Helposter Blog

The many recent books and commentary extolling China’s lightening fast economic climb are right about the nature of China’s spectacular rise and how the outside world is making it happen. A mere 25 years ago China was a backward, poverty-stricken totalitarian waste, and for many just the mention of its name would conjure up images of an iron-fisted police state hiding behind a bamboo curtain concealing an esoteric dominion of tyranny and human desperation. Now, thousands of leading American, Japanese, European, Korean, Taiwanese and Australian companies have and are racing to transfer plant, technology and modern manufacturing expertise to China, and in doing so they are quickly hallowing out the manufacturing bases of their home countries. They are being seduced and drawn into China by the appeal of extremely low labor rates, non-existent labor and environmental regulations, the desire to position themselves within the enormous future potential of China’s consumer markets as well as the oftentimes necessity of just being there in order to be included on the supply chain of one of the many global manufacturing and technology giants that have already made the move to China in a big way.

The Chinese will say about themselves and it’s true, that for every person in China there are actually two people; the outer personality reflecting tailored conformity, and the inner person that is not easily, if ever, exposed. China itself is like that too. Like anything else here, the ‘boom’ cities one sees are to a large extent illusory, with 70% unoccupancy rates in quickly constructed slip-shod buildings meant to impress with architectural flamboyance, but that will typically last for only about 20 years before falling apart. Glitzy government shopping malls and highly visible, neon-illuminated designer boutiques abound and dazzle newcomers, but as I’ve carefully noticed, other than tourists no one ever buys anything. More illusion-it’s mostly for show. China’s big faade of garish modernization serves the purposes of bloating citizens with nationalistic pride and providing them with visible assurance that things are moving forward, while impressing potential foreign investors and nave journalists who rarely bother to dig beneath the surface. The streets of China’s cities are now clogged with traffic and the number of cars is growing fast, but most of those cars are not necessarily a reflection of the rising living standards their presence might seem to convey, and were not purchased privately. They were actually procured through government purchasing schemes financed by loans from a corrupt national banking system that is known to be insolvent, with new cars being channeled to those with connections. Note: Using deception based on creating illusion is adapted from the ancient, classic text on Chinese military strategy ” Art of War” by Sun Tsu, and is now being applied by China to great advantage in waging economic warfare.

A walk down any street in any of the ‘miracle’ cities of China and many of the people seen can be counted among the burgeoning hordes of the unemployed that have been laid off from thousands of shuttered, inefficient and non-competitive S.O.E.’s, with many more thousands yet to be closed. For the masses of ordinary people who do have jobs, it’s most probably in one of the huge new factory complexes housing labor-intensive industries financed with foreign capital. The massive ‘city within a city’ complexes that are oftentimes surrounded by high walls ringed with razor wire have a severe though functionally modern appearance when viewed from without, but from within are more reminiscent of 19th Century Europe industrial sweatshops. They serve as homes to untold millions of workers toiling through twelve-hour, six or even seven day a week shifts, and who have no rights, no protections, no guarantees, no safety review boards, no benefits in the event of layoff or injury, no dispute resolution panels, no bargaining power, no pensions for those retiring and no mechanism for venting complaints, because no one who needs a job ever dares. The death penalty can be and is doled out for practically any reason deemed deserving, it’s a matter of judicial discretion, and by official admission there are more executions carried out in China every year than in all other nations of the world combined (Amnesty International estimates the actual number of executions to be much higher than the official rate). The existence of huge, sprawling, unmapped and unacknowledged prison camps in China’s interior interning millions that are forced to work in harsh, slave-labor conditions has been well documented. Among their unfortunate numbers are many (a majority?) who simply held a disapproved religious conviction, or who spoke or criticized out of turn. Almost all government support for housing, food, medical care, education, unemployment compensation and other assistance associated with China’s previous, now mostly dismantled communist welfare system has been eliminated, and reports of starvation are now being heard from poor, rural areas. Note: In the past, executions were carried out by single gunshot administered to the back of the head, with a bill for the bullet then presented to the next of kin. Following a trend set in other countries, today things are more humane with a ‘modified’ form of lethal injection being used. It’s actually only semi-lethal to start with, and works by rendering the condemned merely unconscious enabling a waiting medical team to extract generously donated organs for use in transplants while in the ideal state of viability.

At one point I almost came to believe that any woman in China, married or single, would be willing to sell sex for money. Although it’s a suspicion I’ve since come to relinquish, perhaps due to people’s purely atheist* training and upbringing together with the overwhelming tidal flood of materialistic values and wealth envy that has engulfed the social consciousness, it does seem that there is a very flimsy connection linking sexual fidelity to the Chinese version of morality. Even among married men, 90% visit hookers regularly and it’s common among college girls to spend weekends with businessmen, or anyone with money, in order to finance their tuition or growing appetite for fashion, or both. Prostitution is everywhere in China, it’s in every hotel and barbershop, along every street, around every corner and it’s an important industry accounting for an economically significant percentage of GDP. In business, the practice of offering prostitutes, oftentimes underage, to clients, partners or potential customers is very common to being the norm even among small operations, and it’s used as a way of currying favor and clinching the deal, or of expressing appreciation, or just as often as a bribe-or as bait-the Chinese have learned well that for many nave westerners the Eastern female holds an enticing, seductive allure. Although most women of childbearing age have had several abortions each, those who can’t stomach the procedure or afford an ultrasound test to determine their child’s sex will drop their new-born baby girls off at giant state orphanages, strongly suspected by many to be fronts that in actuality serve the dual functions of extermination centers and clearing houses for the unneeded and discarded. Owing to the one child policy and a strong cultural preference for baby boys, it’s estimated there could now be up to 100 million young men in China who will never be able to find wives and start families of their own. The hugely disproportionate levels of ineligible males do their part in fueling prostitution, but there are also high rates of homosexuality and even bestiality spawned by this unnatural imbalance. The widespread practice of bestiality is especially troubling since it is theorized by some epidemiologists to be the route of transmission taken by many newly emerging viruses to gain an initial foothold in the human species, of which HIV, Ebola, SARS, Avian flu and other particularly virulent flu strains are just some examples. Of course, like anything else that could reflect negatively on China’s ‘face’, this problem is mostly ignored or denied by officialdom and the news media. Note: *China is an atheist state that vigorously promotes and encourages atheism, with all members of the ruling CCP being avowed atheists.

