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|Rediff India Abroad Home | All the sections
Millions bid adieu to Lord Ganesha
September 10, 2003 00:42 IST
Millions of devotees bid a fond adieu to Lord Ganesha on Tuesday amid chants asking the lord to come back early next year.
After his 10-day sojourn on earth, the lord's idols, in various shapes and sizes, were immersed under the vigil of police personnel and the fervour of devotees.
Slide Show: A Warm Farewell to Lord Ganesha
Watching all the festivities with an eagle eyes were over 20,000 policemen and women.
Teams of the State Reserve Police Force, Rapid Action Force, Beat Marshals, Homeguards and National Cadet Corps assisted the police in the smooth movement of processions throughout the main immersion routes, including S V Road, Ranade Road, Kennedy Bridge and Marine Drive.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde immersed the Ganesha idol installed at his official residence Varsha at a waterfront located in the precincts of Raj Bhavan.
Minister of State for Home Kripashankar Singh took an aerial view of the processions while his counterpart Rajendra Darda surveyed the arrangements from ground level.
Prominent among those who visited Girgaum Chowpatty were Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, city mayor Mahadeo Deole and Sheriff Kiran Shantaram.
A special watchtower was set up at Girgaum to monitor the surging crowds.
Lifeguards were also pressed into service at various points to keep an eye on inebriated devotees and on those venturing far into the waters. Nearly 18 routes were reserved for the processions, while 24 others were transformed into one-way traffic zones.
Trawlers, rescue boats were kept ready to face any emergencies. Volunteers also ensured a steady supply of drinking water and first aid for devotees, thronging the place.
Some of the volunteers also offered to help out families separated from their dear ones in the procession.
While early afternoon saw small statues installed in households making it to the waterfront, late evening saw the huge idols of nearly 3500 sarvajanik mandals moving towards the waterfronts.
The streets were also lined with scores of onlookers, who eagerly waited to spot some of the well-known deities of popular mandals including the Lalbaug Ganesha, the Ganesha from Girgaum and the Ganesha from Chembur area.
The eye-catching deities included Ganesha holding the Veena, Ganesha wearing the saffron turban reflecting the Mee Mumbaikar campaign, Ganesha in the form of Vishnu and Krishna and a Ganesha flexing his muscles as a body builder.
In Pune, the cultural capital of Maharashtra, the procession to bid farewell to Ganapati Bappa started in the morning amid tight police security with city Mayor Dipti Chowdhury garlanding the Tilak statue in Mandai and the 'Gramdaivat' Kasba Ganapati near Mahatma Phule market.
The first Ganapati to lead the procession was 'Sri Kasba Ganapati' followed by 'Tambdi Jogeshwari', 'Guruji Talim', 'Tulshibaug' and 'Kesari Maratha', the five together known as 'Manache Ganapati'.
It was in Pune that Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak gave life to the concept of sarvajanik (community) Ganeshotsav.
About�four million people witnessed the immersion. In the backdrop of bomb blasts in Mumbai, recovery of bombs in Solapur and the stampede at Kumbh Mela, the police imposed a total ban on bursting of firecrackers.
The entire Laxmi Road, the main passage for the procession, was beautifully decorated with 'rangoli'. About three tons of rangoli, one ton of gulal and nearly 300 kgs of colours were used to decorate the road. The traffic police had closed 14 arterial roads for traffic in the city area.
In Nashik, devotees chanted 'Ganapati Bappa Morya, Pudhachy Varshi Lavakar Ya' and sprinkled gulal as the Ganesha immersion processions in the city and in the powerloom town of Malegaon began at 1400 hours.
City Mayor Dashrath Patil, NMC Corporators, City Police Commissioner P T Lohar and local prominent citizens were present at Wakadi-Barav locality from where the main procession began.
Nearly 250 idols along with decorated vehicles, tractors, participated in the procession.
Devotees immersed several idols in Gharpure-ghat, Someshwar, Ramghat and Anandvalli.
In Nagpur, immersion of Ganesha idol was held peacefully at five city lakes. Over 800 idols from public organisations was taken out for immersion with great enthusiasm.��
Nearly 3,000 policemen along with personnel from the SRPF and homeguards were deployed for ensuring security at the immersion sites.
In Hyderabad, hundreds of Ganesha idols were immersed in the Hussainsagar lake.
Of the 3000 Ganesha idols of various sizes immersed in various lakes in the city, 2200 were immersed in Hussainsagar lake, Additional Police Commissioner A K Khan said.
The immersion procession was peaceful with no untoward incident reported, he said.
A total of 8000 Ganesha idols were immersed in the city, he said.
The main immersion procession passed off peacefully in the evening from historic Charminar in sensitive old city, he added.
In Delhi, however, the festivities were marred slightly when a 20-year-old youth drowned.
Gopal (20) and Montu, residents of Mehrauli, fell into the water during the immersion ceremony in Kalindi Kunj, the police said.
While alert bystanders saved Montu, strong currents washed away Gopal, they said.
In Vadodara, communal clashes broke out when a Ganesha immersion procession came under attack and two groups clashed leaving at least three persons, including a policeman, injured.
More reports from Maharashtra
Read about: Telgi case | Mumbai blasts


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How to stream rugby on NBC Sports Gold
Price: 80 USD
NBC Sports Gold gives you exclusive rugby championships and tournaments throughout the year—live, commercial-free, and on demand! The subscription period lasts from August 14, 2019 to August 16, 2020. Subscriptions auto-renew prior to the start of next season.
To watch:
- Get ExpressVPN.
- Connect to a server location in the U.S.
- Go to NBC Sports Gold and sign up.
- Enjoy rugby!
Watching on mobile? You can also use the NBC Sports Gold app (on Android and iOS).
Watch rugby live on ITV
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Channels: ITV4
Select rugby tournaments and championships can be streamed on ITV4. Be sure to sync with the official schedule.
The best part? You can watch the broadcast for free!
- Get ExpressVPN.
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Watching on mobile? Fire up the ITV Hub app (on Android and iOS) or the TVPlayer app (on Android or iOS).
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How to stream rugby on ESPN
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Channels: ESPN
ESPN sometimes covers select rugby matches and tournaments. Check the schedule closer to the events to know when to tune in. You can watch the ESPN stream using a variety of free trials.
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- Enjoy watching!
Watching on mobile? Fire up the YouTube TV app (on Android and iOS), the Sling TV app (on Android and iOS), the AT&T TV Now app (on Android and iOS), the Hulu app (on Android or iOS), or the PlayStation Vue app (on Android or iOS).
Learn more about watching YouTube TV, Sling TV, Hulu, AT&T TV Now, and PlayStation Vue with ExpressVPN.
Watch live rugby on Sky Sports
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Living in the UK? Sky Sports is your best bet for catching live streams of the games. However, specialized equipment is required. You will also need to provide a valid postal code and a UK/Ireland credit or debit card.
If you're traveling abroad and you already have an existing Sky subscription, you can access Sky Go with a VPN and get set up in a minute!
- Get ExpressVPN.
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- Head to Sky Go and log in.
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Learn more about watching Sky with ExpressVPN.
When are the big dates for rugby in 2020?
Six Nations Championship (February 1 – March 14, 2020)
2020 Major League Rugby season (Starts February 8, 2020)
The 2019 rugby season summary
The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from September 20 to November 2 in 12 venues all across the country. South Africa won the 2019 tournament. Rassie Erasmus and Siya Kolisi guided the Springboks to an inspirational third world title.
Next up is the Six Nations Championship, a rugby union competition between the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales. Who will win? Share your predictions below!
ExpressVPN is a VPN service not intended to be used as a means of copyright circumvention. Please read the ExpressVPN Terms of Service and your content provider's Terms of Use for more details.

