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There is little chance of Israel bombing Iran because sanctions and other measures put in place by the international community will be enough to contain the Islamic Republic's nuclear ambitions, former four-star general Wesley Clark tells Newsmax.
And in any case, President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad is in such deep domestic trouble that his own people could be the ones who turf him out, Clark predicted.
Watch the Exclusive Interview Here.
Clark — who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and is a firm supporter of President Barack Obama — also said Republicans are crying foul over the threat of military cuts under sequestration plans and defended the president's comment that the murder of U.S. ambassador Chris Stevens in Libya was "a bump in the road."
Clark spoke exclusively to Newsmax.TV in New York where he was attending the Clinton Global Initiative.
Urgent Poll: Romney or Obama to Handle Foreign Crisis? Vote Here!
He said he does not believe Israel will strike Iran. "Other measures will be brought to bear by the international community against Iran," he said. "I mean tougher sanctions and other measures. Everything's on the table.
"President Obama said he's going to do everything that's required. They will not get a nuclear weapon," Clark predicted.
He also said imposing a no-fly zone over Syria in an attempt to wear down the Assad regime would also not be effective. Instead he said the response should be "to try to seal off the conflict from Iranian weapons and also to take care of the refugees and to provide humanitarian assistance and political development assistance for the Syrian opposition."
Clark was NATO's Supreme Commander Europe from 1997 to 2000 and led the allied forces in the Kosovo War in 1998 and 1999. After his retirement from the military he became active in Democratic politics. He won the party's Oklahoma primary in 2004 but dropped out of the race soon after.
He told Newsmax the defense cuts of more than $50 billion, due in January under sequestration are "highly unlikely to kick in."
"They were put there as a sort of unimaginable, awful consequence if there's no agreement. They were designed to generate the agreement.
"In other words, they were to be so awful in contemplation that the Republicans and Democrats would have to agree, the Democrats because this cuts primarily the social side, the Republicans . . . on the military side.
"Now, the Republicans are out saying, 'Well, the president did this,' " he added. "The President didn't do this. The president set up an agreement for $4


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"There are no termsheets (a preliminary non-binding agreement) which have come in as yet but these three funds ( DST, GIC and Hillhouse) are in an advanced stage of discussions with the company," one of the sources cited earlier in the report said on the condition of anonymity as the talks are private.
Delhivery, which has racked up more than $125 million in capital, had so far been focussed on delivering for e-commerce clients but is now adding express and hyperlocal offerings as it gets challenged by a younger set of logistics tech startups. In fact, recently, it picked up stakes in an on-demand delivery startup Parcelled, hyperlocal delivery venture Opinio and Ravi Guraraj's yet-to-be launched locker service platform Qikpod.
When contacted, Sahil Barua, co-founder & CEO, of Delhivery, did not comment on the development. An email sent to spokespersons at DST and GIC did not elicit a response till the time of going to press.
Existing investors in SSN Logistics, which operates Delhivery, venture fund Nexus Venture Partners, which is the largest shareholder in the company with around 25% stake, and Tiger Global which has a 20% shareholding are expected to participate in the latest financing round. Times Internet, a part of the Times group which publishes this newspaper, is another early investor in Delhivery.
When the latest financing round gets completed it would be Delhivery's fifth institutional fund-raise, after it received $85 million in May this year. That was by far the largest funding for the company, which was started by Barua along with Mohit Tandon, Bhavesh Manglani, Suraj Saharan and Kapil Bharati in 2011.
In an earlier interaction with TOI, Barua had said that Delhivery fulfilled 6 million orders in October and 4.5 million orders in November, with its biggest revenue generator being e-commerce firms. The logistics firm which has 18 fulfillment centres in the country now reaches 350 cities. Its competitors include the Warburg Pincus-backed E-Com express as well as players like Go Javas. The new capital, when raised, is expected to be utilised for introducing new products and services as well as expand in to new geographies. The logistics firm recently opened a fulfillement centre in Dubai to serve the Middle east region.
A Goldman Sachs report released earlier this year on the Indian internet and e-commerce market said that "logistics and distribution are the key enablers of e-commerce in India, more so due to the bottlenecks in the Indian infrastructure. Increasing capital inflows are ensuring investments in logistics and last mile delivery infrastructure." E-commerce majors like Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal have been investing heavily in the overall infrastructure around logistics as they gain scale and spread to deeper parts of the country. While Flipkart operates its in-house logistics firm eKart, Snapdeal bought a stake in GoJavas. The Goldman Sachs report estimates the Indian e-tail market to reach about $220 billion by 2030 in terms of gross merchandise value versus $7 billion currently driven by online shopping penetration rising to 25% from 4% presently.

subset: commoncrawl


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We are equipped with facilities of top quality in the world, such as hydraulic upset forging machine, walking beam quenching furnace,, hot and cold straighten device, friction welding machine, middle frequency heat treatment, numerical control lathe and compete set of ultrasonic inspection and magnetic particle inspection. The whole process includes hot upset forging, heat treatment, hot straightening, could straightening, ultrasonic inspection on pipe body and pipe end, magnetic particle inspection, friction welding, seam inspection. We strictly carry out API spec Q1 quality control system and API Spec 5DP production standard. We have a complete set of inspection process, inspection for raw material, magnetic particle inspection to pipe end, ultrasonic inspection on pipe body, inspection on weld seam linearity testing and visual inspection
1) Certificate: API 5DP-0002,API Q1-0964, ISO 9001,ISO 14001,OHSAS 18001
3) Wall thickness:6.45 to
4) Grade:E75,X95,G105,S135
5) Length:R1:6.1


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Live updates
- ITV Report
Barclays appoint Jes Staley as new chief executive
Barclays has confirmed the appointment of Jes Staley as the bank's group chief executive from December.Read the full story ›
- ITV Report
Barclays outage stops customers from making payments
Barclays customers say they have been unable to access their money over the weekend.Read the full story ›
Barclays report 25% rise in profits after CEO sacked
Barclays has announced a 25% rise in first half year profits just three weeks after chief executive Antony Jenkins was fired over lacklustre revenue growth.
It comes despite the bank having to pay out more than £1 billion in compensation to customers over scandals such as PPI mis-selling.
However, the bank has said it will streamline the business to ramp up growth and squeeze costs but has yet to say how they will do that.
Barclays deputy chairman Sir Mike Rake set to leave bank
The deputy chairman of Barclays Bank is set to leave the bank a week after chief executive Antony Jenkins was fired.
Sir Mike Rake, who has been in the post since 2012, is said to be in talks to become the new chairman of payments firm Worldpay.
ITV News' Business Editor Joel Hills said Sir Mike had "agreed in principle" to the new role "but nothing has been signed".
I understand that Sir Mike Rake has "agreed in principle" to join Worldpay but nothing has yet been signed. Departure date tbc.
I'm told it's "highly likely" Sir Mike Rake will leave Barclays unless 1) bank attempts to twist his arm or 2) Regulator (PRA) has issues.
Antony Jenkins: Barclays chief executive to step down
Barclays has announced its chief executive Antony Jenkins is to step down.
A "new set of skills were required" at the helm of the group, Barclays deputy chairman Deputy chairman Sir Michael Rake said.
He added that new leadership was required to accelerate the pace of change at the lender.
I reflected long and hard on the issue of group leadership and discussed this with each of the non-executive directors. Notwithstanding Antony's significant achievements, it became clear to all of us that a new set of skills were required for the period ahead.
The bank said it will appoint chairman John McFarlane as executive chairman from July 17 until a successor is found.
Banks 'working to restore trust' after Forex scandal
Antony Jenkins, chief executive at Barclays, apologised for the bank's role in the scandal.
The misconduct at the core of these investigations is wholly incompatible with Barclays' purpose and values and we deeply regret that it occurred.
I share the frustration of shareholders and colleagues that some individuals have once more brought our company and industry into disrepute.
RBS has also so far dismissed three staff and a further two are suspended.
The serious misconduct that lies at the heart of today's announcements has no place in the bank that I am building.
Pleading guilty for such wrongdoing is another stark reminder of how badly this bank lost its way and how important it is for us to regain trust.
Big fines may not be enough to stop banks' bad behaviour
Calling themselves "The Cartel" or "The 3 Musketeers," traders from rival banks shared information and colluded to move the market prices.Read the full story ›
- ITV Report
Forex rigging scandal: The key numbers
A look at the huge numbers at play in the foreign exchange (Forex) markets as five big banks receive huge fines for manipulating the rate.Read the full story ›
RBS fined £430 million by US authorities in Forex scandal
Royal Bank of Scotland i among five banks hit with fines over involvement in the rigging of global currency markets and has agreed to pay $669 million (£430 million) to US authorities.
It comes on top of a £399 million penalty last November, including £217 million by the FCA and $290 million (£186 million) by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Barclays fined record £284.4 million over Libor scandal
Barclays has agreed a total of £1.53 billion in fines with both US and UK authorities amid a raft of new settlements with banks over their involvement in the rigging of global currency markets.
The British banking giant's penalty includes a record £284.4 million to the UK's Financial Conduct Authority and the group pleaded guilty to a violation of anti-trust law in the US.


