Sunday 17 June 2012

Much-married Khan is a cool customer in police custody - Times of India

Much-married Khan is a cool customer in police custody - Times of India
CHENNAI: Police have slapped a cheating case against Amir Khan who was arrested in Bangalore on Thursday after complaints from several women who were fooled into marrying him.

A police team grilled Khan at the commissioner's office on Saturday following a specific complaint from Manisha (name changed), a BPO employee from Chennai that he had abandoned her in a Mumbai hotel.

Khan told his interrogators that he was innocent. He said he had left the woman in the Mumbai hotel, but when he returned, she had checked out. He claimed he started searching for other women on a matrimonial site after he could not trace the Chennai woman. "He was cool and composed. He replied in English to all our questions," a police officer said.

When he was nabbed by the Bangalore police on Thursday, he told them his name was Arif Khan. He had given the same name to his latest 'wife,' Mahathi (name changed) from Ahmedabad, who was living with him in a hotel.

Police seized a laptop and seven mobile phones from Amir. "We found many photographs of women, their addresses and contact numbers. He had used several SIM cards to talk to women," a police officer said. He has been housed in the Puzhal prison.


Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Matrimonial sites becoming new crime spot - Times of India
HYDERABAD: Wedding portals have become one of the most lucrative venues for new age con artistes to loot people. Cyber Crime sleuths say that hundreds of youngsters are falling prey to the sweet talk of these highly 'educated' con artistes and losing a lot of money.

In the last one year, Cyber Crime sleuths recorded two cases where con artistes successfully used matrimonial sites to dupe people. The recently arrested B Tech graduate B Ravi Kishore duped 54 women by posing as an IIT graduate with a Master's degree from University of California.

His predecessor, V Deepti Reddy, who was arrested by CID sleuths in 2011, lured high earning professionals by posing as an MBBS graduate. "Though there are many such instances, only a handful of the victims approach the police as the media attention might further dampen their chances of getting a suitable partner," a CID official said.

CID sleuths who investigated both these cases found striking similarities in the modus operandi of the two criminals and the profiles of their victims. The victims in both these cases were high earning professionals, mostly software engineers, doctors, architects and management professionals.

Despite being well educated, none of the victims bothered to verify the genuineness of the profiles of the accused and police believe that the not so easily available 'suitable' partner is the reason behind it. The victims were blinded by the polished English and well respected professional life of the accused.

"Kishore, who worked in a BPO earlier, used to talk to the victims with an American accent. So, the victims never bothered to cross check his claims of being a Microsoft employee with degrees from IIT Mumbai and University of California," CID additional SP, U Ram Mohan, said.

To further push the victims into trusting him, Kishore always used to travel in a hired AC cab and meet the victims at five star hotels only. "In reality, Kishore used to share a flat with some others at Miyapur in the city outskirts and he just had two pairs of formal wear," the investigating officer said. None of the 54 women whom he befriended through his profile on the matrimonial site knew his actual residential address but he successfully exploited 22 of them.

Same was the case with Deepti Reddy who borrowed money from just over 20 people by befriending them through her doctor profile on a matrimonial site. Deepti was already married twice before she posted her profile on the website and she has two children, police said. Deepti took lakhs of rupees from several of her prospective grooms, whom she never met personally, by saying that the money is for performing surgeries on poor children.

As there are lakhs of educated youth registered on these matrimonial sites, CID sleuths have suggested some steps to identify such con artistes:

Always verify the profile details of the individual before becoming close to that person. Employment verification can be easily done by calling up the concerned company or by paying a personal visit.

Don't give money to people with whom you become friends through online profiles even if they emotionally blackmail you.

Do not indulge in online chatting, dating or get emotionally involved with people without verifying the truthfulness of their claims.

None of the victims bothered to verify the genuineness of the profiles of the accused and police believe that the not so easily available 'suitable' partner is the reason behind it.


Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Law Firm Web Marketing Consultant Says Google+ and Client Reviews Are ‘No Longer Optional’ For Lawyers - Houston Chronicle

Dale Tincher of Consultwebs.com, Inc., says recent changes by the search engine giant have ‘firmly linked’ Google+ accounts and reviews from clients.

Raleigh, N.C. (PRWEB) June 16, 2012

In a newly published blog article, law firm Web marketing consultant Dale Tincher says that Google+ and Google profiles have become “a must for collecting positive reviews that show up in Google’s local listings.”

Tincher is the CEO and President of Consultwebs.com, Inc., a company that specializes in law firm website design and search engine optimization (SEO) marketing for attorneys.

The company features a team that is dedicated to developing law firm social media campaigns involving Google+ as well as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, HubPages and other social networking sites.

His article, “Google+ is No Longer Optional for Law Firm Marketing; Reviews Are Increasingly Important,” was released this week on the Consultwebs.com, Inc., blog, LawWebMarketing.com, which provides helpful tips and other information on law firm Web marketing trends.

