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Plum Crushed Velvet
This past week I've been so busy I haven't had the time to really do fashion week but I managed to make it to Lincoln Center today. It feels like forever since I've done fashion week. I didn't really prepare for NYFW like I always do because I've been putting all my energy into creating designs myself. My favorite items to wear in general AND to fashion week are dresses. Tomorrow I should be wearing a super cute one I found at PartyDQ.com. Next weekend I'll be leaving to Canada to shoot lingerie with Addition Elle. Believe it or not, this will be my first time officially leaving the country. Weird right? Getting my passport was probably the most difficult thing. Such a process. Have a fun fashion week everyone!
wearing: crushed velvet vintage dress; vintage pearl earrings; SimplyBe faux fur stole
20 comments
You look BEAUTIFUL, Nad!! So classy!ReplyDelete
Me encanta seguir este blog. Tengo muchas clientas talla grande por lo que me dan ideas interesantes.ReplyDelete
Love the whole look! StunningReplyDelete
Lovely look! <3ReplyDelete
The color of the dress is amazing!
Kisses from Poland! <3
- Sue WilliamsFebruary 10, 2013 at 10:39 AM
Very attractive. Color especially nice.ReplyDelete
Absolute fabulous dress, you look like a James Bond girl... Wow! :-)ReplyDelete
You have such gorgeous old Hollywood glamour in this look. Stunning. xoReplyDelete
you are so amazing and inspiring. i'm so pleased that i've found your blog. you're just SO appealing, sexy, dreamy!ReplyDelete
I love this dress, you look gorgeous! <3ReplyDelete
- Kay BeyFebruary 13, 2013 at 9:59 PM
Hey Nadia! Love you much girl! Uber excited you have a new website! You look luvly as always. I have a question..how do you respond when "well intentioned" older women tell you that "you dress is too tight or your skirt is too short?"ReplyDelete
So super dress. You look so lovely.ReplyDelete
your are such so pretty...........ReplyDelete
- MelissafffFebruary 23, 2013 at 8:45 PM
Gorge dollReplyDelete
does anyone know which lipstick is it?! absolutely gorgeousReplyDelete
Where can you buy this dress, or anything simillar? It would make my day to know and I need a dress like this for a speacial occasion coming up.ReplyDelete
I love the way you combined the denim shirt and lace skirt. It creates an illusion that it is a dress. Cool.ReplyDelete
My 13 year old Jessi is inspired by you and your look. She wants to be a minni Nadia. Thanks for keeping it real . Jessi says Hi and keep the pics coming.ReplyDelete
You look stunning. That vintage dress is amazing!ReplyDelete
Luuuuuuv the second pic. (profile)ReplyDelete
Nadia, you have got the best smile i ever seen in my life. Keep smiling Nadia, the light come to earth when it sees your charming smile.ReplyDelete


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It's empty in here!
My bunny loved this once I broke it up for her. In cage, she was throwing it around to try and break it. She even put it in her water to soften it like she does with other things, but no joy.
My 5 month old dwarf rabbit went straight for this once I put it in her cage, which she is out of most of the time. It fits nicely to the wire. She is an indoor rabbit and has a plastic and wire cage to sleep, eat and toilet (in her litter tray), has she is out of the cage when I am around, which is most of the time. Would recommend and I will continue to purchase every time she needs one.

subset: commoncrawl


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It all started with a thumbs up on Facebook. With one click on a tiny finger, people are able to show appreciation for anyone's content. Furthermore, you can show your social media friends the content you are interested in. It needs one button to show the world what you LIKE!
Since then, a lot of social media channels have adapted the like-function in different ways. Several channels like Instagram, Twitter or Pinterest provide a heart shaped button to let users "like" the shared content. Depending on the social media platform you use, you even automatically subscribe to a profile when using the like button. Likes are precious as they provide information about a person's personality and character traits.
What are Like Tools?
Like tools are bots that automatically like other accounts and their content based on preset preferences. It's a common method people use to grow their like rate organically.
According to the Trait Prediction Engine of University of Cambridge's Psychometrics Centre, it just takes 150 likes to compile computer-based judgments of someone's personality traits who are as accurate as those judgments made by a family member.
Like Tools for Increasing a Channel's Exposure
More important than knowing how much information is revealed by liking content on social media platforms, is knowing how to gain likes for your content. Likes are understood as a value to define an account's popularity. Think about it: People automatically tend to classify a post as reliable and positive if a large majority of users has already liked the content. Getting a lot of likes makes a channel appear more popular, reliable and, with that, more attractive to users who come across the channel by accident. Thus, gaining an extensive amount of likes for an influencer's content is highly desirable regarding his or her prestige and also for gaining new followers.
There are a lot of strategies to boost the likes on posts. A common method people use to grow their like rate organically is applying like tools such as Mass Planner, FollowLiker, Instagress, Likestagram or RoboLike. These tools automatically like other accounts and their content for you based on preferences you set. The idea of like tools is straightforward: By liking other user's content on a regular basis, these users are being made aware of your channel and might follow you or at least like back some of your posts. It is simply a computer generated getting for giving.
The Benefits of Having a Like Robot
The automatic support of like tools helps users to engage with other accounts without being active constantly. One of the benefits of like tools is that they save a lot of time by doing the work that would take forever to do manually. Regarding Instagram, like tools generally ask for a presetting of hashtags. The tool will only like pictures that used those hashtags in the caption. In that way, the content liked by the tool is more likely to match one's own channel and interest. Furthermore, these tools allow determining the number of likes per hour as well a certain time span in which the tool is active.
Why are these settings so important? When using these tools, the motto "the more, the merrier" does not apply. If the tool runs 24/7, chances are that the channel will be blocked by the social media platform. Liking content constantly is not the natural behavior of users, so Facebook, Instagram and the like might classify accounts that use like tools too extensively as bots. Moreover, some like tools provide further options to personalize the like automation for attracting users within a certain area and identifying those users who show interest regarding certain topics and brands.
With the right settings, the tool automatically likes every content piece that meets the previously determined requirements. For drawing traffic to one's own account, the tool can be told to like posts of the followers of certain channels that have similar content to one's own channel. Additionally, it can be set up to like the content of people from a specific location or within a certain distance of that location. These settings are essential to target those people interested in a certain topic.
If you are further interested in the impacts of like tools, take a look at our blog posts on our Operation Instafamous.
Too Good to be True? Organic Likes vs. Bot Likes
Having a tool like content in hopes of creating awareness of one's own account is one strategy to gain likes and traffic for a channel. But likes can also be bought. Several providers such as Likeskaufen or Buzzoid offer likes for different social media channels and from different nationalities for low prices.
Example of pricing model for Instagram Likes on Buzzoid
For influencers and companies just starting their social media channels, buying likes in the beginning can be one way to increase their followings more quickly. As mentioned before, people tend to engage with channels more willingly that have been tried and tested already by other users in the form of likes and comments. For channels just starting, it can be hard to gain likes and followers and to drive traffic to the channel, especially due to the massive information overload buzzing in web 2.0. If a channel starts off with some extra support in the form of purchased likes, it might be easier to attract organic likes afterwards. This might not be the case for every channel, though, as our Operation Instafamous revealed. And keep in mind: Purchased likes do not come from authentic fans of a channel and are not a solution in the long run.
The Takeaway
Like tools are not the devil's work and will most likely not cause the influencer marketing universe to collapse. Nonetheless, companies and brands that work with influencers should be aware of the presence of these tools. Especially since the launch of Instagram's new algorithm in 2016, influencers try to win out over the platform's new way of displaying posts. Due to the new emphasis on posts of users closely connected, content does not appear in feeds chronologically any longer but does so based on factors like the connection of channels and interaction rate. The more people like a post, the more likely it is for this posting to appear on the explore page. But for influencer cooperations, the procedure of buying likes and using like tools entails risks: Purchased likes are generated by bots in the first place and do not come from honest, authentic and active users.
Furthermore, purchased likes distort the actual performance of a posting. Thus, a posting in which purchased likes are involved can seem to have attracted hundreds of people while in reality, it only attracted a handful of them. Even though fake likes might attract organic likes in the long run, marketers should analyze influencer channels closely to distinguish the amount of fake likes from organic likes and, thus, assess how valuable the influencer is for a collaboration.


