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HASKINS & S E L LS C E R T I F I E D P U B L I C A C C O U N T A N T S NEW YORK CHICAGO PHILADELPHIA DETROIT ST. LOUIS BOSTON CLEVELAND BALTIMORE PITTSBURGH BULLETIN SAN FRANCISCO LOS ANGELES NEW ORLEANS SEATTLE DENVER ATLANTA WATERTOWN LONDON SHANGHAI V O L . I I NEW YORK, DECEMBER 15, 1 9 19 No. 1 2 Courtesy COURTESY is a virtue of inestimable value. Like a precious jewel it should be treasured. It is fundamental to the progress of civilization. As oil is to machinery, so is courtesy to the comings and goings of society. It removes the friction arising out of the contact of individuals one with another, and irons out many a rough place in the affairs of daily life. Courtesy is prompted by a desire to be considerate of the feelings and comfort of others, which matters are leading factors in their happiness. A person who is comfortable in mind and body is likely to be happy. Courtesy helps in both respects. An affront to the feelings is resented as much as discomfort imposed upon the body. Courtesy is closely related to unselfishness. The man in the crowd who insists on being first does so as a rule because of selfishness. The person in the street car who keeps his seat while women with babies and elderly or infirm persons stand does so because he is lacking in consideration for others. The man who persists in talking louder than everyone else and regardless of the desires of others to be heard displays a selfishness which explains his lack of courtesy. Courtesy is no longer confined to the drawing room. It has found its way into business. It has made the business world a better place in which to pass at least one-third of the day. Whether business courtesy be inherent, the motive for which is altruistic, or cultivated, the motive for which is mercenary, matters little. That it be present and in goodly quantity is all important. A certain individual who was a citizen of a country with which this country was recently at war, presented to a certain firm of accountants, an application for a position on their staff. His nationality, as well as his foreign accent, if nothing else, precluded favorable consideration. He was, however, accorded an interview as requested and treated with the same courtesy as that extended to others. Rejection followed and the reasons therefor were, in a kindly way, made known to him. He told afterwards how appreciative he was of the treatment received and was loud in his praise of the firm and its policies as he had come in contact with them. He had received only the usual consideration, yet out of this incident stands forth real goodwill for the cold-blooded who must needs see something of practical business value in everything which transpires if it is to receive their approbation. There is no such thing as too much courtesy in any business or profession; much less the profession of accountancy. 89
Object Description
Haskins & Sells Bulletin, Vol. 02, no. 12 (1919 December 15), p. 89-90
|Originally published by: Haskins & Sells
|Deloitte Digital Collection
|Digital Publisher
|University of Mississippi Libraries. Accounting Collection
|Date-Digitally Created
|HS Bulletin 2-p89


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A Florida woman's decision to get breast implants three months ago turned out to be a very lucky one. When she was attacked and stabbed in the chest by her ex-fiance's new girlfriend, her left implant stopped the knife from being plunged into her chest wall. The 41-year-old woman says the $6,000 she spent on the surgery was, "the best investment I've ever made." Her eccentric plastic surgeon took the incident as a sign: "If this saves lives, there's nothing wrong with passing legislation that everybody should have a breast prosthesis." Oh my God, why didn't we think of this method of self-defense earlier? Let's get Congress going on this ASAP.
Breast implant saves woman's life [9News via the.Life Files]

subset: commoncrawl


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The reputation of the former children's-TV host Jimmy Savile plummeted after a number of women came forward to recount their childhood sexual abuse at the hands of the knighted British icon. But the scandal has also besmeared the reputation of another national treasure — Savile's employer, the British Broadcasting Corporation.
A BBC radio and television personality for more than 50 years, Savile was widely revered as an offbeat character with a soft spot for children's charities. Yet in late 2011, shortly after Savile's death at age 84, the BBC's hard-hitting current-affairs show Newsnight began working on an exposé of the former employee. Producers for the program had found 10 women who reported being sexually assaulted by Savile when they were young girls. Yet the program never aired and the BBC went ahead with glowing tribute specials of Savile instead. Less than a year later, on Oct. 3, another British television channel aired a documentary revealing similar accusations. It was subsequently revealed that Savile came in contact with his victims through his BBC shows, as well as his charity work in hospitals. (Particularly disturbing accounts of abuse even took place in Savile's dressing room.) It didn't take long for the British media to fire questions at the publicly funded BBC over their lack of scrutiny during Savile's tenure, as well as the never-aired investigation. Meanwhile, a substantial police investigation has been launched, which is currently following over 400 different lines of inquiry, and an investigation into the National Health Service.
The day before the documentary aired, Newsnight editor Peter Rippon denied in a BBC blog post that his decision to axe the exposé had anything to do with a cover-up or was the result of pressure from BBC executives — he claimed there was simply a lack of evidence. Yet after a follow-up documentary by another BBC news program, set to air Monday evening, uncovered a series of e-mails between Rippon and other BBC employees, Rippon's apparent pivot on the story has roused suspicion even from within the company. A subsequent blog post from BBC editors claimed that Rippon's earlier justification was "inaccurate or incomplete in some respects." After the corporation announced on Monday that Rippon would be temporarily standing aside as investigations were pursued, Prime Minister David Cameron released a statement saying that "the BBC has effectively changed its story about why it dropped the Newsnight program about Jimmy Savile."
What's more, BBC director general George Entwistle is readying himself to appear before a parliamentary committee on Tuesday to face questions over the corporation's actions over Savile. While Entwistle, who only stepped into his latest role at the BBC this September, was able to dodge questions from the press on Monday over the scandal, he won't have such a luxury when facing MPs. This is, after all, the same committee that summoned Rupert Murdoch in 2010 in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal that rocked the British tabloid News of the World — and ultimately led to the paper's demise. While Britain has certainly become accustomed to media scandals over recent years, the BBC has often found itself out of the fray of accusations of cover-ups and unethical behavior. Yet the Savile scandal — and the alleged cover-up by the BBC — seems to have touched a nerve in the public in a way that the phone-hacking scandal did not.
It's been suggested that throughout much of his time at the world's most trusted broadcaster, whispers about Savile's criminal predilection for young girls, sometimes as young as 10, according to emerging accounts, were widely heard throughout the halls of the Beeb. And as an increasing number of women have come forward to accuse Savile of raping, molesting or sexually abusing them when they were children or young teenagers — the number of victims is now believed to be as high as 200 — the wake of the scandal continues to widen. Though he can never be prosecuted for his crimes, it's already clear that the scandal has (rightly) destroyed Savile's once golden reputation. How the BBC's reputation will fare, however, is still in question.


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Free tech support
for the life of your gear
Need help? We're right here in Virginia, 7 days a week
In any DIY project, it's normal to hit a snag. That's why we offer free tech support with every purchase. We can help you with complex wiring questions or something as simple as how to adjust the volume.
Call our Tech Support Team
- Locate your order number
You'll find this in your confirmation emails.
- Gather your stuff
Have your tools and/or installation gear handy, so we can get right to work.
- Call 1.800.955.9091
Our experts are ready for your call, 7 days a week.
Looking for your vehicle installation instructions?
Check your email! We send you vehicle-specific instructions by email when your order ships.
Our Vehicle Research team spends their days taking apart cars, so we can figure out what fits your ride. The team also creates our exclusive Crutchfield MasterSheet™ and Crutchfield ResearchNotes™ instructions— included free with car stereo and speaker purchases.
Wayne—our Senior Vehicle Researcher—tests a truck's wiring.
Find a product manual
We have an owner's manual available for most products on our site. Just head over to the product's web presentation, then look for a blue link under "What's in the box?"
Show us how we can help
Our technicians can usually get the job done over the phone, but every once in awhile they need a visual. We have a new tool called SeeSupport™ that can help.
With the SeeSupport™ mobile app:
You can share live video from your phone's camera over Wi-Fi®
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We can grab a still image and sketch over it to point out a connection problem
Your tech can send you a link to download the SeeSupport™ app if needed.
The old adage 'a picture is worth a thousand words' is definitely true in Tech Support.
Robert, Team Lead
We're here to help — 7 days a week


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Tonje Daffinrud, DU golfer, named first team All-American
University of Denver women's golfer Tonje Daffinrud was named a first-team All-American by The Women's Golf Coaches Association, the school announced Thursday.
The senior is ranked No. 9 in the country and finished in the top 10 of the NCAA Championships.
"To be an All-American was one of my main goals this year, but I didn't dream of being selected to the first team," Daffinrud said in a release. "It has taken a lot of sacrifice and hard work to get to this point, but I see it as reassurance that what I am doing and how I am doing it is working."
Daffinrud is the first DU golfer, regardless of gender, to be named a first-team All-American.


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Reality TV mom Kate Gosselin said she's "not surprised" by reports that her soon-to-be-ex hubby Jon had steamy encounters with the couple's babysitter.
During her stint as a co-host on ABC's "The View," the mother of eight said "alarms and whistles" were going off about the nanny, who claimed in a recent interview that she and Jon had sex nine times.
"Well, I guess it's the article of the week and basically my only comment on that -- just based on the behavior of the last several months -- I'm not surprised," Kate said on Friday. "Honestly, I don't know. We were separated."
U.S. & World
Stories that affect your life across the U.S. and around the world.
"I need to say about this article -- I'm not saying it's true or false. All I'm talking about is what my intuition is saying. The background story is I had never met this babysitter."
Ex-babysitter Stephanie Santoro told In Touch magazine that the two hooked up in the hot tub and that Gosselin "wasn't terrible" in bed "but it wasn't the best I ever had," she said.
She said she "kept looking at the windows" because she feared "one of th ekids was going to pop their heads out, but he told me to relax" she dished.
Kate Gosselin also said -- contrary to reports -- she was never made an offer by Playboy to pose nude. A tabloid claimed that Hugh Heffner had sent Kate Gosselin a letter offering her $400,000 to pose for the nudie mag.
The mom said there was no truth to the rumor.
"There was a rumor I was asked to pose for Playboy," she said. "It never happened!"


