Now, exposure to at-home employment opportunities has exploded, and a wide range of job ads are just a mouse click away. But so are the scams.

Two years ago, when The Rat Race Rebellion began tracking at-home jobs, there were 30 scams for every legitimate opportunity. Now, with 4,500 to 5,000 work-at-home job ads screened weekly, the Web site finds 57 phonies for every one that’s for real, says Christine Durst, CEO of The Rat Race Rebellion.

Anyway there are real work-at-home jobs there. Consider these 10 jobs — some rather traditional and others unexpected — for interesting at-home work and good (if competitive) prospects.

Virtual assistant
This is a field with much potential, in part because the title description covers many things. “You can fit your offerings to what you know how to do,” says Foster. One can own a virtual assistant business or work from home for a company that makes you available to other employees or clients. Homewiththekids.com, for example, currently features a dozen such companies. Small businesses hire virtual assistants to help when they can’t justify a permanent employee. The International Virtual Assistants Association, which Durst co-founded in the 1990s, began with 28 members and has grown to more than 600, who charge from $15 per hour to more than $100 per hour.

Medical transcriptionist
As Foster knows, being a medical receptionist is a demanding job, and nearly every company listed on her site seeks applicants with experience and/or training from certain schools. The work involves listening to and typing up dictation from doctors — some of whom have difficult accents, slur words together, and even “eat, drink, chew gum (and) talk to other people in the room” while dictating, she says. But hearing about medical matters can be interesting, and good transcriptionists are in very high demand. Expect initial earnings of less than $10 per hour, but some transcriptionists earn $20 or more per hour.

Translator
Those with fluency in more than one language translate audio files or documents, not just word for word but often with cultural differences in mind. “Companies can access home-based translators with hard-to-find language skills without being held back by geographic location,” says Fell.

Foster’s site lists 15 companies that seek home-based translators. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook 2008-09, which groups translators and interpreters, notes a projected employment increase of 24 percent over the 2006-to-2016 decade, much faster than the average for all occupations.

The national mean hourly wage for translators and interpreters was $20.74, with a mean annual wage of $43,130 as of May 2008, according to estimates by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Some industries pay significantly higher, with the highest paying jobs generally in the management, scientific and technical consulting services areas, in which the mean hourly wage was $56.50 and the annual mean wage was $117,530.

Web developer/designer
Information technology is the sector, Durst says, where most of the home-based hiring is being done. Terri Orlowski, a virtual assistant and Web developer based in Ledyard, Conn., offers services such as custom Web site design, template modification and redesigns, code updates, hosting, and usability reviews. She previously held administrative positions in a variety of industries, and makes a higher per-hour rate now. The job is in high demand. Of the more than 15,000 new monthly work-from-home job postings on Odesk.com, Web developers are in the greatest demand, says spokeswoman Elizabeth Gordon. A list of companies that post at-home tech jobs is available at ratracerebellion.com.

Call center representative
When you phone to order something from a catalog or infomercial, a big office with rows of cubicles may come to mind. But the person on the other end of the line is likely to be sitting in a home office. “It’s a huge and growing industry,” says Durst of companies that hire independent contractors to take calls from home. She says the “home-shore movement” started in response to complaints about the many companies that looked offshore for workers. While some Web sites, such as Alpineaccess.com, actually hire representatives, most use subcontractors. Just be aware that the pay may be by the minute rather than by the hour, so you may not be paid for time you spend waiting by the phone. A list of companies that hire call center reps can be found at Homewiththekids.com.

Tech support specialist
Call centers also hire technical support specialists to work remotely. Kate Lister, co-author of “Undress for Success: The Naked Truth About Making Money at Home,” names it as one of her top three “best-bet work-at-home jobs.” And according to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, jobs for computer support specialists (on-site and remote combined) were expected to increase by 13 percent from 2006 to 2016 — much faster than the average for all occupations — with 71,000 new jobs.

Teacher
From postsecondary education to elementary schools, there are opportunities for students to learn virtually. Along with that, come opportunities to teach (and tutor) virtually. While distance learning is not new, advanced technology, collaborative multimedia software designed for schools and high-speed Internet connections have created more opportunities for teachers and students to work together from afar, says Fell. Durst has also noticed more teacher jobs being posted, and she knows of one professor who works mainly online and makes six figures — although income “depends on how many hours you’re applying to it and the type of classes you’re teaching.” A resource center for online teaching jobs can be found at GetEducated.com.

