text:
Wikitravel:Travellers' pub
Please add new questions at the bottom of the page and sign your post by appending four tildes (~~~~) to it, but otherwise plunge forward!
You can find Archived discussions here: Travellers´pub Archives.
Please make suggestions for WT homepage content[edit]
Hello! We'd like Wikitravel users to help us decide what should go on the Wikitravel homepage for February by offering ideas for 5 different categories: Destination of the Month, Off the Beaten Path, Cuisine of the Month, Language of the Month, and Landmark of the Month. Please post your ideas on the Pub between today and Monday January 29th. We will announce the winning topics Tuesday the 30th. Thank you!Ncahill (talk) 14:11, 22 January 2018 (EST)
Bangkok Hotels[edit]
I just checked the "Bangkok" section of Wikitravel, and I saw in the "Hotels" section, a number of hotel listings. Mainly upmarket ones. I believe that these should have been placed in individual District articles, Also, they're somewhat touty. Should I remove them? Avemario (talk) 03:55, 24 January 2018 (EST)
Home Page Content Voting for March 2018[edit]
Hi All! We'd like Wikitravel users to help us decide what should go on the Wikitravel homepage for March by offering ideas for 5 different categories: Destination of the Month, Off the Beaten Path, Cuisine of the Month, Language of the Month, and Landmark of the Month. Please post your ideas on the Pub between today and Wednesday, February 28th. We will announce the winning topics on the Pub Thursday, March 1st. Thank you!Ncahill (talk) 11:35, 20 February 2018 (EST)
April 2018 suggestions for WT Homepage content![edit]
A little bit to the game to this but each month the content of our homepage changes. We'd like Wikitravel users to help decide what should go on the Wikitravel homepage for April by offering ideas for 5 different categories: Destination of the Month, Off the Beaten Path, Cuisine of the Month, Language of the Month, and Landmark of the Month. Please post your ideas on the Pub between today and Wednesday, April 4th. We will announce the winning topics on the Pub Thursday, April 5th. Thank you!
WT Software Upgrade Happening Now![edit]
Hi everyone! Heads up that as of Wednesday, April 11th at 12:05pm PST, the site will be down and ready for upgrade! IB hill (talk) 15:05, 11 April 2018 (EDT)IB_Hill
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Traveller of the Month[edit]
I do note that the Traveller of the Month page is defective. I did try to post this on the edit page there, but it will not allow me. Although it is an old page, maybe you can either correct it or delete it. Obviously I would prefer the former, as I use it to prove to people that it is a totally credible website. Your call..................
Avemario (talk) 04:02, 14 April 2018 (EDT)
I might add that the Thai Phrasebook has a similar problem!
Avemario (talk) 08:08, 16 April 2018 (EDT)
Pages Currently Under Evaluation[edit]
Heads up that as of 4/18/18, we're currently putting pages about Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market, Wat Chan, and Dusun Glondok under evaluation as we're working on determining if it adheres to the site's policies and guidelines and style. If anyone has any thoughts or know anything about these sights and destinations, please reply down below here. Would love to make this a collaborative effort on Wikitravel! IB hill (talk) 19:27, 18 April 2018 (EDT)IB_Hill
Nong Prue[edit]
I have noticed an article about this place in Kanchanaburi Province in Thailand. The information is minimal, and a VERY thorough check of the internet shows virtually no information at all worthy of tourists.Personally, I would delete the article.Avemario (talk) 06:53, 21 April 2018 (EDT)
So again, I think it should be moved.Avemario (talk) 19:10, 26 April 2018 (EDT)
Vote for May 2018 Homepage![edit]
Hey guys! This April will be coming to an end in 4 days... whoa! That means it's time to vote for the next feature on our homepage for May! This month we featured Botswana as "Destination Of The Month" with a huge emphasis on Greek for all the other categories. What do you guys want to see? Let us know by commenting down below! IB hill (talk) 16:19, 26 April 2018 (EDT)IB_Hill
GDPR Compliance Announcement[edit]
Hi everyone!
Starting on or before May 25th, 2018, Wikitravel will become GDPR compliant in accordance with the EU GDPR regulation.
If you are visiting this forum from an EU IP address, you will see a pop-up overlay that looks like this:
After clicking "I Agree," this message should not appear again (unless you clear your browser cookies). You can learn more about this on this page. Thank you. IB hill (talk) 14:32, 21 May 2018 (EDT)IB_Hill
Slow servers?[edit]
My impression is that this site loads slowly. Have you had server issues? /Burbur (talk) 16:26, 21 May 2018 (EDT)
Vote for June 2018 Homepage![edit]
Still some time left, before today´s changes. The World Cup 2018 article is ready to go, anyone else getting excited for the upcoming event? As language of the Month Russian would be a great help I guess, for those making it over to Russia, but also because it´s such an interesting language to learn (yes, I made an attempt many years ago). Landmark of the Month, the Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood in St. Petersburg. For Off the Beaten Path I´m going to think a bit more. Adzas (talk) 05:00, 1 June 2018 (EDT)
Travel guide block[edit]
I know and understand why Wikitravellers are not allowed to use the name of a competing travel guide on this website. For example, I'd like to say that I'm mainly a contributor to Wiki but am now signed up on Wikitravel as well. Any thoughts? Just asking, I don't mind if you don't want to change. SelfieCity (talk) 16:28, 9 June 2018 (EDT)
Longtime Wiki policy to ensure that Wikitravel remains a primary source, for travelers, by travelers, and not a link farm. Experience has shown that once you start allowing references to one guide, everyone thinks they can link whatever they want. So we just say no references or links to other travel guides, and it has worked out very nicely. IBobi (talk) 17:51, 12 June 2018 (EDT)
Vote for the July 2018 Homepage![edit]
I know it's really early, but it's better to start the nominating process early than to start late, so I think we may as well start now. I nominate the following with the idea of a Southwest theme:
What do the others think? SelfieCity (talk) 23:14, 9 June 2018 (EDT)
Updated DOTM and VFD pages[edit]
Those pages were out of date, so I have been archiving old nominations and bringing it all up-to-date. Just wanted the administrators and other editors to know this and that I'm not trying to cause problems. SelfieCity (talk) 22:37, 17 July 2018 (EDT)
Vote for Aug 2018 Homepage[edit]
August is coming up in just a few days. Anyone have suggestions on what should be on the homepage? Comment below down here!IB hill (talk • contribs)
Vote for Sept 2018 Homepage[edit]
The last month of summer is officially halfway over! This means it's a good time to start thinking what we want to see on the homepage for the first month of fall. If anyone has suggestions, please comment below! :) IB hill (talk) 10:54, 16 August 2018 (EDT)
Question about Main Page[edit]
Hi! I am new here as an editor, though I have been reading this website for years and I have just looked at the main page. The strange thing is that I see it full-size, but it fits the left half of my computer screen. Is there any way to change the resolution of the main page to fit individual screens? --Fordaemdur (talk) 10:31, 21 August 2018 (EDT)
Hyphen/dash formatting[edit]
Just wanted to check, since I couldn't find this in Wikitravel policy: it's considered best to use an mdash (that is, "—") instead of "-" or "--", right? Just wanted to check because I have been changing hyphens to mdahes in a couple articles. For example, see this link [5] to see what I mean by this. -- Selfie City (talk) 15:17, 22 August 2018 (EDT)
Technical Issues with logging in[edit]
Hi everyone. There is a current issue with users not being able to log in. Just wanted to announce that we are well aware of it and will take care of it ASAP. Apologies for any inconveniences. 126.96.36.199 09:47, 23 August 2018 (EDT)IB_Hill
Main page overlap[edit]
I've noticed for quite a while now that the travel news, phrasebook/picture of the month, and the DOTM slideshow all overlap over each other. I should have mentioned this earlier. -- Selfie City (talk) 12:40, 31 August 2018 (EDT)
Vote for October 2018 Homepage[edit]
Halloween month is less than two weeks away! We had Sighisoara, Transylvania, and Bran mentioned already. Does anyone have any other suggestions they want to see on the homepage for October 2018? IB hill (talk) 18:00, 18 September 2018 (EDT)
Vote for November 2018 Homepage[edit]
November homepage voting is now open! I think based on our last conversation, we were thinking about Everglades National Park, Gibraltar, and Jiuzhaigou as they all fit with the fall season? Does anyone have any other thoughts and suggestions? Please let us know! IB hill (talk) 18:11, 15 October 2018 (EDT)
Dates for pricing[edit]
Hi everyone,
I've long used Wikitravel but only now have gotten around to trying to contribute myself. A frequent annoyance of mine as a user is when I read a price for a given hotel, activity, etc. but there is no way to discern when that price was valid. I greatly appreciate it when there is a date just afterward so that I can know if I'm then being ripped off with a higher price, need to practice my haggling, or need to accept that five years later the price is going to be higher.
I recently updated some prices on a page with dates and they were immediately deleted by another user citing the guidelines (I apologize for having changed it back at first - I had checked the guidelines but under 'Accommodation Listings' and 'Price' under 'Listings' without seeing 'When to use dates' >_>*). This surprised me as it is such an important detail for a website like this. Travel guides traditionally were published with the year right in the title: you knew when the information was valid and could respond accordingly. The guidelines acknowledge that "The reality is that it can take a while for some destinations to be revisited and for the information to be updated in the guide. Meanwhile, knowing whether information is current or dated can be very useful to our readers. We need to find a balance between adding a date to all facts and maintaining an uncluttered travel guide", but then errs on the side of less 'clutter'. Why is this very useful detail considered clutter when others that could be considered less useful are not?
