigrant health-care workers and held valid licenses from a United States jurisdiction, provided that they obtained certification within one year.

Use of Work Experience Equivalency in TN Applications

Although it is possible under the H-1B category to establish equivalency to a bachelor’s degree by showing a combination of experience and education, under the TN category, an applicant who does not have such a degree cannot show such equivalency. However, it is still possible to show that a foreign degree is equivalent to a Canadian or U.S. degree in order to qualify for TN status. Where licensure is required, the applicant must show licensure in the state in which he or she intends to work.

Licensure Requirements for Certain Professions

Previously, TN applicants in certain regulated professions (i.e. lawyers, accountants, etc.) were required to establish that they possessed the necessary licensure to practice (if required) in the state of intended employment. However, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) eliminated the licensure requirement for Mexican citizens on March 10, 2004. On November 12, 2004, DHS also removed the licensure requirements for Canadian citizens seeking TN status.

As a result, a state license is no longer a mandatory documentary requirement for entry. State jurisdictions continue to maintain the ability to impose licensure requirements on any profession. DHS has simply stated that it will not require evidence of licensure before it will admit the alien as a TN.

Self-Employment Prohibited

NAFTA now expressly prohibits the establishment of a business or practice in the United States in which the professional will be self-employed. The phrase “engage in business activities at a professional level” is defined at 8 CFR §214.6(b) as follows:

[T]he performance of prearranged business activities for a United States entity, including an individual. It does not authorize the establishment of a business or practice in the United States in which the professional will be, in substance, self-employed. A professional will be deemed to be self-employed if he or she will be rendering services to a corporation or entity of which the professional is the sole or controlling shareholder or owner. [Emphasis added.]

However, self-employment may still be found even where the alien is not the sole or controlling shareholder or owner.

According to the IFM, even if the receiving enterprise is legally distinct from the alien, such as a corporation having a separate legal existence, entry as a NAFTA Professional must be refusd id the receiving enterprise is “substantially controlled” by that alien. Officers should consider the following factors, among others, in determining whether the alien “substantially controls” the United States entity:

Whether the applicant has established the receiving enterprise; Whether, as a matter of fact, the applicant has sole or primary control of the U.S. enterprise (regardless of the applicant’s actual percentage of share ownership); Whether the applicant is the sole or primary shareholder of the business; or Whether the applicant is the sole or primary recipient of income from the business.

The IFM also states that the following factors, among others, are relevant in determining whether the alien will be self-employed in the United States:

Incorporation of a company in which the alien will be self-employed; Initiation of communications (e.g., by direct mail or by advertising) for the purpose of obtaining employment or entering into contracts for an enterprise in the United States; or Responding to advertisements for the purpose of obtaining employment or entering into contracts.

On the other hand, the following activities do not constitute the establishment of a business in which the alien will be self-employed in the United States:

Responding to unsolicited inquiries about service(s) which the professional may be able to perform; or Establishing business premises from whch to deliver prearranged service to clients.

Work Stoppage or Labor Dispute Bars TN Elgibility

If the Department of Labor certifies that the proposed place of employment of the TN applicant is the subject of a work stoppage or labor dispute involving a work stoppage and the temporary entry of an alien may adversely affect either the settlement of the dispute or the employment of a person involved in the dispute, the application may be refused.

Maximum Period of Stay

Until recently, the maximum initial period of stay that could be granted for a TN nonimmigrant was one year. In addition, a TN nonimmigrant could request extensions of stay within the United States only in one-year increments. However, on October 16, 2006, DHS published its final rule on periods of admission and extensions of stay for Canadian and Mexican TNs.

As of October 16, 2008, the maximum allowable period of admission for TN nonimmigrants is increased from one year to three years. The final rule also allows otherwise eligible TN nonimmigrants to be granted an extension of stay in increments of up to three years instead of the previous maximum of one year.