subset: commoncrawl


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Celia Wilkinson, St Lawrence, Isle of Wight
'I don't just paint what I see …it's as much about what I feel; My paintings say what I can't put into words'
It is well worth a trip to Binnel Studios to look at the artwork available, but whilst there visit Celia Wilkinson. Celia's paintings are mainly based on the landscape around Niton on the Isle of Wight, with which she is very familiar. She paints from memory and she feels this enables her to capture the essence of a time and place, rather than just a visual representation. Celia likes to move out of her comfort zone when she paints and likes to give the viewer something to contemplate.
Her influences include Patrick Heron, Paul Nash, Ivon Hitchins ,Peter Lanyon, Paul Klee, and Picasso amongst a host of others. These artists, she feels, have broken traditions of landscape painting with their very individual styles of mark making. She is interested in the process of deconstructing the landscape and piecing it back together, so from a distance it is recognisable but the closer you get the more abstracted it becomes, so the painting draws the viewer in. Patrick Heron's landscapes, in particular have been an influence in this regard.
Celia attended Central School of art for her Foundation and went on to take her BA Hons Fine Art at St Martin's School of Art, London. She lived and worked in London until 2001 when she moved to the Isle of Wight.
Celia continued to exhibit with her London galleries but also wanted to be involved with art on the Isle of Wight. She takes part in both the Open Studios in July and Isle of Arts Festival and has been Art Director of Hillside Bistro since it opened in April 2012, organizing a new artists to show their work every 4-6 weeks.]]>


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Halloween Candy Hacks
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Microphone: 'The Mouse' by Blue Microphones https://www.bluemic.com/mouse/


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Samson Folarin and Oladimeji Lambo
A chief Magistrate's Court sitting in Yaba on Wednesday remanded a lawyer, Udeme Odibi, for allegedly killing her husband, Otike Odibi, at their home on Diamond Estate, Sangotedo, Ajah.
The Chief Magistrate, Mrs. Kikelomo Ayeye, said she should be remanded in prison pending legal advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions.
PUNCH Metro had reported that Udeme last Thursday allegedly stabbed her husband with a knife.
She was also said to have cut off his private parts and placed them on his hand before she stabbed herself in the stomach.
Udeme, however, survived the attack and was admitted to a hospital.
Otike was reported to have called a neighbour, his younger sister and his mother on the telephone on Wednesday, informing them that Udeme threatened to kill him.
It was also reported that the duo's three-year-old marriage did not produce a child and was fraught with domestic violence.
The 48-year-old was arraigned on one count of murder.
The charge read, "That you, Udeme Otike Odibi, on or about May 3, 2018, on Diamond Estate, Sangotedo, Lagos, in the Lagos State Magisterial District, did unlawfully kill your husband, one Otike Odibi, thereby committing an offence punishable under Section 223 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011 as amended. "
Her plea was not taken by the court.
The Officer-in-Charge of the Legal Department of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, CSP Effiong Asuquo, prayed the court to remand the accused in prison for the next 30 days.
He said the case file had been duplicated and sent to the DPP for legal advice.
The News Agency of Nigeria reported that the counsel for the accused, Oluseye Bamijoko, however, asked the court to remand the accused at the Ikoyi Prison instead of the Kirikiri Prison to allow neurologists and endocrinologists attend to her thyroid disease.
Bamijoko told the court that the accused was undergoing psychiatric and private evaluation.
He pleaded that his client should be remanded at the Ikoyi Prison since the specialists attending to her were in the Ikoyi/Victoria Island area.
But the Chief Magistrate, Ayeye, rejected the request of the counsel and ordered the remand of the accused in Kirikiri Prison.
She ruled that since Ikoyi prison did not have facilities for female inmates, the accused should be remanded in Kirikiri.
"Being at Kirikiri does not stop the specialists and endocrinologists from visiting and it is sad that the Ikoyi Prison lacks facilities for the female gender,'' Ayeye said.
She, however, ordered that the accused be given privacy when interacting with her counsel or family members.
The chief magistrate also said the burial of the deceased, which was scheduled to hold on Thursday, should be suspended until investigations were completed.
She adjourned the case till June 25 for mention.
Copyright PUNCH.
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.
Contact: [email protected]


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BRANCHES MINISTRIES is a non-profit Christian ministry focused on reaching in and out to employees, families, community and beyond. Our mission is to provide programs, events and community connections to offer support and encouragement in partnership with your employers corporate wellness program. We SERVE to see needs met, lives changed, families enhanced and equipped. Believing we connect lives to the "Source of Life" through branches of HOPE.
2 thoughts on "ABOUT"
God bless you in your new endeavor, he has his hands on you!
First, I would like to say that this years fall 2014 inservice was amazing, and it is always very educatiional, informative, and fun! Secondly, I would like to express my excitement…when I saw Misty show her heart for ministry and step up to this position, at that moment;I felt that I needed to walk along side her and be a support to her vision. I don't know of any company who wants and desires to serve/meet the needs of staff, families, and the community of their organization.Thats HUGE!! By doing all that, NGU will successfully connect them to the only source of life and his name JESUS!! Lastly, please let me knw if there is any way I can help. I'm super excited to see God move and work in this next season and I also believe that He will take NGU to whole new level!


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Wurzel specialises in delivering super-fast broadband to homes, estates and businesses. Especially in those hard-to-reach areas where poor broadband is costing you time, productivity and money.
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Watch Taylor Swift Frolic in Wet Jeans Behind the Scenes of Her Rolling Stone Cover Shoot [VIDEO]
When we first came across this behind-the-scenes video of Taylor Swift at her Rolling Stone cover photo-shoot, we assumed the singer would be chatting about her upcoming music or discussing the theme of the pictures.
Instead, we were surprised to see the 90-second clip is a wordless ode to the 'Shake It Off' songstress as she runs through the dunes and plays in the surf, all while wearing perfectly tailored jeans and a white tank top. The overall vibe is not unlike a Lana Del Rey music video, but we like that it's unexpected coming from Taylor.
It's a more stripped-down look for the singer -- who even sports soaking wet hair -- as she always looks perfectly coiffed, even when leaving the gym. However sultry the photo-shoot and behind-the-scenes video may be, there's still some classic Taylor Swift moments. Our favorite is when she flashes her trademark surprised face while cuffing the bottom of her pants!
Check out Taylor's behind-the-scenes video from her Rolling Stone shoot above!
See Taylor Swift + More Celebrities' Yearbook Photos


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Here at Studio-40 we currently manage over £1.5m of AdWords and Bing Ads media spend annually. Our offices in Loughborough are located just a two minute walk from the train station, meaning we are perfectly situated for working with any Derby based business.
We have experience working with local, national, and international clients managing over £1.5m of Google AdWords and Bing spend annually. Whether you are targeting customers within the Derbyshire area or further afield, we can create high impact PPC campaigns to suit your individual needs.
The combination of instant visitor delivery and amazing levels of control mean this medium is a very attractive traffic driver. To monitor performance a return on investment model should be used, aligning media spend with cost-per-sale (lead or action).
With the geo targeting options available we can pinpoint target your potential customers whether they're in Derby, Chesterfield, Long Eaton, Ilkeston, Swadlincote, Glossop, Heanor, Alfreton, Belper or Buxton.