I feel that this compromise ignores the reality of being a web-based, date-free travel guide. It asks users to assume that prices (and schedules for that matter) are current and up to date. For some busy pages that may do but I've had experience after experience over the last year travelling and extensively using Wikitravel where the absence of this detail and then the inaccuracy of the information was only motivation to find a website more regularly updated. Knowing when information was valid is important and something that is not otherwise indicated. It is a nice thought on the guidelines' part that "When a price changes, we update the guide without retaining any previous pricing information", but that requires that a user who also contributes be made aware of the price change and then actually make the edit: the plethora of years expired prices calcifying pages across the site stand as testament to the inadequacy of relying solely on the prompt fulfillment of this expectation.
What finally motivated me to begin contributing myself was a conversation I had with a Couchsurfing host and his traveller friend a couple of weeks back. They said they had basically stopped using Wikitravel because they couldn't trust the information: they would read prices and details and discover them to be quite different. Reconsidering this guideline would at least provide some transparency so that users can know how much confidence to put into particular details.
Movethathoof (talk) 12:54, 18 October 2018 (EDT)
Updating a Map[edit]
Hi all,
On the Japan page the Shinkansen Map is over 7½ years old and terribly out of date - and hence misleading. As far as creative rights go, according to what I am reading, I think I can add some updated info on it. I am no graphics wizard, but I have enough ability to update it - but before I start spending some time doing that, I want to make sure it would be accepted. —The preceding comment was added by The-observer (talk • contribs)
OK...I made the needed changes. So now what? I read there has to be 2 weeks for user input? For the program, it was not Inkscape. —The preceding comment was added by The-observer (talk • contribs)
Vote for December 2018 Homepage[edit]
December is coming! Winter is coming (hopefully not in the "Game-of-Thrones-fashioned way" if you know what I mean...)! So it's time to choose new locations to feature on the Homepage. Please share your thoughts. GiulioC (talk) 03:31, 18 November 2018 (EST)
Looks like a fairly good set of choices overall -- Selfie City (talk) 21:07, 3 December 2018 (EST)
Creating a page for towns with historical center in Italy[edit]
I would like to know if I might be able to create a page listing towns with a historic center in Italy. While living abroad in different countries I was always wondering which towns around my area, even the tiny ones, had a historic center. In order to get this info i had to go through several internet sites and google maps. This might be useful for someone who is living in a certain city for a longer period, or visiting a place and wanting to discover small non-too-touristy places. I know that there are many of such towns in Italy but they are still not the totatily and it would be different from listing all towns in Italy. If I could proceed, I was then wondering where should I create such a page. If to create a full one of its own with the subsections including the Regions, provinces etc or if to create separate pages for each region, province etc. Oztom (talk) 04:57, 19 November 2018 (EST)
Vote on the January 2019 homepage[edit]
That time's coming in about two weeks, when we have to decide on the homepage for 2019. We probably need a few extra days to vote for this month because we'll soon be (if we're not already) distracted with Christmas. I considered Windhoek and Cape Town but it's probably hot in those places currently — especially Windhoek. Maybe some tropical regions, or even high elevations? -- Selfie City (talk) 20:10, 16 December 2018 (EST)
Happy new year[edit]
Happy new year! -- Selfie City (talk) 09:50, 1 January 2019 (EST)
Myanmar project & New users[edit]
Hello editors! Many new articles have been created, which is great, but please make sure that our guidelines are followed, otherwise articles will be deleted, which would be a waste of your work and a shame for those who wish to learn about your locations. Check out our guidelines, look also at What is an article and very important, all pictures should be uploaded via Wikitravel Shared only! Any pictures uploaded directly in the articles without going through Shared, will be deleted. Looking forward to your edits, spread the word! Adzas (talk) 06:12, 6 January 2019 (EST)
turkish wikitravel[edit]
I would like to create a turkish language page for ukraine travel. How should I go about this? Nervusvagus (talk) 03:22, 14 January 2019 (EST)
Vote for February 2019 homepage[edit]
It's almost time to update our homepage, please share your ideas! Sometimes throughout the year I'd like to have Matera in Italy and/or Plovdiv in Bulgaria as they are European Capital of Culture for 2019, but I'll think about some other destinations. GiulioC (talk) 09:22, 24 January 2019 (EST)
"Articles needing isPartOf Category" category[edit]
I'm a recent newbie, and was wondering... There are several/many/lots of articles with this category on them. I've looked around, but don't see yet how to resolve this, if it is a problem. An article I just created, as well as a few others I've browsed, have this condition. Any opinions/help, or do I even need to concern myself? Thanks in advance. Swissjohn29 (talk) 18:56, 23 February 2019 (EST)
Vote on the March 2019 homepage[edit]
Any ideas? We're getting into spring, so weather should be similar around the world in most destinations. Perhaps somewhere Mediterranean would work, or Everglades National Park as I mentioned above. -- Selfie City (talk) 20:15, 23 February 2019 (EST)
How about Lisbon for the DOM? -- Selfie City (talk) 22:02, 25 February 2019 (EST)
I just came across Bakkhali while patrolling, maybe a nice OBP destination for next month? Adzas (talk) 05:21, 25 March 2019 (EDT)
Potentially derogatory/unfounded info about a city posted by unregistered posters, and is it reportable?[edit]
Just noticed some questionable content placed in a city article where I'm working on, but in a different section than one I've been focused on. Does something like this need to be reverted, reported, or what? Just wondering. It doesn't affect me very much, but I can see it being troublesome for others. Thanks in advance. Swissjohn29 (talk) 22:18, 24 February 2019 (EST)
Listings, and their links--which style to use now?[edit]
I have seen the section where links are addressed, and one area says to put the link for the listing in the url="" section of the template, while another area says it's "good" to wikilink the name of the listed place/store/hotel itself instead of the url="" (because of the numbers that show up where the weblink is in the listing). I am concerned that I'll have a bunch of work in, then discover later I did it wrong. And yes, I've gone through some of the past threads, but most are dated from a while ago. So, what is the consensus now? —The preceding comment was added by Swissjohn29 (talk • contribs)
Suggested addition to news ticker (travel news)[edit]
Should we add this one? Brunei's New Anti LGBTQ Law Introduces Stoning and Whipping. 2607:FEA8:1DE0:7B4:1951:2853:A78F:43D7 07:46, 27 March 2019 (EDT)
Vote on the May 2019 homepage[edit]
Hello all! Let's get talking about what the May 2019 home page is going to look like! Destination of the Month? Landmark of the Month? Off the Beaten Path? You decide! IBRyan (talk) 15:42, 17 April 2019 (EDT)
Any interesting summer festivals or sports extranavaganzas that we should highlight now? Or autumn, even, since people are planning travel well in advance...IBobi (talk) 20:25, 25 April 2019 (EDT)
One of the top 10 destination in Greece is the Lefkada or Lefkas Island! 3 from The main reasons to spent your holidays to Lefkada, Natural beaches with crystal deep blue water, amazing traditional food, —The preceding comment was added by Pbglimitless (talk • contribs)
Vote on the June 2019 homepage[edit]
Hello Wikitravelers near and far!
Please let us know what you would like to see for the: - Destination of the Month - Off the Beaten Path - Landmark of the Month - Cuisine of the Month - Language of the Month - Event of the Month
Thank you! IBRyan (talk) 20:08, 6 May 2019 (EDT)
Travel news[edit]
Just making sure everyone is aware of our Travel news page, where you can add important news/alerts, following the format of the previously added news. This way it is easier to follow and we can pick some of these alerts and add it to the main page. So many of us all around the globe, together we can make our news more complete. Happy editing! Adzas (talk) 09:27, 19 June 2019 (EDT)
Vote on the July 2019 homepage[edit]
Hello! We're a bit late with the discussion about the July update of our homepage, but let's share some ideas! At the moment we have Chengdu as DOM and Symi as OTBP (and Scottish Highlands as Landmark, interesting...), what about a European DOM and an Asian OTBP? GiulioC (talk) 05:24, 26 June 2019 (EDT)
We still have these, even tho DMOZ closed a couple of years back. We have a couple of options: 1.) remove them (as the WMF travel wiki did) or 2.) replace them with links to Curlie.org, where the majority of the DMOZ community went. Thoughts? Koavf (talk) 18:49, 1 July 2019 (EDT)
Welcome IBanna, our newest admin![edit]
Say Hi to IBanna, everyone! IBobi (talk) 18:16, 18 July 2019 (EDT)
Vote on the August 2019 homepage[edit]
We're a bit late for the discussion, but August is approaching and we need a new Destination of the Month to feature on the homepage! Any ideas? Share your thoughts! GiulioC (talk) 09:25, 25 July 2019 (EDT)
Vote for the September 2019 Homepage[edit]
Hello Wikitravelers near and far!
Please let us know what you would like to see for the: - Destination of the Month - Off the Beaten Path - Landmark of the Month - Cuisine of the Month - Language of the Month - Event of the Month~~
October 2019 Homepage[edit]
--It's that time of the month again! Any suggestions for D.O.M/E.O.M? I saw Concurs de Castells and a Polar Marathon , it looked pretty cool. IBanna (talk) 15:39, 24 September 2019 (EDT)IBanna
Unique Fall Festivities![edit]
Hi everyone! It's the middle of fall and I was wondering what kind of unique fall traditions or events are around the world! In California, seasonal drinks and beers are always something I look forward to and Halloween Horror Nights are the best, but I wanted to know what other fall fun is out there! Any suggestions? IBanna (talk) 18:37, 22 October 2019 (EDT) IBanna
Vote on the November 2019 Homepage![edit]
I've started this discussion, as it's definitely time we started voting on November's main page. Looking at the above discussion, what if we did somewhere in Portugal or California? -- Selfie City (talk) 07:37, 26 October 2019 (EDT)
New Default Banner[edit]
Hi everyone, I have recently changed the default home page banner for the non-EN pages to the one on the side(It says "welcome to Wikitravel!" in each corresponding language):
If there is anything you would like to add to the banner, please let me know. I've gotten requests to add Sakura (the national Japanese flower) to add more of a personal feel to the banner.IBanna (talk) 18:21, 6 November 2019 (EST)IBanna