In contrast with the H-1 and L-1 categories, there is no fixed limit on how long a TN professional may remain in the United States under such status. However, some ports-of-entry impose arbitrary limits based on their improper interpretation of 8 CFR §214.6(b), which defines “temporary entry” as follows:

Temporary entry, as defined in the NAFTA, means entry without the intent to establish permanent residence. The alien must satisfy the inspecting immigration officer that the proposed stay is temporary. A temporary period has a reasonable, finite end that does not equate to permanent residence. In order to establish that the alien’s entry will be temporary, the alien must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the inspecting immigration officer that his or her work assignment in the United States will end at a predictable time and that he or she will depart upon completion of the assignment.

TN professionals must already show that they do not have immigrant intent, as a result of INA §214(b). The definition of “temporary entry” is clearly based on the principles contained therein. The existence of this definition should not have resulted in a change in the adjudication of nonimmigrant intent.

There is no specific requirement that TN professionals maintain an unabandoned foreign residence to establish that they entry is temporary. Other categories such as B-1/B-2, J-1, and F-1 require evidence of an unabandoned foreign residence, but this requirement specifically appears in the INA. No such statutory requirement exists for TN professionals.

Fortunately, several ports-of-entry are still reasonable with regard to the issue of temporary entry. In the absence of evidence that the alien has immigrant intent, such ports-of-entry will conclude that the alien is in fact seeking temporary entry.

Dual Intent Not Recognized for TN Status

The recognition of “dual intent” essentially means that the alien is permitted to simultaneously have a present intention to work temporarily in the United States and a future intention to become a permanent resident. Although the concept of dual intent was effectively recognized for TC workers under the FTA, this appears to have changed with the implementation of the NAFTA.

INA §214(e)(2) now provides that the TN category is to be treated as a regular admission class under INA §101(a)(15). It is therefore subject to the same restrictions as other nonimmigrant categories. Because INA §214(b) creates a rebuttable presumption of immigrant intent for all nonimmigrants other than those in the H-1 or L categories, the concept of dual intent is not specifically recognized for TN professionals. Please refer to the article on dual intent for additional information.

In any event, Canadian TN professionals must clearly satisfy the immigration officer that they have bona fide nonimmigrant intent whenever they seek admission to the United States. The fact that a TN professional is the beneficiary of an application for labor certification or petition for permanent residence may be given significant weight when immigrant intent is assessed. While this does not necessarily constitute conclusive proof of immigrant intent, overcoming the presumption of immigrant intent in such cases can be a difficult task.

A 1996 letter from Yvonne LaFleur, Chief of the Business and Trade Branch at the INS’ Benefits Division, suggested that a TN professional could still have bona fide nonimmigrant intent even where they were the beneficiary of an approved immigrant petition, where they were seeking consular processing rather than adjustment of status.

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Initially, many (but not all) ports of entry followed this guidance. However, many ports of entry began to disregard it in later years.  Fortunately, a 2008 letter from USCBP appears to have resurrected this principle.

<p>

In a letter dated April 21, 2008, from Mr. Paul M. Morris, Executive Director, Admissibility and Passenger Programs, USCBP opined that the mere filing or approval of a Form I-140 immigrant petition on behalf of a TN nonimmigrant would not automatically constitute immigrant intent. A TN nonimmigrant and his or her dependents may have an intention to immigrate or adjust status at a future time but, as long as his or her intention at the time of admission is to be in the United States for a temporary period, he or she could be admitted. However, once the TN files an application for an immigrant visa or adjustment of status, the TN would no longer be eligible for admission or an extension of stay as a TN nonimmigrant.

Although opinion letters are not legally binding on USCBP, the 2008 letter nevertheless supports the principle that a TN professional can have nonimmigrant intent notwithstanding the filing or approval of an immigrant petition on his or her behalf. Of course, TN professionals who are concerned about immigrant intent problems may also wish to consider changing their status from TN to H-1B (assuming that they are also eligible for that category) before seeking permanent residence.

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September 25th, 2010. Published under Construction Articles. No Comments.