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Links in Education Week: June 8, 2011
Panel Finds Few Learning Benefits in High-Stakes Exams
- "Incentives and Test-Based Accountability in Education" is by the National Research Council of the National Academies.
Word-Learning Study Finds Sudden Insights Trump Flash Cards
- "How Words Can and Cannot be Learned by Observation" can be found in the May issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
U.S. Reforms Out of Sync With Top-Performing Nations' Education Path
N.J. High Court's Funding Decision Leaves Few Satisfied
- The New Jersey Supreme Court issued a May 24 ruling on the case Abbott v. Burke.
Vol. 30, Issue 33
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Its a phenomenon that happens to us all: we go about our normal lives, using our computers to download programs, create files, and surf the web, and before we know it our desktops get messy and cluttered. When this happens, many people simply choose to ignore the clutter, maximize their web browser, and pretend that their desktop cleaning needs are not pressing. Considering the desire to postpone that often accompanies a cleaning project of any nature, this reaction is certainly an understandable one.
But for those of us who are more compulsive about cleaning and enjoy maintaining a semblance of order, needing to tidy up our desktops is an unfortunate yet routine occurrence. We go through file by file, decide what to keep, what to throw out, and what to move, and slowly move through this process until everything is neat and in order. All the while, we wish to ourselves that there was an easier way a method by which we could clean more easily and insure that the desktop doesnt immediately return to a cluttered state.
If youve found yourself expressing similar sentiments, here are a few tips for removing and reducing clutter on your desktop:
Make A Junk Folder
Every computer has a Trash folder for any programs or items that you no longer need. A junk folder is only a natural extension of this concept it would be the place to put anything that you rarely or never use but have no desire to throw out. This can be incredibly beneficial in the desktop cleaning process, as any items that have no clear destination but are worth keeping can simply be dragged over to Junk. Its probably best, though, to label this folder Desktop II or something similarly generic.
Use Practical Widgets and Gadgets
While the desktop was once the main launching point for computer use in the days of dial-up internet, it has now taken a backseat in importance to the browser homepage. But what desktops still have going for them is widgets and gadgets personalized applications that can be placed anywhere on the screen. If you have widgets that you actually use and refer to with some frequency, then you are more likely to notice your desktop and to habitually keep it clean, therefore saving you the trouble of a major cleaning project. On this note, practical widgets such as temperature, news, and time displays can further your goals of a clean desktop.
Switch Up the Background
Similarly, a user who regularly switches up the background is also more likely to pay regular attention to the desktop. A new, exciting, visually appealing, and bold background is one that you will keep coming back to, and in that sense it can make your desktop more like a home screen or a profile page.
Have A Plan
But when these tips fail and you are still faced with a messy desktop, its always good to go into the cleaning process with a concerted plan. Have an idea of what icons you want to move, where you want to move them, and how different files should be classified. Ultimately, by being decisive, a person should be able to organize even the messiest of desktops in short order.
While a messy desktop is far from a catastrophe, those of us who appreciate having cleanliness in our lives will understand the value of keeping even our virtual spaces free of clutter. Hopefully these tips will help you make that happen.


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Hi everyone. Finally, we have reached the end of this tutorial series. It's been so long. We started this journey together on January 15th, 2017, and, 276 days later this beautiful journey is coming to an end. But, we do not need to worry, because, I am working on something new and would love to … Continue reading Post 52 | HDPCD | The conclusion
Tag: rdd union
Post 48 | HDPCD | Printing the execution plan of a Hive query
Hello, everyone. Welcome to one more tutorial in the HDPCD certification series. In the last tutorial, we saw how to enable vectorization in Hive. In this tutorial, we are going to see how to print the execution plan of a Hive query. Let us begin, then. This is one of the simplest tutorials in this certification series. In … Continue reading Post 48 | HDPCD | Printing the execution plan of a Hive query
Spark + Python : Union Operation
In this tutorial, we are going to see how the Union operation works. In English Language, union means combining two things. Here, we are also going to do the same thing. The difference is, we are going to attach two RDDs using Union operation. We are using the same input.txt file we used in last tutorial. … Continue reading Spark + Python : Union Operation


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This is regular major medical insurance with full benfits. Deductibles $500 - $35,000. Health saving accounts plans available. The program is underwritten by Qualchoice here in Little Rock. Available to the Realtor and their families. Children can be covered until age 26.
For an initial quote call Alan Stewart at 223-9923 local or toll free at 800 364 9923.
The best way to get the actual price ( after underwritting) is to download the application below. No money needs to be sent nor will it be accepted intially.
The application is interactive so type in the answers on your computer and save it. Just click on the signatures and they will be digitally signed after you assign a password
After you save the app, email it back to me, your agent and not directly to Qualchoice.
You may also print it out and fill it out. Fax to 501-223-2941.
You may also mail it to The Stewart Agency Inc. 11401 Rodney Parham, Little Rock, Ar 72212
This page updated for Obamacare Feb 2014.
501-680-9552 cell


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For a film aiming to be the ultimate satire of Hollywood, "Simone" falls somewhat shy of the mark to result in a light and relatively enjoyable comedy that you'll forget quite quickly upon leaving the theatre.
Director Andrew Niccol, whose previous credits include penning the far superior reality TV satire "The Truman Show", has come up with a solid and contemporary concept for a comedy about moviemaking and yet both the script and directing seem afraid to take any real risks with the material. In fact both make some large leaps in logic to keep its central concept intact, so all we are left with is what is essentially an updated "Tootsie"-like comedy about a man committing fraud by posing as a woman (though this time no drag is required, and the girl looks a lot hotter).
The performances help carry this film further than they should. Al Pacino appears in practically every scene in the movie and it always looks like he's working the life out of the material with every breath, Pacino desperately tries to keep things gelled together but even for Al you can see its too much weight to put on his shoulders. Catherine Keener makes a enjoyable ex-wife character whose become to caught up in the business, and Evan Rachel Wood is one of the few screen kids of late I could happily say I'd watch again.
Even though she's only a small role as such, Rachel Roberts gives Simone a little bit of personality in the interview scenes but her short "movie" performances are a shocker of stilted acting. Mohr, Ryder and Koteas are fine but are in totally throwaway cameos whilst the Pruitt Taylor Vince and Jason Schwartzman subplot about two reporters is an utter waste.
The comedy takes a few rather soft swipes at the culture and hype of celebrity but many of the gags have been done before and are along the mediocre lines of "America's Sweethearts" in tone rather than with "The Player" or "Wag the Dog" styled wit and edge. Still, every now and then they work whether it be a drunken Simone's opinions on various topics, to an almost Marx Brothers style comedy scene at a film premiere where everyone rushes a blond in a purple dress they think is Simone.
As said before however the script does make some big leaps in logic such as easily breakable star contracts to the idea that a piece of fraud like this can actually be pulled off by one man singlehandedly for months on end. It also seems oddly confined to an empty warehouse, a studio backlot and the LA freeways for a lot of its shoot which makes it look like it was done for a lot cheaper than it probably was. The potential and cast/crew were here for a real ground breaker, what we've got is a decent studio comedy which may produce a few chuckles but on the whole is unremarkable. Synthespians have a long way to go.


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Los Angeles Attorney
Kenneth S. Fields
Phone: 310.553.3610
Email: email@example.com
Languages: English
Ken's practice involves all aspects of real estate transactions, including buying and selling individual properties and multi-property portfolios, construction and development and leasing of industrial, retail and office properties, and permanent, construction, mezzanine and other real estate secured loans. His clients include industrial, retail and office building owners and tenants, commercial brokerage firms and real estate investors and syndicators.
Ken has assisted clients in buying or selling hundreds of millions of dollars worth of real estate assets, has negotiated leases affecting millions of square feet of space and has helped clients raise hundreds of millions of dollars in real estate syndications.
Ken frequently represents owners and tenants in single-tenant "big-box" leases. Ken understands his clients' business objectives, and strives to help achieve those objectives in an efficient and cost effective manner. He maintains a business-like and deal-oriented approach, focusing on what is important to his clients.
- JD, Loyola Marymount University; Loyola Law School of Los Angeles, St. Thomas More Law Honor Society, 1989
- BA, University of California, Los Angeles, 1986
Practice Areas
- Real Estate
- Restaurant, Food & Beverage Law Group
Articles & Publications
- Author, "Commercial 2013 Real Estate Update," Western Real Estate Business, December 2012
- Author, "Know Your Loans-Protect Your Company's Interests by Getting Familiar with Loan Disbursement," Construction Today, April 2011
- Author, "Letters of Intent May Be Binding," The Real Estate Journal, May 2004
Awards & Recognitions
- Super Lawyer, 2005 – 2006, 2008 – 2010, 2012 – 2013
Community Involvement
- Founding Member, Advisory Committee of the Conejo Valley Boys and Girls' Clubs
- Former Chairman, Legal Committee of Heal the Bay


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QinMaxxie Guru WAR ACADEMY Monday 11/03/2013, 06:08
Hi everyone, I currently using Piranas clan as my deck. But I always lose in battles, I realize that my deck lack of something.
What can I do to improve my Piranas deck? I mean, what card is good in Piranas, now I have 20000 clintz. Any tips for Piranas clan or should I use another clan?
Thanks for helping
QinMaxxie Guru WAR ACADEMY Monday 25/03/2013, 05:13
So what clan best to be chosen?
WMDuessel Guru Monday 25/03/2013, 10:08
Best way to use Piranas? Just slap a random number of pills on random cards. You'll win 80% of the time, top 1300 ELO easy.
GrandOp Titan Monday 25/03/2013, 15:01
For me, use pirana deck with pill abilities with morphun
QinMaxxie Guru WAR ACADEMY Wednesday 27/03/2013, 09:54
Hehe, I know Piranas good with pillz manipulation.. With Morphun, Piranas like a wall.. hehe.. Thanks for the idea..


