Tens of thousands of gallons more oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday after an undersea robot bumped a venting system, forcing BP to remove the cap that had been containing some of the crude.

The setback, yet another in the nine-week effort to stop the gusher, came as thick pools of oil washed up on Pensacola Beach in Florida and the Obama administration tried to figure out how to resurrect a six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling.

When the robot bumped the system just before 10 a.m. Wednesday, gas rose through the vent that carries warm water down to prevent ice-like crystals from forming, Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said.

Crews were checking to see if crystals had formed before putting it back on. BP spokesman Bill Salvin could not say how long that might take.

"We're doing it as quickly as possible," he said.

Before the problem with the containment cap, it had collected about 700,000 gallons of oil in 24 hours and sucked it up to a ship on the surface. That's oil that's now pouring into the Gulf. Another 438,000 gallons was burned on the surface by a different system that was not affected by the issue with the cap.

A similar problem doomed the effort to put a bigger containment device over the blown-out well in May. BP had to abandon the four-story box after the crystals called hydrates clogged it, threatening to make it float away.

The smaller cap, which had worked fine until now, had been in place since early June. To get it there, though, crews had to slice away a section of the leaking pipe, meaning the flow of oil could be stronger now than before.

The current worst-case estimate of what's spewing into the Gulf is about 2.5 million gallons a day. Anywhere from 67 million to 127 million gallons have spilled since the April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig that killed 11 workers and blew out the well 5,000 feet underwater. BP PLC was leasing the rig from owner Transocean Ltd.

The Obama administration was plotting its next steps Wednesday after U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman in New Orleans overturned a moratorium on new drilling, saying the government simply assumed that because one rig exploded, the others pose an imminent danger, too.

Feldman, appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1983, has reported extensive investments in the oil and gas industry, including owning less than $15,000 of Transocean stock, according to financial disclosure reports for 2008, the most recent available. He did not return calls for comment on his investments.

The White House promised an immediate appeal of his ruling. The Interior Department imposed the moratorium last month in the wake of the BP disaster, halting approval of any new permits for deepwater projects and suspending drilling on 33 exploratory wells.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a statement that within the next few days he would issue a new order imposing a moratorium that eliminates any doubt it is needed and appropriate.

"It's important that we don't move forward with new drilling until we know it can be done in a safe way," he told a Senate subcommittee Wednesday.

Several companies, including Shell and Marathon Oil, said they would await the outcome of any appeals before they start drilling again.

Asked about it Wednesday on NBC's "Today" show, BP managing director Bob Dudley said his company will "step back" from the issue while it investigates the rig explosion.

BP said Wednesday that Dudley has been appointed to head the new Gulf Coast Restoration Organization, which is in charge of cleaning up the spill. He takes over from BP CEO Tony Hayward, who has been widely criticized for his handling of the crisis.

In Florida, dozens of workers used shovels to scoop up pools of oil that washed up overnight, turning the sand orange.

Tar balls have been reported as far east as Panama City, Fla., and heavier oil is predicted to wash ashore further east along the coast line in the coming days. Oil has also washed up on beaches in Alabama and coated wetlands in Louisiana.

LOS ANGELES — Even when Lamar Odom was a kid with limitless imagination growing up on New York’s playground courts, he thinks he might have dismissed Thursday’s season finale as a bit too extravagant.

When the Los Angeles Lakers take on the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the NBA finals, Odom realizes it’s a fantasy come true for any basketball player with the audacity to dream this big.

“It’s historic, especially when you talk about these teams and what they stand for, the pride,” the Lakers forward said Wednesday. “This is what you envision when you’re a kid in your backyard. Counting down, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…”

Another memorable chapter in the NBA’s best rivalry will end with a coronation at Staples Center, where the defending champion Lakers will try to earn their 16th banner while denying Boston its unprecedented 18th title in the clubs’ second finals meeting in three years.

For the fifth time in their 12 finals meetings, Boston and Los Angeles need all seven games to decide it. Each previous time it went to Game 7, the Celtics won — but when the current Lakers and Celtics take the court for the NBA finals’ first Game 7 since 2005 and just its second in the past 16 years, most will try awfully hard not to think about the history and pressure heaped on their shoulders.