In the article, Tincher reflects on Google’s May 30 announcement that it would replace Google Places with Google+ Local. In his view, this change means that Google accounts and client reviews are now “firmly linked,” and those reviews may be as crucial as ever to a law firm’s Internet marketing campaign.

“Reviews are an integral part of Google+ Local, and you’ll want your firm listed there – with positive comments from satisfied clients – for search engine visibility,” Tincher writes.

However, Tincher strongly cautions law firms to stay away from gimmicks that are aimed at manipulating search engine rankings, such as fake reviews or other tactics used by “review mills” and “reputation management” firms.

“We frequently advise law firms on the proper way to obtain law firm testimonials and client reviews,” he says. His article provides a list of those techniques, including:

  •     Asking clients for reviews at the conclusion of a successful case.
  •     Advising clients to join Google+ (reviews can only be posted by Google account holders).
  •     Maintaining a database of past clients and reaching out to them for reviews.
  •     Using the firm’s website to encourage reviews, and providing an easy way for clients to provide those reviews.

“If two law firms appear to be equal, a Web visitor is likely to choose the firm with the best reviews,” Tincher writes.

About Consultwebs.com, Inc.

Since its founding in 1999, Consultwebs.com, Inc., has built a reputation for being a national leader in law firm Web marketing. Consultwebs.com provides law firm Web marketing consultation and strategy and a wide array of products and services, including website audits, website design, website hosting, website domains, law firm reputation management, search-engine optimization (SEO) marketing, pay-per-click (PPC) services, Internet systems setup, website editorial and content services (including substantive content, press releases, legal blogs, satellite sites and law firm videos), online chat products, social media marketing (including Facebook, Twitter and Google+), call tracking and legal directories.

Consultwebs.com has offices at 114 Main Street, Berea, KY, 40403, and at The Forum I, 8601 Six Forks Rd., Suite 400, Raleigh, NC, 27615. The company works with law firms across the country. For more information, call Marketing Director Tanner Jones at (800) 872-6590 or (859) 353-7720 or use the convenient Consultwebs.com online contact form.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prweblaw-firm-web-marketing/google-plus-local-reviews/prweb9611595.htm


Source: www.chron.com

Law Schools Fudge Numbers, Disregard Ethics to Increase Their Ranking - Daily Beast

This manner of allocating scholarships also systematically funnels students from wealthy families to higher-ranked schools and students from middle-class families to lower-ranked schools (you can forget about the poor). To see how this works, consider that a prospective student with an LSAT score of 171 (very good, but not outstanding) would be in the bottom half of the admitted class at Columbia, and must pay full tuition to attend; but this same student would be in the top quartile at Duke, and would receive a hefty scholarship. The student would then have to decide whether it is worth paying $210,000 to earn a law degree at Columbia (counting tuition and living expenses) versus $120,000 at Duke. Students from wealthy families would go to Columbia, reaping better job opportunities, while many students from families with modest incomes will pick Duke. This same dilemma plays out all through the law school hierarchy. Thousands of law students are put to this choice each year, the effect of which channels wealthy students upward and others downward.


Source: www.thedailybeast.com

Who's going to be our police chief? Sussex voters just don't care - The Guardian

Peter Jones has little doubt what Sussex needs to reduce crime. "We need to give a boot up the backside of the CPS [Crown Prosecution Service] and get more people before the courts – they can be so risk-averse it's mind-boggling. It infuriates the public and infuriates the coppers who work their backsides off that the CPS sometimes cannot be bothered to push forward cases."

Jones, the leader of East Sussex county council, hopes he is not merely engaged in wishful thinking. The Birmingham-born politician is outlining what he wants to do if he becomes the county's first police and crime commissioner.

Jones is one of the Conservative hopefuls running for a position that some insist is significantly more powerful than that of MPs and most ministers. In as little as 120 days the Sussex electorate will join the rest of the country and vote for an individual who will acquire a mandate to organise the police budget, prioritise resources and hire and fire chief constables. Jones, from Hastings, is particularly excited about the position's co-ordinating role and is presiding over a slick campaign – "Vote PJ" – to ensure he fulfils his crime-fighting ambitions. Sussex is likely to see more offenders in prison should Vote PJ gain traction.

The one sticking point that worries even those going for the job is the apparent loss of interest by the government in what was touted as one of David Cameron's flagship policies and one of the most important police reforms of recent years.

In Haywards Heath, close to the geographic centre of Sussex, public apathy towards the role of commissioner is overwhelming. "I haven't heard of any of them," said Brenda Griffin, 65, when shown a list of the candidates on the Sussex shortlist. Not one of 30 people asked on the town's main artery, South Road, recognised a single candidate. Nine out of 10 people were unfamiliar with the profound changes to policing that will shortly take place.

Anthony Kimber, a 65-year-old retired army officer from Rye, is also in the running, but perturbed by the apparent lack of government input. "The problem is that the government has become involved in other policing issues, this has slipped onto the back burner.