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Unlike a furnace or air conditioner, your water heater runs daily regardless of the outside temperature, so in order to keep it running at peak efficiency, it needs to be maintained regularly. Most people don't think about this maintenance until it's too late and the water heater needs to be replaced.
Water heater maintenance is fairly simple if you know what you're doing. For the majority of us, that simply isn't the case. It's best to call a professional; otherwise, you may end up calling for a repair instead.
Why should you have your water heater maintained?
First, all that water running through the heater contains dirt, sediment, and minerals. All of these things can settle at the bottom of your tank over time; of course, how long it takes to become a problem depends upon your water quality. It doesn't take long for any buildup to decrease your water heater's efficiency, though.
Energy efficiency is not the only worry when sediment builds up at the bottom of your water heater. Rust causes the interior of your water heater to become corroded from the inside out; you'll never see it coming until it's too late. Steel water heaters have a glass lining to prevent rust, but the constant heating and cooling causes tiny cracks in the glass that allow water to sneak out, and when water meets steel, rust is the result.
When performing your water heater maintenance, your licensed plumber will:
- Flush all of the water out of your tank in order to remove the sediment from the bottom.
- Look for leaks that can cause damage to the outside of the tank and the flooring beneath the tank.
- Ensure pipe connections are solid.
- Test operation of thermostatic valve
- Check the anode rod in the tank, which acts as a magnet for those molecules that can cause the steel outer shell of the tank to rust if they are allowed to come into contact with it. The anode rod should last five to 10 years with proper annual cleaning.
- Replace the temperature and pressure relief valve - it's the most important safety feture on your tank as it is designed to prevent the water heater from exploding.
- Inspect fume pipe for proper operation and condition.
Maintaining a water heater is easily forgotten until your first very cold shower; the best way to remember it is to schedule it annually at the same time that you schedule either your furnace or air conditioner maintenance. When a water heater is maintained and the sediment is removed regularly, it can extend your water heater's expected lifetime by years.


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French cellist Séverine Ballon performs new solo works written by local composers Franck Bedrossian, Erik Ulman, and Stanford Graduate Composers.
Erik Ulman Permission for solo Cello 2014
Franck Bedrossian The spider as an artist 2014
— interval —
Constantin Basica FROMFORMS for solo cello, electronics and video 2014
Andrew A. Watts FEEDBACK SHIFT II for amplified cello and pre-recorded sounds 2014
Nick Virzi Gravity for solo cello 2014
Iván Naranjo deshielo for solo Cello 2014
Eoin Callery Who heard what and when? for amplified cello, prepared diskclavier and live electronics 2014
Andrew Greenwald new piece for solo cello 2014
Séverine Ballon studied cello at the Hochschulen für Musik in Berlin and Lübeck with Joseph Schwab and Troels Svane. In 2004-2005 she was a participant in the International Ensemble Modern Academy. She has also undertaken further studies in contemporary cello technique with Siegfried Palm, Lukas Fels and Rohan de Saram. In 2006-2007, she was a solo cellist in the Toulouse Chamber Orchestra, before deciding to specialise in contemporary music performance. Séverine is a member of the ensembles ELISION (Australia), Ensemble Sillages and multilatérale (Paris) and works regularly with such ensembles as Klangforum Wien, musikFabrik (Cologne), Ictus, Ensemble Inytercontemporain… In 2008-2009 she was at Akademie Schloss Solitude (Stuttgart) for a six-month residency. She attaches particular importance to working directly with composers (Helmut Lachenmann, Liza Lim, James Dillon, Jonathan Harvey…) and has premiered several solo works (Liza Lim, Erik Ulman, Stefano Bulfon, Alex Sigman…). She has recently collaborated with composer David Coll on his multimedia work 68 at IRCAM, and on an installation project with photographer Evi Keller. She regularly performs in a duo with electronic artist Sébastien Roux. Séverine Ballon has been a prize-winner of the 2004 international contemporary music performance competition Gioia del Colle (Italy) and of the Marie-Luise Imbusch Foundation.
sfSoundSalonSeries: Séverine Ballon
Wednesday, January 21, 2015 — 12:00 AM
Tickets: Free!
Tickets available at the door only
Tickets available at the door only


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Find out who to contact if you are need of animal control assistance.
The purpose of Code Enforcement is to investigate code enforcement complaints and ensure code compliance as directed by the codes, laws and practices adopted by the State of Texas and the City of Huntsville.
Register for the city's emergency notification services.
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The City of Huntsville has deployed a wide range of interactive services on our website to make it easier to do business with government online - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Select from one of these services to transact business today!
Get connected with the city's numerous social media sites.
Explore how the Utility Billing Department provides customer services for all utilities in Huntsville, Texas.


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Afternoon All.
Today sees the start os a new challenge at The Cutie Pie Challenge Blog, and we would like to see your pink bunny creations. We have two fantastic sponsors for this challenge, our first sponsor is CRAFTY EMMA'S STORE and our second sponsor is the wonderful BUGABOO DIGI STAMPS.
In addition to the sponsorhip prizes, a £5 donation to Just Giving for Breast Cancer will be made by DT Woo for every 50 entries we receive, so come on let's see if we can make it a nice big entry this time.
I have used a Penny Black stamp for this challenge coloured with ProMarkers, DT papers from NitWit, Craftwork Cards card candy and a seam binding bow.
I would like to enter this card in the following challenges;
Lexi's Creation - Easter
Dream Valley - Easter
Paper Sundaes - photo inspiration
My Sheri Crafts - Easter
Penny Black At Allsorts - spring
Penny Black Saturday - anything goes
Crafty Purple Frog - pink and girly
I Love ProMarkers - anything goes
Thanks for looking, and I'll be back soon.
Hugs Sharon x


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In 1932 Miró left Paris and moved to Barcelona. There he became associated with a new generation of Catalan avant-garde artists who were organising themselves through associations such as the ADLAN and the GATCPAC, encouraged by friends of Miró such as Joan Prats and Josep Lluís Sert. Miró returned to painting at this time, although now focusing on a quest for radically experimental procedures and increasingly interested in the public function of the work of art. This interest would encourage him to reflect on the idea of the fusion of the arts that European art and architectural movements had been proposing since the 1920s. This period was also marked by enormous political uncertainty both in Spain and elsewhere in Europe, culminating in the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War and World War II. Aware of the climate of the day and obsessed with avoiding a merely aesthetically pleasing type of art, in 1934 Miró began what he termed his "wild paintings". In these works the earth seems to be transformed into the subterranean universe of the dead, the realm of Pluto. The figures, which are the same peasants that we saw in the 1920s landscapes, are twisted and distorted to the point of losing all human references. In his "wild paintings" Miró continued his interest in experimenting with materials initiated in the previous period. Here he plays with unusual and difficult supports such as cardboard, copper and Masonite, while also combining normal oil pigments with industrial ones or with materials used for their tactile qualities such as sand and tar.
Joan Miró
Painting, 1935
Oil on cardboard. 76 x 65 cm
Private collection
Joan Miró
Two Women, 1935
(Deux femmes)
Oil and sand on cardboard. 75 x 105 cm
Sprengel Museum Hannover
Joan Miró
Painting, Summer 1936
Oil, casein, tar and sand on Masonite. 78 x 108 cm
Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection
on loan to the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid
Joan Miró
The Circus, 1937
(Le Cirque)
Tempera and oil on celotex. 120.7 x 90.8 cm
Meadows Museum, Southern Methodist University, Dallas
Algur H. Meadows Collection


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Melitta 1012-03 Aroma Elegance Deluxe Filter Coffee Machine – /Stainless Steel, Excellent coffee machine
Great value coffee machine, works brilliantly, the only niggle is that i have received a machine fitted with a euro plug and amazon did not include a uk adaptor, unlike the coffee bean grinder that i have bought from germany, which came with a uk plug adaptor where i haden't expect it to.
Modern, functional & very easy to clean. . Brilliant machine, very stylish does exactly what it says on the tin, fits beautifully in a corner on the right. Timer function is fantastic but not unique. Main pro: easy to clean, the entire machine can be separated and washed; jug, water tank, filter. Usually these machines are a solid block meaning you can sometimes clean the filter and jug but the water tank is built in making it difficult to clean and empty. Main con: only 1 hour of heating, i love my coffee but not enough to think it needs replacing after an hour, would much prefer the coffee to simply stay hot until i turn it off, or have at least an option for 3 hours heating minimum. The machine is intelligent meaning even after the automatic switch off, pressing the on button will not reactive the hot plate.
Melitta 1012-03 Aroma Elegance Deluxe Filter Coffee Machine – Black/Stainless Steel
- Engineered for optimal brewing time and temperature; approved by the European Coffee Brewing Centre
- Keeps coffee warm without burning. Dual element design means your coffee never overheats
- Drip-stop filter eliminates mess, easy-read calibrated water tank, programmable timer, reduced power brewing mode for 2 – 5 cups
- Hygienic – decalc programme, easy-clean components and surfaces. Energy-efficient LED lights, auto-off, 3 year guarantee
- Contents: 1 Melitta Aroma Elegance Deluxe + starter pack of 5 coffee filters
Would have given 5 stars but i regret not getting the one with the thermos.
Best coffee maker i have ever used. . Bought this to replace the aroma elegance when the jug cracked and although i don't use the timer, the clock is handy. I am still mulling on whether or not to buy the stainless steel jug to go with it as i had my other one for a few months and it was excellent. The jug pours easily (i guess that the neck has to be narrow to facilitate this); i love the way the filter swings sideways and it is so easy to fill with water because the water container just lifts out. The coffee tastes the same as any other coffee maker.
Would have given 5 stars but i regret not getting the one with the thermos.
Melitta 1012-03 Aroma Elegance Deluxe Filter Coffee Machine – Black/Stainless Steel : Morning eye focusing tool. . I didn't buy this from amazon because for once i found it cheaper (& with coffee included) from a company called redber. I bought it to replace a nespresso pixie which had given us great service but i was getting fed up with having to order capsules in bulk. Very happy with this machine once i sussed the amount of coffee to use (15g per 250ml mug). The timer works really well on the machine so you can program it for 10 minutes before your alarm & coffee is sitting waiting for you when you stumble downstairs.