It’s fine for kids and historians to savor this scenario, but Kobe Bryant knows it’s not a good idea for players to get caught up in it.

“It’s got nothing to do with me,” said Bryant, the series’ leading scorer with 29.5 points per game. “(When) I look back, years from now, or even when I was a kid, (if) you’d talk about being in this situation, I’d be really excited. But when I’m in the moment right now, I’ve got to play. I’ve got to focus on that. I can’t focus on the hype about it.”

Although Boston has the rivalry’s Game 7 history on its side, the Celtics have plenty stacked against them after an embarrassing 89-67 loss in Game 6 Tuesday night. Most glaringly, Boston won’t have starting center Kendrick Perkins, who sprained multiple ligaments in his right knee in the first quarter.

The Celtics’ starting five has never lost a playoff series, but that five must change for Game 7. Although Perkins is a role player next to Boston’s Big Three and point guard Rajon Rondo, the Celtics must hope veteran Rasheed Wallace and youngster Glen Davis can make up for Perkins’ inside defense and rebounding.

No visiting team has won an NBA championship in Game 7 since the Washington Bullets did it in 1978, yet the Celtics are a whole lot more worried about the Lakers than the Hollywood crowd.

“I just love the pressure,” said Paul Pierce, who leads the Celtics with 18 points per game. “I love the fact that I get to play against the Los Angeles Lakers in a Game 7 on the road. I love the fact that if I don’t win multiple championships that I probably won’t be mentioned amongst the other guys in Celtic history that have done it before. That type of stuff motivates me. That’s what the challenge is for me, every time I put on this Celtic uniform.”

Pierce is usually the only player in this series who embraces its history, yet it’s too soon to say where these finals will fit in the rivalry’s annals. Although the games had been uniformly competitive before the Lakers’ blowout win in Game 6, they haven’t been spectacularly played, with gritty defense trumping offense in most of the major moments.

Ray Allen’s historic 3-point shooting barrage in Game 2, the Celtics’ gritty victories in games 4 and 5, the Lakers’ blowout win in Game 6 — all will be dwarfed by what happens in the deciding game.

“I guess it’s going to be another decade that people look back and see the formation of this rivalry again,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. “The ’90s was missed, and the ’70s was missed, but the ’60s and the ’80s were big decades. It seems to skip a decade, doesn’t it?”

The Celtics have more experience in seventh games than the Lakers over the past three years, playing in two deciding games in 2008 and two more last year. Boston coach Doc Rivers thinks his club’s big-game toughness mostly grew from those high stakes.

“It’s the ultimate players’ game,” said Rivers, a New York guard when the Knicks lost Game 7 of the 1994 finals in Houston. “Unfortunately, I’ve coached in a lot of them over the last few years — or fortunately. All the things you’ve worked on all year, you have to do it, and execute it, and trust and play.”

Los Angeles is in just its second Game 7 of the past three seasons, but that’s because the Lakers have been better at avoiding trouble while winning 10 playoff series since Pau Gasol joined them in 2008. When faced with elimination Tuesday for the first time in these playoffs, the Lakers responded with determination at least partially born from fear, according to Gasol.

“I think about how bad and how much it would hurt if we don’t come out as winners,” Gasol said. “I keep that thought in my mind sometimes, just to understand that I have to do everything possible out there to help my team in any way I can. You want to leave everything you have out there, and compete as hard as you’ve ever competed.”

Los Angeles has won three more titles since Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal returned the club to NBA prominence by winning the 2000 championship, but the Lakers clinched all three of those crowns on the road. They haven’t celebrated at home since beating the Indiana Pacers a decade ago.

The Lakers weren’t discussing the prospect of a party on Figueroa Street during their light workout Wednesday, and the Celtics weren’t making plans for a raucous plane ride back to Boston. Given the weight of history and the intensity of this rivalry, both teams thought it best not to think beyond Thursday night.

“It’s all-out,” Boston’s Kevin Garnett said. “It’s for the marbles, it’s for everything, all-out. You save nothing. You leave nothing.”