text: On Thu, 2008-04-24 at 17:06 -0700, Wong, Danny H. wrote: > Thanks for your comments. Do you have a perl example on how it can be > done? I've read comments like yours on the websites, but don't have a > concrete example. I'm trying to figure out how to implement a copy > function with work crew thread model. I'm learning how to use the > power > of threads and of course using it correctly... Honestly I've not worked in perl threads in a long time. I got started and ran into so many obstacles learning about interpreter threads vs <flamebait>real threads</flamebait> that I gave up. I'm hoping that Parrot may do <flamebait>the right thing(tm)</flamebait> and implement some real threads. Here is a ROUGH simple example use Net::Ping; use threads; sub worker { my $target = shift; while(1) { my $p = Net::Ping->new(); my $r = $p->ping($target, 5); if($r == 0) { print "$target:DOWN\n"; } else { print "$target:UP\n"; } $p->close(); } } # main program pipe R,W; for(my $x = 1; $x <= 10; $x++) { threads->create("worker", "192.168.7.$x"); } while(<R>) { print "$_"; } I use pipes (IPC) for the workers to talk back to the manager. You can replace thread with fork and still use this method. The program is not smart enough to track changes in state, etc. That logic can go in the workers or the manager. ChrisThread Previous | Thread Next


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Thank you folks for your thoughts.
Type: Posts; User: Elswiccm
Thank you folks for your thoughts.
This is my first year as a beek in WV. I started with two packages in late April and the ladies have done well. I'd like to add a couple packages next year. this year I ordered through the local club...


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Tuesday, June 21, 2011
OBSESSED...those damn yellow lamps!
7 comments:
OMG. Freakin love these too...only 4 left...in the whole world?! That is ridic!!ReplyDelete
Maybe someone will make an awesome new lamp 'inspired by' those...at like Ikea or something! ha
Though just thinking...i would defo pay that for an awesome lamp such as that. If only that was my local store...ReplyDelete
Love them!! My husband would kill me if I paid that for a lamp, but man are they gorgeous!! Anything Rachel Zoe has I always want:)ReplyDelete
They are divine! There is a store in NJ around the corner from us called, Homeslice. They sell them there(only one left right now), but agreed that my husband would never go for the price! : )ReplyDelete
Love them! Great find.ReplyDelete
Ooo la la, that lamp is pretty amazing!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousNovember 5, 2011 at 9:56 PM
I just bought a knock off for $125, there is no information on who actually made them..I am going to see if I can order a second one to match. If I can, I will post the store info so you can get one too! Kyle, I always walk by homeslice and love it too.ReplyDelete


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Bill O'Reilly cites faulty data for claim about shooting deaths of blacks, whites by police
Bill O'Reilly made headlines this week by offering his take on a silent Ferguson protest by a few members of the NFL's St. Louis Rams, saying the decision of the players "connotes the fact that they believe, I guess, that white police officers shoot black youths all the time."
That's out of bounds of a fact-check.
But O'Reilly did present some statistics in the same argument that several readers asked us to examine.
"Let's take a good look at this plague of white cops acting violently against blacks, as (professor and liberal columnist Michael Eric) Dyson puts it," O'Reilly said on his Dec. 1, 2014, Fox News program. "In the past 50 years, the rate of black Americans killed by police has dropped 70 percent. In 2012, 123 African-Americans were shot dead by police. There are currently more than 43 million blacks living in the U.S.A. Same year, 326 whites were killed by police bullets. Those are the latest stats available."
Later in the show, O'Reilly said of these numbers, "That's not an epidemic. It's not crazy. It's not a hunting-down of black youth."
This is not the first time we have evaluated pundits' half-truths comparing black and white deaths from police killings. Like the other cases, O'Reilly is citing available government statistics, but these numbers are shaky and don't paint a complete picture.
Lack of national data
O'Reilly's team used the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's fatal injury reports database. A search in the system for fatal "legal interventions" -- deaths caused in the course of law enforcement trying to make an arrest or quell a situation -- confirms, on the surface, the numbers O'Reilly mentioned for whites and African-Americans.
How does the CDC get the number? Primarily from causes of death listed in death certificates from coroners, medical examiners and physicians and demographic information provided by funeral directors. Figures are further supplemented by a violent death reporting system that includes data from 17 states. (Legal interventions include state executions.)
But experts told us the data is likely incomplete because coroners and physicians are under no obligation to detail police involvement in the deaths that they encounter.
"It is not known or certain that every death certificate indicates that the death was caused by law enforcement officer in every jurisdiction," said Samuel Walker, retired professor of criminal justice at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.
Another database, this one maintained by the FBI, attempts to get at the same figure. But it's no more solid. The FBI reports rely on self-reported data from a small chunk of the nation's more than 17,000 law enforcement agencies.
The lack of a national clearinghouse for fatal police killings "is a national embarrassment," said Geoffrey Alpert, a University of South Carolina criminology professor who specializes in high-risk police activities.
"I'm sure one of (O'Reilly's) researchers pulled a number from that database, but it's just a convenient fact, as someone used to say," he said.
More problems with O'Reilly's numbers
Beyond the lack of clear national data for these deaths, experts found more problems with O'Reilly's citation of CDC numbers.
O'Reilly's reference of the number of whites killed in legal interventions does not strictly account for non-Hispanic whites. People who identify as Hispanic are also counted in the total of 326 deaths.
Running the search again for whites but excluding Hispanics leaves 227 deaths from legal interventions -- substantially fewer deaths due to the absence of 97 white Hispanics previously in the mix (in the black category, two were identified as black Hispanic).
"So if you are interested in people of color, what they list in the white data is too high," Walker said of O'Reilly's figures.
Additionally, the per capita rate of black deaths per 100,000 residents is .28, which is twice as high as the rate for white deaths of .13, Walker points out.
Our ruling
O'Reilly said, 123 African-Americans and 326 white people were shot dead by police in 2012.
He referenced recent federal numbers but failed to mention their well-documented flaws. We have not found any experts who will vouch for numbers that purport to represent annual fatal shootings by police, as there are gaping holes within each dataset.
Additionally, the number of white people fatally shot by police in 2012 is substantially off if you account for white Hispanics -- a group O'Reilly did not seem to have in mind during his rant about race relations between blacks and whites.
O'Reilly's statement contains an element of truth, but it's not the full picture he makes it out to be. We rate the claim Mostly False.


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New Zealand BMX rider Jed Mildon stepped into the halls of BMX history this past year by landing the world's first triple back flip at the Unit T3 Mind Tricks BMX Jam in Taupo, New Zealand. The Guinness Book Of World Records approved stunt was the result of what Mildon called "three intensive months of practicing." Watch the stunt performed from Mildon's POV here, then from the crowd perspective to get a full idea of just how awesome this moment was.
via Mashafix


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Shameless Self-Promotion
September 14, 2009
For several years now, I've been dreaming of ways to bring in a little income for our family. Matt's income meets our needs, but a little extra money in the bank never hurt! 🙂 Plus, sometimes I miss creating things, accomplishing tasks, etc.
So, recently I started creating wall hangings for children (soon for adults too!) and hair bow holders. I think they are really cute and wanted to share my creations with you!
Check out my stuff at http://namedrop.etsy.com and pass it along to your friends too! If you have any ideas that you would like created, let me know! And, keep checking back at my shop…I have tons of ideas and will be adding new inventory as I can.
Here are some pictures to entice you 🙂
Our form of a Rain Dance
September 11, 2009
Austin hasn't seen rain in months. OK, so we may have had a small drizzle here and there, but we're in a severe drought right now. Over the past couple days, we've seen overcast skies and rain!!
Today we met Matt and Mark (Matt's photographer) for lunch. We sat outside and it started to sprinkle. The adults stayed under the umbrellas, but Alyssa started exploring the rain.
For those of you who don't know…Grace is terrified of thunder which bleeds over into anything related to it. Therefore, she's not particularly fond of rain. But, when she saw her little sister having fun in the rain, she decided to join in. They had a blast and giggled the whole time.
When we got home, the rain had intensified and was coming down pretty good…perfect for playing in puddles and splashing around. As she was getting out of the car, Grace asked if she could play in the rain. I honestly didn't think she'd really do it, so I agreed. After a moment's hesitation, she took off into our driveway with little sis wiggling out of my arms to join her.
They played outside for about 20 minutes and were definitely not ready to come inside. But, unfortunately, it was nap time. Here are some pictures of our afternoon rain dance! 🙂


