text:
Protection Framework Guidance: Kosovo Situation - Revision 1
- Document source:
30 April 1999
Definitional Issues/Terminology
· the majority of those displaced outside the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the current circumstances are properly considered refugees - they are displaced because of conflict or on account of well-founded fear of persecution based on their ethnicity, imputed political opinion and/or religion[1]. The deportation of important numbers was one means by which the forced flight was effected. It does not change their refugee character as persons unable to return to their country for refugee relevant reasons;
· they ought to be referred to by UNHCR staff and others (NATO, OSCE, IOM and other partners in the operation) as refugees. If, however, citizens remain in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, they are internally displaced persons - except of course, those who are already refugees, such as the Krajina Serbs or Bosnian Serbs already living as refugees in the FRY. This group may be experiencing secondary displacement;
· the use of terms such as "deportee" or "expellee" should be avoided, in order to avoid any confusion about the true refugee character of the people affected by the current circumstances and their experience (this may be especially important for the future, with respect to treatment in asylum countries and documentation and return issues);
· the fact that these are refugees either under the 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol or under the extended refugee definition, should inform all the actions taken by UNHCR and its operational partners; that is, it should be the backdrop to their treatment.
Access to Safety/Refoulement
· in accordance with the principle of non-refoulement, which is an accepted norm of customary international law as well as being specifically set out in article 33 of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, the refugees must not be returned to a country where their lives or freedom may be threatened;
· refoulement can take a number of forms, including non-admission at the frontier and interdiction at sea. Any such action would be in contravention of international law, and if done by a State party to the 1951 Convention, would be a breach of that State's obligations under the Convention.
Protection of Refugees in Host Family Situations
· where refugees are lodged with host families rather than in collective centres, there is the potential that their exposure to particular protection problems may be greater, including the risk of financial or sexual exploitation, and military recruitment. They may also lack access to information and services important to their protection needs (for example, family tracing), particularly in Albania, a country which lacks adequate infrastructure and law and order;
· given their relative isolation in host families, it is important that satisfactory arrangements are made for refugees to know how to contact agencies which can help to protect them and solve their problems and to this end, community services officers, field officers, protection officers and NGOs have a particular role to play;
· radio and television programmes and announcements, the establishment of offices or centres where those lodged in host families can go to obtain information and seek advice, as well as community projects to improve the ability of refugees and host families to cope with their situation are all possible mechanisms for enhancing protection, as is the option of movement to more secure collective centres for those experiencing difficulties in a host family situation.
Groups/Persons with Special Protection Needs
· attempts must be made (for example, through interviews with arrivals, through the registration process and through contacts with medical/other NGOs and partners) to identify and provide appropriate treatment/solutions for those with particular protection needs as soon as possible;
· in particular, unaccompanied and separated children will require quick identification, and arrangements should be made without delay for their care, tracing, protection from unwarranted evacuation and other appropriate interventions, such as provision of recreational activities and materials;
· other groups which may be identified as having special protection needs include:
· women, especially those who are single heads of households and adolescent girls (e.g. hygiene kits, reproductive health care, protection from exploitation)
· victims of torture and other severe forms of abuse, including especially victims of sexual violence (e.g. appropriate counselling, medical and other care as well as protection of privacy)
· seriously ill, handicapped or disturbed persons (e.g. identification and medical or rehabilitative care, other forms of support)
· unaccompanied elderly (e.g. support and protection from exploitation)
· those targeted for military recruitment, especially minors (e.g. particular preventive measures should be undertaken to ensure that this danger does not materialise.)
Security/Militarisation Issues
· given the situation of conflict in Kosovo province, refugee settlements must be located a safe distance from the border to avoid any spillover effects of the conflict;
· the civilian character of refugee settlements must be preserved and to this end:
· camps/settlements/collective centres should be located a reasonable distance away from the border
· military recruitment and lodging of fighters in the camps/settlements/collective centres must be prevented to the extent possible, with state responsibility for separation of armed elements from the civilian population being explicitly promoted
· particular care should be taken to ensure non-recruitment of children and adolescents (and it should be noted that the danger of this type of recruitment may grow)
· management of the sites must to the extent possible be in independent hands and disassociated from direct parties to the conflict
· all reasonable steps should be taken to ensure that assistance is not channelled out of the camps/settlements to fighters;
· if the civilian character of the settlement is threatened, consideration must be given immediately to adequate measures to address the threat (e.g. use of armed guards, change in management, identification and separation of fighters).