They saved the best for last, and for Shania Twain. American Idol invited country-pop pioneer Shania Twain on as the mentor Tuesday night (April 27) with just six contestants remaining. They all did Twain songs, some better than others. But for the most part, it was all good.

At this point in the show, you can pretty much assume that everybody loves everybody. There is not a whole lot of criticism going on. So there were really only positive things to say about Lee DeWyze ("You're Still the One"), Michael Lynche ("It Only Hurts When I'm Breathing"), Casey James ("Don't"), Aaron Kelly ("You've Got a Way") and Siobhan Magnus ("Any Man of Mine").

It was Crystal Bowersox who probably received the least love of the night. Is that why I finally started to see past the lip piercing and the dreadlocks? No. I'm not that much of a contrarian. I didn't favor her because of their dislike of her. I just thought her performance of Twain's "No One Needs to Know" was the best because it was, what's the word -- oh, yeah, country. She had a quiet little interpretation of the song (one she called a message to her boyfriend whom she hoped would man-up one of these days) with a mandolin, snare drum, upright bass and lap steel guitar behind her. It was perfect. But Simon Cowell called it "limp," saying the song was "forgettable," and compared the performance to the feeling you get when a coffee shop hires a band to sing to you -- and you don't particularly want them to. Bowersox defended herself, saying, "Bigger isn't always better."

If it was up to me, I'd say Bowersox and that backing band of hers owned country week.

Barbados hotels, apartments, villas, and guesthouses are offering special discounted prices exclusive only for Barbadians, Caricom (Caribbean Community) residents and nationals. The program is called Barbados Staycation Package. Aside from accommodations, local activities and attractions are also offering special low prices to the residents.

Assistant to the Vice President of the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association, Michelle Smith-Mayers said that a staycation can help the island promote domestic tourism. The program encourages locals to spend their summer vacation at home or close to home in order to get the country’s economy back from the brink of the past years’ recession.
 
According to Barbados Central Bank, the island, whose economy is tourism dependent is actually in recession. Although globally, the recession is starting to lift, tourists are still hesitant about spending their hard earned money. The government needs Barbadians to start spending in order to get the economy moving again.

While tourism revenues from international guests are still on the trickling stage, domestic tourism is a viable alternative in augmenting the lost revenues. Staycation, which is a newly coined term from stay at home vacations, became popular during the height of the financial crisis in the United States in 2007. While a staycation in the states may include simple backyard activities, Barbados, on the other hand is blessed in that every location is a natural vacation spot.

When booking reservations, guests should keep in mind the booking code, Staycation 10A. The special rates are available until March 20, 2011. The packages rates are as follows: Budget Barbados, US$50 per night double occupancy; Simply Relaxed, US$75 per night double occupancy; Island Style, US$99 per night double occupancy, breakfast inclusive; Villa/Condo Experience, US$99 to $150 per villa per night for a minimum stay of 3 nights and 4 days; Exquisite Luxury, US$150 per night double occupancy including breakfast; and All Inclusive, US$200 per night double occupancy.

Participating establishments and activities included in the program are: Mount Gay Rum Tours, Island Safari, Tiami Catamaran Lunch Cruise, Tiami Sunset Cocktail Cruise, Harbour Master Lunch Cruise, Harrison’s Cave Exploration, Bajan Roots & Rhythms, Harbour Lights Beach Extravaganza, Barbados Golf Club, Atlantis Submarines, Barbados Concorde Experience, and Harbour Master Dinner Cruise.

Fees to gardens, parks and clubs are discounted too. Orchid World offers 50 percent discount on the entrance fee while Flower Forest is offering 25 percent off. The Cockspur Beach Club lunch package is BD$60 for adults and BD$30 for children. Guests are requested to book reservations for the beach club.

A staycation may just save the island from total economic collapse; so Bajans, book your Barbados hotel now and help save the island’s economy.

Infor announced the success of its North American channel recruitment drive. The company is the leading provider of business software for middle-market end consumers and has an impressive list of 25 channel partners, all of whom possesses a deep knowledge of various specific industries as well as a strong comprehension of enterprise software for mid-sized companies. The success was due to the results of the channel recruitment from Infor tools and innovative products that provided assistance and improvement in the sales potential of partners.

