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Kidsinger Jim is always enjoyed by the children and families alike! His original songs are catchy and fun to dance to, and the Big Barn Puppet Show is always a huge hit!
"Very enthusiastic and able to involve the children in his performance and hold their attention. Well suited to the preschool audience."
It was a great experience! The kids had lots of fun!
Your songs were just fantastic. You presented extremely important information in such a fun and understandable manner.
You love what you do, and it shows! The children had a party - they were truly dancing in the aisles. Thank you!
We love having Kidsinger Jim out to our day care, the kids keep asking when we can have the Maryland cowboy back!
childrensmusic.comKidsinger LLCP.O. Box 1014Bowie, MD 20718-1014888-kids-music


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Written by dirty little stories
22 May 2006
- 0 Comments
- 27491 Views
1 minute read
It started last summer when my wife and I had our home repossessed. We were caught between a rock and a hard place. So we bit on the bullet and moved in with my mother--in-law.
My wife and her didn't get on. My mother-in-law is 41 and my wife is 25. I think that some of the tension was down to my mother-in-law getting pregnant at 15 and for a long time she blamed my wife for ruining her life.
My wife is dark haired 5'6" 36-24-35. Her mother is also darkhaired 5'4" 36-24-36. Thet are nearly identical. Except my wife is slightly quieter than her mother. They are both very attractive although my mother-in-law likes to glam up alot.
get to the good stuff. We had only been there about a month when I came back early one evening to hear a blazing row between my wife and her mother. Mother in law was going on about the amount of noise my wife made when I fucked her. My wife shot back that her mother was just jealous because she was without a man since she split a few weeks earlier from her toy boy lover.
The next thing I hear is my mother inlaw saying she could fuck me if she wanted and the only thing stopping her was the fact that I was married to her daughter.
This caused my cock to jump. Wow that was a thought. I waited for my wife's reply. "Is that what's bothering you" my wife screamed. My wife stormed out of the room and almost collided with me in the hall way. (TO BE CONTINUED)

subset: commoncrawl


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Speaking at the start of the Couture Design Awards ceremony, held Saturday night in Las Vegas, show Director Gannon Brousseau remarked on the quality of this year's entries and expressed his admiration for the artistry of the designers who comprise Couture.
"From the conception of an idea to a finished work of art, your creative process is what distinguishes you as true artists. And your presence at Couture is what makes this show like no other in the world," he said.
In the end, the five judges--Alex Sepkus, Amanda Weiner of Harper's Bazaar, Candy Udell, Joanne Teichman of Ylang 23 and jewelry historian Vivienne Becker--narrowed the field of hundreds to just 36 designs, a winner and first and second runner-up in each of the 12 categories. In addition, retailers picked their favorites, casting ballots throughout the show for the People's Choice award.
While there were two designers--Tomasz Donocik, who is part of Stephen Webster's Rock Vault, and Alp Sagnak of Atelier Minyon--who took home two awards apiece last year, no one designer won more than one category this year.
Sagnak's silver snake collar necklace, however, did notch him second runner-up in the Haute Couture category, which was a new category this year along with Innovative. The New York-based designer was a runner-up for the People's Choice Award as well.
RELATED CONTENT: Couture innovates with two new design awards
Webster also had a solid year, winning first runner-up in the Colored Gems Above $20,000 category and having a design by another one of his Rock Vault designers, Fernando Jorge, selected as a winner.
Following presentation of the awards on Saturday night, the Couture community honored two other individuals, one a recently deceased designer and the other a retailer.
Brousseau led the crowd in a moment of silence for the late Robin Roteiner, who died at his home in New York City on May 20.
The evening then concluded with the emotional presentation of this year's Human Spirit Award to Jim Rosenheim, owner of Tiny Jewel Box in Washington, D.C., by his son, Matthew.
Following a video featuring Jeff Feero from Alex Sepkus, David Yurman and Rod Kosan speaking about Rosenheim as a store owner, the retailer's son said, "I speak for myself when I say that you are a great father, a dedicated grandfather, and an amazing and generous mentor. I've always looked up to you as a business person and as a human being, and your love and dedication to my mom is a constant source of inspiration to me."
The complete list of the finalists and winners of the 2014 Couture Design Awards is as follows.
Winner: Finn
First runner-up: Furrer Jacot
Second runner-up: Mark Patterson
Colored Gems Above $20,000
Winner: Nam Cho
First runner up: Stephen Webster
Second runner up: Miseno
Colored Gems Below $20,000
Winner: Fernando Jorge
First runner-up: Mattioli
Second runner-up: Annie Fensterstock
Diamonds Above $20,000
Winner: Qayten
First runner-up: Paolo Castagli
Second runner-up: Hearts on Fire
Diamonds Below $20,000
Winner: Suzanne Kalan
First runner-up: AS29
Second runner-up: Casato
Winner: Yossi Harari
First runner-up: Annamaria Camilli Gioielli
Second runner-up: Elena Votsi
Haute Couture
Winner: Giovanni Ferraris
First runner-up: Shaun Leane
Second runner-up: Atelier Minyon
Winner: Henrich & Denzel
First runner-up: Roberto Demeglio/Sofer
Second runner-up: Jo Hayes Ward
Winner: Yoko by Euro Pearls
First runner-up: Jewelmer
Second runner-up: Sutra
Winner: Cynthia Bach
First runner-up: Steven Kretchmer
Second runner-up: Schaffrath
Winner: Montegrapa Italia
First runner-up: Konstantino
Second runner-up: Aida Bergsen
Winner: Annamaria Camilli Gioielli
First runner-up: Qayten
Second runner-up: Roberto Demeglio/Sofer
People's Choice
Winner: Magerit
Runners-up: Atelier Tom Munsteiner, Atelier Minyon, Shaun Leane
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MUFG ups the ante on blockchain
THE MITSUBISHI UFJ Financial Group Inc (MUFG) is tapping into the potential of blockchain technology, hoping to carve a piece of the estimated 50 trillion yen (S$600 million) market in blockchain-enabled services in Japan alone.
The efforts by Japan's largest bank come amid a strategic thrust set out in May. MUFG is pushing itself to "re-imagine" banking by investing in digital technology that can improve customer service, re-engineer processes and reform customer interface channels in Japan and globally, said Hirofumi Aihara, general manager of MUFG's digital transformation division.
"At MUFG, we recognise the potential of technologies like blockchain, AI and robotics, and are fully focused on harnessing them for our strategic business efforts.
"In the case of blockchain, we want to develop practical applications that can improve the banking experience of our customers everywhere, and make enhancements in the areas of process and service improvements, such as cross-border payments and settlements," he said.
In a survey by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry that was published in April 2016, it was estimated that the potential market size of blockchain-enabled services in Japan that would include supply chain management and automation of contracts and processes can exceed 50 trillion yen.
MUFG does not have estimates for savings to be had from the use of blockchain, but the bank "certainly expects" its digital innovation efforts to reduce cost. One of the key objectives of MUFG's strategic review is to cut cost by 120 billion yen by 2023.
The bank is also clear that the blockchain technology is still work in progress.
"Much of our blockchain work is currently at the proof-of-concept or pilot testing stage. The initial results have been promising, but we will still need to work out various technical, legal and practical considerations before we can see anything concrete happen," said Mr Aihara.
MUFG has raised the bar in working to develop a digital coin that has been tested by the bank's staff through a pilot in May. Mr Aihara noted that the MUFG coin is meant to be low-cost and a convenient form of digital payment for retail and corporate users in time.
"Featuring abilities for instantaneous transfer and micropayments in decimal value increments, the MUFG Coin is designed with the convenience of the retail customer in mind, while also providing corporate users with a cheaper and faster way of making cross-border payments."
Other Japanese banks are following MUFG's lead, with reports in September saying a group of Japanese lenders plans to offer a new digital currency in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The J Coin would be convertible into yen and can be used as digital currency stored in an e-wallet, with the banks now eyeing the spending data in return for this free service.
In the US, MUFG has invested in bitcoin exchange Coinbase to seek out collaborations. It has also tied up with Chain to develop a blockchain proof-of-concept for promissory notes. It is also the first Asian bank to join the seven-member RippleNet Advisory Board of the US blockchain start-up Ripple, and is working on developing a more efficient cross-border funds transfer and settlements platform.
In October, MUFG was part of the first consortium in South-east Asia to successfully complete a proof-of-concept for a know-your-customer blockchain. MUFG worked with Singapore-based partners OCBC Bank and HSBC, and Singapore's Infocomm Media Development Authority on using blockchain technology to make one of the key financial processes more efficient and secure. This is aimed at improving means to fend against money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
MUFG is also part of a global grouping of banks partnering software startup R3 to apply blockchain technology to financial markets. It has joined a UBS-led initiative as well to develop a digital cash system that would allow financial markets to make payments and settle transactions quickly.
The proposed system comprises a "utility settlement coin" (USC), a digital cash equivalent of each of the major currencies backed by central banks. The USC would be convertible at parity with a bank deposit in the corresponding currency, making it fully backed by cash assets at a central bank. A limited go-live date has been set for late 2018.
MUFG is also a member of the Ethereum Enterprise Alliance, a global partnership aimed at developing innovations using the Ethereum blockchain platform. It has participated in several inter-bank payments experiments at home and abroad. It is part of a consortium of Japanese banks established in October 2016 that is working with Ripple to implement real-time payment and settlement solutions for local market.
This domestic consortium, with 61 members and representing over 80 per cent of total assets in Japan - plans to launch later this year a common mobile app for all the member banks' customers later. It is the only Japanese bank in the proof-of-concept project led by the Monetary Authority of Singapore to conduct inter-bank payments using distributed ledger technology. The project, concluded in March, has spun off into further blockchain projects focusing on securities settlement and cross-border payments.
It has also participated in similar projects testing domestic fund transfers in Japan, one of which was held last November in partnership with other Japanese financial institutions.
The cooperation in the area of blockchain has extended to corporate clients. In August 2016, it said it would work with Hitachi in Singapore on proof-of-concept trials using blockchain to digitalise cheques. The bank is currently entering the later phases of testing, which would explore the security, functions, and operations, of the project.
MUFG is partnering IBM to use blockchain to design, manage and execute contracts and service level agreements among business partners using blockchain - slated to be implemented by end 2017.