China’s officially cited population of 1.35 billion is known by everyone within China, and strongly suspected by many without, to be vastly understated. Any children born in excess of the one child per married couple limit imposed on those living in cities, or two for those in the countryside, are never able to obtain national identity cards and so therefore simply do not officially exist and are never counted. In addition, bureaucrats at all levels of government responsible for monitoring and enforcing the rate of population growth often feel pressured to falsify and underreport population statistics in order to retain tenure, or to gain approval so as earn perks and promotions. For these reasons and several others the true population of China has been estimated by independent demographers using computer generated models based on statistical sampling methods to be closer to 1.6 billion or even more-a number in excess of the official rate that’s nearly equal to the entire population of the United States, the third most populous nation on earth! China’s ‘uncounted’ are often left with few options for survival and turn to criminal rings as their means of support. Many others drift from city to city in search of irregular, informal employment among China’s floating, transient worker pool estimated to number up to 150 million, but are otherwise reduced to a life of servitude tantamount to slavery as members of a permanent underclass with no other choices. Note: It’s feared that the overwhelming weight and pressure of China’s enormous population could distort rational decision making processes at the highest levels of leadership. For years Chinese diplomatic personnel have issued threats to their US counterparts stating that China would be more than willing to use nuclear weapons against the US should it attempt to intervene militarily with a mainland invasion of Taiwan. In a twisted assessment of the risk to benefit scenario of a nuclear exchange with the US, it might be reasoned that China would be left having taken possession of Taiwan, while also having greatly diminished the strength of its US adversary, with the added benefit of having simultaneously reduced its crushing population burden by 600 million!

The race toward modernization at any cost has resulted in a China that’s been blackened, fouled and poisoned. It’s the most polluted nation on earth and by far the world’s number one polluter (when all categories of pollution are combined), with 16 of the world’s 20 most polluted cities. Drinking water from virtually any lake, river or well in China may very well kill immediately, water from the tap brings a slower death, and on bad days the air is like toxic soup. A huge, continental sized poisonous haze several miles thick known as ‘Asia’s Brown Cloud’ perpetually drapes itself over China’s cities. The cloud’s consistency includes noxious atmospheric particulates that mix with the rain and are absorbed into the soil to enter the food chain, and it is permanently blocking a small but significant percentage of sunlight to all the nations of East and South-East Asia resulting in the reduction of arable farmland at an alarming rate, especially in China and India. Long-term health consequences from the effects of the brown cloud on humans will not be known until it’s too late, when it may come to be called the cloak of death. Since all sources of information and mass media are stringently controlled and all negativity that may reflect badly on government management is minimized, serious national problems such as pollution issues are only gently mentioned in passing, and always in the context of how the government is making great strides at solving them. Note: Moon shiners commonly counterfeit brand labels and sell for big savings to unethical small retailers, but it can be of poor quality and deadly, and is responsible for causing thousands of cases of partial to total blindness and severe liver and kidney damage in those who drink it every year. No Amazonian or African tribe has a better-attested tradition of cannibalism than China has. Even today human placenta is a delicacy and aborted human fetuses fetch astronomical prices (it’s said to work miracles for the skin). In a country with nearly two billion people to feed, an aversion toward squeamishness (rat fetuses are eaten raw at exclusive restaurants*), and no moral or religious qualms, fresh human corpses can easily and profitably represent over 100lbs. of weighted protein additive each, especially if they’re discreetly thrown in with the mix at small and very poorly regulated beef processing operations. For those who don’t believe-enjoy. (*Rat fetuses are freshly plucked and still alive when served-”Eat Three Squeals” is the name of the dish for those who see it on the menu and want to sample. Squeezing with chopsticks produces the first squeal, sauce dip evokes the second, chomp down for the third-enjoy again).

To be observed is how everyone has iron bars installed on their apartment windows, with double steel doors barricading the entrances that are each triple locked. Upon entering department stores all customers are usually required to leave purses, handbags, backpacks, attaché cases and sometimes bulky outer wear with attendants in an effort to reduce the horrendously high rate of shoplifting. In most Chinese cities, taxi drivers are isolated from passengers by being required to sit within built-in steel cages, since too many of them have been killed, and after dark it’s illegal for passengers to sit in the front seat. Surprisingly, the official, police reported homicide rate in China is now nearly twice that of the United States. All the more noteworthy is that this is in a country where gun ownership is strictly banned and possession can result in imposition of the death sentence! The appalling crimes of serial killers, mass murderers and sex criminals occur with increasingly shocking frequency now so that these aberrations are no longer a western phenomenon, and China may very well soon out-do the West in this regard. Child abduction is one of most common crimes and it’s much more serious here than anywhere else in the world. Every week in China thousands of children are kidnapped and sold, with some Chinese cities reporting well over one hundred cases per day (this is known and can be verified through information revealed by individual police precincts as a cautionary public service to residents, and not reported in the media). Some kidnapped children are sold into sexual slavery, some as slave workers to farmers or to underground sweatshops, and there’s gathering credibility to the rumor that some are sold for the harvesting of their internal organs. Producing babies for sale is a major cottage industry. As one entrepreneur explained, “It costs a lot to raise a pig until it’s six months old and I can only sell it for $5, but a human baby costs me very little since I can sell it at birth, and I’ll get $50″, (I’ve been offered children for sale on several occasions, once by a complete stranger while eating in a restaurant). While China’s cities are stressed, in the countryside deeper cracks can be glimpsed. In 2005 foreign observers witnessed and recorded over 75,000 major demonstrations by farmers protesting corruption, high taxes, set pricing on government crop purchases that are seen as confiscatory, and compliance with WTO mandated policies allowing foreign competition to enter China’s agricultural markets. Note: An hour’s walk in any of China’s cities will probably reveal an occurrence. Street fights start suddenly without any warning and they’re almost always between two or more women. The blood-curdling screams along with the slapping, kicking, biting, tearing, pulling of hair and gouging of eyes that spills from out of buildings or store fronts and on to the street would scare vicious, rabid dogs away. It was unnerving for me to first witness this-I got used to it.