Currently, the 25 partners of the company are selling multiple solutions to a wide variety of specific industries. They provide sales, implementation and support of the following: Infor ERP software into the discrete manufacturing, food and beverage, textiles, job shop, and high technology and electronics industry; Infor PM Software for performance management into the financial industry and; Infor EAM software for asset management in manufacturing, fleet management as well as the information technology or IT industries.

The company’s partners are given access to top-of-the-line, world class training and support. This provides them with the opportunity to build market shares, improve skills in sales and increase profit margins by capitalizing on the core business strategy. This is but one of the reasons why being recruited into this channel is an advantage. Becoming an Infor affiliate opens the doors to multiple opportunities for growth in areas such as market leading products, marketing tools, sales, lead generation, and training and education from the company’s product experts.

Infor is recently enjoying a successful channel recruitment of new partners in EMEA and South America. To share the good news as well as their success story, Infor’s Chief Strategy Office, Bruce Richardson, will be hosting a webinar for prospective partners on April 29, 2010.

According to Dennis Michalis, senior vice president of the company, their being selective and partnering with companies that fully understand the business and can quickly implement software products to address the vital pain points of their customer base is a critical part of their customer-centered approach to business software. Partners that possess adequate if not excellent knowledge enable them to combine benefits and focus attention, thus providing a unique and relevant experience for their customers.

Many believe that the company has built a strong portfolio of products and solutions that meet important and specific needs of companies in the mid-market. They agree that the strategy to leverage channel partners with deep domain experts was a good move to expand the reach into this particular market segment.

The Barbados Elysian Hotel is undergoing a new look. The major remodeling is set to be conducted later on this year around the month of October. Kyle Barton, the part owner of this hotel said that the renovations will be really extreme.

“The make over for this Barbados apartment hotel has been long overdue. We have been getting a lot of pressure to do this since two years ago but it is only now that we have decided to follow through” said Kyle.

It is particularly interesting that they have chosen this time to do the renovations especially since the economy of the United States has yet to fully recover. This suggests that the tourism industry in the island is still not up to par with previous levels of earning. However, Kyle insists that this is truly the perfect time to do the renovations not in spite of the sluggish U.S. economy but as a direct result of it.

“This year, we are not expecting as much visitors as when the economy is doing well. Of course, the renovation means that the hotel will have to close down for a couple of weeks that’s for the best since we are not going to have a high rate of guests this season. Also, the reopening will be a big event that will spark renewed interest for guests to come to the hotel afterwards.”

This kind of technique seems to be an actual trend that can be observed throughout the island. Many hotels are doing their best to create new promotional programs in order to draw in the crowd. The remodeling will not only create a new image for the Elysian apartment hotel, it will also be a big event that will help the business.

The Elysian hotel used to sport a casual but cozy type of look. The color palettes as well as the design of the building itself does not stand out from the usual small hotels found in the island. Now, the remodeling promises to shake things up. There will be a Mediterranean inspired theme that will dominate the whole Barbados apartment hotel after the remodeling. White arches and elegant columns along with other modern Greek-inspired additions will be seen after the remolding. This is in keeping with the very name of the hotel itself (Elysian Fields is what the Greeks called their idea of the paradise in the afterlife, where the departed find their eternal rest and happiness).

hayden

Barbados Investment and Development Corporation (BIDC) will host a forum to focus on the industrial sector's need to promote Renewable Energy.

The Barbados Investment and Development Corporation (BIDC) is the agency that develops and promotes the business activities in the island of Barbados. They assist entrepreneurs in establishing, and growing their enterprises.

BIDC's mission-vision statement is "To be a dynamic Business Development Agency contributing to the successful and sustained development of the Manufacturing and Small Business sectors in Barbados." Their goal is for a "Barbados with vibrant, competitive Manufacturing and Small Business sectors characterized by emerging and financially strong companies committed to originality and continuous growth."

Barbados is not new to renewable energy. When sugarcane was introduced as a crop to the island, windmill technology was used by the colonizers to power the production of sugar. Today, solar energy is slowly gaining attention as an alternative to traditional power source. Businesses like Barbados apartment hotel are looking into solar energy to save on power consumption.