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TNAHD Pudukkottai Recruitment 2018 – Tamil Nadu Animal Husbandry Department Recruitment Notification for 79 Assistant Vacancies- Apply and download application form @ pudukkottai.tn.nic.in – Last Date:19.02.2018
TNAHD Pudukkottai Recruitment:- Aspirants who looking for latest govt jobs in pudukkottai here we listed a latest recruitment from TNAHD. Tamil Nadu Animal Husbandry department (TNAHD) invites a application for the engagement of Animal Husbandry Assistant vacancies. Totally 79 vacancies are allocated for the post. Aspirants who had completed 10th standard or it's equivalent can apply for the latest TNAHD Recruitment 2018 on or before the last date of 19 February 2018. Candidates Don't miss this opportunity.
Before going to apply, candidates should check the eligibility criteria of TNAHD Recruitment notification carefully, whether you are eligible to apply or not. So here we have give you eligibility criteria details such as Age limit, educational qualification, Pay Scale and more about the recruitment.
Notification Details of TNAHD Pudukkottai Recruitment :
Organization Name: Tamil Nadu Animal Husbandry Department, Pudukkottai
Job Category: State Govt Job
Name of Post: Animal Husbandry Assistant
Total No of Vacancies: 79
Location of Job: Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu
Official Website: www.pudukkottai.tn.nic.in
Eligibility Criteria of Latest Pudukkottai TNAHD Vacancies 2018
Educational Qualification:
- Must passed in 10th standard or it's equivalent field from a authorized institute.
Age Limit: (As on 01.07.2015)
- General: 18-30 years
- SC/ST: 18- 35 years
- BC/MBC – 18-32 years.
Selection Process
- Merit List
- Interview
How to Apply and download application form for Latest TNAHD Pudukkottai Recruitment 2018?
- Candidates visit the Official website of TNAHD Pudukkottai (i.e) http://www.pudukkottai.tn.nic.in
- Go to "Homepage" and then download "Application form" Link by clicking "Application for Animal Husbandry Assistants' Interview ".
- Read the Notification carefully before you proceed to fill up the application form
- Once you are eligible, fill up the required fields on the Form and attached with the necessary documents such as Community certificate, Address proof, Mark sheet.etc as well.
- Send the Application form to the mentioned address below on or before the last date of 19.02.2018 at 5.45 PM.
Important Dates:
|Starting Date to Apply
|Last Date to Submit the Application form
|19.02.2018 at 5.45 PM


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|Sat 16 Apr 2016, 10:30am–6:00pm
Additional fees may apply
General Admission: $10 - Kids under 18 Free
Members Stand: $30
Gates Open: 11am
First Race: 12.16pm
Track: TBC
The Day....
The FastTrackinsurance Hawke's Bay Gold Cup is one of New Zealand's oldest Racedays, first run over 150 years ago! This outstanding Raceday has a long standing tradition of top thoroughbred racing action. We have live music, kids activities and much more on offer for the day. Gather your friends and family for an exceptional days entertainment at Hawke's Bay Racing.
Public Lawn - Open All Welcome - Picnic tables & umbrellas available.
Horlicks Lounge - Open All Welcome - Screens, bar, T.A.B, viewing platform.
Sasanof Lounge - Stand Pass / Members - Screens, bar, cafe, T.A.B, viewing platform.
Before you go, would you like to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter with events happening in your area, competitions for free tickets and CD giveaways?
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text:
Concealed carriers in Contra Costa County (CA) received an unexpected letter in the mail recently. Earlier this month, the county's sheriff department sent a letter telling CCW permit holders that their personal information had been released to ABC7 as part of a public records request.
Although the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Department complied with the public records request, they did reject part of the request which called for permit holders' addresses.
"We try and balance the needs of the public and the people who want or need access to the information to ensure everyone's safety," said Lt. Nate McCormack told East County Today.
Below is a copy of the letter from a concealed carrier whose information was part of the request:
The Office of the Sheriff has received a California Public Records Request Act from ABC7 News for the disclosure of all CCW permit holders' names and home addresses from January 1, 2011 to date. The provisions of statutory and decisional law mandates most information contained in CCW applications and permits are subject to public disclosure. The law specifically allows for limited exceptions to public disclosure include the home addresses of permit holders employed in certain occupations, including judges, court commissioners or magistrates, deputy district attorney's and peace officers. Names of CCW permit holders are not except from public disclosure.
In compliance with the law, the Office of the Sheriff will soon be releasing your name and city of residence as a CCW permit holder in response to the ABC7 News request. CCW permit holders in the above occupations will not have their city of residence released. The office of the Sheriff has declined to release the home address of any permit holder, regardless of occupation, in accordance with our interpretation of statutory and decisional law. The Office of the Sheriff understands you may have well founded concerns about your privacy, including release of your home address, and the Office of the Sheriff intends to protect this privacy in balance with its obligation to comply with the law regarding public records. If, in the future, the Office of the Sheriff is in receipt of information which indicates our position on the non-disclosure of CCW holders addresses cannot be legally justified, we will be forced to release your address unless there is a qualifying statutory exception as described above.
Please contact me at (925) 335-1517 or [email protected] or my supervisor, Lieutenant Nate McCormick at (925) 335-1522 or at [email protected] if you have questions.
David O. Livingston, Sheriff-Coroner
Peter Enea, Specialist
Professional Standards Division
Currently, the county has 317 CCW permits, 290 of which are non-law enforcement applicants. Their concealed carry application approval rate is a whopping 17 percent.


