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Each New Year presents an opportunity for you to refresh your financial outlook with a clear perspective. By reflecting on the past year and setting priorities for 2018, you can take control of your money.
Here are three suggestions to help you put your best financial foot forward this year.
1. Look back to get ahead. Though it may not always be an enjoyable experience, looking back at your 2017 finances can help you move forward in a positive financial direction in the New Year. Identify your successes, find patterns and see how you can replicate those in 2018. If you discover any budget missteps, don't dwell on them. Instead, ask yourself what you could have done to have avoided them all together. If there are any problem areas that could potentially come up again this year, try to avoid those pitfalls by better preparation. You can use these resources to help with money management and planning. The linked educational portal has information and calculators you can use to help you understand things like how to build an emergency fund, how much you can afford towards a car or home, or how long it will take you to pay off a credit card balance.
2. Seize opportunities to spend smarter. Analyze what you spend your money on. It is beneficial to create a spending plan to help you understand where you currently stand and to chart a course for the future. It is also helpful to take a look at how you make your purchases. You can get the most out of your everyday spending by taking advantage of smaller, established financial authorities that offer rewards and bonus opportunities on smart spending solutions. Arvest Flex Rewards™ Credit Cards offer up to a $75 bonus for new credit card accounts from now until June 30. In addition, during the months of March and April, card users can earn three times rewards points on gas and travel purchases. Rewards points can ultimately be redeemed for cash back, statement credits, travel, gift cards and more. You can apply online. Remember to be responsible when using your credit cards—paying off the balance each month will build a strong credit history.
3. Plan for big expenses. Don't let big purchases sneak up on you this year. For instance, if you know your family wants to take a vacation this year, start planning now. Timing is important; plan your trip around airline sales or hotel deals to see a huge difference in your wallet. Some websites, like airfarewatchdog.com,* allow you to sign up for alerts when tickets to your desired destination go on sale. You can also use your credit card rewards points to help you pay for your travel expenses, baggage fees and more.
The New Year is a perfect time to get serious about your finances and set a positive pace for smart spending and saving.
The views of this article are for general information use only. Please contact and speak with a subject expert or your banker when specific advice is needed.
Links marked with * go to a third-party site not operated or endorsed by Arvest Bank, an FDIC-insured institution.
Submitted questions will be answered by an Arvest banker and may appear on the Arvest Blog.
All Arvest banks are Equal Housing Lenders and Member FDIC.
Investment products and services are provided by Arvest Investments, Inc., doing business as Arvest Asset Management, member FINRA/SIPC, an SEC registered investment adviser and a subsidiary of Arvest Bank. Trust services are provided by Arvest Bank. Insurance products are made available through Arvest Insurance, Inc., which is registered as an insurance agency. Insurance products are marketed through Arvest Insurance, Inc., but are underwritten by insurance companies.
Securities and Insurance Products: Not Insured by FDIC or any Federal Government Agency, May Lose Value, Not a Deposit of or Guaranteed by a Bank or any Bank Affiliate.


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Breast reconstruction is a surgical procedure to rebuild a woman's breast contour after it has been surgically removed (partial or complete mastectomy) due to cancer or other diseases. The goal of breast reconstruction is to provide symmetry and a natural-appearing breast. Immediate reconstruction at the time of mastectomy is preferred, but each patient is treated on an individual basis in coordination with their general surgeon and oncologist. This procedure helps patients:
- Keep their breasts balanced (size and symmetry)
- Regain their self-confidence
- Avoid using an external prosthesis
As part of Cedars-Sinai Medical Group, a trusted name in healthcare, the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Program offers comprehensive surgical procedures for breast reconstruction. Experts use leading-edge technology and world-class surgical techniques to give patients the best possible outcomes.
Skin Expansion and Implant Insertion
A common technique used to reconstruct the breast involves expanding the skin underneath the breast removal site. Surgeons insert a balloon expander and a tiny valve mechanism beneath the skin and chest muscle. Through the tiny valve, salt-water solution is used to fill this balloon over a period of weeks or months to give the breast its new shape. After the breast has expanded to the appropriate size and shape, a permanent breast implant is inserted.
Tissue Flap Surgery
Another common technique to reconstruct the breast is called flap reconstruction. Once the proper implant is set in place, surgeons use tissue flap taken from the patient's back, tummy, hip or buttock to reconstruct the breast.
- TRAM flap is a procedure that takes extra tissue skin and muscle from the lower abdominal wall to create a breast shape
- A latissimus dorsi flap procedure removes muscle and skin from the patient's back when extra tissue is needed
- A DIEP flap procedure takes fat and skin from the same area as the tram flap (excluding muscle) in order to form the breast mound
- Gluteal free flap is a procedure that takes tissue from the gluteal of the buttocks to create the breast shape
After Surgery
Following surgery, patients are likely to feel tired, some pain and discomfort. Other complications may include bleeding, excessive scar tissue, fatigue and infection. Surgeons prescribe medication or use other methods to resolve these issues. Surgeons may also recommend additional surgical procedures to reconstruct the nipple and the areola.
Contact Us
For more information about breast reconstruction, please contact:
|Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
|8635 West Third St., Suite 990W
|Los Angeles, CA 90048
|Phone: (310) 423-5900
|Fax: (310) 423-5940