Studies, like "Barbados Renewable Energy Scenario Current Status and Projections to 2010", have been done to provide scenarios and solutions to the issue of environment conservation by using efficient, environment-friendly energy sources. Studies like these need policies to implement its recommendations and policies start with a meeting of the minds from scientists, businessmen and lawmakers.

The theme of the forum, "Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Renewable Energy within the context of Barbados’ Industrial Policy" complements BIDC's mission-vision with special emphasis on the environmental issue. The meeting will take place on Friday, March 5 at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.

Experts and professionals from the Ministry of Energy, the National Council for Science and Technology, the Barbados National Standards Institution, the University of the West Indies and the private sector were invited to attend the event.

The National Council for Science and Technology (NCST) was included in the event because of their role as coordinator of local activities in Science and Technology. NCST's experience in the development of technologies and scientific point of view would be invaluable to the success of the forum.

The Barbados National Standards Institution is the policymakers. They will be responsible for implementing new laws and policies relating to renewable energy.

University of the West Indies was invited to attend the event because there is a need to educate the youth on conservation and preservation of the island they would inherit.

The forum would not be complete without the support and cooperation of the private sectors. Businesses and industry representation is important because their influence extends to more than a few individuals. The policies that would result in this forum would affect their activities and how they do business.

The discussion will emphasize sustainable and renewable energy policies that are essential in preserving Barbados' ecology. BIDC recognizes the need to establish standards and practices in the industrial sectors as well as small businesses like Barbados apartment hotels that will ensure the future of Barbados' natural resources.

BIDC Chairman, Dr. Don Marshall is expected to give the opening remarks and Minister of Economic Affairs, Empowerment, Innovation, Trade, Industry and Commerce, Dr. David Estwick is slated to deliver the feature address.

Jeffrey Hoe Anderson

Significant differences exist in the sleep habits and attitudes of Asians, Blacks/African-Americans, Hispanics and Whites, revealed the 2010 Sleep in America poll by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF)

It is the first poll to examine sleep among these four ethnic groups.

The poll found that more than three-fourths of respondents from each ethnic group agree that poor sleep is associated with health problems (76-83 percent).

The poll also shows that all groups report disturbingly similar experiences missing work or family functions because they were too sleepy (19-24 percent).

mong married people or couples living together, all ethnic groups report being too tired for sex frequently (21- 26 percent of the time).

“As the leading voice of sleep health, we are committed to better understanding people’s sleep needs. By exploring ethnic and family sleep practices we have gained new insight into why we sleep the way we do,” said Dr. David Cloud, CEO of theNational Sleep Foundation.

African-Americans report the busiest bedtime routines.

African-Americans are the most likely to report performing activities in the hour before going to bed every night or almost every night, specifically watching TV (75 percent) and/or praying or doing another religious practice (71 percent).

African-Americans and Hispanics (10 percent each) are ten times more likely to report having sex every night than Asians (1 percent) and 2.5 times more likely than Whites (4 percent).

African-Americans (17 percent) and Asians (16 percent) are more likely than Whites (9 percent) and Hispanics (13 percent) to report doing job-related work in the hour before bed, among those employed.

Blacks/African-Americans report losing sleep every night over personal financial concerns (12 percent) and employment concerns (10 percent) at a higher rate than Whites (6 percent and 7 percent) or Asians (1 percent and 4 percent).

Hispanics are almost equally concerned each night about these two issues (11 percent and 9 percent, respectively).

“The hour before bed is an important time to relax and wind-down before going to sleep. For those who are having problems sleeping, it’s a good idea to consider whether your bedtime routines may be too alerting,” said Dr. Thomas J. Balkin.

Asians report getting the best sleep, report the least amount of sleep problems and infrequent use of sleep aids.

The poll showed that Asians are more than twice as likely to use the Internet every night in comparison to any other group. They are also the least likely to watch TV an hour before sleep.

African-Americans report getting an average of 34 minutes less sleep on a work night/weeknight than Asians and 38 minutes less than Whites.

Hispanics are the most likely to say they are kept awake by financial, employment, personal relationship and/or health-related concerns.