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Douglass Fowler of Norwalk had already served two tours as a Union soldier when, in the summer of 1862, he took command of a company of the 1,000-strong 17th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, and once more headed south to the bloody battlefields of the Civil War.
He knew the enormous toll the military engagements had taken on both armies, having participated in the First Battle of Bull Run, where the rebels received a shot of confidence and Confederate General Thomas J. Jackson would earn the nickname "Stonewall."
And he knew the toll disease had taken as well, falling ill in the spring of 1863 and requiring an ambulance to carry him into battle at Chancellorsville, Va.
Described as a "true soldier, brave and skillful," Fowler nevertheless was said to have fought at Chancellorsville "with great endurance, being among the last to retreat."
Two months later, he would be among the first to head into battle in the rolling hills and open pastures of a town called Gettysburg, Pa.
Census reports from the mid-19th century describe Douglass Fowler as a locksmith. But 150 years later, he is known principally as a soldier.
On May 25, 1861, Fowler, then 35, left Hartford for Washington, armed with a smooth-bore rifle and serving as captain of an infantry company. In the pre-dawn hours of Sunday, July 21, Fowler's troops were moving along the Warrenton Turnpike in northern Virginia, marching toward Manassas and the first major battle of the war.
Union generals expected a quick rout of the enemy. But after hours of fighting — and a forced flight by Union soldiers, the best the regiment's commander could muster was that his troops' retreat was conducted "in good order" — a claim in considerable dispute.
Fowler was honorably discharged in August 1861, but was back a month later, leading a company of the 8th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry for a few months until he resigned in a dispute with a superior officer.
"I think he would be glad to stay as his company think everything of him," Oliver Cromwell Case, an infantry private would later write to his sister. "He was the best military man in the regiment and should have been Maj. instead of Capt. Appleton."
Fowler's resignation was accepted and he headed back to Connecticut. But not for long.
He put together a company for the 17th, which was made up almost entirely of volunteers from Fairfield County. Later, after his valiant if unsuccessful efforts at Chancellorsville, Fowler was promoted to lieutenant colonel. And commanders were counting on his leadership as the 17th arrived at Gettysburg in the early afternoon of July 1, 1863.
In three days' time, the land below their feet would be hallowed ground. But as skirmishes broke out that afternoon and Fowler charged forward, it was just another battlefield.
Fowler, leading several regiments, advanced from the southern end of town toward what is now known as Barlow's Knoll. Fowler, astride a white horse, joked about the artillery rounds whizzing past, telling his soldiers: "Dodge the big ones, boys!" as he urged his men forward.
But not long after, one of those cannon shots found their mark, slamming directly into Fowler's head and decapitating him.
"There no longer remains any doubt as to the fate of Lieut-Col. Douglas[s] Fowler of the 17th Regiment," the Courant wrote 10 days later. "He was killed by a cannon ball in the early part of the battle at Gettysburg."
His fearlessness — mounting a high-visibility steed on an active battlefield — made him a legend. A flagpole in Gettysburg marks the spot where he fell, and a nearby monument honors the sacrifice of the entire 17th Connecticut, which saw half its number killed, wounded or captured at Gettysburg.
A month later, the 17th was transferred to a post in South Carolina. Fowler, whose body could not be retrieved, remained behind.
"His genial temper, generous disposition, and buoyant spirits, united with a fervent interest in the loyal cause, had won for him an enthusiastic regard," William Augustus Croffut and John Moses Morris wrote of Fowler several years later in The Military and Civil History of Connecticut During the War of 1861-1865. "He was struck down while leading them in charge; and still he sleeps in his unknown grave upon the battle-field of Gettysburg."


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What You Can Do
What You Can Do
Sustainability at SJSU begins with you!
Find out how you can get involved and read helpful everyday tips on green living and reducing your carbon footprint. Learn from the examples of a few engaged Spartans who took the eco-footprint challenge in 2009 and discovered new ways to make a difference.
You can also find additional resources and links where you can learn more about sustainability efforts in the Bay Area and all around the world.


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Park Plaza Amsterdam Airport
Located in the business district of Lijnden, only 10 minutes from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and the city centre of Haarlem, Park Plaza Amsterdam Airport is easily accessible by car or the free airport shuttle. The on-site fitness centre, steam room and sauna help guests rejuvenate after a long flight or a day of sightseeing. Featuring one of the largest event venues in the greater Amsterdam area, Park Plaza Amsterdam Airport boasts 20 meeting rooms holding up to 800 delegates. The hotel is also home to two restaurants and a cosy lounge bar with a fireplace.