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The forth day of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia started with the show of the project CONTRFASHION, the main aim of which is the support of the young talents. Presenting their avance-guard collections, this projet helps them to claim about themselves in the worlds of fashion and to show their creative potential.
CONTRFASHION is opened for the incredible experiences, everything that is brand new, unusual and eccentrical, and this project exists nowhere in the world but in Russia. The collections presented became a way to express the designer's point of view that explains the specifics. The first one to present her own collection was Olga Plenkina. With the super-large skirts, colorful cone-formed collars, surrealistic head-dress, not matching the definition of traditional hats or hoods.
After that there came a presentation of the collection of Julia Kosyak. Costumes white as if taken from the movie about postapocalyptical world, without any colorful inserts. According to designer himself, her items-transformers could change the silhouette and form, transforming from avance-guard looks into casual things.
The next designer demonstrating her work became Julia Razina. That could become visible on some items, many-leveled «tails» of the jackets, open-work inserts and many-leveled long skirts of a heavy cloth. Grey was the main color of the line, although the male looks were fulfilled in dark and light blue spectrum.
The last designer to present her collection was Julia Cezar. Graceful simplicity, monotonous white combinations of a sophisticated cut, reminding Japonese designers of avance-guard. A video appeared on the screen right before the collection's demonstration, created for the public to understand the main designer's idea.
Marina Makaron
During Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia Marina Makaron presented her new collection fall-winter/2014-2015 called «Chocolate and mint». The new work of the designer was inspired by the classical men's costume and by the fall nature in the country. While creating it the designer use the natural spectrum of the fall shades: chocolate, dark khaki, wheaten, beige. In this line there was created an image of a woman-cosmopolit, that could easily combine her private life being dressed elegantly at the same. The designer was keeping the classical English traditions: body conscience silhuettes, simple cut – the purposeful and graceful images could be seen on the catwalk. The main feature of the clothing and accessories of the brand of Marina Makaron is that all the elements are hand-made, including the engraving buttons and the cloth of the foundation. It's worth mentioning the Italian materials, of which the items of the brand were made: soft cashmere, thin wool, silk with author's geometrical ornament. The collection included the mix of classical and European forms and of eastern materialism.
While creating his new collection Oleg Biryukov was inspired by the works of the French artist of Russian origin Nicolas de Staël. His amazing destiny, the sense of composition and color, the language of the fine art and «brand grey» are close to the designer. The inspiration by the fine arts – it's now one of the main tendentions. In Biryukov's collection is has found itself in colorful prints in silk dresses and skirts, the coats with the golden lurex threads, contrast siver ornaments on the black tops. Skrts-godet and the jackets formed the graceful silhuette.
The spectrum of the collection was pleasant: indigo-blue, eggplant, lilac, emerald, biege – monotonous coats and blouses perfectly matched the colorful items of the wardrobe. The collection was light but graceful and elegant at the same time; the clothes by Biryukov one could wear for a party of for a casual reason. The show ended with a model in a streaming golden dress of a thick cloth draped on the back with the soft folds.
The new collection of a Georgian designer was filled with the national air and the spirit of time. The models with the turbans on their heads, rign-earrings and smoky eyes, eastern ballades as a soundtrack - the atmosphere of a magic night was achieved as well thanks to the long atlas dresses gleaming as purls in the light. Asymmetrical cashmere coats made a perfect combination with the dresses of a thick cloth; woolen sweaters of a thin knit hand-embroidered with the flowers and the tree brunches – intellectual reserved special chic, that's why the public adores the designer.
Long cardigans, thin scarfs, that were presented both in male and female looks; the longed silhuette is the main line feature. The open evening dresses of velvet, atlas and lots of paiettes came along with the vests of reserved colors: brown, brick color, griffel-grey. The show ended with a model in a black dress with a deep cut behind, handing a long chiffon tippet that was used as a train.
lena tsokalenko
Lena Tsokalenko – the Belorussian designer and the constant participant of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia. While creating her new collection fall-winter/2014-2015 Lena was inspired by the warm fall of Italy. Under the piano music the models seemed to be drifting though the catwalk intheir graceful dresses of light essential materials of deep colors: dark-purple, lilac, creamy. In tow looked there could be distinguished small polka-dot. The collection could be perfectly characterized as «cosy». Thin sweaters of essential wool on long streaming chiffon dresses, cashmere coats, jackets and silk as if domestic trousers and robes. White woolen hats were the main accents, knitted mittens matching the sweaters, valenki and ruff boots.
St. Petersburg brand Pirosmani one more time presented an integral true to the brand's traditions collection. The designer uses one of her favorite materials – neopren, that allows to work with a cloth as if with a paper and to construct the sophisticated forms. In the brand's bais is the concept of Antipodium, where fashion is considered as a kind of art: without borders, time or seasons.
Jenya Malygina, the designer of the brand, pays the special attention to the facture: ruff «crumpled» leather, soft drapes, torn cuts, trosers with the cuts and volume trenches – Pirosmani created the items for the creative brave people who allow themselves to appear on public in architectural costumes both in the office and in the party. Practically the whole collection is made in black-and-white spectrum – nothing else distracting from the forms and design. Pirosmani differs. The items from Jenya Malygina, are always actual, and they are out of world tendentions at the same time.
Julia Nikolaeva
The main feature of the work of Julia Nikolaeva is sophisticated construction and an eye to the details, and it found it's reflection in her new collection fall-winter/2014-2015. Volume quilted coats, bell-skirts of the same cloth and the «crumpled» facture. One of the brightest accents were «the threads», appearing in different colorful variations on the collars of the coats, bracelets or detachments on the clutch. The marine theme in long horizontal lines on the white background were presented in the collection as well: under the dark blue electric bomber we could see a sailor's shirt. It couldn't go without a metallic cloth: elements of the overcoat and silvery accessories gave the spicy futurism to the line.
Igor York and Olga Brovkina Presentations
Igor York
March 30 during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia the collection of purses and accessories from Igor York, the founder of the brand. The new line is called «Colorful filds», and the designer was inspired by the series of the paintings «Multiforms» by an American artist Mark Rotko, the founder of the abstractive expressionism All the accessories are hand-made and they are of essential materials.
«In all the purses one can see the elements from the paintings, and follow the artist's thoughts as well. One of the basic ideas is to create minimum two colors in each purse. The main principal of my works is the form's simplicity. You can see the clutches, belts, backpacks, laptops in different variations. All the items are in several copies. My purses are unicversal. Mainly I keep the unisex style, but while working with individual orders, I pay attention on the client's desire and I make the accessories buyer-oriented».
Olga Brovkina
Olga is a talented designer, who started her creative way in 1994 ���� from the victory on the international contest of young designers in Ireland. Her new collection is devoted to the process of transformation of a caterpillar into a colorful butterfly. In the center of a showroom there are manikins with clothing in a special order – from volume oversized coats hiding the figure up to the long silk dress with a colorful print. According to the designer the collection is really symbolic. Velvet facture, spectrum – �������� the designer compares it with the insects.
«I was inspired by a unique scientific story. Natural process of a transformation. It takes a lot of efforts. The paradox is that nobody helps the butterfly to appear. This is a really philosophical story. It's as well about the women who take a lot of efforts to overcome the borders. When it's ghard time and you want someone to help you you need to remember that it all depends on you to get the butterfly wins».
Author: Anna Dorozhkina


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Narrative Therapy is a respectful, collaborative model that inspires and energizes with new ideas and approaches. However, you may find the practices hard to apply.
This certificate program, conducted over five months, breaks down the theory of Narrative Therapy into skills that can be practiced - each skill builds on the one before. After each session, you will leave with a clear set of steps to incorporate this therapeutic model into your best practices.
You should participate in this certificate program if you're interested in Narrative Therapy as a beginner or if you have taken workshops but still aren't sure how to apply it in your work. You will learn through discussion, practice, observation and coaching, in an environment that is supportive, stimulating and results-focused.
You will learn to:
This training is suitable for everyone.
Dates: November 25, December 9 2017, January13, February10, March 10 2018
Facilitator: Bonnie Miller MSW, RSW
For information about fees, please click on the "fees" tab at the top of the page.
Saturday, November 25, 2017 - Saturday, March 10, 2018 9:00 AM - 4:00 PMEastern Time Zone
Hincks-Dellcrest Institute114 Maitland StreetToronto, Ontario M4Y 1E1Canada
Get Driving Directions
Cvent Online Event Registration Software | Copyright © 2000-2020 Cvent, Inc. All rights reserved.