Whites are the most likely to report sleeping with their pets and/or their significant other/spouse.

Among those married or partnered, Whites are much more likely (14 percent) than the other ethnic groups (2 percent each) to say they usually sleep with a pet.

Among those married or partnered, 90 percent of Whites report that they sleep with their significant other compared to 84 percent of Blacks/African-Americans, 76 percent ofHispanics and 67 percent of Asians.

Interestingly, among all respondents, Whites are the least likely to say they sleep alone.

Among those married or partnered respondents with children, Asians (28 percent) and Hispanics (22 percent) are the most likely to report that they sleep in the same room with their children.

Whites report the highest rate of diagnosis for insomnia (10 percent), and African-Americans have the highest rate of diagnosed sleep apnea (14 percent) among the four groups.

Responsible travel. Carbon neutral trips. Eco-Tours. Don’t be fooled. It’s probably just slick PR.

When it comes to adventure travel, while platitudes of responsible travel rule the surface message, profit tends to trump social responsibility. Most adventure travel companies would vehemently deny this. Why? They’ve come to believe their own hype.

The reality? The profit and volume-driven traditional business model of a commercial adventure travel company is incompatible with caring for the environment and for sensitive cultures and peoples.

I used to be part of the problem. I’ve run my own adventure travel company, and then a large division of Intrepid Travel, the largest adventure travel company in the world. My roots are in independent travel. I didn’t really realize the intense and rapid impact that tour groups could have on a culture until I was guiding my first group on a trip to Upper Mustang, at the time a semi-autonomous kingdom in central Nepal, in 1996.

At the time we visited, fewer than 500 westerners had ever visited Mustang’s capital, Lo Manthang. Perhaps 50 westerners at that point had visited Luri Gompa, a long-abandoned ancient cave monastery East of Lo Manthang. As we arrived after a gut-busting hike, we marveled at the ancient structure’s surreal beauty. The monastery was literally crumbling under our feet. Just being there, standing on the mud-and-stick-daubed platform roof, walking on the rickety elevated platform walkway entrance, it was disintegrating before our eyes. I realized then, that I was in a business, adventure travel, that was inherently destructive.

At one level or another, adventure travel companies have each made peace with the idea that there are destructive elements to bringing a tour group to a foreign culture. That destruction is wide ranging, from the environment, to cultures, to local people’s health. They rationalize by saying that despite the negative effects, facilitating travel experiences brings the world closer together, or spurs action to save the environment. Cynically, some just rationalize that if they don’t bring people there, someone else will. I know because I’ve done it.

Here are five inconsistencies that exist between the hype adventure travel companies would like you to believe and reality:

1. A Tour Operator That is Carbon Neutral, is Never Truly Carbon Neutral. Several forward-thinking adventure travel companies have gone to great lengths to make their operations carbon neutral. This is a great gesture, and worth doing. When they say carbon neutral, though, what they really mean is that they’re offsetting the carbon footprint of their operations on the ground. What about the carbon generated by all those intercontinental flights travelers take to get to their destination? No operator in the world insists that their travelers offset their flights. Why not? The fact is, operators know they would lose massive business, in a competitive marketplace, if they required their passengers to offset their flights.

2. Offsetting your Carbon Footprint, Rarely Affects The Area You’re Traveling To. Ok, so even if your operator is “carbon neutral” and even if You “offset” the miles of your own flight, the real world impact of adventure travel is more than what a few carbon offsets can fix. Buying a few wind generation credits in North Dakota isn’t going to do much to stop the acrid black smoke belching out of that old truck your group uses in China or keep that Nepalese hillside from being deforested for wood to burn to heat lodges.

3. Commercialized Adventure Travel Has A Lasting Public Health Impact. While adventure travel brings western tourists face-to-face with some of the most primitive cultures on earth, adventure travel companies have done little to “offset” the damage done. For example, well-meaning tour group members give sweets to children, leading to massive tooth decay problems in areas where there previously was none. Companies have done nothing to help fix sewage systems that can’t keep up with the increasing numbers of tourists they themselves bring to Sri Lanka, Thailand, or Indonesia.