· given that
· UNHCR has a role with respect to avoidance and reduction of statelessness;
· there has been relatively widespread destruction of identity and property ownership documents, and
· the government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has formerly, in the context of Bosnia (and implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement), accepted "Principles on Citizenship Legislation" that include the following: "where documentary information relating to citizenship is not accessible or cannot be obtained within a reasonable time, each State should allow such persons to provide this information by other means, including statements made by or for such persons"
it is essential that an adequate registration of refugees, in collaboration with or under the supervision of UNHCR, be undertaken as soon as possible in order to preserve information which can later be used to prove identity and citizenship;
· essential elements to record as quickly as possible include:
· name, parents' names, maiden name (if applicable)
· family composition and current location
· place of residence before displacement
· place of origin
· date and place of birth
· state of documents (in possession, left behind, confiscated/destroyed etc.)
· names, relationship, last known location of family members left behind in Kosovo or otherwise separated from the family
· names, relationship, status and addresses of family members abroad, and
· immediate circumstances of flight;
· each head of household should be provided with a copy of the family registration document, at a minimum;
· each adult refugee or displaced person should receive an identification document to show his or her status (at a minimum this could be a UNHCR letter);
· UNHCR should ensure that the registration information recorded is transmitted to and kept in a safe and neutral location (preferably in the Archives and Records Section of UNHCR headquarters in Geneva) in order to ensure both its preservation and its credibility;
· registration systems used in different countries receiving refugees from Kosovo should be compatible in order to facilitate tracing of family members.
Humanitarian Evacuation from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
· the possibility of humanitarian evacuation is a tool at UNHCR's disposal to ensure, in these very exceptional circumstances, that effective protection is available to the Kosovo refugees until such time as they are able to return home. It should be approached, albeit within the following parameters, as such;
· the limited purpose of the humanitarian evacuation has been to reduce the number of refugees arriving in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia after 24 March 1999, in order that, in the particular circumstances of that country, it can cope with the influx of persons it is currently experiencing from Kosovo by sharing the responsibility for the care of the refugees with other states;
· standard resettlement procedures and criteria do not apply, unless required by law in the receiving countries; humanitarian evacuation does not focus, as does resettlement, on addressing individual protection needs. Rather, it moves groups of refugees so that all in need of protection can have access to safety. Its essential features are its speed and its size;
· no links should be made between humanitarian evacuation quotas and resettlement quotas, which must not be negatively effected by this emergency response;
· any evacuation must be on a strictly voluntary basis; the consent must be an informed one in the sense that the volunteers must
· know which is the destination country
· preferably be well-informed of the planned conditions of stay there
· not be subjected to pressure to accept evacuation;
· humanitarian evacuation must not be undertaken (and UNHCR should dissociate itself from evacuation) unless the following conditions are met:
· at least a rudimentary registration has occurred, recording at a minimum, the name, place of origin, family members' names and informed consent of the participant to go to the offered evacuation site
· all family members present in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are going together; in no circumstances should families be separated against their will
· all family members are medically fit to travel, or are cleared to travel with specific medical facilities, or because the medical condition is the reason for the evacuation;
· prioritisation for participation in the evacuation should take into account:
· special medical or other needs in so far as are known, and
· family or other links in the proposed country of evacuation;
· this being said, there is a need to keep in mind the purpose of the evacuation and the importance of avoiding confusion between resettlement and this programme; reunification of immediate family members should remain a priority generally for UNHCR, but reunified families should not subsequently be split when the period of protection following evacuation expires;
· if only a rudimentary registration is possible pre-departure, a full registration is necessary upon/shortly after arrival in the destination country (see Documentation section).