For the Chinese today, nightly TV viewing is enjoyed watching ultra-nationalistic programming that elevates former and current leaders, and the Chinese Communist Party, to the level of God, and the best of Hollywood couldn’t improve on it for theatrical display. Popular music is oftentimes characterized by militaristic marching themes meant to arouse intense feelings of patriotism, or it can be religiously inspirational in singing of the deep love that the Chinese people feel for each other, and especially for the CCP. Only persons who can prove their ancestral Chinese lineage can be accepted as citizens of China. In Hong Kong, hundreds of thousands of people of Indian, non-Chinese Asian and middle-eastern descent who had resided there for generations were stripped of their citizenship after the handover to China from Britain in 1997. The Chinese pledge of allegiance that all students are required to recite daily, and all citizens weekly, is so nationalistically and racially partisan and intense as to be frightening! Note: Recently, museum curators in Beijing forcibly removed an exhibition surrounding the life and accomplishments of Albert Einstein from display after a mere 4 hours of opening. The intensive promotion of nationalism requires that people be made to feel that practically every invention or discovery of value in human history, every scientific achievement or medical advance of note, the most brilliant minds of history, every truly beautiful art form and all ultimate truth that exists, originated in China.

The glue that currently holds Chinese society together is comprised of government promises connected to the hope of a better tomorrow, resigned submission to authority that is culturally ingrained, an entrenched fear (with teeth) that is systematically projected by the government into people in many complex overt and subtle ways, and the aggressive promotion of a blind form of ultra-nationalism that could have been plagiarized from Peronist fascists, even Goebbels would approve. China is a messed up, morally and sociologically confused country that has completely lost its ancient soul, and whose uncountable, unknowable, God forsaken teeming masses have been abandoned to the avaricious exploitations of domestic and world-wide business and commercial interests, while its own pathologically insecure, prestige and power hungry aristocratic elite celebrates the process and cheers it along with vigor.

In pondering China-what it was, what it is, what it very well may shortly emerge to become and what that emergence will mean for the human race and the shaping of world civilization and our common destiny, the most troubling aspect is to realize that the western world is now to a large degree responsible for lifting China to its full potential as a world superpower, and at break-neck speed, even though that country’s government and government inspired culture does not uphold or share any of the West’s values, ideals or visions, openly scorns the West, and beneath the surface feels toward it a loathing resentment based on envy, as well as for past grievances.

Over the past century China and her people have suffered possibly as no other nation and people ever have, or could imagine to have. Today many hundreds of millions are suffering still, with the worst possibly yet to come. Pray for China! Entirely aside from its people however, deeply entrenched within China I have strongly sensed that there is a sinister dynamic lurking, and if and when that mysterious, monstrous, tortured albeit angry dragon hiding inside of its box is let out, assisted by the rest of us in achieving its ambitiously stated goal of world domination. Pray for the world! Note: Dragon imagery has long played a prominent role in Chinese culture up to the present, and it permeates China’s cultural landscape. Dragon depictions are seen on buildings, paintings and murals everywhere, and they’re used as decorations on clothing, calendars and many other objects. The dragon is actually associated with being the unofficial national symbol of China, supposed by some to embody the spirit of the Chinese people. The Chinese dragon’s origins can be traced to the ancient Sumerian Civilization (Babylon), from where mythologies and legends were carried into China and absorbed. Accepted by most historians as being the first civilization of recorded human history, Sumeria’s rise predates that of Egypt. It is known that the Sumerians were snake worshipers who exalted their deities through the artistic creation of fanciful carvings and statues depicting huge, bizarre and fearsome serpents with wings, sometimes possessing gnashing fangs and flailing, clawed appendages. As a matter of dark fascination, a disturbing, arcane connection has been made between this great Eastern symbol and a prophetic passage taken from the highly allegorical Bible book of Revelation (Apocalypse), a Christian text usually associated with Western Civilization: “So down the Great Dragon was hurled, the Original Serpent, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth. He was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him…Woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down to you, having great anger”. – Revelation 12: 9, 12

Copyright 2006 by Rockland Layne Zeiler
Writing as: Lai-En Xyler

Rockland received his degree in Anthropology from the Uiversity of Wyoming in 1981, and has lived and worked in China for the past 5 years during which he started 2 small, successful businesses and learned Chinese. In the course of living in China he has come to know many foreign and Chinese business persons as well as government officials and ordinary people. He’s always been fascinated to the point of obsession with the Far-East and especially China. Website: http://www.dreamsofchina.com

Has had articles published by the South China Moring Post (largest English language newspaper in Hong Kong), and the Orange County Register (largest circulation newspaper in California). Contact: info@dreamsofchina.com

It’s a strange sight to note that several cities and counties nationwide take pride in their produce as though one fruit is exclusive to them. Across the Inland Empire just about every county proclaims its rich history with some sort of link to groves of oranges. The city seal often include an orange with a few blossoms and other secondary symbols of it individual history.

When a city comes around with their pride and joy being a strawberry, cherry, or a potassium rich avocado there’s much to be said on their daring approach to city branding. They chose to think outside the box as many city’s should.

Granted there are many local festivals that celebrate fruits such as the orange, strawberry, and avocado in California alone, but what happens to the rest of the fruits and vegetables across the produce spectrum? Businesses within these cities have even attributed their company titles with the orange. Anything from a shopping plaza, clothing stores, newspapers, and web design firms in Redlands have latched on to the Orange. If it has the word orange or citrus in it, then it’s good to go. Be leery when picking out your business title though. What may work for a small town may not be the most effective when you’re ready to branch out.

Losing weight can be hard at the best of times. But there are some things you can do that can aid and even speed up your weight loss. Here are some simple things you can do to give your dieting and weight loss efforts more bite.

Eating

Eat Slowly… Give your food time to reach your stomach so you know when you’re full and you won’t eat more.

Eat Breakfast… This increases metabolism by 25% as your body gets a regular supply of energy so it’s less inclined to store.

Eat 3 Meals and 2 Snacks… Same as before, your body knows it’s getting a regular supply of energy. This also gives you the knowledge that there is never too long to wait between meals so you’re less likely to binge and crash.

Moderate in Restaurants… Difficult when you’re out enjoying yourself but remember to eat in moderation.

Stay Away From Fast Food…Do you need a reason?

Carry Some Fruit for Emergencies… If you’re far from home and you feel hungry and there’s a candy store nearby! Take out and eat your piece of fruit instead.

Chew Some Gum… Evidence shows that the act of chewing tells your brain that your hunger is being satisfied yet the gum has few calories.

Drink Plenty of Water…Ensure hunger is really hunger and not thirst by getting enough water everyday.

Food

Snack With Fruit Not Chocolate…This alone should cause weight loss.