text:
I'm looking for a classical orchestral library in gigastudio format but I didn't find so much things on the internet. There are a lot of solo instrument even for free but it's difficult to find ensembles like strings or brass.
For the moment I've found:
+ Advanced Orchestral GigaSet from east west
+ Prosonus orchestra from big fish audio
My questions are: do you test these libraries and what do you think about them ? Do you have some other libraries to recommend ?

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Q&A: What Would Happen To The NBA With Charles Barkley In Charge?
LeBron James might still be in Cleveland, star players could have their salaries trimmed by several million dollars, role players could not come close to making the current $5 million salary average among all NBA players and referees would get a 'T' for calling too many technical fouls. All this and more in a one-of-a kind Q&A with Sir Charles Barkley.
By Barry Janoff, Executive Editor
(Posted Nov. 4, 2010)
Charles Barkley has been been at the center of controversies of varying degrees almost from the time he entered the national social consciousness as a student-athlete at Auburn. Considered by some to be too heavy to become a star athlete, he turned the derogatory nickname 'Round Mound of Rebound" into a mantra. He excelled on offense and defense in college; in the NBA from 1984-2000 with the Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns and Houston Rockets; and for two gold medal Olympic Teams: the 1992 "Dream Team" in Barcelona and then again in 1996 in Atlanta. Barkley's career stats are exceptional even when compared to his contemporaries, including NBA legends Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson: 23,757 points, 12,546 rebounds, 4,215 assists. For his efforts, he earned a new nickname, Sir Charles, was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame career in 2006 and was among the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History as named in 1996 to commemorate the league's 50th anniversary.
Barkley has also garnered attention for his remarks and actions both on and off the basketball court. In 1991, he tried to spit at a fan who had been heckling him, but missed and instead hit a young girl, an incident that earned him a suspension and a $10,000 league fine. In 1993, he created waves when he said during a Nike commercial, "I am not a role model" and encouraged parents not to encourage their kids to consider athletes role models. He reiterated and expanded upon that position on March 11, 2002 when he appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated breaking out of chains and shackles with the text, "Charles Unchained." The accompanying story inside included such quotes as, "Every black kid thinks the only way he can be successful is through athletics. That is a terrible thing."
Charles Barkley the author has written several books, perhaps none with a more profound and accurate title than, I May Be Wrong, But I Doubt It (Random House, 2002). That title was a 180-degree turn from events in 1991 when Barkley claimed he was "misquoted" in his own autobiography, Outrageous (Simon & Schuster).
In 2006, Barkley announced on national TV that he was considering running for governor of his home state of Alabama, a desire he continued to express until earlier this year when he said he would not be running for the office. Interspersed among all of this has been a self-admitted gambling compulsion and an arrest for DUI on New Year's Eve of 2008. That led to a temporary suspension from his job as an NBA commentator/analyst for TNT and saw T-Mobile pull its TV spots with Barkley (where he has starred alongside Dwyane Wade and Dwight Howard) for a short time.
Barkley was in top form during a recent invitation-only Turner Sports media event in New York to support TNT's coverage of the 2010-11 NBA season, where the "dais" also included Turner President of Sales, Distribution & Sports David Levy; announcers/color commentators/analysts Marv Albert, Steve Kerr and Mike Fratello; and Kenny Smith, who along with Ernie Johnson Jr. form the triumvirate on Inside the NBA during NBA TNT telecasts. Topics included LeBron James' move from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Miami Heat, James' rebuttal in a new Nike commercial, "Rise," a possible lockout associated to the current CBA negotiations and which teams have a shot at outpacing the Heat.
• Let's take on the hot topic of the season: LeBron James and Chris Bosh joining Dwyane Wade on the Miami Heat.
Charles Barkley: I think this is bad for the NBA. My concern is that, like in baseball [with the New York Yankees], if you are Toronto, Cleveland, New Orleans — the one star they have has no chance of winning. And others are left with no stars. Look at the NBA over the last 30 years: the Bulls, Spurs, Rockets, Lakers. There have always been good teams, but there have also been other goods. You don't want five good teams and 25 bad teams.
• Could there have been a team, other than at the All-Star Game, with you, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson?
CB: This notion of putting [several] superstars on one team . . . When I played, we wanted to beat those other guys. Michael, Larry, Magic — you didn't want to play on the same team with those guys, you wanted to beat them.
• How do you convince players not to join forces?
CB: It's up to the players. Everybody wants to help [their situation]. When you look at Denver, New Orleans, all these teams have a good player. But they can't all be on the same team. You can't have a situation like in New York where the Yankees [stockpile] the top [free agents]. But then you look at their payroll and this year they didn't get to the World Series, so all those players in one place doesn't guarantee anything. It wasn't like LeBron was on a bad team. The Cavaliers, they won [61 games in 2009-10, 66 games in 2008-08]. They were among the five or six best teams in the league. So if he stayed, they would still be right up there.
• You have been criticized by some for how you reacted to what LeBron did, and even LeBron took a poke at you in his "Rise" Nike commercial, even evoking your 'I am not a role model' line, then eating a donut. How do you feel about that?
CB: LeBron is trying too hard, Nike is trying too hard. It probably took three days to shoot that commercial, which is too much.
• You were pretty verbal regarding James' move to Miami and "The Decision" on ESPN.
CB: I don't think LeBron did anything wrong. And I never said he did anything wrong, or that he wasn't allowed to decide where he wanted to play. What Magic, Larry and I all said is that we wouldn't have gotten together like that on the same team. We wanted to beat each other. Players can change teams if that's what they want to do. But how they do it sometimes, and things they don't do, that's what can cause a problem.
• Do you still feel that James going on ESPN to share his decision was the wrong decision?
CB: LeBron doing 'The Decision' on [ESPN], not talking to Dan Gilbert [owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers], the way he handled it is what I criticized. He should have told them in advance. LeBron should have just come out and said, 'I had a lot of great years in Cleveland but I'm going to Miami.' What would that take, a minute? It was silly to sit there and torture us for an hour. That hour — that was torture. I want to have that hour back in my life.
• Was this just based on 'The Decision' or other factors?
CB: One of our TV people interviewed for the Cavaliers position [to replace Mike Brown as head coach]. This is two months after the season has ended. And the guy [asks the Cavaliers], 'What's going on with LeBron?' And the Cavaliers say, "Uh, we haven't talked with LeBron in two months." He should have given them more respect.
"'I'm going to Miami.' What would that take, a minute? That hour — that was torture. I want to have that hour back in my life."
• You called his move 'punk.' So would you also, looking back do things differently?
CB: First of all he was a free agent so he could have done anything that he wanted. It was the way he handled that situation. 'The Decision' on TV was ridiculous. I said 'punk' and I was wrong to say that and I apologized to LeBron.
• What is your reaction to the post-Decision events such as James, Bosh and Wade being introduced in Miami in a Broadway-Hollywood style event in South Beach and James calling race a factor in the way in which people reacted?
CB: It was like watching a [bad] movie. When you think it can't get any stupider, it gets more stupid. He had those kids on stage [during 'The Decision'] from the youth program [Boys & Girls Clubs of America]. That was a nice touch, but it was BS. He had to know there would be consequences in Cleveland. You don't break up that way. When [James, Wade and Bosh] came out dancing on stage [when they were introduced in Miami], that was silly. [Then] LeBron wanted to make it about race and other stuff. Let me tell you, I joke about it: All white people and black people think 'The Decision' was silly. [Laughs.]
• What is your take on the current CBA situation between the NBA and the Players Union and the possibility of a lockout?
BC: Fans have been getting screwed for a long time. It's nothing new. It would be catastrophic to have a lockout in the middle of this recession. This is going to be a big year in sports. We have the best commissioner [David Stern] in sports. He has to find a way not to have a lockout. The average NBA salary is $5 million. You can't sell that to people, saying that guys who are making $10 million, $15 million are going to get locked out or go on strike. In the NBA, the same as the NFL [also dealing with a CBA and potential lockout in 2011], that would be the tipping point. I truly believe that. What we have to do is, instead of making $17 million, we would make $14 million. It's out of whack right now. Lockout? Come on, man. We can't look fans in the eye and say we are going out on strike. [Barkley then asks Turner president David Levy], During the lockout, do we still get paid? [Laughs].
• Do players in general have that attitude?
CB: We have it better than anyone else in the world. We all make a lot of money. A guy who is working at Levi's, anyplace where they are working [9 to 5], they look at what we do and what we make and it's out of whack.
"Fans have been getting screwed for a long time. It's nothing new. It would be catastrophic to have a lockout in the middle of this recession."
• Is it players like James, Wade and Bosh who are getting so much money that is aggravating the situation?
CB: That's not why it's out of whack. LeBron James deserves whatever he can make. The stiffs should not make $7 million, $9 million. The problem with the NBA is that guys who can't play make too much money. The way the salaries are structured, it's not the stars throwing it out, it's the guys who can't play.
• Does management need to take more responsibility to get the salary structure to a more workable system for everyone?
CB: The bad thing about bad teams is that those salaries are not going down. The bottom line is that GMs have not done a good job. Some get it. The draft works if you draft right. Tony Parker [for example] lasted until late in the draft [No. 28 in the first round in 2001 by the San Antonio Spurs, went on to be key part of three NBA championships and has been a three-time All-Star]. Sports is the only place in the world where you are told, you suck, you get to pick the best [in the draft].
• Doesn't it work, where good, young talent can turn a bad team into a winning team?
CB: When you are talking about Kevin Durant [the No. 2 overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft] ,if you get a guy like that, you're team is going to improve. I have to apologize to Kenny [Smith]. He said Durant would be good and I [questioned that]. He called it a couple of years ago [when Durant was a rookie]. He is fantastic. Unstoppable. Do you guard him with a little guy? A big guy? He's a nightmare.
• The NBA said that it would be enforcing stricter guidelines this season regarding the way players react to calls made by referees, including actions that previously had been ignored such as "punching" the air with your fist and even re-enacting what might have been a missed call by hitting yourself on the arm. What do you think about that?
CB: The NBA went overboard with the changes they made this season for calling technical fouls. When we sat down with the NBA about a month ago, maybe two or three of the technical fouls they showed us deserved a 'T'. In the heat of the moment, you are not going to think, 'I better not do this. I might get a 'T.' It's a joke. There is going to be a great deal of energy and emotion during a game — you can't control that.
• What teams do you see as having improved or as having a chance to improve?
CB: I like New Jersey, the [Los Angeles] Clippers. They have improved. The [New York] Knicks, they have Amar'e [Stoudemire]. They will be better, but who else do they have? I don't see them making the playoffs. I like New Jersey. They will be better [than the Knicks]. They have some good players, a good coach [Avery Johnson]. Avery will do a good job. He gets a lot of respect. Some guys command respect.
• The Nets have a new coach, a new owner, a new GM and are playing in a new arena [Prudential Center] until their home in Brooklyn is built. How far can they come back from last season's record of 12-70?
CB: Last season [for the Nets] was . . . Kevin McHale and I were talking. [We agreed] if you go out and compete every night it's impossible to win only 12 NBA games. Some people said they tanked it [toward the end of the season]. I don't know if it's tanked or protecting yourself. [Players in that situation] don't want to get hurt. You build your numbers [to improve your situation for the future]. Their coaching situation [Lawrence Frank was fired when the team was 0-16, GM Kiki Vandeweghe took over for the rest of the season and is now gone, as well].
• Looking ahead, will Miami be able to withstand the heat other teams will bring?
CB: This is the first team that has to win. If they win two [NBA championships], maybe you say they were good. They have to win three in the next five years to be considered a success. But don't hand the [championship] to Miami. They've got three terrific players but it takes more than that. [Do they have] depth? There are four teams in the East: Miami, Boston, Chicago, Orlando. Derrick Rose [Chicago Bulls guard] is a stud. You can't hand the [championship] to the Lakers, either. Oklahoma [City Thunder] with Durant, Utah [Jazz] are going to be good in the West.
• We've talked a lot about players, but what do you predict this season for head coaches?
CB: [There are questions about Miami Heat head coach] Eric Spoelstra: Can he handle the situation? How will it turn out at the end of the year? There's no exact science as to who will be a great coach. It's a crap shoot . . . We all know when a coach is going to get fired. When the press starts to ask you if you are going to be fired, it's time to start packing your bags.