Protection to be Provided to the Refugees
· as the persons displaced by the current conflict are refugees within UNHCR's mandate, ideally they should be recognised as such and treated consistently with this status;
· however, given the large numbers, the rapidity of flight and arrival and the current circumstances in the main receiving countries, it is clear that this effectively will not be possible for the majority of the displaced and that hence what is needed is a device to respond to the exceptional aspects of the problem without compromising the integrity of the Convention system;
· where Kosovar refugees are not provided with access to asylum procedures, they should at a minimum enjoy a form of temporary protection, in fact if not in name. In these exceptional circumstances, the application of the Convention could be temporarily suspended, albeit with the clear understanding that the Convention must have a place in determining protection needs at the time of return;
· the refugees must be admitted to safety and treated in accordance with the following minimum standards:
· protection from refoulement, preferably with a legal or other form of enforceable basis for remaining in the country of protection;
· respect for basic human rights and dignity, including access to means of subsistence (access to work or social services, or to international assistance), shelter, health care, clothing, and depending on the length of stay, some form of education for children;
· the ability to join families when different members are enjoying protection in different countries, both in the context of humanitarian evacuation and otherwise. In this regard, states should exercise the highest degree of flexibility in facilitating bilaterally the reunification of separated family members;
· the link to 1951 Convention must be recognised and respected: beneficiaries are not barred from applying for asylum when their provisional protection ends;
· where one or more beneficiaries express serious, protection-related concerns about return when their protection ends, these should be considered by the authorities, usually within the framework of the 1951 Convention;
· refugees should normally enjoy the right to choose their place of residence and to move freely within the territory of the country of asylum, subject only to the regulations applicable to aliens generally in the same circumstances;
· it is, nonetheless, accepted that in situations of large influx, there may be specific legitimate concerns of the country of asylum which might warrant some limited restrictions. This will normally occur in the context of refugees living collectively, especially in situations of mass influx where other living arrangements may not be feasible or available. In such a case, however, refugees and asylum-seekers should not be subjected to restrictions on their movements other than those which are necessary in the interest of public health and public order, or their own security;
· in any event, refugees must have access to UNHCR and the ability to contact advisers and family members and generally to communicate with the outside world.
· these basic standards are the bare minimum which should be accorded; the treatment provided for the Kosovars should in no case be less than what is spelled out in these guidelines, and UNHCR would hope that it would in fact be of a higher standard in most cases.
Tertiary Movement
· some concern has been expressed that refugees evacuated under the humanitarian evacuation scheme might move in an irregular manner from their evacuation country to other countries;
· in accordance with the stated policy on those who move after having already found protection in an asylum country, there should be an analysis of the refugees' reasons for moving. If these are protection related and justified, those who have moved should be provided with protection in the final destination country;
· if there is no protection-related justification for the move, the refugees may be returned to the country of evacuation to resume their protected status there, and evacuating states should readmit them to the territory and to the same status they enjoyed prior to their departure.
· resettlement is geared primarily to the protection needs of individual refugees under UNHCR's mandate whose lives, liberty, safety, health or other fundamental human rights are at risk in the country where they sought refuge. The resettlement decision is usually taken when there is no alternative way to guarantee the legal or physical security of the person concerned;
· the resettlement option may be pursued for individual cases of those fleeing Kosovo on the basis of need, and identified cases should be referred to the Resettlement Section in DIP for consideration and, if appropriate, resettlement action;
· UNHCR's regular resettlement criteria and policy will be applied in dealing with such cases;
· resettlement should not be "a victim" of humanitarian evacuation, either through regular resettlement quotas being reduced to accommodate humanitarian evacuation, or through resettlement not being available to individual refugees because temporary protection is the norm;
· family reunification is an important way to preserve or restore the basic dignity and in some cases enhance the security of a refugee's life. In this context it is an element in resettlement and should continue be so for Kosovars.
Questions of Status Determination
· the majority of those fleeing Kosovo will not, for the time being, have their status determined in individual proceedings. Most will be afforded some form of provisional protection, until such time as the situation stabilises. Nevertheless, there are status determination questions which are starting to be raised, even in the context of provisional protection. The following comments address these issues, but are not exhaustive;
· persons fleeing military service - whether they are deserters from service or are evading a call-up, are not normally, merely on account of their refusal to perform military service, considered to be refugees. However, draft evaders and deserters may qualify for refugee status if they are conscientious objectors and no alternative service is available; or if the penalty they would suffer for their refusal would be disproportionately severe on account of a Convention reason (e.g. because of their ethnicity or religion). Conscientious objection includes cases where a refusal to perform military service is justified on other human rights grounds - for example, that they would be required to engage in war crimes or crimes against humanity as part of their service;
· given the nature of the present conflict - which involves reliable reports of serious human rights violations and other crimes by parties to the present conflict, many based on grounds of ethnicity or imputed political opinion - there will be cases where refusal to perform military service could justify refugee status;
· equally, the reliable reports of human rights violations committed by supporters of both sides in the conflict also suggest that there may be cases which will warrant exclusion of the individual on the basis of article 1 (F) of the 1951 Convention. In cases where there are clear indications of factors which might lead to excluding an individual from refugee status, full interviews ought to be undertaken at as early a stage as possible by the appropriate authorities and the cases reviewed, with a view to identifying those who should be excluded.