text:
Here Is What You Can Expect From Bonds In 2018
Jordan: Hello again everyone, and welcome back to the Atlas Investor Podcast with Tiho Brkan. Thank you so much for tuning in today for episode number 10. Tiho, my friend, it's great to have you back for another episode. How are you today?
Tiho Brkan: Thank Jordan, I'm very, very good. Thank you for having me back. We made it to episode number 10. That's a little milestone, so that's great. I also want to take this opportunity to wish you a happy birthday. I know for a fact that I'm outside of civilization once again, a western civilization that is. The timezone that I am in, happens to be your birthday, while the time zone that you're in is officially not your birthday yet. Nevertheless, happy birthday my friend. I wish you all the best for 2018. What better present can you have than to spend your birthday or at least in my time zone, discussing treasury bonds.
Jordan: Yes, it's a great way for you to celebrate my birthday is for you to give our listeners, our audience some great commentary and analysis on what's going on here in the treasury market, the interest rate market. Tiho, before we get to it, why don't you tell us just a few things you want to cover today in this episode.
Tiho Brkan: Sure, we're going to look at what bond yields have been doing in the last quarter of 2017 and the start of 2018. It's been interesting several months, and the bond market seems to be at a major inflection point. We're going to look at the performance of various treasury maturities and the overall yield curve. We're going to talk about the history of the treasury yield market. In particular, where we are in the long-term secular cycle and what might be happening in the years ahead. We're going to finish with looking at the way that investors are positioned in the bond market and I guess, we can even discuss how I'm positioned within bonds.
Jordan: Okay Tiho, I think you said at the intro the bond market may be approaching an important inflection point. I mean, this could be from a bird's eye view a major inflection point. I know we're going to get into that but staring off here, why don't you talk about the yield curve and what you see going on there right now.
Tiho Brkan: Sure. I mean, interest rates have been artificially suppressed since December 2008 under General Ben Bernanke, the savior of the global financial crisis and the helicopter money printer, as he's known. And he goes down in history as a hero, according to one of the magazine covers. But we'll see how much of a hero he is once the yield curve inverts again, that remains to be seen. We are not there yet. The yield curve has been flattening. We have all the major maturities now above the two percent in yield. We're finally getting some interest back. It's not a lot, but we're getting back to some decent levels.
In particular, for the two-year, which is now paying the highest interest since 2008, just around the time, the Lehman Brothers was going burst. Yeah, in particular, the moves that we've seen over the last couple of quarters, has been the five-year nudge breaking out and basically, the yield has gone up towards two and a half percent, and catching up to the 10-year yield. That could be one of the first two maturities that inverts. In particular, also the 10-year yield has started to catch up with the 30-year yield. All in all, the yield curve just across the whole maturity, I guess, apart from the 30-year yield, has been under pressure with the price, because the yields have been moving rapidly higher.
When we look at the popular way to play the treasury market, basically you have two ETFs in my opinion. These are IEF and TLT, the intermediate bond and the long bond. What I want to discuss with you Jordan, is the way that the yield interacts with these two ETFs and the total return that they give investors.
Jordan: Yes, please go ahead and let us know what the total return right now looks like for both IEF, which is the seven-year bond ETF and then TLT, which is essentially the long bond ETF.
Tiho Brkan: Yeah. Basically, it's very similar to the seven-year yield. The duration, I think, tends to be 7.8 in recent times. It kind of correlates decently well, but it's not perfect. This is usually the way that people at home, small retail investors can now play the treasury market. What we have here, developments over the last week or so, have been that the seven-year yield is breaking up. That's very, very interesting because we had the two-year move fast and the five-year move after that. Now, we have the seven-year yield breaking resistance and also the 10-year yield is kind of testing key resistance. First and foremost, we have a price correction in the IEF ETF, which is sitting on support or attempting to break below the support, while the yields have already moved up.
This has been a rather bearish picture since September of 2017 when we had a North Korea incident between Donald Trump, the president of the United States and Rocket Man, the North Korean leader, or as Donald Trump calls him. That was, I guess, a bit of a fearful and scary event, where a lot of the media publications were talking about a potential nuclear war and geopolitical risks rising. A lot of investors flocked to Treasuries. But as tensions ease, price declined and the yields rose. Now, we have a continuation of what seems to be a bond bear market.
The same story is not yet developing in similar fashion for the long bond, which has been a bit more resilient. The TLT term structure on the total return basis is still holding above the trend line, which I find very interesting. As of last week, we're having a bit of a thrust on this downtrend line for the yield. The 3%, on the 20-year yield, which correlates closely to TLT, with the maturity and duration I think between of 17 to 19 years, is pretty close. What we're seeing here is the 20-year yield might be breaking above 3%, which is a very important inflection point, Jordan.
Generally speaking, bonds have been under pressure. As you can see technically, the yield has been consolidating just below this trend, line, and it looks ready to break out. I'm not sure whether it will do that or not. We have to monitor the situation very closely. The tape so far is suggesting that yields want to go higher and the treasury price remains weak.
Jordan: Okay. Now, Tiho, I know that we're going to get into positioning and sentiment. Is there something that you want to touch on before we get into that?
Tiho Brkan: Yeah. I would love to discuss where we are in the actual cycle of Treasuries because we ought to go back a hundred years or even the last 50 years and see how bond yields got here. We've got a very special chart for those of you watching YouTube or the ones that have gone on theatlasinvestor.com and are reading the transcript. I have put together a 90-year chart of the 10-year Treasury bond yield and some important events that went along with every single yield rise and how they influenced the economy, as well as other asset prices. I think we should spend some time on this Jordan.
Jordan: Tiho, why don't you start by talking about the long-term cycle that intermediate treasury yields have gone through. We're talking about the long-term cycle, we're not just talking about like two or three or fives years. This is mega long-term, right?
Tiho Brkan: Yeah, basically, there are these cycles called the Kondratiev Cycles, by Nikolai Kondratiev, who was a famous economist. I think Stalin had him executed when he figured out how economics and capitalism worked. Stalin wasn't interested in capitalism. Nevertheless, commodity prices, interest rates, and inflation tend to move in these long-term cycles of 30 to 60 years, and they swing depending on demographics and many other things that are involved. Since September 1981, when Paul Volcker a very strong man, tall man, intimidating man, who used to smoke while he was deciding where raters were going to go. He looked almost as if he was smoking Cuban cigars at the time.
He was a real intimidating federal reserve chairman. Under his watch, interest rates peaked at around 16% on the 10-year. He himself pushed the short-term rates above 20%. This was a time when gold peaked. He broke the back of inflation and oil was crushed in the following years. The bond bull market started in 1981 and also a year later in August 1982, the stock bull started. It's been a terrific time for bonds ever since except the past year or so. In September 1981, the 10-year yield peaked at 16% and has been in a declining trend all the way into July 2016, I think, when they hit the trough of 1.6%.
They did hit a 1.3% trough in Eurozone Crisis of 2012, but these troughs are somewhat equal. One of the things that's very, very interesting right now Jordan is the question of whether or not this cycle is ending and whether interest rates are breaking out.
Jordan: Yes, absolutely. On this chart, you have a trend line, a very nice trend line going back I think to the late '80s and that connects many of these highs, of course, because the trend since 1980, as you said, has been down. This trend line since about 1986, '87 is connecting all these peaks, but they are lower highs basically. Why don't you tell us about the major downtrend and then finally zero in on the short term?
Tiho Brkan: Well, the economic growth has been really financed and has progressed mainly thanks to the amount of debt that we've been taking on. Clearly, as you can hear in the background, the truck driver agrees, because he probably financed that purchase with debt. I'm here in Vietnam doing this podcast and the debt here has been growing. Not to say that the global economy has seen a huge increase in debt levels since 2007. As the yields have been falling, so has the economic growth and it's taken more and more debt to achieve that growth. For every dollar of GDP that we produce, we need more and more dollars of debt to continue the same kind of growth as years ago. If interest rates were to begin to rise, this could put a huge amount of pressure on servicing this debt and obviously, on the economy as well.
Every time that interest rates rose, they never made a higher high as you said. It was always a lower high. Nevertheless, every one of those lower highs that hit the top of the trend line that we're both discussing right now, produced some kind of a crisis. In 1987, it was a stock market crash. In 1990, while the US wasn't affected a lot, it was the savings and loan crisis, the Japanese stock and real estate crash, the fall of the USSR, fall of the Berlin Wall, as well as the Scandinavian banking crisis and the dismantling of Yugoslavia and several wars around the world as well. Then we had another rise during the bond massacre in the mid-'90s, which eventually put pressure on emerging markets and stocks, bonds and real estate assets in those countries.
Then we had another spike in yields from 1999 to 2000, and this triggered the tech crash, followed by a rise towards 5% yields in 2007, as Bernanke was the chairman of the Fed. He wasn't smoking any Cuban cigars mind you, he was operating a helicopter or getting ready to. When yields hit 5%, they looked like they were almost ready to break out and the bond bear market was going to start. But that didn't happen as the stock market went into a huge crash and we had a deflationary time for the next several years. Yields stumbled even lower. Yields did retrace and every time they did, they triggered a Eurozone debt crisis or an emerging market slow down or an oil crash. Every time bond yields spiked, we had some kind of a problem in economy and markets.
Now, the yields are not only hitting this trend line, Jordan, but they're also attempting to break out above the trend line and move even higher. The10-year yield is attempting to move towards the 3% level. It remains to be seen how this will impact the economy. I just want to emphasize once again, the world has a lot more debt today than it did in 2007 during the last crisis. We haven't fixed a lot of the problems. As a matter of fact, the European banking system is still in a similar place that it was before. Maybe we've improved slightly with some capital controls and improved liquidity ratios and so forth. However, I'm not so sure because the main improvements have just been thanks to Super Mario Draghi and general helicopter flyer Ben Bernanke.
Jordan: Yes, those two guys, they're like the Michael Jordan or the Kobe Bryant of money printers or the Lionel Messi, for all you soccer fans out there.
Tiho Brkan: Yeah, I mean, look, they had to do what they had to do. The alternative most likely wasn't pretty. I'm not going to get into the discussion of what should have been done. Obviously, it's not up to me, I'm just an investor. It's my job to try to navigate the asset markets. Having said that, there's a group of clients that I have that fall towards the Austrian economic side of things. They would rather see sound monetary policies and they would rather see sound economic growth built on productivity and innovation, which we do have of course, as well. But without such high amounts of debt and low interest rates to entice people to borrow the debt.
On the other hand, I also have clients who are much more capitalistic in nature, and they know Keynesian School of Economics, but nevertheless, as long as they do well, as long as I do well for them, it doesn't really matter how it's done. Performance at the end of the day is the most important thing.