Watch Your Portion Sizes… It’s all too easy to cut down the amount of meals you have but then increase the portion sizes. Control the quantity as well as the quality.

Choose White Meat and Fish…Red meat stays in the bowel for ages and is still fatty when trimmed, stick to easily digestible white meats.

Avoid Dressings… Yes, even the low fat ones – some of them still contain lots of fat and calories. Avoid them altogether if you can.

Involve Salads…Make them part of most meals – they contain so few calories and still have nutrients.

Go Healthy… Choose brown bread instead of white, choose brown rice instead of white. Any food you normally choose, see if there is a healthier alternative. The healthier option is nearly always the weight loss option.

Lifestyle

Exercise… The dreaded E word was going to show up sooner or later! If there is one sure fire way to help a weight loss plan, exercise is it. You don’t need to run a marathon! Just do small regular amounts, your scales will thank you.

Eat Before Food Shopping… Food shop on an empty stomach and you’ll be back at home with every quick fix food there is. Eat before you go so you don’t shop in survival mode.

Weigh Yourself Weekly… And do it at the same time of day. Tip – Do it as soon as you awake. Once a week and you will clearly see weight loss results.

Exercise Some More… It will improve your body shape.

Cut Down on Alcohol… The amount of calories that alcohol contains! One heavy night and you may as well have had another meal or two.

Get Satisfaction From Your Success… Observe your efforts and appreciate every step. Get satisfaction from every pound of weight loss.

By Simon Gould and taken from http://www.fitnessbegin.com/ – the well-being resource.

The remarkable diversity of attractions of the KwaZulu-Natal region is unsurpassed in South Africa. It encompasses the splendid Drakensburg Mountains, sublime subtropical beaches, top rated nature and game reserves, historic battlefields, rolling green hills of the Natal Midlands and the city of Durban. The range of activities possible is a challenge even for those with the most eclectic of tastes: swimming, fishing, boating, scuba diving, hiking, abseiling, game viewing, cultural and historical
touring, whale and bird watching and golfing.

Warmer and more authentic South Africa than the Cape Region, KwaZulu-Natal is the favourite holiday destination for locals. The region lies between the Drakensberg Mountains and Swaziland to the west; the Indian Ocea to the east stretching from Port Edward in the south to the Mozambique border in the north. As you transition from a subtropical to tropical environment, you encounter cool mountain ranges, savannah grassland, coral reefs, indigenous coastal forest and dunes, lakes and lagoons and papyrus wetlands. Here 9 million people occupy 92,000 sq km of some the fairest and best-watered lands in South Africa.

Little wonder that the Zulu, or “people of heaven” considered the area a heaven on earth indeed, and were extremely jealous of late comers who sought a share of it. And yet the Zulu people themselves had arrived only in the 16th century. Their ancestors, the Nguni, had been pushing southwards from the Great Lakes region for at least three thousand years. The land was inhabited- if you could use the term- by San Bushmen. This hunter-gatherer society was very sparing in its demands on the land. The arrival of the Nguni, a people with numerous cattle herds and great thirst for land, put the Bushman under great stress and severe disadvantage.

The Zulu derive directly from a clan head of the Nguni named “Heaven” or Zulu, who established a territory bearing his own name or KwaZulu in the Umfolozi valley. The Zulu was a fairly insignificant power, even among the Nguni, until the arrival of Shaka Zulu. Shaka, born in 1787, was first-born son to Chief Senzangakhona, but was considered illegitimate on account of a technicality. Shaka eventually corrected this injustice by plotting the death of his younger brother – the legitimate heir. He thus rose to be chief of his people when his
father died in 1816.

Shaka was a man gifted with great daring, cunning and imagination. He repulsed numerous attacks by the Ndwandwe- a rival and more militarily superior Nguni people, eventually forcing the enemy to flee northwards. Shaka appreciated that
the Ndwandwe would be back unless he created conditions to make it impossible. Above all else a military leader, he devised such weaponry, battle tactics and training methods that resulted in an unbeatable army among known enemies of the day. By numerous treacherous devices -war, assassination, deceit and intimidation -he subdued smaller and larger clans, and gathered all to his realm.

Within three years to 1819, the Zulu nation emerged as the largest and most feared in the whole of southeastern Africa. And Shaka, now King Shaka, was sitting pretty as its head. His success had however caused unprecedented mayhem in the region, and aroused bitter jealousy amongst his ambitious compatriots. He also ruled with an iron fist and was such a tyrant as had never risen before among the Zulu. Shaka was speared to death by Dingane -his half brother, in 1824. The Zulu kingdom survived him, but his legacy was to be severely tested, later in the century in conflicts with new rivals – the British and Boers.

The British had approached Shaka, shortly before his death, for trading rights in ivory and animal skins. Shaka signed a document granting them the chieftaincy of Port Natal, their small base on the east coast. In a very liberal and rather
dishonest interpretation of Shaka’s intentions, they claimed the Port Natal area in the name of the King of England. Port Natal is today known to most as Durban -and to locals as “Durbs”. The city is the gateway and business hub of KwaZulu-Natal, and the logical starting point for exploring the region. Its port ranks among the world’s top 10, and is the busiest on the African continent. To discover KwaZulu-Natal, rent a car at Durban or take a South Africa tour or safari that covers the region.

Durban’s weather is mild and pleasant – temperatures average 17 degrees C in winter (June-August) and 27 degrees C in summer (December to February). Holidaymakers are favoured with sea temperatures averaging 24 degrees C in summer rarely falling
below 19 degrees C in winter. This coastal playground enjoys at least a good 320 days of sunshine every year. The rains come over the summer months, when it can get quite hot and humid, with temperatures reaching for 33 degrees C. Long before everybody else, the San Bushmen wintered in Durban, taking advantage of the excellent climate relative to their inland domains.

“The Golden Mile” is a 6 km long waterfront lined with some of Durban’s
top rated hotels. The city has some of the finest beaches in the country. Good beaches for swimming and surfing can be found to the south of the city- Ansteys, Brighton, Cave Rock, and Garvies. To the north- Country Club, Tekwini, and Laguna beaches are more exclusive and less crowded. Within the city, you can visit museums and art galleries and shop for crafts. The Kwa-Muhle museum will educate you about Apartheid, which is important if you want to understand South African
society.