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Previous media releases
UBS reports second quarter loss of CHF 358 million
UBS results
Repositioning of the Bank
UBS reports a Group net loss attributable to shareholders of CHF 358 million for second quarter 2008.
The second quarter 2008 remained difficult for several reasons:
BoD nominations and GEB appointments
The positive sentiment seen at the end of first quarter 2008 that the credit crisis may be easing was short-lived, as trading conditions deteriorated significantly in the second half of May, in particular for assets related to US residential real estate as well as other structured credit positions. This development led to second quarter losses and writedowns of around USD 5.1 billion on related positions (for further details, please see Note 3 to the unaudited financial statements in UBS's Second Quarter 2008 financial report and the discussion of revenues for the fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) area of the Investment Bank on page 7-8 of this media release).
This quarter was also characterized by generally lower client activity, in particular lower capital markets and mergers and acquisitions activity, and falling securities prices.
For the wealth and asset management businesses and Business Banking Switzerland, profit levels remained high in absolute terms despite a reduction in comparison with the prior quarter, excluding the impact of the provision for auction rate securities in Wealth Management US. Invested assets rose slightly as currency movements offset net new money outflows of CHF 43.8 billion across the Group.
In the Investment Bank, revenues generated by the advisory and capital markets business fell considerably in comparison with second quarter 2007, in the context of a significant contraction in global deal volume. However, equity capital markets revenues were up significantly from first quarter 2008.
Across the firm, total operating expenses were CHF 8,110 million, down by 18% compared to second quarter 2007. This decline was driven by lower accruals on performance-related compensation and the reversal of certain accruals recognized in first quarter 2008. General and administrative expenses increased by 25% to CHF 2,831 million, as lower expenses in most categories were offset by provisions of USD 900 million (CHF 919 million) in relation to the recent actions taken by UBS in the US auction rate securities markets. The number of people employed at UBS was 81,452 on 30 June 2008, down by 2,387 compared with the end of first quarter 2008, with 1,695 of the reduction in the Investment Bank.
UBS recognized a net income tax benefit of CHF 3,829 million for second quarter 2008, which includes a net impact of CHF 3,200 million from the recognition of a deferred tax asset on available tax losses.
Risk inventory reduced
UBS took decisive action to materially reduce its exposures to significant risk concentrations, specifically through sustained and ongoing sales during the quarter, the largest of which was the sale of US residential mortgage-backed securities to a fund managed by BlackRock.
UBS will continue to manage its remaining exposure to the US real estate market through a separate work-out portfolio unit within the FICC area of the Investment Bank. In view of the significant reductions in risk exposures in second quarter 2008, however, UBS may determine not to place a subset of this portfolio into a new, wholly-owned entity, as originally envisaged.
Auction rate securities
On 15 July 2008, UBS announced that it is developing a trust structure that would, if completed, have the ability to purchase approximately USD 3.5 billion in tax-exempt auction preferred stock, a type of auction rate securities (ARS), at par from clients. The trust would issue securities supported by a liquidity put or similar demand feature provided by UBS or another highly rated bank, and would be consolidated in UBS's financial statements. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and other conditions.
On 8 August 2008, UBS announced a comprehensive settlement with the SEC and certain US state regulatory authorities, in principle, for all clients holding auction rate securities and booked a provision of USD 900 million (CHF 919 million).
Capital base and balance sheet reinforced
On 30 June 2008, UBS's BIS tier 1 capital ratio stood at 11.6% and its BIS total capital ratio was 15.7%, up from 6.9% and 10.7% respectively on 31 March 2008. This improvement is the result of actions taken in second quarter 2008 as part of UBS's capital improvement program.
The balance sheet totaled CHF 2,078 billion at 30 June 2008, compared with CHF 2,231 billion at 31 March 2008, a decline of 7%. Risk-weighted assets were reduced by CHF 10 billion, or 3.0%, during second quarter 2008 to CHF 323 billion as at 30 June 2008.
On 17 June 2008, a capital increase was completed by means of a rights offering through the issue of 760,295,181 fully paid-up registered shares. Subscription rights for 755,466,901 new shares were exercised in the offering, representing 99.4% of all new shares offered. 4,828,280 new shares for which subscription rights were not validly exercised have been sold by UBS Investment Bank in open market transactions. This capital increase generated net proceeds of CHF 15.6 billion.
UBS also issued EUR 1 billion of perpetual preferred securities in second quarter 2008, which qualified as tier 1 capital.
Cost reduction
Across the firm, total operating expenses were CHF 8,110 million, down 18% compared to second quarter 2007. This decline was driven by lower accruals on performance-related compensation and the reversal of accruals recognized in first quarter 2008.
General and administrative expenses increased by 25% to CHF 2,831 million, as lower expenses in most categories were offset by the provision of USD 900 million (CHF 919 million) in respect of ARS.
The number of people employed at UBS was 81,452 on 30 June 2008, down by 2,387 compared with the end of first quarter 2008, with a reduction of 1,695 in the Investment Bank.
In the second half of the year, UBS does not expect any improvement in current adverse economic and financial market trends. UBS will continue its program to reduce personnel levels, costs and risk concentrations.
Performance against targets
UBS focuses on four key performance indicators: return on equity (RoE), diluted earnings per share (EPS), cost / income ratio and net new money. These are designed to monitor the continuous delivery of adequate returns to shareholders and are calculated using results from continuing operations.
UBS's annualized RoE was negative 85.7% in first half 2008 compared with positive 31.8% in first half 2007, following substantial negative impact from Investment Bank losses on exposures related to the US residential mortgage market and other credit positions.
Diluted EPS were negative CHF 0.17 in second quarter 2008. Results were impacted by the same factors as RoE and the number of shares outstanding increased following the rights issue completed in June 2008 and the stock dividend. The second quarter 2008 diluted EPS calculation assumes the issuance of the shares issuable upon conversion of the mandatory convertible notes. In comparison, diluted EPS were CHF 2.36 in second quarter 2007.
The cost / income ratio was 200.7% in second quarter 2008.
Second quarter 2008 saw net new money outflows of CHF 43.8 billion, compared with inflows of CHF 34.0 billion in second quarter 2007. This occurred in the context of continuing credit market turbulence and its impact on the firm's operating performance and reputation. At the end of second quarter 2008, total invested assets stood at CHF 2,763 billion, of which CHF 2,006 billion were attributable to Global Wealth Management & Business Banking and CHF 757 billion were attributable to Global Asset Management.
Global Wealth Management & Business Banking saw total net new money outflows of CHF 19.3 billion. Wealth Management International & Switzerland recorded net outflows of CHF 9.3 billion, Wealth Management US recorded net outflows of CHF 8.0 billion and Business Banking Switzerland recorded net outflows of CHF 2.0 billion. Outflows of net new money for Global Wealth Management & Business Banking were most pronounced in April.
Global Asset Management saw total net new money outflows of CHF 24.5 billion, with underperformance in certain investment capabilities in prior quarters also contributing to outflows. Institutional clients recorded net outflows of CHF 8.4 billion, with outflows in multi-asset, fixed income and equities mandates partly offset by inflows into alternative and quantitative investments and real estate. Wholesale intermediary recorded net outflows of CHF 16.1 billion, with outflows in multi-asset, fixed income, equities and real estate funds partly offset by inflows into alternative and quantitative investments.
Report on remediation of causes of sub-prime losses
Today, UBS published a summary of the remediation plan submitted to the Swiss Federal Banking Commission (SFBC). The plan details the actions UBS is taking to address the findings of its earlier report to the SFBC (summary published on 21 April 2008) on the causes of the sub-prime losses incurred in 2007. Some of the measures are already well under way. The plan details their owners and commits UBS to specific deadlines.
Global Wealth Management & Business Banking: 2Q08 vs 1Q08
The pre-tax profit for Global Wealth Management & Business Banking was CHF 1,123 million in second quarter 2008, a decrease of 48% from the previous quarter.
Wealth Management International & Switzerland's pre-tax profit decreased by 11% to CHF 1,266 million. Total operating income fell by 6% to CHF 2,859 million. The lower average asset base caused recurring income to fall by CHF 137 million to CHF 2,161 million. Additionally, lower client activity prompted non-recurring income to fall by CHF 59 million to CHF 699 million. Operating expenses declined by 2% to CHF 1,593 million. This decline was primarily the result of personnel expenses decreasing by 5%, to CHF 898 million, reflecting lower accruals for performance-related compensation.
Wealth Management US recorded a pre-tax loss of CHF 741 million, compared with a pre-tax profit of CHF 183 million in the previous quarter. This is due to a provision made for the repurchase of auction rate securities and related costs of USD 900 million (CHF 919 million). Without these provisions, the pre-tax result would have declined slightly in a challenging market environment. Total operating income decreased by 3% to CHF 1,477 million from CHF 1,527 million. The decline reflects a 5% decrease in non-recurring income, as lower transaction activity led to lower commissions, and a 2% decrease in recurring income. Total operating expenses increased by 65% to CHF 2,218 million from CHF 1,344 million, driven by the provision related to auction rate securities. Excluding these costs, operating expenses would have declined 3% from the prior quarter, reflecting lower personnel and non-personnel costs. Personnel expenses decreased by 4% to CHF 1,010 million, due primarily to lower financial advisor compensation consistent with the decrease in revenues. Non-personnel expenses were CHF 1,208 million, compared to CHF 293 million in the previous quarter, reflecting the above mentioned provision.
Business Banking Switzerland's pre-tax profit increased by 11% to CHF 598 million, largely due to a decrease in operating expenses. Total operating income decreased by 3%, as both interest and non-interest income declined. Total operating expenses were cut by 13% to a low CHF 631 million. The largest decline was seen in personnel expenses, which fell by 8% to CHF 592 million.
Global Asset Management: 2Q08 vs 1Q08
Global Asset Management's pre-tax profit was CHF 352 million in second quarter 2008, up by 7% from first quarter 2008. This reflects both higher performance fees, particularly in alternative and quantitative investments, and lower personnel expenses mainly due to changes to the forfeiture provisions of future equity ownership plan awards.
Total operating income rose by 2% to CHF 808 million. Institutional revenues rose to CHF 472 million from CHF 427 million. Higher performance fees, from alternative and quantitative investments, and lower operational loss provisions were partly offset by lower management fees from lower invested assets. Wholesale intermediary revenues declined to CHF 336 million from CHF 364 million. Management fees in second quarter were affected by the lower average invested asset base.
Total operating expenses were CHF 456 million, down from CHF 461 million. Personnel expenses declined to CHF 291 million from CHF 303 million, mainly reflecting the reversal of accruals recognized in first quarter 2008.
Investment Bank: 2Q08 vs 2Q07
Pre-tax results were negative CHF 5,233 million in second quarter 2008, compared with a profit of CHF 1,659 million in second quarter 2007. Total operating income declined to negative CHF 2,302 million from positive CHF 6,224 million.
Investment banking revenues declined by 52% to CHF 1,008 million from a record CHF 2,079 million in second quarter 2007, with all contributing revenue streams negatively impacted by turbulent capital markets during second quarter 2008. Advisory revenues decreased by 37%, to CHF 437 million, in line with industry-wide declines in deal volumes as a result of the deteriorated credit environment. Capital markets revenues fell by 49%, impacted by reduced market volumes across all geographical regions as debt and equity markets remained volatile. Equity capital markets revenues decreased by 50% and revenues from fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) capital markets were down by 48%. Other fee income and risk management revenue fell to negative CHF 179 million from negative CHF 90 million.
Sales and trading revenues declined to negative CHF 3,178 million from positive CHF 4,142 million, driven by negative revenues of CHF 4,720 million in FICC that were only partly offset by a positive revenue contribution of CHF 1,542 million from equities.
The equities business saw a 42% decline in revenues to CHF 1,542 million from CHF 2,673 million, with second quarter 2008 dominated by difficult trading conditions, concerns over interest rates and inflation and continued market volatility.
Cash equities continued to perform strongly, with revenues up from second quarter 2007. Derivatives and equity-linked revenues declined in response to a global deterioration in market conditions. Prime brokerage saw increased revenues from client financing and securities lending and posted a strong result for second quarter 2008. Exchange-traded derivatives revenues were flat as interest on larger client balances was offset by a fall in commissions due to lower volumes. Proprietary trading revenues increased from the same period last year.
Fixed income, currencies and commodities revenues fell to negative CHF 4,720 million from positive CHF 1,469 million in second quarter 2007. The most substantial impact came from additional credit valuation adjustments on protection bought from monoline insurers. Most of the other losses relate to exposures to the US residential real estate market (sub-prime, Alt-A) and the US reference-linked note program.
These losses and writedowns described above were only partially offset by strong results in other areas. Rates revenues increased as high volatility and market dislocations provided profitable trading opportunities in both customer and proprietary trading segments. Structured products reported an increase as structured credit revenues almost doubled compared with second quarter 2007 and structured rates benefited from its expanded product range. Credit revenues were impacted by positions in proprietary strategies and adverse market conditions.
Total operating expenses declined by 36%, falling to CHF 2,931 million from CHF 4,565 million.
A 56% decline in personnel expenses, to CHF 1,494 million, reflects lower accruals for performance-related compensation and the reversal of certain accruals recognized in first quarter 2008. Salary costs also declined as personnel were reduced by 2,662 full-time equivalents.
General and administrative expense decreased by 17% to CHF 784 million, with the most notable reductions in travel and entertainment, and IT and outsourcing. Second quarter 2008 includes an impairment of goodwill of CHF 341 million due to the exiting of the US municipal securities business by the Investment Bank.


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Diablo Digital Purchase Restriction
Now when you purchase a digital copy of Diablo III, you are restricted to a Starter Version for 72 hours.
Blizzard must be having serious problems with stolen credit cards to take such a drastic step. I would wager that hackers/gold farmers are using stolen credit cards to purchase digital editions, make a throwaway account, use it to launder or convey gold in some fashion, and then repeat when Blizzard bans the account.
Credit card charge-backs are a serious issue for merchants, as Visa and Mastercard heavily punish merchants who have a high volume of fraudulent transactions.
My guess is that Blizzard is implementing this delay to make purchasing "temporary" digital copies an unattractive option for hackers while they work on a technical solution. I would imagine that the next patch will probably lock out trading or using the Auction House until you are level 13, or maybe until the Skeleton King is beaten.
RIFT Expansion Including Base Game For Free
I have to say that Trion's Marketing people are impressive. From Massively:
Storm Legion will apparently include the full version of RIFT along with it, allowing new players to pick up the expansion and experience both the core game and the additions without restriction.
Of course, this sounds like less of a deal if you already own RIFT, but you're covered there as well, as existing players can expect a price discount on purchasing the expansion.
Let's see (all numbers made up for demonstrative purposes). Let's say Trion prices Storm Legion at $40, but says that if you already own RIFT, you can get a $10 discount:
Storm Legion + RIFT = $40
Storm Legion = $40 - $10 = $30
Subtracting both sides,
This is a very interesting definition of the word "free". It is mathematically identical to Trion saying that RIFT costs $10 and Storm Legion costs $30, and the combination costs $40. Only Trion's way of phrasing it will net them slightly more money because a percentage of current RIFT owners will not use the discount or coupon.
Yet the internet appears to be amazed at Trion's generosity. Well done, Trion Marketing!
That's not to say that it's a bad idea. I've always thought that expansion packs should just contain the full game. It means there's only one SKU running around. There's no chance of buying the wrong version. New players get access to the entire game right from the start. It's clean and easy, and really the only problem is dealing with the old unsold physical boxed sets.