subset: commoncrawl


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Microsoft will place Skype at the centre of a whole suite of online-capable communication devices, CVG has learned.
A person familiar with the matter said Microsoft will be "consolidating all their communications technology" around the Skype platform. This means that Skype will become the default chat service on the next generation Xbox console as well as on PC and tablets, the person said.
Very smart Microsoft. Love when smart decisions result in better vertical integration.
The funny thing is we PS3 owners was requesting this feature years ago from Sony. I personally thought then it would be a good idea. When MS bought Skype I knew they had some tricks up their sleeve. I can see universal chat through Skype.
Of course you know Sony will go to Google to compete with this, if need be.
Sony work with google??? HAHAHAHA you dont know Sony very well.
---mwjw696 --- That's why Sony has Android for their Xperia and works hand in hand with Google for the original and current Google TVs. The two companies have worked together especially in areas where the other side lacks to compete with Apple/Microsoft. --- 12
Maybe not used as a universal chatting medium, but then again that's what the party-chat on Vita is for.
But on XBL you'd need to pay for a Gold membership to use it, just like the internet browser.
Well Skype is available with other Sony devices, including the PS Vita. I haven't tried it myself, but it is available and not restricted to only Microsoft-owned products.
"but it is available and not restricted to only Microsoft-owned products"
It will be when the next Xbox is launched or at least crippled on other platforms.
Hopefully this leans towards better free online, sense Skype to skype has always been free it'll be a bit silly to be a gold only feature. Next step, making online gaming free. Trust me a lot of people would get an Xbox if it had free online MP.
If using the browser on the 360 requires gold then I don't like the chances of Skype being free to use either.
Not a chance. The paid service has worked brilliantly for them this gen..there's no reason for them to revert to a free online service.
Netflix access, internet browser and online play... Three features that say you may be wrong, free everywhere else, pay for access on XBL.
Can it change next gen? Sure. They can also go with a pink console with a unicorn horn and my little brony theme... Anything can happen next gen. But nothing points towards it right now.
hey, I know a lot of Microsoft Fanboys will jump in defence against this, but could you at least hear me out?!
I don't care if I can watch Netflix on my console, nor do I care if I can use the internet browser and all those other media apps...all I really care about is the gaming experience.
With that said, I believe that M$ should make all multiplayer games available to silver accounts. They can still have Gold, but don't charge people to play online, we've already got internet bills, electricity bills, and not to mention we pay $60 for a game and what's the point of paying for a game if you can't access the whole game (multiplayer too)? Sony has free MP, Steam is Free...M$ Can make it free and still have a Gold Account for ppl who wanna get extra games, free games, beta Testing, etc...
Don't you agree?
I think there is a fine free alternative on the market with PSN, so I say keep XBL a paid service. I like the community, features and ease of use. By removing the fee you might just change the community.
If you paid for XBL, you are likely a hardcore online gamer. Those are the types of people I enjoy playing online matches with because they want to play online.
I don't want a friends list full of people that just want to play single player games.
Dude stop with the Xbox live cost already... Sheesh, I paid $40 for a year and got 800 free ms points along with it. That .11 cents a day not even including the ms points. I'd rather pay that for a better online experience.
This has been rumored for a while. If that's the case then expect (finally) crystal clear output through the Mics and don't necessarily need Turtlebeach's, Tritons or Astros for superior voice quality(still nice to have though).
This also could also mean with default Skype functionality MS could introduce something that goes beyond Cross Gamechat.
I'm thinking maybe actually seeing people during mp. Maybe a screen on the controller with a camera so you could see your friends reaction when you kill his ass. I've always wanted more stuff like this. Idk Skype does video so there's bound to be something interesting.
DONT FORGET nrvalleytime:
Our beloved Xbox Live has never been shut down for what was it, two months? Because we couldn't figure out how to make a secure online system (looking right at you Sony). The only trouble you can get into on XBL is if you try and get "free microsoft points" through a email phishing scam, and that FIFA scam as far as I know.
Never had a problem, every Sony guy I know from my town (7 people) all were jealous cus their service was down forever. Lolz. Xbox Live sucks my ass, a service that is secure, now that's something worth paying for.
I would rather be down for a month then to be extorted out of $500 during the life of my console.
That month is gone and over...while you are still paying.
and yet when we pay for an online service, we get games.
You get to pay to play a part of a game you already bought.
Oh also, I seem to remember Live being down over Christmas a few years back, and Major Nelson having his account hacked.
This old news since Skype has been spamming e-mails about integrating our Live account into Skype. It's really annoying. I did it all ready... why am i still getting trash e-mails.
Hopefully, this does not affect people that use Skype to cast tournament on twitch and those that use it to make youtube gameplay videos.
this is really smart, having a default voice/video app that can be used
between phone, console , pc and tablet is a big move
My family and I are huge fans of skype and we use it nearly every day to get together with our other family members so this is pretty cool.
I don't even get why anyone would disagree this comment?
Because people will disagree agree with anything you say. It may have been for the part about how much they love Skype and maybe th disagreers don't love Skype.maybe they don't have a family. Maybe they don't use it every day.
Fantastic idea hopefully you won't need a gold account to use it though.
I honestly do not think this will require a gold membership account for some reasons:
1) Voice chat is already free and requires just xbox live silver
2) I's a widely used feature, even among free members so I doubt ms would just completely shaft that entire segment
3) They're simply replacing an existing feature with another, not adding in another one or alternative to go along with voice chat.
Well, when you look at it that way, I think it makes sense.
You will but anyone that has and xbox should have live by now
Finally something I can say is a good move from MS. Should make voice chat and video chat much more simplified. How much will they charge for a Next-Box webcam though? In-built Kinect camera??
Well seeing as you can already use kinect to video chat, I'm assuming kinect 2 will be all you need.
That's awesome in my eyes, I wonder if the vita skype can chat with the next box skype? Cross branding. I have always liked skype as it's a nice free service and if you have Internet you basically make calls for free
"That's awesome in my eyes, I wonder if the vita skype can chat with the next box skype? Cross branding. I have always liked skype as it's a nice free service and if you have Internet you basically make calls for free"
remember skype is "platform agnostic"
it will allow two devices to communicate with each other no matter what each platform is. aslong as the software is there enabled both will be able to communicate with each other. My PSVita for example I can use the skype in number , or land line number or cell phone number to call or take incomeing call's just as well on my PSVita as i would on my LG Thrill.
Who's to say MS won't lock ps4/vita from using skype to make it a key feature on xbox720. You'll probably see skype on sony pc/tablets but not Sony consoles or handheld. It possible and makes sense. Also I know some will say big deal but Skype is awesome my kids and I use it all the time to talk to friends and family. Good to know I can use my nextbox when kids are using home pc to skype.
"You'll probably see skype on sony pc/tablets but not Sony consoles or handheld."
skype is already on the PSP slim, and skype is also on the PSVita!!
"Who's to say MS won't lock ps4/vita from using skype to make it a key feature on xbox720. "
Skype is Licenced out to who ever wants it, locking it out kinda defeats the purpose. if they did that Microsoft would have a big lawsuit, not to mention Google Voice will have a real go at skype if microsoft did that.
Plus you do know that skype credit is used to do extra functions like "Skype IN" that means that if you buy skype credit that credit is or can be shared between all your devices, so if you say buy a "skype in" Number that same number works on any skype enabled device you have! thus it does not matter what platform it is. the only way for skype to be locked out of other devices is if Microsoft does not allow Sony to licence the skype progrom, and why would Microsoft do that since that Skype credit means that consumer's may be buying skype credit on not just PC, but those with a PSVita, PSP, Android ,iOS, and Now Xbox consumer also.
To lock out more revenue, would not be a very smart thing! Remember Microsoft Purchased skype, that's to make sure Google Voice was not going to have a leg up on IE. and more importantly to gain more revenue aside from windows only based platforms.
@ above it's true that it is cross platform, my cell, my vita, my laptop, all have skype, I was just wondering if the next box would only allow skype from another xbox or cross branding like my vita to my next box
I'm sure that would piss off just about everyone.
one of the best thing's Microsoft has purchased in the past 5 year's. It still kinda amazes me what functions many people still do not know skype Has like "Skype In" is a very big one, many still have no idea that skype has that!
That's a VRvoip incoming/out going phone number that you can have that's not tied to a phone telecommunications company. and it's a phone number that you can have on any or as many skype enabled device you own!
Its a top notch program in my opinion, and Microsoft going with skype on the xbox platform is a great thing, no doubt about it.
My first question is it going to be accesable to other xbox's only or all skype users. Meaning can i skype my family on there phone from my xbox or just other xbox people?
I think it's a given that the Skype on Xbox will integrate with all other Skype platforms.
I assuming its the full skype service and that you'll be able to call family that are not on xbox live. I mean you can already video chat with your xbox friends without skype. I'm pretty sure you probably can use the account you have now and just inergrate it with Xbox Skype when feature is available like they do with some other apps. These are my assumptions tho..but they make sense to me anyways..
"My first question is it going to be accesable to other xbox's only or all skype users. Meaning can i skype my family on there phone from my xbox or just other xbox people?"
skype to skype or skype to land line or cellphone is
"platform agnostic" meaning if for example you have a xbox360, and someone else has a psvita you will be able to video or voice chat with each other. and say you have and xbox360 and a Android smartphone. if someone skypes you you can answer the same skype call no matter if your on your smartphone, xbox360, PSVita, PC Tablet etc.
that's the great thing about skype if you opt. in for a "skype In" phone # with your skype service it allows anyone to call you on that Phone number and you can pick up that same call on any device you have with the skype program running.
check out this for more info on how it works
This is smart and long overdue to be honest. We heard these rumors back just after MS bought skype. I fully welcome the notion of being able to skype on my pc, phone or xbox.
I recently set my parents up with Skype on their computer so we can do video chat. I seriously considered getting them an xbox instead w/ a kinect camera but opted to go skype since it was something they had in place already.
This is a smart move. Xbox live just keeps improving.
I already have everything MS offers on Xbox live and more without a 60 dollar fee. I have more than just skype if I so choose, I have Steam, Higher performance games,the internet at my finger tips, a higher res monitor than any TV, more of a variety of gamer, and the list goes on. All with PC gaming, jump on board wont you.
you do realize you are everything that is wrong with the community here at N4G. Can't just live and let live, gotta take every opportunity to talk down to fellow gamers. It's sad really.
Are you playing Uncharted and God of War on Steam? What about Mario and Zelda? Oh you aren't, sorry to hear, you really are missing out.
Did you like halo 3 and 4
Gears 2 and 3
Forza 4 and hirizon
On pc?
Did not think so
You PC elitist need to stop treating console gamers like retards. Just because people don't game on PC doesnt mean they don't about PCs. For one thing when you buy a PC game there is no guaranteed its going to even run reguardless how good your specs are. My cpu has hyper-threading and cuz of this wont run Lost planet 2 even though it passes the system requirements.I have to disable the hyper threading to play and enable when i'm done unlike the console which you pop in and play. My point is for all the glamour of PC gaming it has more than its fair share of frustration.
Why does it seem like people will disagree on a comment for no reason? It just baffles me when a very sensible post gets disagrees for no reason, atleast leave a comment on why you disagree.
I have consoles as well lol. I will be more clear, why should I pay $60 a year on top of a bill for my internet to get Skype and other features that should be standard? PC gaming is not as difficult to get into as people make it out to be. I did also play all the gears games, halo, uncharted, etc. I also sold all my consoles a year ago and dont miss them. You also dont mention the games you miss out on from the PC, can you name any? I also get way better versions of games that are on consoles. Maybe you console elitist should rethink having an xbox/PS3. I mean you have to use MS points to buy stuff lol, how dumb is that.
I chose console gaming when I realized I don't like to play 30 cm away from a display, although it provided higher resolution. I find 42 inch TV's at about 2 meters very immersive compared to looking at a monitor.
Wow, I had no idea Steam offers Halo, Gears of War, Forza, Killzone, Uncharted, God of War, Mario, Metroid, and Zelda. /s
GTFO PC fanboy.
They need to feel good treating Console gamers as retards since the only place they can do that is on their pcs.
We Console gamers we are normal people, most of console gamers dont even go to forums they just enjoy their games in their couch be it Uncharted, Gears of War, Halo or Gran Turismo.
Pc Elitist all of them use forums, they have no life outside of their miserable Pc, most are Fat.
Console Gamers are the superior race for everything, we just dont have their skills on gaming.
I hate consoles, have a girlfriend, work with kids, and have tons of friends. I also exercise, and have other hobbies. What are you saying again?
You are the idiot if you believe there is a difference between console and PC gamers. Both have virgins on them. Neither of you are a superior race. PC Gamers just tend to have better computer knowledge and so do not want to work on a closed platform.
this would be great, pay for xbox live you get free Skype, other benefit would be that i also can you same email to get it free for computer use as well.
Smart and interesting move from Microoft there. Linking XBL and Skype accounts really makes a lot of sense and will let you stay in touch at any time. It'll be interesting to see if it will keep its name and how you can differenciate between Skype contscts and those who are 'just' online friends in Skype. I'd also appreciate an updated Skpye, it can still be tricky at some points. But yeah, the idea sounds great already.
If it lowers latency and improves audio quality (if there was any problem originally), then good!
What's gonna happen to my PS Vita's Skype App? I hope Microsoft doesn't do anything douche-y and try to "lock us out" or remove the app.
They will honour the contract to keep it on Vita for now , but once contract expires they will restrict it to Sony tablets ,laptop, mobiles phones. my guess is they would prefer it to be a feature exclusive to their console, can't have it on a rival console.
@chuckj1 cause then they can't call it a console exclusive if its on a competitors console.
Makes sense too. That would suck for PlayStation users if ever they go that route...
This was never a question of "If", but when. Right when MS bought Skype every videogame player knew this would ultimately happen.
As for "Hot4play" Why would MS F'up Skype on Sony systems or other applications that run Skype? they are receiving Royalty payments, because MS owns Skype.