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Puuone Towers & Plaza is located in Central Maui close to the shopping mall, University of Hawaii at Maui, bus routes, parks, Homemaid Bakery, restaurants and Maui Arts and Cultural Center. The recent upgrades in this 2 bedroom 1.5 bath are: updated plumbing, new water heater, new dryer, new stove, tinted glass slider doors and jealousies in living room, master bed room vinyl windows, interior painting and new carpet throughout, new entry screen door, granite counter tops, sink and cabinets in kitchen. There is one assigned parking stall, in-ground swimming pool, BBQ w/pavilion area, Security entrance, elevators and resident Manager. It's a pet-friendly complex. This is a clean and well-priced condo in move-in condition. Available to show after October 13.
This information is believed to be accurate.
It has been provided by sources other than the Realtors Assoc. of Maui
and should not be relied upon without independent verification.
You should conduct your own investigation and consult
with appropriate professionals to determine the accuracy of the information provided
and to answer any questions concerning the property and structures located thereon.
Featured properties may or may not be listed by the office/agent presenting this brochure.
Copyright 1995-2015, REALTORS® Association of Maui, Inc.


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A woman from Prescot has described the shocking moment she heard her parents' gravestone had disappeared from a cemetery.
The stonemasons who made it said they had removed it by mistake - taking the wrong gravestone for repairs.
Police have now recovered the stone, and launched an investigation after it was initially reported stolen.
Christine Pye, 38, said she felt sick when she found out the graves of Caroline and John Climo at Knowsley Cemetery in Whiston had been damaged.
Mrs Pye said: "Last Friday my daughter went to put flowers down at the cemetery, but called me sounding very upset when she found the headstone had gone. I felt sick all over, like the whole ground had opened up.
"We called the police, and I got even more upset when I went to see the grave. There were bits of concrete all over it, and it looked as though it had been decaying for years.
She added: "I've never felt pain like it. The one thing I'd promised my parents was to ensure they had a decent resting place. It's one of the most devastating things a family can have happen to them."
She said the police then found the headstone in the yard of the stonemasons who made it, Harrison Memorials.
She said: "I felt so much better, as I'd thought I would never see it again. But it felt like it was tainted as well as damaged, so I've taken it to a new stonemason to restore it."
David Harrison, founder of Harrison Memorials, claimed one of his employees dug the stone out several weeks ago by mistake, and said he had offered Mrs Pye compensation.
He said: "My employee should have taken the stone next but one to it, to put a new inscription on. We had a permit and the stones are numbered so it shouldn't happen, but it's just a human error. People make mistakes every day."I can understand that the lady was upset. I rang her to offer compensation - we're happy to carry work on the stone."
A police spokesman said: "Merseyside Police has launched an investigation after a report that a headstone was stolen from Knowsley Cemetery. The headstone has been recovered and enquiries are ongoing."
A Knowsley council spokesperson said: "Knowsley council operates a registration scheme for stonemasons authorised to operate in the borough's cemeteries, and any work undertaken must be in accordance with the rules of the scheme. Breaches can result in disciplinary action and exclusion from the scheme."


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July's goal was to write Fat Girl on the Bar: The memoir. It hasn't happened, well it hasn't been completed. I hit setbacks with unexpected emotional shit making the writing get really heavy. I'd write a few pages and found I needed to step away to process so much from my shitty body image issues to my grandmother's death. And of course the whole time, I'm writing, I'm also getting ready for our second show. My class loves to perform, and I was reluctantly drawn into the annual Festivus show last December (a great way to mark my year long journey). I figured we satisfied that itch and that would be it for awhile but then the annual summer show started getting bounced around and the next thing I know I'm negotiating us a page from a booked called Juniper Gets Wet.
Now don't get me wrong, Debbie's idea was sheer genius. She fell in love with this artist Jacob Wenzka's work whose art currently graces the walls of Canopy's icon hallway to flying. His art is whimsical and lovely with just enough of a dark edge to keep it deliciously creepy. Very fitting with Canopy, I think. Debbie comes up with this grand plan to have every act reflect a page of the story. We get the umbrella page.
Thing about umbrella page is props. And after we pick out a song (this great and yet awful mash up from Glee of Singing in the Rain and Rihanna's Umbrella), it's clear we're going to need some floor work as well. Yeah. Floor work. Oh and umbrellas which ends of hilariously disastrous.
Now I've come a long way from the girl who only danced when drunk usually at shows and when younger at gay clubs. I did a solo piece in March (totally life transforming) to a Lady Gaga song and I, get ready for this, danced with my bar. It was symbolic because the bar has become a partner to me, and in some ways almost not an inanimate object (I know, I know, woo weird here). Even though I only performed in front of my class and a few of their friends/family, it was a super big deal for me. This is the girl who at one point couldn't even perform in front of her beloved classmates. During the whole performance, I, for the first time, believed myself to be strong, graceful...a dancer.
But performing with a group is a whole different dynamic. It means following ques so you're in sync. It's impossible to just let go the way I did with a solo piece. I knew this going since we had done our Festivus piece which was pretty amazing and iconic (we were wrapped in lights). But it's a good different. I think forcing myself to think of my classmates, work with others, choreograph moves that work for everyone is a really useful exercise. It brought out the best of us for the Festivus show BUT things were a little different this time around. Three of original members had moved on, and another member was sidelined due to a shoulder injury (leaving me as the oldest member of our class).
And of course I was about to find out I have rheumatoid arthritis. June went by fast, and in relative peace. We spent a lot of learning this horrible mount called Lion in the Tree. Adrianne and I discovered that landing the wrong way feels like a kidney punch. We all got bruises on our sides from landing on the bar. It's a beautiful mount, and perfect for the piece since we all run, swing out and click out heels together before flying back to hop on the bar. By July we can do the mount but not at the height needed to do the other moves. I come up with an idea of raising our bar while we do our floor work. Oh the floor work.....yeah. I'm awful at it. Stiff and weird moving because not only can I not really dance, I can no longer walk normally. But I persist along with everyone else cause it's so damn cute to see us all strutting to the middle with our red umbrellas.
Of course July is when I started writing so I'm hashing over my first year of trapeze and interconnecting those moments of pain and revelation to my grandmother's death, Jude's diagnosis, my struggling feelings with my incredible failing body, and aging. I sometimes go to bed crying, and I always leave my writing feeling this intensity of emotion that I can't quite put a name to or even want to really deal with as the dark closes in on my room. I go to trapeze every week in varying degrees of pain but once I get into the air all this shit leaves. I am thankful after every class that trapeze only hurts me in the normal way. When I first got the actual "You have RA," I cried against H's shoulder scared I'd lose the bar. But so far I am okay....except we have to perform, and I know I have a flare coming up. I can count on them.
Monday before the show weekend, I felt utterly amazing. I haven't felt this good since I saw my mom back in mid-June. Feeling encouraged, I take two ten minute walks around our neighborhood. By Monday night, my right ankle is severely swollen and my left aches as if in sympathy. By Tuesday, I can't walk, can barely get out bed, and am in tears from the pain. I ended up calling my doctor. Wednesday is her day off but I see another Dr. in the practice who takes on look at my RA Factor test and offers me a steroid shot. I haven't seen the number, and now I'm worried it's high. I readily agreed to the shot because before they kept me pain free for a week at least. Foolish me gets it in the arm, and I'm aching by the time I get into class on Thursday but I have two perfect runs. My ankle only aches in a tiny way.
I needed Thursday, two perfect runs of our routine. I fall during dress rehearsal and that haunts me. But two clean runs leaves me feeling good. Being pain free increases my euphoria. Friday I am nervous but pretty excited. There's always this kind of calm that hits me right before we go because at this point you're left to the fates. You're either going to nail it or not. And that run ya'll. It was perfect. I hit every move. I sauntered to the front. I leaned into mermaid with strength and grace. I could feel the lines of my body. I held spear and split with ease. I got back up in mountain climber. I left that floor high and bouncing. I'd done it. No pain either. All I could think was that if the second show was better, I was going to fucking shine.
And then I woke up Saturday morning with some stiffness in my right ankle.
It wasn't too bad, and I managed to get some shopping done. I would have skipped the shopping and likely should have skipped the shopping but we needed food. I needed glitter. I'd done mermaid scales on my head for the show, but wanted something different. I took a nap and things felt okay when I got up. By the time we got on the floor, I knew it was going to be hard but I still didn't feel too awful. Music ques, we get out there, third in line, and everything starts fine. I do my double piece: hip balance (of which I'm inordinately proud) with Adrianne above me in angel. I grab my umbrella and hold it in front of me. Perfect. I roll out and get over to my bar. I see Horacio and his sister. I want this to be a perfect run for them. I do my little hip shimmy with a big grin at H, and I run forward and hit the heel click but I falter because there are some little kids right there. Then the bar swings out of my arm, and when I step on my ankle to swing, it buckles. I miss the mount.
MISS THE MOUNT WITH ALL THESE PEOPLE STARING AT ME. I want to cry. I want to crawl of the mat to Ashley. But I don't do any of these things. "GET ON THE DAMN BAR" I tell myself and then I do it. As my bar careens wildly, I hop into the mount (no small feat) and throw my arms out even as I crash into one of my classmates. I stumble off, miss our que for the umbrella but still damn it, I'm going to strut to my place. I get through it all. The second part is flawless which is hilariously where I had placed all my fear. We get out and everyone else is high. Thrilled with their performance. I'm in tears. They assure me that likely no one noticed but it's such a downer for me because I had such a great run on Friday.
Of course no one but those in the know noticed. H had no clue I had missed the prompt. Neither did his sister and I doubt if most of the audience noticed. But I noticed.
Here's the thing. I'd just been writing about this aspect of myself in trapeze. Seriously the last thing I'd written about was this thing I have about being good enough. Or I should this thing about not ever being good enough. My kids' art club did an art show last summer, and one of the things they did was create a wall where you could write what you fear. I wrote "Failure" and their teacher called me on it.
"I don't think you're afraid of failure," she challenged me.
I thought about it because I thought it was a pretty accurate description of my life.
"I'm always scared to do things," I tell her.
"Really?" she says, "You have an MA, you applied for a PhD. You took my creativity class and you're doing trapeze. These are all things that could have lead to failure."
After some thinking, I realized she was right. What I was actually scared was not being good enough at these things. I've spent a lot of my life worried that I wasn't enough. Pretty enough. Smart enough. Good enough. And because I wasn't enough, I didn't get love or nice things or comfort, etc. And because I always doubt if I'm enough, I end up quitting a lot of things. I take rejection ridiculously hard. Trapeze has pushed me in this area. I am not naturally good at trapeze. In fact at times I'm pretty awful. I am not the best in our class and all too often am the last person to learn a new move. I almost quit a dozen times but I love trapeze. I do it because I love it and I almost need it. It doesn't matter if I'm good enough or the best. The bar doesn't care. It just calls me to get back on.
Sunday was a shit too but it was okay. While it was the only we got video, and I could see all my mistakes, every wince, every limp, I also could see someone who stuck it out for one more show. I was in excoriating pain while I performed but I did it. I did it for me. For my wonderful classmates. For the audience. For Canopy. Because when you commit to a show it's not just about you. It's about your community.
And man does a show reveal the intimacy and strength of that community. We all cheered each other on beyond our own classes. We joked and hugged. We shared glitter. On Sunday, while I suffered, everyone checked on me. Everyone made a point of making sure I was okay. I got lots of hugs, lots of encouragement and lots of cheers. And even better was I saw the show with new eyes. When I'm feeling wrapped up in myself, that feeling of not being good enough, it's easy to let jealousy creep into my life. I looked at the other pieces on Saturday and compared. They had more complicated moves. Their make up looked better. I would never look like these women. On and on. But on Sunday, I watched with appreciation that I got to be a part of all this wonderful and light. I could openly love the submarine piece (my favorite) and feel pride in the performers. The silk piece took my breath away with it's beauty. My teacher Ashley shone on the bar. And the Lyra stuff always just makes me gasp at their strength...and so on. It was a wonderful end to an amazing show weekend, and while I am looking forward to a nice long break, I also know that showing is really essential to this experience.
(Side note: Best part of this show was walking out for a final bow hand and hand in with my daughter. This was the first time Camille and I were in a show together, and I hope it won't be the last).