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Join us Friday, Feb. 3 at 10 a.m. for our Friday Financial Forum. We will meet at the Friday Forum Room at Arvest's East Side Branch, located at 4225 S.E. Adams Rd. in Bartlesville, Okla.*
This week's featured speaker is Janis Blanton, president of the Washington County SPCA. Blanton is now retired from Phillips 66 after 33 years of service. In spring 2015, she was elected to the board of directors and elected president in November 2016.
The WCSPCA was founded as a 501(c)(3) non-profit 52 years ago and is an open access animal shelter. The mission of the WCSPCA is to serve the donors, volunteers, citizens and animals of our local communities by providing shelter and medical care for stray, abandoned or surrendered animals; to actively promote suitable animal adoptions and transports; and to collaborate with other animal assistance groups. In 2016 the organization took in more than 2,000 cats and dogs.
What you can also expect at the event:
Invite a friend and come enjoy delicious homemade cookies and hear about what's going on in the Bartlesville area! If you have any questions or would like to be included on the invitation email list, please contact Billie Roane at (918) 337-4358. We look forward to seeing you there!
Links marked with * go to a third-party site not operated or endorsed by Arvest Bank, an FDIC-insured institution.
**Josh Randolph Oklahoma Insurance License #122041 and Sonya Reed Oklahoma Insurance License # 111796
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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/* Offline */
Business application which operate outside the network covered areas need to have Data offline. The SAP Mobile SDK offline module enables developers to build applications which work offline. Offline enablement also adds a huge usability factor to mobile solutions which could work online, as the data the device needs all can be fetched form local storage.


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A recent comment posted is "I'm sometimes not sure whether your main criticism is of an underfunding of LAC or of the decisions which LAC staff make with respect to such funding as they have."
It goes on to ask for my ideas "about how to redistribute their funds and staff resources; can you be explicit about what you propose, including what aspects of their operations, if any, you would close or fund less?"
It's a fair question I'm not entirely equipped to answer. My perspective is as a client, and one who uses a limited amount of the LAC facility. I'm sure there's a lot of necessary work that goes on that's invisible to me. I probably only see the 10% of the iceberg that's above the waterline and seen by a client. I'm hesitant to only target parts of the 10% that I know. There's a 90% chance the part that could stand the most reduction is invisible to me.
I also suspect that, in common with virtually all of Canada's social infrastructure, LAC is underfunded.
But the organization is also under-entrepreneurial. It could generate much more revenue. TNA does. I wonder what was learned fron Natalie Ceeney's visit in September! LAC should look seriously at TNA's and other comparable organization's partnership strategies. LAC should also negotiate an agreement with central agencies (Treasury Board?) so that it can keep revenue generated. Some other line departments did it years ago.
Here are some areas that could stand reexamination or have revenue potential:
1. LAC provides a service through the Canadian Genealogy Centre where people can write in and receive individual advice and a limited amount of staff research on their personal Canadian genealogical query. In my view providing advice, as is done at the Genealogy Desk in the physical CGC, is OK but it is inappropriate to have public servants being paid by the taxpayer to conduct an individual's research for them at no change. Eliminate the tax-funded service, or charge for it at a rate that doesn't undercut the market as the LMA does. There are people listed with LAC who could conduct such research on a fee for service basis, not including me. They would be contributing income taxes and GST to the government rather than spending tax dollars. How much would be saved over a year, or how much extra income could come to government?
2. Charge prices comparable to those of other non-profit organizations for making interlibrary loans. Currently the Interlibrary loan service is free of charge.
3. Reduce the effort put into in-house exhibitions and events that get seen by a very small fraction of the Canadian public. This activity is still desirable but should be reduced in favour of increasing the availability of original records (not exhibits) remotely through the Internet.
4. Use the space freed-up above to open a bookstore or snack bar to generate additional revenue. Even better, turn the front courtyard into an atrium to accommodate these.
5. Make some aspects of the LAC web site ad supported.
6. Market and sell LAC and other merchandise, just as the Museums and National Gallery do.
Thursday, 25 June 2009
What should LAC do less of?
A recent comment posted is "I'm sometimes not sure whether your main criticism is of an underfunding of LAC or of the decisions which LAC staff make with respect to such funding as they have."
3 comments:
- Old Census Scribe said...
Interesting set of suggestions for any publicly funded institution. Looks like it's a case of can't see the wood for the trees (and how apt is that for something based in Ottawa).
But, John, easy on the abbreviations, please!
- 25 June, 2009 04:53
Hello John,
The online information about the National Archives of Ireland's very valuable and welcome initiative to digitize the 1901 and 1911 Irish censuses includes this note:
"The National Archives of Ireland has established a research partnership with Library and Archives Canada to facilitate digitisation, indexing and contextualisation of our 1901 and 1911 census records. Library and Archives Canada have a world-wide reputation in the field of document digitisation [...]"
Can you shed any light on the nature of LAC's involvement?
- 25 June, 2009 08:21
- Unknown said...
In 2005, LAC and the National Archives of Ireland (NAI)entered into collaboration on the digitization of the 1911 and 1901 Irish Censuses.
LAC linked and transcribed the census images, with funding provided by NAI. In return, LAC provided in-kind support to manage this process. Both parties agreed to collaborate on programming to contextualize this information in an Irish-Canadian context. LAC has hosted two symposia on Irish-Canadian studies, in 2006 and 2008. In 2006, LAC also launched a web exhibition, The Shamrock and the Maple Leaf, http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/ireland/index-e.html and in 2008 digital content from this project was made available through Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/28853433@N02/
Hana Hruska
Director, Programs Planning and Partnerships, LAC
- 26 June, 2009 17:11


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course reserves
Materials that instructors set aside for the students in a class to read. These items may be borrowed from the circulation desk for a short period and have fines for late returns. There are also e-reserves which can be accessed through the library homepage for a specific course.


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Snow forces cancellation of golf tournament
A decision was reached by the Grover Page Classic tournament committee and Jackson Country Club staff to go ahead and cancel the tournament for this year at Jackson Country Club.
The snow is not melting nearly fast enough to get the course ready for even a Tuesday only 18-hole tournament there, so rather than make everyone wait around, a decision to cancel was made now. The host course received eight inches of snow Saturday night.
The Bisons golf team had been scheduled to play in the tournament, hosted by Tennessee-Martin, Monday and Tuesday.


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Newgate Medical Service
About Newgate Medical Services Newgate Medical Services Limited started operations in October, 2000 with committed staff of 10 with the aim of bridging the obvious gap identified in health care delivery service in Ikorodu. We decided to change the face of healthcare by raising the standard of healthcare delivery. We have over the years maintained our standards with continuous improvement of performance. Dynamism has been our watchword


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It's redundant to say so. The so called debt that is being imposed upon the people is not just only illegitimate, it is the result of the actions of murderers, thieves and liars. For the self styled demigods of a fraudulent government to imply that we owe anything for their illegal and immoral deeds is nothing more than spitting in our faces while the gun is held to our heads.
We can go back further but for the sake of argument, 1913 and the introduction of the Federal Reserve and the income tax on labor was the beginning of the end. It's been downhill ever since. You know the story. The voices of a few sane and honest people over the last hundred years have been silenced by the din of multi-frequency noise coming from heinous criminals who are equal to any in history.
Folks are waking up. I ran into an old guy the other day who without prompting said "They are destroying the middle class." But he, like so many others with a job, is in a state of paralysis. Working out his last few years without rocking the boat and hoping that his pension will allow his salvation from the chaos. He may be in for a deadly surprise.
I don't have a lot to say except that this false debt ceiling debate doesn't often include, at least in the treasonous media, the ongoing criminality of those who decide what they are going to steal next and who they are going to kill.
No! We don't owe the debt of criminals. The last question standing is are we going to do anything about it?
Will the meek inherit the earth? Not this time.


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- WiFi
- Car park
- Air conditioning
- Rural
Choose your room
Escape to the beautiful Laurel Highlands and enjoy the natural beauty and serenity of The Lodge at Chalk Hill. Located minutes from the regions most popular attractions. Frank Lloyd Wrights Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob- Laurel Caverns- Ohiopyle State Park- Woodlands Zoo- Christan Klay Winery- Fort Necessity- and Nemacolin Woodlands Resort. There are also great restaurants in the area. We offer cabin style motel rooms overlooking water and woods in a scenic mountain setting with a private deck on each room. We also have a banquet facility that holds up to 100 people. Great for any event. Free continental breakfast included with lodging. We are AAA approved and pet friendly. Charge for pets is 10 dollars per room per night. Tour bus accessible and offer group discounted rates. We offer catch and release fishing in Lake Lenore on our property just bring your own equipment. There is also a 1/2 mile lighted jogging trail around the lake and small childrens play area and a volleyball net. A charming mountain retreat perfect for all occasions. Call today to plan your great escape to the Laurel Highlands Mountains located just 8 miles east of Uniontown.