Jordan: Absolutely. Now, Tiho, with that being said, just one quick follow-up on this chart here before we get to sentiment and positioning. It looks like the 10-year yield is breaking out above the trend line. However, wouldn't you say it has not made a higher high yet? Wouldn't it have to go above that 3% peak to make a real higher high?
Tiho Brkan: Well, this is very true. We have Jeffrey Gundlach and Bill Gross, who are considered bond kings. They've been recently in the news with various media outlets discussing how the Treasury bond bull market is ending and how the yields are breaking above certain trend lines. What's happening now is we're entering a period, which will have, I guess, headwinds for bonds. One thing that I would like to say is exactly what you pointed out. We had a similar, not the same, but similar kind of a set up in the early 30s moving into early 40s. Basically, bond yields were declining from around 4% towards 2%. Nothing as dramatic as we saw from the 1980s to 2017.
Nevertheless, similar kind of a setup, and despite the fact that bonds broke this falling trend line, which was acting as a resistance for yields, that doesn't necessarily mean the bonds now have to spike and go the other way in the exact same fashion that they came from. From 1940 to about 1955, just prior to the Eisenhower Recession in the late 50s, we had bond yields remain around 2%. That's almost 15 years. We had bond yields trough during our investors' generation at 2011/12 period during the Eurozone crisis. Wouldn't it be interesting if bonds kind of just muddled along sideways from 2012 until 2027? That would really throw a monkey wrench in a lot of the bond bears' investment thesis as well as the bond bulls because that's the worst thing that can happen.
When yields stay low and they go nowhere, returns are really, really low. Don't forget Jordan, this is exactly what happened in Japan.
Jordan: Oh, fascinating point, Tiho, I'm really glad you mentioned that. Now, let's move on and talk about how people and investors and hedge funds and fund managers are all positioned in bonds right now.
Tiho Brkan: Sure. First of all, we look at the Merrill Lynch global fund manager survey. What we can see there is an extremely underweight position. The bond exposure is very low here. In previous instances, where saw this, the majority of the times, not always, but a majority of the times bond market has rallied. There have been periods as well where global fund managers would actually go underweight bonds to this extreme, and yet the bond market still declined for the following couple of months. Those instances are quite rare. Majority of the times whenever bonds are sold off, and fund managers have been this underweight, bonds have fared pretty well.
Moving along, away from the global fund managers, we're also looking at hedge fund positioning by futures. Now, hedge funds have been very much shorting the treasury bond market, in particular, the five-year bond and now recently, the 10 year bond. They're also starting to get short the 30-year bond too in recent weeks. When you group it all together across the yield curve, hedge fund managers have really been pressing their bets against Treasuries and in particular since the North Korean saga in September. Usually, whenever hedge fund managers turn extremely net short in a certain market, prices tend to really get away. I consider them dumb money.
In this instance, and this has also happened during the taper tantrum in 2013, as well as during the US elections in late 2016, early 2017. Both times when hedge fund managers went extremely short, what ended up happening was bond prices rallied and yields declined. That was positive was bond investors. This time around, we seem to have a break of a technical uptrend line in an ETF like IEF. Whether this is going to be a real break with a follow through or just a fake out, from which there can be a reversal, remains to be seen. Whether the stock market, which has gone parabolic, starts to correct, also remains to be seen. One thing is for sure, whether it's the global fund managers or whether it's hedge funds in the futures market, or whether it's the sentiment surveys itself, the majority of the investors are heavily pessimistic and shorting treasuries. They are all positioned for higher yields.
Jordan: Yeah, I have a big picture follow-up to that, but I'll wait until a little bit later because I want to talk about the Atlas Bond portfolio. Can you tell us how that's been performing, what you're doing with bonds, what you have been doing and what you're doing now if you can share?
Tiho Brkan: Sure. Well, we have our own benchmark within the overall portfolio and there's a certain allocation that we sometimes tend to put on (depending on the conditions) and allocate towards bonds or fixed income. This includes government bonds in the United States, as well as treasuries outside of the United States. It also includes credits such as corporate junk or emerging market debt. Some of it is in local currencies and some of it is in hard currency like US dollar denominated. As you might recall Jordan, as well as regular readers and followers of Atlas Investor, I become extremely bullish in bonds in November and December of 2016, just after the elections, and just after the treasury market decline.
As a matter of fact, my Twitter was littered with bullish reasons why to buy bonds and not just Treasuries, but all kinds of bonds. That includes credits, emerging market debt and so forth. I was extremely optimistic about bonds around that point in time, and our portfolio benchmark had a drawdown of more than 10%. We ended up buying that and holding the majority of our credit until I think November, or even just before November or October, around the time when the North Korean geopolitical incident was happening. We sold some of the treasuries there as well as some of the treasuries actually earlier too. We didn't hold the treasury market the whole way through 2017.
That's been a fantastic trade for us, despite the fact that yields were low. Since we use some leverage, the returns were better and they were magnified. Having said that, the overall bond portfolio that we track almost reached a new record high ending 2017. There was, in my opinion, not that much value left, especially when you look at Treasury yields having negative forces and headwinds. They're breaking out as you mentioned before and also credit spreads have narrowed so dramatically that investors are not compensated for the premium and the risk that they're taking right now.
There's not a lot of opportunities left in the bond market at this juncture. I do think that various treasuries are slowly, the maturities of treasuries are slowly becoming oversold. That might be an interesting inflection point coming up quite soon for the government bond side of things. Credit, not so much.
Jordan: Yeah, I just have one or two follow-up questions on that. I know we can talk more about that in a different episode, but if credit spreads start to widen, is it possible that could put some upside pressure on treasury bonds? Can they be a safe haven bid out of that? Or have there been times in history; I know there isn't that long of a history with junk bonds, but can you envision credit spreads widening, and then treasury bonds selling off at the same time?
Tiho Brkan: Yeah, of course, it's definitely possible. If interest rates were to rise as they are right now, due to the fact that we do not have a recession and corporations are still performing well, credit spreads are narrowing and credit is outperforming government debt. But there could be a period in time and despite the fact that we don't have historical data to prove this as junk bonds were only started in the '80s and emerging market debt in the '80s and '90s, it's very difficult to look back to the history. This cycle has been under the falling yields regime. I would definitely think that during 1950, the '60s and '70s, whenever the stock market used to sell off, the Treasury bond market to sell off and the yields would spike.
I think spiking yields would also produce a spike in corporate yields, but to an even high degree, because as stock market equity sections sell-off, so does the debt section too. During that event, diversification might not work very well, and risk parity investors and portfolios might actually suffer or at least underperform. One has to be careful. Having said that, during those periods, asset classes such as gold, in the '60s and the '70s, as well as commodities in the 70s, performed really, really well. They were actually the empty correlation asset class, which would create some kind of a safety whenever stocks and all kinds of bonds and credit sold off.
Jordan: Right, yeah, that's great information and analysis. My other question, I guess is more of a comment that you've said it before, it's an inflection point. What's fascinating to me Tiho is if you look at the price action, you can't base everything on the price action in the chart. It just looks so bearish, so ominous, yet you factor in the sentiment from a contrarian standpoint, the sentiment supports a rebound. Yet the treasury bonds are not that oversold. I mean, they haven't declined that much. You have some interesting factors coming up here in other words. In other words, the sentiment for bonds would support a rebound. Technically bonds look really ominous, but they're not that oversold, so they could potentially drop more or even break down before they have some kind of a rebound.
Tiho Brkan: Well, I would love for that to happen. Any asset investor or any asset allocator loves to buy low or should aim to buy low and sell high. If bonds were to correct like they did in November and December of 2016, honestly, I was licking my lips and I had several clients tell me, it's going to be a big mistake if you buy bonds. We're not going to make any money, and it proved to be a very, very good investment. The same can be said if an investor had the courage to buy the Taper tantrum as well during early parts of 2013 and the middle parts of 2013. Both of those proved to be very, very good inflection points to jump in and buy bonds.
At this point in time, we don't have anything like that yet. I want to give some merits to your analysis and your point that you made Jordan because I know so many investors, some of which are extremely intelligent, I mean, they write the most amazing pieces. They're incredible at the way that they trade, and invest and think about financial markets. One thing that they don't do is they don't listen enough to the actual tape of the market, just the way that you did. There's always a handful of reasons to buy something and a handful of reasons to stay away from that same asset class. You have to figure out which signals to listen to.
The signal that I listen to the most is usually price. That's the most important. It sounds so simple and yet so many investors fail to follow this. I listen to price and if the price is not agreeing with my narrative, I refuse to think that I'm smarter than the stock market and the bond market. Time and again, we see some of the most spectacular investors who believe in their own narratives and their own stories, and they think they're smarter than markets; they will buy some stock at a hundred dollars, which would go to $1. Or they would buy the bond market believing that a certain event would happen and it doesn't happen and the yields go against them and the prices go against them.
They continue to hold because they think they're smarter than the market. Yes, I totally agree with you. Regardless of what we think, we should look at what the market is telling us. After all, it's not the job of a speculator or an investor to be correct, that's the job of an analyst. I'm not an analyst, I'm an investor. My clients judge me by performance. They don't really care if I said that bonds should rise or bonds should fall. They just look at the quarter end or year-end statement, and they say, "Oh, you did well, or you didn't do well." How you get there is usually, most of the time, completely up to you.
I like to exercise prudent investing, discipline and the right risk management. I think at this point in time, regardless of how one thinks, whether yields will stop right here and create another risk event as they have since 1987 when we covered that beautiful chart going back a hundred years. Or whether yields would actually break out and rise past 3%, which is the next resistance. That's anyone's guess really. Nobody has the capacity to predict the future. They can just speculate on the future. I'd rather speculate with the trend than against the trend. That's a bit of wisdom that I would put in here.
Jordan: Okay Tiho, well, that wraps up episode number 10. Great work today. You know Tiho, I really hope that we can follow up on the bond market in the months ahead or even the weeks ahead if we see further important developments. What do you think?
Tiho Brkan: Definitely, we'll keep a close eye out and we'll do another episode if something major changes from the current episode. In particular, I really enjoyed covering the bond market today and I hope listeners, readers, and YouTube watchers enjoy this as well.
Thank you for listening to The Atlas Investor podcast. To be notified of future podcast episodes sign up for our free newsletter and join our Youtube channel. Tiho Brkan offers his clients a wide range of services. Including portfolio construction and wealth management. One on one consultations. Global real estate opportunities. International tax planning. Citizenship and residency planning. And one on one mentoring. For a free consultation, visit the Atlas Investor dot com and contact Tiho Brkan.