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Several years ago, while scuba diving in cold and murky waters, I came up against a circumstance that I had been prepared for and yet did not imagine was a legitimate possibility: my respirator failed. After multiple attempts at a correction, I did the one thing you should never do in that position-- I panicked, and tried to swim to the surface.
Just as I was launching myself up, I felt a firm grip on my arm stopping me in my ascent. A master diver had come over to prevent me from either making a dangerously rapid rise, or from taking in a lungful of water in an attempt to catch a breath.
He forced me to look at him and make my climb at an advisable pace, and buddy breath with him so that I was able to do so.
He was what a master diver should be -- calm, assured, steadfast to ruthless in terms of what he knows to be right and safe. He was also a grain-fed, grade a, A-hole. He was gruff, and rude, and arrogant, but this A-hole had just prevented me from doing something incredibly stupid and dangerous.
He was a man not unlike actor Richard Roxburgh's character, Frank, in the 3D underwater, cave-diving thriller Sanctum. In describing his character, Roxburgh says that:
Frank is characteristic of the guys that do this stuff. There is almost a military quality to them, a steely quality. It requires a zen self-discipline, and also the ability, which you kind of see Frank doing, to let practical reality be the terms that dictate things – so if someone is going to weigh you down, then you have to let them go.
The aforementioned "stuff" that Roxburgh is referring to is one of the most dangerous leisure activities a person can engage in: cave diving. Cave divers use specialized scuba equipment to explore cave systems that are, at least in part, submerged underwater. The restrictions, specialized equipment, and the element of the unknown make this an especially perilous pursuit.
Sanctum, the film, is based on an experience that producer/co-writer Andrew Wight had leading a cave diving expedition in Australia when, as he explains, "on the last day a storm flooded the entrance, and fifteen of us were trapped below ground. It took nearly two days to get everyone out, myself included. So, it was in the course of those events, and really staring death in the face and watching how everyone responded that inspired what came to be the 'Sanctum' story."
Take a look at the behind-the-scenes feature below in which Wight describes his harrowing ordeal:
In Wight's real-world experience all fifteen were, thankfully, able to make it through alive. The film, however, heightens the stakes both for the sake of the drama, as well as to impart the sense of life's true fragility. In keeping with a sense of reality, executive producer James Cameron assures viewers that "Everything you see (in the film) happened to somebody, somewhere, (though) not all in the same expedition."
Cameron is no stranger to both high-risk adventuring (he and Wight have done a series of deep sea expeditions together, including exploring both the Titanic and Bismarck ship wrecks) and envelope pushing, and he wanted to accomplish two things with the creation of Sanctum: One, to illustrate that it is possible to shoot 3D effectively and on a reasonable budget; and two, to explore "the psychology of survival."
How do we react in a life or death situations, what would we do, and what do our responses say about who we are as people?
According to actress Alice Parkinson, who plays Victoria, a character who makes consistently ill-advised choices in the film: "often what we think we would do, is not necessarily what we would do...all kinds of decisions are made in high stress situations."
In speaking with the press about the film, Cameron stressed that the filmmakers:
Wanted to get into that thing that happens inside people where they have to adjust to a situation where it appears completely hopeless. Some people are able to make that adjustment, others aren't, some people become more heroic than they could have imagined was possible for themselves, while other people who you think of as leaders can become quite cowardly or could implode. Everyone reacts differently. And I think the appeal of this kind of a movie for audiences in general is to test themselves against the circumstances of the film and think: 'Wow, what would I do if I was in that situation, I can barely breath watching this, let alone actually doing it. Could I hold my breath that long?' I think that's why we have nightmares. Our brain is running simulations to put us in jeopardy – to see what we'll do. Or to acclimatize us to that idea that something bad could happen.
Following my brief moment of breathless claustrophobia while scuba diving, I had a series of nightmares over a period of several days. The dreams were likely an attempt on the part of my subconscious to come to terms with the sense of powerlessness that is inherent in being physically trapped, and confronted with one's own limitations.
Each of the dreams brought me face to face with another potential outcome, another aspect of my fear, and another facet of my inner life, my nature, which is perhaps the most challenging thing to confront.
There were a kaleidoscope of alternating scenarios. In some, I was left alone, unable to breathe, far below the surface with no option but to rush towards an exterior that was too far away to reach. Alternatively, I would be literally bound, as if something was holding me down, forcing me to remain immobile, submerged in my own fear.
Each of these visions was an attempt for my mind to surrender - to reconcile itself to the reality of succumbing to something larger than myself, as all of us ultimately will.