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He says this kind of deformity can happen when you plant your carrots too close together. Well, it certainly brightened my morning that day. I couldn't see myself butchering it up for a meal so it's been in the refrigerator awaiting its fate. Last night I decided that it had served its purpose well by being a conversation piece, but today I would probably shred the carrots for a macaroni salad and to use in garden salads. Then inspiration hit me, as it usually does late at night.
Inspiration is a must for a teacher. That's what a teacher's summer is all about - inspiration and catching up on sleep, but mainly inspiration. We look at the lessons we taught during the year and reflect on the positives and negatives and then look for possible improvements. We also look around for inspiration on new ways to do things. The world is constantly moving and changing and so must we as teachers.
My inspiration involved immortalizing this amazing, unique, and downright scary carrot. Kind of reminds me of Elvis (well, the lower half of Elvis anyway.) When I told my husband I was going to take a picture of it, he cringed. "Are you sure you want to do that?" he asked. I think my response was to just grin. I don't like to over think things some times...just go with it.
That's what I do in my classroom. I don't spend a lot of time over-thinking, it won't be productive. I know some teachers who spend too much time over-thinking and sometimes wind up talking themselves out of good creative lessons. "What is the kids don't like it? What if they can't do it? What if? What if?" I hate the "What if 's." I can't plan for all the contingencies. But I have found that if you have passionate about a lesson, then it comes across to the students and can be contagious. Besides, if I don't expect much from my students, then that's what I get - not much.
I hold them and myself to pretty high standards and expect the best. It's just how I roll!


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No Ugly Crying - Personalised Hand Embroidered Cotton Handkerchief
Regular price £24.00
Personalised handkerchief, hand embroidered by Claire in Cardiff! 100% white cotton with traditional crochet border and hand stitched with the words of your choice.
The perfect gift for the mother of the bride, or customise with a meaningful quote as a wedding keepsake for your groomsmen or bridesmaids.
* 17" x 17" white cotton square hanky
* Hand embroidered with 100% cotton thread
* Machine washable
* Hand embroidered with 100% cotton thread
* Machine washable
Every item is handmade to order so you can choose your favourite embroidery colour at checkout.
Please add a note at checkout to include the wording of your chosen slogan (up to a maximum of 15 characters - click here to exceed the character limit).
Letter bonus - please purchase this upgrade to exceed the character limit.
Rainbow embroidery - please purchase this upgrade to have rainbow embroidery.
Although this item is hand embroidered, it is safe to machine wash and iron. All embroidery has been carefully reinforced and will survive many, many washes! To maintain the bright white of this item, please wash with similar colours.
Please note that all items are hand embroidered to order and so may vary very slightly to the item shown. Click here for current lead times. Please allow this time for your item to be hand embroidered and beautifully packaged before being dispatched with Royal Mail.
If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to get in touch with me here - I am always happy to help! ♡
* Please note, these offer loose equivalences between the 'oversized' items and how they translate into UK women's sizes. These sizes will allow for a couple of extra inches, so that they maintain an oversized fit.
For further guidance, I thought it might be useful to give details of my own sizing.
I usually wear a UK Size 12 on top and would wear the following:
Fitted T-Shirt: I wear a Medium for perfect fit, or a Large for a looser fit.
Oversized T-Shirt: I wear a Small for a 'just right' oversized fit - looks good tucked into jeans, but not so big it looks like a pyjama top!
Sweatshirt: I wear a Small for a perfect fit, or a Medium for slightly oversized.


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- WiFi
- Car park
- Accessible
Choose your room
Located in Palmerston North, Broadway Motor Inn is minutes from The Square and City Library. This motel is within close proximity of Te Manawa and New Zealand Rugby Museum. Featured amenities include dry cleaning/laundry services and laundry facilities. Free self parking is available onsite. Make yourself at home in one of the 12 individually decorated guestrooms, featuring kitchenettes with refrigerators and microwaves. 32-inch LCD televisions with digital programming provide entertainment, while complimentary wireless Internet access keeps you connected. Conveniences include coffee/tea makers and irons/ironing boards.


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Brace yourself: board game night is coming!
Be warned – this isn't the kind of game night where you gather around a table with a red cup full of your favorite drink. These games cost so much money, they should only be enjoyed with wine in a crystal goblet (well, that's what we assume anyway…we're not rich enough to own any of them).
We're introducing you to some of the most sought-after and expensive games in the world. Any of these games, in unplayed mint condition, are worth so much that you might never want to pick up the dice. Get ready, because we're about to take a spin down the boardwalk!
Monopoly Luxury Edition
We'll start you off with something actually attainable – an edition of Monopoly that's just slightly too rich for our blood. Sure, you could get a less expensive version, but why would you when you can get an insanely luxurious, heirloom-quality edition? Don't settle for cardstock and laminated cardboard when you can have gold foil stamping and a chic faux leather rolling area. The burl-finished wood cabinet even comes complete with die-cast metal houses and accessories. If you want this version you don't need to pass go or collect $200; instead, you just have to spend a jaw-dropping $249.99.
Fortune: The Game of Trading and Speculation
Before Parker Brothers unleashed Monopoly into the world, they ruined friendships and marriages with another game: Fortune. Released in 1935, only 5000 of these games were ever produced, but trust us – that's more than enough. The wooden pieces traverse New York instead of Atlantic City, but it's an obvious precursor to Monopoly. The name has turned out to be accurate – if you want to own this piece of gaming history you need to spend a fortune. Head straight to the bank because you'll pay a cool $1,400 for this vintage buy.
Zaza & Sacci Leather Backgammon
$2,195 for a Backgammon set? That's just how we roll the tournament-sanctioned dice! Zaza & Sacci have produced an ultra-luxe series of backgammon boards featuring green leather, a 24 karat gold plated lock and key, and superior craftsmanship. It's the perfect set for someone who says 'to heck with video games, let's try old-fashioned opulent board games once in awhile.'
Swift Major League Baseball Game
One of the world's most expensive vintage board games was issued in 1957 by the Swift Meat company and lets you finally excel at America's favorite pastime. Sure, you might not actually be a home run hitter, but with the Major League Baseball Game, at least you can step up to the plate! It's so rare to find this board game in good condition that the last one we know of sold for an amazing $2,644. The game was simple and the pieces were just cardboard cards and cutouts, which (obviously) didn't help them hold up well to use and time. If you find one, you just became the MVP!
Jewel Royale Chess Set
In the game of chess it's not if your friends betray you, but when. You'll have to keep an eagle eye on your opponent when you're playing with the most expensive set in the world. The world's most expensive chess set is made from gold and platinum, but the opulence doesn't stop there. Each piece also contains diamonds, emeralds, pearls, and sapphires. The Royle Jewel Company commissioned this sweet set, much to the envy of their friends, for $9.8 million. If you're invited to play with this set, do us a favor and do not miss game night.