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Enjoy the airport bus between Oslo and Oslo Airport Gardermoen and plan your trip easily on the interactive route app or on www.flybussen.no.
Earn points
Usually you earn between 50 and 100 Extra points per trip. Up to four (4) children can travel for free with one (1) adult. Children do not earn points.
- Adults: 100 Extra points
- Children*, military personnel, retirees and students: 50 Extra points
* Children under 16 years traveling alone.
Flybussen App
In the Flybussen app, you can earn 100 points on an adult ticket and a discounted ticket gives 50 points. You also get 100 points if you buy Value Card with 10 trips. Buy tickets for Airport bus lines FB2 via Bus Terminal and FB5 via Bislett to and from Oslo city center. You can download the app from App Store or Google Play.
Note, following tickets are excluded for point earnings - Ruters period cards (4 zones).


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Search For Properties In Lighthouse Point
View All Lighthouse Point Listings ›
Current Properties in Lighthouse Point
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A gracious Gold Coast community offering a relaxed lifestyle, Lighthouse Point is nestled on the Intracoastal Waterway where the famed, century-old Hillsboro Lighthouse stands sentry over the Hillsboro Inlet. Along approximately 2 miles of tranquil waterways, the town maintains its scenic landscape and quiet atmosphere amid winding tree-lined streets and numerous parks.
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Conveniently served by local shopping and dining, Lighthouse Point is centrally located only about 11 miles north of Fort Lauderdale and 6 miles south of Boca Raton, placing world-class beaches, shopping, dining, and entertainment all within easy reach.
Premier Estate Properties is proud to offer a splendid array of real estate in Lighthouse Point's most desirable locations. From exquisite estates spanning multiple acres of land to luxury condominiums and oceanfront property, we can make your dream home a reality.


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Northside ISD has a variety of advisory committees whose members include community members, parents, and staff. Members of the committees provide input and feedback to school and Central Office administrators and the Board of Trustees.
Such committees include:
- Citizens' Bond Advisory Committee
- Citizens' Bond Committee
- Gifted and Talented Enrichment Advisory Council
- Northside Educational Improvement Council
- School Boundary Advisory Committee
- School Health Advisory Council
- Special Education Parent Advisory Committee


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Venue: Twin Lakes Golf & Swim Club, Oakland, Michigan
James: We met at church. We had been going to the same church since we were 12. We were friends for a long time before we started dating. I would always talk to her on instant messenger and try and get her to come to Taco Bell with me in the middle of the night, but she would never come.
Joy: I had always thought the James was cute; however I'm a very shy person so at first I didn't want to approach him because he was such an outgoing person that it was a little intimidating. Before we started dating I always thought that James was a big flirt with all the ladies, but once we went out I saw that he was really sweet, a hard worker, and goofy. I'm really goofy, too, and he was the only person that really got me.
James: Before we started dating I was friends with Joy's brother, and when we would hang out I would always ask about her. I was really interested in her but she was quiet and shy so I wasn't exactly sure what her personality was like. But once we started dating, I realized how funny and sweet she truly was.
James: The proposal. I asked Joy to come over and help me work on my car. I play guitar, and had it set up so that the guitar was in the trunk of the car and also I filled my tool box with rose petals and a sign that said "I love you". We were working on the car and I asked Joy to get me a screwdriver. While she did that, I hurried up to the back and put on my guitar. She turned around and looked at me with a confused look on her face.
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James: Then I began singing the song from the end of wedding singer "Grow Old With You", and got down on one knee and asked her to marry me. Oh, and I also had my best friend hiding in the garage the entire time, filming the whole proposal.
Joy: I didn't realize what was going on until James got down on one knee. I was just so shocked. I really thought I was just going to work on the car with him.
James: We were married at Twin Lakes Golf Course. We had the ceremony outside at a gazebo. It was a short service, only 15 minutes. My favorite part of the wedding was when I saw Joy walk down the aisle. While I was standing there waiting for Joy I was so nervous, my palms were sweating and my knees were shaking. She had to walk down a big flight of stairs to me and I just thought she looked absolutely beautiful walking towards me.
Joy: Going down the aisle I wasn't nervous. I was just up in the sky, I felt like I wasn't really there, like it was an out of body experience.
I loved my dress. I didn't think that we were going to be able to afford it, but James surprised me by buying it for me as a Christmas gift.
James: At the reception the throwing of the garter became quite an ordeal. I had to throw it three times because every time I turned around to see who had caught it, there were people all over the floor. We didn't have a ton of single people there but the guys that were there really, really wanted that garter.
James: To unwind after the wedding we went to Puerto Vallarta for two weeks. It was nice to just relax after all the chaos of the wedding planning. Being newlyweds has been great. We have always been really open with one another, so there were no major surprises when we moved in together.
Joy: It's so nice not to have to drive to see him all the time. The whole time we were dating we never lived closer than a half hour apart, and the travel time certainly adds up after a couple of years. Now, waking up with him every day is the best part.
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Uh uh uh yeah
Every ghetto in the world...
Y'all feel me out there? (World)
You gon feel me (world)
Every ghetto in the world...
This for every ghetto in the world
Every little boy, little girl
I don't know you but I feel your pain
So for real I'm making it rain
We waiting on a savior, maybe Barack
Cop a new drop head that's missing the top
It's us against the world, we playing to win
We done it again
[Verse 1]
What the hell's going on this evening?
Feeling like Trayvon Martin, I'm barely breathing
On my back, looking into the eyes of my killer
You can take my life, but I'm still that nigga
What does Romney know about my ghetto to say the least?
Last time your partner got killed over a Caprice
Tell me thats the cost of life, a box Chevy
Make you wanna call Katrina up - Who broke the levy?
Got nothing but love for New Orleans they bounced back
See first the water came in and left just like that
See one thing about my people we got pride
See we work 'til we got laid off and not fired
GM go bankrupt, we out of work
That'll drive a single father in Detroit straight berserk
When you can't feed your family and kids, what's the solution?
Only one word for that: a Revolution (Shit)
Now Chi-Town looking like a war zone
Like they went to Afghan and brought the war home
When all the penitentiaries packed just like the club
And its supposed to be the land of the free, at least it was
99% of the country - they in debt
Trillion dollar deficit, nigga that's a definite
Got two words for that, thats just duty
Can't fix in one term what Bush fucked up in 2 (What?)
Released on election day 2012 to support (current) President Barack Obama


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By this time next week, the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) will have kicked off its annual conference and trade show in Los Angeles.
With a new venue, there is lots of anticipation and excitement. We have been getting more requests for booth visits the past few weeks than we have had in past years. We plan to produce coverage in different and unique ways during and after the show, too.
With the economy improving ever so slowly, the show seems to have a lot of momentum. Not to sound like a Debbie Downer, but we still are seeing some club operators continue to struggle around the country.
Just in the past two weeks, we've seen a sports training facility called SportsQuest in Virginia evicted from its building for not paying rent. ZX Fitness, which has a troubled past from its days as Peak Fitness in North Carolina, closed a club in Durham, NC. On Monday, Club Fitness in Jacksonville, AL, closed its doors, surprising both members and employees alike. Club Fitness closed a club in similar fashion last year in Rome, GA. Now the company has only one club in operation, that one in Carrollton, GA.
Those are just the closings we have found. There could be others, damaging the industry's reputation and causing headaches for members and vendors.
There is no doubt that IHRSA will put on a great show, and the feeling will be that the industry is growing and manufacturers are coming back. But once the show ends, the reality will set in that this industry still has a long way to go to come back.
UPDATE: More bad news continued on Wednesday as the Lehigh Valley Racquet and 24-7 Fitness Clubs in Pennsylvania filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The business began in 1979.