There are numerous restaurants- Indian, African and Western – in this cosmopolitan city. The Indians started coming here in 1860 as indentured labour for the sugar plantations. Today, the Durban metro area has the largest Indian population outside India. Durban stands between the North and South Coast of South Africa’s eastern seaboard. The North Coast beaches include Umhlanga Rocks, Ballito, Shaka’s Rock and Shelley Beach. Here you find good accommodation and myriad opportunities for swimming and surfing. Around Ballito is great for watching the ever-fascinating dolphins.

The South Coast stretches from Durban to Port Edward and covers Hibberdene, Port Shepstone, Margate and Southbroom. The region has fantastic beaches and matching amenities. Between Port Edward and Hibberdene is the scene of the sardine run. This most spectacular display of the natural world occurs around June and
July. It is triggered by a 4-5 degrees C drop in sea temperature that prompts millions of sardines in great shoals to head northwards. On this dash, game fish, dolphins, sharks, whales and others of their mortal enemies follow. This unforgettable experience appears to be the marine world’s answer to the annual
wildebeest migration on the Kenya-Tanzania border.

To see wildlife you can travel to the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, 175 km to the northeast of Durban. This combination of the game reserves of Hluhluwe and Umfolozi occupies 960 sq km. The park is mostly savannah grasslands and low acacia bush, but has a forested mountainous section. You will see the famed “big five”-
lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard and rhino. The park is well known for its very successful black and white rhino conservation efforts. Other animal species to look out for include impala, blue wildebeest, waterbuck, zebra, nyala, kudu, bushbuck, warthog, cheetah, hyena, jackal and giraffe. Birding is great and over 300 species are on record.

You can see game on guided walks, but for obvious reasons, an armed ranger must accompany you. The less adventurous will have an equally satisfying game viewing experience aboard a vehicle. Accommodation in the Umfolozi reserve is available at various bush camps at Sontuli, Nselweni and Mndindini and at the
self-catering cottages and tented camp at Mpila. At Hluhluwe, the well-positioned Hilltop Camp offers accommodation ranging from a luxury lodge to self-catering chalets and rondavels. The dry season in the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi area falls between May and August, while most off the rains fall within the rest of the year.

To the northeast of KwaZulu Natal is the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, which stretches along a 280 km coastline from Cape St Lucia to Kozi Bay near the Mozambique border. This first rate eco-tourism paradise, is an amalgamation of a number of protected areas including – Lake St Lucia, St Lucia and Maputaland Marine Reserves, Coastal Forest Reserve and the Kosi Bay Natural Reserve. Declared a World Heritage Site in 1999, the official bulletin justifying this distinction highlighted the existence of 5 ecosystems resulting in an exceptional diversity
of species and actual ongoing speciation.

The park is a tropical and subtropical interface and has landforms that include coral reefs, sandy beaches, coastal dunes, lakes, swamps, and reed and papyrus wetlands. It occupies more than 3200 sq km, but supports more animal species than larger parks. Here you can find hippos, turtles, crocodiles, rhino, leopard and sharks. The birding is unsurpassed and more than 530 species are on record. The numerous activities possible include- fishing, hiking, boating, diving, game viewing and whale and bird watching. You can seek accommodation within
the park or nearby towns in the range of basic camps and luxury game lodges to hotels and self-catering chalets.

Sodwana Bay Nature Reserve, which falls within the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park is a haven for sport fishing, boating, snorkeling and scuba diving. The underwater world, and the coral reefs in particular are outstanding, and the marine life plenty. This is one of the world’s top diving destinations. You can visit year round, but conditions for diving are best April to September. Water temperatures vary from about 20 degrees C and can reach 29 degrees C in summer. Take time off from water sports for a guided to see loggerhead and leatherback turtles. There is good accommodation for most budgets nearby.

The Drakenberg Mountains on KwaZulu-Natal’s western border are one of South Africa’s most outstanding attractions. Rising 3282 m above sea level, the spectacular 200 km long mountain ranges were named by the martial minded Zulu as uKhahlamba or “Barrier of Spears”. The thoroughly photogenic “Amphitheatre” is very impressive and is popular with visitors. This is a rock wall with a height of 500m and stretching for 5 km. Many adventure activities are available here in the most scenic of surroundings, including- hiking, rock climbing, mountain
biking, paragliding, white-water rafting, birding, and fly and trout fishing.

There are several parks and game reserves around the Drakensberg Mountains, the most prominent of which is the 2430 sq km uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 2000 mainly for two reasons; first for its remarkable physical charm and biological diversity, and second to highlight the outstanding collection of San rock art. Scattered over 600 sites; there are more than 35,000 well-preserved artworks, with scenes depicting hunting, dancing, fighting and food gathering. The oldest paintings are estimated to date back 2400 years, with more recent ones less than 200 years old.

Scholars have in recent years studied San rock art closely and the consensus now is that this is not merely representation art but it has some spiritual content. At the Kamberg Rock Art Centre, you can learn more about the San people, and how to interpret the symbolic and spiritual content of their art. In the Drakensberg region, there is a very wide range of accommodation including – basic bed & breakfasts, guesthouses, camps, hotels, and luxury resorts. The rains come in summer between October and April, with the rest of the year being mostly dry. Beware that winter nights can get extremely chilly and of sudden thunderstorms in summer.

Descending from the Drakensberg, you can visit the battlefield sites, where some of South Africa’s most vicious battles were fought. The protagonists were Zulu, Boer and British who engaged one another in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. The hottest battles were fought in areas around Colenso, Weenen, Dundee, Estcourt, Glencoe, Ladysmith, Newcastle, Utrecht, Volksrust, Vryheid and Winterton.

The Voortrekkers had headed north away from the Cape Colony to escape British control. After crossing the Drakensberg, just like the Zulu people earlier, they believed they had reached “Heaven on Earth”. Conflicts over land and other resources were inevitable and in several episodes between 1836-1852, the two parties sought a resolution through arms. Next came the Anglo-Zulu war of 1879. The British eventually won, but they met a number of disasters as they had initially underestimated the Zulu army. This is the war that broke the hearts of Bonaparte royalists after Prince Louis Napoleon – an observer with the British party- succumbed to multiple assegai thrusts.

The British were busy making war again, this time on the Boers between 1880-81. They lost the war, made peace but sought a rematch in the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902. This second engagement attracted worldwide attention, and it was the first war ever recorded on film. Two of the giants of the twentieth century were witnesses – Churchill as a reporter, and Gandhi as a stretcher-bearer. It is advisable to tour with an accredited battlefield guide, who will retell the story of the battles at various sites. While in the area, there are opportunities to learn about Zulu history and culture, and also to buy local arts and craft.