"The government has not allocated any money upfront. It's offered a website and I do tweeting [118 followers at the time of writing] but there is not a lot of publicity. I know party members who have not been officially told of my candidacy, which is disappointing."

Nonetheless Kimber has set out a detailed manifesto for his plans as commissioner. Anyone in Sussex guilty of antisocial behaviour should, he warns, watch out. His priority is creating an intelligence base of all incidents and people involved in low-level crime and disturbances.

"I would take the sort of approach seen in New York and California, really focus effort and intelligence on the problem, work out whether it's troublesome families the government is talking about or if it's mobile groups of youngsters. I believe that with serious effort and a targeted approach we would get to the bottom of it: who the culprits are, where they do it, and why they do it."

Kimber talks enthusiastically about landing the £85,000-a-year job and working with the current chief constable and community partnerships to eradicate antisocial behaviour throughout the county's 4,000 square kilometres.

There are at least 10 candidates vying for the role. Sussex has produced more Tory candidates than almost anywhere else (six) and a Conservative commissioner is favourite to prevail as voting patterns are predicted to reflect party lines. All must outline how they will revolutionise a police service that must lay off 1,050 staff and make savings of £50m over the next three years.

Another Tory candidate is a successful Arundel businessman and local councillor, Paul Dendle, who perhaps controversially seeks a moratorium on the government's steps towards privatising police roles. "You should delay privatisation until you reform and reduce inefficiency, otherwise you are locking in inefficiency for the length of the contract, which is a waste of public money. A lot of private companies are rubbing their hands because they know how inefficient it is," says Dendle, whose website features police minister Nick Herbert on the streets of Sussex.

Dendle's big idea is "lean systems thinking" based on the Toyota car production model in Japan, which involves asking frontline workers for their input to boost morale and improve efficiency.

Other Tory candidates include the director of a funeral firm, a former Metropolitan police chief inspector whose attempt to become Britain's first Chinese MP failed during the last elections, and the only woman candidate – district councillor and entrepreneur Katy Bourne, who chairs the Conservative Women's Organisation.

Labour is fielding two hopefuls, with the preferred candidate unveiled on Monday following a ballot by party members. Hastings councillor Godfrey Daniel is pledging to tackle antisocial behaviour, hate crime and domestic violence.

He, too, is worried that the process could be undermined by apathy. "Low public engagement is a worry. It's important that people know what they are going to vote for, otherwise the elected candidate could be quite scary."

Daniel is competing against Paul Richards, 44, of Eastbourne, a special adviser to two Labour cabinet ministers who has twice unsuccessfully stood for parliament and is the author of How to Win an Election. All have their work cut out if they want to fire the imagination of the Sussex public.

"I'll vote for anyone who lowers my council tax," said one Haywards Heath mother, unaware that tax is one of the powers that will elude the incumbent. Nicola Smith, 74, who has lived in the town for 35 years, wanted to see a detailed CV of all hopefuls before she even considered choosing.

Next month, Sussex Conservative party members will meet to choose their preferred candidate. They must hope the electorate match their enthusiasm.


Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Bogus traders warning to West Sussex flood victims - BBC News

People affected by severe flooding in West Sussex are being warned against falling victim to rogue traders.

West Sussex County Council said trading standards had received reports of cold callers offering to carry out repairs to damaged properties in Littlehampton.

"Whenever an emergency of this nature occurs, it seems to bring unscrupulous traders out of the woodwork," said Councillor Christine Field.

The council said it had a list of approved and reputable builders.

"If you do need emergency work done to your property, ignore the claims of bogus callers if they turn up at your door," said Ms Field.

On Saturday, only two flood alerts remained across the whole of South East England, with six flood warnings and alerts lifted by the Environment Agency (EA) in the last 24 hours.

However, it said further rain could lead to more flooding in areas already vulnerable.

Butlins blocked

The EA set up an incident command centre at Bracklesham Lane car park in Bracklesham Bay to co-ordinate its response after many hundreds of people were affected by flooding.

About 250 homes in Elmer were flooded, with residents rescued by boat and taken to rest centres and temporary accommodation.

More than 20 people, including several children, were rescued from flooded caravans at two holiday parks in Bracklesham Bay and flood waters also reached the Manorfield care home in Earnley.

Havens' Church Farm holiday camp, near Chichester, was also flooded and access roads to Butlins in Bognor Regis were closed.

Worthing Hospital's basement and lift shaft was flooded, several schools and one college were shut and many roads were impassable.

An emergency channel had to be dug through sea defences to release flood waters and firefighters used pumps to lower river levels.

Arun District Council officers are continuing to staff a flood recovery vehicle to give advice to residents.

It is stationed in Elmer's shopping area on Saturday until 21:00 BST.

It will be in South Terrace, Littlehampton on Sunday, in Barnham near the railway station on Monday, Wick on Tuesday and South Bersted on Wednesday.


Source: www.bbc.co.uk

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