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This sparrow hawk took time out to digest her meal, recently in my backyard in Ballarat.
She soared above my neighbour's home when I first noticed her, but to my delight, chose my backyard to land.
At first I thought it was merely wishful thinking, believing I was giving added status to more usual visitors, such as sparrows, wattle birds and the occasional crested pigeon, but the more I looked, even with the naked eye, the more I was sure she was a special visitor. Binoculars confirmed my initial accuracy at identifying some kind of bird of prey!
It was a lovely way to commence the cold, but sunny morning of Saturday 6th of August and was a prolonged visit, lasting long enough for me to call my fellow bird loving neighbour Alan, to help with identification.
Armed with my library of birding manuals we deliberated as to whether it was a goshawk, or sparrow hawk for some time.
Luckily I keep binoculars and camera on hand.
As he departed, Alan spotted the remains of her breakfast, in my front garden, which appear beside the sparrow hawk photo. Quite a breakfast!
The sparrow hawk remained stationary on my rose arbour for some thirty minutes, until taking to flight.
It is wonderful to be visited by such a rare bird and should encourage others to make sure you always have clean water available for local birds and keep records of your usual and unusual, wild avian visitors!


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InflightPower has launched Inflight USB Power Unit that can provide power to your gadgets like mobile phones, music players and etc from the regular 3.5mm audio or music jacks that are available in flights, trains and buses.
How does Inflight USB power unit work?
Simply by plugging in the cable to the passenger seat headset jack, the cable converts the audio output into regulated USB power. InFlight is designed to work on ALL first class seats and business/coach class. With the new battery BOOST feature you can charge anywhere, even while not traveling.
My View:
This product would be most useful for those people who do lots of traveling and I would say that this device is worth keeping along with you to power up your gadgets during your travel. This product retails for USD $34.99 ( approx INR 1,400) and can be purchased from InflightPower.
If were to travel a lot then I would definitely consider buying this. Would you buy this device?
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In today's biggest silver investment news (Friday, March 17), the price of silver is on track for its best weekly gain since early February.
Silver prices are currently up 0.1% to $17.36. Although today's gains are meager, the metal has rallied 2.6% since Monday, March 13. That puts the silver price on track for its biggest weekly gain since the week ended Feb. 10.
Despite this week's silver price rally, the metal still hovers below its 52-week mean of $18.35. That means this is a great time to buy silver for long-term gains.
Money Morning Resource Specialist Peter Krauth believes that silver prices could soar 38.2% by the end of 2017. And he says it all depends on one silver investment news story developing in the silver market's most powerful country.
First, here's why the price of silver is posting big gains this week…
Why Silver Prices Are Surging This Week
Silver's big 2.6% gain this week comes on the heels of the U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate hike.
On Wednesday, March 15, the second FOMC meeting of 2017 concluded with Janet Yellen announcing the first rate hike of the year. This puts the federal funds rate in the 0.75%-1% range and marks the third rate hike in less than two years.
Although silver prices didn't react to the rate hike right away, they surged overnight. At the opening bell on Thursday, prices were up 2.9% and trading at $17.41.
Since higher interest rates typically lift the value of the dollar, rate hikes are usually bad silver investment news. Silver is priced in the dollar, so any rise in the dollar's value makes dollar-denominated commodities like silver more expensive to people using a different currency. That reduces demand and lowers the price of silver.
But Yellen's post-meeting comments about there only being two more rate hikes in 2017 were less hawkish than expected. This dragged the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) below the important 101-basis-point mark, which boosted silver prices.
While this news provided an unexpected bump, Krauth has been following another story that could have an incredibly bullish impact on silver prices in 2017. It has to do with one Asian country that has the largest influence on the silver market.
In fact, the controversial news story is so important that Krauth predicts it could push prices 38.2% higher in 2017.
Here's why this ongoing development will have such a massive impact on silver prices…


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Show 88 starts off with a bit of talk about the weather and Stig immediately mentions his drink and Bill's shares info about his beer.
At 4:06, Stig mentions the large live audience and then talks about moving his company to New Zealand. Bill then talks about personnel shuffles between Houston and Austin, you take our coach – we'll take your police chief. Stig then mentions the story about the woman on the tarmac at IAH. Bill tells about a band he saw this week.
At 15:24, Stig mentions some details about his L.A. trip. Stig and Bill then talk about the Astros' new/old player and Tai's Hill.
At 20:07, Bill promotes his political twitter feed and talks a bit about state officials. Stig mentions his read of Steve Martin's "The Pleasure of My Company". Bill updates us on a read and on changes at Fitzgerald's.
Music featured in this episode:


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Lisa Baughman, Principal
IEE is the place to BE!
On behalf of the IEE faculty and staff let me thank you for taking time to visit our website! We set high expectations for each of our students and we are committed to excellence for all. If at any time you have questions, concerns, ideas, or compliments we are here to listen! There will be many opportunities for you to visit the campus during the year where I look forward to meeting and getting to know each of you!Email Lisa Baughman
Last Modified on August 13, 2019


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Enjoy preparing one of the most delicious recipes... the Bucatani pasta casserole with meatballs. Serve it as a main dish on your table.
1 pack of Goody Bucatini Hollow
4 spoons of Olive Oil
½ Jack Cheese
½ Mozzarella Cheese
½ cup of Parmesan Cheese
Marinara Sauce:
¼ cup of Olive Oil
2 tsps Garlic, Mashed
1 can of Tomato Paste
2 cans of Goody Chopped Tomatoes
2 Tbsps Basil Leaves, chopped
1 tsp of (Salt, Black Pepper, Paprika, and Dried Oregano)
1 ½ kg Beef, minced
½ cup of Onions, finely minced
1 Tbsp Parsley, finely minced
1 tsp Garlic, chopped
2 whole eggs
1 tsp Salt
1 spoon of Black Pepper
½ cup of Rumi Cheese, grated
1 cup of Breadcrumbs
½ cup of Sparkling Water; or Plain Water if not possible
1.To Prepare the Marinara Sauce:In a large pot over medium heat, heat the olive oil and fry the garlic for a minute, then add the tomato paste and chopped tomatoes and leave them until the mixture boils, then add the remaining ingredients and stir well. Simmer the sauce for 10 minutes or until the sauce becomes thick, and then take it off the heat.
2.To Prepare the Meat:In a deep bowl, mix together the minced meat, onions, parsley, garlic, eggs, salt, black pepper, and rumi cheese; mix well, then add the breadcrumbs and stir them together.Gradually add the water to the mixture, and leave it until the meat becomes soft and firm at the same time. Shape the meat into medium balls the size of an apricot. In this recipe, use 1 kilogram of meat, and keep half a kilo in the refrigerator to be used later on.
3.To Prepare the Pasta Casserole:Heat the oven at 180oC.
4.In an oven iron skillet, put the olive oil and fry the meat balls until they are browned, then add 2 cups of the Marinara sauce, and let it simmer for 20-30 minutes.
5.Boil the Bucatini pasta according to the instructions on the package. Drain the pasta, then wash it with cold water and set it aside. When the boiling is completed, set aside ½ cup of the water used for the boiling.
6.Take the meatballs out of the sauce, and set it aside, then add the pasta to the sauce and ½ cup of the pasta boiling water, and mix them well. Add the meatballs over the pasta, and then put all types of cheese. Put the skillet in the oven for 20-30 minutes or until the cheese melts.
•You can use the remaining amount of meat in preparing the recipe Vermicelli Soup with Meatballs


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Drilling Fluids
McAsphalt has manufactured drilling fluids for the oil and gas industry for many years. McAsphalt possess the technology to custom manufacture stable drilling fluids on a batch-by-batch basis using standard materials, or your proprietary ones, to meet or exceed your rheological properties. The fluids are mixed at a central plant and subsequently delivered to a well site. The manufacturing technology enhances normal characteristics leading to improved field performance and increased quality control.
Give us a call to get the MCA Advantage—a partner and advisor who will consult with you about designs, specifications, technical services, processes and material selection. By developing innovative, custom-designed products that offer additional benefits, such as peak performance in unique conditions, improved field performance, and greater environmental and health benefits, the MCA Advantage provides significant long-term cost savings, resulting in lower "total cost of ownership."