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Introduction: Seize the Sky was built during Building Virtual Worlds at Carnegie Mellons Entertainment Technology Center. The world was constructed using Oculus Rift, and Leap Motion. Using these technologies we put our guest into a virtual reality space with an ability to use a natural interface in our world.
Story: A mighty giant heads towards a town with murderous intent. A country side boy notices, and cries to Zeus for help to defeat the giant to save the city. You are Zeus, save them all!
Platform: Oculus Rift + Leap Motion in Unity 3D | Time: 2 weeks | Roles: Programmer – Game Designer
Design Goal: Our design goal with Seize The Sky was help character A (the boy) who is afraid of character B (the giant).
Design Challenges:
- Incorporating a satisfactory use of Leap motion.
- Achieving our a sense of character A is afraid of character B.
- Level design.
- Game-play design.
My Contributions: As the lead programmer on Seize The Sky I made large contributions to the code base for this project. I also took an active part in the design process with working with the team to develop various aspects including game play, and level design.
Iteration 1
During brainstorming we tried using several appropriate methods, such as gesture centered brainstorming (due to our use of Leap Motion). Finally we had five initial ideas:
- Help mend relationship between characters.
- Play piano to make baby sleep.
- Use light to guide a character home.
- Keep animal safe growing to adulthood.
- Hold characters hand to guide them.
With our initial ideas we further boiled them down to three concepts with the following reasoning:
- Concept one was hard to conceptualize compared to our other ideas which seemed simpler and more clear.
- Concept five could be incorporated into concept three.
Creating sketches of each concept we then sought out the advice of our professor Jesse Schell.
With Jesse Schells feedback we went with concept C, because we wanted to explore squeezing in Leap Motion.
We then began further conceptualizing the idea with sketches, and research into the capabilities of Leap motion and Oculus.
With this in mind we began assigning tasks to complete, considering game play, and used a scrum board to assist us in tracking tasks.
On the technical side we used a NavMesh, and simple A.I. to run the behavior of the Hunter and Deer. The behaviors of the two agents were essentially:
- The deer always moved to nearest tree that has an apple.
- The Hunter patrolled around fixed points, and if it came close enough to the deer it began chasing it.
The result of our hard work was the following.
We then received feedback at interim, which sadly wasn't good…
Iteration 2
Players were confused, certain sounds were overwhelming, guests felt disconnected from the experience, and there was little sense of helping character A who is afraid of character B.
With a heavy heart we had to go back to the drawing board and re-design the experience based on the feedback we had received. In particular it was Jesse Schells suggestion, at interim, of a more mythical/epic scenario which had a large impact on our considerations. We brainstormed until we finally came up with two ideas.
Of the two ideas we went with a giant chasing a little boy because it felt the most epic. With an idea in mind we started conceptualizing again with sketches.
Energized with a new idea we quickly began crafting a new experience. In the development of this new concept we made a number of design decisions:
- Leveraging the size of the giant to create a feeling of epicness making his movements slow and large booming footsteps. and had the camera placed low to exaggerate that.
- Making the little boy visibly run away from the giant to make the relationship clear.
- Making interactable objects brighter than non interactable objects.
- Choosing lighting, and a skybox to reflecting the critical nature of the time. The dawn/or the sunrise of the town you are running to symbolizes the survival or destruction of the town.
- Making the movement path of the game play linear for ease of implementation purposes.
- Designing the level again using a map with game play elements.
- Having the giant speed up over time to increase the intensity of the experience.
- Reusing the river mechanic we developed in the first game, this time having it slow down the giant when the river was activated.
- Creating thunderclouds out of the cloud mechanic which would shock the giant on contact stopping him briefly.
Solving Reach
One of the major design issues we faced was with guest reach. Since it was limited to the guests local area this resulted in our guests feeling unable to help character A.
To tackle this issue we designed a new implementation to use an object attached to our Leap Motion hands that had a linear multiplier attached to it.
Play testing revealed a number of issues, but the feedback was generally positive. We improved this to instead use an exponential multiplier to increase the Leaps Motions range of effect. Play testing showed this was more satisfying as the object moved a much greater distance much faster giving more control to the guest. Lastly we added a glowing orb effect to make it clear where the players object was.
With the core of Seize The Sky assembled we went about completing the last elements of our experience, namely the title page, name, win and lose screen.
In conclusion we worked really hard, built a prototype, then successfully rebuilt it based on feedback, and did much better. Seize the Sky is a project I'm proud of.


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"Be proud of all your scars. They are badges of honour you've earned from the challenges that life has thrown at you. Your scars are a sign of strength and resilience. A sign that you chose to keep surviving" • Laura Lee •
It's discharge day! Wow, what a relief after the last three days of major post-op struggles and suffering from typical EDS crashes including severe dystonias, dysautonomia and adrenal insufficiency attacks, and pain like no other – exhausted doesn't even begin to describe how my body is feeling. You'd think this being my 6th neurosurgery it would become easier, but each time it gets more difficult as my body becomes more fragile. This is just the beginning of a long journey of further surgeries that lie ahead of me. But, here's to being the first EDS patient in the U.K. to undergo these series of pioneering brain and neurosurgeries – I'm hopeful that this new path of treatment will help restore the necessary bloodflow to my brain and neck and give me another chance at life. I choose to keep trying because there's so much more life I have yet to live. Thank you for all your incredible love and support from across the world, each one of you gives me the spark of hope I need to keep going.
#zebrastrong #nevergiveup #hope #brainsurgery


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Artifact Details
TitleIBM 701 electronic processing machine
Catalog Number102641435
TypeStill Image
PublisherInternational Business Machines Corporation (IBM)
Identifying Numbers
|Other number
|Other number
|Other number
Dimensions8 x 10 in.
FormatPhotographic print
DescriptionThis is a black and white image of five men working in a large room with the IBM 701 computer and other associated equipment. Three men in the far background are sitting upstairs in a glass room. The man on the right side of the image is looking down at the printer output station. The man on the left is sitting down reading. All the men are facing away from the camera. Light is coming from the floor and ceilings. Written on the white sheet that is taped to the verso side of image is "Composed of eleven compact and connected units, the IBM 701 Electronic Processing Machine was the first calculator of comparable capacity to be produced in quantity. Using three of the more advanced electronic storage or memory devices -- cathode ray tubes, magnetic drums and magnetic tapes -- the calculator can multiply and divide more than 2,000 times a second and can add and subtract more than 16,000 times a second. While solving a typical problem, it is capable of performing 14,000 mathematical operations a second. In the center of the installation shown here is the Electronic Analytical Control Unit, and at its right is a card reader. On the left are Magnetic Drum Storage Unit and Electrostatic Storage Unit. In the group at the right are two Magnetic Tape Readers and Recorders, the Alphabetical and Numerical Printer and the Card Punch. Two Power Supply Units are not visible.". Stamped on verso side of image is "IBM ARCHIVES" and written in black pen is "NOS-81 IBM '701'". Written in pencil on verso side is "15790" and "#1260". Written on front side of image at the bottom right corner is "15790".
CategoryIdentification photograph; Publicity photograph
SubjectInternational Business Machines Corporation (IBM); International Business Machines Corporation--History; IBM 701 (Computer)
CreditCourtesy of Gwen Bell
Lot NumberX7413.2015
Related Records
|IBM 701 Data Processing System
|IBM 701 Electronic Data Processing System


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It's springtime yay! Have you been overhauling your wardrobe, dressing table and home for the new season? I like any excuse for a clear-out and as I'm dreaming of warmer weather and venturing outside without a coat or tights/socks, I've bought some new clothing pieces to see me through spring. I've also got a few new homeware items to show you, and I was fortunate enough to receive some amazing skincare and makeup products this month which I wanted to share with you. I hope you check out the video and discover some items you like. Let me know what your top spring purchases will be!
And as an aside, I'm NYC bound tomorrow morning! I cannot wait for this trip with Phill. Not only are we celebrating turning 30 this year (I have a few months to go before the big 3-0) but it's also a celebration of being together nine years. I'll keep you up to date with all my NYC goings on through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram! I'll also be vlogging our trip so look out for a travel video next month. Bye for now!


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Time To Get Psyched For The Blokfest Comps | Climbing Daily Ep.1050
17th November 2017
17th Nov 2017
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EDIT: The Livestream will now take place on the 25th and 26th of November, we will let you know the details in the next Fridays show. We are back covering all the action from this years Blokfest comp. To get you in the mood we put together a little highlights video of all the best action for this year. Stay tuned for new Blokfest edits dropping soon... Check out Blokfest here. Great deals on bouldering gear here. Time To Get Psyched For The Blokfest Comps | Climbing Daily Ep.1050


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Learning The DCT450/470 Transmissions Training Video
Online Video
Duration: 71 mins and 48 seconds
One of the trends in the automatic transmission world is a manual shift transmission controlled electronically. Phrases such as Wet or Dry Dual Clutch, Double Clutch, Powershift or Sequential Manual Gear Box are used to refer to this type of transmission. The DCT450 and DCT470 is a wet double clutch Powershift by Getrag used in Volvo and Mitsubishi vehicles here in the US. This webinar will give you an inside look at these two transmissions concerning their operation, their differences and some tips when working on one.
Training Video Availablility:
All training videos are available for one year from the purchase date.
Due to factors beyond the control of Motor Age, it cannot guarantee against unauthorized modifications of this information, or improper use of this information. Motor Age magazine (UBM Advanstar Automotive Group) assumes no liability for property damage or injury incurred as a result of any of the information contained in this video. Motor Age recommends safe practices when working with power tools, automotive lifts, lifting tools, jack stands, electrical equipment, blunt instruments, chemicals, lubricants, or any other tools or equipment seen or implied in this video. Due to factors beyond the control of Motor Age, no information contained in this video shall create any express or implied warranty or guarantee of any particular result. Any injury, damage or loss that may result from improper use of these tools, equipment, or the information contained in this video is the sole responsibility of the user and not Motor Age magazine or its corporate parent, Advanstar.