text:
By Kyle C. Barry
AFJ Legislative Counsel
Efforts to reform the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA Court) got a major boost last week when the White House released an independent report that advises significant structural and procedural changes to the FISA Court. Among other recommendations, the report argues that FISA Court reforms are necessary to ensure fair process, and to strike a better balance between national security interests and fundamental civil liberties.
In response to the disclosures of former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, President Obama convened an independent "Review Group" to fully evaluate our national surveillance programs. The Review Group's report, made public last Wednesday, offers 300 pages of sweeping reforms and broad recommendations that touch all aspects of our foreign intelligence gathering activities. Included are suggested reforms to the FISA Court, the judicial body tasked with approving electronic surveillance applications made by the executive branch.
The proposed changes to the FISA Court address two problems that Alliance for Justice identified in a report, Justice in the Surveillance State, issued in August.
First, FISA Court judges – who are all federal district court judges, already nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate – are all selected by a single person, the Chief Justice of the United States. It should go without saying that such centralized, unchecked authority will diminish the diversity of viewpoints necessary to making fair and balanced decisions. Under Chief Justice Roberts, this selection process has led to a Court with ten judges first appointed to the bench by Republican presidents, and only one judge appointed by a Democratic president. The Review Group correctly recognized the danger inherent in this approach, explaining that,
[a]lthough the role of a judge is to follow the law and not to make political judgments, Republican-appointed and Democratic-appointed judges sometimes have divergent views, including on issues involving privacy, civil liberties, and claims of national security. There is therefore a legitimate reason for concern if, as is now the case, the judges on the FISA Court turn out to come disproportionately from either Republican or Democratic appointees.
The Review Group further noted that "[t]here are several ways to deal with this concern," and suggested that appointment authority be spread among the other Supreme Court justices.
The second problem is that the FISA Court only hears one side of every case. All proceedings before the FISA Court are ex parte, meaning that only the government – and neither the target of surveillance, nor the party asked to hand over information – is allowed to present argument. The Review Group expressed skepticism of any judicial process that abandons our long adherence to the adversarial system. "The adversary system," the report explains, "is an engine of truth. It is built on the assumption that judges are in a better position to find the right answer on questions of law and fact when they hear competing views."
This is true of the FISA Court now more than ever because its decision making authority has expanded in recent years. Rather than making narrow factual assessments to simply grant or deny surveillance applications, the FISA Court has been presented with complex issues of statutory and constitutional law. The Review Group highlights the NSA's bulk data collection as a primary example:
A good example is the question whether section 215 [of the PATRIOT Act] authorized the bulk telephony meta-data program. That question posed serious and difficult questions of statutory and constitutional interpretation about which reasonable lawyers and judges could certainly differ. On such a question, an adversary presentation of the competing arguments is likely to result in a better decision. Hearing only the government's side of the question leaves the judge without a researched and informed presentation of an opposing view.
The Review Group proposes the creation of a "Public Advocate" to represent the interests of those whose privacy rights might be at stake in FISA Court proceedings. The Advocate could be invited to participate by a FISA Court judge, or could appear on her own motion.
The Review Group report is an important step toward a better functioning FISA Court, one that affords fair process and better protects the privacy rights of all Americans. But many of the Review Group's recommendations are broad suggestions that leave for Congress and the President the job of implementing practical solutions. Currently, there are two bills pending in the House and Senate that would address the flaws in FISA Court raised by AFJ, the Review Group, and others. The FISA Court Reform Act of 2013 would create the Office of the Special Advocate to argue on behalf of privacy interests, and appeal decisions that favor the government. It would also mandate increased transparency and disclosures of FISA Court opinions. The FISA Judge Selection Reform Act would increase the number of FISA Court judges from 11 to 13, and spread the authority to select judges among the chief judges for our federal courts of appeals. Each of these bills has bipartisan support, and Congress should act on them quickly when it returns to work in January.
Of course, fixing the FISA Court is not sufficient to address all of the problems with the NSA's expansive surveillance programs, some of which, one federal judge recently observed, are "Orwellian" in nature. Legislators and the White House should also be working on comprehensive substantive reforms.
The momentum toward these changes, both to the FISA Court and more broadly, has been growing, and the findings of the independent Review Group should be a call to act now.


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Airplane mishap gives Arizona State coaches a scare
A day after defeating Washington State, Arizona State coach Todd Graham and son Bo Graham boarded a small plane for a recruiting trip to Dallas.
What happened next had one of them thinking, "Is this really going down?"
Besides the two pilots, the Arizona State coaches were the only two aboard the plane. By the time the plane reached 35,000 feet, Todd Graham had fallen asleep. Bo Graham, Arizona State's running backs coach, was almost asleep.
COACHES POLL:ASU break through at No. 24
BCS STANDINGS:FSU passes Oregon to No. 2
A "Boom!" startled them. The coaches recounted the incident:
Todd Graham: "I woke up and the pilots were putting on their (oxygen) masks. The plane started shaking."
Bo: "There were sirens going off. I saw the pilots put on their masks. It took a couple minutes for ours to come down. Actually, mine didn't fall down, so I had to go up front and get one."
Todd: "Then the plane started diving."
Bo: "I was kind of in denial. When you start off on the planes and they're giving you the whole 'When the mask falls down' speech, you never think it's going to happen. But when it did happen, I was thinking, 'Is this really going down? Right here?' I mean, come on. In the desert of New Mexico? There are a lot better places to take a fall."
BIG WEEK AHEAD:Expect chaos in the BCS race
GO FIGURE:Weird, wacky and wow from Week 10
Todd: "I'm not lying. I thought this might have been it. Bo looked like he was in shock."
Bo: "The pilots weren't saying anything. It was nerve-wracking, not to have any control over anything, not to know what was going on. It wasn't good."
The plane — which had lost cabin pressure — dropped to 10,000 feet and stabilized. The pilots did an emergency landing in Albuquerque. There, the coaches waited a few hours for another plane. Once it arrived, they continued their recruiting trip to Texas.
Still, the next day, they didn't feel right.
"I was trying to watch film and just couldn't focus," Todd Graham said.
"I had a migraine. I was almost asleep when this happened," Bo Graham said. "But after this, I couldn't sleep through the next night."
Both coaches said they felt fine at Sunday's practice. Todd Graham initially joked about the incident — "I thought, 'I'm not going to be able to coach this team in the Pac-12 championship game.' " — but later he said he was told the incident was similar to the one that took the life of pro golfer Payne Stewart.
"We're very lucky," Todd Graham said.
Doug Haller covers college sports for The Arizona Republic in Phoenix, a Gannett company.


text: I got my 2 spikors yesterday and one of them have eyes that goes all over the place. Luckily I bought 2 so the other one was okey. Not perfect though since one pupil was larger than the other. This seems like a common problem with this fig. Now if they expect us to buy their expensive sub issues like this shouldnt be acceptable! Not everyone is good at repainting figures