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Needle File Set
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Six assorted files for shaping and smoothing wood, plastic and metal. Contains no. X73600 quick change handle and one each of file styles: round, knife, equaling, square, 3 square and half round.
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Tower of Gaan-Telet
Gaan-Talet is a difficult, multi-layered dungeon. Like Halls of Steel, there is a Hard and Vicious difficulty available. Hard is unlocked by collecting at least one of every monster trophy at the Taxidermist. Vicious (often considered to be the most difficult dungeon in the game) is unlocked by completing the quest to defeat Hard with the Purist badge.
The exterior of Gaan-Talet contains the shops, glyphs, and boosters of a normal dungeon. There are no altars (on the outside), and there is no normal subdungeon, although the Smuggler's Den will appear if you prep it. Ordinary monsters from level 1-7 appear on the outside; there are no level 8+ monsters or bosses on the outside. The inside of the tower begins revealed.
To complete Gaan-Talet, you must enter a series of special subdungeons inside the tower. Once all enemies in each level are defeated, the next becomes available.
On Hard, you must clear three subdungeons, plus Horatio's. On Vicious, you must clear 9.
Each subdungeon is a small level, initially unexplored, containing several tough monsters (one of which is exotic), an altar, and a exotic, useful item. On Vicious, this means that every altar will eventually be available. To make life even harder, most levels will give you some kind of penalty when you enter. (A few, including the first, do not.) You can travel freely between the current subdungeon, previous subdungeons, and the exterior.
The first, second, and third subdungeons contain monsters of level 8, 9, and 10, respectively. The 10th level monsters are not bosses, simply scaled-up monsters (for instance, the 10th level Goo Blob has Physical Resistance of only 50%, not 75%). In Vicious, subdungeons 4-9 also have 10th-level monsters; on each level, the monsters get a progressively larger HP and Attack bonus.
The monsters in the subdungeons are - similarly to bosses - immune to the instant kill effects of Slayer Wand, IMAWAL or the Glowing Guardan's Absolution boon.
These will occur in a random order when you first enter each subdungeon.
- The subdungeon is completely revealed when you enter, providing no exploration healing.
- All monsters in this subdungeon gain No XP.
- All monsters in this subdungeon gain Bloodless (Lifesteal doesn't work, and they don't leave a blood pool.)
- All monsters in this subdungeon gain First Strike.
- All monsters in this subdungeon gain Retaliate: Fireball.
- You gain Poisoned, Mana Burn, and one stack each of Weakened and Corroded.
- You gain three stacks of Cursed.
Exotic Monsters and Items
Again, these will occur in a random order; however, the monsters and items are linked.
- Goblin Miner (Knockback, Mana burn) with 2 Wall Crushers. The Wall Crushers are not of much use, but convert for 25 CP each.
- Dancing Sword (1 Death Protection/level, Blink) with the sword "Penance". Penance grants 2 base attack and 1 base mana, but grants a penalty of 1 base attack and mana if you convert it from inventory. Converting right from the ground does not induce the penalty.
- Burn Viper (Blink, Mana burn) with a Cracked Amulet (when consumed, 5 XP).
- Golden Statue (1 damage only, but has No XP, a lot of hit points, Weakening Blow, and Corrodes) with the Long Rant (when consumed, afflicts 3 stacks of Corroded on all enemies on the level).
- Gelatinous Thing (Retaliate: Fireball) with Nom Nom (when consumed, poisons you but acts as a health booster).
- Bridge Troll(50% Physical and Magic Resist, Fast Regen, Berserk at 50%) with a Sensation Stone (convert for 150 CP). The Bridge Troll is one of the more difficult monsters, but it drops a second Sensation Stone, making this a mixed blessing level.
- Dragon Elite (50% Magic Resist, Poisonous, Curse Bearer) with a Compression Seal
- Illusion (50% Physical Resist, Weakening Blow, Retaliate: Fireball) with the Ritual Scroll (when consumed, +5% Physical and Magic Resist, but 3 stacks of Cursed).
- Immortal Yin (no XP) with Yang's Sword (small, +3 damage, consume for a level of Death Protection). This is one of the best pairings to find, because Yin is not difficult and the item is small provides a good power boost.
The final boss is the Goat-shaped Horatio the Immortal. Despite his form, he does a relatively modest 75 damage. On Hard, he has 999 HP. On Vicious, he has 5000 HP, Physical and Magical restances of 50%, and Berserks at 50%.
On Vicious, Horatio's subdungeon will afflict you with the remaining penalty, so be alert.


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Works on Paper
Works on Paper
The Winnipeg Art Gallery's works on paper collection is comprised of approximately 6,000 objects, encompassing historical and contemporary production, along with works created by both Canadian and internationally recognized artists.
The Winnipeg Art Gallery's works on paper collection is comprised of approximately 6,000 objects, encompassing historical and contemporary production, along with works created by both Canadian and internationally recognized artists. Given the unique and diverse opportunities paper can afford, the collection ranges in medium from collage to watercolour, from graphite drawings to prints, and from quick doodles and study sketches to fully conceived and completed works of art.
Paper has proven a popular, highly malleable, support for Manitoba artists in particular. It has been embraced differently at diverse historical moments, from the refinement of printmaking processes between the two World Wars by artists like W.J. Phillips, to the development of experimental ink graphics in the 1950s by, among others, Bruce Head, to the recent reinvigoration of drawing and collage by a generation of younger Winnipeg artists, such as Marcel Dzama.
There are several notable collections by a number of key artists in the WAG's works on paper holdings. These include preparatory sketches by members of the Group of Seven, along with sketchbooks by Lionel Lemoine FitzGerald and Christiane Pflug, among others. Canadian artists represent sizeable and significant collections of drawings at the WAG; notables include FitzGerald, Alexander Musgrove, Bertram Brooker, Fritz Brandtner, Richard Gorman, and Eli Langer. In 1986 the WAG acquired over 200 surrealist pieces by Winnipeg-born artist Dalla Husband created when she was working in Paris in the 1930s. Of equal distinction are approximately 60 drawings that follow the separate trajectories of the impressive careers of nationally-renowned Manitobans Ivan Eyre and Esther Warkov to the present. Collage is also represented in the collection by a diverse range of artists, from Jack Shadbolt to Robert Houle, and includes a growing contingent of pieces by contemporary Winnipeg artists such as Paul Butler and Bonnie Marin.
The Gallery also holds extensive print collections, encompassing output by international historical artists such as Albrecht Dürer, Rembrandt, William Blake, J.M.W. Turner, Honoré Daumier, William Holman Hunt, and moderns like Picasso, Joseph Albers, Kenneth Noland, Jean Dubuffet, Francis Bacon, Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, and David Hockney. Canadian printmaking is represented through compilations of work by artists such as David Milne, W.J. Phillips, Henry Eric Bergman, Jean-Paul Riopelle, Yves Gaucher, Alex Colville, Ivan Eyre, and Suzy Lake. Of particular note is the WAG's collection of over 30 serigraphs by a pioneer of prairie abstraction, Tony Tascona.
Building upon this important archive, the WAG continues to collect works on paper in all its various manifestations to further strengthen the rich resource for study this area of the collection provides.
Gallery Hours
- Tuesday 11am-5pm
- Wednesday 11am-5pm
- Thursday 11am-5pm
- Friday 11am-9pm
- Saturday 11am-5pm
- Sunday 11am-5pm
- Closed Monday


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Gary Coleman's ex-wife said her relationship with the late former child star was "golden" and the pair was planning to renew their vows.
"Every couple has their moments," Shannon Price said of her relationship with Coleman in an interview with ABC's Good Morning America. "And yeah, we had a lot of disagreements. But we loved each other. It was golden."
Price, who split from the 4-feet-8-inch "Diff'rent Strokes" star in 2008 ahead of the couple's one-year anniversary, said divorce "wasn't the right choice."
U.S. & World
The day's top national and international news.
Health issues had prevented them from renewing their vows, she said.
In a separate interview with Entertainment Weekly, Price revealed the actor's last words to her were: "I love you and my head hurts."
Those were the last [words] he said to me because he was in a lot of pain," Price said.
Arriving to the GMA interview in a wheelchair, Price said she's suffered "a lot of health issues," including anxiety, in the past two months. She briefly stopped the interview because she feared having a seizure.
"I miss my husband a lot," Price said. "I mean, it's been a trial."
Coleman died May 28 in Utah two days after suffering a brain hemorrhage.
Price described the night of Coleman's fall, saying she discovered him lying in a pool of blood after asking him to make her "some food."
"He went downstairs and I heard this big smack," Price told ABC. "I rushed down there and found him lying in a pool of blood."
Price denied pushing the actor or otherwise contributing to his fall.
"I would never hurt my husband – ever," she said. "I would take my own life before I would ever harm him."
Price said doctors advised her at the hospital that Coleman's condition was "grim" and that pulling the plug was the "best thing."
"We discussed death a few times and he always said he would be very unfair if he left me and I really respect that," Price said. "Because I loved him and he loved me and we just can't live without each other."
Price denied Coleman's parents' claims that she'd shut them out with details over his death.
"My brother called them and talked to the mother and was like if you have any questions let me know," Price said. "And she didn't really say anything."
As for what to do with Coleman's remains, Price said he wanted to be cremated and there not be a service.
Coleman is now in a "better place and not suffering anymore," Price said.