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The Cairo


Image by dbking
Thomas Franklin Schneider, architect of some 2,000 DC buildings, built the Cairo in 1894 near the edge of Washington City (Boundary Street — Florida Avenue). The 1893 Transportation Building at the Chicago World’s Fair inspired him. Originally the hotel had a ballroom, bowling alley, billiard room, coffee shop, and rooftop garden. It received water from an underground spring. Visitors to the rooftop frequently dropped pebbles to the street below, causing horses to give carriage riders the scare of their lives. This led to the closing of food on the roof after just three years.
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Source: Wikipedia

The Cairo apartment building, located at 1615 Q Street NW in Washington, D.C., is a landmark in the Dupont Circle neighborhood and the District’s tallest residential building.

The 164-feet-tall brick building was designed by architect Thomas Franklin Schneider and completed in 1894 as the city’s first "residential skyscraper". Today, the Cairo is a condominium building, home to renters and owners.

The Egyptian theme of the building is stamped across its Moorish and Romanesque Revival features. Gargoyles perch high above the front entrance; some are winged griffins staring down from cornices, and others are more lighthearted. Along the first floor are elephant heads, which look left and right from the stone window sills of the front windows and interlock trunks at the corners of the entrance arch. On the fourth floor are both dragon and dwarf crosses. The stone facade is carved with an inlaid design that hints at more exotic Middle Eastern origins. The opposing design elements produce a harmony described as follows in the AIA Guide to the Architecture of Washington, D.C.: "for all its quirks, the awkward tower reigns as one of Washington’s guilty pleasures

The building set off the firestorm over building height, and led to the law that has kept most of D.C.’s skyline low. Neighbors demanded a "wind test" be conducted to prove it wouldn’t fall, complained that it blocked their light, and were terrified of fire — no ladder could reach the top. The hotel was known for ballroom and mambo dancing on Saturdays. The room rates in 1953-54 were .00 per day for a single room with a private bath, breakfast was 45 cents, lunch 85 cents, and dinner .15. One resident reported that the last Queen of Hawaii lived in the Cairo while lobbying the U.S. to reclaim her throne.

By the 1960s, the hotel was a rundown brothel, with a telephone operator who listened in on calls for entertainment (the old plug-in switchboard).

A survey of in 1997 showed most residents were American (84%), from 21 different states, D.C., and Puerto Rico; 16% reported being from 11 countries and Palestine, and 42% reported being fluent in at least one other language besides English; 58% speak English only. Altogether, residents reported speaking a total of 15 languages. 65% of owners reported living in D.C. ten years or more.

Today, the Cairo is a condo building and has once again reclaimed its rightful place among the beautifully restored buildings in Washington DC

At 12 floors, the Cairo towers above nearby buildings. At its opening in 1894, the building’s height caused a tremendous uproar among local residents, who dubbed it "Schneider’s Folly" and lobbied Congress to limit the height of residential buildings in the District of Columbia to prevent more "skyscrapers" from being built. The resulting 1899 Heights of Buildings Act has kept the city’s skyline unusually low for an American city.

Around 1900, the building was renamed the Cairo Hotel and became a center of D.C. society, with its ballroom frequently the center of social and political gatherings. Its guests and tenants have included F. Scott Fitzgerald, Thomas Edison, and other powerful political figures.

On March 15, 1897, the deposed queen of Hawaii, Queen Liliuokalani, stayed in the Cairo while she lobbied President Grover Cleveland for compensation for the U.S. overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in January 1893. On February 15, 1905, the Cairo swirled with intrigue when, during a labor union strike, painter J. Frank Hanby fell to his death when the ropes supporting him broke. The ropes were found to have been cut by acid, leading to a grand jury investigation into the cause of death and many high profile articles in The Washington Post. The high society of Washington often held meetings at the Cairo Hotel, such as that between the Woman’s National Democratic League and a Congressman from New Mexico in 1913.