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They'll be no housing recovery, until we see a construction recovery.
There'll be No Housing Recovery, until there's a Construction Recovery.
Last week Michael Yardney re-published his rundown of Australia's market cycles from the 1980's onwards. The premise was to calm any 'would be' property investors into recognising the various historical trends that traditionally affect the 'ebb and flow' of Australia's real estate market.
If you're a regular reader of Property Observer, you will have no doubt had your fill of where each individual state sits on the 'property clock.' It's an arguably overused term to provide a fairly limited theory for our frequent 'boom and bust' cycles.
Question why property prices are so high and you'll receive a basic lesson in 'real estate agent' property economics' – top of which will be supply vs. demand - "We have a growing population and not enough homes" - and on and on it goes.
Indeed, various commentators have already extrapolated out two months worth of housing data to 'conclude' a rise of 10 per cent '+' over the course of 2013.
Certainly if you want to ignite an emotional debate, housing is right up there with politics and religion. Since history began, it's remained an integral part of the most valuable asset man desired, fought over, possessed and in many cases died for – land.
Whether it be a means to make a living through effective cultivation, a form of wielding control over a resident population, a place to build the modern-day castle, or simply a speculative investment, it's the most valuable commodity mankind owns – a valuable and finite commodity that becomes ever more so as the population expands.
Indeed, 'Property rights' are a foundational component of a capitalist economy, and under our current system of ownership, government's profit nicely from the advantage. In Australia, state government revenues from property related taxes alone, equate to around 23 per cent of the total balance sheet – hence why 'stamp duty addiction' and the consequential need to incentivise buyers to keep transaction figures high, has such a strong hold.
However, no one should be under the impression that property prices are high due to demand factors from home buyers. Prior to the GFC, following a global "borrowing" shopping spree of cheap credit, Australia's 'too big to fail four' were amongst the world's most heavily exposed to the residential real estate market, with a grand total of 59 per cent of loans offered to this sector alone.
Australia's banks are as 'pinned' in their reliance to the ever expanding growth of our resident population's desire to 'borrow and buy,' as everyone else is who has a hand in the pie.
In this 'boom and bust' merry-go-round culture, we've simply borrowed more to pay more, the vast majority of which has gone into residential housing - inflating prices disproportionally.
It's a somewhat inevitable conclusion - made all the worst due to restrictive planning laws which have failed to accommodate for substantial Capital City population growth – that the ease of credit has advantaged those at the beginning of its issuance, to the expense of those at the end.
Baby boomers who got in at the start of the 'lending boom' have certainly profited over those who are now at the 'sticky' peak, where prices have already had their 'golden years' of growth and the big profits have been made.
Mortgage debt – the largest component of all debt in Australia – is aptly living up to its original French meaning for the first time buyers paying inflated prices, that being a "death contract." However, as long as those purchasing are able to meet their repayments, the banks can continue to create money 'selling' their loans - (backed up by overly generous wholesale funding guarantees) – and there's little incentive to improve the situation for a growing minority sitting at the bottom of the pile.
Albeit, there's no doubt the property market has once again started to simmer - most agencies are reporting a 'spike' of active enquiry – some declaring levels equal to those seen back in 2009 during which the Federal "first home owner boost" was fuelling a post GFC boom.
Glen Stevens also conceded as such, stating that residential investment seems to be "slowly increasing (Australia wide), with higher dwelling prices and rental yields."
Share markets have trended higher, and there's been a marginal uplift in retail spending all of which filters through to the property market. Confidence that we're on the 'up and up' again, combined with 'cheap credit' simply adds fuel to the fire.
AFG is once again reporting a 'record' month of borrowing with their February figures up 5.3 per cent on this time last year - (albeit with 'subdued' first home buyer activity.) Australia's largest mortgage broker was reporting increasing activity as far back as February 2012, fuelled by a strong investment sector (which currently makes up roughly 42 per cent of the residential market.)
As Michael Matusik pointed out a few days ago, 'Australian's borrowed $200 billion to buy residential property last year – 7 per cent less than the market peak in 07/08."
In Melbourne, clearance rates are up, the auction market is bubbling – and if ever there was an 'out on the street' example of the 'boom and bust' physiology in motion, it can be viewed in the inner suburban streets of Melbourne on any bumper 'super Saturday.'
By their very nature, auction sales have played a significant part in igniting golden periods of rapid inflation in the established residential sector. Bidders evidently have their confidence underpinned when they see others competing for the same property - budgets tend to be pushed, and the under-bidder walking away with that 'gut retching' feeling of empty disappointment, is the one who'll stretch their finances for the next auction they attend.
As buyers see prices go past expectation in an open and arguably 'transparent' atmosphere, there is a feeling of 'act now or miss out' – it's a feature of any rising market, whether stocks or property and the build in intensity is rapid.
As an example, if two buyers are going head to head during an auction – and the 'winning' bidder exceeds by just $1,000 – there is another buyer - the under-bidder - who has a similar budget and, with a determination not to lose twice, needs little persuasion to bid to the same level (or higher) on another property.
If you want a really good demonstration of this scenario – congregate around 'investment grade' properties in the popular markets of 'Elwood' and 'St Kilda' (as an example) – whilst the general consensus remains that emotional 'home buyers' push the market - they don't shine a light to a couple of investors going 'head to head' for a negatively geared asset, which will produce a fairly robust rental income and decent depreciation schedule to boot.
Albeit – do not mistake this for a market recovery – once again, it's all confined to the established sector. Everyone is effectively fighting over the same pool of existing dwellings in a never ending game of 'musical chairs.' We're simply paying higher prices for an ageing stock of second hand homes.
Indeed, there'll be no housing recovery until we have construction recovery. As the first ABS building approvals update for 2013 indicated - approvals in January fell for a second consecutive month, lingering back below the 13,000 mark.
Spokesperson for the HIA - Harley Dale - commented that even with a rise of 3.3 per cent in detached house approvals – overall approvals for this sector are still down by 1 per cent over the three months to January 2013.
Fletcher Building LTD is also flagging the weight of the issue, stressing that the ongoing weakness in Australia's new housing sector, is likely to last until the end of the year. Along with the others, they are crying for lower rates and a return of incentives for first home buyers.
Last week, the Federal Government's housing supply council revealed the nation faces an "an impending very substantial fall in home ownership" – the report goes onto state that "Baby boomers will be the last generation to live the home ownership dream" with the so called 'trend' towards renting, a "natural response to higher house prices."
A younger generation are now being told the only way they can get 'into' the market is by either tapping into 'mum and dad's' equity, or living in the family home longer and perhaps getting a foot through the door as an 'investor,' rather than an owner occupier.
All in all, so long as the profits keep rolling in, there is no incentive what-so-ever to address these concerns. The powers that be can keep their ears covered, whilst singing loudly to any 'forthcoming' pain which may be experienced by a future generation that 'no longer can.'
Catherine Cashmore