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App Report for Passcode for Facebook Messenger
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Browse FAQs
Information on Online and On Battery operation of 3:1 Symmetra UPS systems
Published date: 01 October 2013
Browse FAQs
(220 x 1.7 = 380; 230 x 1.7 = 400; 240 x 1.7 = 415. Where 1.7 = square root of 3)
The Symmetra 3:1 will run On-Line for inputs between 290 VAC and 480VAC. The output voltage can be set to either 220 / 230 / 240 VAC at 50 or 60 Hertz.
If any one of the phases fails, the Symmetra will still operate On-Line but will pull more current from the other 2 phases. In this case it will draw no more than 60 amps per phase . If phase A or B fails, then the PowerView will report "Bypass Out of Range". If phase C fails, there is no notification message on PowerView. You will manually have to check the PowerView and read the input voltages.
If a second phase fails, then the Symmetra will go to On Battery operation and report "Bypass Out of Range" on the PowerView. Likewise, if all 3 phases fail it will go to On Battery operation.
When Symmetra 3:1 is On Battery it will provide single phase output power. The output voltage can be set 220 / 230 / 240 VAC. The output frequency can also be set to either 50Hz or 60Hz.
Please Note: While current is evenly distributed across all three phases while Symmetra 3:1 is on-line, all current will draw from phase 1 if the UPS is in bypass unless the optional Symmetra Bypass Transformer is in use.


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Hawk's Landing
29361 Locust Grove Rd.
McArthur, Ohio 45651
Phone: 740-596-4288
McArthur, Ohio 45651
Phone: 740-596-4288
Website: www.hawkslanding.biz
Relaxing, peaceful, private hideaways with trails on 43 acres, adjoining 430 acres of conservation land. Locust Grove Lodge full service cabin--includes Hot Tub, TV, Air Conditioning. All cabins include creature comforts, except personal effects and food. If you bring more than a back pack you have brought too much.
The primitive tent camping spaces offer a true retreat from a fast-paced world. Picnic shelter, solar showers, all campsite have picnic canopy and fire pits. Fire wood is available on location. There is hunting and fishing nearby. No TV, electric or phones.
Location Map
Current Discounts
Week Long Stay Discount - Save 15% !
On going.... Available when you stay 7 or more nights. Discount applies any night of the week.
On going.... Available when you stay 7 or more nights. Discount applies any night of the week.
"Stay 7 days and enjoy our week long discount. 15% off, not valid during holidays, must book 7 full nights, does not include other discounts. Must be 21 yrs old with valid drivers license. This offer will expire May 22, 2016"
Website: www.hawkslanding.biz


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The bells have silenced, half of our resolutions have been abandoned, and while the days begrudgingly grow longer at a congressional pace, the nights grow increasingly colder. It is January and already the second week of the New Year, and it's time to ask: how's your MS today?
This time of year can be difficult as we deal with winter weather (I sure hope that anyone living with multiple sclerosis in Cordova, Alaska is getting the help they need), post-holiday MS issues and, for some, new insurance coverage.
We take one post per month to completely open the conversation to our community. No subject is off the table and we hope you'll join in!
Speaking of no conversation off the table…we're happy to announce a new project for the new year.
We have been asked to contribute to a new blog for the National MS Society. Our monthly contribution will be entitled "The Unspeakable Bits; From a Life With MS" and we intend to pull no punches in opening conversations.
So, a new year, an old disease — how's your MS today?
Wishing you and your family the best of health.
Don't forget that you can also follow me via my Life With MS Facebook page and on Twitter. Check out our bi-monthly blog I'm doing for the Multiple Sclerosis Society of the United Kingdom, A Yank's Life With MS, as well as our very special new monthly blog for the National MS Society.


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Showing 1-24 of 181 items found in Sports & Gaming
- Ordina per:
Family entertainment center featuring Illinois' largest indoor roller coaster, go-karts, bumper cars, Tilt-A-Whirl, bowling, and hundreds of video and redemption games.
CITY:Villa Park
The most under priced attraction in the area! 36 acres of family fun. See 300 classic, antique and muscle cars, including the country's largest display of Hollywood TV and movie cars! Experience the Military Combat Zone, a life-like battle scene with rare military vehicles and weapons. Shop 5 Antique Malls. Take a Haunted Trolley Tour. Enjoy great food in a Betty Boop themed diner and more. All in one location!
We have over 16,000 square feet of trampolines including two dodgeball courts, a foam jumping pit, kids zone, and more! Plenty of parking, convenient location. This awesome facility designed for kids from age 4 and up. Jump America is great for adults too. It's a great place for birthdays, parties, day camps, schools, civic and community gatherings and corporate events.
Enchanted Castle Restaurant & Entertainment Complex
Chicago's premiere entertainment complex! 60,000 sq. ft. of fun featuring: indoor go karts, laser tag, bumper cars, 200+ games, mini golf, Kid's Quest Softplay plus a 625-seat restaurant w/ great food and song (karaoke)., Sir Bounce-A-Lot Jumpland coming this summer! Great team building and corp. events for up to 1,800.
Odyssey Fun World - Naperville
Out of this world family fun featuring a four-level exploration playland, tag team laser trek, interactive video/prize redemption/games and outdoor amusement park. Caters to groups.
Arlington International Racecourse
At Arlington International, we aim to make every day of the season special by combining the excitement of thoroughbred racing, gorgeous grounds and fantastic food to create a winning track experience for our guests! Whether you're looking for a fun and exciting day out with friends and family, a casual and charming afternoon at the races, or a sophisticated and stylish get-together, Arlington International offers an extraordinary experience for everyone! Live racing and entertainment from May through September or find a full calendar of race dates and events at arlingtonpark.com.
CITY:Arlington Heights
Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament
Journey through time to the age of Chivalry and Knighthood. Feast upon a sumptuous banquet and cheer your own knight to victory in the tournament of games.
The biggest, the grandest, the most stylish and the most comfortable casino in all of Illinois. Over 80,000 square feet and two decks of fun and excitement.
At Rivers Casino, step into the excitement of more than 1,000 slots and nearly 50 table games. Find all of your favorites and more on the entirely non-smoking 43,000-square-foot gaming floor. Rivers also features seven bars and restaurants (including local favorite Hugo's Frog Bar & Chop House), plus lively nightly entertainment.
CITY:Des Plaines
STEM - robotics, engineering and building with LEGO is what you will find at the C&A Robot Factory. Classes include having fun learning with LEGO machines and robotics, LEGO Mindstorms. Classes can also be provided at a company or school site. Have a birthday party at C & A or we can do in home parties. Also try one of the camps we offer including LEGO Machines and Robots, stop motion movies, etc.
This entertainment and meeting facility features two indoor European karting tracks, a restaurant and a multitude of alternative entertainment options, including billiards and video games.
CITY:Buffalo Grove
Eaglewood Resort & Spa offers a luxurious retreat whether you arrive for a conference or relaxing getaway. The architecturally stunning resort, constructed in Frank Lloyd Wright- influence Prairie-style architecture, features upscale hotel accomodations, luxurious amenities, sophisticated technology, and a myriad of recreational options.
Hilton Chicago Oak Brook Hills Resort and Conference Center
Overlooking expansive grounds including a beautiful 18-hole championship golf course with waterways, this IACC-certified resort features 386 guest rooms, over 42,000 sq ft of meeting space, multiple restaurants and group activities.
CITY:Oak Brook
Vaughn Athletic Center and Indoor Water Park
The Vaughan Athletic Center is dedicated to fitness excellence with quality equipment and programs designed to offer members the best value for their fitness dollar. The newest facility in the Fox Valley Park District is the Vaughan Athletic Center located on Indian Trail near Orchard Road on the far west side of Aurora. The Vaughan Athletic Center features 225,000 square feet of athletic, fitness, and aquatic fun. The Vaughan Athletic Center is home to an aquatic center with three indoor pools. The aquatic center offers lap swimming, diving boards, warm water therapy, swim lessons, and aquatic fitness classes. In addition, there is an indoor water park featuring two water slides, a lazy river, and spray and play areas. In the Vaughan Athletic Center's 10,000-square-foot, full-service fitness center, members can use a wide variety of equipment, attend the Fox Valley area's best group exercise classes, and receive personalized, one-on-one help from certified trainers. This year-round indoor water park has tube slides, zero-depth entry and interactive water play.
Located in the heart of the Chicago suburbs, the Schaumburg Boomers are the ideal destination for family-oriented fun. The Boomers are a Minor league baseball team competing in the Independent Frontier League.
We are the premiere gaming facility in the country with over 250 games! We are a test facility for the video game industry. We consistently have games here that no one else in the country has! Two bars and a casual dining area. Great for ages 5 years old and up. Must be 21 or older after 9 pm. Located in the Streets of Woodfield.
This indoor kart racing and entertainment facility features CyberSport, a multiplayer game that blends bumper cars, lacrosse and basketball into an alternative to racing for groups of 10 to 400.
Kane County Cougars Baseball at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark
Minor league, Class A, Chicago Cubs affiliate. Games and events April-Sept. 14,000 seats, parking for 10,000. Easy access from I-88. Perfect for concerts, corporate outings and more.
The Stadium at the Ballpark at Rosemont is the 2,000-seat home of the Chicago Bandits, the 2011 NPF World Champion women's softball organization, East Leyden High School's girls softball team and the Rosemont School's boys and girls softball team. It is located on the west side of 1-294, and is the first facility of its kind in the nation built expressly for women's professional sports. The team plays 25 home games a year, from June through August.
This facility is home field to DePaul basketball, Chicago Wolves hockey and the Chicago Rush arena football. With a wide variety of events each year, the Allstate Arena is a place where everyone can enjoy quality family shows, riveting sports and mesmerizing musical performances.
Hollywood Casino Aurora has all of the newest and hottest slots. Denominations ranging from 1 cent to $100 including multi-denomination machines. One blockbuster hit after another, plus find all traditional favorites, popular themes and progressive machines that deliver big pay outs, plus the best variety of table games and Poker Room.
Rink Side Sports and Family Entertainment
Fun for the whole family in this state of the art entertainment center featuring a regulation-size ice skating rink offering hockey games, public skating and lessons, 180 video and interactive games, virtual reality laser tag arena, 18 holes of glow in the dark miniature golf, and snack bar featuring awesome home made pizza. Group events and birthday party packages with several packages to choose from with many different activities, or we can cater to fit your needs. Visit the website for special events and hours as they can vary during the season.
Set among mature oak and hickory trees, lakes and streams, this full-service event facility with 27 holes offers both 18-hole and 9-hole play, and is recognized as one of the best public courses in America.
This slot car racing establishment has three fast tracks and a drag strip.
CITY:Arlington Heights