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Driving around town in a quality, comfortable vehicle like a Kia, with good music playing and fresh air flowing, is a feeling that everyone enjoys. The lurching, jerky sensation of driving in a car in need of a tune-up is not quite so satisfying. Get back to driving the way you should be -- bring your vehicle over to our Kia dealership near Melrose, MA, so that we can restore it to top form.
At Pride Kia of Lynn, we work hard to keep every vehicle in excellent running condition. Whether you're overdue for an oil change and tire rotation or you have serious powertrain problems to take care of, you can trust our Kia service staff to get the job done quickly and correctly. That's because our technicians have gone through extensive professional training, receive Kia certifications to do what they do and have plenty of experience under their belts. When you leave your vehicle with us, believe us when we say it's in the right hands. Bring your car to our service bay today, or set up a service appointment online from your home computer or mobile device!
Your privacy is important to us.
Pride Kia of Lynn takes your privacy seriously and does not rent or sell your personal information to third parties without your consent. Read our privacy policy.


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Full Value Contract
Old Business:
1. Plan for RCZC Orientation 1.2
- Ken reported progress on a second orientation/information package for people who have been attending RCZC events for a while and want to learn more about our practice. Ken will make final edits and post full-package contents on RCZC website and post information on bulletin board in the lobby.
2. Policies for Board Member Selection
- Edie reported that the position of registrar has been filled by Marion Heyn. Talus will train Ed Wayt as bookkeeper. Thank you Marion and Ed.
- Chris Patton has agreed to join the Board beginning January 2017. The Board invites any pertinent feedback regarding this appointment.
3. Annual Fund Video Update
- Ken reported on the progress of a "clever video" he will produce to be the centerpiece of RCZC annual fundraiser during the month of December.
4. Spiritual Director Contract, Policy, Performance Standards and Review Documents
- Tim has reviewed and accepted the SD 3-year contract, with one question. Edie will contact attorney for clarification. The SD contract will be signed by the Board and Tim by the end of November. The contract goes into effect January of 2017.
- The Board discussed the timing of SD performance review and Tim's goals and intentions for 2017.
- Edie will revise RCZC by laws to reflect Tim's new position. After Board approval, the revised bylaws will be posted on RCZC website.
- Edie will compose an email to all RCZC members reiterating the several-month process of codifying Tim's stipend, role and responsibilities.
5. Sound Board to Amplify Speakers' Voices
- The Board discussed ways of amplifying the softer voices of dharma talk speakers. We need to investigate possible materials.
6. Kenya Project Update
- Tim reported that RCZC raised over $2000 that was sent to his Kenyan family to pay for a water pump and school scholarships.
New Business:
1. 3rd Quarter Financial Report/Begin 2017 Budget Planning
- Talus reported third quarter income down 13% from last quarter, possibly because Samish retreat registration was down this year. The January through September income was up 26% over 2015.
- Note to donors: For tax purposes, if you are donating to specific projects, either monetary or in-kind, please fill out a reimbursement form and identify the project you are supporting so we can include the cost in our expense budget.
2. Board Member Assignments for Supporting Workgroups
- Board members support workgroups and bring information and requests from them to the board twice a year as follows:
Board President supports the building and garden workgroups.
Vice President supports the Annual Fund workgroup.
Treasurer supports and reports on the Finance Committee and will support the Technical & Website workgroup.
Secretary supports Membership.
Tim leads and supports the Practice Committee.
Jaren will support Zendo and Practice workgroup.
These positions may change beginning in January 2017. The Board requests any feedback from members.
3. Annual Meeting
- The RCZC annual meeting is scheduled for Sunday, February 5 from 10 a.m. to noon. The meeting includes the 2016 financial report; volunteer appreciation, information about Tim's new role, and a calendar of events for 2017.
Next Board Meeting: December 7, 2016 5:00 - 6:30 p.m.
respectfully submitted, Anne Mikkelsen


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For the best result when sewing canvas, you need either a heavy-duty sewing machine or an industrial sewing machine capable of running heavy duty thread for canvas.
You might "get away with" using a lighter, standard-duty, light gauge thread when you sew canvas, but you can't really expect what you make to holdup and last if you do.
In the fabric store, or online store, look for heavy gauge thread. In the store, the coarse thread you need for sewing canvas should be with or at least near the upholstery, drapery, or canvas department.
Also, if you plan to use the canvas item you're making outside, look for UV protected thread, or it will rot away long before your canvas wears out.
One final tip for sewing with heavy gauge thread: Use a large gauge sewing machine needle.


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One of the lynch pins to our foraging program will be a strong statement about ethics and sustainability. While it would be great to find that fantastic stand of cattails, to wipe it out so it won't be around next year does no one any good. So, below are some thoughts that I've had and others that were shared by Doug.
1. Forage only established groves/stands/plants; and
2. Forage only enough so that you don't wipe out the plant; and
3. Consider what role that plant may play with the area wildlife; and
4. Do no harm in approaching the foraging area; and
5. Don't pick anything from the side of the road
Doug's guidelines for whether a food is worth while:
1. Tastes great
2. Digests well
3. Gives good energy
4. Abundant
5. Easy to harvest
6. Easy to process
7. Easy to prepare
He also suggests:
1. Mix your foraged foods with foods you like to find a balanced diet
2. Wild foods are often "strong," "bitter," or "excessive ruffage"
3. If you're into mushroom foraging read David Aurora's books
Il Vicino – Albuquerque, New Mexico
6 days ago


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A visitor to De Soto National Memorial can quickly experience four distinct natural ecosystems along the park's half mile nature trail. The park is situated along the south shore of the Manatee River at the mouth of Tampa Bay. The Bay is a subtropical estuary consisting of open water and a mixture of mangrove and salt marsh vegetation in the tidal zone. The average temperature is 72 degrees with January the coldest month and August the hottest. Sixty percent of the annual rainfall falls during the summer months.
The Memorial's vegetation generally consists of salt tolerant species along the coast with pines and palmettos in the interior. Coastal dune vegetation occupies about 20% of the site and occurs at water's edge on a small sand ridge. A mangrove forest covers approximately 30% of the site and occurs inland from the dune habitat. Upland trees, mainly sand and slash pine, occur on the higher elevations and make-up about 35% of the site. Two non-native plant species, Brazilian pepper and carrotwood, have become established in these higher portions of the site. Man-made areas including a parking lot, visitor center, and living history camp make up the remaining 15% of the park.
Last updated: April 14, 2015


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Canyon senior Arin Rice picked up another honor when the Texas Girls Coaches Association named her to the 2013 Track and Field All-State Team. Rice was joined by four other Texas Panhandle athletes.
Rice was honored in the Class 4A division. Bushland senior Sarah Climer made the 2A team.
Rice won the 800 and finished second in the 1600 at the state 4A meet this month.
Climer finished ninth in the long jump in the 2A state meet.
Farwell's Chelsea Bass, Quanah's Olivia Jalomo and Wellington's Macy Davis were named to the 1A team.
Bass won a silver medal in the 800, Jalomo finished fourth in the 1600 and 3200, and Davis finished sixth in the 3200 and seventh in the 400.
An athlete's head coach must have been a member of the association before Nov. 1 to be eligible for the honor.


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Filed under: Thrillers, Festival Reports, Podcasts, Interviews, Remakes and Sequels, Cinematical Indie
After a startling, striking debut in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Michael Pitt wound up having what many young actors would consider a dream career, mixing parts in big-studio films (Murder by Numbers, The Village) with parts in independent movies by legendary directors (The Dreamers, Last Days). As the ringleader of the murderous duo in Michael Haneke's Funny Games, Pitt combines charisma and coldness to create a truly unique and riveting villain. Pitt spoke with Cinematical about breaking the fourth wall, playing a psychopath and how while working with Haneke made him feel excited, it also left him more than a little bit nervous: "I was constantly on my toes ... just always working on it, always. I knew I needed to do that." This interview, like all of Cinematical's podcast offerings, is now available through iTunes; if you'd like, you can subscribe at this link. Also, you can listen directly here at Cinematical by clicking below:
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For Casino Bonus Codes: Sign Up Here
Casino bonus code sign up offers are given by casinos online that enable a player to take advantage of bonus betting money to wager on any number of casino games being offered. The amounts differ from casino-to-casino. Some of them give out bonus chips. Others give out match bonuses, which means if a player deposits $100 into their account, the online casino will match that amount in full, so he or she has $200 initial betting money to use to play games. They hope you will get hooked on playing their games and spend your own money.
It may sound like easy money but be careful as there certainly are requirements to be able to withdraw this money. To keep players from abusing casino bonus codes they set minimum wagering requirements that a bettor must meet in order to keep the bonus money. This ranges from 25 times to 60 times the amount of deposit and bonus before being able to cash in. There are some games like baccarat, craps, roulette and even blackjack that do not count in meeting the required wagering requirements but this is changing.