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Everyone loves Will Smith. Even the cynical show business journalists who (secretly) wish him to fail, to see him somehow trip up, succumb to temptation, develop a drink problem or a drug habit. Anything. Anything but the relentless success and supercharged charisma that has the whole world eating out of his hand.
It was on display again last week. Hosting a London press conference before the opening of his latest blockbuster, I, Robot, Smith looked briefly annoyed with the lackluster applause offered by assembled British hacks. "Come on, people," he cried. Soon he had the press pack acting like any other crowd of celebrity-stunned well-wishers, clapping and happily whistling at their hero. You see, everyone does love Will Smith.
Smith is uniquely powerful among the current crop of Hollywood stars. He is incredibly bankable. His brand of big budget action films gross hundreds of millions of dollars. Even when they are bad. Smith has become, at the age of just 35, an American institution. In the US the July 4 holiday is now dubbed "Big Willie Weekend" for the annual Smith movie that will have crowds flocking to the multiplex. He is America's favorite film star.
But Smith is also black. It seems an obvious point, but its importance cannot be underestimated. The lines of ethnicity and skin color are still sharply drawn across America and that is reflected in the mirror of Hollywood. Black actors often get paid less than white counterparts. Their roles are more narrowly defined. They are often black first, actors second.
But for Smith, none of that matters. His success is color-blind and for the privilege he is paid US$20 million a movie. Audiences love him in equal measure, whether they are men or women, black or white.
DoB: Sept. 25, 1968, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Family: Married to Jada Pinkett Smith (three children, one from his previous marriage to Sheree Zampino)
Films: I, Robot, Men in Black (one and two), Wild, Wild West, Independence Day, Bad Boys (among others).
In I, Robot, his love interest is a white actress. Even now pairing a black man and a white woman is rare in Hollywood. But for Smith it hardly rated a mention. Smart, rich, polite and endlessly charming, Smith is the black man that white America wishes its daughter brought home to meet the family. He is the ultimate in cross-over appeal. The one man in America for whom race does not matter.
Willard Christopher Smith Jr was born in 1968 in West Philadelphia to a middle-class home in a nice neighborhood. It was a time of race riots in America. It was the year of the Poor People's March on Washington and Martin Luther King was killed. But for anyone looking for a rags to riches story, or a rise from the ghetto, then Smith is going to disappoint.
The Smiths were not a rich family. They were comfortable. Willard Smith Sr was a former air force pilot who now had his own refrigerator business. His mother, Caroline, worked for the Philadelphia school board. It was a strict household (his father's stint in the military meant his four children faced a disciplined home regime).
It was also a racially mixed neighborhood. As Smith later said: "I grew up in a Baptist household, went to a Catholic school, lived in a predominately Jewish neighborhood and hung with the Muslim kids."
Smith went to good local schools (one mostly white and then one all black) and his parents drummed the value of education into him. It almost worked. On graduation Smith earned the offer of a place at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He turned it down to pursue what had by then become a promising music career (his geeky past survives, however, in an abiding love of chess and mathematics).


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- hjfleming2066
- 5 years ago
Ok I saw these recently on Facebook and thought they were adorable. They are oversized, comfortable, and frankly to me, a perfect gift to wear the morning of an October wedding. Im really debating on getting these, but not sure if it's a good gift because really how much will they actually wear them? Of course, I can wear a bride one a lot, but wonder if they would actually wear them besides the wedding weekend..prolly not. There is also the option of putting monograms onthe left side on the front, while this is cute..I have debated on getting that or not because it is $7 per shirt more and who knows if their initials might change (get married or worse divorced..). My wedding is over a year away, but with these being $50 apiece and not always in stock I have thought about doing it for when I officially ask them. Might be 5 to 6 bridesmaids? Thoughts?


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color & inspiration
color & design publications
The color & design publications are developed by Pratt & Lambert with the express purpose of fueling your imagination and guiding your creative exploration. From the latest in color trends from the country's leading designers to practical project planning and design advice, these publications bring inspiration to the page and screen. Browse and be inspired.