Copyright © Africa Point

Andrew Muigai is the editor of AfricaPoint Insider online newsletter. It is part of AfricaPoint.com – the Africa travel website that has helped thousands of travelers discover Africa. You can view more info on South Africa Safaris at the website.

Laptop computers seem to be the current popular thing this year. It looks like the unfortunate suppliers are also facing problems that could cause delays. Whatever happens in the market place this need for laptops only seems to be increasing. This is a market that is seeking to better on so many things all in one go so new trends and excitement is created all the time.

I’ve witnessed a lot of gaming laptops being introduced recently. Prices are also slipping because the rate at which technology becomes old has become so small for laptops. Gaming on laptops is indeed a reality now with the developments in technology. Even more astonishing these days I think is how slim the designs are getting especially when you think about much power is in them. Ok so there still is a difference in speed no matter how great gaming laptops have become but that should always remain. It will be good to see what gaming laptops come out in the future and how portable they can manufacture them.

For the niche purchasers using notebook computers] for a particular reason, custom laptops give the flexibility required. With popular companies you typically don’t have an idea what they fit into the notebook computer. With that in mind you traditionally get to spec the processor, ram, hard disk and software. Notebook computers distributed in high streets are traditionally manufactured for the mass market and maybe this isn’t you. Custom built laptops are around for this reason. They fulfil things that others can’t. Increased levels of customer care and support can also be found when getting custom built laptops. Because of this people will give up on the big brand name.

We are observing some fairly awesome stuff at the moment and I’m curious what will be released next. Notebook computers totally for accessing the internet etc are being released in the market wave after wave. Its crazy how one smart product has constructed a new market. I think people would like to see larger notebooks that weigh a ton less than the current machines. Companies must be engaged on a solution to this as we speak. Consumer trends signal that gaming laptops will get more mobile in the next few years. There’s no guessing what innovation’s we’ll see but no doubt there will be many.

Check out a few gaming notebooks at http://www.rizeon.com/gaming_laptops/page.php

There are many people out in the MLM industry that are having some real struggles in their recruiting efforts, and it seems to be something that is industry wide.

Many people are saying it is the times. The economy. It was September 11. It is harder than it used to be. People have changed.

Many reasons I have heard… over and over.

But in reality, people are people, and always will be, and few things ever change. There seems to be something I have noticed though that is happening that can KILL your recruiting in MLM.

It seems to be happening more to the folks that have been in MLM for a while, than the new folks, and it is hurting a lot of paychecks.

There seems to be a poisonous lack of belief in what folks are doing.

And this had me puzzled, as it seems stronger than usual. And today I felt lead to write about this, and why I believe it is happening.

There are 5 basic reasons why folks are struggling today when recruiting in Network Marketing, and it does not matter who it is, male or female, or how successful you have been or have not been.

But is also involves not only BELIEF… but also the word EASY.

Recruiting is easy, if you believe it is, and you believe in what you are doing. But if you don’t, then the fruit of that is struggle. And there are many people who use this as an excuse to ever get the results that they want. It is very convenient to but into what others are saying.

Here are the 5 reasons that folks are struggling today:

1) Its easier to Believe that it WON’T happen… than it WILL.

That is so true. Many folks fall into the trap of believing what WON’T happen – vs. what WILL. And many are sabotaged by the easier route and effort of believing that it won’t.

I call it The Path of Easiest Belief – the path most take in this industry.

And through Life.

It is easier to hang onto the excuses that we have and believe that recruiting won’t work, than taking the time to GROW ourselves into the level of belief that ATTRACTS Success, vs REPELS it. And when you have that kind of belief, your prospect can feel it radiating from you and your voice… and presence.

Are you taking the EASY Route?

2) It’s Easier to Believe what is considered Normal than Abnormal.

Success is abnormal.

Most people in life don’t Succeed, they Succumb. To the Lies from other people. About how you can never build a business in MLM. Only the Lucky Few ever get to the top. And if you do succeed… it’s abnormal. You are going against the grain.

I prefer to call it “Growing against the Grain.”

You must grow beyond those Normal people that are holding you back.

Recruiting is a process based on Communication, and your Belief and Conviction of that Communication, and what is considered Normal in life.

Is easier to believe in Normal, than what is considered Abnormal.

Are you just Normal – or flat out Abnormal and refuse to believe and succumb to the lies of failure and mediocrity?

3) It’s easier to believe what you have been told a lot, than told a little.

You will never do it.

It’s too hard.

Recruiting is bugging your friends.

You don’t have what it takes.

Recruiting and MLM is waste of time.

When are you going to get a REAL job?

That is what we all hear. (smile)

But what we need to hear is:

You can do it. You have what it takes. Listen to those who have succeeded… not those who have succumbed.

Are you?

4) It’s easier to believe in others- than you.

We when are recruiting, we believe that others are smarter than we are, more educated than we are, more savvy than we are, and they know more about ourselves than we do. And it impacts our recruiting tremendously.

We have many people who influence us, and we care about. But here is the million dollar question.

Can they take you to where you want to go in MLM?

Or…

Can they STOP you from going where you want to go in MLM?

Both answers are called a CLUE!

5) It’s easier to LEAVE… than BELIEVE.

Most folks don’t stay:

At what they do in life, and Network Marketing.

Why?

In recruiting, we take this Leaving belief and habit with us, as we see most folks leave their success path in most of what they have attempted in life.

It’s easier to create an EXCUSE, than to keep going and create a new BELIEF.

And we fall prey to that in MLM.

Are you recruiting prospects with an EXIT sign in your eyes? Deep down… are you expecting you will eventually leave this industry , because it is easier to Leave than believe? Do you honestly doubt it will work?

Understand – people FEEL first… then HEAR.

What are your prospects feeling from you? A solid Hard Core Belief in what you are doing? Or a solid Path of Easiest Belief that they are turned off by?

Believe that recruiting is EASY- and Recruiting will be. Believe that is it HARD- and it WILL be.
Believing in recruiting may be a little hard for you now, but it is a whole lot easier than struggling through life – the rest of your life… just to be what is considered “Normal.”

Is that what you REALLY want for you and your family?

