Journalists are like gamblers in their constant pursuit of action

Key Topics Covered: Executive Summary Demographics Summary Business and IT: A Mixture of Perspectives, Backgrounds and Skills Application and Environmental Priorities The Rising Importance of QoE: Drivers and Benefits Process and Organizational Issues QoE Metrics QoE Instrumentation and Integrations Triage and Reporting: Mainstays of QoE Technologies Challenges, Lessons Learned, and Recommendations Conclusion Appendix 1: Case Studies Listening to the End-Users: QoE is Their Quality, Not YoursFor more information visit http:// and MarketsLaura WoodSenior Fax from USA: 646-607-1907Fax from rest of the world: 353-1-481-1716 Copyright Business Wire 2009. DUBLIN, Ireland(Business Wire)Research and Markets( http://) hasannounced the addition of Textiles Intelligence's new report "The EU'sGeneralised System of Preferences (GSP): Impact on Textile and Clothing Trade"to their offering. The Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) enables exporters in developingcountries to benefit from preferential tariffs in the markets of industrialisedcountries. Its aim is to help those countries to generate additional exportrevenue and reduce poverty. The first GSP schemes were launched in Europe, Japan and the USA in the 1970s,followed by schemes in various other countries. However, the EU's schemes arethe most widely used, and 176 countries benefit from them. Imports under theschemes increased by 10 in 2006 and 12 in 2007 to reach Euro57 bn (US$78 bn).There are three types of scheme.

The standard GSP is a non-negotiatedarrangement under which the EU provides non-reciprocal preferential access. Inthe case of textiles and clothing, GSP duties amount to 80 of the full commoncustoms tariff. GSP aims to encourage sustainable development and goodgovernance in vulnerable developing countries. Beneficiaries must ratify andapply 27 core United Nations (UN) and International Labour Organization (ILO)conventions relating to such matters as human and labour rights, theenvironment, the fight against drug production and trafficking, and corruption.The Everything But Arms (EBA) GSP scheme offers duty-free and quota-free accessto least developed countries (LDCs) for all products except arms and armaments.Leading LDC producers and exporters of textile goods include Bangladesh,Cambodia, Lesotho and Madagascar. The GSP is governed by strict rules of origin-to ensure that the benefits goonly to the countries intended. However, "cumulation" rules enable production processes to take place incertain locations elsewhere without affecting the country's entitlement to GSPbenefits.

In December 2008 the EU announced that 16 countries would benefit from GSPbetween January 1, 2009, and the end of 2011. However, the eligibility of one ofthe biggest beneficiaries, Sri Lanka, is subject to a European Commission reviewfollowing allegations of human rights violations. This is casting a shadow overthe Sri Lankan garment export sector, which employs nearly 300,000 people, andthere are fears that the entire textile and clothing industry could be put atrisk if the benefits under GSP come to an end. Key Topics Covered: SUMMARY INTRODUCTION DEVELOPMENT OF THE GENERALISED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES (GSP) THE EU'S GENERALISED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES (GSP) SCHEME DIFFERENCES BETWEEN STANDARD GSP, GSP AND EVERYTHING BUT ARMS (EBA) SCHEMES EU RULES OF ORIGIN AND CUMULATION THE EU'S NEW GENERALISED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES (GSP) REGULATION FOR 2009-11 IMPACT OF THE EU'S GENERALISED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES (GSP) ON THE DEVELOPMENTOF POOR COUNTRIES GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED IN THE EU'S PREFERENTIAL ARRANGEMENTS List of tablesFor more information visit http:// WoodSenior Fax from USA: 646-607-1907Fax from rest of the world: 353-1-481-1716 Copyright Business Wire 2009. In January 1988, Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder crawled out on a proverbial limb and sawed it off, crashing his career in television to the ground, never to return.Snyder shared his opinions on the superiority of black athletes with a Washington, D.C., television reporter.

One senses from watching the broadcast that race issues were not where Snyder lived. It’s also why journalism often is referred to as a young person’s game. The older practitioners of the craft typically wear out, lose their edge.Journalists are like gamblers in their constant pursuit of action. But as with any adrenaline junky once the juice is gone you’re dead in the water.Journalists are Type A folks who often don’t admit it and sometimes don’t know it. But journalists’ dirty little secret is that we wouldn’t have it any other way.For Snyder, horse racing represented action; by comparison, journalism represented a grind. The inglorious act of rubbing elbows with fellow bettors at racetracks eventually trumped tending to one of the best sports television gigs in the nation.When he landed the CBS gig Snyder likely hustled to come up with juicy news tidbits Perhaps he did so 10 years in, maybe even 11. The thrill was gone.Snyder cultivated his Jimmy the Greek persona and reaped a bountiful harvest off it.