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Valparaiso University women's basketball coach Keith Freeman has announced the signing of Raegan Moore to a National Letter of Intent to play for the Crusaders beginning in the fall.
Moore, a 6'1" guard from Girard, Pa., was a Second Team All-Pennsylvania selction at Girard High School. As a senior, she averaged 18.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game and finished her career with 1,475 points. She was the Region Player of the Year in District 10. She also averaged 2.5 assists and 2.9 steals per contest for her team which finished the year 22-5 and was ranked ninth in the state in class AA.
Moore also is track and field athlete and has qualified for the state championships in the 100,200, and 400 meter events.
"Raegan is an outstanding student and athlete," Freeman said. "She is very versatile and has a great upside. She is a good driver and has a very good mid range game. I think she has the potential to be a very good college basketball player."
Moore joins Gina Lange, Skyler Gick, and Laura Richards as members of the incoming freshmen class.
Athletics-Recreation Center (ARC)
1009 Union Street
Valparaiso, IN 46383
Staff Directory


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Game At Meadowlands Highlights Men's Basketball's MAAC Slate
BALTIMORE – Loyola University Maryland men's basketball will open its 2012-2013 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference schedule with a home game on Wednesday, December 5, against Niagara University, three days before theGreyhounds will take on Saint Peter's University in a college hoops doubleheader at the Izod Center.
Loyola and the Peacocks will play the first of two games on Saturday, December 8, in the complex at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford,N.J., prior to a contest between Duke University and Temple University.
The Greyhounds finished the 2011-2012 season with a 13-5 mark in MAAC action its best-ever league record, en route to a school Division I best 24-9 record.
"The MAAC has great coaches and great players, and that is what makes every game tough," Head Coach Jimmy Patsos said. "It doesn't matter if you are home or away, the teams make it so that every game is a great environment, and it makes it so that you look forward to every game as a new challenge."
After completing 2012 with three non-conference games, the Greyhounds will open the new year with a Friday, January 4, game versus Rider University at Reitz Arena. Last season, the Greyhounds and Broncs played before a sellout crowd in Loyola's venue, the first of two-straight capacity crowds in Reitz.
Saint Peter's will make the trip to Baltimore on Sunday, January 6, and Fairfield University will wrap up a three-game homestand for the Greyhounds on Friday, January 11.
The Greyhounds, who won the 2012 MAAC Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in school history,will play their first road contest of 2013 on Sunday, January 13, at Rider in Lawrenceville, N.J.
A home game against Marist College on Thursday, January 17, will be on the schedule before Loyola faces Fairfield in Bridgeport, Conn., on Martin Luther King Day, Monday, January 21.
Loyola will hit New York City on Friday, January 25, for a game at Manhattan College before returning to Retiz Arena for a Sunday, January 27, contest versus Iona College.
The Greyhounds make their annual sojourn in Western New York with games at Canisius College on Thursday, January 31, before taking on Niagara on Saturday, February 2. Last year, the Greyhounds swept the road trip in the Buffalo area for the first time in the school's MAAC history.
Siena College visits the Evergreen Campus on Friday, February 8, just before Loyola travels to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., for a Sunday,February 10, game at Marist College.
Canisius is in Baltimore for a Valentine's Day game on Thursday, February 14, and two days later Loyola will visit Albany, N.Y., for a Saturday, February 16, matchup with Siena.
A step out of conference play during the weekend of February 22-24 for a Bracketbuster road contest will come before the final weekend of league action.
Loyola visits Westchester County on Friday, March 1, for a date with Iona before closing the regular-season at home against Manhattan on Sunday, March 3.
Springfield, Mass., will again host the MAAC Championships, beginning on Friday, March 8, and culminating with the Championship Game onMonday, March 11.
Dates of all Loyola contests are subject to change, and times will be announced at a later date. Television details will also be distributed in the coming weeks.


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(Reuters) - The government has decided to solicit construction in Japan of the International Linear Collider (ILC), a next-generation particle accelerator that will allow physicists to explore rudimentary questions about the universe, the Nikkei said.
The ILC will complement the Large Hadron Collider at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), which confirmed the existence of the Higgs boson - a particle understood to impart mass, the business daily said.
The project is seen to measure up to the International Space Station and the ITER nuclear fusion project. Building the ILC in Japan would mark the first time that the country plays the central role in a major international research project, the Nikkei said.
The project was set in motion when an international team of scientists and others drafted a report on the engineering design of the ILC on Wednesday, the paper said.
Construction costs are estimated to total 830 billion yen ($8.67 billion) and the project is expected to generate 530,000 jobs, the Nikkei said.
According to the Japan Productivity Center, the project is expected to yield an economic impact of around 45 trillion yen ($470.24 billion) over 30 years, the paper reported.
The Cabinet Office plans to discuss the matter at a meeting of experts on Friday. A mountainous region in Iwate Prefecture and another straddling Fukuoka and Saga prefectures are seen as prospective construction sites for the collider, which is to be built in a tunnel about 30km long, the paper said.
The government hope to select a candidate site and officially announce its intention to host the ILC around next month, according to the Nikkei.
No national government has volunteered to host the project so far. Japan has the backing of many scientists from around the world, the daily said.
With the construction site expected to be decided around 2015, Japan will talk to other participants in the ILC project including the United States, Europe, China and Russia, the Nikkei said.
Construction is expected to take around a decade, with experiments beginning around 2030. If the collider is built in Japan then the country is expected to shoulder about half of the construction costs, so the pricey project could prove contentious at home, according to the Nikkei.
Reporting By Lehar Maan in Bangalore; Editing by Maju Samuel


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Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business, is releasing 96 new Pioneer brand corn products to growers across North America for the 2009 planting season.
This new advancement class includes 39 new genetic platforms providing improved genetic gain across all maturities. The 2009 lineup features new double-stack and triple-stack products that feature Herculex insect protection and the Roundup Ready Corn 2 trait.
The 2009 class is the result of an increased effort in localized testing, featuring advancement decisions made by local area sales and agronomy teams. The localized testing and decision-making help ensure that Pioneer continues to deliver local performance advantages and traits that meet customers' needs on a field-by-field basis.
Of the 96 new commercial hybrids, 35 are double-stack products. These hybrids contain the Herculex I gene and the Roundup Ready Corn 2 trait. The Herculex I trait protects against European and southwestern corn borer, western bean cutworm, black cutworm, fall armyworm, corn earworm, sugarcane borer, southern cornstalk borer and lesser cornstalk borer.
"Our double-stack products and hybrids with the Roundup Ready Corn 2 trait for refuge are performing very well," says Bob Heimbaugh, North American director of corn product evaluation for Pioneer. "We provide growers with options that include agronomic, disease and technology traits that fit the performance and technology compliance needs of their own farming operations."
The 2009 class also contains 36 triple-stack hybrids, with protection featuring the Herculex XTRA traits. Herculex XTRA is a combination of Herculex I and Herculex RW rootworm protection, which in addition to above-ground protection, delivers below-ground protection from western, northern and Mexican corn rootworms.
"The new 2009 triple-stack hybrids have improved yield and better drydown compared to our 2008 hybrids," Heimbaugh says.
"With local testing results, Pioneer professionals can continue to help growers make better decisions to improve their productivity and protect their investment on a field-by-field basis.
"For 2009, we will introduce two new white platforms, three triple-stack white hybrids, two double-stack white hybrids and three double-stack waxy hybrids," Heimbaugh says. "We want to provide contract growers the technology to protect their corn against above- and below-ground insects. These hybrids that contain double- and triple-stack traits are becoming more readily accepted by end-use industry processors."
Pioneer also is the first to provide a hybrid with genetic resistance to anthracnose stalk rot — Pioneer brand hybrid 34F26 with the Roundup Ready Corn 2 trait — with more hybrids expected in 2010.