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If you are considering a UV disinfection system for your home or business, you undoubtedly have a whole list of questions. As such a system oftentimes requires a larger upfront investment, you may have questions related to UV disinfection system cost.
You may also have questions related to how UV disinfection system technology works, its level of efficiency and whether a UV system is truly more effective than disinfectant chemicals such as chlorine.
While the questions above are valid ones that we'll try to answer below, the true determination regarding whether you need such a system can better be expressed in a checklist format, rather than an FAQ. For your reference, we've created just such a checklist Continue reading


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Volunteer opportunities
There are many volunteer opportunities with Sustainable Skidmore, other campus groups or with other organizations in the Saratoga Springs community. Anyone interested in volunteering with Sustainable Skidmore is encouraged to stop in to the Sustainability Office in Harder 110 to talk with someone about new programs and opportunities.
Volunteer with Sustainable Skidmore
Skidmore Compost
Skidmore Compost relies on volunteers every week to collect compost from 130 campus apartments. The group meets at the Case Center couches every Friday at 3 p.m. If you are interested in getting involved, meet us at 3 p.m. or head down to the compost site at the end of the Northwoods parking lot anytime between 3 and 4 p.m.
North Woods
Every semester, the North Woods stewards coordinate service days within the North Woods. Volunteers help clean the woods, make improvements to trails, repair signage or whatever else might come up. For the most up-to-date information about upcoming events, please visit our Facebook page.
Volunteer with Community Groups
If you are interested in volunteering with organizations with a focus on sustainability, please visit Sustainable Skidmore's community groups page to see what these organizations are working on. Skidmore's community service page is also a great resource with many opportunities for students to get involved. For a comprehensive list of groups and organizations, please click here.


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Related Suppliers
A new eight-page brochure from Birchwood Casey describes the company's Tru Temp low-temperature black oxide process and its complete line of tank systems and water processing options. The black oxide process for iron and steel forms a clean black metal surface on tooling and machine components to resist corrosion. According to the company, the process can replace traditional high-temperature black oxide and out-of-house black finishing.


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Deciding you'd like to try a truly original beer...
...you head away from the Grand Place in the centre. You find yourself in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean by the Brasserie de la Senne - your holiday in Brussels is off to a good start!
Enticed by the sweet scent of hops in the brewery's stainless steel vats, you take a seat at a tasting-room table. Then, at last, you sample the Christmas beer created by two young brewers with a passion for their craft. A passion you can easily understand.
Want to know more?


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Dish Network and the Walt Disney Co. agreed Monday to a new distribution agreement that will include the Longhorn Network and the to-be-launched SEC Network for the satellite company's customers.
The Dish agreement, which also includes retransmission rights for ABC's owned-and-operated stations, including KTRK (Channel 13), leaves DirecTV, Suddenlink and Comcast as the largest holdouts not carrying the ESPN-owned University of Texas channel within the state.
Dish has about 290,000 customers in Houston and about 95,000 customers in Austin, according to the media research and analysis firm SNL Kagan.
The agreement will result in dismissal of all pending litigation between the two companies, including disputes over Dish's PrimeTime Anytime and AutoHop featires. As part of the accord, the companies said, Dish will disable AutoHop for ABC content for live viewing and for DVR viewing within three days of a program's airing.
The agreement adds to Dish subscribers Disney Junior, Fusion, ESPN Goal Line, ESPN Buzzer Beater and Longhorn Network. Customers also will have access to ESPN3. Dish also will launch ESPNEWS, ESPNU, Disney Channel and ABC Family in high definition. ESPN Classic will become a video-on-demand channel.


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Farron Cousins | August 30, 2011
By Farron Cousins • Tuesday, August 30, 2011 - 06:15
For years, the Republican Party in America has been on a crusade against what they call "job killing regulations." A quick Google search for the phrase "job killing regulations" returns 368,000 results – many from official Republican Party sources and some others attempting to debunk this talking point.
The phrase "Job killing regulations" has been a consistent battle cry for GOP Congressmembers in their war against workplace safety and environmental protections. True to form, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) echoed this sentiment on Monday with his reference to "job-destroying regulations" in a memo about the Republican plan to further gut the Environmental Protection Agency.
While this talking point is used to berate a lot of different government protections, from checks and balances applied to Wall Street, to product safety laws, to measures safeguarding consumers from dangerous chemicals in food and pharmaceuticals, and so forth.
But most often, the perjorative "job-killing regulations" talking point is used to describe the actions of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA.) And it has resonated extremely well among an American public that is currently suffering from a severe lack of jobs. As of July 2011, we have an unemployment rate of 9.1%, resulting in almost 14 million Americans looking, but unable to find, a job. For a populace that desperately wants to work but is unable to do so, scapegoating "regulations" has been a very powerful and effective narrative.
Unfortunately for the Republican Party, these "job killing regulations" are a myth. There is no empirical data to back up their claims, but there is a wealth of information available showing that regulations – all regulations – actually promote job growth and put Americans back to work. A new report by Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM) delivers the latest blow to this popular talking point, demonstrating a direct correlation between environmental regulations and job growth. NESCAUM looked at the Northeast and found that by enacting stricter fuel economy standards and pursuing cleaner forms of energy, more Americans would be put back to work.
From the NESCAUM study:
Employment increases by 9,490 to 50,700 jobs.
Gross regional product, a measure of the states' economic output, increases by 2.1 billion to 4.9 billion.
Household disposable income increases by 1 billion to 3.3 billion.
Gasoline and diesel demand drops 12 to 29 percent.
Carbon pollution from transportation is cut by 5 to 9 percent.
And this is just for eleven states in the Northeast. A similar trend has been verified in California, where the standards set forth by NESCAUM are already in place.
But in the "Republicans Against Science" age, one study is certainly not enough to undo the damage that this "job killing regulation" GOP talking point has done to America, even when there are numerous other studies to back it up. Increased fuel economy standards already led to the creation of more than 155,000 U.S. jobs, according to the United Auto Workers union.
Last year, while Senate Democrats worked to pass sweeping environmental protection legislation, reports showed that the proposed efforts to protect the environment and invest in green technologies would have provided a boost to the economy by creating several hundred thousand much-needed jobs for out of work Americans.
But even though some of this information has been available to the public for years, many people still believe that any form of environmental protection will come at the expense of American jobs. The reason behind this mass ignorance once again lies with the GOP, which has deployed one of the most powerful echo chambers on the planet, consistently repeating the lie about "job killing regulations" over and over again. Unchallenged in their Fox News and right wing radio echo chambers, Republicans work to convince Americans that they have to choose between protecting the environment or the economy. They are aided by a network of industry front groups funded by polluting companies like ExxonMobil, Koch Industries and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
During a recent GOP presidential debate, candidate Michelle Bachmann expressed her disdain for the EPA:
"I would begin with the EPA, because there is no other agency like the EPA. It should really be renamed the job-killing organization of America."
See how she used the "job killing" catchphrase? That was not an accident. Frank Luntz would be proud of the message discipline.
Another GOP presidential hopeful, Newt Gingrich, has said that he would completely do away with the EPA, a sentiment echoed by numerous GOP elected officials. The New York Times recently ran a headline declaring that bashing the EPA was the new "theme" of the 2012 GOP presidential race.
But it isn't just elected GOP officials and big corporations repeating the talking point. So-called "independent" bloggers and reporters have taken up the mantle of attacking environmental protection as well. A recent piece cross-posted on BigHealthReport.com read: "Obama's EPA Is Killing More Jobs than Economy Can Create."
Here are a few comments from that article showing that this talking point is resonating quite well with some Americans:
August 27, 2011 at 5:14 pm
The ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION AGENCY is useless, it just makes our economy worse. Their whole existence depends on pollution and bad mouthing it.
Carolyn Kane
August 27, 2011 at 10:45 am
I am always amazed at how much power the E.P.A. has gained in the U.S.A. none of these people were ever voted in yet they control every part of our lives. I think it is time for people to start looking at everything that they do and if it is even legal.
August 27, 2011 at 12:13 pm
No surprise here. Does anybody really believe that Obama is serious on creating jobs. He is intent on destroying everything possible. Part of the Muslim plan.
August 26, 2011 at 10:24 pm
Uh, the EPA and their regulations didn't clean up the enviroment, advances in technology caused the decrease of pollutants released into our air and water. Now, the EPA is becoming to the "regulation world" as what unions have become to the working world. Both were needed in the beginning, but now they both are one part of the "big government" ideal of the socialists in Washington.
The list could go on and on. But not only were these commenters going after the EPA, they also re-hashed numerous other GOP talking points from the last few years. You'll notice that they discuss the "Socialists in Washington" and one even makes the claim that Obama is a Muslim.
This shows just how powerful the GOP's echo chamber is in American politics, and how selective people are when it comes to picking news sources. After all, there is plenty of credible, easily-accessible information to debunk "job killing regulations" and other talking points.
But if people don't actively search out the facts after watching Fox or listening to Americans For Prosperity, the echo chamber has done its job misleading the American people. It's immoral and unethical behavior, and that's the only job we ought to be killing off.
anonymous replied on Permalink
And your qualifications to
And your qualifications to assess this are, what, nonexistent? Do me a favor, put on a mask, breathe CO2 for 5 minutes, and then come back and talk to us.
anonymous replied on Permalink
So, based on your response,
So, based on your response, you have no qualifications or expertise in this area. Usual Tea Party BS. Thanks for your confirmation.
Eric replied on Permalink
The EPA budget in FY 2004,
The EPA budget in FY 2004, $8,365,420,000.
The EPA budget in FY 2011, $8,682,117,000.
Less than a 1% increase in 7 years.
Number of EPA employees FY 2004, 17,611.
Number of EPA employees FY 2010 (the last year the info is available for) 17,278.
Fewer employees.
The EPA has already been shrinking. Where are all of those jobs the Republicans claim should have been created? http://www.epa.gov/planandbudget/budget.html
"A quick Google search for
"A quick Google search for the phrase "green bullshit" returns 19,800,000 results.
Case closed."
Errr. how? Why?
I am yet to see anything true or accurate come from you recycle. Why would now be any different? Lets face facts, you are here to troll. Even your name & plant food's names are deliberate troll names.
There seems to be a set of
There seems to be a set of trigger words for CWM's.
Words guaranteed to instantly inflame CWM's.
Regulations, Tax, Big Gov, Red tape, Bureaucrats,rights, tax payer funded, gov spending.
They don't even know what or why they are opposing it, but if they see those words, they are trained to bark.
Don't build strawmen RJ. I
Don't build strawmen RJ. I said conservative white males. Not white people per se.
What conservatives &
What conservatives & libertarians fail to understand in regards to regulations is, they are just as much responsible for regulations as anyone else.
Most of the time, things start out with freedom & liberty, but things happen to change those freedoms & liberties. Take roads as an example. They start out simple & in many areas. There were no stop signs or indications of what to do at a 4 way intersection. In many rural areas this is still the case today. Yet people somehow safely negotiated the intersection. Then one day an accident happens. If it's minor they may put a sign there. If it's more serious, they may put a roundabout/traffic circle or set of lights. Often these measures are ASKED to be put in place by US. Pretty soon, there is lights at every intersection & there are lots of rules. All because something went wrong or someone complained.
The same goes with medicine, hospitals, police, aircraft, banks, supermarkets, etc etc.
After the GFC, who is advocating that the banks need LESS regulation? The banks in the USA with regulations removed stuffed the financial world. The banks here in Australia with tight regulation barely coughed.
We get surrounded & boxed in by more & more rules & regulations, all because something went wrong by accident or someone purposefully did something wrong.
I think people will watch in interest at the proposed Libertarian island that Peter Thiel plans to build an artificial island, where Libertarian values can be realized.
"Details says the experiment would be "a kind of floating petri dish for implementing policies that libertarians, stymied by indifference at the voting booths, have been unable to advance: no welfare, looser building codes, no minimum wage, and few restrictions on weapons."
There is a reason why libertarian values or votes never get off the ground. When people spend even 5 minutes thinking of the implications or researching them, they find a recipe for chaos & a place where the rich can afford more people with more weapons.
Doug Bostrom replied on Permalink
Same tired canard as "job killing taxes"
As the OP points out, data does not support speculations claiming that environmental regulations "kill jobs."
This is a sub-genre of the "job killing taxes" mantra, which is of course simply a way of justifying avoidance of paying taxes.
A person of average intelligence can easily understand that in the case of environmental regulations, the vast majority of the money in question is never touched by the government, instead flowing completely within the private sector, into private firms specialized in either prevention or remediation of pollution or other environmental degradation. Creating jobs, in other words.
Likewise it does not require genius to figure out that if the government's revenue is such that it is not retiring debt but is in fact pumping money into the general economy, it cannot be "killing jobs." The money in question is not simply vanishing.
If an economic sector or unit is chronically driven into lack of profit by taxation then arguably "jobs would be killed," but on the other hand exemptions if anything overdo the job of correcting for that risk. If there's any genuine profit to be made, it'll be sought out and obtained with the assistance of employed staff, we can rest assured of that.
Nah, this is all the same deal as the seagulls in "Finding Nemo." A flock of greedy birds chanting "mine, mine, mine…" In this case the flock is equipped with more agile mentality.