Your Call…

Blessings,

Doug Firebaugh

PassionFire Intl

http://www.passionfire.com

(c) 2005/ all rights reserved

Doug Firebaugh is one of the top MLM Network Marketing trainers/speakers/authors in the world. Over a million people a month read his training ezine. He spent 13 years fulltime in MLM, and the last 7 years traveling the world speaking and training. He lives in Birmingham Michigan, and you can receive a FREE subscription to the MLM Success HEAT Training Letter at:
http://www.passionfire.com/pf_heat_4.html

Contact: doug@powerfire.com

Great unique gift ideas for 21st birthday presents symbolize recognition of an achieved goal in life. Not only ethnic but social as well. 21st birthday is a milestone birthday celebrated extensively in the 21st century, and is considered to be one of the most important celebrations in a person’s life. Eighteen is legal by law but 21 is considered a legal adult. Searching for 21st birthday unique gift ideas is easy when you know how to look in the right place. A truth of life.

The gift presented on this day is a symbol of love, and conveys your good wishes and blessings for a bright future of the 21 year old. Presents should be in accordance with the tastes and nature of the birthday girl or boy. Following are some gift ideas for the 21st birthday:

Gold Watch

If your budget permits, you can gift the birthday chico or chica a gold watch with his or her name and date of birth carved on it.

Silver Jewelry

You can get him or her tickets to their first silver jewelry magic gig. It is a great gift idea, unpretentious and more available than anything its equal.

A Sports Gift Carnival

21st birthday calls for celebration and nothing can be more exciting than a sport presents birthday party. Most households are multiple opportunities for sports gift happiness.

DVD Collections and Electronic Gadgets

The 21st birthday marks the commencement of early life transition and a time of great life duties. Therefore, the gift presented on this day should be out of the ordinary. You can use your vision to give made to order or motivating presents as well.

Celebration of life is great to celebrated and wise to do so. Life is to be savored, loved, lost and gained. It is and will always be a time of rumination of what was and a intuition into what will be. The receiving family member will think fondly on the one that gives such 21st birthday presents. Discover 21st birthday presents today.

Join the two of people’s most important quests and you are certain to pinpoint a mania that’s universally termed a web based sportsbook. Well: what could conceivably be more inventive? Envision a troop of sports maniacs cheering over any preferred local sports club, and frequently stakes will be geared up right along with the racket. Wishing to get a bit of the anticipation, onlookers commonly try to guess who will prevail the upcoming meetup. In the end, this all evolves into a fun little meetup called web based sportsbook.

So it might well seem to be neurotic, but on the contrary – sportsbook gambling is essentially solely diverting and to relate with fellow sports addicts. Here, you can bet a a smallish quantity of kitty and nevertheless have an extraordinary time. Also, read on for several basic cues to get you going sportsbook gambling.

In order to wager, you will search out a web based sportsbook, i.e. a setup which takes web based sportsbook. In the US, you will find four states where everybody can go for sportsbook gambling absolutely legally, but beyond legality you can try it everywhere providing you hunt out a bookie and happen to be legally an adult. On the list of sports events you can choose to wager on are pro next to college basketball as well as football, professional baseball, professional hockey, next to bets on both dog and horse racing. Patrons could bet money on the overall result of a competition, on what round a given competitor will be knocked out, and even whether a given tossed coin in a competition comes down heads or tails.

The odds maker establishment will rely on pure statistics to aid you conclude which sports club you may deem will prevail. There is the chances, meaning lead in points tallied to the losing club that is assumed to go under by X number points. There are a lot of varying manners of wagers– straight bets, where you simply choose the party you feel is the likeliest to win or be beaten, parlay bets, and more, the straight bets, where all you have to do is to pinpoint the competitor you guess will make it or be beaten being the general favorite in sportsbook gambling.

So, why don’t you just go for it, and enjoy the fun at the same time? Just safeguard you won’t get too enthusiastic and use up your complete retirement income on a whim! Because you’re certain to end up repenting for the rest of your life! Learn to play free sports bet in free online practice rooms.

Last week I pointed out how John Kerry was successfully using direct-response marketing to generate qualified leads, to pick up supporters for his campaign.

As I promised, today I’m going to reveal another lead-generation selling formula, you can make a fistul of dollars with.

It’s a lot of fun to use, but it’s often over-looked.

Want to know what it is?

O.K., I’ll tell you. It’s…

Sweepstakes!

And here’s how you can start using sweepstakes as a lead generation tool, to build your list of prospects:

Let’s say you own a retail furniture store. Here’s what you do:

You run a display ad (or even better yet, you use several press releases) that says you’re going to be giving away a brand new set of living-room furniture valued at $10,000 Dollars, delivered to the person who comes into your store… registers for the contest… and comes closest to guessing how many square feet your entire furniture showroom display area is.

The person who guesses closest, gets the furniture delivered straight to the front door of their home.

You should film that entire delivery, by the way, and have that video clip playing on a television monitor over-and-over again at the front of your store, to build enthusiasm up for your next sweepstakes.

Also, if you’re really clever… team up with a local interior decorator and tell people you’ll be giving away a professionally designed custom layout as well, courtesy of this interior decorator.

Let your sweepstakes entrants know, the charge for the interior designer alone is worth “X” dollars.

Or, you could even team up with one of your furniture suppliers, and instead of having a “Guess how many square feet our showroom is” contest, you can have a “Tell me how many king size [insert your furniture supplier's name here] beds we have in our showroom” contest.

See which of your suppliers would be willing to share the cost of your contest with you, or maybe they’d spring for the whole shebang.

Anyway, you call your lead-generating contest:

“The $10,000 Dollar Sweepstakes!”

Then, you promote the living daylights out of it!

You do a direct mail piece promoting it (postcards may even work in this case)… use your local val-paks… run display ads… have banners announcing your sweepstakes all over your store… and you give every single interior decorator and moving company you know, brochures about it, to hand out to their clients.

This does 3 things for you:

First, it gets people interested in you.

Second, it forces people to come into your store to sign up and register to win the sweepstakes. You automatically get foot-traffic, and the names and addresses of qualified leads, you wouldn’t have had without the sweepstakes.

And third, since your prospects have to guess how large your showroom is, it forces them to walk around your entire store in order to make any kind of accurate “square footage” guess, right?

And do you have any idea what each-and-every one of these qualified leads will be doing when they’re browsing up and down each of your lovely furniture showroom aisles?

They’ll be checking out all your furniture!

Mom’s will be thinking “Oh, this would look so nice in the baby’s room.”

And seniors will be saying “Wow, that would look great outside on our patio.”