The December 2, 1923 Washington Post contained an advertisement for the Cairo Hotel that read:

The CAIRO HOTEL. Absolutely Fireproof. A hotel which has demonstrated its value in years of service to a discriminating clientele. Retains with bath, per day Rooms with detached bath, per day Two-room suites, per day Three-room suites, per day & parties visiting the National Capitol and families desiring to make Washington their temporary or permanent home, the Cairo Hotel offers exceptional advantages of location and environment, construction and arrangement, equipment and management. – James T. Howard, Manager

In June 1940, a newspaper headline reported "Two Bandits Rob Cairo Hotel, Escape in Chase".

A party held on the night of November 30, 1940, featured 500 canaries singing beneath the chandeliers in the grand ballroom. The building also had a bowling alley and a coffee shop.

In 1954, the Cairo Hotel hosted Sunday mambo parties, played by Buddy Rowell and promoted by Maurice Gervitsch, known as "Groggy". The dances were featured a 12-piece band, and (in segregated 1950s D.C.) had mainly white and Jewish attendance. These glamorous and sensational days lasted into the late 1950s.

The building was sold in 1957 as a 267-room hotel, and on October 12 the new owners announced plans to spend 0,000 refurbishing the structure. In 1958, a fire caused by an electrical short-circuit on the sixth floor led to ,000 worth of damage, but no structural problems.

The Cairo began to decline during the 1960s, when it was inhabited by squatters, prostitutes, drug addicts, student protesters, criminals, and even feral dogs. In June 1964, the FBI tracked a 24-year-old escaped convict to the building.

In 1966, the D.C. Department of Health considered leasing the run-down building for use as a rehabilitation center for alcoholics. After a series of failed attempts at renovation, including a closure on August 7, 1972, the building was restored in 1974 under the leadership of architect Arthur Cotton Moore. It was converted into condominiums in 1979.

At the building’s centennial celebration in October 1994, Ross Elementary school students sang "Happy Birthday" to the building in thanks for a ,000 donation made by the Cairo Condominium Unit Owners Association. Ward 2 Council member Jack Evans read a proclamation declaring it "Cairo Day" in DC. Of the building, he said, "It is a real monument in the area."

The U-shaped building surrounds a Zen stone garden courtyard. The stone front steps lead up through a glass foyer into a marble-floored lobby with Egyptian columns and a lounge. A large mirror and photographs of the building’s construction and other contemporary scenes adorn the lobby’s eastern wall. Two square columns of red-orange marble anchor the space in front of two elevators, which serve the tenants of the 12 floors above. Between the elevators is a stairway that leads down through double glass doors into the central courtyard.

At the two interior southern corners are wide staircases of marble and wrought iron that span the height of the building. Some sections of hallways are marble-floored, and each apartment’s outside door handle is a marble orb. Apartments have exposed red brick walls, and range in size from small studios to multi-level two- and three-bedroom units.

The Cairo is in the center of the Dupont Circle neighborhood, and its rooftop deck provides one of the most expansive views of the District’s northwest skyline. Visible locations include the Washington National Cathedral, Georgetown, the Washington Monument, the Capitol, and The Catholic University of America. It sits three blocks east of the Dupont Circle Metro station, near restaurants, bars, and shops along 17th Street.

On September 2, 2007, the Board of Directors of the Cairo Condominium voted to approve a .1 million brick repointing project. Atlantic Company, a construction and restoration engineering firm, began the brick repair work in November 2007, and it is expected to conclude by April 2009. The company will replace deteriorated, defective, and mismatched brick masonry, remove and repoint mortar joints of all exterior walls, install control joints in certain locations to address wall expansion, and patch and repair exterior stonework. To pay for the construction, the owners of the condominiums were each assessed a special fee – ranging from ,980 to over ,000 per owner – proportional to the size of their units.

On May 29, 2007, a fire emptied the Cairo of its roughly 400 residents. At least nine emergency vehicles responded to the blaze. The fire heavily damaged one of the central units of the tenth floor, and some nearby units were left with water damage. Because each unit is isolated from the others by firewalls, the fire was entirely contained to a single unit.