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major macro economic indicators
|2018 (e)
|2019 (f)
|GDP growth (%)
|Inflation (yearly average, %)
|Budget balance (% GDP)
|Current account balance (% GDP)
|Public debt (% GDP)
(e): Estimate. (f): Forecast.
- Industrial and tertiary diversification; high added value
- Comfortable current account surplus and balanced government budget
- More than 30% of energy sourced from renewable supplies
- Major tourist destination (12th in the world)
- High public expenditure on R&D (3% of GDP)
- Dependent on the German and Central/Eastern European economies
- Banking sector exposed to Central, Eastern, and South-Eastern European countries
- Multiple layers of power and administration (federation, Länder, municipalities)
Risk assessment
Growth weakened by the external environment
Austrian economic growth is expected to mark time in 2019. Domestic demand will remain robust, thanks to lively private consumption, which will benefit notably from the increase in household disposable income resulting from a tax cut for families (Familienbonus, or "the family bonus"), as well as the resilience of investment, linked to sustained levels of business confidence and high production capacity utilisation (88.7% in the third quarter 2018). Nevertheless, external demand is expected to be more sluggish, which will affect manufacturing industry. This export-oriented sector could suffer, in particular, from the expected growth slowdown in Germany, the destination of 30% of Austrian exports. In this context, a possible escalation in protectionism would also hinder export growth. However, the services sector is expected to be more resilient, relying more heavily on domestic demand. The same will apply to construction, also helped by immigration, which will continue to boost Austrian real estate. Following the bank bailout that ended in October 2016, with the restructuring of HETA's debt, the banking sector will continue to recover, notably thanks to tighter capital and asset quality rules. Bank profitability should improve further in 2019, lifted by swelling demand for corporate financing and household mortgages.
In 2019, inflation is expected to remain stable, close to the ECB's 2% target and the European average. Domestic demand will continue to exert upward pressure on the price level, while the stabilisation of oil prices should limit the increase.
Improving public and external accounts
The government will maintain its policy of improving the public accounts and is expected to achieve its objective of a balanced government budget in 2019. In fact, expenditure is not expected to increase significantly and its GDP share is forecast to decline. This will be achieved via limited growth in the public sector wage bill and efficiency gains within government, among other methods. Nevertheless, spending on research and development and technological equipment is set to increase. At the same time, revenues, mainly from taxes (27% of GDP in 2017), are expected to increase by more, leading to a further reduction in the public debt burden.
The current account surplus is expected to increase slightly in 2019 on the back of tourism revenues, evidenced by the surplus in the balance of services (2.8% of GDP in 2017). While the income surplus could improve, the goods balance – which was slightly positive in 2018 – will be hurt by domestic demand (which favours imports) and slower export growth. Imports and exports alike will remain concentrated in the same sectors, namely machinery, transport and chemicals. However, the current account surplus will be absorbed by foreign investments, especially in the form of portfolio investments (net flow equivalent to 5% of GDP in 2017).
Austria continues its shift to the right
The Austrian People's Party (ÔVP) – a conservative, Christian democrat party – won the October 2017 parliamentary elections with more than a third of the seats in the Nationalrat. Following these elections, President Alexander Van der Bellen appointed Sebastian Kurz, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and leader of the ÔVP, as Chancellor. At the age of 32, Mr Kurz leads his government, a coalition between the OVP and the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÔ). The rapprochement with this nationalist party and the rightward shift in immigration policy, in particular by cutting benefits for asylum seekers, are resonating in a country that saw substantial inflows of migrants during the 2015 migration crisis. Austria's tightening of migration policy has led to disagreements with many EU countries. A new law (which is set to enter into force in 2019) to index family allowances to the standard of living in workers' home countries if they have left their children behind could create tensions, because it would contravene European law. However, the government remains pro-European and has ruled out a referendum on leaving the Union. Austria also held the Presidency of the European Council in the second half of 2018.
Last update : February 2019
SWIFT and SEPA (within the EU) transfers are commonly used for domestic and international transactions and offer a cost-effective, quick, and secure means of payment.
Bills of exchange and, to a lesser degree, cheques are most commonly used as a means of financing or payment guarantee. Nevertheless, neither are widely used nor recommended, as they are not always the most effective means of payment., bills of exchange must meet relatively restrictive mandatory criteria to be valid, which deters business people from using them. In parallel, cheques need not be backed by funds at the date of issue, but must be covered at the date of presentation. Banks normally return bad cheques to their issuers, who may also stop payment on their own without fear of criminal proceedings for misuse of this facility.
Debt collection
As a rule, the collection process begins with the debtor being sent a demand for payment by registered mail, reminding him of his obligation to pay the outstanding sum plus any default interest stipulated in the sales agreement or terms of sale.
Where there is no interest rate clause in the agreement, the rate of interest applicable semi-annually from August 1, 2002 is the Bank of Austria's base rate, calculated by reference to the European Central Bank's refinancing rate, marked up by eight percentage points.
Fast-track proceedings
For claims that are certain, liquid and uncontested, creditors may seek a fast-track court injunction (Mahnverfahren) from the district court via a pre-printed form. The competent district court for this type of fast-tract procedure expedites the requisite action for ordinary claims up to €75,000 (previously €30,000).
With this procedure, the judge will issue an injunction to pay the amount claimed plus the legal costs incurred. If the debtor does not appeal the injunction (Einspruch) within four weeks of service of the ruling, the order is enforceable relatively quickly.
A special procedure (Wechselmandatsverfahren) exists for unpaid bills of exchange under which the court immediately serves a writ ordering the debtor to settle within two weeks. However, should the debtor contest the claim, the case will be tried through the normal channels of court proceedings.
If the debtor has assets in other EU countries, the creditor may request the Vienna Commercial Court to issue a European Payment Order for undisputed debts, enforceable in all EU countries (except Denmark).
Ordinary proceedings
Where no settlement can be reached, or where a claim is contested, the last remaining alternative is to file an ordinary action (Klage) before the district court (Bezirksgericht) or the regional court (Landesgericht) depending on the claim amount or type of dispute. Defendants have four weeks to file their own arguments.
With regards to the regional courts, defendants are expected to put forward their own arguments in response to the summons, and are allowed four weeks to do so.
A separate commercial court (Handelsgericht) exists in the district of Vienna alone to hear commercial cases (commercial disputes, unfair competition lawsuits, insolvency petitions, etc.).
During the preliminary stage of proceedings, the parties must make written submissions of evidence and file their respective claims. The court then decides on the facts of the case presented to it, but does not investigate cases on its own initiative. At the main hearing, the judge examines the written evidence submitted and hears the parties' arguments as well as witnesses' testimonies. An enforcement order can usually be obtained in the first instance within about ten to twelve months. The Civil Procedure Code provides that the winning party at issue of the lawsuit is entitled to receive full compensation from the losing party of all necessary legal fees previously incurred.
Enforcement of a legal decision
A judgement becomes enforceable when it becomes final. If the debtor does not respect the court's judgement, the court can issue an attachment order or a garnishment order. Alternatively, the court can seize and sell the debtor's assets.
For foreign awards, circumstances may vary depending on the issuing country. For EU countries, the two main methods of enforcing an EU judgment are the European Enforcement Order or under the provisions of the Brussels I regulations. For non-EU countries, judgments are recognized and enforced provided that the issuing country is party to an international agreement with Austria.
Insolvency proceedings
Out-of Court proceedings
Out-of court restructuring efforts and negotiations are usually antecedent to insolvency proceedings. They constitute a means to obtain recapitalization loans in exchange for a secured creditor status.
A pre-requisite for a restructuring proceeding is that the debtor files for the opening and at the same time submits a restructuring plan. This proceeding is either self-administrated or administrated by an administration. For self-administrated restructuring, the debtor must file an application of self-administration complemented by qualified documents and a restructuring plan that provides a minimum quota of 30%.
Liquidation proceedings aim to equitably realise the various creditors' rights. The proceedings are led by a trustee in bankruptcy which takes control of the business, sells the assets, and divides the proceeds among the creditors.
Retention of title
Similar to Germany, Retention of Title is a written clause in a contract, which states that the supplier will retain the ownership over the delivered goods until the buyer made full payment of the price. This usually takes one of three forms:
- simple retention: the supplier will retain the ownership over the goods supplied until full payment is made by the buyer;
- expanded retention: the retention is expanded to further sale of the subsequent goods; the buyer will assign the claims issued from the resale to a third party to the initial supplier;
- extended retention: the retention is extended to the goods processed into a new product, and the initial supplier remains the owner or the co-owner up to the value of its delivery.