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Orrefors Glassworks, located in the Swedish province of Smaaland, was established in 1898. The company is still making glass for use on the table or as decorations. There is renewed interest in the glass made in the modern styles of the 1940s and 1950s and after. Orrefors Glassworks had its breakthrough at the 1925 Paris Exhibition, when one of its artists, Simon Gate, presented a glass goblet that won multiple awards and attracted attention. In 1990, the company merged with Kosta Boda and is still working as Orrefors. Most vases and decorative pieces are signed with the etched name Orrefors.
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BackupBuddy supports many Remote Destinations (or Off-site Destinations ) as transfer locations for backups. You may manually send backups to these remote destination locations or automatically have them sent with BackupBuddy's backup Scheduling feature.
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From the Remote Destinations tab, select a destination to add from the list. Click + Add New next to the remote destination of your choice.
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LOS ANGELES – Chandler Hoffman's three goals in a 20-minute span on Friday night powered the No. 16 UCLA Bruins past No. 6 UC Santa Barbara, 3-2, at Drake Stadium in a match-up labeled by one outlet as "The Game of the Year."
UCSB suffers its first defeat of the season, falling to 4-1-1. UCLA improves to 3-2-2.
Chandler Hoffman opened up his hat trick with a goal at 51:22 when he corralled a ball with his chest before sending a right-footed shot into the upper corner for the Bruins' first goal.
Knotted at 1-1, Hoffman struck again at 67:07 on the other end of a corner kick. Kelyn Rowe garnered the assist on both of Hoffman's first goals.
Yet again, Hoffman found the back of UCSB's net, scoring just over three minutes later after Victor Chavez lofted a ball over the Gaucho defense, allowing Hoffman to put it away.
Far from over, UCSB's Sam Garza buried a penalty kick conversion at 73:00 to cut the deficit to 3-2 and giving the Gauchos hope. Santa Barbara got on the board first at 34:43 when James Kiffe scored his first goal of the season when he converted Machael David's pass into a goal and a 1-0 Gaucho lead.
UCSB had eight of its 14 shots on frame, but the Bruins' Brian Rowe was game, making six saves.
Conversely, UCLA took 16 total shots, but only four were on goal. Hoffman converted three of those.
Keen at finding the back of the net, the three goals by Hoffman– his fifth, sixth and seventh of the year – counted as his 26th goal over his last 25 games, according to ESPN.com, the same outlet that labeled Friday's affair as "The Game of the Year."
Santa Barbara will surely have something to say about that. The Gauchos host a terrific home schedule that features defending national champ Akron on Oct. 5. For ticket information, click here, or call (805) 893-UCSB.
The Gauchos return home to host San Diego on Friday, Sept. 23 in a game that is part of UCSB's Faculty Free Fridays where all UCSB staff and faculty receive free admission to Gaucho athletic events.
That match will be broadcast live on AM 1290 and streaming live online through UCSBgauchos.com. Click here for a full list of our broadcasts.
And, speaking of broadcasts, Talk'n Gauchos returns to the airwaves on Tuesday, Sept. 20. UCSB Athletics' weekly radio show airs live from the Beachside Bar-Cafe from 6-7 p.m. on AM 1290 and also streaming live.
UCSB Athletics is also proud to support Hispanic Heritage Month, which takes place from Sept. 15-Oct. 15. Click here for more information.


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This question already has an answer here:
- Why do we have more male infants born? 2 answers
Question: From a physiological point of view, when sex is determined in a human fetus, is it equally likely to be male or female?
Studies in this area typically measure age at birth, where the data would have already been biased. There's a slight imbalance in the human sex ratio, in that there's an overall tendency towards males. However, this could be accounted for in numerous ways, such as abortion.
Fisher's principle suggests there would be an evolutionary tendency towards 50:50 chance.


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Saturday, March 10, 2012
30 Jays in 30 Days Off-Field Edition: Roast Beest
Photo credit: the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, who somehow made a photo of the most powerful person in the Blue Jays organization look like a yearbook shot of your high school physics teacher
Who: Paul McGill Beeston, President and CEO, Toronto Blue Jays
Nickname: "Beest", spawning such lovable and not-at-all-tiresome spinoffs as "Beestmode".
Key characteristics: Socklessness. Beeston told Morgan Campbell of the Toronto Star in 2010 that he picked up the habit of rarely wearing socks from Buffalo teenagers around with whom he used to hang as a youngster.
History: According to Wikipedia and other assorted folklore, Beeston was the very first employee of the Toronto Blue Jays in 1976, which makes me wonder if he just had to wander the halls to find the pisser that first day, since nobody else was around to tell him where it was. From 1991 to 1997, he had the same job he has now as President and CEO of the organization. He was President and CEO of Major League Baseball from 1997 to 2002, returning to the Jays fold six years later to re-assume his duties, initially in an interim capacity and then under the terms of a three-year contract signed in 2009.
What Does He Do?: I ask this question mostly rhetorically, because obviously, Beeston has a lot of influence over the operations of the team, including some influence over the on-field product itself. I don't know the inner workings of the Jays front office any better than you do (unless you happen to be Alex Anthopoulos or Paul Beeston and you're reading this for yourself. Hi fellas!) But I gather the President and CEO is the big swingin' dick in charge of the business side of running a major league baseball team. Marketing and promotions; ticket sales; merchandising; broadcasting agreements – all that stuff is in Beeston's bailiwick. In terms of putting the team together, he surely has some kind of role as well, whether it's playing an active part in contract negotiations or setting budgets for other parts of the baseball operation, like scouting or draft bonuses. All of which means Beeston matters to this organization.
Does He Do It Well?: Yes, I think so. When he was named interim President in 2008, it was under the pretense that his primary job would be to find a permanent replacement, Rogers Communications kept coming back to him as the best man for the job until he finally agreed (to the surprise of few). Beeston is pretty much universally loved by Jays fans for his work in helping to cement the team as an AL East Contender through the 80s and early 1990s, culminating in back-to-back World Series titles. He worked hand-in-glove with GM Pat Gillick, and there are shades of the same interpersonal dynamics at play between him and Anthopoulos today. If you like the general direction of the team, you probably like Beeston. If not, not.
Notable Screwups: Okay, maybe that overstates things, but Beeston has received plenty of grief over some musings he's made about the team's payroll potentially reaching a lofty $120 million. A certain segment of the fan base is now, shall we say, impatient for this. The past offseason was a veritable orgy of demands for this expensive acquisition or that, which I just relived in my own mind while typing this and now I'm having an aneurysm. Summing up: Beeston probably didn't need to say what he said. People probably didn't need to read as much into it as they did. Now everybody stop, m'kay? Let's have ice cream.
Looking Ahead: Beeston's contract is set to expire at the end of the 2012 season. There have been bits of speculation here and there about whether he'll be replaced, and by whom. At the "State of the Franchise" event earlier this year, when asked about whether his successor might be seated with him on the dugout, Beeston replied, "It's not my choice, but it's easy to recognize talent." This prompted Bob Elliott to ask whether Beeston was referring to Buck Martinez, which I think would be a fun choice, if only for the revenue possibilities that would exist as Rogers spun the whole scenario off as a sitcom.
2012 Expectations: Ummm… more of the same? Really, I think most of the heavy lifting that Beeston does is behind the scenes. If his face is front and centre during the course of the season, I expect it would be because something bad has happened. If the Jays continue to progress and inch closer to a playoff spot, it wouldn't surprise me to see Beeston asked to stay at least another year.
7 comments:
"The past offseason was a veritable orgy of demands for this expensive acquisition or that, which I just relived in my own mind while typing this and now I'm having an aneurysm."
i know right? all those dumb fans wanting the team to increase the payroll. what dopes! we real fans know that the current payroll is just right, and that having money to spend on A level free agents is a waste. I mean, look at AJ Bunett! Where did that get us! You're totally right -- it's better not to have payroll flexibility, that way you won't make bad signings.
LOL, Jays season ticket holders are so dumb.
- March 10, 2012 at 3:21 PM
Read somewhere he doesn't use email. Weird.
- March 10, 2012 at 4:24 PM
You're the worst kind of troll - the kind that propagates the pollution of idiocy amongst the casual fan. But you do it well. Bravo, troll!
- March 11, 2012 at 12:30 PM
I know that in the late 80s, The Blue Jays was considered such a great place for athletes to work that the Cowboys sent execs here to see how it was done. That kind of thing comes from the top. He also hired Gillick and AA, so he has a talent for finding the right man for the job.
The payroll remarks were mis-understood by fans. Beest has also stated that they want to be able to keep core players long term. If they keep this team together, and extend those that deserve it, the payroll will hit $120 million before we know it.
- March 12, 2012 at 10:38 AM
This man is a snake oil seller. Lies like a rug. Don't trust this guy. He's nothing but an accountant.
- March 13, 2012 at 10:45 AM
Beest has also stated that they want to be able to keep core players long term.
So long as our games are cool with never getting a contract offer longer than six years, of course. :(
- March 13, 2012 at 2:26 PM
Simply, the franchise...
- March 15, 2012 at 2:24 PM


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|we have just picked up 10 units of pvs7 b gen 3 for a spring special these goggles are usually $2995.00 witch on the special is now $2495.00 Generation: 3 U.S. (ITT) Resolution: 64 lp/mm (typical) Magnification: 1x Field of View: 40º Objective Lens: f/1.2 Eyepiece Lens: EFL 26 mm Diopter Adjustment: +2 to -6 Interpupillary Adjustment: 55 to 71mm Range of Focus: 20 cm to infinity Battery Type: Two (2) AA batteries Battery Life: 30 hrs @ room temp. Weight w/batteries: 24 oz / 680 grams Dimensions: 6 3/8"(L) x 6"(W) x 3"(H) Operating Temperature: -51° C to +52° C Weather Resistant Yes IR Illuminator Yes (built in) Warranty: Two (1) Year Standard Accessories Head Mount Assembly Allows for hands free operation. Accommodates users head size and eye positioning. Medium & Thick Brow Pads Changeable pads. Eye Cups - Prevents the emission of stray light or facial reflections. Soft Carrying Case Provides convenient storage. Day Light Filter Filters excessive light. Protects objective lens from the elements. Shoulder Strap Attaches to the PVS-7 carrying case for easy portability. Lens Paper Used to lightly clean the objective and eyepiece glass surfaces. Sacrificial Window - Shields the optics from sand, air particles, or anything that may scratch the lens. Demist Shields - Snaps onto the eyepiece to prevent condensation from forming on the optics. Operators Manual Instructional users guide. Batteries Two (2) AA. http://www.drbnightvision.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=1315&osCsid=4b2f174dd0b4b5b7fc9279171ae113fb Export Restrictions Warning: Export of U.S. manufactured night vision equipment is strictly prohibited without a valid export license issued by the U.S. Department of State Office of Defense Trade Controls, in accordance with International Traffic in Arms (ITAR), Title 22, Code of Federal Regulations Part 120-130. For further information contact the Office of Defense Trade Control @ (202) 663 2700. drb enterprises www.drbnightvision.com