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I've been a huge fan of Star Wars ever since I was 12 years old but when it was announced that Disney had bought the franchise and would be making new films my interest in the saga was... awakened ;) To bide the time until Episode VII I thought I'd finally try reading some of the Star Wars EU books so I did a bit of googling and soon discovered that the big fan favourite of the many EU titles is Timothy Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy. But now that I've read Heir to the Empire I really can't help but wonder what all of the fuss is about. Of course I wasn't expecting this book to live up to the sheer magnificence of the original films but because it has so much hype I was expecting to be far more entertained by it than I was. Instead I was extremely disappointed. I found Zahn's prose decidedly mediocre and the story tremendously dull. There was none of the Jedi mysticism and rich spiritual themes that I've always felt a deep pull towards in the original films and there was an almost complete lack of the humour of the originals. But I think the biggest problem that I had with this book though were the characters. Although none of the original characters ever said or did anything that was completely and obviously out of character their "voices" still never felt quite right to me and they all came across as totally flat and lifeless. Luke, Leia, Han, Lando and even Chewie and the droids had absolutely none of the depth and charm of their film counterparts and the new characters in this book weren't all that much better.
I didn't think that this book was as bad as the Star Wars prequels as I do think that it had an intriguing premise and one or two interesting ideas, but overall I still found it extremely boring and overrated and I have no idea why so many fans seem to like it. I certainly don't feel the urge to seek out any more of the EU titles but then, maybe that's a good thing? It will definitely save me a considerable amount of money and time!
Rating: 1.5/5


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Like Popsicle Sticks
Posted on October 31, 2018
Every year I create a Halloween adventure for my party to go through, sort of a mini-Demiplane of Dread. This tale goes back to three or four years ago, while we were all playing 3.5.
The party had just tripped over a hole in the plot and fallen into the Demiplane of Halloween, which consisted of a small, haunted castle. Glowing eyes in the bushes, animated suits of armor, and wailing ghosts abounded in the fog-shrouded night. The first encounter was in a graveyard where zombies were supposed to rise from their graves and attack the party. The party was middling-high level by then, so this was more of a mood-setting encounter than anything else, but I figured they'd enjoy some zombie-slaying fun before we got to the real challenge.
I set the stage. "The ground ripples like water as bony hands and skulls rip themselves free from the ground. The dead are rising against you. You get one round to act before you're surrounded by zombies."
"How does Wild Shape work?" asked the Druid.
"You can shape-shift into any animal between huge and diminutive size, and plants at your level."
"Any animal?"
"Where are the zombies?"
"They're halfway out of their graves."
"I change into an elephant and roll on them."
I had a sudden image of a whole field of popsicle sticks stuck in the ground, all snapped in half. I put back the miniatures I'd just gotten out and we moved on to the next encounter.


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Turkey Meatball are delicious and can save you from some unwanted fat in your diet. Spice them up with the same ingredients that you use in your own meatballs or follow the recipe exact. Either way you are in for a treat.
Turkey Meatballs
2014-09-23 03:55:15
Delicious Meatball with less fat
Write a review
- 1 1/2 pounds ground lean turkey
- 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 2/3 cup dry Italian bread crumbs
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1/4 cup tomato sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons Melt Organic Buttery Spread, softened
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Combine all the ingredients together except for the Melt®; stir well in a bowl. Form around 30 balls out of the mixture. Put them on a broiler pan coated with the melted Melt. Bake around 15 minutes or until a cut meatball shows no pink inside. Serve with pasta and sauce or place on a sandwich.
- I always use a loaf of Italian bread soaked in water until mushy. Then squeeze out all the water using a colander or sieve. Put that in the meatball mixture instead of the bread crumbs.
The Fitness Connection https://www.fit-connection.com/
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The Chilean government has declared an emergency and international agencies and NGOs are stepping up their response in the aftermath of the 8.8-magnitude earthquake that shook the country early on Saturday 28 February.
The quake has reportedly killed at least 800 people and displaced hundreds of thousands, causing widespread damage to homes, hospitals, schools, roads and other infrastructure. The Chilean authorities say 2 million people have been affected overall.
This earthquake came just six and a half weeks after one which was less powerful, but far more deadly in terms of its impact, struck Haiti, where intensive aid operations continue.
UNICEF made it clear this morning that its humanitarian commitments in Haiti will not stand in the way of providing help to Chile in areas of expertise that may be required.
"UNICEF will assist all those affected by the earthquake in Chile, especially the children," said a spokesperson for the agency.
Saturday's quake hit at 3:34 am local time off the Chilean coast. The epicentre was 325 km southwest of the capital, Santiago, but just 100 km from Chile's second-largest city, Concepción, which has a population of more than 200,000. A tsunami triggered by the earthquake caused additional damage in some southern coastal towns.
The Government of Chile has declared 'zones of catastrophe' in the affected regions, including Bio-Bio, Maule, Araucania, Valparaiso and Metropolitan Santiago.
Following its initial assessment of needs and damage, the government said today that it would accept some offers of international assistance – particularly aid in the form of field hospitals, temporary bridges and water-purification supplies, as well as damage-assessment experts and search-and-rescue workers.
Meanwhile, Chile's Ministry of Education has suspended the start of the school year by one week. Classes had been scheduled to resume today (1 March) but will now begin on 8 March.
While the number of deaths in Chile is expected to rise, it seems likely to reach only a small fraction of the toll from the 12 January earthquake in Haiti. Even though that quake was much lower in magnitude than the one in Chile, extreme poverty and a far more fragile infrastructure magnified the effects of natural disaster in the Caribbean nation.
The onset of the rainy season in Haiti is currently causing concern about the ability of relief agencies to deliver supplies and services. Nevertheless, UNICEF and its partners in Haiti are moving ahead with an emergency education operation for children affected by the disaster.
Christian Aid's Chile emergency appeal: http://www.christianaid.org.uk/emergencies/current/chile-earthquake/inde...


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PCR cloning is a method of cloning which dramatically reduces the time and effort put into the cloning reaction. PCR cloning procedure consisting of the four following steps: (1) production of a fragment of the gene using PCR, (2) digestion of genomic DNA, (3) ligation into a plasmid vector, and (4) transformation into bacteria and then bacteria will replicate the plasmid.
Channels: Experiments Biochemistry Cell Biology
Tags: PCR Cloning Abnova antibody protein cell biology
Uploaded by: abnova ( Send Message ) on 31-03-2010. Dnatube suggest users to have interest in drug testing, mesothelioma, insurance, medical lawyers.
Duration: 9m 48s


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Post Visit Action: Providing feedback on visits for excise Risk Analysis
Other than management assurance, the primary use of the report forms will be for Risk Analysis during the sift process, and then, if the trader is deemed non compliant, during preparation/planning for the audit. It is therefore essential that the information recorded will be of benefit to any future Risk Analysis.
Staff should report to their manager on business' declarations, financial and other relevant systems supporting those declarations.
Reports should be a clear expression of opinion, based on review and assessment of the conclusions drawn from evidence obtained in the course of the work. The report should:
- state the scope, purpose, extent and conclusions of the audit or assurance work, including an opinion as to the reliability of the system (if a systems based audit) and its ability to account for the right amount of tax/duty at the right time;
- make recommendations which are appropriate and relevant, and which flow from the conclusions;
- acknowledge the action taken, or proposed, by the business; and
- state the extent of any numerical errors or regulatory breaches found.
The report should be sufficient in order to address the main points and cross-refer to the working papers. The length and level of detail in the report should be commensurate with the materiality of the business' activity. The report should be presented in a standard format and be signed and dated.
There should be a statement on the audit or assurance process adopted, stating reasons for any deviation from this standard. Any limitations to the scope of the work should be stated which may influence confidence in the result of the work.
The size and depth of the audit or assurance report should be commensurate with the work carried out. For a small business audit, or when means of gaining assurance other than the systems based audit approach have been employed, some elements of the standard audit documentation will not be necessary and other standard forms should be used instead.
Officer reports should detail all irregularities found, and specify additional conditions/sanctions imposed. For example, warning letters, civil penalties, assessments issued. Further information on excise assessments can be found in EAIG guidance, including how to inform traders, who are joint and severally liable for the duty, of their liability.
While there are unresolved issues with regards to the credibility of the trader's business, it wouldn't be appropriate to score the risk to the revenue as low. However, it should be noted that the trader might be fully compliant with regards to excise, but may be understating sales to reduce his liability to VAT and/or Corporation Tax. Nevertheless, where there are doubts about the credibility of the business, further action must be taken. Not only is there the responsibility to bring it to the attention of the relevant section within the Department, but it should also increase the risk as an excise trader.
Reports to businesses
Officers should also normally confirm their findings, to the trader, in writing. Where officers are requesting that the trader complete a certain action, they must make it clear what will happen if the issue is not resolved to their satisfaction. See below for more detail.
Staff should raise matters that have come to their attention during the audit with the business' management. To improve future compliance, the business should also be informed in writing of any system weaknesses and errors identified. Officers should also ask the business management to rectify the system, and to advise us of the action taken to do so.
Any suggestions for system improvements should also be included, and staff should follow this up to ensure that appropriate action has been taken on reported audit findings, and that the business has understood and assumed the risk of not taking corrective action. (For smaller businesses not under regular control, it is recognised that the follow-up action may be carried out by the next visiting officer).
Staff should re-evaluate the risk of non-compliance from the evidence of errors found in the assurance work, and any action taken by the business. The risk assessment should be revised where the risk was found to be different from what was understood prior to the assurance work. The notification of audit findings to the business is separate from the audit report, (which is not required to be issued to the business). Although it focuses on the work done and the specific results obtained, it should not be given a "clean certificate" of the business' activities i.e. the impression that the business' records are completely accurate and that the systems work fully, since this could prejudice future action.
Although there are no laid down requirements for when officers are required to issue correspondence following an audit, Charter Standards requires the Department to respond to trader's correspondence within 10 days. Therefore, it is best practice to adhere to similar guidelines.