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Diana Markosian
Hi Diana. Where are you based and how did you end up there?
I work out of Russia and the former Soviet Union. I can't say I am based out of one specific city or country. I am essentially living out of a suitcase and traveling from one assignment to the next. Currently I am in Chechnya, working on two assignments and a personal project.
Judging from your work, Russia and the former Soviet Union are incredibly rich places for photography. What do you like about working in that part of the world?
This is an incredibly dynamic and diverse region. I am fortunate to be working here - yet, it isn't always easy or enjoyable. It can get pretty grim in Russia and I often find myself alone, especially when traveling. I am motivated and energized by the people I meet along the way. They make the experience much more enriching and worthwhile. It isn't so much about the region - it is about the people who I am surrounded by.
Can you tell us about the project you did near the site of the Chernobyl disaster? How did the series get started?
This year marked the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident. It was also the year of the Fukushima accident in Japan. I had no desire to travel to Chernobyl. Most of my friends and colleagues had made the run already, and I was afraid I would simply be repeating their work if I went. About a month before the anniversary, I got an assignment to go to Chernobyl and photograph the nuclear plant. Afterwards, I decided to stay on for another week to see if I could find something personal. I didn't know what I was looking for, but I knew I wanted to humanize the story to the best of my ability. I went from village to village and bounced around different story ideas. Nothing seemed to work. I even managed to get kicked out of Belarus for trying to enter the country to report about the nuclear disaster. That same day a driver took me to Redkovka, a small village that was never evacuated at the time of the accident. I started walking around the abandoned village, and the first house I walked into was the couple who I eventually profiled.
How did you get such intimate access to the Masanovitz couple?
The process itself was pretty slow. They both thought I was bit crazy, and at one point I remember they wanted to call the local police, but their phone didn't work that day. I visited the village every day and met with every resident there, but I something drew me back to the Lida and Misha. There was a special dynamic between them. Once they got to know me, they took me in as their daughter. We talked about everything from the Chernobyl accident to their marriage. It was all about building a relationship.
Have you always wanted to be a photojournalist?
No. I came to it quite accidentally. I was in graduate school enrolled in a broadcast journalism course. We were learning how to use digital SLRs and a female photographer came into our class as a guest lecturer. She had so much passion and energy about photojournalism. She showed us her work one day, and I remember pausing and just being in awe. Each image had so much grace and dignity. It wasn't about her; it was about the people she photographed. There was beauty and meaning behind her work. This same photographer, Melanie Burford, later became my photojournalism professor at Columbia University and has been my mentor since. That was almost two years ago.
When you realized you wanted to pursue a career in photojournalism, how did you get started? And how did you build up such a great body of work in only 2 years?
I threw myself in. I started to look at photography every day. I also tried to get to know the photographers I admired. This helped me a lot. I started freelancing in January 2011, while also pursuing my personal projects. I've matured so much as a photographer within this year. My advice is to do the stories you care about and to pursue your passion. You'll have to fight for it – but damn is it worth it.
Have you run into any situations where being a female photographer has worked to your advantage?
I think being a female has helped me tremendously in gaining access, but not always. For instance, it's hard to get officials in the male-oriented North Caucasus to take me seriously. As a female, I also can't stay for prayers to photograph men at the mosque. Just getting permission to photograph them walking in requires lengthy negotiations. Those who are slightly in power seem to always like justifying their position. I've had situations where guards or local politicians would tell me not to look into an issue or topic because it was "too dangerous for a woman." This can of course be frustrating and discomforting, but you find ways to work around it.
Have you ever found yourself in an especially dangerous situation while shooting?
Scary things have happened. I am usually alone on shoots, which is probably not the wisest approach when working in regions like the North Caucasus and Afghanistan. But I try to be as cautious as I can.
So you primarily work as a freelancer?
Yes. I shoot still images and video for different clients. It is not always easy to make a living, especially when you are starting out - but when you get to cover stories you genuinely care about, there's really nothing more rewarding.
What other individuals do you respect in photojournalism today, and why do they get your appreciation?
I am incredibly fortunate to be surrounded by supportive professionals who are also my friends. They are always open to looking at my work and offering a fresh perspective. Off the top of my head: Karen Mirzoyan, Sergey Maximishin, Denis Sinyakov and Melanie Burford are all photographers who inspire me. Their work has dignity and beauty to it. They have the ability and talent to find the quiet moments within situations. It is rare. I look up to my peers a lot as well. One of my good friends, Ed Ou, has been an incredible influence in my career. He is one of the most humble photographers I know - yet his work is so breathtaking and powerful. He has always pushed me to aim higher and higher in my photography and never settle for anything less. He is an incredible inspiration, and I feel very lucky to call him my friend.
What advice do you have for young photojournalists who are considering a freelance career?
Stay humble and fight for what you want to do. It has to be passionate - whether an assignment or personal project - our profession is a gift. Don't abuse it.
What's next?
I have been in this region for a year and a half now. I would like to finish my project in Chechnya and then move out of Russia for a while. I am looking at Pakistan, but we'll see. I still have a month here. That's a pretty long time for me to decide.
About the photographer
Diana Markosian is a freelance photojournalist and multimedia producer working out of Russia and the former Soviet Union. Her work has appeared on The New York Times, Boston Globe, Wall Street Journal, ABC News, The Washington Post, The Times of London, The Guardian, Reuters, Observer, Vanity Fair Italy, Slate, MSNBC, and Human Rights Watch. She is a graduate of Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism.
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An eMail from 50 Caliber
Email from "50 Caliber" to "GusTheRedneck"
Here is one of the several eMails sent to me by our friend, Dusty Tibbs. Usually he did not write so much as this, but he was a man who would often have deep feelings about some things and wanted to let us all know of his thoughts.
We'll miss Dusty. According to what he said here, there were times when he felt like folks kinda slipped up about missing him. That was probably why Dusty liked his HubPages friends so much. He knew how we felt about him – and still do even now that he has gone on ahead of us.
Hi Gus,
you are quite right but I didn't need to tell you that. We have a huge number of turning to get this done and most don't bother to know their next door neighbor, at least that was my experience back in the late 80s and right up to the day I left. I doubt anyone missed me. Had some that told me they "loved me like a brother" I sent them hand written letters to let them know my address, and never heard from any since.
Gus there has to be an answer in this somewhere, I reckon it'll have to start with the states taking back their constitutional power and refusing to send the money to Washington. Maybe that's separating themselves from the union? Seems the central states that have more land than people, are the most willing to stand up and say no more. I had a US map of the out line of the states and Texas as well as Arizona was in the section colored for refusing any funding for Obama0care and at the time it was 25 states that cut the nation into two pieces. Wish I had the picture to show you.
I'm forced to wonder if they really have the gumption to follow through with succeeding from the Union and coming together to do,(inside their own state) what Iceland did.
I'd like to see America go after the bankers first and tell China and other places "sorry we are not paying back money borrowed by by people who were not authorized to do so, Welcome to capitalism, if you want a level playing field, Become a state!"
People wonder whose behind the curtain, and I know full well it is the bankers. I don't owe any money to any one, and have sacks of the old coins in silver(95%) and gold bullion in the smallest denominations I could buy it and it is in my hide away places not theirs.
I still have money in accounts and my monthly repayment checks for SSI and 70 percent of my pay for a leg that is a mere pittance, but payment nonetheless. I have mediocre tri-care but better than nothing, and have a panel that determines whether or not I get covered. I think January of 2010 I was allowed a test procedure of replacing my heart valves with pig heart valves, that removed a mechanical valve that ticked like a bomb, the harder I worked the faster it got and it freaked people out around me. I think learning to sleep with out my ticker was harder to get used to than learning to live with it. They say agent orange was responsible for the growth of my enlarged heart and liver. They took out 2,5 pounds of my liver, my gall bladder and appendix while they were doing my 2nd open heart surgery, they said they had 3 surgeons at work in my opening all elbow to elbow. Not discussed before hand. They lifted my right lung and found 2 cysts that were grown to my rear rib cage and removed them.
They were cut open and presented to me in a jar. I had told them that I got shot in the side by a little yeller feller in a close scuffle that left me with a burned area of about a 6 inch circle and the LT. filed the report as my falling onto the rocket tubes mounted on our huey as rockets were being fired and that was what caused the burns.
They were right I fell after being shot in that side and I filed the crew chief report of being shot and then falling onto the hot tubes. The crappy x-ray equipment of the time in Subic Bay, failed to find any evidence to support a gunshot wound to my chest area. They said after my last surgery that the wounds were most likely over looked due to the burned area that they grafted skin off my butt to cover. I measured the bullets and they, to the best of my ability were fired from a Russian 5.45x25 sub machine gun and had reached the end of their range and capacity to do more than get inside between ribs and both stopping on the same back rib and my body just covered them with a fat growth into little half inch cocoons. They resemble the arrow heads I have cut from deer that had been hit with a bow and the shaft of the arrow unscrewed and came out leaving the broad head behind and their system growing a cyst around them. I have gotten 2 arrow tips and a couple bullets from deer over the years and when I saw the jar contents I recognized it immediately, and told my surgeon about it and he later produced a copy of my medical report, from 1969 and moved it into the jacket of 2010. An example of the time I suppose, some things get better, I know the pain of deep breaths are gone and the Gallbladder was not the reason, a young surgeon to be lifted that lung and saw them and was told to go ahead and remove them. I talked with him post surgery and asked why he was lifting the lungs and he said he was just looking at the path of the diaphragm and it's condition after 60 some years of up and down on a non cartilage piece of anatomy and we talked about that because I used to play biology on deer, elk, antelope etc. to see what the best area was to aim, or place a shot to bring a fast kill sans as much pain as possible to my harvest.
Sorry for such a long email, but perhaps you enjoyed it? I get windy at times and I just have failed to check and see how you are doing these days.
I just finished tearing my jeep to pieces and reworking all the mechanical parts and up grading the axles to the good old dana 44s and planting a port fuel injected 6 in place of the old 4 cylinder. Repainted all the under body, frame and axles, transmission and transfer case. and all like new. Added a hard top and have it sanded to paint the hard top tan/brown but can't decide on the body, I now can lock up my gear, and if I get another 23 years out of it I'll be 100 years old and probably need to stop driving, ha ha ha.
I've got two grandsons due to be born in August toward the end or into early September, Both will carry my last name as my girls never married, and I thought that I was the end of the line as my brother never had kids, so a great surprise.
I reckon I need to shut up, but I'll keep you in my prayers, you've been on my list for some time now.
Much Peace and Blessings,
Thanks so much for sharing this - he was one of a kind for sure. Dusty touched more lives than he knew.
Thank you Gus. :)
GusTheRedneck, from reading this letter I would say that Dusty considered you a friend. Thank you very much for sharing it with us. When all his comments and emails are presented together, as they have been in the past few weeks, a portrait of a very remarkable man emerges. Our loss. Regards, snakeslane
Dear Dusty. He was compassionate and loving. Even when hunting for food, he studied so he caused as little pain and suffering as possible to the animal. He sure was a good man, wasn't he?
I was guided here by femme and found this to be a powerful example of Dusty's style and willingness to share.
The tribute links are growing on Dusty's interview and I have just added this memorable piece. Thank you, Maria
That was Dusty at his finest. Just relaying stories ranging from hunting dear to lumps behind a lung. Seamlessly told. Thank you for sharing
Dusty emailed me often, too, and sent me pics of things he thought I might be interested in. He was trying to work out a way to come see me. What a great guy - salt of the earth.
You've honored us all by sharing Dusty's email -- thank you so very much. If there's another like him anywhere in this great universe I've never met that person -- looking forward to meeting him in the great by and by -- 'cause I know he's there! Great piece of work here. Best/Sis
Sharing Dusty's email with us, Gus, was a tender, lovely tribute to his memory. Thank you and may he rest in peace.
After reading this, and a lot of Dusty's great stories, I am going to quit complaining about my little aches and pains. I will miss Dusty. Take care of yourself Gus.
This is my first and sadly, only time I've read anything from Dusty. I have to say there is a strong message in this e-mail, besides the obvious howdy-doody. How sad he fought for his country and received terrible medical care in the process.
I will miss him even though I only just him. RIP
Thanks for sharing a piece of Dusty Gus. May his soul rest in peace.
The Frog
I do hope Dusty's wife knows where he hid his silver. She probably needs it now. Although I see Dusty being laid to rest the old fashioned way - cleaned in the kitchen, then buries out back with a home made head stone. Under his favorite tree.
Thanks for sharing this email from Dusty with us. He will be missed around this place. He always left long comments on some of my Hubs, especially the ones I wrote about wildlife in Fl. and snakes. He loved those. Never commented on my recipes, though. Guess he didn't like to cook, but he sure loved to hunt.
I voted this UP, and will share.
Nice take on this. I just finished a poem. by a fellow hubber, on 50 caliber. Thank you
It seems Dusty gave many of us a piece of his life story, Gus. We are better off for it, no doubt.
I am crying again. I will miss Dusty badly. He wrote to me often too, and I never knew what he would reveal. I have saved those and will have to review them occasionally to remind me of his wonderful character.
I almost waited to read this, but I couldn't let it go and had to come have a look.
Thank you for sharing this. It's much like a one-sided conversation in which one must stay still so the speaker won't be distracted and stop talking.
It's got the water-works flowing again, but I'm sure it's okay to spend a day in tears remembering the Marine. Dust would think the fuss was silly, but ... he was cool like that, lol.