Writer/editor
Yes, the print publishing industry has been suffering, but Durst is seeing frequent listings these days for writing, editing and proofreading, particularly for the Web. Even those without writing experience can join the blogosphere. Not only can blogging be lots of fun, Foster says, but also there’s money to be earned blogging for someone else’s site, getting paid to post on your own blog or through revenue-sharing arrangements. A list of blogging opportunities, for which the pay range is less than $5 per post to more than $20 per post, can be found at Homewiththekids.com.

Franchise owner
It’s a no-brainer: Owning a business can be the road to at-home work. For an initial investment, franchises may offer a ready-made business with brand awareness, a system and a territory, says Leslie Truex, founder of the Web site Work-At-Home Success. She advises considering businesses that target the over-50 crowd or the self-employed, involve health and wellness, relate to the “green” movement, or involve electronic or online devices (i.e., accessories, applications).

Scam alert
When considering any at-home job, put up the scam-detection radar.

Durst suggests watching for these positive indicators of “real” employment:

* The hirer is an established company.
* The ad includes the company name and does not have applicants reply to a blind e-mail address.
* Human resources personnel are available for questions.
* There is mention of information commonly associated with “real” employment (benefits, vacations, policies, etc.).
* There is an application and interview process, not simply an e-mailed offer.
* The employer can detail the job duties and expectations.
* References/work samples are requested.

from http://www.bankrate.com/finance/personal-finance/10-best-and-real-work-at-home-jobs-3.aspx

Gasifier plant is “unacceptable”

Corporation (ACC). That’s not to mention the fact that our federal government has actually paid ACC some $2.7 million through Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) – out of a total commitment of $8.3 million – without any prior consultation with Kamloops (www.sdtc.ca Round 12-2007B; announced July 28, 2008). In both cases, senior levels of government have made it impossible for those we elected to represent our community interests and aspirations—our city councilors—to speak out on our behalf. Consultation doesn’t mean informing us of what has already been decided; it means discussing and often negotiating mutually agreeable solutions.

There are few if any good places in the world to build a creosote gasification plant, and Kamloops certainly isn’t one of them.

That was the message a pair of university professors delivered to more than 250 people Sunday afternoon at a public forum addressing health issues related to a gasification project in the city.

It was received with thunderous applause from the crowd, many of whom attended a related rally and march from city hall to Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Terry Lake’s office the day before.

“This is unacceptable and should not be tolerated,” Douw Steyn of the University of B.C. said of the gasification project.

from http://savekamloops.ca/?wscr=1524×940

With an expected 10,000 journalists arriving in B.C. to cover the Olympics, the provincial government and Vancouver city hall have created an information centre with lots of fact sheets and story ideas about the Downtown Eastside.

Located in the new Woodward’s development, “Downtown Eastside Connect” will open today and offer information about the city’s oldest and poorest neighbourhood.

The centre, which has a budget of about $150,000, is full of details about social housing, outreach programs and support services. Coleman said he hopes reporters will take away the message that B.C. “is facing the issue [of homelessness] head-on,” and is focusing on integrating services to try to keep people off the streets.

About 35 non-profit organizations that do important work in the community – such as initiatives involving clothing, meals, addictions treatment and harm reduction – will have representatives at the centre.

A so-called “living library,” operated by the non-profit agency Atira, offers 30-minute appointments with Downtown Eastside residents and workers, who will tell their stories about the neighbourhood.

However, the Carnegie Community Action Project (CCAP) and a half dozen other community groups are planning a protest outside the office doors today, dismissing the centre as a “propaganda kiosk.”

“This is government spin-doctoring,” said CCAP’s Wendy Pedersen.

read more http://ow.ly/16tlOk

Joys of A Muslim Woman………………….. by Nonie Darwis

In the Muslim faith a Muslim man can marry a child as young as 1 year old and have sexual intimacy with this child. Consummating the marriage by 9.

The dowry is given to the family in exchange for the woman (who becomes his slave) and for the purchase of the private parts of the woman, to use her as a toy.

Even though a woman is abused she can not obtain a divorce.

To prove rape, the woman must have (4) male witnesses.

Often after a woman has been raped, she is returned to her family and the family must return the dowry. The family has the right to execute her (an honor killing) to restore the honor of the family.

Husbands can beat their wives ‘at will’ and he does not have to say why he has beaten her.

The husband is permitted to have (4 wives) and a temporary wife for an hour (prostitute) at his discretion.

The Shariah Muslim law controls the private as well as the public life of the woman.

In the Western World ( America ) Muslim men are starting to demand Shariah Law so the wife can not obtain a divorce and he can have full and complete control of her. It is amazing and alarming how many of our sisters and daughters attending American Universities are now marrying Muslim men and submitting themselves and their children unsuspectingly to the
Shariah law.