Return Considerations
· it is clear that return is certainly not something to be promoted now, prematurely, for reasons of safety. It is, nonetheless, important to begin early the thinking process regarding return, in order to position the Office to take appropriate steps in a timely manner. The following is by no means an exhaustive list, particularly as regards Kosovo-specific considerations; these are no more than general framework issues;
· return will be the preferable durable solution for the vast majority of those displaced by the current circumstances in Kosovo. As mandated by its Statute, UNHCR will have the responsibility to ensure that return is carried out in safety and with dignity, and to conditions which will be sustainable, non-discriminatory and respectful of the rights of the returnees;
· return in safety signifies return which takes place under conditions of legal safety (such as amnesties or public assurances of personal safety, integrity, non-discrimination and freedom from fear of persecution or punishment upon return); physical safety (including protection from armed attacks, and mine-free routes and if not mine-free then at least demarcated settlement sites); and material security (access to land or means of livelihood);
· return with dignity requires that returnees are treated with respect and full acceptance by their national authorities, including the full restoration of their rights;
· in the specific circumstances of return to Kosovo, the following elements will be particularly important:
· the causes which led to the exodus should be alleviated;
· the principle of family unity must be respected;
· respect for the right to return to the place of origin must be guaranteed;
· amnesties and official guarantees of non-arrest and non-prosecution for certain crimes should be given (there will be difficult issues to determine in the consideration of amnesties, including both the crimes to which they will apply and the efficacy of the guarantees provided);
· specific, articulated guarantees for recognition of citizenship and acceptance of available evidence of identity and nationality should exist (again, the implementation and enforceability of the guarantees will be key);
· agreed implementation of a robust monitoring system must be guaranteed, preferably by a strong and respected international presence;
· re-building judicial capacity and respect for the rule of law should be in train;
· re-creating the infrastructure, and re-building homes which have been destroyed by the conflict will be a key factor in making return sustainable;
· return from outside the region raises additional issues, including access for individuals to 1951 Convention protection, as necessary.
Standards and Legal Advice Section
Department of International Protection
30 April 1999
[1] This is the case for the Kosovo Albanians. Others fleeing the province may be Convention refugees as well, for instance, Serbian and other conscientious objectors. Others, Serbs and other ethnic groups, may be refugees in the broader mandate sense, that is, as victims of indiscriminate violence. Still others may not be refugees, because, for example, they are excluded from protection by the terms of the Convention.
Disclaimer: © UNHCR


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subset: commoncrawl


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This article is more than 1 year old
US doc demands $1.5m for donated organ
Missus runs off with kids, kidney
A US doctor is demanding his ex-missus stump $1.5m after she ran off with their three kids and one of his kidneys, the New York Daily News reports.
Richard Batista, 49, donated the organ to his wife Dawnell eight years ago in an attempt to salvage their foundering marriage. She'd already suffered two failed transplants when hubby offered a renal lifeline, discovering his kidney was a match at odds of 700,000-to-1.
The Nassau University Medical Center surgeon said: "My first priority was to save her life. The second bonus was to turn our marriage around."
Sadly, while the first wish came true, the second wasn't to be. While a revitalised Dawnell Batista quickly "returned to school to earn a master's degree in nursing, and took up karate", the marriage survived just another four years. Richard Batista recounted that "after an injury suffered while trying to earn her black belt" (in karate, not nursing), his wife "began physical therapy - which evolved into an affair with her therapist".
He said: "It put a hole in my heart that still exists. To this day, I'm a man of pride. To be betrayed that way, humiliated - I can't even begin to say."
Dr Batista claims his former partner "slapped me with divorce papers when I was in surgery trying to save another person's life", and that he hasn't seen his three daughters in months.
Accordingly, the cuckolded, demirenal and evidently rather pissed off chap has decided to charge the mother of his children the aforementioned 1.5m bucks for the use of his kidney.
The case is apparently - and unsurprisingly, let's face it - "the first of its kind in New York State". Julia Rivera of the New York Organ Donor Network summed the whole thing up nicely with: "This is extraordinary." ®
If you want to read more about the sorry tale of the Batistas, and in particular hubby's near-God experience at his post-transplant missus's bedside, do so at your peril here.