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Donna West
Eliminating details in pursuit of a contemporary abstract arrangement of shapes is the goal. Masses are kept simple and flat with emphasis on color and composition. A limited soft color palette, which is mixed intuitively, preserves the harmony and calm mood of the painting. Dark objects add contrast and form organic shapes. Bright light colors add highlight interest. Multiple thin layers of color and texture build the shapes and forms within the paint resulting in an image where mood takes precedence over place.


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The Mayor's Office of Community Affairs provides support for the following partnering agencies:
The Mayor's Office of the Clean City serves as the central point of contact and goal champion within the Mayor's initiative to clean up the District of Columbia and maintain its cleanliness. The Clean City Coordinator serves as the overall program manager for executing the Clean City Initiative
The Mayor's Office on Latino Affairs works with the Mayor, the City Council, the diverse governmental agencies of the District, community organizations and the private sector, OLA serves as the community liaison informing them about the different services available in the areas of health, education and social services
The Mayor's Office of Veterans Affairs was established to provide veteran benefits, assistance, information, outreach, effective advocacy, claims processing assistance and service provider coordination to veterans and their families so that they can access their entitled resources and benefits.
The Mayor's Office on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs has a mission to ensure that the full range of health, education, employment, social services and business information, programs and services are accessible to the District's API community.


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ColorPosted: September 30, 2011 Filed under: Home Sweet Home | Tags: home design 1 Comment
Photos Via – Here
Happy Friday! I am currently looking for a new home which has design on my mind. My dad always says that my current condo looks like Dr. Seuss' house. What can I say…I love color!
One Comment on "Color"
I love all the color! great kitchen:)


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Henscratch Farms Vineyards and Winery, as the name implies, offers a fine selection of wine. It also has a 10 acre vineyard.
But it is a unique place among Florida wineries. It's an actual small working farm.
The vineyard was planted in 1999 but they also have large amount of acreage in the Panhandle and get grapes from other growers in the Southeast.
The name Henscratch is more than likely related to the 200 hens that free range under the canopy of the vineyard. These are American breed laying hens. Rhode Island Reds, Plymouth Barred Rocks and Aracaunas wander the property.
The property boasts 10 acres of native southern muscadine and scuppernong grape varieties, a hydroponics growing system for strawberry production, and a highbush blueberry patch.
The centerpiece of this small working farm is the country store. It is built in the old fashioned Florida Cracker style.The building sits above the ground with a crawl space beneath. This is how almost all Florida buildings were constructed a century ago or less.
The entrance is through sliding barn doors and a large open breezeway. Inside you will find many types of wine, homemade jams and jellies, sauces and syrups. Many gift baskets are also available.
Products in the store vary with the harvest season. Strawberry preserves, blueberry dressing, and jams and jellies are displayed on the tasting counter so you can try a sample. They even have eggs for sale, and raw honey from their own hives.
It's fun to browse the well stocked store.
It's also fun just to sit on the wide shady Florida Cracker porch and take in the sights.
Henscratch Farms offers a self guided farm tour, and even gives you some Cheerios to feed the friendly hens as you wander around the property.
There are plenty of other things to do at Henscratch. You can pick your own strawberries from December through March. You can also attend grape stomping events. Private labels are available for your personally stomped wines.
There are also musical events from time to time. For example, during May blueberry season, they have a "Blueberry Bluegrass Festival". For family reunions or larger events, Henscratch Farms has a nice open air pavilion with a kitchen.
A visit to Henscratch can also be coupled with a trip to Lake Placid to see the fantastic downtown murals.


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Welcome to the FlexBooker blog, where our hope is that our interests will collide, while also giving us a way (that is convenient to you) to keep you updated on what we're working and how it might help your gym or fitness studio's operations.
FlexBooker is a small team of highly dedicated, thoughtful people, who came together for their two main obsessions. Fitness, and Technology. We created FlexBooker because it was something we really wish our gyms used. We longed for the day there was a super easy, lightening fast, way to make online class bookings at our gyms.
So the initial thought was this: let's create a hub where I can book all of my classes in one place. We realized fairly quickly though that in the fitness space this model doesn't really make a great deal of sense. I know exactly which studio I want to book at, because I've developed a relationship with them already, and so I don't really want to have to go through the clutter of other gyms to find the classes they're currently offering.
We also realized that most gyms already have their own website, with at least some information about themselves. The perfect medium, it occurred to us, was to give the control to the gyms themselves.
Thus, the FlexBooker booking widget was born. By letting the gyms themselves take reservations directly through their existing website, we keep the direct customer interaction between gym and client. We don't get in the way. Our job is to simply facilitate those transactions.
Our goal is simple, to build the best way for people to book at your gym, and also the best way for your gym to set up, and use our system to take online reservations without hassle. We want our product, and our service to amaze you. To that end, we're on a non-stop mission to improve, and perfect, our product. We know your opinion is the most important of all, and we think that you'll love our product, and love our customer support and continuous improvement just as much.
Interested in a free trial? Check us out at www.flexbooker.com. You can sign up for 30 days free, with no credit card required, at www.flexbooker.com/home/signup.
Interested in a free trial? Check us out at www.flexbooker.com. You can sign up for 30 days free, with no credit card required, at www.flexbooker.com/home/signup.
Welcome to FlexBooker. Stay in touch, and let's do great things togther.


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Don't count on Carmelo Anthony coming to Lakers
The Lakers and Carmelo Anthony? Wouldn't count on it.
An ESPN report that the Lakers were in preliminary talks with Denver for the Nuggets' unhappy all-star forward was quickly rebuffed by the Lakers.
"What's out there is inaccurate," said a Lakers representative familiar with the negotiations.
The report said the deal would revolve around Andrew Bynum for Anthony, though a team source told The Times on Tuesday that the Lakers were unwilling to deal Bynum, the 23-year-old center who has been plagued by knee problems.
Bynum is considered the personal project of Lakers executive Jim Buss, the son of team owner Jerry Buss.
When it comes to trades, the options are few for Lakers
Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak says he'd consider making a trade
Poll: If you were Lakers GM, would you trade Andrew Bynum for Carmelo Anthony?
-- Mike Bresnahan and Broderick Turner
Photo: Kobe Bryant, left, and Carmelo Anthony have their game faces on during the Lakers-Nuggets playoff series in April 2008. Credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times


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Continuing on-the-job training is a condition for success in a competitive environment. We've been training customers and staff on insulation topics since over 20 years.
After a few years on the job, you'll have learned a lot about insulation. Why not get a proper headstart?
As a full-system provider, Von Roll is uniquely positioned to extend your understanding of the insulating materials and systems for rotating machines, and we provide courses on insulation technology both to customers and our own staff. This training has become increasingly popular.
Objectives of the insulation training
The target audience includes technical staff, sales engineers and managers, and anyone wanting an introduction, clearer technical understanding, or exchange with experts into insulating materials and technology for electric rotating machines.
Be sure to look at our course offering for the specific topics.
Please write us firstname.lastname@example.com with any further questions.
Information and dates for our courses covering the insulation technologies of high- and low-voltage rotating electric machines.
The coursework focuses on the insulation materials and their application, as well as system aspects. Due to international participation, the courses are held in English.
meet our experts in person and take a look around our facilities in Switzerland. Courses take place on every third Thursday of each month. You find more details in the training brochure or at the Von Roll Institute website https://vonroll.institute/en/academy/.
Clients and internal staff can participate in a high-voltage insulation course, which consists of four days of learning at our production facility in Breitenbach, Switzerland and Delle, France. The scheduled dates in 2019 are:
For those with an extensive knowledge of insulation technology, we offer a three-day advanced course with the possibility of excursions to other facilities. The next course takes place in
The low-voltage insulation course supplements presentations and discussions on insulation materials and their application with practical, hands-on work. The next course takes place in the region of Torino, Italy on
See the brochure download on the right for more detail.
Participants should have
A basic understanding of chemistry and electrical engineering, and English language skills.
If you are interested please use attached registration form and send it to firstname.lastname@example.com.