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Ten days ago I attended my second Jamboree in Burbank. For four days (because I attended the writing seminar on Thursday) I listened to amazing speakers and learned so much. It's going to take me weeks to process all of the new ideas and techniques. There are many new techniques and suggestions to help break down those "brick walls". I also bought some DVDs and recordings of some sessions that I was unable to attend (a conflict with another great session), so hearing and watching those are going to take at least 15 hours of time.
I appreciate the time the speakers put in before they arrived in Burbank, with all of the effort getting their presentations ready. The speakers were also available before and after presentations to answer questions. However, this event would never have occurred if it wasn't for Leo Myers and Paula Hinkel for cochairing this event and the army of great volunteers who worked for hundreds of hours to make Jamboree possible. So, Thank you.
I was so busy attending sessions that I only spent a few hours in the Vendor Hall. But, oh, what hours!!! There was SOOO… much energy in there. There was a huge variety, I believe over 70, different exhibitors. And there were more genealogy books, new and used, than I could probably read in the next 10 years. It was great.
Jamboree is usually held in June. I hope to see you at the 2012 Jamboree. Of course, hopefully we'll have met through the blogs and we'll just be seeing each other for the first time.
Again, thank you SCGS members and friends for all of your efforts in providing this great opportunity for the genealogy community.


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Based on results of the Agreed-Upon Procedures Reports and Office of Inspector General Audits of Combined Federal Campaigns (CFC), we have noted several accounting areas that require guidance. This memo addresses those areas. The procedures outlined in this memo should be implemented during the 2008 campaign.
CFC regulation 5 CFR §950.901(i)(3) permits campaigns to issue one-time payments to organizations that received minimal donations and provides specific procedures for these payments. The Local Federal Coordinating Committee (LFCC) must determine and authorize the amount of the gross pledges the campaign is defining as a minimal donation. For example, an LFCC may determine one-time payments will be made to any organization that received gross pledges of $500 or less. In determining which organizations received minimal donations, the Principle Combined Fund Organization (PCFO) must add designated pledges plus undesignated pledges to arrive at the amount of gross pledges. Gross pledges will be reduced for estimated pledge loss and administrative expenses of the local campaign; however, the sum of the gross pledges determines whether a donation is minimal and subject to a one-time payment. If campaigns have been using a different method for determining the minimal donation amount for one-time payments, then they must correct their determinations starting with the 2008 campaign. The LFCC must document this decision in the minutes of the meeting at which it was determined.
Estimated pledge loss is the average of the actual shrinkage percentage for the three most recently completed campaigns. For the 2008 campaign, the actual shrinkage percentages from the 2005, 2006, and 2007 campaigns will be used to calculate estimated pledge loss.
For example:
Estimated Pledge Loss (Average Shrinkage) 120,000/850,000 = 0.1412 or 14.1%
If charity X received $450 in gross pledges for 2008, the estimated pledge loss would be calculated as follows:
Estimated Pledge Loss: $450.00 x 0.141 = $63.45
The organization's distribution is also reduced by its proportionate share of the estimated expense amount. (Please see the Administrative Expense Reimbursement section below for a definition of estimated expense amount). If charity X's proportionate share of the 2008 estimated expense amount is $25, the one-time payment is calculated as:
$450.00 - $63.45 - $25.00 = $361.55
A one-time payment distribution must be made with the first distribution for the campaign. If the campaign opts not to make one-time payments, all organizations with pledges must receive distributions in each quarterly or monthly distribution. Campaigns are not permitted to hold distributions until the amount reaches a pre-determined "minimum check" amount.
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CFC regulation 5 CFR §950.106(b) states, "The PCFO may only recover campaign expenses from receipts collected for that campaign year." Therefore, the expenses incurred for the audit of a campaign must be paid from funds from the campaign being audited. For example, in 2009 the fall 2007 campaign will be audited. The cost of this audit must be paid from funds for the 2007 campaign.
Because this cost is paid after the close of the campaign, the amount should be accrued and withheld from the last distribution. We encourage campaigns to negotiate a fixed cost agreement with the Independent Public Accountant (IPA) so that the actual amount can be known prior to the close of the campaign. If campaigns are unable to negotiate a fixed cost agreement, an estimated amount should be withheld based on prior experience and discussions with the auditor. Any differences between the final amount and the amount withheld should be handled in the following manner:
CFC regulation 5 CFR § 950.106(a) states, "The PCFO shall recover from the gross receipts of the campaign its expenses, approved by the LFCC, reflecting the actual costs of administering the local campaign." This approval of actual expenses by the LFCC is separate from the approval of budget expenses. The LFCC must review actual expenses, authorize full or partial reimbursement, and document this authorization in its meeting minutes.
Because actual expenses are not known until the end of the campaign, which is two years from the beginning of the campaign, LFCCs are encouraged to authorize reimbursement of an estimated expense amount from the first distribution for the campaign. This amount consists of actual expenses to-date and any estimated future expenses (e.g., awards ceremony costs). Prior to the final distribution for the campaign, the PCFO must provide the LFCC with documentation of the actual expenses for approval. The estimated expense amount charged in the first distribution will be adjusted for actual expenses with the final distribution. This adjustment may only be made to distributions for organizations receiving quarterly or monthly payments. No adjustments may be made for organizations that received one-time payments.
The following procedures must be implemented by campaigns for expense reimbursement:
If campaigns have any questions, please contact your OPM Regional Representative at 202/606-2564 or email@example.com.


text:
"I told (manager Lou Piniella) I was worried — I've never been 0-for-6 before," Ramirez said. "I had to do something. I was thinking about bunting."
Luckily for the Cubs, Ramirez was only kidding. He ended a very long afternoon 1-for-6 but with a home run that gave the Cubs a 7-5 victory in 11 innings over the Cardinals on Saturday.
As thanks for the victory, and for finishing a 3-hour-50-minute marathon, Ramirez's teammates mobbed him at home plate and pounded his helmet.
"It's fun. You don't mind being pounded," he said. "We just beat a first-place team, and we're tied for first."
Indeed they are, tied with the Cardinals after a pair of victories coming from Ramirez and Alfonso Soriano in last-at-bat home runs.
When it comes to pure entertainment, it's hard to top the 91/2 hours the Cubs and Cardinals have provided the last three days at Wrigley Field. And there is a still the nationally televised Sunday night game to go.
Well, maybe "pure" isn't exactly the way to describe what has happened here. "Exciting" might be better.
Fans have been treated to 1,037 pitches from 30 pitchers. They have watched 56 hits, including 10 home runs, and 31 walks produce 38 runs. And they have watched 44 batters strike out.
Saturday ended with the sixth Cardinal pitcher, Dennys Reyes, taking the loss and the sixth Cubs pitcher, Angel Guzman, getting the victory, his first in the majors in his 40th appearance.
"I was looking for a bottle of champagne," Piniella said.
Guzman pitched a scoreless 11th. In fact, the bullpen threw five innings in relief of Ryan Dempster and allowed one run. That came off Carlos Marmol, who allowed back-to-back doubles to start his second inning of work.
Marmol, who saved Friday's game, didn't make it through that eighth inning. Closer Kevin Gregg had to work through that inning and one more, retiring six straight batters. Aaron Heilman also threw a scoreless inning before Guzman.
"I had to use my bullpen in an unconventional way," Piniella said. "I don't want to do that too often."
In the 11th, Soriano led off with a walk, but Kosuke Fukudome forced him at second on a failed sacrifice. After Lee flied out, Ramirez came to bat.
"History tells you he'll get the job done," said Ryan Theriot, who had three hits.
History also says the Cubs and Cardinals have a way of putting on shows, even when they aren't battling for first.
"Wins now count the same as in September," Ramirez said. "So you might as well go ahead and get them now."