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As Time Goes by in Shanghai Trailer (2013)
Trailer for As Time Goes by in Shanghai.
Shanghai's Peace Old Jazz Band has been performing together since 1980, but the group's members have been playing much longer than that. Aged between 65 and 87 years, many of them have been playing jazz since the 1940s and have seen the world transform. From the Japanese occupation and the Cultural Revolution to capitalism on overdrive, the band members have seen the many faces of China and withstood the government's suspicions of jazz. Through ages of political upheaval they never lost their faith and belief in their music. Now comes one of their biggest challenges: each year Rotterdam hosts the North Sea Jazz Festival and this year, Peace Old Jazz plans to make the trip. Follow them and director Uli Gaulke as they make the hopeful journey to win the love of the festival's audiences.
1 min 59 sec
Posted On
April 27, 2013
Uli Gaulke
Unknown or Not Available
April 25, 2013
Unknown or Not Available
No Music Available


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The Palestinian filmmaker talks about the refugee stories in When I Saw You.
Following her acclaimed debut Salt Of This Sea (2008), Palestinian filmmaker Annemarie Jacir has returned to the subject of refugeesand displacement with her second feature, When I Saw You, which screens at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival in the New Horizons competition.
The story follows 11-year-old Tarek and his mother, who have fled to a refugee camp in Jordan after Israel seized control of Palestine in the summer of 1967. Tarek just wants to go home, and when he runs away from the camp, he discovers a group of Palestinian freedom fighters living in the forest.
Tarek is played by Mahmoud Asfa, now 14 years old, and his mother by Ruba Blal. The film received its world premiere in Toronto and is being sold internationally by The Match Factory.
Why did you decide to tackle this subject through the eyes of a child?
I didn't live in that period, so in a way this is my fantasy of that time, through a little boy who doesn't really understand what's happening. Him and his mother have become refugees, but he doesn't understand this concept, and he has all these questions that nobody can answer. Then he finds this group of fighters, and he thinks he's one of them, but he doesn't really get what they're doing.
So why a child? It's because I have many of the same questions as Tarek - I don't understand borders and separation. Also I didn't want it to be political and didn't want politicised characters.
It's also about why the late '60s is important to us as Palestinians - when I was growing up people would always talk about 'before' and 'after' 1967. It was a difficult year for Palestinians, but there was actually a hopefulness at that time all over the world, with the anti-war movement, and people felt they had the ability to do something about their lives. We all know that later things go bad, but I wanted to capture that sense of hopefulness.
The freedom fighters' camp appears to be a much more pleasant environment than the refugee camp - was that deliberate?
Well they're both camps, but I wanted to portray it from Tarek's point-of-view without being idealistic. I've also given hints that it's not all hearts and flowers between the fighters. There's an indication that egos are involved and that groups will eventually splinter, which is what really happened with the Palestinian resistance. I also wanted to capture from the boy's point-of-view how they were the rock stars of the decade.
How did you research the resistance movement?
They were so well photographed - there's so much film and photography of both the camps and the fighters by Arab and international media. They were also a mixed group, with people from all over the world, as at that time all the leftist movements were involved with each other. I found material in Russian film archives and Godard made a film in the late '60s, Here And Elsewhere, after living with the fighters in Jordan.
Where did you find Mahmoud Asfa?
I found him in Irbid refugee camp in the north of Jordan during a huge casting process. He's a very special kid in the script - not at all self-conscious, full of hope and very open. I became very depressed during casting as we were interviewing boys aged 11-13, and by that age they're already closed up and self-conscious. But Mahmoud was completely different.
We filmed without any money for post-production - but I wanted to shoot quickly because I knew he was the one, and I didn't want him to grow a moustache by the time we had the money. Salt Of This Sea took six years to finance. So we filmed last year and were stuck for several months without money to complete the film.
Where did the finance to finish the film eventually come from?
We got support from Sanad and Thessaloniki's post-production fund, so we finished the film in Greece at their post-production facilities. When we were shooting we had money from private investors and small amounts from film funds like Tribeca Film Institute and Global Film Initiative.
Funding still has to be a kind of a patchwork in this region, although this film had a lot of Arab money, while Salt Of This Sea was entirely European financing. This film had money from Arab investors, who were not film people but had seen Salt Of This Sea and liked it and wanted to be involved in supporting this. Dubai also helped with script development.


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Tori Spelling is expecting her third – book!
The former "90210" star and New York Times bestselling writer, announced on Thursday she is penning her third book, tentatively titled "uncharted terriTORI."
"I love the connection I've made with my readers through my books and am so excited to update them on all the stories that have happened since 'Mommywood,'" Tori said in a statement on Thursday. "It's been an amazing and emotional journey so far and being able to share it is a gift."
According to Tori's publishers at Gallery Books, a branch of Simon & Shuster, "uncharted terriTORI" will continue to let readers in on the star's life as an actress, wife to Dean McDermott and mother to Stella and Liam. It will also give readers a peek inside her relationship with mother Candy Spelling, with whom she recently reconciled.
"[The book] will once again allow readers to share Tori's unique and very public life and misadventures — complete with growing children, daredevil husband Dean, a tight circle of friends, welcome and invasive cameras, and an infamous mother — with humor and candor," Gallery Books said in a release. "The new book will offer fans the latest updates in her never complacent life balancing parenthood with the pressures of living in Tinseltown, including reaction to the tabloid scrutiny of her weight, the truth behind the latest 'feud' making headlines [and] becoming a mini-mogul via her many business ventures and lines."
Tori's previous books, "Mommywood" and "sTORI telling" have over 800,000 copies in print.
Related Content from AccessHollywood.com:
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Hollywood's Hottest Moms & Their Loveable Little Ones
PLAY IT NOW: Tori Spelling Fires Back! (October 26, 2009)
PLAY IT NOW: Tori Spelling Takes On Star Magazine's Erroneous Weight Battle Allegations
MORE ACCESS ON THESE TOPICS: Tori Spelling - TV - Reality TV - 90210 - Dean McDermott


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ATLANTA BALTIMORE BIRMINGHAM BOSTON BUFFALO CHARLOTTE CHICAGO CINCINNATI CLEVELAND DALLAS DENVER DETROIT JACKSONVILLE KANSAS CITY LOS ANGELES MINNEAPOLIS NEWARK NEW ORLEANS NEW YORK PHILADELPHIA PITTSBURGH HASKINS & SELLS CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS BULLETIN EXECUTIVE OFFICES 16 BROAD STREET, NEW YORK PORTLAND PROVIDENCE SAINT LOUIS SALT LAKE CITY SAN DIEGO SAN FRANCISCO SEATTLE TULSA WATERTOWN BERLIN LONDON MANILA PARIS SHANGHAI HAVANA MEXICO CITY MONTREAL VOL. XII N E W Y O R K , APRIL, 1929 No. 4 IN the hall-way of one of New York's historic buildings, now replaced by a modern sky-scraper, stood a bronze statue. The statue was that of the founder of the company to which the building belonged. The pedestal on which the statue rested bore the inscription, "Honesty and truth guard the defenseless." The company, when it was organized some seventy years ago, entered upon a new line of business. It has passed through some stormy periods. At one time it was the victim of mismanagement and was the subject of legislative investigation. Today, it stands at the head of companies in its field, with assets valued at figures too big for the average mind to apprehend. The faith of its founder long since has been justified. There are those who see in accountancy only a humdrum day's work; a means of eking out an existence. There are others who look upon it as a business in which success is measured in terms of "gross" and "net." Still others there are who view accountancy as a profession; who get a sense of satisfaction out of its practice as such, and who believe that service motivated by the desire to make each job a good job, cannot help but bring the reward of increasing practice. The correct concept of accountancy, if but one there be, may represent a horde of bookkeepers out of jobs. It may be a group of technicians, more or less skilled, pursuing financial gain. Again, it may be an assemblage of artisans who delight to do well and faithfully work of which they may be proud. The chances are that accountancy, in its true light, is a combination of technical skill and business ability, bound together with honesty and fearless adherence to truth. Perhaps no one man, in the early days of the profession, had the vision to see that accountancy, as early as the year 1929, would have reached a point involving twenty-five thousand practitioners throughout this country. It is doubtful if any of the pioneers imagined a volume of practice reaching, probably, well-nigh $100,000,000.00. Probably it was never anticipated that a time would arrive when accountants would be certifying to balance sheets carrying figures in billions. But, undoubtedly, those who founded the root-organizations of accountancy in this country saw an image of the growth and development in which that service, guided by honesty and truth, has come to constitute a bulwark on which the great credit operations of the country rest. To see in the mind's eye still greater things for accountancy does not require Imagination
Object Description
Accounting as a profession
Haskins & Sells Bulletin, Vol. 12, no. 04 (1929 April), p. 29
|Originally published by: Haskins & Sells
|Deloitte Digital Collection
|Digital Publisher
|University of Mississippi Libraries. Accounting Collection
|Date-Digitally Created
|HS Bulletin 12-p29