By passing this on, enlightened Canadian and American women may avoid becoming a slave under Shariah Law.

Learn More….. Read: Cruel and Usual Punishment just released in most bookstores. Ripping the West in Two.

Author and lecturer Nonie Darwish says the goal of radical Islamists is to impose Shariah law on the world, ripping Western law and liberty in two. She recently authored the book, Cruel and Usual Punishment: The Terrifying Global Implications of Islamic Law.

found on vancouver, BC craigslist > vancouver > personals > rants & raves
Date: 2009-12-13, 3:53PM PST

This is about the fact that few people know how to excercise the concept of COMPASSION anymore.
—
I can’t believe that people today still think that here in Canada,
“Life is Easy.”
That only means you haven’t been on the bottom before!

I never thought I would be on the “bottom”.
I come from a lower middle class family, I had a 4.0 grade average while in University, I’m an attractive female, creative, no drug problems, and I’m not an attention whore slut.

My problem is, that I have three different disabilities that get in my way. One of them is mild autism which means I’m really not suited for retail work- I’m really bad with social interaction,
even though I’ve learned to keep up a conversation through lots of practice, the nonverbal stuff I can’t do well. Which means I have been fired for MANY MANY jobs, even though I
did them well, arrived on time, etc. just because I’m a little different. I also have joint problems which prevent me from doing heavy labour, which I wouldn’t be able to do much of anyway
because I have girly muscles. To top it off, I have recurrent very bad depression that occurs from nowhere and literally transports me into a black hole where my brain barely functions. I’m
not talking about the kind where you feel a little “blue” after work. I mean the kind where you can barely remember the name for a spoon, and absolutely everything gives no feeling.
I didn’t ask for these things, I was born this way.

So even though I am quite intelligent, ambitious, and friendly in my own way, my life has been a living hell.
I’ve been so hungry for days I thought I would pass out and die. When this happens there isn’t always a food bank nearby that will give you food. In fact, its often hard to get food bank food, especially on welfare week, even if you
are not on welfare. They often run out, and many places don’t have foodbanks.

I couldn’t even get on welfare, because of the stupid “Two years Independent test”. And for applying, I felt pretty pathetic in the first place.
See, I was trying to work my way through University, and had been barely able to survive the past two years,
which meant I was TOO POOR TO RECEIVE WELFARE. Yes, thats right. For those of you who didn’t know it, (I hope they have changed this now) many people are turned away because
when they submit their tax records it shows they have been too poor and have paid too few taxes.

Yet a lot of you here think I should just starve and die, that I don’t deserve my life and any handout because a few of these problems.
If that’s your attitude, then you might as well start culling babies at birth who don’t deserve to live, because to put them through this kind of HELL trying to navigate society on the bottom is cruel.

I know what the bottom is like.
People have this idea that for most people, an $8/h job is just something that pimply kids get at McDonalds while they are in school.
Have you ever paid attention to the type of people working there?
Single moms, immigrants, old ladies, disabled people. Who have probably worked crap jobs their ENTIRE LIVES.

For many people, THERE IS NO ESCAPE.
Listen to this, even if you manage to save a tiny tiny amount to go to college for a year program,
like a MOA, you’ll probably be working for $10 in many places. WOW. paying $2000 for the option to make an extra $2 an hour.

And for those of you who think its just simple to “take out a student loan, loser” for many that isnt an option.
For example,I was relying on a loan, but I was forced to leave University for a bit due to circumstances beyond my control, and because I missed payments, due to
being so poor I could only cover basic bills and KD, I was told I was no longer eligible for another loan when I wanted to return to school a year later.

And if you lose one of these jobs, there you are, out on the street, no savings, nowhere to go, and nobody to care.
Everyone looks at you like you are scum, like you are a lazy piece of shit that doesn’t deserve to live.
People walk by you as if you don’t exist.
And even though you don’t believe in God, you HOPE with your whole being that is borderline hallucinating from hunger that someone
will offer you food, or some coins. You don’t beg, because your pride gets in the way.

(And at this point you are fantasizing about shoplifting food- but you are aware
of many stores zero tolerance policy and don’t want to end up in jail with a criminal record for feeding yourself)

YES, there are MANY MANY Hungry people in this country, and
MANY MANY people that are stuck in nightmare lives.

Another part of the “nightmare life on the bottom” is the unpredictability- your min. wage employer doesn’t give a shit about you and may suddenly cut your hours in half on a whim,
or just fire you for no reason on your part. They never think that it means you won’t be able to feed your kids, and that a single mom might have to go out there and blow strangers
because it’s the only thing she can do to stop her kids from starving that month.