4. Adventure Travel Companies Pollute With Impunity, Whether They Mean to Or Not. The 50,000 trekkers adventure travel companies take to Everest Base Camp and the Annapurna Circuit each year collectively leave large landfills full of garbage in villages along the way. 150,000 people come to the Galapagos Islands each year in planes that bring in foreign species that threaten wildlife diversity and in boats that leak fuel that kills fish. Sensitive areas like Nepal and the Galapagos are being “loved” to death by companies that seem to refuse to regulate themselves.

5. Adventure Travel Accelerates The Decline of Indigenous Cultures. By simply taking travelers to remote places and cultures, adventure travel companies expose those cultures to Ex-Officio-wearing, ipod-listening, Nikon-toting travelers. If you don’t think that over a few years, exposure like that is going to cause little Phuba in a Tibetan village to want to leave home and head to Lhasa to “get rich,” you’re delusional. If a company does a good job of educating their travelers on being sensitive to indigenous cultures, then limited visits to an area that’s seen little western influence is not going to have a lasting impact. When tour operators repeatedly visit a sensitive area and only pay lip service to education, that’s when cultures are changed forever.

Is there a solution? For most adventure travel companies that rely on “passenger volume” to grow, it’s literally impossible to solve these problems.

Imagine if a company had the guts to require carbon offsets, to make substantive changes to how trips are operated, to really educate their travelers, to require them to suffer a bit for the sake of the environment and cultures, to give back to the specific areas they operate in, and most radically, to never repeat a trip. That wouldn’t be a particularly profitable company, but it would be a worthy goal.

The business industry is a very tough battlefield for very business company, only the strong survive; many companies have been shut down because they are not able to cope up with the test of the economy. For a business company to succeed, the company must not only utilize their workforce but maximize every unit that comprises the company. Channel partners is one of the units that determine the success of company, however many company fail to establish a good communication relationship with their channel partners. With lack of a proper communication the channel partners are being cut off from the main organization it was supposed to help. Due to poor communication problems such as overlapping strategies, neglecting market concerns, poor assessment of sales situations and other problems which hinders the growth of the company market expansion arises. Partner Relationship Management is the key in solving lack of proper communication between the company and their channel partners. It is a business strategy which companies use to create a bidirectional communication with their channel partners.

Sun Tzu’s Art of War is a book of war strategies which can be applied to the business industry; many successful businessmen take in consideration of Sun Tzu’s Art of War and applies it in their marketing strategies. PRM somehow follows the war strategies of the Chinese writer and tactician. The following three teaching of Sun Tzu reflects on the need for PRM.

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.”  The first step in improving one’s company is to know the company’s strength and weakness. What if vital units of the company do not know crucial information about the company? What if Channel Partners are not aware of the existence of information such as new marketing strategies, vendor agreement and real time inventory reports? It such were to happen, it would be impossible for channel partners to forecast cross-sell and upsell opportunities.

“If you know yourself but not the enemy, in every victory you gained, you will also suffer a defeat.” This is true, if a company studies their competitors and knows their competitor’s strength and weakness, they can capitalize on the information they have obtained. If a company knows their competitors’ strength the company can devise a counter marketing measure or strategy against their competitors. If the company knows their competitors’ weakness they can exploit that weakness to the advantage of the company and expand their market further. Most PRM offer competitor tracking, this will enable companies and their channel partners to get a clear view of what their competitors are capable of.

The last part of Sun Tzu’s teaching is the worst case scenario. ”If you neither know the enemy nor yourself… you will succumb in every battle.” If the communication from Channel Partners were cut from the company, critical exchange of information between the two parties could spell ruin for the company. Information such as competitor tracking, consumer feedback, market buying pattern, new marketing strategies will not circulate between the company and the channel partners, this will lead to channel conflicts and would cause the company’s productivity to decrease.

Partner Relationship Management not only allows Companies to utilize their channel partners but maximize their potentials too. With PRM a bidirectional communication will be established between companies and their channel partners in which will enable companies to forecast joint sales accurately. The business industry is tough battlefield, arming your company with the right tools like PRM and coming up will better marketing strategies could lead your company and your channel partners to victory.