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Nominations sought for teaching award
Jan. 10, 2008 12:52 p.m.
The Office of the Dean of the Faculty invites members of the University community to submit letters of nomination for the 2008 President's Award for Distinguished Teaching.
The awards, presented annually at Commencement, are intended to recognize excellence in undergraduate and graduate teaching by Princeton faculty members. All current full, associate and assistant professors, lecturers on continuing appointment, senior lecturers and lecturers who have served at least half time for three or more years are eligible for nomination.
Letters of nomination should be sent by Monday, Feb. 4, to the Office of the Dean of the Faculty, 9 Nassau Hall.


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Labour has blood on its hands, suggests Chris Trotter is his column today about the Pike River disaster. He says that the traditions of the Labour Party are to make life safer for workers, yet 'if there's "blood on the coal" at Pike River - Labour helped to put it there during its time in office in the 1980s and then under the Helen Clark Government - see: Labour shares Pike River guilt. Trotter tries to explain why the last Labour Government - and especially those ministers in the Labour portfolio; 'Margaret Wilson (1999-2004); Ruth Dyson (2005-07); and Trevor Mallard (2007-08)' - 'for nine long years did nothing to prevent the tragedy which, in such a criminally deregulated environment, was only ever a matter of time'. Apparently, there 'was no appetite in the Clark-led Labour Government for a return to the so-called "heavy-handed" regulations of the past' and he says that the current Labour Party is still enthralled with neoliberalism and deregulation.
What about the union movement? According to leftwing blogger Steven Cowan, the union movement - or at least the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) - also has blood on its hands. In a stridently critical blogpost entitled How 'modern unionism' failed the Pike River miners, Cowan quotes Labour MPs Damien O'Connor and Andrew Little defending the Pike River Company. O'Connor is quoted from 2010 saying that the disaster was 'just one of these things that the West Coast unfortunately has had to get used to over the years' and suggesting that the company wasn't necessarily to blame. According to Cowan, the then the head of the EPMU, Andrew Little, went into bat for the company saying there was 'nothing unusual about Pike River or this mine that we've been particularly concerned about'.
But for the moment the heat continues to be on the National Government and Kate Wilkinson, who continues to refuse to resign from Cabinet. The political rule to never ask a question publically that you don't already know the answer to may well apply to Wilkinson's 'What have I done wrong?' Her apparently genuine bewilderment at being asked to make a real sacrifice shows, more than any other statement, that her resignation as Minister of Labour was purely a symbolic and political gesture. After all - why resign at all if no wrong has been done? It seems the public servants under Wilkinson may be clearly told what they did wrong as John Key 'refused to rule out further heads rolling within the public service as a result of the tragedy' - see Andrea Vance, Tracy Watkins and Danya Levy's 'What have I done wrong?'.
While there may be no smoking gun linking Wilkinson directly to the Pike River tragedy, her overall performance in protecting New Zealand workers from harm may provide some answers to her question. After the mine disaster Shell Todd Service general manager Rob Jager was asked to lead a task force to improve workplace safety and he described New Zealand's record in workplace health and safety as 'extremely poor'. This week he said that 'Our fatality rate is more than six times as bad as UK and nearly twice as bad as Australia' - see Audrey Young's NZ's safety record slammed.
There have been numerous editorials and opinion pieces urging the government to get on with implementing the Royal Commission's recommendations. Nearly all, like Brian Rudman, say leaving businesses to look after workplace safety was a mistake that must be rectified - see: Bring back Nanny State - she'll help keep us safe. There are parallels with other costly mistakes thinks Rosemary McLeod: 'In the fever of deregulation that we imagined meant good things would happen, we also changed building regulations, resulting in a housing catastrophe that we seem unwilling to confront and which will roll on for years to come, ruining people who bought homes in good faith' - see: Pike River a show of profits before safety.
Despite the Prime Minister's defense of Wilkinson in Parliament, he seems to indicate that business self-interest is still considered the primary protector of safety at work: 'saying that a company is prepared to risk the deaths of its employees and the reputation of the company for the sole purpose of making money, and even from the most hardened socialist I find that something difficult to believe'. No Right Turn despairs: 'But as the report makes clear, this is exactly what happened at Pike River. A failing company ignored health and safety and risked the lives of its workers in a desperate effort to stay afloat. There are now 29 corpses rotting in a mine as evidence that the Prime Minister's rosy-eyed view is Utterly, horribly wrong.
Finally, to get a visual sense of how the original disaster and the Royal Commission's report has been received, see my blogpost, The Politics of the Pike River tragedy - in images and cartoons.
Other recent important or interesting political items include:
* The must-read opinion piece on the Electoral Commission's recommendations to improve MMP is Mark Blackham's MMP reform in NZ. This points out that the Commission's proposals would 'make Parliament less representative'. He puts forward the argument in favour of abolishing the MMP threshold. But if newspaper editorials are anything to go by, there seems to be significant approval of the Electoral Commission's recommendations to improve MMP - see The Herald's National can afford faith in small parties, the ODT's Voters looking for lead on MMP, the Waikato Times' MPs' views don't count, and the Dominion Post's Electoral changes in the public interest. Blogger Pete George suggests that such views are simply biased in favour of the interest of the bigger political parties - see: Dominion Post editorial biased towards larger parties on MMP. Also, well worth reading is John Armstrong's Parties playing politics with MMP proposals.
* Unemployment has hit a 13-year high, and the politicians are scrambling to find the reasons. For the Prime Minister, the blame is Auckland, which is skewing the national survey - see: Key dismisses unemployment concerns. For Tariana Turia, however, the problem is discrimination - see RadioLive's Maori discrimination raises unemployment - Turia. Forget gay shirts, asset sales, David Beckham and Kim Dotcom, the real threat to National's re-election chances is the economy according to Duncan Garner, who thinks the jobless figures may be much more than a 'blip' - see: Is our economy collapsing?. Garner, in an earlier post, argues Bill English will have to officially give up on their surplus target very soon - see: Surplus target up in smoke.
* This week Jane Clifton evaluates the Government's housing affordability proposals, and explains why they're in a difficult situation without many real options - see: National's affordable housing package.
* Is there a bias in the media against right-wing experts? Karl du Fresne thinks so, and explains why journalists should put less store in academic commentators especially - see: We should bow to experts - unless they happen to be right-wing.
* The Listener profile on David Cunliffe probably hasn't done his political career any favours. It is now available online - see: Guyon Espiner's Reinventing David Cunliffe.
* Yet another vote of 'no confidence' is expressed in the Greens' lobbying regulation private members bill - this time by the executive director of the association of NGOs - see Dave Henderson's Lobbying bill a sledgehammer.
* New Zealand is said to be the least corrupt nation in the world. But Transparency International wants to get a more in-depth and sophisticated picture of the integrity of our system and next week is launching the New Zealand National Integrity System Assessment.
* While the debate over the consequences of 'light handed regulation' in health and safety continues, it is interesting to see that problems caused by a similar philosophy in building regulations is still a very long way off resolution. Home-owners who had their leaky homes signed off by private certifiers are missing out on compensation - see: Anne Gibson's Leaky payout plan works - Govt.
* The continuation of the human species is apparently like choosing heated leather seats and in-built GPS navigation for your car according to Paul Clark, who owns the New Zealand Ammunition Company - see: Ben Heather's Having family 'like buying a luxury car'.
* Not so long ago National agreed to the Maori Party's wish to have the Tino Rangitiratanga flag officially flown on Waitangi Day, but the days of supporting such symbolic acts of co-operation seem over - see: Isaac Davison's National's opposition to Treaty oath 'disturbing' - Maori Party. National's Tau Henare didn't hide his support for the bill and says he considered crossing the floor: 'But that did not create stable government, he said. Voting down the bill meant we were the same as the ''other colonial nations"' - see Kate Chapman's: Henare followed party line, Key says.
* Brian Edwards takes the time to explain to a fallen MP why hypocrisy, rather than making a mistake many years ago, was his undoing - see: David Garrett writes to me and I respond.
* Backdowns are politically embarrassing, so Hekia Parata's strategy to avoid them seems to be to deny that there was anything to back down from in the first place - see: Charley Mann's Parata rejects high school mergers.
* Ever wondered why and how Cameron Slater has come to be so big in the beltway of New Zealand politics? Brian Edwards explains that, like Winston Peters, the Whaleoil blogger (and now newspaper editor) is 'the joker in this pack of dullards', and Edwards says that 'politics in this country has never been duller' - see: I meet Cameron Slater and get to thinking about boring politicians.