See, a lot of people have this idea that there are no “REAL” poor anymore.
That Canada is a magical land of possibility, and if you were “worth anything” you wouldn’t be on the bottom.
That is entirely untrue.

Canada, like everywhere, is built on the idea that there will always be a bottom to exploit. We couldn’t have our cheap goods if cheap labour didn’t hand them to us.

Not everyone on the bottom is a lazy, useless, stupid piece of shit.
In actuality, probably only a very small percentage of people would fit in those categories.

Try giving compassion a chance, and think with your brain, instead of your HATE.

I HATE my life on the bottom. I have experienced abuse, homelessness, rape, because of it.
I certainly didn’t deserve any of that.

But people only see the outside. They dont see my past, and how a few short moments can drastically change everything.
That in an instant, everything you were planning your life for is GONE, and you are tossed about like a twig in the storm.

I had a major wake-up call. Before I experienced it myself, I had thought Canada was an “advanced” country, with “advanced” people,
and that poverty was something that was on the way to being eliminated. WHAT A LIE.

And people here, see the homeless everyday, how much suffering is going on, and somehow-

In their minds they convince themselves that ALL these people are: worthless, lazy, trash who like to sit on their ass and drink and take drugs.

Hmm. well. Let me tell you something. Lazy people like comfort. A lazy person suddenly doesn’t go “gee, I’m sick of this work stuff, I think I’ll just live outside on the cold hard street
and shiver in the rain and shit on the sidewalk and starve most of the time, yeah that sounds better than working.”

That NEVER happens. There is always a series of events that happens to project a person into those circumstances. The same with Junkies.
Most junkies were fucked as little kids. Often by their parents. Do you think you would be normal if that happened to you?

Just because you can’t see someone’s life history, doesn’t mean they don’t have one.
Compassion is a mental excercise. Compassion means accepting the fact that people deserve respect despite their faults.
If you can’t respect them now, respect the fact that every nasty junkie was once a small child that wanted to be a fireman or ballerina,
before life completely messed them up and turned them into zombies.
No child ever dreams they want to live in the Downtown Eastside.

So think a little, next time you yell out a name at a homeless person, or someone waiting in line for Welfare.
They don’t need that.
Sure, some are lazy hillbillies who pump out kids for free money, but that is actually VERY rare.

Just think: What would it be like, to show up for a job interview feeling so hungry and faint that you can barely walk, wearing dirty clothes with no current addresss?

It COULD happen to you. I hope it doesnt. It is a horrible, horrible feeling.
The Myth of an easy life in Canada- a note from the bottom (Everywhere) — found on vancouver, BC craigslist > vancouver > personals > rants & raves — Date: 2009-12-05, 5:23AM PST

Because at least in other countries where there are poor people, like the slums of India, everyone is poor and it is normal.
But HERE- If you are poor, you are a social leper, a criminal, something to be detested and despited and loathed.
All because people here BELIEVE YOU MUST DESERVE IT if you are in that situation.
That you have a personality deficit, a lack of ambition, a criminal record. Some reason to blame you for your fate.

The truth? People never deserve that. Think about it.

Looks like I’ll be on the bottom forever. I don’t believe in miracles. Only people.

yes i do get medical and dental benefits but i pay a large part of them, yes i have a pension plan but i also pay heavily into that.

i am fortunate to have my job and even though im in a union i struggle
i feel bad for all those people trying to make a living in the private industry that pays them as little as possible

if companies paid a decent wage we wouldnt need unions

ps if i could get paid the same wage i do now in a non unionized environment i would choose that over a union, but i cant

oh yeah before you say im uneducated let me tell you i did graduate from college, and in order to keep my job i have to be recertified every 2 years.

fpound on vancouver, BC craigslist > burnaby/newwest > personals > rants & raves
Date: 2009-11-27, 3:19PM PST

Carol Gwilt says the Da Kine Cafe on Commercial Drive has been selling marijuana over the counter for the past four months, and just “flew under the radar.”

Gwilt says the limit is one ounce per customer, and buyers have to be at least 19 years old. A doctor’s note is not required.

The pot is not on display. Instead it’s ordered from a menu, and brought out from a back room – much like the cannabis cafes in Amsterdam.

Gwilt says she’s had no complaints from police or city hall, and should be allowed to stay open. “It’s something that’s working, and something that should be applauded. And we do get applauded.

“People come in here and they walk in in disbelief that they are in such a wonderful place,” she says.

Now that she’s spoken out, Gwilt expects to see police show up at her front door in the very near future.