text:
- Features
- News
- Arts
- Life
- Community
- Nightlife
- Scene
- Social
Matt Bamford will always remember his friend Aaron Jerel "A.J." Williams smiling.
"There was just something about his smile," Bamford recalls. "A.J. wasn't the type of guy you'd notice at first, but when you did, you were drawn to him. He was so genuinely full of life. He was very enthusiastic about life, and happy."
That same zest for life was apparent when Williams, when appearing as a Metro Weekly Coverboy in February, chose to share his life philosophy, telling readers: "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift. That's why they call it the present."
A.J. Williams
Three months later, during the early morning hours of June 6, Williams's life was cut short after his car crashed into a tree and a brick wall close to the intersection of University Boulevard West and Dennis Avenue in Silver Spring.
According to Montgomery Community Media, Montgomery County Police say that Williams, who was driving, lost control of his car going around a curve past Dennis Avenue, injuring both Williams and a passenger. Williams was transported to Washington MedStar Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. The passenger was hospitalized with serious injuries.
Bamford, a former Washingtonian who moved to North Carolina but kept in touch with Williams, says that Williams, who most recently worked as a bartender at Remington's and previously at Ziegfeld's/Secrets and the Fireplace, was in the process of trying to start a modeling career.
Because Williams did not have life insurance, and his family cannot fully afford the funeral expenses, Bamford says several of Williams's close friends and former colleagues have planned a fundraiser in memory of the quirky and fun-loving bartender.
"When I first met A.J., he didn't even work for the club, but he'd pick up empty glasses unasked," Ziegfeld's/Secrets bartender Russell Schuerch says of his former co-worker. "He was always hugging people, saying hi, making them feel appreciated."
Schuerch and Bamford quickly put together a Facebook page announcing an event at Ziegfeld's/Secrets on Friday, June 14, at 10 p.m.
According to Schuerch, who will be working at the Secrets upstairs VIP "shower" bar, he will be collecting money on Friday and Saturday nights and donating 100 percent of his tips to a fund to defray the costs of Williams's funeral expenses.
"We just want to do the best for his family," Schuerch says.
Those wanting to support the fundraising effort may donate to the Aaron Jerel Williams Memorial Fund, which was set up by Williams's relatives. The fund's organizers hope to raise $13,000 to pay for final arrangements. That fund can be accessed online at youcaring.com and entering the search term: "Aaron Jerel Williams."
As of press time Friday morning, nearly $6,300 had been raised.
Williams's boyfriend, Walter Somarriba, will also be working at Secrets this weekend while Schuerch collects tips for Williams's funeral expenses.
"I first saw him at the Metro at Fort Totten," Somarriba says of Williams. "I saw him out of the corner of my eye, wearing a leather armband and a tank top."
While riding on the Red Line, Somarriba says the train stopped between the Brookland and Rhode Island Avenue stops. During the delay, Williams caught his eye, winked at him, and after Somarriba winked back, Williams eventually moved to sit next to him.
"He asked me very direct questions," Somarriba recalls. "Was I gay or straight? How old was I?"
Soon after, the couple had their first date at the Mall at Prince Georges. June 24 would have marked their one-year anniversary as a couple.
Somarriba says he'll always remember Williams as the boyfriend who helped him grow up and become a more responsible, even helping him get his first job at Secrets.
"I knew he always loved me," Somarriba says. "He taught me how to care for myself. I do miss his smile, though. I'd often look over and see him smiling, and I'd always ask why. He'd say to me, 'Can't I smile at you? Can't I smile at the one I love?' He was a very sweet guy."


text:
U.S. Prepares for Operation to Aid Pakistan
By Senior Airman J.G. Buzanowski, USAF
Special to American Forces Press Service
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Oct. 6, 2006 - A joint team of airmen and soldiers is in Pakistan preparing for Operation Promise Keeping, a follow-up mission to aid the people in remote northern parts of the country devastated by an earthquake last year.
A magnitude 7.6 earthquake centered roughly 60 miles northeast from here struck Oct. 8, leaving more than 73,000 people dead, 128,000 injured and 3.4 million homeless.
Two days later, a coalition of nations formed Operation Lifeline, providing food, water, shelter and medical care until the operation's conclusion in March.
Operation Promise Keeping picks up where Lifeline left off, officials said, bringing rebuilding supplies to the people as they prepare for the winter near the Himalaya Mountains. According to a release from the U.S. Embassy here, the United States has pledged $206 million in earthquake reconstruction assistance to Pakistan over the next four years.
On Oct. 3, almost a year after the earthquake, Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft began bringing supplies to Islamabad International Airport. Army CH-47 Chinook helicopters are set to deliver the materials, including more than 10,000 sheets of corrugated iron for homes in the Allai and Kaghan valleys.
Several members of the Chinook air and maintenance crews were here for Operation Lifeline, bringing their efforts for Promise Keeping full circle, according to Chinook pilot Army Warrant Officer John Roberts, a reservist deployed from Fort Lewis, Wash.
"We're back, and we're here to help," he said. "We're here to show the Pakistanis that America has not abandoned them and is still their friend."
Last year, the people in the earthquake-affected areas came to refer to the Chinook crews as "angels of mercy" because of the quick and efficient response they provided, he said.
"Pakistan is one of the most important partners in the global war on terrorism, especially in Operation Enduring Freedom," said Roberts. "Taliban and other fighters are all over the mountains on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
"When the Pakistanis see that America is an ally and we help them when they're in need, then the Taliban has no place to go," he said. "You sure don't see the Taliban helping people in northern Pakistan."
(Air Force Senior Airman J.G. Buzanowski is assigned to Combined Joint Task Force 76 public affairs.)
[Web Version: http://www.defenselink.mil/News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=1484]


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A survivor named Miley will lead Mutt March, Jacksonville Humane Society's fundraiser walk at the Jacksonville Landing from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. March 2.
Miley collapsed and nearly died of respiratory distress from a walk at the JHS. JHS set a goal of raising $100,000 to care for shelter pets at the Mutt March.
"Miley is the perfect dog to represent JHS at Mutt March. She and so many others like her have overcome medical obstacles to bring great joy to their adoptive families. That wouldn't be possible without the funds raised at Mutt March," said Denise Deisler, JHS executive director, according to a press release from the JHS. "We are depending on Mutt March to raise enough money to care for the thousands of pets who rely on JHS for medical care and shelter each year."
The 2-mile Mutt March fun walk and festival will have entertainment, activities for kids and pets, a silent auction and vendors with walking along St. Johns River.
Last year's top fundraiser, JHS board member Lis'e Everly will walk Miley and lead hundreds of other dogs and their families in Mutt March.
"I am walking with Miley in the Mutt March to ensure JHS has the funds needed to care for all of the pets waiting for families with which to share their love," Everly said. "Dogs like Miley stand by us offering us unconditional love, greeting us with enthusiasm and making us smile through the saddest of tears."
To register for Mutt March, visit jaxhumane.org/muttmarch.


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CC's Rau, Bachman denied Hobey
WOW! Even DU coach George Gwozdecky and junior defenseman Chris Butler didn't like the top-10 Hobey Baker Award announcement today. Something is very wrong when the two best players from America's top league aren't up for national player of the year.
I'm in St. Paul, watching the WCHA Final Five play-in game between Minny and SCSU, and I still can't get over how CC didn't get Chad Rau or Richard Bachman on the Hobey list. I talked to both those guys after the announcement, plus CC coach Scott Owens and the Pioneers.
Said Bachman: "Being a freshman, and a goalie, you kind of know that the odds are against you. But there's 10 great players on there, and they've had great seasons, so you can't take that away from them . . . Gives me more incentive next year to keep on pushing, keep getting better. You want to win those things. You want to be on those lists. When you're not, it gives you an extra push, to kind of prove them wrong."
Said Rau: "This year, the focus has been all about the team. You see that in the way we play. That's the whole focus . . . I'm more surprised (Bachman) didn't get it. He's been the reason we've been so successful."
Said Owens: "I don't know if we just don't have enough exposure on the national scene, or scene enough to know what's going on. I don't know. I don't know how to explain it."
I filed the following for Friday's paper:
Rau (WCHA-high 27 goals) and Bachman (NCAA-best .935 saves percentage) were named all-WCHA first team, with Rau collecting the most overall votes and Bachman capturing player-of-the-year honors.
But neither was named one of 10 national player-of-the-year finalists on a list that included three other WCHA players.
"Two of the best players in the best conference, and they don't get in?" said Butler, who was named all-WCHA second team. "I played against both, and they're pretty special players. Probably disappointing for them, and for our league."
Bachman was considered a legitimate candidate to become the second freshman to win the Hobey as a freshman. Paul Kariya did it in 1993 in his only season at Maine.
The top 10 finalists are complied by voting from each coach in all six leagues. DU coach George Gwozdecky said Rau and Bachman were gypped.
"The only thing I can think of (about Bachman) is, nationally he wasn't given consideration by some coaches outside our league because he was a freshman," Gwozdecky said. "Chad Rau, it's a crime that he's not a candidate. Those two not being included in the top 10, I just can't understand it."


text:
Welcome back to the bar.
We're so close to baseball season, I can almost taste the $8 beers.
By the way, we don't charge more than $4 per watered-down fake brew in here. I'm not counting the cover out front, though; can't do much about that.
Anyway, I'm putting together some spring training preview stories, and obviously, one of the most intriguing things about this Orioles camp is that no one -- including executive vice president Dan Duquette and manager Buck Showalter -- knows exactly how this roster is going to shake out.
The most wide-open battle is for the most important spots -- the rotation. We all know the Orioles had the worst ERA in baseball last year. And it is possible that the starting five in April could be made up of guys who weren't with the team this time last year.
My guess is that Wei-Yin Chen and Jason Hammel, who were offseason additions, and Tommy Hunter, who was acquired last July, will take up three of the five spots in April. I would assume that Zach Britton and Jake Arrieta, if healthy, would be strongly in the mix.
But there are plenty of other candidates: Tsuyoshi Wada, Dana Eveland, Brian Matusz, Chris Tillman, Armando Galarraga, Alfredo Simon, Brad Bergesen.
And I'm not even dusting off the Jim-Johnson-to-the-rotation rumor.
So here's what I want you to do: Give me who you think will be the Orioles' starting five when they break camp. You can order them if you like.
Here's my off-the-wall guess: Opening Day, Hunter; 2. Chen; 3. Hammel; 4. Britton; 5. Wada.
I think Matusz will be sent to the minors, no matter the spring he has, to dominate at Triple-A Norfolk with the hope that he takes it in stride and is soon ready to be the Matusz of late 2010.
I assume Arrieta likely makes the Orioles' initial rotation on talent and mindset combined. But considering he is coming off elbow surgery and has minor league options remaining, I wouldn't be surprised if he starts in Norfolk and builds his arm strength there. That's what I am going with here.
Before you hammer me for pure speculation, you're right. This is speculation with just a twist of insight. But, hey, it is still February.
Now come over to the bar, grab the darts and start throwing at your own rotation.
Daily Think Special:
Predict the Orioles' starting rotation for early April


text: An illustrated look inside. Srdjan Zivulovic/Reuters May 17, 2017 Why banning laptops from airplane cabins doesn't make sense Cassandra Burke Robertson, Case Western Reserve University and Irina D. Manta, Hofstra University The U.S. is considering expanding a ban it imposed in March on several Middle Eastern countries to all flights from Europe. A close look suggests the meager benefits just aren't worth the high costs.