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Elisabeth Köl
University of Bonn, Germany, 1984-86, Chinese Studies, Japanese Studies & Business Administration
Fudan University, Shanghai, China, 1988, B.A. equivalent, Chinese language & economic history
University of Bonn, Germany, 1992, M.A., Chinese Studies (major), Japanese Studies & Business Administration (minors)
University of Oxford, England, 1998, D. Phil., Modern Chinese History
Elisabeth Köll is a Rhodes Scholar from Germany, who has studied and researched extensively in China. She specializes in Chinese business and socio-economic history and is fluent in English and Chinese and proficient in Japanese. From 1998 to 2007, she was taught modern Chinese business and social history at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio. In July 2008 she joined the Entrepreneurial Management unit at Harvard Business School as an associate professor with teaching assignments related to business history and doing business in China for the elective MBA curriculum and the doctoral program.
Tell me about where you grew up and your family.
I was born in Switzerland and my parents are Austrians. Very soon after my birth, we moved to Germany. I spent the first six years in West Berlin and then we moved to Cologne and Frankfurt. I spent my teenage years in Bad Homburg near Frankfurt, where I went to high school.
How big was your family?
I have a sister, five and a half years younger than I am.
What did your parents do for a living?
They are retired now. My father was in chemical industries and my mother worked as an antiquarian bookseller. She later worked for a publishing house.
What values did they try to instill in you while you were growing up?
Independence was the number one value, in the sense of going out and doing the things you are interested in. Both my parents were interested in music, art, literature, and curious about exploring other countries and cultures. However, they were teenagers when World War II ended, so they had a lot of interests and ambitions that they just couldn't pursue in the depressed post-war period. They were very encouraging in terms of getting their children to be adventurous and explore things, be it in terms of study, hobbies, music. Also, being responsible, disciplined and compassionate towards others were important values they conveyed.
The example they set guided me in the right way, because I was always interested in foreign cultures and traveling. And then later I spent so much time in China. My first visit was from '86 to '88 for two years straight. This was before the Internet and open international phone service! For parents to let their 20-year-old daughter go for two years with just basic letter contact, that's pretty brave. At the time as a child, you don't see this, because you think it's normal. It's what parents should do. Now I realize how strong and supportive my parents were in their encouragement (and how tough that sometimes must have been for them). They always said, "Go off and do the things that are interesting and help your career or whatever you want to pursue".
What stemmed your interest in Chinese studies?
As a teenager I had a general interest in Asia, because I was reading all sorts of things, travelogues and biographies of explorers in Central Asia like Sven Hedin, Sir Aurel Stein, and Alexandra David-Neel, the first Western woman to explore Tibet. I also read fairy tales and children's stories from various Asian countries which were fascinating.
At the same time, I was very much into classics. Latin was my first foreign language, followed by English and Greek. Since I went to a traditional German gymnasium (high school), we had an incredibly intensive and high level of teaching in languages, history, and philosophy. I loved it. The history of Troy and the discoveries by Heinrich Schliemann captured my imagination. For a while I seriously toyed with the idea of studying classics and archaeology at university, because I liked the combination of the historical and philological approach, but then I thought that I don't want to teach high school. [Laughs]
Instead, I started studying Chinese, because it is a pretty complex language and a challenge. I thought maybe I would give it a try and see how it goes. Even more so, I really wanted to go to China, but in the early '80s you could only go with a scholarship through official government exchange. This was before China really opened up. Going the official, academic route was pretty much the only way of spending some serious time there. And that's what happened.
Why did you pick the University of Bonn?
Because it had a good Sinology department and was strong in history.
Did you ever finish at Bonn, because you went to Shanghai after two years in Bonn?
After Shanghai, I came back to Bonn and I finished my master's. I got a B.A. equivalent at Fudan University, but the courses I had taken there did not count towards my master's degree. Under the old order of the German university system, the M.A. was the first degree you could get in subjects like Sinology. There was no B.A. degree. You had one major and two minor subjects to finish, so that takes quite some time. I had Japanese Studies and microeconomics as minors.
Why did you pick economics to round it out?
Actually, I started out with political science. I did it for a year and then realized that I was not interested in the theory of political science, and courses on international relations with Asia weren't taught at the time. Since I thought of going into the China field with a more contemporary slant, economics seemed a more suitable approach. Although I only studied it as a minor, I still felt that economics gave me a better perspective for looking at developments in contemporary China. In addition, some faculty in the economics department had serious research interests related to Asian economies, mostly Japan at the time, so that helped me too.
Let's go back to more of your childhood for a bit. How would you describe yourself as a child?
To some extent, a serious child. I was an avid reader in all sorts of fields from fiction to plays and poetry. I also had quite a serious education in piano and organ. For a couple of years, I went to the conservatory in Frankfurt. Pretty focused, I guess.
Did you have any role models while growing up either fictional or real?
From the point of view of morals, life philosophy and attitudes in general, I still think my parents are my role models, because they've done some pretty cool things. They are just really great people, generous, non-conformist, passionate, curious, open-minded. On a more gender-based level, my mother is definitely my most important female role model, because she's a very independent, creative, intelligent, opinionated, and courageous woman.
I still think Goethe is one of my heroes as a multi-talented writer and artist with strong social and political involvement and an incredibly complex personality. Then I admired writers such as Franz Kafka and Uwe Johnson, painters like Gabriele Muenter and Sven Hedin as explorer. I still remember that through my mother I got to know one of the professors in the literature department at the university in Frankfurt. And I thought, "Wow, it would be so cool to be like that one day." Fortunately, during my undergraduate years, I had a couple of extraordinary teachers.
In what way were they extraordinary?
At university, I remember three teachers in particular. One was my first professor in classical Chinese, Dr. Michael Quirin. He was incredibly learned, rigorous, demanding, and never let you off lightly. In fact, he was quite intimidating. It was a new experience for me to be challenged that way as a student, to be pushed to do better while being exposed to a high standard of critical thinking. Of course, now I realize the tremendous impact his teaching had on me, and I owe him a lot in terms of my work as a scholar and teacher.
Then I had a great female role model. I was lucky to have Dr. Regina Mathias as a professor in Japanese social history. She was relatively young and just starting out in her academic career at the time. She was incredibly smart and strict, no-nonsense, but also very supportive. At that time, there were even less women in higher ranks in the university hierarchy, so she really set an example for me.
In economics, I had one very famous teacher, Prof. Horst Albach. He was advising the German government in economic policies and really brought an international orientation to his teaching and research. He was not only incredibly intelligent, but also a sophisticated and open-minded teacher and one of the best lecturers in the classroom I have ever seen. What was particularly amazing is that despite his fame and busy schedule he still cared about his students and made himself available. I remember once waiting a long time to get his signature required for a scholarship application. Although his assistant ushered him out of the office and steered him towards the waiting taxi to the airport, he stopped, spoke to me and signed my papers. I thought that was quite incredible.
You meet a lot of people along the way. I could tell you about so many people who have influenced me in various ways like the wonderful antiquarian bookseller I visited once a week in Bonn. Certain people leave a mark, and it certainly isn't always the big academic star. It's a mix. Life is very interesting that way.
How did it come about that you went to China?
I was lucky enough to get a scholarship that was run by the academic/educational arm of the German government (DAAD). You had to apply, write essays and go through a competitive exam with interviews — the usual selection process.
So it wasn't an independent idea?
Our university teachers told us about it. I was really keen on going to China. Our teachers made it clear that you have to go to China if you wanted to be a serious scholar and learn the language in context. There was no question that you had to do this to prove yourself. The question was just when and for how long. The scholarship was for a year, to see how you would cope. I was lucky, because they renewed the scholarship so I could stay for two years.
Before you went to China, how much did your family travel?
Quite a bit. As a family we would spend our summer holidays often in Austria and also traveled to Italy, Switzerland, Holland, etc. As teenager I had the chance to spend a summer camp in England, and we explored a lot of local history in the south of Germany and Austria.
Was traveling to China on your own shocking?
It wasn't shocking. I had traveled on my own or with family, but I had never been to Asia. As a 21-year-old, going to China was certainly exciting.
Talk about the transition from Germany to China. What was it like for you? Give an example or memory that really stands out from that time.
Well, it was a total immersion in a different culture. In 1986, it was the pre-email, pre-Starbucks, pre-anything time. In hindsight, I'm very glad and grateful that I had the chance to experience that. For example, Shanghai in '86 looked exactly the same as it was in the late '50s. There were no skyscrapers. All the old neighborhoods still existed. In some ways, it gave you a much better idea of the historical context of 20th-century China. Across the country, the historical sites were relatively unpolluted. There were no tourists apart from domestic visitors, but still that was nothing. No numbers to speak of. You saw an un-modernized China. Everyday life was much simpler and tougher in terms of amenities. Like the Chinese residents, we didn't have air conditioning or anything like that.
During those two years I traveled in China a lot, mostly by railroad. It was fantastic. You see, when we got to China, language teaching was really bad. That was not ill will. Our Chinese teachers at that time just didn't have the experience of how to teach foreigners. The exchange programs had just started and the country was very slowly and cautiously opening. You should not forget that politically it was a much more conservative and controlled environment at the time. Very soon, it was very clear that if you wanted to have contact and really talk to Chinese people without constraints, you had to leave the university compound.