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US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has urged protesting loyalists to end street violence in Northern Ireland amid heightening fears of further trouble at demonstrations against a decision to restrict the flying of the Union flag at Belfast City Hall.
A death threat against the east Belfast MP Naomi Long marked a serious escalation in tensions after arson attacks on offices used by her non-sectarian Alliance Party.
Even though Unionist Party leaders, including the Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson, called for a suspension of planned protests until the new year, security chiefs are gearing up for sporadic outbreaks of new violence, especially in the greater Belfast area.
Loyalists have targeted the Alliance Party after blaming them for backing the nationalist SDLP and Sinn Fein to push through a vote to limit the flying of the flag to designated days.
Mrs Clinton who met Mr Robinson and the deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness at Stormont Castle before returning to America at the end of a brief European tour, said the threat on Ms Long's life was absolutely unacceptable.
Mrs Clinton said: "There will always be disagreement in democratic societies, but violence is never an acceptable response to those disagreements. All parties need to confront the remaining challenge of sectarian divisions, peacefully together."
With loyalists threatening another protest in Belfast on Saturday - expected to be the busiest shopping day so far this year - Mrs Clinton said: "People have strong feelings, but you must not use violence as a means of expressing those strong feelings.
"The only path forward is a peaceful democratic one. There can be no place in the new Northern Ireland for any violence. The remnants of the past need to be quickly, unequivocally condemned. Democracy requires dialogue, compromise and constant commitment by everyone to protect the rights of everyone."
Belfast City Hall is now one of many civic buildings across Northern Ireland, including Parliament Buildings, Stormont, where the flying of the flag is limited to designated dates, such as the Queen's Birthday.
Mr Robinson, who claimed the City Hall vote was divisive and provocative, revealed that his Democratic Unionist Party had submitted a motion in a bid to begin a process to extend the number of days the flag is hoisted at Stormont.


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3D computer animation, travel, film, photography, technology, health, life, inspiration... and a few extra helpings of enthusiasm. ;)
Friday, December 31, 2010
Skype Video Chat for iPhone
Now I'm just waiting for the rumoured Verizon iPhone...
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
iPod Touch digitizer replacement... oy
The guy kindly suggested there were "alternative solutions online", though he mentioned the iPod Touch 2nd Gen screen was a bit harder than others to remove.
I looked into it and it looks like you can buy some "prying tools" for about $4 on Ebay made specifically for iPod screen removal. Sweet. You have to do it carefully as there is some ribbon cable attached that you will rip if you do it too quickly.
After that you remove the screen and digitizer (that, apparently is what is busted in my iPod). You then attach the new one, snap it back together somehow and voila, new iPod.
This sounds a little nerve-wracking and they said you can crack the glass when you open it, but the replacement part comes with glass and the digitizer together which is pretty sweet.
Given that the replacement part is as cheap as about $15 online, and the tools are $5, I think I am going to at least try this out and see if I can get it to work. Pretty nuts but it's worth a shot.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Singapore/Malaysia Day 6: Videos: SkyBar club
An awesome night out at SkyBar in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Great view of the Petronas Towers, good tunes, and a fiery beverage - Absinthe prepared Bohemian style.
Singapore/Malaysia Day 6: Laksa is gross / Off to Kuala Lumpur
November 26, 2010
Malaysia Day 6: Off to Kuala Lumpur
Breakfast was great this morning, I got to try dragonfruit for the first time! After the eyeball-curry extravaganza last night I wanted to stick with "safe" foods (at least for this morning). The dragonfruit sure looked crazy (it looked like a sliced Hershey's Cookies and Creme chocolate bar) but it was on the fruit table next to the kiwis, so I knew I was safe and it wasn't reindeer intestines or something.
Matt and I headed to work and got Kopi at the same place as yesterday, that stuff is so good. We had quite a busy day at work, took part in a goodbye photo for Tad (he rocks) who is sadly leaving next week and went down to the Hawker center below the office building for some good Indian Food. I got a freshly squeezed Mango/Grape/Orange juice and it rocked. We found a snack store which sells a lot of Australian/Britishy candy, so I was excited for that. There was Cadbury Dairy Milk, as well as Fruitips fruit pastilles in weird flavours (Mango, Litchi). Sweet.