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Peace & Conflict Studies
During Fall semester 2011, students from the GS 100 Power to the People Learning Community (a course that examined connections between Dr. Juergensmeyer's PEAC 101 and Dr. Seis's SOC 100), hosted an awareness event to celebrate activism and environmental sustainability.
After identifying clubs and activities on campus and interviewing the members and sponsors, they created a newsletter detailing what's going on around campus. Click on the image on the right to read the entire newsletter.


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This Privacy Policy governs the manner in which Tracker Connect (Proprietary) Limited, its holding company and subsidiaries ("Tracker") treat your personal information collected:
By submitting your details and/or by using the Tracker website and/or services we provide and/or by allowing a Tracker unit to be installed in your vehicle, you accept the terms and conditions of this Privacy Policy and explicitly consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your Personal Information in the manner set out below. If you do not agree with the provisions of this Privacy Policy, or are concerned about any aspect relating to the protection of your Personal Information, please do not continue to use the website and/or allow the telematics unit to be installed in your vehicle and/or apply for or use the Tracker services.
The Privacy Policy must be read together with Tracker's terms and conditions of service and website terms and conditions of use. To view Tracker's terms and conditions of service or website terms and conditions of use, please visit www.tracker.co.za. Unless defined elsewhere, terms in this Privacy Policy shall bear the meaning ascribed to them in our terms and conditions of service or website terms and conditions of use.
We respect your privacy and your personal information and for this reason, we take all reasonable measures in accordance with this Privacy Policy, the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 ("POPIA") and other relevant legislation, to protect your personal information and to keep it confidential, even when you are no longer our customer.
This Privacy Policy complies with the principles outlined in POPIA and describes how we handle Personal Information, as defined therein, that we collect from you, from your use of our services, from the telematics unit in your vehicle (if applicable), from your use of our website or from third parties involved in our business dealings with you.
You agree that we may collect, collate, process and/or store your Personal Information, as defined in POPIA, ("process") for the Purpose as set out in clause 4 below.
When there are reasonable grounds to believe that your Personal Information has been accessed or acquired by an unauthorised person, we will notify you and the relevant Regulator, unless a public body responsible for detection, prevention or investigation of offences, or the relevant Regulator, informs us that notifying you will impede a criminal investigation, or if there is another legal ground not to inform you.
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Send Snow to Dakota
Posted by Steph in
, on Thursday, January 4. 2007 at
Dr. Finlay's Response
Posted by Steph in
Chemotherapy, on Thursday, January 4. 2007 at
Dear Stepahnie:
To answer all your highly pertinent questions would take an hour of writing
at least -and a good hour of face to face conversation -and maybwe you
should consider a visit here for a formal consultation to do just that!
In the meantime, let me assure you of the following:
1. Your intepretation of what Dr. Etzl described as the plans for the
remaining therapy are correct; 2 cycles of Induction (cycles 4 and 5)
followed by a sinlge cycle of marrow ablative chemotherapy followed by the
blood cell rescue. And NO radiation therapy.
Your nervousness is entirely appropriate -and ALL parents going through this
and other drug treatments of simiar intensity experience this -you would not
be a caring mother if you did not!
"Dose Intensity" implies, as you indicated, 'giving cycles close together'
but also impies how big a dose you receive. Let's put theory adie; your
child's MRI scans and spinal fluid remain clear -indicating how powerful the
first three cycles were at clearing remaining tumor cells and prevernting
recurrence. Yes, there have been iother children with significant delays and
no, this is NOT predictive of subsequent relapse (although of course a
proportion of children do develop recurrence even when the timing is
"optimal"). I would NOT recommend extra induction chemotherapy rounds
because it would be FAR TOO TOXIC! And, ALL children go through 5 induction
cycles, irrespective of extent of resection or dissemination.
If your son develops a recurrence, then his curability depends upon where
the recurrence is located; if localizedv to the original tumor site, then
surgery, followed by some chemotherapy AND IRRADIATION wouild be the ONLY
prospect for cure. Only under very special circumstances have I or others
performed second transplants; it cannot aid in avoiding irradiation at
recurrence: Bottom line -the time to cure this tumor is NOW.
Hang in there!
Best wishes for 2007
Jonathan Finlay


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The Curse of Blessing Israel
Christopher Jon Bjerknes
"Christian" Zionists, who, as Rev. Bedros Hajian puts it, heretically worship Jewish nationality, not Jesus Christ—pseudo-Christian Zionists believe that if they bless the modern state of Israel and worship Jews, they will themselves be blessed (Genesis 12:3). History proves otherwise.
America has always blessed the Jew. In return, World Jewry has sent the English to war on us. World Jewry divided our nation against itself, and financed and led both sides in the Civil War. World Jewry financed our worst enemies and dragged us into World War I and World War II, both of which wars World Jewry created. World Jewry financed our enemies of Germany and Imperial Japan. World Jewry created and financed our enemies of Nazi Germany and the Jewish Bolshevik Soviet Union. World Jewry has sold and given our Communist enemies our military secrets, most notably our nuclear secrets. World Jewry has attacked our naval vessel the USS Liberty in hopes of dragging us into war. World Jewry has been caught many times spying on us. Yet, World Jewry considers the United States to be its most important ally!
And who is World Jewry's second most important ally? According to Abe Foxman of the ADL, Israel's most important ally after the US is the nation of Turkey. World Jewry has created, financed and trained the PKK to attack Turkey and bring it into civil war and conflict with other nations. That is how good World Jewry is to its two most important allies!
World Jewry destroyed the Turkish Empire, which offered Jewry sanctuary when Spain expelled the Jews. World Jewry destroyed Germany, which made Jews the economic powerhouse they are today. World Jewry destroyed the Russian Empire in which the majority of Jewry lived. Such are the blessings of the Jews on those who bless them. Such is the curse of siding up with World Jewry. To do so is ultimately to side with your worst enemy against yourself and your own people, as the Kurds and the Turks are now learning as they consume one another at the behest of the Jews whom they have sought to bless.