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Dreaming of a squirrel means that you are involved in a fruitless relationship or a business project that will fail to bring you profits. Squirrels in dreams suggest that you are hoarding something or that you must learn to let go of a person or situation in your waking life.
Squirrels can also suggest that you will find new friends and have a happy home.
If you dream that you are feeding a squirrel, you will attain success and comfort through hard work and prudence. If you see squirrels in trees, this is a warning that you will face an embarrassing situation in the near future.
The dream squirrel is associated with efficiency and with prudently storing things for future use, planning for the future, or even hiding something.
The squirrel in your dream may symbolize someone in your waking life who is unpredictable and skittish – or "squirrelly."


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There's no one way that a sketchbook should
look. Inside or out. No limits, and no rules. This is the place- if nowhere else- that you
can let go entirely and create without judgement. Consider your sketchbook as something that's
for your eyes only. Your sketchbook is where you can be your most
honest and raw and authentic self; without the influence of other people and what they
might think. Eliminate the idea that it has to be pretty
or refined or well-put-together and remember that you have control over what parts of it
you share and the parts you keep private. The same way that when you're drafting a
piece of writing you don't go straight in with well-formed sentences and carefully constructed
paragraphs, but no-one has to see the notes and scribbles that went on behind the scenes. I find that when you approach your sketchbook
as a finished piece or something to display, you're inadvertently applying pressure which
has an impact on how freely you express yourself. So take some pressure off by messing about
with things like blind contour drawings or timed challenges. Write notes and scribble and splash paint,
rip and tear. The more you make a mess intentionally, the
less the you'll fear doing it accidentally. And once you've alleviated fear, you enter
a whole new realm of creativity. Don't hold back either. If you start something in your sketchbook
and the mood is taking you to keep going and developing and keep adding to it, don't
stop. I never understand when people ask the point
in putting time and effort into a detailed piece of art if it's just gonna be in a
book on a shelf with no-one looking at it. The point is that you still made a beautiful
thing. You learned something and got in some valuable
practice. You've taken at least a tiny step forward
in the scale of confidence and ability. Remember that every piece of art you create
is worth so much more than the visual outcome alone. It's the journey, not the destination. And if you do want to display it there are
always ways to do that. What I'm saying is that you can use your
sketchbook for absolutely anything. If it's where you feel comfortable recording
your thoughts and feelings, recording memories, brainstorming, inventing characters, drawing
from reference, studying… whatever. It's YOUR sketchbook. Do what you want. Now if the thought of ruining a sketchbook
with too much confusion and variety is holding you back from using it as often as you'd
like, it might help to have a few sketchbooks on the go at the same time. Maybe one purely for things you're studying
and learning, another for experimentation and jotting down ideas, and another where
you push yourself to develop more cohesive pieces and spreads. This feels like a good time to just say that
what you see on social media often isn't the full story. You might see a sketchbook tour that's page
after page of amazing artwork, what you might not be seeing is the artists 3 other sketchbooks
and assorted bits of scrap paper with experiments and doodles and mistakes. There's nothing more daunting than blank
pages in a brand new sketchbook. To kick start creativity, I'll often decorate
a few pages at random with washes of colour or things stuck in from magazines. Maybe some random shapes to revisit for a
silhouette challenge. You're creating art without a lot of effort
and giving your pages colour and variety from the start. I very rarely use my sketchbook in page-after-page
order. I flip it open at random and start there. Then theres no fear of messing up the flow
or seeing the same disheartening pages that didn't turn out how you wanted day after
day. Speaking of which, and this might be a divisive
one. On the one hand I agree that covering up all
your mistakes is gonna limit your progress, you need to look at and analyse the stuff
you don't like in order to be able to use that as a reference point for progress. But on the other hand…. there are sometimes those pages in your sketchbook
that you just. cant. stand. To the point that you no longer use the book
because that one particular page, just knowing it's there repels you from even touching
the sketchbook. What I'm saying is, in this case (and I give
it time, I wouldn't coverup up a bad page straight away) but I'd rather coverup a
page if it's gonna mean I can happily continue to use the sketchbook, rather than stubbornly
leave it, knowing that the sight of it does nothing but knock my confidence and dampen
my mood to create. Coverups can give you the chance to try again
and they often inadvertently add their own element of interest to a page. The thing to bear in mind is that your sketchbook
is yours, its your place to feel as free as you can, play by your own rules, do what makes
you comfortable. You don't need to be hard on yourself, its
your universe where you set the standard, no one else.


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The following is a request by Nancy Gregory, Extension Plant Diagnostician, UD.
Please Report Suspected Downy Mildew on Basil
Downy mildew of basil is a serious new disease in the U.S, caused by the fungus-like Oomycete, Peronospora. Originally found in Uganda and then Europe, basil downy mildew was detected in Florida in 2007 and the northeast U.S. in 2008. The pathogen was reported in both field and greenhouse grown basil. The most noticeable symptom on affected plants was yellowing in between the veins, and it was thought to be a nutritional problem. Upon close examination, grayish sporulation of the downy mildew pathogen occurs on the undersides of the leaves. Basil downy mildew spores are produced in abundance and can be spread on by air currents, as well as on infected leaf material and seeds.
This disease has not been confirmed in Delaware, but has been reported in PA, NJ, NY,NC, and other Eastern states. For this reason, the University of Delaware is joining other universities in a monitoring program. If you see what you think is basil downy mildew, please send a sample to the UD Plant Diagnostic Clinic. Please refer to the web site http://ag.udel.edu/extension/pdc/ for sample guidelines, submission forms, and contact information.
Basil downy mildew. Photo by Meg McGrath, Cornell University.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Greenhouse and Landscape - Downy Mildew of Basil
Posted by Gordon Johnson at 8:10 AM
Labels: basil, downy mildew
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Mega Millions Lottery analysis
This could be you.Earlier this year, we considered the math behind deciding when to buy a Powerball ticket.
Now, the Mega Millions jackpot has reached a ludicrously high $636 million, and so we decided to repeat the analysis for this lottery— ahead of tonight's drawing is at 11 PM EST.
The most basic thing to consider in any game of chance, whether you are looking at a lottery, a roulette wheel, or a deck of cards in a blackjack game, is your expected winnings from the game. This is basically a measure of how much you will win on average by playing the game a large number of times.
The expected winnings for a game can be found if we know the probabilities of the different outcomes in the game, and the earnings (or losses) associated with each outcome. We multiply the probabilities by the earnings or losses, and then add these up.
The expected value will tell us what will happen on average if we play a game a large number of times. If the expected value is positive, then on average we are winning money, and so if we play the game long enough, we should end up in the black. If the expected value is negative, then on average we are losing money, and so we should not be playing this game.
We can find the expected value for playing Mega Millions with the current ridiculous jackpot. In Mega Millions, you pick five different numbers between 1 and 75, and one number between 1 and 15. If all six match, you win the jackpot. If you match some of the first five numbers and/or the last number, you win a smaller prize.
The Mega Millions website helpfully includes the odds of winning either the jackpot, or of winning various smaller prizes. Since the cost of a Mega Millions ticket is $1.00, we can subtract this from each of the prizes to get our actual take home winnings for each of these outcomes, and so find the expected value of a Mega Millions ticket:
Business Insider/ Mega Millions
The first column shows each outcome — how many of the five numbers from 1 to 75 we got right, and whether or not we got the last number from 1 to 15. The second column shows the prize and the third the prize less our investment of a dollar per ticket. In the fourth column, we have the odds of getting each outcome, as per the Mega Millions website. In the fifth column, we convert those odds into a probability between zero and one by taking the reciprocal of the odds. Finally, we multiply together our winnings less investment by the probability, and sum these up, giving us the expected value.
Notice that by far our most likely outcome is that we get none of the numbers right. There is about a 93% chance that we just wind up losing our dollar. Despite this, since the jackpot is so enormously high right now, our average winnings are a nice positive $1.63, indicating that we should consider buying a ticket.
Another notable property of Mega Millions is that the lower prizes do not help us too much. Without that jackpot, the expected value is a very unhappy —$0.82. So, Mega Millions really is all about the jackpot.
You might also like
Mobile Application (Giga Millions)
Ware Man Cashes In $390000 Lottery Ticket Hours Before It Expires — CBS Local
But that changed when Cote drove to Massachusetts Lottery headquarters in Braintree with his winning ticket, claiming a one-time cash payment of $390,000 before taxes.
Popular Q&A
How does the California Mega Million Lottery work?
Find a store that sells lottery tickets. In California your gas station or local 7-Eleven should sell these tickets.