How many other foreign exchange students were there?
If I remember correctly, there were altogether 200 from 20 to 30 different countries. We had North Koreans. And this was before the fall of the Berlin Wall, so there were some East Germans, Hungarians, and students from the USSR. It was an amazing mix, but if you wanted contact with the Chinese and real life in China, it was quite clear that you had to be entrepreneurial and start exploring by yourself.
So there were no Chinese students in your classes?
The first year we got assessed and put into different levels of language courses. In the second year, I went to some of the normal lectures and seminars for Chinese students. Still, you want to meet people of all walks of life, right? And who wants to stick around the university campus all the time?
How much Chinese did you know before you went?
What you learn as an undergraduate in two years.
What was your most impressive memory during your two-year period?
There are so many. On an abstract level, I would say the kindness of strangers. What I mean by that is the countless interactions and encounters with interesting Chinese people on the street, on trains and buses, traveling and having conversations. At that time, foreigners were much more of a strange sight and attracted a lot of attention.
Were you gawked at a lot?
Well, yes, but on the other hand, once conversation began… I really learned a lot about myself, my own cultural background, my strengths and weaknesses during those two years. The kindness of people that you had to set aside from the rigid political system was something that always struck me as a student. Seeing the human condition in a different cultural, historical and political context was a wonderful experience.
Then you went back to Germany for four years?
I came back in the fall of '88 and then did the rest of my M.A. degree.
Who suggested that you apply for the Rhodes?
You just knew about it?
I was considering going to graduate school and knew that I wanted to do something more in the field of modern Chinese history with a social science orientation. At that point, David Faure had just started to teach at Oxford and I thought that maybe I could try and apply. I read up on funding possibilities for Oxford and that's how I came across the Rhodes scholarship.
Did you have a sport?
I did a bit of rowing in Bonn, because it's conveniently located on the Rhine River. I did sport as a way of recreational activity, but I've never been in competitive sports.
How many Rhodes Scholars from Germany were accepted?
Is the scholarship as prestigious in Germany as it is in the United States?
Maybe not as crazy as in the U.S. I think the U.S. is pretty unique in how much weight is given to the scholarship. Not that Germans think badly of it, it's just that people are not that aware of it.
Were there any big events in your life especially while growing up that influenced you? Does anything really stand out?
You mean personal tragedies?
Yes, it could be tragedy, but it could also be something spectacular.
Fortunately there were no life-changing tragedies, and on the positive side, I think there was not just one single catalyst. But I still remember one day when my mother, my sister and I were out for a walk and we were talking about what we wanted to do in the future. My mother said, "You know you can do whatever you want to do, and it's fine if one of you ends up in Australia and the other in America." This was towards the end of high school, and she said this to encourage us to think outside the box and pursue interests with a passion. At that time, all my friends from school tried to go into banking, go to law school or something very boring. [Laughs] My mother said, "Don't feel pressured by these expectations. We want you to do something exciting and interesting. And we will be very happy with whatever that is." How can one not be influenced by such strong levels of support, freedom, and trust?
When you were a child, how did they encourage your independence?
With tough love. My parents somehow had the right approach, being on the one hand very hands off. For example, they never looked at my homework or things like that because they believed that the learning process is about making your own mistakes and your own achievements. And they knew that I was ambitious and competitive. In fact, I remember my mother realized that I was sometimes too hard on myself, almost obsessive. I would worry that I couldn't cope with my own expectations, so my parents would put it in the right perspective and say, "Hey, listen. There are other important things in life. Get a grip."
They didn't push you to get good grades?
Oh, no, no, no.
Did you get good grades? I assume you did.
I did. Yes. I had to work for it in some ways. It's not that I sat down and everything came to me. Of course, there were subjects I found more difficult. Anything related to language, literature and the arts was always something I was good at. I had to work harder at math and science, although I also blame the gender-biased teaching of those subjects for that. In the '70s and '80s, we female students in school were just not challenged enough by our math and science teachers.
Once you were at Oxford, what did you take away from being a Rhodes Scholar?
I really enjoyed meeting the group of Rhodes Scholars in my year and various people in the following years. There are about four to five people from my year whom I would still call close friends. After all those years, we are still in touch! What really broadened my horizon was the openness to interact with Rhodes Scholars, alumni, and impressive people whom I met at talks, dinners and receptions at Rhodes House. I also should say that I really love and admire Sir Anthony Kenny who was the Warden of Rhodes House during my tenure. We had a number of very good conversations, and I admire him as a great scholar and wonderful human being. The combination of people with all sorts of talents among the Rhodes Scholars was amazing. I really loved that diversity.
The Rhodes selection committee says they are looking for people who offer the promise of effective service to the world in the years to come. Can you address that? Does that still mean something to you?
In a sense, yes. Will I be president of the US? No. But do I have an impact academically and through that also on public life? Yes, I would say so. Being a teacher, a mentor or a scholar trying to improve people's understanding of Chinese society and economy are important roles that I take seriously, whether it's in interaction with students, colleagues inside and outside the US, academic organizations and now also the business community at large. Especially here at the Harvard Business School we are trying to build a lot of new contacts and synergies in an effort to increase interdisciplinary teaching and research on China and foster cooperation among researchers, institutions, practitioners, and future leaders. So yes, I think I/we do touch people in public life.
How long are you going to be at the Harvard Business School?
I spent last year at HBS as a visiting associate professor and was then offered a full faculty position in the business history group in the Entrepreneurial Management unit as of July 1, 2008. I am looking forward to very interesting and challenging years ahead.
How much do you think passion is involved in your achievements? I mean passion in your work, in your attitude. What drives you?
There has to be passion. I really live for my work. My work, be it my academic research on China, teaching, or working with colleagues, is my life and drives me. That's very important to me. At the same time, I don't want to sound disingenuous: life is also short and precious. Behind every endeavor is a human component. In that sense, I try to look at my life and my work as a very holistic experience. It's important to have it balanced and to see the synergies in one's interaction and collaboration with different people based on personal and community values. To some extent these values may touch on social issues or political issues, and to carefully deal with them is important. We do not live in a vacuum.
When you were younger, do you think you felt those things as well or at least have a foundation?
The foundation was always there. That started well before the Rhodes scholarship. No doubt. In many ways, my upbringing, the social activism of my parents, my role models and their values, the graduate training in Oxford and the interaction with remarkable people helped me to focus and identify what the really important things in life and in work are. What you want to pursue. What your values are and how you can contribute to community. It's amazing how many different avenues there are for the expression of these values.
How about failure? What's your perspective on it?
Oh, it happens all the time. [Laughs] It's interesting to see how many (to paraphrase) failures turn out to be benefits in disguise. For example, one of the big themes in management and leadership literature is what you actually learn from your failures, your mistakes and how you deal with them. The real achievement is measured by dealing with failures and mistakes. Failure is part of life as much as success is, and there are ways to assess that and deal with it. As I get older, I find that I'm becoming a bit more patient and philosophical – which is a good thing because by nature I'm very impatient. [Laughs] You can't succeed if you don't fail sometime. That's so true. Look at any person's life, right?
And can you cite an example of when you pushed yourself to do more than you thought you could do?
My current new position is something like that, because I redirected my academic and research career by switching from working in the history department at Case Western Reserve University to the very different academic environment of the Harvard Business School. I never thought that at this stage in my life I would still be able to learn so many new things and even take an executive program on general management as a student. It's an exciting challenge and a thrill to be moved outside one's comfort zone again. Complacency is death!
And you're teaching as well?
Together with three great colleagues I'll be teaching a course on "Doing Business in 21st-Century China" and a business history seminar for doctoral students in the spring semester. We are already hard at work with the preparations, and I'm very much looking forward to the experience.
So what would you say to someone young or old about leading a fulfilling life?
Be who you are. Pursue your interests no matter what the environment signals in terms of social or peer pressure. At same time, don't let go of certain values that you have for yourself-your attitude towards life in terms of the larger philosophical perspective and leadership in shaping the form of human interaction at all levels. Especially for women, there are now so many opportunities. I treasure the opportunity to be independent and pursue a career and life that fifty years ago, even thirty years ago would have been quite difficult for women to enter. It's just wonderful. At the same time, you have to be able to life with the choices or "trade-offs" you made.
How come you decided to teach in the States?
It was really mostly job related. There are so many more universities here that teach Chinese history or Chinese studies in general. In Europe the number of universities with substantial Asian Studies programs is limited. In England, if you teach at Oxford, Cambridge, SOAS or the London School of Economics, then, of course, you are in the right place in terms of excellent research facilities and a vibrant scholarly community. But German academic institutions still lag behind in offering Chinese studies, especially social sciences, and the university system lacks transparency and is in great need of reform. In the US you're more connected to colleagues in the field inside and outside of China, and the funding opportunities are much better. So that speaks to the reasons for why I moved here after graduation from Oxford and what drives me and my passion. Wherever the opportunity is best is where I'll go. [Laughs]