“I expect to ask for their co-operation in resolving it so we can get our doors open again and continue to sell marijuana,” she says.

Vancouver police say they don’t have a plan on how to deal with the cafe. Const. Sarah Bloor says police have only just become aware of the operations because they haven’t had a single complaint.

Bloor says police will sit down with city officials to decide what, if anything, should be done.

Gwilt says she hopes to convince city officials that her cafe is a vital part of Vancouver’s overall harm reduction plan when it comes to dealing with drug us
from http://hightimes.com/news/dan/3068

On September 10, patrons of the Dutch-style Da Kine Smoke and Beverage Shop in Vancouver, BC, experienced an unwelcome surprise. Dozens of undercover cops, weapons drawn, clad in balaclavas (one wore a t-shirt with “Legalize It” on the front), raided the popular business.
Police executed a search warrant obtained by undercover narks who had purchased marijuana at Da Kine earlier that day. At 6pm, 30 police vehicles surrounded the cafe and erected barricades to keep back the angry crowds. One full block was shut down on the popular Commercial Drive, jamming traffic, interrupting filming of The Fantastic Four, and causing local businesses to close early.

A vocal crowd of about 200 protesters turned out at the roadblocks to heckle cops and smoke joints freely in a tense show of defiance.

Stubborn survival

Da Kine reopened the very next day to serve eager patrons once again, even though Gwilt was still in jail.

“We’re not going away,” said store spokesman Lorne McLeod to media. “Our business license is still valid so why can’t we operate? If they raid us again, we’ll open again.”

When Da Kine began selling pot in May 2004, it seemed as if no one cared about the legal violation. After four months of open sales, City Hall and police had received no complaints from residents.

Reporters for the local CTV news broke the story of the cafe in late August, repeatedly asking police what they were going to do about the cannabis cafe. Under pressure from reporters, police seemed reluctant to actually make a raid. They finally moved a few days after BC Solicitor General Rich Coleman told the media that police would soon act.

read more http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/4029.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofjan/3605905765/

Why? Please go to www.saveourparamedics.com Watch this video

CUPE 873 On Strike Documentary from CUPE 873 on Vimeo.

found on vancouver, BC craigslist > vancouver > personals > rants & raves
Date: 2009-10-26, 9:03AM PDT

As I was saying earlier… OFF with their balls. If men have had kids, they have no business being on dating sites just like they say single mothers shouldn’t either. A nice clean castration should solve all the angst. No more dating, no more bastards with their father’s loser genes in the world. I say it’s time to begin a national castration program against the real danger out there. Deadbeat dads.

At least when a man dates a woman with children, it’s up front because she has the kids. But when a woman is searching through all the m4w ads that state that they’re “single”, the men forget to mention that they’re actually divorced with children that they have emotionally abandoned and financially neglected just so that they can pretend to be “single”. Then after beginning to date, it could me months if not years before a woman can find out that a man has children.

How many times have you heard a man jokingly say “I don’t have any kids that I know of”. It’s men who are the real sluts, not women.

Off with the sluts’ nuts, I say!!

___________________________________________

For every Single Mother (LMx2)
there is a single father………………… interesting how it’s always 1 sided.

he just:
a.) doesn’t have the child(ren) living with him, so then, isn’t a “single dad”
b.) doesn’t care he has a child and not involved in that said child’s life
c.) thinks that the child isn’t his responsibility aka @ss mentality ( “..she chose not to have an abortion…” )

and this is coming from a responsible “single” father.

and why do most consider themselves as “single” if they’re divorced???
I notice this especially on dating sites

The US computer security titan’s list of “Dirtiest Web Sites” discovered in recent months included names such as firstsexyteen, schoolbad, and cheatsarchive.

Videogame players sometimes search online for “cheats,” software secrets that let them change game play.

While 48 percent of the websites on the list featured adult content, the remaining tainted online locales ran a gamut of topics including deer hunting, catering, figure skating, legal services, and retail electronics.

People visiting the websites face risks of having their computers infected with malicious software that could mine personal data or give cybercriminals control of machines, according to Symantec.

“There has been exponential growth in the number of online threats that are constantly evolving as cybercriminals look for new ways to target your money, identity or assets,” said Symantec consumer business unit senior vice president Rowan Trollope on Thursday.

“Armed with this information, consumers are empowered to make informed decisions about which sites to visit.”

Websites that made Symantec’s “dirtiest” list were crammed with “staggering” numbers of virus threats, according to Trollope.
from http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jlqVsATF8rNiFhjsDZgs89AgUUkg