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Poll: Alexander leads GOP opponent
Sen. Lamar Alexander's tea party challenger has failed to gain traction in Tennessee, according to an internal memo obtained by POLITICO.
The two-term GOP senator holds a more than 40-percentage point edge over state Rep. Joe Carr, who is challenging Alexander from the right, according to polling done by Whit Ayres's North Star Opinion Research.
Of 600 likely Tennessee Republican primary voters, 62 percent said they would support Alexander and 17 percent said they'd support Carr, according to the poll. A former Tennessee governor, Alexander's name recognition is near universal statewide while 70 percent of those polled did not know who Carr is. The poll has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 4 percentage points.
( PHOTOS: Senators up for election in 2014)
An aide to Carr brushed off the internal polling.
"At election time, Senator Alexander likes to do two things — pretend he is a conservative and tout implausibly high poll numbers, neither of which pass the smell test," said Hillary Pate, a spokeswoman for Carr's Senate campaign.
The results show just how difficult it is to knock off a well-funded Senate incumbent, even one who managed to stir up some Tennessee outrage in his state over his vote for comprehensive immigration reform.
Alexander also has a significant fundraising lead over Carr, with the incumbent holding about $3 million cash-on-hand compared to $400,000 or so for Carr.


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Tag: "tradition"
Fun Easter Idea/Tradition – Magic Jelly Bean Seeds
I found this idea right AFTER Easter last year…of course! So I've waited a whole year to do it and I can't wait to see the expression on my 3 (almost 4!) year old's face when she sees the magical transformation of these jelly beans. If you own a silhouette, this is literally a 5 […]View Post


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Growing up in Cleveland I learned many various lessons, none more important than when I would come across a challenge or crossroads. Such was the case, in what may seem silly now, at a time when I was 4 and standing in my yard.
I was no bigger then 3 feet tall and I wanted to climb an extremely large oak tree. I would jump repeatedly up and down trying with every last ounce of my energy to catch the first branch.
Exhausted and frustrated I let out a high piercing scream that generated panic in my mother who heard the scream from inside the house. Racing to my aid and thoroughly giving me the once over for possible fever, lacerations, or broken bones, she was perplexed when she discovered nothing was wrong.
"Why on earth are you screaming?" she said looking at me with her enormous brown eyes.
"Because I can't climb it," I sniffed, pointing to the dreaded slender old oak tree.
Laughing and relieved I wasn't in immediate danger, she brushed my hair back off my face, straightened the beige knit hat on my head and kissed my forehead. "Maybe you will one day, but until then you may just want to stick with something smaller like the swing set."
Disappointed and having climbed the swing set before due in part to the fact that there was a ladder which made it easy for me to get up the slide, I dried my eyes and scampered up to the top of the swing set from the slide refusing to use the ladder and never letting the behemoth tree disappear from my sights.
Now I am a smart girl, or my grandparents lied to me. But I should have been able to achieve the desired goal of my preschool self, hence the ladder from the swing set. I couldn't see it because I could never push past the fact it was a BIG tree.
We would eventually move from that house and I would never have the chance to climb the daunting oak. However, I would climb other oaks and maples just as big and metaphorically face challenges throughout my life that would require me to overcome the BIG thought process.
Still, I used to think of that dumb oak from time to time until one day on a visit home I decided to drive past the old house. I remember being excited about seeing the forty-year-old domicile and couldn't wait to see the huge front yard loaded with trees and the giant hill the aged split-level sat on.
Driving down the street, I felt a nervous pang in my heart at the excitement of seeing the memories of my youth. Filled with hundreds of snippets racing in my blurred memory, I pulled up slowly to the address.
"Wait a minute," I thought. "This can't be the house." Yet it was.
I was stunned, and as I rubbed my eyes in disbelief I thought, the hill I had taken my sled down had to have been MUCH bigger! The yard was not nearly as vast and wide, and the final blow, the scourge of my 4-year-old existence was not as tall. Adding to further my heartbreak, if I used my current adult height (nearly double that of my 4-year-old self), I could reach up and touch the first branch!
As I grew up I came to the understanding that nothing in life is ever as big as it appears: not a tree, a hill, or a challenge. Visiting the house simply cemented that theory.
I know I am being long-winded getting to my point, but look at the current situation the country is in. Is it really as big as one may think? If it is change we want-- is it just the President we have to vote out?
I ask this question in order to present a challenge.
The other night I was watching Huckabee having a Q & A session with the people of South Carolina who were asking questions directed at the five candidates. In Newt Gingrich's session the question of change came up. His message (as I paraphrase) "As the President I can do nothing alone. We have to create change at all levels, by voting change in the House and the Senate then and only then we will be able to give Americans the change that is needed."
I looked deeper and I recalled a Twitter conversation with a South Floridian friend. He was telling me about a candidate in Florida's 20th district he liked and I knew nothing about. I literally gasped when I saw who held the current congressional seat.
Debbie Wasserman-Schultz.
My immediate response was "Whoa! Un-uh, this isn't happening! She's everywhere! Who would take on such an enigmatic figure?"
My answer would come in the form of a woman who has been a small business owner and had moved to South Florida as a child. Searching through Karen Harrington's website (KarenHarringtonForCongress) and plowing through YouTube videos available on her (just by searching name), I became impressed by her accomplishments.
I was mostly taken in by the campaign motto "Fire Debbie". "Wow! How big is that?" I thought.
Well….Not really. Just like climbing trees and facing challenges, nothing is as big as it appears to be. What once may have looked too big to tackle eventually comes into focus, allowing the learning and growth it takes to go after the goal head on.
If Karen thought something was too big, then she and her sisters wouldn't have taken the humble family-run restaurant Ricky's and expanded to three locations employing hundreds of employees. If she thought raising a family was tough, she wouldn't have gotten married and had three children. If Karen thought she wouldn't survive, she wouldn't have beaten cancer.
And if she thought challenging Debbie Wasserman-Schultz was too huge, she wouldn't be running for Congress in a democratically saturated area again even after losing to Wasserman-Schultz in 2010, not to mention garnering the endorsement of Mark Levin.
Karen is standing up and taking what she has already accomplished in life and adding the fight for change in this country. Just imagine, if Karen were to take this seat away from Wasserman-Schultz, the impact it would have if at the same time the President were voted out of office. The reverberation would be huge. Wasserman-Schultz and the Democratic Party would receive a crushing blow.
Karen is not spending her time looking up at a branch and trying to leap up to catch it. She is being smart by looking at the ground around her and then building a ladder to get to the next level. With each rung she places her foot on she is putting this race into focus and breaking down the unreachable branch of the behemoth in Debbie Wasserman-Schultz and slowly cutting her down to size.
Whether it is climbing trees or ladders of success, it is the steps we take to diminish the immense size of the desired outcome. Just like the tree I thought was too big, unseating Debbie Wasserman Schultz carried the same perception until I discovered a self-driven woman with love for God, family, friends, community and country. She is doing all this with little or no fanfare outside of the 20th district.
Karen, in her own way by taking on this challenge, is an inspiration that should cause us to look within ourselves and act as true patriots. This inspiration can inspire in us the courage to branch out and reclaim the country we so truly love. If she is not afraid to leap from branch to branch, then we shouldn't be either.
Face it, the old adage is true. Perhaps that is why it is called old and not new. Nothing is ever really as big as it seems.
If you want to learn more about Karen Harrington, I suggested these websites:
If you wish to support Karen Harrington:
About the author: Beth Pepoy has written several published articles for Yahoo Voices and for Yahoo News. She has been featured on the website PolitiJim's Rants for Reasonable People, and has been published on several on line newspapers including Redeye Daily.
She currently blogs on her own site: http://runinmystocking.wordpress.com and has been nominated for a Shorty Award.
Beth resides in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
You can follow Beth on twitter: https://twitter.com/Bpepoy
The author welcomes feedback and comments, and is not affiliated with Karen Harrington For Congress.