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James Copland
James Copland is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and director of Legal Policy. In those roles, he develops and communicates novel, sound ideas on how to improve America's civil- and criminal-justice systems. He has testified before Congress as well as state and municipal legislatures; and has authored many policy briefs, book chapters, articles and opinion pieces in a variety of publications, including the Harvard Business Law Review and Yale Journal on Regulation, the Wall Street Journal, National Law Journal, and USA Today. Copland speaks regularly on civil- and criminal-justice issues; has made hundreds of media appearances in such outlets as PBS, Fox News, MSNBC, CNBC, Fox Business, Bloomberg, C-Span, and NPR; and is frequently cited in news articles in the New York Times, Washington Post, The Economist, and Forbes. In 2011 and 2012, he was named to the National Association of Corporate Directors "Directorship 100" list, which designates the individuals most influential over U.S. corporate governance.
Prior to joining the Institute, Copland was a management consultant with McKinsey and Company in New York. Earlier, he was a law clerk for Ralph K. Winter on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Copland has been a director of two privately held manufacturing companies since 1997 and has served on many public and nonprofit boards. He holds a J.D. and an M.B.A. from Yale, where he was an Olin Fellow in Law and Economics; an M.Sc. in the politics of the world economy from the London School of Economics; and a B.A. in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a Morehead Scholar.
Tim Hoefer
Tim Hoefer is the Executive Director of the Empire Center for Public Policy, where his work focuses on transparency, government reform and accountability. He has written several papers on those subjects, testified before local and statewide panels and authored various op-eds. His numerous interviews have been featured in print, radio and broadcast media throughout the state. Since its launch in July 2008, Hoefer has been the principal on the Center's government transparency project, SeeThroughNY.net.
Before joining the Center, Tim worked in communications and public affairs with the New York State Senate and Assembly. He also has worked as a consultant for, and on, political campaigns, at the local, state and federal levels.
He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Saratoga Center for the Family.
Born and raised in Saratoga, he is a native New Yorker. Tim has a bachelor's degree in government & politics from George Mason University and earned his master's degree in public policy from New England College.
Brandon Muir
Brandon Muir is the Executive Director of Reclaim New York. Reclaim is a non-profit organization that empowers New Yorkers through education and civic engagement to reclaim ownership of their government. Muir joined the organization at its inception in 2014, leading initial policy research and building Reclaim's core operations. He leveraged a background in management consulting and grassroots outreach to mold complex policy issues into meaningful messages for citizens. In just three years Reclaim has grown into one of the largest grassroots organizations in New York.
Prior to living in New York, Muir worked for Deloitte Consulting on mission-to-workflow alignment, process-efficiency modeling, and change-implementation efforts at the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the State Department. This experience instilled the belief that all actions can be measured—a core tenet to building Reclaim New York. During his time at Deloitte he also developed an independent practice with clients in the tech, retail and non-profit sectors.
Muir began his career in civic education with the International Republican Institute in Washington, DC, and Latin America. He supported and eventually managed voter engagement efforts, institution-building programs, and government transparency initiatives across Central and South America. Fluent in Spanish, he spent extensive time in-country managing daily programmatic activities and staff.
A former collegiate golfer, Brandon is frequently on the streets of Manhattan pursuing his passion for photography.
Hon. Robert S. Smith
The Honorable Robert S. Smith (Ret.) is head of Friedman Kaplan Seiler & Adelman LLP's appellate practice, and focuses on trials and appeals. Judge Smith joined Friedman Kaplan following his retirement as Associate Judge of the New York State Court of Appeals, New York's highest court, where he served for more than a decade. During his time on the bench, he wrote scores of opinions and became well known for his judicial scholarship, insight, and intellectual rigor.
Prior to his time on the Court of Appeals, Judge Smith practiced law in New York City, and was a partner with Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison for over 25 years. He has argued dozens of appeals before the federal and New York appellate courts, and two appeals before the United States Supreme Court. His trial experience in complex commercial cases is also extensive.
Since joining Friedman Kaplan, Judge Smith has been active primarily in appeals, trial-level commercial litigation, expert witness testimony, and alternative dispute resolution.


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In 1984, Governor Mario Cuomo signed into law the legislation creating the Writers Institute, giving it a mandate to provide "a milieu for established and aspiring writers to work together… to increase the artistic imagination." Since then the Institute has hosted over 1,000 visiting writer appearances, screened over 400 films, and presented dozens of writing workshops, symposia, and special events, making it one of the premier literary arts organizations in the country.
The video presentation will provide an overview of the history of the Institute, its founding, and growth over the past 25 years. Included will be clips of such memorable guests as Margaret Atwood, Shelby Foote, Joyce Carol Oates, David Sedaris, Hunter Thompson, and Kurt Vonnegut.
"As part of our 25th anniversary, we have invited 25 renowned New York writers to choose their favorite book about New York—state or city," said Institute Director Donald Faulkner. "Books that focus on New York themes and landscapes have impacted readers for generations. We thought it would be appropriate to draw attention to some of these books to provide a glimpse of the enormous literary traditions that this state and its authors have to offer. This is not intended to be a 'best of' list, but a distinctive and slightly unconventional guide to reading more deeply into the spirit of the Empire State," Faulkner explained. The first ten selections will be released on November 16, with the remaining 15 titles announced throughout the next several months.
Mario Cuomo, one of the great orators and intellectuals of 20th century American politics, served as the 52nd Governor of the State of New York from 1983 to 1994. He has also published several notable books, including political diaries, collections of speeches, and two books on Abraham Lincoln— most recently, "Why Lincoln Matters: Today More Than Ever" (2004). In advance praise, Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. called the book, "A thoughtful and challenging meditation on what Lincoln's wisdom tells us we Americans should be doing today and tomorrow."
Doris Kearns Goodwin is a Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer, author of bestsellers about Lyndon Johnson, the Roosevelts, and the Kennedys. Her newest book is "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln," which, by many accounts, helped shape President Obama's political philosophy. A former professor of government at Harvard University, and assistant to President Lyndon Johnson, Doris Kearns Goodwin appears frequently as a political commentator on network and public television. A long-time friend of the Institute, she has made three previous appearances as a Visiting Writer (in 1991, 1995 and 2005). She is currently researching her next book which is set partly in Albany— a new biography of Teddy Roosevelt.
For additional information, contact the Writers Institute at 518-442-5620 or online at


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February.. the LOVE month.. my birthday month :)
Here is my first layout that I hope will inspire you in joining us again for this month's challenge: " ALL ABOUT LOVE"
I wanted subtle texture for my background, and not too many colors (a break from my colorful and very dimensional projects from last month. I started with a mask and my home made texture paste. I used a couple of oil pastel colors (with shimmer) to add some colors, after the texture paste dried. The gold doesn't show but I mixed it with pink. Then using a sponge, I just rubbed everything in a downward/upward motion to spread it.
I cut out the hearts from a couple of gold doilies. Then folded in half and adhered a smaller heart on top of the other. Added small Prima flowers and knotted silver thread.
Strips of papers with inked edges to mat my photos. I also used a scrap of small card boards under the photos for more depth. Embellished with some clusters of flowers, stickers, enamel dots, knots of silver thread, and fuzzy cut bicycles.
I really hope I got your inspiration flowing :) Check out the challenge details after this image...
A summary of what you have to do:
Make a Scrapbook Page or a Card or an Altered Project with the theme 'ALL ABOUT LOVE'
Your work has to be new: made after this challenge went live
Be a member of our Facebook Group and share your project in our album February Challenge: All About Love
Projects that are not shared in the specified album will be disqualified
You can participate in this challenge only once
Deadline: February 28, 2014
Prize: A prize pack put together by PPS
Supplies used:
Prima All Star flowers - with stem
Prima All Star flowers - 1.25"
Gold doily
Silver thread
Oil pastels
Staedtler fineliner pen
Happy crafting!


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Liquor Mart hours and locations
Place an order for home delivery
Attend a product course or tasting event
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Read Have You Heard? for expert knowledge of trends and recipes
Receive Sip 'N' Savour newsletter for product and event updates
Find AIR MILES deals
Learn about VQA, fair trade, and organic
Learn what ID is accepted as proof of age
Find our product return policy
See what's on tap our Growler Bar. Growlers are now available at select Liquor Mart and hotel beer vendor locations in Winnipeg and Brandon. A growler is a refillable beer container often sold by breweries or brewpubs so customers can enjoy freshly-bottled craft beer at home.
Manitoba's only bulk wine facility, Bottle & Cork locations offer a fully-equipped facility for bottling a selection of wines from around the world, at great savings.
Distinctions brings you the best the world has to offer in an exceptional assortment of fine wines and ultra-premium spirits. We have searched the world over to bring these rare and highly sought-after products to you. Distinctions is found in Grant Park Liquor Mart, with delivery available to your local Liquor Mart.
Spinning Reel games
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VLTs are located in hotels, lounges and legions across Manitoba. Find a location near you:
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Take in a concert at Club Regent Event Centre
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Check out upcoming events
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Liquor Mart Anti-Theft Strategy Update
Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries is seeing encouraging results from its enhanced strategy to target Liquor Mart theft.
"Since the measures were announced in March, we have seen a 23 per cent reduction in theft and robbery incidents," said Liquor & Lotteries President Peter Hak. "While these are still early results, we are cautiously optimistic they are trending in the right direction."