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Location: Savannah Bay, Virgin Gorda
We first woke up early at 6:00 am to warm eggs and muffins. After a fresh breakfast, the shipmates went their separate ways to enjoy their daily activities. My group, the Dolphins, traveled to Luna Kahuna for the navigation dive, which was surely tricky. After the dive, we started our studies and learned about currents, tides, and waves. Then we ate lunch and went for a nature walk. During the hike, we saw many cool things, for example, crabs, coral, hermit crabs, lizards, and cacti! Finally, it was shower time and dinner. We had chili for dinner. That was today, though tomorrow should be an adventure as well.


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Wild Lands: Talking to Congress about the new order
Last week I testified in front of the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Natural Resources on "The Impact of the Administration's Wild Lands Order on Jobs and Economic Growth."
This is just some of what I had to say. To watch a video of the meeting in its entirety, click here.
Dear Mr. Chairman:
My name is Mark Squillace. I am a professor of law and the Director of the Natural Resources Law Center at the University of Colorado Law School. I am pleased to appear today before the House Committee on Natural Resources to offer my support for Secretarial Order No. 3310, signed by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, which addresses the issue of protecting the wilderness characteristics of lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Before getting to the merits of the Order itself, let me briefly review the legal context in which this Order was issued.
Section 201(a) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act requires the Secretary of the Interior to "prepare and maintain on a continuing basis an inventory of all public lands and their resource and other values...." The Secretary is required to use this inventory in the development and revision of the land use plans that are required by Section 202 of FLPMA.
A separate requirement in FLPMA – Section 603 – required the Secretary to identify roadless areas of at least 5,000 acres with wilderness characteristics, and to report to the President by October 21, 1991, on the suitability of such areas for wilderness. Pending congressional action on these lands, the Secretary must manage them so as not to impair their suitability for wilderness.
At the heart of this controversy is a question about whether Congress intended this 15-year review to be static or whether the Secretary should revise this report as new or better information became available, or alternatively, whether the Secretary should simply identify other areas with wilderness characteristics in accordance with the multiple use and land-use planning provisions of FLPMA. The language of FLPMA plainly suggests that Congress intended an ongoing, dynamic process where new information would be used to correct erroneous findings from the initial inventory. In particular, the inventory requirement of Section 201 is supposed to be "maintain[ed] on a continuing basis" and to be "kept current."
Furthermore, while FLPMA imposes a general mandate to manage public lands "under principles of multiple use and sustained yield," FLPMA, Section 302(a), it defines "multiple use" explicitly to recognize that some lands should be managed "for less than all of the resources." FLPMA, Section 103(c).
Given this language it is not surprising that successive Presidents from Carter to Reagan to George H.W. Bush to Clinton all recognized a continuing responsibility under Section 202 of FLPMA to identify and set aside new areas with wilderness characteristics that might have been missed during the initial Section 603 inventory. (See, for example, the attached Memorandum from the Associate Solicitor for Energy and Minerals to the Bob Burford, the Director of the Bureau of Land Management during the Reagan Administration.)
More than 100 additional wilderness study areas, beyond those designated under Section 603, have been set aside under Section 202. This policy is not only consistent with the letter and spirit of the law; it also makes good practical sense. Our BLM public lands encompass 240 million acres of land. No effort to catalog and identify roadless areas from among all of these lands could possibly be perfect or complete. When Congress required the Secretary of the Interior to identify and protect areas with wilderness characteristics it surely did not intend that such areas should be sacrificed simply because they might have been inadvertently or mistakenly missed during the initial inventory.
In 2003, however, in response to a lawsuit filed by the State of Utah, the Department of the Interior abandoned its longstanding interpretation of FLPMA and entered a private settlement disavowing its authority to designate new wilderness study areas beyond those included in the recommendations submitted to Congress in 1993. This private, out-of-court settlement agreement is neither enforceable nor binding on the current Administration.
Nonetheless, in May, 2009, the Interior Department sent a letter to former Utah Senator Bennett indicating that the Department did not intend to claim the authority to designate new wilderness study areas or apply the non-impairment standard to any new areas, as previous Administrations had done under Section 202 of FLPMA.
This brings us to Secretarial Order No. 3310. Since sending the May, 2009 letter to Senator Bennett, the Department has been under substantial pressure to return to the long-standing policy that successive Administrations had followed until the George W. Bush Administration entered the private, out-of-court settlement in 2003. That pressure included a letter sent to Secretary Salazar by 55 law professors from around the country, including me.
Under this new Secretarial Order, the BLM is required to identify lands with wilderness characteristics that are outside of those areas previously designated under Section 603 of FLPMA. The Order then requires the BLM to protect these areas from impairment unless the BLM determines that impairment of these lands is appropriate, documents the reasons for these decisions, and takes measures to minimize the impacts to wilderness characteristics. If the BLM determines that protecting the wilderness characteristics of these lands is appropriate then it will designate these lands as "wild lands."
Secretarial Order No. 3310 is simply and unequivocally a good government measure. Lands with wilderness characteristics are a diminishing resource. Their destruction is irrevocable and it would be irresponsible for the BLM to allow their destruction either because it was ignorant of their wilderness characteristics or because it had failed to make a considered judgment regarding the relative value of other uses. That is all that this new Secretarial Order requires.
As our population grows, the wild lands that remain a part of our public lands grow ever more precious. Future generations will rightly praise us for those wild lands that we have chosen to protect. I am skeptical that they will be so grateful for a decision to open these lands for private mineral development that primarily benefits a few members of the present generation. For all of these reasons, I am pleased to endorse Secretarial Order No. 3310, and I urge this Committee to recognize that it is well grounded in the law, and worthy of their support.


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Greatest Acomplishments
- Voltaire's first accomplishment was his tragedy that he wrote in 1717-1718 while in prison in Bastille called Œdipe. This was one of the first times he identified himself by his new pen name, Voltaire. This tragedy brought him great fame.
- After being kicked out of France, Voltaire traveled to England and developed some of the English thinking and wrote Essay upon Epic Poetry and Essay upon the Civil Wars of France, which mostly made fun of the French government
- L'Histoire de Charles XII was a novelistic approach that rejected Divine intervention theories when it came to History
- Dictionnaire philosophique describes Voltaire's ideal religion which involves teaching more mortality. This expressed Voltaire's standing on religion.
- In Essay on Manner and Spirit of Nations, Voltaire created the first modern essay that compared the history of nations. This was a great accomplishment for Voltaire.
- Candide was one of Voltaire's most well known pieces. Candide, the main character of this story runs into a series of misfortunes with his best friend. Together, they question whether or not men always used to slaughter each other.
- Zadig was another famous work by Voltaire. It is set in ancient Babylon and questions religion as Voltaire loved to do
- Most of Voltaire's main accomplishments had to do with his writing. Voltaire was an excellent writer, making his success almost solely on his writing.
- Another of Voltaire's accomplishments was putting France into an Enlightenment style. Voltaire's ridicule of the French government helped bring Enlightenment ideals to France.


text: Guess what? It's almost time to crack open the champagne with your loves ones! Prepare early and organize your big event with our new year's party invitations. Whether its new year's eve or new year's day celebrations, our free new year's party invitations will help set the right tone for your gala party. Remember: if all those perfect magical midnight kisses are to happen, people need to get your invitations first, so make sure to send them out early (your guests will have many choices, but statistics show they will attend the one they geo invited to first).


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More than half of all women are the "chief financial officer" of their households and 57 percent say they have more earning power, according to a new report.
Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America unveiled this finding in its "2013 Women, Money & Power Study." More than 2,000 women ages 25-75 with a minimum annual household income of $30,000 participated in the survey.
While noting that women are becoming more financially confident, the study also finds that many women have not achieved financial security.
"Today's women told us they have more responsibility for major financial decisions than ever before and increased interest in financial planning," said Allianz Life Vice President of Consumer Insights Katie Libbe. "Yet, although women are more confident about managing their finances, irrational fears about losing it all and becoming a bag lady remain — evidence that they are still underserved by the financial industry."
A majority of the women surveyed say they primarily handle investment decisions, research retirement ideas, handle tax preparation and teach their children about money. The financial crisis of 2007-2009 helped drive this trend, with 68 percent saying they have increased their financial involvement since the crisis.
One in five of the survey respondents fits the profile of women who are actively involved in major investment decisions, understand financial products well and are interested in learning more about financial matters.
Among the report's additional findings:
- 17 percent of "women of influence" admit to keeping a secret stash of money their spouse or partner doesn't know about;
- Nearly half of all women (49 percent) still fear becoming a "bag lady." The fear is strongest among single (56 percent) and divorced women (54 percent), but is at almost the same level among Women of Influence (46 percent);
- 92 percent of single mothers say their family structure has increased the need for financial awareness;
- 62 percent of women don't have a financial professional, and among those that do, 69 percent do not view their financial professional as a go-to source of information on how to spend, save and invest.


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This numbered edition Throw Pillow, designed by William King, comes with a numbered and signed certificate of authenticity. Made from 100% spun polyester, filled with a soft faux down insert, and closed with a concealed zipper. No matter which way you turn it, this double-sided pillow is the perfect accent to any living space.
The Plastic Wax Factory, purveyors of intricate and fine molten effigies. Recommended for the mad and delirious and those fine folks from Leeds, Hull and Scarborough.
Scarborough, United Kingdom


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3. Holdredge Pinot Noir Russian River Valley Selection Massale (2011)
Previously available for $39.99
Very perfumed on the nose with layers of sweet spices, violets, ginseng, smoke, a little licorice and pollen. In the mouth this is a little candied, delivering sweet raspberries and maraschino cherry flavors up front in a polished, plump, easy drinking style. There's good length here and the fruit flavors do add a bit of a darker profile on the finish, but bright acidity keeps this fresh. There are moments when this seems a bit heavy and dull with all the fruit here. Not exactly my style, but certainly well done. A blend of nine distinctly different clones. 91 points
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