After work we took the MRT train only 1 stop to the airport! Amazing!! It was so quick. We checked in and headed to go find some pre-flight dinner. We found "Chicken Laksa" - a sort of chicken variant of the famed Laksa soup. There were lots of Halal logos everywhere and although it often has pork or shellfish in it, it appeared I could finally try the Laksa. Or so we thought! As it turns out, Laksa smells like smelly socked feet.
A quick disclaimer: this *was* in the Chiangi airport low-cost terminal food court, but that shouldn't be a good excuse as to why the Laksa smelled like a punch to the face. The food at Crystal Jade in the other terminal is some of the best Chinese food I ever had. Ergo: Laksa is gross.
Matt spotted the potential gross-ness of my food choice and lined up at a fried chicken place called "Texas Chicken". As he was lined up, I asked him to secure me a backup plan in case the soup was terrible and tasted as bad as it smelled (it did). I just got a small combo of Chicken and Fries... and Matt said, "That's it?" with a very correct presumption that I would be eating the backup plan in its entirety. It turns out that was a great call. "This smells like Laksa!" would become our catch-phrase any time we walked by something rank. Sorry Singapore - we like that you like Laksa, but we can't handle it.
We arrived in KL pretty quickly. The flight was only 45 min and we got to the LCCT (Low-Cost Carrier Terminal), and walked off one of those funny staircases onto the tarmac. Our plan was to take the KLIA express train as-per Lonely Planet's instructions but we were not at the main terminal, so that was not an option. We asked around for some information and a Muslim couple gave us the details re: catching a 1hr bus instead. We headed for the bus and it was a super cheap option, only 9 RM - approx $3!! That kind of airport transfer bus would have been $30 in Toronto!! We spent about 1 hr on the bus, and it started raining for a few minutes on the way into the center of Kuala Lumpur.
We got to KL Sentral station and then headed to the Subway to go to KLCC. We got out at the Suria KLCC mall - most things were closed but it looked pretty awesome. We then walked to Trader's Hotel, and asked someone for directions: "Turn over there, go straight and... huhhh!" the man said as he flung his arm upwards. The "huhhh!" meant, "It's a schlep". We were carrying only our hand-luggage so that wasn't too bad but it was still quite warm outside. We ended up going a very strange, backwards way to the hotel, through some construction zone action and finally arrived there about 30 min later. We got into the hotel and it looked REALLY fancy and awesome. This was a good choice (thanks, TripAdvisor!) We'd researched this in advance and it was #2 on the recommended list of 100+ hotels in KL on TripAdvisor, and we were totally psyched.
Up we went to the 18th floor, checked into our sick room, and it was great. Thankfully everything we requested worked out - high floor number, 2 beds, PETRONAS TOWERS VIEW!!!! This was perfect. It was so sick. The hotel was really fancy and well set-up, there was a marble bathroom, a cool sliding glass door shower, a "chaise", a loungey couch thing, etc.
We headed up to the SkyBar which we'd heard was a popular spot... and it was only a change-from-shorts-to-long-pants and an elevator ride away from our room. And it turns out it WAS AMAZING!!!!!!! There was a pool in the middle of the room which was super slick (and a bit hazardous, if you think about it!) but lots of non-slip mats around the pool :) It gave a great ambiance and there were lounge couches everywhere, even in the window-wells with a view of the Petronas Towers. It was soooo baller. I got a fancy Mojito and a moment later a waiter came up to us and said, "Do you guys want a seat?" They led us to a couch with a great view, and there was certainly a lot of people-watching to be done as well. :)
There were tons of people there, as we were chillin', a whole bunch of people wandered by, dancing and having a great time. The music was AWESOME. Really great DJ, awesome ambiance and view of the KLCC and the pool really added to the mystique of the place. Very cool. Great club music, perfect for the setting. There was an astonishingly large amount of beautiful people there, and everyone was dressed up to the nines. No wonder they said no shorts allowed, and thank goodness Matt had an extra pair of jeans I could borrow! It was also very multicultural there, which was neat. I heard some British accents, and saw lots of Indian, Chinese, Malaysian, African people. Amazing! Everyone was really well dressed and it was such a cool and classy place. I was so glad we went.
The drinks were pretty expensive but fancy, and we wanted to prolong the night a bit because it was super fun there and the view and music were amazing. They had a 52% and a 68% Absinthe on the menu which sounded cool, you could get "French or Bohemian-style"?! I had no idea what that meant so I asked the waiter which one was the most popular. This turned out to be the equivalent of ordering a Bananas Foster dessert in California. The waiter prepared it "Bohemian Style" which involves a sugar cube lit on fire and then he repeatedly lit the drink in the cup on fire. It was very cool! I guess Absinthe has a weird rep from when it was bootlegged years and years ago and made a whole bunch of French poets crazy or something. But nowaways it's just a regular drink and I've even seen it at the LCBO in Canada. The lighting-on-fire-ness of the preparation was really cool and elicited some attention from people around us, "What is that?!" the guy beside us asked. That was funny.