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Analysis of Wal-Marts Expansionary Efforts Into China
Business organizations in the modern world face an ever-increasing challenge to compete for a share of the global market. Advances in transportation, communications, and technology make it possible for a company to build a device in one country out of components made in a dozen other countries and sell it anywhere in the world. To survive in this business environment, businesses must devise strategies that minimize the risks associated with global expansion and maximize the return. A successful global strategy brings growth and a larger share of the market. A failed strategy can seriously affect growth and, in some cases, force the business to close. The key to a successful strategy is to understand the differences within each market. It is also important for the business to adapt its domestic model so as to best utilize the business' strengths in response to those differences. The market within the United States is relatively homogeneous and stable. The global market and markets within other nations are just the opposite. Distance matters in the global market. With distance comes a wide variety of cultural, administrative, political, geographic, and economic differences. [i]The strategy that embraces these differences will succeed. The purpose of this paper is to review Wal-Mart's domestic business model and identify the factors contributing to the success of that model, identify the unique characteristics of the market in China and how these characteristics compliment or work against the strengths of the domestic model, evaluate the success of Wal-Mart's strategy and the application of its domestic business model in China relative to the models used by its primary competitors, and recommend changes to Wal-Mart's strategy and business model to improve Wal-Mart's competitive edge in China and other Asian nations.
Wal-Mart's Domestic Model and Strategy
Wal-Mart's domestic business model and strategy, as applied to the market in the United States and Canada, is based on the following principles:
Exceptional pricing and customer service, combined with equally exceptional cost savings and operational efficiencies.
Locating stores in small towns deemed too small for their competitors to serve but that had a homogeneous client base with the means to support the stores.
An unrivaled distribution and logistics management system coupled with an excellent transportation and communications network.
A stable and cohesive government structure in which all competitors were able to operate according to the same rules and regulations.
The ability to leverage all of these factors to reduce prices for consumers and generate profits for the company.
Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart, built the company on the belief that superior pricing was a cornerstone of a successful business. Wal-Mart built its entire marketing strategy on the idea of offering "Every Day Low Prices" (EDLP) rather than periodic sales. This was a successful move to undercut the competition and secure a larger share of the retail market. The strategy worked and drew millions of customers into Wal-Mart each day. Walton was passionate about matching or beating his competitors, so much so that it was widely held that he would shop at his competitors to check their prices – then call his managers and reduce his own if he found them to be lower. Wal-Mart also instituted the "Roll-Back" program designed to reduce prices on bundled merchandise, items that would normally be purchased together. These marketing campaigns and strategies, when combined with quality products, built Wal-Mart's reputation as the place to shop for the best prices, regardless of a customer's income level.
Customer Service
Sam Walton understood that in the United States, pricing alone was insufficient to...
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One of the best parts of autumn is the unbridled flow of quality films that tend to inundate theaters. Even disregarding the mainstream output that makes up the majority of what people will be seeing, the Pacific Northwest becomes overrun with film festivals. We've already written about the Destiny City Film Festival and the Tacoma Film Festival, and the glut of entertainment that both events provided, but we'd be remiss to not shine a light on the Gig Harbor Film Festival, now entering its 10th year. Like the aforementioned fests, the Gig Harbor Film Festival (GHFF) brings in movies from around the world, providing a snapshot of where cinematic expression lands in 2017.
Over the course of four days, GHFF will be bringing in a few dozen films -- documentaries and narratives, shorts and features -- to the Galaxy Theatre in Uptown Gig Harbor. There's no overriding theme to the festival, other than the general desire to provide the viewing public with the best possible films at their disposal. Still, GHFF proclaims that their desire is to "draw on the unifying power of film to promote understanding, tolerance and global awareness," which is certainly what film is capable of doing, at the peak of its powers.
As with any festival of this sort, it's advisable to trust in the organizers, and to take a chance on a film -- or short film compilation -- in the hopes of discovering something new. GHFF has two screens running during the fest, so you've got ample opportunities to see something you'd never have given a second thought to. For our money, though, there are a few movies that demand your attention.
For music lovers, Hello Hello Hello: Lee Ranaldo: Electric Trim should give a fulfilling glimpse into the collaborative process of making music. Ranaldo may be known to some as one of the members of Sonic Youth, and the documentary shows an extended process of enlisting writers, producers and fellow musicians in the songwriting journey. Lives Well Lived, which opens the fest, is a doc about people ages 75-100 sharing advice on how to get the most out of existence.
Dark comedy Funeral Day and Hitchcockian thriller Voice from the Stone are also tantalizing offers from GHFF, to say nothing of the short film packages and the bevy of other features. Accept the challenge laid before you, and see as much as you can. To be enriched by film is an artistic pursuit that's eminently accomplishable -- especially when aided by events like this one.
Gig Harbor Film Festival, Thursday-Sunday, Oct. 26-29, Galaxy Theatre Uptown, 4649 Point Fosdick Dr. NW, Gig Harbor, $8-$288, gigharborfilm.org


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One Size Fits All......
15th Aug 2015
I'm a bit of a sucker for a good book on management and recently I was reading one of Richard Branson's books. Richard describes attending a promotional event where he was given a Virgin logoed cap to wear. He tried it on and it wouldn't fit. When he asked for a larger size he was told they were one size fits all and he presumably had to cram it on his head for the day. One size may sometimes be seen to fit all - but that doesn't mean it will give a good fit.......
When I was preparing for my assessment as a mountain leader I decided to invest in a refresher course to fine tune my skills and highlight weaknesses. On the first morning of the 2 day course the instructor sat the four attendees down and explained that she was keen to tailor the course to suit our requirements. So, she asked, what areas of the syllabus did we want to cover?
My main weakness was navigation and I would have preferred to spend both days covering this. Unfortunately for me, the others all asked to spend as much time as possible on steep ground and rope work skills. I was confident enough in all these areas but, being seriously outvoted, I had no choice but to spend 3/4 of the course feeling my time was being wasted.
Last week I was looking for a course suitable to refresh my skills for an upcoming expedition where significant river crossings and managing people near water margins is very likely. I could certainly find courses designed for paddlers and others tailored towards rescue personnel, but it was surprisingly difficult to find one that matched my personal requirements. It was also difficult to find suppliers with websites that actually had clear information on what their courses did and didn't cover.
At Peak Mountaineering we certainly have a range of 'one size fits all' courses but, by supplying detailed information on course content, we hope that when people are deciding if these will suit their needs they have the information they need. We also pride ourselves on keeping course client to instructor ratios as low as financially viable which allows us to cater as much as we can to individual participant needs. The last differentiation on these courses is the quality of our staff. As much as we give them a guide to the course content we also trust them to identify the clients needs and ensure that the content is, as much as possible, tailored to their personal requirements.
Having said that, we know from experiences like those described above that one size definitely doesn't fit all and that may explain why we sell an increasing number of bespoke training events. We also anticipate the demand for them increasing further as people plan for more individual adventures or see the benefits of tailoring their training. In a busy world people that are 'time poor' want, above all else, training that meets their needs in the time they have available. It may be more expensive, but sometimes it's worth spending more to get the course content you need. It's a round about version of the old 'buy cheap, buy twice' adage.
Having an instructor dedicated to your training means lots of things. All our instructors are experts in their field which means they can assess your needs and move you on from the point you are at without having to account for others in the group. If you have a particular objective in mind then sharing the training with your partner or getting your team together also makes sense - better to share the training and then you can share the adventure knowing you all have the skills to deal with whatever gets thrown at you.
Individual training means you won't cover old ground that you don't need too but also means you will start at the right point. If you know how to tie a clove hitch then there's no point in waiting while others in your group learn (although a good instructor will hopefully get you doing something else while they show the group). Similarly, if you find something tricky then you don't want to be rushed on by others who are waiting - you want to spend as much time as is needed to master it before moving on to new things.
Having individualised training also means you'll cover more (and potentially in less time). If you were preparing for something like mountain leader assessment then one day of private instruction could easily equal 2 days with a larger group (or maybe more if you had the experience I described above from my own ML Refresher course). It is also less intimidating for some people to ask questions and discuss things openly when it is just them and the instructor.
We have far more flexibility on dates for private bookings and we don't need a minimum number for the course to run. This can be really useful for anyone trying to fit a course in at short notice, or for those with limited availability. It also means that if you want to do 2 days but split them between weekends or certain dates then we can accommodate that. In summer you could even do a few evening sessions or maybe arrange a one off night navigation session if you wish.
A days private guiding costs around the same as one of our standard 2 day courses and, if you have a partner to share the cost with, then private guiding is the same price. We know one size doesn't fit all and it doesn't have to. Just email us via our contact form here or call us on 01433620283 and we'll always find a solution that works for you.
Posted by Paul