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Reminding us that they don't make royal scandals like they used to, BBC America premieres the soapy but satisfying "Wallis & Edward," earnestly chronicling the oft-told tale of how King Edward VIII renounced the British throne in 1936 to be with a twice-divorced American woman. Joely Richardson puts her best Yank accent (honed on "Nip/Tuck") to good use, and Stephen Campbell Moore delivers a compelling performance as a man so smitten by love as to abandon his birthright. Just thank God that CNN, Fox News and "Inside Edition" weren't around when it happened.
Wasting little time, director David Moore and writer Sarah Williams begin with Edward (Stephen Campbell Moore) being reintroduced to Wallis Simpson (Richardson) and her husband Ernest (David Westhead) at a posh event. The prince is clearly struck by the thunderbolt, and just as Wallis revels in the attention so does Ernest, who gushes about the royal infatuation that has transformed his wife into a "star" and opened doors to high society.
Slowly, however, the relationship grows, with Wallis spending more time on the continent and the furtive glances gradually morphing into stolen kisses and gropes. And while Edward is well aware that his duties call for him to run a gauntlet of "every blue-blooded virgin in Europe," he becomes so enamored with Wallis as to eventually threaten suicide at the thought of losing her.
Not surprisingly, none of this sits particularly well with the royal family or government counselors, who fear Edward's behavior will turn them into "an international bloody laughingstock," as one advisor tartly puts it. Yet when Wallis and Ernest finally divorce, the fear that Edward will seek to marry this American commoner builds toward a showdown, with even Wallis urging him to accept reality and let her go.
Although debatably billed as being from Wallis' point of view, the key performance here comes from Stephen Campbell Moore, who simultaneously captures Edward's vulnerability as well as the sense of entitlement that emboldens him to challenge convention with what amounts to a "What can they do, fire me?" attitude. Richardson is also fine as a down-to-earth gal who can't help but be a little overwhelmed hanging out with someone who, on a whim, can whisk everyone off to Budapest.
Overall, "Wallis & Edward" proves stately, handsome and occasionally a little ponderous, with lots of parliamentary tut-tut-ing in its second half, when Winston Churchill (David Calder) proves one of Edward's few allies as hostility toward Wallis and their relationship grows. Even with its dry gaps, in style and tone the production taps into that elegant "Masterpiece Theater" vein, which even "Masterpiece Theater" doesn't always do that well.
So jolly good, and all that.


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The building is home to the Groundwork Trust, and the Trust lets out 16 offices, board and conference rooms to the local start up businesses to help the community create new jobs. Built out of recycled materials, re-used bricks, and re-smelted aluminium cans, its 'green' credentials are strong. The building is well insulated too. Electrical power comes from wind turbines and solar PV panels.
Jason Oakes, Business Development Director of Oakes Energy, who installed the four Ecodan units, said:
"The ground source system had worked well but it was getting on a bit, so Groundwork took the decision to replace it with an air source system".
"What they needed though, was a new system that could work with the existing infrastructure and one that could cope with a variable demand for heating throughout the year".
The heat pump solution
Nick Harley of Minden Wood Consultants said:
"We looked at all the available options and the Mitsubishi Electric solution combined the best performance available with the complete flexibility needed for the building's multi-occupant use."
"Our Eco Centre has always represented the embodiment of these ideal, being environmentally friendly to its core and a place where people who hold these strong working beliefs come together.
"It was a landmark building when constructed and it remains so today, but to ensure it continues to leave the most positive environmental footprint possible has meant a change to the heating system and a more modern upgrade.
"The added benefit of using the Ecodan system is that it offers greater control for individual offices and also qualifies for the non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive, so this can help supplement the running costs for the next 20 years".


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!! History Commons Alert, Exciting News
This is a scalable context timeline. It contains events related to the event January 31, 2006: Al-Zawahiri Apparently Taunts Bush after Failed Airstrike. You can narrow or broaden the context of this timeline by adjusting the zoom level. The lower the scale, the more relevant the items on average will be, while the higher the scale, the less relevant the items, on average, will be.
Midhat Mursi. [Source: Washington Post]Agents of the DGSE, the French intelligence agency, examine an aerial photo and spot al-Qaeda leader Midhat Mursi (a.k.a. Abu Khabab al-Masri) standing close to Osama bin Laden. Mursi is considered al-Qaeda's chief bomb maker and chemical weapons expert (he will apparently be killed in 2006 (see January 13, 2006). French intelligence reports from before 9/11 show that Mursi is being closely watched by intelligence agencies, with the French exchanging information about him with the Mossad, CIA, and Egyptian intelligence. [Le Monde (Paris), 4/15/2007] The quality of the aerial photo must have been extremely high in order for Mursi and bin Laden to be recognized, but it has not been explained how such a photo was obtained or what other photos of bin Laden or other al-Qaeda leaders may have been taken before 9/11. Less than two weeks later, the US begins flying Predator drones over Afghanistan to track bin Laden (see September 7-October 2000).
Entity Tags: Osama bin Laden, Midhat Mursi, Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure
Timeline Tags: Complete 911 Timeline
The US fires a missile from a Predator drone at a Pakistani village named Damadola, in the tribal region near the Afghanistan border. Apparently, al-Qaeda's number two leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, is targeted but not killed. Thirteen civilians, including women and children, are killed. Pakistani officials say four al-Qaeda operatives may have been killed as well, including bomb maker Midhat Mursi (a.k.a. Abu Khabab al-Masri), who has a $5 million bountry on his head. After the attack, villagers insist no members of al-Qaeda were anywhere near the village when it was hit. [ABC News, 1/18/2006; Associated Press, 1/22/2006] US and Pakistani officials later say that no al-Qaeda leaders were killed in the strike, only local villagers. It appears that the intelligence tip that led to the strike was bad, and al-Zawahiri and the others were never there in the first place. [Washington Post, 9/9/2007] The attack leads to a surge in support for al-Qaeda in Pakistan, including many marches of support near the targeted area. [ABC News, 1/18/2006; Associated Press, 1/22/2006] Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf condemns the attack as a violation of sovereignty and says it "was definitely not coordinated with [Pakistan]." [Washington Post, 1/31/2006] Al-Zawahiri appears in a video later in the month, taunting the US for failing to kill him in the raid. [BBC, 1/30/2006]
Entity Tags: Midhat Mursi, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Pervez Musharraf
Timeline Tags: Complete 911 Timeline, War in Afghanistan
Professor Bruce Lawrence. [Source: Duke University]Duke University professor Bruce Lawrence questions a tape reported to be from Osama bin Laden released on this day. In it, bin Laden comments on the progress of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and offers the US a truce (see January 19, 2006). The CIA says the voice on the tape is bin Laden's, but Lawrence, who edited a collection of bin Laden's speeches, is skeptical, saying that "[i]t was like a voice from the grave" and that the message is missing several key elements: "There's nothing in this from the Koran. He's, by his own standards, a faithful Muslim. He [usually] quotes scripture in defense of his actions. There's no quotation from the Koran in the excerpts we got." Lawrence also points out that, at 10 minutes, it is the shortest message ever issued by bin Laden. Lawrence questions when the tape was recorded, arguing that the timing of its release could be to divert attention from a recent strike in Pakistan during which civilians were killed (see January 13, 2006) and that bin Laden may actually be dead. [WTDV-TV, 1/19/2006; BBC, 1/20/2006]
Entity Tags: Osama bin Laden, Bruce Lawrence
Excerpts from a new video from a man thought to be al-Qaeda second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri are aired on Al Jazeera television. The release follows a failed US attempt to kill al-Zawahiri with a missile two weeks ago (see January 13, 2006). The man said to be al-Zawahiri says that the airstrike killed innocent people and comments: "Bush, do you know where I am? I am among the Muslim masses." Analyst Jere Van Dyk says that releasing the video is al-Zawahiri's way of letting the Muslim world know: "I'm alive, you missed me! And I am still very strong." The man in the video also comments: "Butcher of Washington, you are not only defeated and a liar, but also a failure. You are a curse on your own nation and you have brought and will bring them only catastrophes and tragedies." The speaker, who wears white robes and a white turban against a black background in the video, calls Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf a "traitor," and criticizes the US for rejecting an offer of a truce made by Osama bin Laden. [CBS News, 1/31/2006]
Entity Tags: Ayman al-Zawahiri, Jere Van Dyk
The Chenagai madrassa after the Predator strike. [Source: BBC]The US launches a Predator drone missile strike on a madrassa (religious school) in the Bajour district of Pakistan's tribal region, then Pakistan sends in helicopters to attack the survivors. The aim is to kill al-Qaeda second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri, but he is not there. Pakistani officials initially claim that a number of al-Qaeda operatives are killed, including Abu Ubaida al-Masri, an operational leader. But the next day they only say that some Taliban members are killed. [ABC News, 10/30/2006; ABC News, 10/31/2006] The attack is said to have killed 82, many of them students at the madrassa located in Chenagai, a hamlet of Damadola village, which had been hit by a Predator strike earlier in the year (see January 13, 2006). [London Times, 11/26/2006]
Entity Tags: Ayman al-Zawahiri, Abu Ubaida al-Masri, Taliban
Damadola Strike in May 2008. [Source: Mohammed Sajjad Associated Press]A missile fired from a US Predator drone reportedly kills al-Qaeda leader Abu Suleiman al-Jazairi. He and 15 others are killed in the strike on a house in the village of Damadola in Pakistan's tribal region. The house is said to belong to former Taliban defense minister Maulvi Obaidullah, and members of Obaidullah's family, including women and children, are thought to be among the dead. Al-Jazairi is said to be a trainer and explosives expert, and involved in planning attacks in Europe. Damadola has been hit by drones twice before (see January 13, 2006 and October 30, 2006). Al-Jazairi was little known in the media prior to the strike. [New York Times, 5/16/2008; Observer, 6/1/2008] Obaidullah apparently is not killed. He had been imprisoned in Pakistan since 2003, and had been released several days before as part of a swap for Pakistani Ambassador to Afghanistan Tariq Azizuddin, who had been kidnapped in February. [PAN, 5/20/2008]
Entity Tags: Tariq Azizuddin, Maulvi Obaidullah, Abu Suleiman al-Jazairi
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