After the excitement at the 32nd floor SkyBar, we had a quick wander outside in KLCC park. It was dark but I was driven to find a Campus Pizza-style pizza vendor selling late night Pizza and garlic-parmesan sauce. Matt reminded me that this was not Waterloo, Ontario, and we'd probably be better off getting some room service instead. We headed back to the room for 2:30am ish and checked the room service menu - it was so cheap! The most affordable room service I've ever seen. I ordered an excellent Fish and Chips meal for only $10, including taxes and service fees. Crazy. This included the regular 10% tax and 5% service fee, but there was no "late night $20 surcharge" like in Scottsdale, Arizona at the Maya Developers Conference. :)
The food was super good and we were asleep by about 3:45am. We knew exactly what time it was because there was a HUGE LED clock building right outside our window - like a huge alarm clock. We slept with the window shades open so we could admire the glorious view of Kuala Lumpur. A great start to an exciting weekend!
Urrggh, Chicken Laksa from the airport! We were told that this was one of the favourite dishes of Singapore. Maybe it was just because it was from the Low-Cost Terminal, but it smelled like socked feet!
SkyBar on top of the Traders' Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. View of the Petronas Towerrrrss!!
So siiiiiiiiick!!! KL!!!!!!!!!
Matt and Me at the SkyBar in KL
What a sick view!!
The party was REALLY bumpin' up there and we were wondering why it was so packed. Turns out it was a special event - "Africa Night". So awesome!!
Then we took a wander looking for Campus Pizza-like Pizza or something tasty for a late night. We found only an abandoned city park and no people. :) Oh yeah, and the sweet Petronas Towers.
We gave up on a food search and walked back to the hotel - and then realized that room service was really cheap!! Cabernet rockin' some Pad Thai.
I got a super good fish and chips meal for like $10!
Friday, December 17, 2010
Singapore/Malaysia Day 5: Fish Head Curry
November 25, 2010
Singapore Day 5: Fish Head Curry
I was up at 5am again this morning and was totally awake so I just got up and checked email and Facebook. I was so awake that it wasn't worth going back to sleep, so I got up and started taking photos of the Singapore skyline. I headed down to breakfast early and laughed for the 100th time at the overenthusiastic elevator in our hotel that said, "Door... ooopening!" every time the doors opened. Absolutely hilarious.
My time zone is still pretty off but it's working out well for getting into work at a good time. We headed to work and got some Kopi on the way - it is SO sweet. This is the Singaporean-style coffee, and it has a LOT of condensed milk in it. Super good. It also came with a hilarious plastic bag handle, which I laughed about for like the entire day. At work in the morning it was Roti Prata day, which was soooo good too. There was some nice spicy Fish Curry sauce and you poured that onto the flat naan-like pancakes, which you had just "chopped up" by using a pair of scissors! Funny. I had a great chat with Malcolm and we enjoyed the awesome breakfast food.
After the morning of work, we headed for lunch with Nigel to a place called Old Town, which is famous for their white coffee and "3-in-1" coffee (a to-go pack which contains instant coffee, milk, and sugar - you just add water). I got "Nasi lemak" which is a variant of Chicken Rice (which, I found out, is just chicken with rice!) It was really good and quite spicy, it came with lots of chili sauce and Nigel was impressed that I ate all of the sauce with the rice. It was a sort of fried chicken, with coconut rice and also with small dried anchovies and roasted peanuts on the side. I also got a very sweet Rose float, and tried my first Teh Tarek!! This is "pulled tea", and is very famous in Singapore. (From Wikipedia: "Its name is derived from the pouring process of "pulling" the drink during preparation. It is made from black tea and condensed milk.") It was very good, and was a bit like a Tea made out of coffee! It was very strongly brewed but sweet from the condensed milk. I loved it. It was SO good!! Nigel also got us some Kaya Butter toast to try - Nigel had brought us some Kaya to SF when he last came to visit, but it tasted different in the Singaporean style with butter on brown toast. Nigel said it was important that the toast was crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside. It was great.