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It has been disclosed that the US-based Sandler Foundation funded Australia-based environmentalist group, the Sunrise Project, which offered "Wangan and Jagalingou people" financial support if they opposed Adani's mine project, according to The Australian.
It also boasted of its attempts to hide its funding sources from Australian parliament. The previously secret briefings, as part of Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman John Podesta's emails, said Sunrise tailored its advice to indigenous communities in northern Queensland, and that the "whole Galilee Basin fossil fuel industrial complex is in its death throes".
It was also disclosed that an associated group, Human Rights Watch, offered to help Sunrise by keep its tax-exempt charity status because "the mining companies seem to own the Liberals (in Australia) and they play very dirty".
Human Rights Watch chief executive Ken Roth further disclosed that his group received "charitable status by special parliamentary bill" in the "waning days of the Labor government".
In an email to Sandler Foundation last August after a decision against the Adani mine, Sunrise Project director John Hepburn, who is said to be the author of the strategy to block the mine, thanked the Foundation for its support and wrote 'without your support none of this would have happened".


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Additional information: Indigo dyes can be made from local plants in West Africa, using the leaves or seeds of the indigofera or lonchocarpus plants. But more recently, synthetic dyes are also available.
We do not recommend laundering textiles, and do not accept returns of textiles which have been laundered in any manner. Even dry cleaning is too much for some of these antique textiles. For some of them, a very gentle HAND washing (NEVER MACHINE, on any setting) in cool water with a very gentle detergent works, but even then, dyes may not be colorfast, and fabric may be less strong than it appears.


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- Posted
Astroglide Spark Hybrid Personal Lubricant Review
A nice hybrid lube is exactly what I need
As a sex toy reviewer you can imagine how much lube I go through. I have tried some great lubes in the past but also some that have been atrocious as well.
I received a bottle of Astroglide Spark Hybrid Personal Lubricant from AdultShopIt.co.uk to review. It was nice to yet again be able to try something new in the lube department. This is a hybrid lube and that means it's a blend of water-based lube and a silicone lube. This gives it some of the characteristics of both.
It's quite easy to pour the lube through the nozzle in the flip cap. You'll need to spread it quickly over your toy due to its runny consistency. Once spread on a sex toy or your 'bits' though it stays in place pretty well.Joanne
Currently I have lots of penetrative sex toys in my review queue. This means that it's the perfect time to give this lube a good run for its money. So, is it something that I can recommend or is it going to be a lube that I won't use again after I publish this review? Read on to find out.
Astroglide are a US company that produce a large range of lubes and this one is a hybrid lube. It's a water based lube with some of the ingredients of a silicone lube mixed in to make it last longer.
This bottle of hybrid lube was sent to me by AdultShopIt.co.uk. The order arrived quickly and under very plain cover. So once again I've managed to receive another sex product delivery with neither the postie or my nosy neighbour learning of my kinky pastime.
Spark Hybrid lube comes in a flip top 2.5fl oz (73.9ml) bottle that's carried within a retail box. The box clearly states what it is together with some instructions for use and a list of its ingredients.
It's funny because when I opened the box the bottle is much smaller than the box. The bottle actually sits on a piece of cardboard inside the box so that it doesn't rattle around.
Why Astroglide used an over-sized box is beyond me but they must have their reasons for it I guess. Anyway you probably aren't that interested in the packaging so on with the review.
Before you can use this lube you'll need to unscrew the cap and remove the hygiene safety seal from the bottle.
I took this opportunity to sniff the lube to see if it had any discernible smell. Sometimes smells can be very off putting for some people.
I was very surprised to learn that this lube smells like chocolate, or more accurately like chocolate liqueur or Baileys Irish Cream.
It put a smile on my face as I love these products (well chocolate is chocolate after all). I know some people may be put off by the smell, but I like it.
This lube is a very milky white colour and it's quite runny. I generally prefer thicker lubes but I definitely treated this lube fairly. I gave it a chance to prove itself, you just need to bear its viscosity in mind when you dispense some.
It's quite easy to pour the lube through the nozzle in the flip cap but you'll need to quickly spread it over your toy due to its runny consistency, once spread on a sex toy or your 'bits' though it stays in place pretty well.
As this lube contains silicone you should try it on a small area of any silicone toys that you use with it. This is to check that it isn't going to be a problem with your toys surface finish.
The manufacturers state that it's safe to use with all silicone sex toys but it doesn't hurt to be cautious.
I found that it does indeed last for a long period of time and feels very good in use. It's a great lubricant but it did leave me with a slight sticky feeling after use. This is probably when the water based side of it had been absorbed.
I found it to be a very, very effective anal lube due to its long lasting properties. So it's a lube that I can recommend for backdoor fun and games if you know what I mean.
It's also good for butt plugs especially if you're going to be wearing one for a considerable period of time. It makes removal a simple process after play. Unlike water-based lubes this one doesn't get fully absorbed so there's enough left to help with removal.
As this is a hybrid lube it carries quite a lengthy list of ingredients. Most of which are fairly benign, but as it contains Glycerin watch out for yeast infections if you're prone to them.
- Glycerin
- Dimethicone
- Purified Water
- Cyclomethicone
- PEG/PPG-18/18 Dimethicone
- Propanediol
- 1,2-Hexanediol
- Dimethiconol
- Caprylhydroxamic Acid
- Natural Flavors
Check out Astroglide Spark Hybrid Lube, its great for a little backdoor fun. Click to Tweet
Key Features
Key features:
- Hybrid lube
- Long lasting
- Smells like chocolate liquers
- No taste
- Runny consistency and white in colour
Final Thoughts
All in all this is a pretty good lube, I like its staying power. That has come in handy for my last butt plug review and for continued fun and games. It lasts a surprisingly long time and it is easy to wash of. It does have a strong smell but no taste. I love the chocolate liqueur smell but I know that some people may find it a little off putting.
This is my first review of an Astroglide product and I am pretty impressed with it. If you are looking for a long lasting lube that's safe to use with silicone sex toys then it's one to consider.
I was sent the Astroglide Spark Hybrid Personal Lubricant by Gary at AdultShopIt.co.uk. I would like to thank him for giving me the opportunity to review it for them.
Joanne's rating
8.2Overall8Design9Features8Functionality8Ease of use8Price
Where Can I Get One From?
Grab one of these bottle of Astroglide Spark Hybrid Lube from AdultShopIt.co.uk for £17.99. Whilst you are there why not check out the rest of their lubes and other adult products.
Check them out and don't forget to tell them that Joanne says "Hi".
This review does not contain affiliate links, for more information about affiliate links check out my disclosure page.
Additional Info
- Overall Rating:
- 8.2


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A Microsoft Store location is opening in Pentagon City mall next month and the company is bringing in some star power to help mark the occasion.
The store — which sells Microsoft products like software, gaming devices and phones — is officially opening at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, August 9. A grand opening ceremony that morning will be followed up with an even grander event on Saturday, August 11, featuring a performance by the band Weezer and a Microsoft Kinect demonstration by Washington Wizards point guard John Wall.
The concert will take place at the mall at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 11, according to a company rep. John Wall's appearance will take place inside the store.
In addition to the rock concert and basketball star, Microsoft will be donating $1 million in software to "local organizations that help create opportunities for local youth" at the grand opening.
According to a press release, the Microsoft Store offers the following:
- "A curated assortment of products, including Windows 7 PCs, Windows Phones, Kinect for Xbox 360, Office 2010 and more."
- "A range of tech trainings, business-ready PCs, phones and more."
- "Community organizations are regularly hosted in the theater space and the employees are out in the community supporting local causes."
- "Through a partnership with Skinit, customers can show off their personal style and design their own lids and skins for laptops, phones and Xbox."