And crooked CEO’s like Ken Lay from Enron will be licking their chops, saying “Hey, I can use a bunch of my shareholder’s money to buy all those brand new top-of-the-line Herman Miller chairs, for all the guys back at the office!”

Whatever.

The point is, people aren’t just going to come in, see your “$10,000 Dollar Sweepstakes” sign-up booth at the front desk, fill out the form, toss their entry into the box, and then leave.

Now at first blush, you might think giving away $10,000 Dollars worth of furniture is a lot to give away for FREE.

But au contraire… let’s look at the numbers here. Remember, before you ever make any kinds of marketing decisions, you must look at your numbers.

Because…

You are in the numbers business
first, NOT… the marketing business!

So… here are some numbers:

Let’s say, over a 90-day period, you get 1,500 people to sign up. That’s an average of 17 people a day, which… between you and your interior decorator, and maybe a local moving company (who will do the delivery)… should be very do-able, especially with all the “weekend” traffic, furniture stores tend to attract.

(Oh, and by the way — depending on the sweepstakes rules in your state, you may even be able to say up front “This sweepstakes is only valid if we receive 2,000 entries.”, or whatever numbers work for you.)

And… let’s say your average customer sale is $1,000 dollars.

This means, you’ll need to make 10 sales to at least break even on the deal — now. Plus, whatever it costs you to promote your sweepstakes, so… let’s say you need to make 12 sales to make this promotion break even.

What you have to ask yourself, is… will you make 12 sales, to the 1,500 people who’ve come into your store and signed up for your sweepstakes?

That’s one sale, to every 125 people who come sauntering through your front doors.

Can you do this?

Honestly, I don’t know.

It depends on what your conversion ratio of prospects-to-customers is. Meaning, how many of your prospects, do you actually convert into paying customers?

But at least, now you have a working formula to use, so you can figure out what numbers you need, to make this sweepstakes of yours work!

Plus remember… you’re using this sweepstakes to generate leads for future sales, not for making sales today, right?

So what you also have to take into consideration, is…

How many sales will you make over the next 12 months, by sending out a monthly marketing piece to all these 1,500 qualified new leads you’ve now got?

After all, isn’t that what you’re supposed to be doing with your qualified leads, anyway?

And this translates into, “Will you be able to make a sale to 1 out of every 125 people who came through your doors, sometime during the next 12 months?”

Well, even if you’re only a halfway decent copywriter… as long as you’re consistently making these prospects a compelling offer each-and-every-month…

You Should Be Able To Do That!

Sweepstakes are especially good for retail stores, since they seem to have a hard time building their prospect list up.

It’s tough to get people’s name and address when they come in your store, especially if they’re just browsing and they don’t buy anything.

And why are sweepstakes so effective at generating qualified leads for you?

The answer is simple: For the most part, people don’t go out of their way to enter sweepstakes for items they don’t want, or wouldn’t buy at some point in time, on their own.

And really, almost any business can run a sweepstakes.

Like if you’re a hotel, raffle off an overnight stay in one of your better rooms. Then you do the same thing the furniture store owner did — you make a consistent offer to each and every person who signed up to win the overnight stay.

When you’re running a sweepstakes to generate leads, you must remember the purpose of “lead-generation”. And that is, sometimes it’s easier to build up your list of leads, so you can make consistent offers to your prospects, than it is to just try and sell them something directly.

(For more information on using “2-Step” lead-generating selling formulas, see my article and “2-Step” writing samples here.)

And running a sweepstakes is a fun and exciting way to get your prospects motivated and all fired-up about your business.

P.S. Do you know the most popular sweepstakes ever ran? (Yes, even more popular than “Ed McMahon’s Publishers Clearinghouse Sweepstakes!)

Well, the most popular sweepstakes ever ran, was put on by AOL in April, 2004. Over 1 Million people entered the contest to win a Porsche Boxter seized by federal authorities, from a major internet spammer.

And let me ask you this: Do you think AOL did just a “little” marketing to those 1 million entrants?

Did you know, if AOL only got a 0.25% conversion rate, of entrants who eventually became AOL subscribers (that’s 1 out of every 400 people)… even at the lowest AOL subscriber plan of only $24 Dollars a month, this turns into…

$60,000 Dollars A Month… or…
$720,000 Dollars A Year… Forever… For AOL!

Ka-ching! Not bad, hey?

Later.

Craig Garber is America’s Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You’ll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Unconventional and Irreverent Daily Direct-Response Marketing Tips, on his website, http://www.KingOfCopy.com

Often, your business card is the only item left with a potential client or business partner. After a conference, meeting or display of your products, you are likely to meet dozens of people and leave your business card with them. It is essential that the business card design is complex and complete. This means that your logo, name, title and address (including contact details such as phone, fax, e-mail and web site) should all be present. When you are having your business card designed, aim for an image and a “feel” that best represents you and your company. Do not go for a flashy business card design if you are working in the financial field as this might give a feeling of sloppiness and insecurity to your clients.

Adapt the business card design to your clients

It is not important that you like your business card – but it is very important that your business partners and clients like it. Of course, you should always aim to get a business card design that you become attached to, a fact that will give you even more confidence. One useful trick is to print out a few dozen business cards and give them out to potential prospects and conduct an “on the spot” interview about them. Gather their opinions and make any necessary changes to improve your business card design.

Business card printing

If a professional graphic design company created your business card, you can rest assured that they also followed all the necessary guidelines to make the business card printing process a good one. This means that the business card designer saved the files in a format suitable for print (such as a TIF or EPS) and left a bleed area sometimes required by printers. Many advertising and creation agencies also offer business card printing, either with their own printers or by using a dedicated printer’s services to do it. Quite often, a graphic design company will offer you a package for your card: both the design and the business card printing.

Costs of business card printing

Because there are many design and print packages and a variety of prices for business card printing, we will not stop to analyze actual costs. However, the general rules are as follows:

Black and white business card printing is the cheapest, but do try to print on high quality paper, or the business cards will look unprofessional.

Using 2-3 colors (pluswhite and black) can produce good visual results and is also cheap.

Full color business card printing is more expensive, but can also produce some great visual results.

The larger your order, the cheaper you get with the individual business card printing cost.

More information on logo design, business card creation, graphic design tips and other useful resources can be accessed on our website: Business Card Tips

Author information: Mihai is a successful graphic design company manager, working with a multitude of international clients. Here are more similar resources:

Business Credit Cards