For Amalia


Image by philos from Athens
This one is for Amalia…

"Every patient has the right to being respected and maintaining his dignity."

(Greek law, article 47, L.2071/1992)

"Quacks should be the exception, you guys, not the norm…"

(Amalia Kalyvinou , 1977-2007)

Since the age of 8, Amalia Kalyvinou started having pains. Despite her numerous visits to doctors and several admissions to hospitals, no-one managed to diagnose her in time with the benign neurinoma of her lower extremity, which was the actual diagnosis at that point. 17 years later, Amalia was told that the neurinoma had transformed by then into a malignant tumour.

For the next 5 years, Amalia not only had to fight with the cancerous disease and amputation, but also with a corrupt Greek National Health System: it ignores (by choice) the ongoing patient-to-doctor bribery and insists on time-consuming bureaucratic methods and practices. Besides radiotherapy and chemotherapy, Amalia had to face the financial exploitation by doctors that stood opposite to rather than by her side. On top of her pain, she had to endure the greediness of private clinics and the exhaustingly long waiting queues of the health insurance system, in order to get legal approval for some ridiculously low financial compensation.

Amalia passed away on Friday, May the 25th, 2007. She was just 30 years old.

Before dying, she managed to document her experience and share it with us in her blog fakellaki.blogspot.com/. The promising literature graduate named in there each and every one of the doctors she had to bribe, praising at the same time the ones that honoured the Hippocratic Oath. Her testimony moved thousands of people that stood by her side all the way to the end.

"Amalia’s main aim was to tell her story, so that she could awaken as many people and as many consciences as possible. She mainly wanted to show that there are ways to resist not only the self-regulation and authority of dishonest and heartless doctors, but also the bureaucrats of the Health System."

(Dikaia Tsavari & Georgia Kalyvinou – Amalia’s mother & sister)

According to the Greek law, it is considered a major disciplinary offence for the doctors of the Greek National Health System to:

"Accept bonus and especially any compensation or property grant, for any medical service provided.”

Amalia Kalyvinou fought for things that are taken for granted in a modern European country. Unfortunately, this is not the case for Greece. Continuing Amalia’s effort where she left off, we protest in public and we demand:

* THE STATE TO TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION TO STOP BRIBERY AND THE INEQUALITY BROUGHT IN THE TREATMENT OF PATIENTS.

* THE NATIONAL HEALTH COMMITTEE TO BE MORE FLEXIBLE SO AS PATIENTS STOP FALLING VICTIMS TO TIME-CONSUMING BUREAUCRATIC PROCESSES.

* THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO ENSURE STRICTER CONTROL ON THE RELATION OF DRUG COMPANIES – MEDICAL SERVICE.

* FULL UTILISIZATION OF CURRENTLY ABANDONED HOSPITAL INFRASTRUCTURE. CONTINUOUS AND COMPLETE SCIENTIFIC TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT FOR DOCTORS AND NURSES.

* CREATION OF A NATION-WIDE ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORD SYSTEM, TO SPEED UP PROMPT DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT

LET’S END THE HYPOCRISY OF THE ONES THAT GOVERN, WHO PREFER TO ALLOW DOCTORS TO BE BRIBED BY THEIR PATIENTS, INSTEAD OF PROVIDING THEM WITH A DECENT SALARY.

* NO MORE BRIBERY

* NO MORE BUREAUCRACY

* NO MORE LIES

WE DEMAND FREE AND EFFICACIOUS HEALTHCARE SERVICES FOR ALL.

Next time you’ll have to bribe a doctor, just don’t. Choose instead to make a donation. Amalia’s last wish was to contribute to the -under construction- Oncological Centre for Children. (Elpida foundation, tel no 0030210-7757153, email: info@elpida.org,
Bank accounts: National bank of Greece, account no 080/480898-36, Alphabank account no 152-002-002-000-515. Please remember to quote that your donation is “for Amalia”)

INTERNET MOVEMENT OF AMALIA’S FRIENDS

Original Source : Click Here