text:
Danica Kragic
Croatian-born Danica Kragic is a Professor at the School of Computer Science and Communication at Stockholm's Royal Institute of Technology, KTH. She is the Director of the Centre for Autonomous Systems and her research is in the area of robotics, computer vision and machine learning. Kragic has been a visiting researcher at both Columbia University and Johns Hopkins University in the U.S.
As for hobbies, Kragic calls herself a "sewing junky"!
Danica says:
"We have big changes in terms of the development of machines that are faster, execute faster, compute faster, but we also have the ability to store knowledge and to use knowledge in a different way than we could do back in the 60s.
The sensors are also developing. We can sense and measure different properties of the environment in a better way. We can draw parallels with the gaming industry. We have devices that are interactive and can track our bodies so we can be a more integral part of the game.
Re: autonomy
You don't necessarily know yet what potential problems will be occurring since we don't have these types of very complex robots deployed in homes. The right way of starting is starting to deploy robots in industrial settings. The dynamics of the environment are very limited. We need to look into what is the human factor? This non-trained user interacting with this very advanced robot. What are the expectations?
It will be very much the question, how autonomous will they be? The standardisation issue there is very important. How do we standardize borders and allow them to learn? But also how do we assess them? Lots of things are happening in that area of software verification.
I would say robot trends are the following: Asia is into entertainment robots and Europe is into function robots and U.S. is into lots of military robots.
I hope this will be the workplace of the future, people working closely with robots there as a third or fourth hand. "
Watch the video on the main Let's Talk Smart Robotics page where Danica Kragic was a guest speaker.


text: (We've moved the conference this year to the a club in Leicester Square in the heart of London and SoHo. We'll be putting speakers up across the square at the Radisson Edwardian Hampshire, but there are lots of hotels in the region there in the center of London for those who want to attend (the venue is physically on top of a tube station on Circle line so easy to get to). Registration is now open and we hope to have the Dojo registrations on-line by this weekend. The conference is on Wednesday/Thursday, which leaves Friday to fly to Berlin for those going to ph-n. cheers, --dr) EUSecWest CALL FOR PAPERS LONDON, U.K. -- The second annual EUSecWest applied technical security conference - where the eminent figures in the international security industry will get together share best practices and technology - will be held in downtown London at the Sound club in Leicester Square on May 21/22 2008. The most significant new discoveries about computer network hack attacks and defenses, commercial security solutions, and pragmatic real world security experience will be presented in a series of informative tutorials. The EUSecWest meeting provides international researchers a relaxed, comfortable environment to learn from informative tutorials on key developments in security technology, and collaborate and socialize with their peers in one of the world's most central cities. The EUSecWest conference will also feature the availability of the Security Masters Dojo expert network security sensei instructors, and their advanced, and intermediate, hands-on training courses - featuring small class sizes and practical application excercises to maximize information transfer. We would like to announce the opportunity to submit papers, lightning talk proposals for selection by the EUSecWest technical review committee. Please make your paper proposal submissions before April 14th, 2008. Some invited papers have been confirmed, but a limited number of speaking slots are still available. The conference is responsible for travel and accomodations for the speakers. If you have a proposal for a tutorial session then please email a synopsis of the material and your biography, papers and, speaking background to secwest08 [at] eusecwest.com . Only slides will be needed for the May paper deadline, full text does not have to be submitted - but will be accepted if available. The EUSecWest 2008 conference consists of tutorials on technical details about current issues, innovative techniques and best practices in the information security realm. The audiences are a multi-national mix of professionals involved on a daily basis with security work: security product vendors, programmers, security officers, and network administrators. We give preference to technical details and new education for a technical audience. The conference itself is a single track series of presentations in a lecture theater environment. The presentations offer speakers the opportunity to showcase on-going research and collaborate with peers while educating and highlighting advancements in security products and techniques. The focus is on innovation, tutorials, and education instead of product pitches. Some commercial content is tolerated, but it needs to be backed up by a technical presenter - either giving a valuable tutorial and best practices instruction or detailing significant new technology in the products. Paper proposals should consist of the following information: 1. Presenter, and geographical location (country of origin/passport) and contact info (e-mail, postal address, phone, fax). 2. Employer and/or affiliations. 3. Brief biography, list of publications and papers. 4. Any significant presentation and educational experience/background. 5. Topic synopsis, Proposed paper title, and a one paragraph description. 6. Reason why this material is innovative or significant or an important tutorial. 7. Optionally, any samples of prepared material or outlines ready. 8. Will you have full text available or only slides? 9. Please list any other publications or conferences where this material has been or will be published/submitted. Please include the plain text version of this information in your email as well as any file, pdf, sxw, ppt, or html attachments. Please forward the above information to secwest08 [at] eusecwest.com to be considered for placement on the speaker roster, have your lightning talk scheduled. -- World Security Pros. Cutting Edge Training, Tools, and Techniques London, U.K. May 21/22 - 2008 http://eusecwest.com pgpkey http://dragos.com/ kyxpgp


text:
Battle of the Somme commemorated across the UKAdd to Lightbox
Aberystwyth Wales UK, Friday 01 July 2016
Young men dressed in entirely accurate First World War uniforms on the streets and open spaces of Aberystwyth Wales as part of a UK-wide project to commemorate the Battle of the Somme, which started on this day exactly 100 years ago.
Across the country some 2000 men are appearing in silent tableau on the streets of towns and villages, handing out cards to members of the public with the name and regiment of the soldier they represented , and where known , the age of the soldier when he died on 1 July 2016
Commissioned by 14-18 NOW, the UK's arts programme for the First World War centenary, the work was conceived and created by Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller in collaboration with Rufus Norris, Director of the National Theatre.
- Filename
- WeAreHere_Aber_km127.jpg
- Copyright
- ©keith morris 2016 email@example.com
- Image Size
- 1000x666 / 106.2KB
- Contained in galleries
- We Are Here: The Centenary of the Battle of the Somme


text:
Information Management Specialist
- Employer
- USAJobs
- Location
- Washington D.C.
- Posted
- May 21, 2019
- Closes
- May 21, 2019
- Function
- Management
- Industry
- Government and Public Services, Federal
- Career Level
- Experienced (Non-Manager)
- Hours
- Full Time
Relocation expenses reimbursed No
Please ensure you meet the qualification requirements described below.
The qualification requirements listed below must be met within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.
You qualify for this position at the GS-11 level (starting salary $69,581) if you possess the following: One full year of specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-09 level, that demonstrates: 1) Coordinating and disseminating information related to environmental and historic preservation laws/requirements; AND 2) Preparing and issuing instructions for the generation, completion and distribution of reports according to practice and procedures.
Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g. Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills, and provides valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
NOTE: Qualifications are based on breadth/level of experience. In addition to describing duties performed, applicants must provide the exact dates of each period of employment (from MM/YY to MM/YY) and the number of hours worked per week if part time. As qualification determinations cannot be made when resumes do not include the required information, failure to provide this information may result in disqualification. Applicants are encouraged to use the USAJOBS Resume Builder to develop their federal resume. For a brief video on How to Create a Federal Resume, click here.
Current or former FEMA Reservists/DAE employees: To accurately credit your experience for these intermittent positions, make sure to list the dates (from MM/YY to MM/YY) of each deployment, along with the job title and specific duties you were responsible for during each deployment. Failure to provide this information may result in disqualification.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.
- To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo, successfully pass, and maintain a background investigation for Public Trust clearance as a condition of placement into this position. This may include a credit check after initial job qualifications are determined (Mythbuster), review of financial issues, such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs. For more information on background investigations for Federal jobs please visit the OPM website at https://www.opm.gov/investigations/background-investigations/.
- If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment.
- DHS uses E-verify, an internet based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities.
- This announcement may be used to fill one or more vacancies.
- All candidates must be able to deploy with little or no advance notice to anywhere in the United States and its territories for an extended period of time.
- A one year probationary period is required for new Federal competitive service employees and new supervisors and managers.
- If selected for this position, and you have not previously completed these requirements, you are subject to (1) completion of a 2 day onboarding program at your primary duty location; and, (2) completion of a subsequent, multiple day orientation program within 90-120 days of hire at a location to be determined. Travel associated with the orientation portion of this requirement may be at FEMA's expense.
- The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR § 213.3102(u), and/or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR § 315.707. Veterans, Peace Corps/VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.
- This is a Bargaining Unit position.
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
We will review your resume and supporting documentation to ensure you meet the minimum qualification requirements. If you meet the minimum qualifications, we will use your responses to the job questionnaire to place you in one of three categories based on your experience, education and training. The competencies needed to perform this job are:
- Technical Proficiency
- Communication
- Customer Service
- Representing the Agency
- Teamwork and Cooperation
If you meet the minimum qualifications, you will be placed in one of the following categories:
- Best Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate high proficiency in all of the critical competencies, including all Selective Placement Factors (SPF) and appropriate Quality Ranking Factors (QRF) as determined by the job analysis.
- Well Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrates acceptable proficiency in all of the critical competencies, including all SPFs and appropriate QRFs as determined by the job analysis.
- Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate basic proficiency in most of the critical competencies, including all SPFs and appropriate QRFs as determined by the job analysis.
If you are best qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for consideration and may be called for an interview.
Veterans: Qualified veterans who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10% are listed in the best-qualified category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level, or higher. This position is not considered scientific/professional. Other 10-point preference eligibles and veterans with 5-point preference who meet the eligibility and qualification requirements are placed above non-preference eligibles within the category in which they qualify. View information on veterans' preference.
Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) Eligibles: If you have never worked for the federal government, you are not ICTAP eligible. View information about ICTAP eligibility on OPM's Career Transition Resources website. To be considered eligible under ICTAP, you must be placed in the "well-qualified" category for this position, as described above. In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed under the required documents section of this announcement.
Interview Requirement: Interviews are required for this position. Failure to complete the interview may result in removal from consideration.
To preview questions please click here. Read more Security clearance Other Drug test required No
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