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earthmaiden wrote:A miserable 0.5lb off this morning after religiously following plan all week
EmWilk wrote:3lbs off this week which I'm really happy with. I was hoping for 2, 3 at a push.
This week has a couple of risky obstacles (supplier dinners, off site meetings) but as long as I plan well, I should be fine.
9lbs in total, 5 more til 1 stone, 8 more til 10% of body weight
Well done PP and EM
Pepper Pig wrote:I still appear to be a member of my previous SW group's FB page. They have a couple of girls who are very keen on posting pictures of every meal they eat. They are not very good photographers which is OK but one of them seems to have the most peculiar food combinations. This morning she has posted last night's dinner - brussels sprouts covered with baked beans.
Or is just me that thinks that's a bit odd?
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


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The Nankang AR-1 for example is an issue sizing wise. First of all, the Nankang USA site does not even list these tires as available or in existence. When going to select model year their site only goes up until 2016 so I could not even see what fitments they have for my 2017 Carrera. This looks sloppy and unprofessional.
So while the USA site does not show fitments for any tires that fit 305/30/20 sizing the Australian Nankang site does show an AR-1 in that size but their US distribution seems to need some work.
The Maxxis RC-1 only comes in sizes up to 18 inches so that takes it off the list for many of us but for those looking for a 275/18 it may fit the bill. The tire basically looks like a slick though so it is probably best to leave it to the track.
The Toyo R888R offers far more sizes than the other two tires and it is relatively cheap and easy to get. This is the tire currently on the BimmerBoost.com Project E92 M3. It is fairly sticky and offers enough tread to make it useable daily in California but from personal experience it does not offer too much traction in winter weather and definitely needs heat. We will have to see how it does on the street in the summer.
What were the Speed Academy impressions?
Nankang AR-1:
Maxxis RC-1:
Toyo R888R:
Lap times:
Originally Posted by Speed Academy
The Maxxis RC-1 offers nice grip but seems unpredictable with little communication.


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T.S. Eliot once posited that "war is not a life: it is a situation, one which may neither be ignored nor accepted". Yet U.S. policy in Afghanistan, borne out of ignorance and/or willful neglect, appears bent on doing both as America's miscalculations continue to breathe life into a rag-tag acephalic insurgency - misbegotten strategies that shall likely yield a foreign military presence in Central Asia until the end times.
This same carelessness or purposeful pretermission is evident in recent U.S. efforts to shepherd the negotiations process between the Taliban and the Afghan government, as American policymakers make decisions without weighing predictable blowback and without understanding the core tribal values of Afghan society.
The American public has been trained by the media and U.S. policymakers to digest the world in Manichaen sound bites primarily driven by the election cycle as decision-makers and members of the press seem to be operating based on their own political agendas rather than on finding the most sound and peaceful resolution to the war, which has enabled policies based on unfounded predications to prevail.
It is past time for these false underlying assumptions to be shattered. The biggest of which is the belief that the U.S. must continue its lockstep support for the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, for he is the crux of the problem. Allowing Karzai to lead negotiations is an exercise in futility considering his regime's illegitimate ascension and consolidation of power via fraudulent elections in combination with rampant corruption has fed the insurgency, hence he is seen as a viable and trustworthy authority by neither the enemy nor the Afghan people.
The U.S. has also somehow failed to project the negative implications of safely escorting certain Taliban elements from their sanctuaries in Pakistan to Kabul to negotiate with Karzai and his newly-appointed peace council, specifically how the overreliance on Karzai to run this show has caused the proceedings to be perceived as a Pashtun power grab.
It's hard to comprehend how the U.S. would fail to forecast that its enthusiasm for a Taliban power-sharing arrangement might trigger angst amongst the warlords of the Hazara, Tajik and Uzbek minority groups in the north. Former commanders from Afghanistan's Northern Alliance told the The Sunday Telegraph that non-Pashtun warlords were rearming their militias in response to these discussions for fear their old enemies might return to power.
U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke during an appearance on CNN yesterday himself denied that this initiative would prove to be any sort of panacea. He accused the media of falsely portraying recent reconciliation talks with Taliban contacts as a formal peace process. Holbrooke explained how the enemy's composition is so frighteningly labyrinthine the situation defies the construct of a standard settlement process. A typical negotiations framework will not suffice to bring stability to the region like it did in other conflicts he named, each complex in its own right.
"There's no Ho Chi Minh. There's no Slobodan Milosevic. There's no Palestinian authority," Holbrooke said in reference to well-known peace negotiations involving Vietnam, Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Middle East. "There is a widely dispersed group of people that we roughly call the enemy."
Holbrooke listed a few of the main disparate components of the opposition including al Qaeda, the Afghan Taliban, the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), the Haqqani Network and Laskhar-e-Taiba. In a disarmed moment of honesty Holbrooke then uttered:
"Now, I've just listed five groups. An expert could add another 30. So the idea of peace talks ... doesn't really add up to the way this thing is going to evolve."
One would hope Holbrooke would be such an expert, underlining the gist of the dilemma which is, namely, that U.S. ignorance of Afghan history and culture has caused it to prescribe contraindicative remedies, once again, to conditions it helped create in the first place.
Unfortunately, the predilection to internationalize the negotiations process while Afghanizing the war, although understandable considering the Karzai regime's illegitimate status, is not the answer either because the Afghan people will not accept a foreign-designed settlement.
The biggest misunderstanding on America's part is found in their inability to grasp that neither Karzai nor the Taliban are seen as indigenous, because Karzai is viewed by Afghans as a U.S. puppet and the Taliban movement is perceived as a Saudi-Pakistani phenomenon. Hence, the only political solution feasible is one that is Afghan in nature.
Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures; hence the New World Strategies Coalition (NWC) has submitted a white paper that outlines an Afghan solution in which a game-changing approach is prescribed that turns convention on its head by advocating a series of All-Afghan Jirgas be held to decide a new leader and a new form of government and to restore Afghanistan's sacred tribal structure.
The first couple of rounds would be conducted offsite in nonaligned unoccupied countries and the finale held in Afghanistan to announce the new government. This native solution would be 100% designed, developed and implemented by Afghans, for Afghans with zero involvement from any other foreign power.
NATO presence is required not for offensive purposes but to serve as an interim protective force only. As noted by everyone from Holbrooke to Petraeus, the U.S. cannot capture and kill its way to victory. If anything, the current military onslaught is serving to only strengthen the enemy.
The final conventional thinking that must be addressed is this near unanimous obsession on a "regional" agreement that should include countries like Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, China and Russia. First things first - let the Afghans choose their own destiny. Regional economic pacts will be critical to Afghanistan's long-term future but let's not make the same mistake made at Bonn, in which Afghanistan's future was architected under UN auspices which allowed other global actors an opportunity to dictate Afghan affairs.
The bane of Afghan existence for the past 30 years has been the meddling of foreign powers that have imposed non-indigenous ideological and religious doctrines beginning with the U.S. and Soviets using Afghanistan as a Cold War chessboard in the 1970s. Saudi Arabia took advantage of Afghan dislocation from this conflict to fund the rise of Wahhabi Islamic orthodoxy by erecting countless madrassass in Pakistan's border regions which led to the birth of the Taliban and the flourishing of Al Qaeda, while Pakistan's intelligence agency used U.S. funds to create the mujahideen which eventually led to the warlord avarice that plagues Afghanistan to this day.
The key to Afghanistan's future thus lies not in forging an unholy alliance after breaking the back of the Taliban, but rather in first smashing asunder devastating assumptions beginning with the misconception that Afghans would ever choose to live under a regime of corrupt Westernized bureaucrats and religiously psychotic warlords who espouse belief systems anathema to thousands of years of Afghan tribal sensibilities.
Michael Hughes writes similar articles as the Afghanistan Headlines Examiner and the Geopolitics Examiner for Examiner.com.