We got back for a busy afternoon at work and then... rain!!!!!! We finished off the day and went to go meet Charissa and Ian and I was SO jetlagged that I couldn't form a sentence. Everyone laughed, I must have sounded super crazy. WuiYi, Nigel, Matt and I walked to WuiYi's car and they kindly drove us to the restaurant. Matt and I were WAY super hyperactive due to the jetlag and lack of sleep, and we were acting super crazy in the car. I'm glad Nigel and WuiYi have a good sense of humour and are patient people :) We were NUTS!! We drove to an area near Orchard for Indian Food, and the place looked amazing.
We sat down at the restaurant and they had Banana Leaf placemats! I've never seen this before, and it was a great sign that we were about to try something very authentic. I saw an Indian couple on the way in, scooping up rice in their hands and dipping naan into their curry with their hands and it seemed oh-so authentic! Very cool. We got the rice first and they poured it right onto our placemats... awesome! Then out came the Naan and it was very interesting and SO good - I tried a "Chili Naan" which was unbelievably awesome, I've never tried any Naan like it ever before. So good!!!!!!!!! Then out came all the curries - Brinjul (Eggplant), Chicken Tikka, Chicken Curry, Mutton, and even Squid (Matt tried that one and said it was "very different"). I ordered a Lime juice (which was very good) and Matt got a coconut to drink! Haha!!
And then, the piece de resistance... Fish Head Curry (*ack!*). The curry itself was very good but incredibly spicy - I dipped my Naan in there and it was a spicy one. The Fish Head was literally in the bowl of curry and was pretty amazingly gross. Hah. I was enticed by Andy to try the cheek part, "it's the most tender part" - and it was quite good. The sauce with vegetables was nice and VERY spicy.
And then came the eyeballs. Ahh!!!!!!!! For some reason I was particularly grossed out but some people at the table were totally fearless!! Charissa ate one instantly, no problem, and Andy too!! Wow!!!!!! They were totally fearless and I was amazed. Ed even said that he enjoyed the eyeballs and there was a limit on them - one Fish Head curry, only 2 eyeballs! So he said if everyone else didn't want one, then he would have wanted one! Wow. This was definitely an experience to remember :) I "turned the colour of the lime juice" (turned green/yellow, haha) when Nigel suggested I eat one, but then Matt saved the day by saying, "I'll eat it!" He said it was Jello-y and it sounded soo grooosss!!! haha!! Wow. I hope I was good entertainment for the locals who were very comfortable with the idea of eyeballs, and I hope they were amused by how nervous I was, haha. :) Andy summed it up well, "It's all in your head" - I think that's probably why I was so worked up. It was truly amazing that the local Singapore folks ate the eyeballs with such ease! Also, Matt is crazy! Quite an evening, indeed.
After that we joked about the curry and started calling it "Eyeball curry" instead of "Fish Head curry". Our kind Singapore hosts drove us back to our hotel and we had a quick dessert of cheesecake and I did some laundry and wound-down for the night. I tried the TV for the first night but found only some random movies like "The House Bunny" - interesting choice for export from the US!
And off to bed, to dream of flying fish...
I woke up at 5am, so instead of going back to bed, I took photos of the Singapore skyline. :)
Quiet streets
The Merlion awakes!
More people up too early like me
The view from our balcony area
Cool building near our hotel with a Star of David on it
Kopi coffee with a HILARIOUS plastic bag handle, and Roti Prata for breakfast (mmm)
Friends at breakfast time
Chocolossus!!!!!! You are a champ.
The most Australian grin, ever. :)
Nigel excited for lunch
Me and a huge Rose float
Dinnertime at the Indian Restaurant which will now be famous for the "eyeball curry incident"
Excited for dinner
Lime Juice was a good choice!
Ian being super crazy!!
Me rockin' the banana-leaf placemats
"Wait, is this a napkin?"
Here comes the tasty curry!
Andy showing off all the different tasty curry options
Chicken Curries, and notice the rice directly on our banana-leaf placemats!
A squiddy/squid-ink curry
Nigel stirring the pot... of Fish Head Curry!!!!!!! Right after this, everyone started eating the eyeballs. Then I turned green. Then Matt ate an eyeball... and history was made.
Matt going for it!!!!!!
Matt not sure about the eyeball...
Matt contemplating his decision to eat an eyeball - "That's sortof the point of Fish Head curry!"
Singapore/Malaysia Day 4: Chinese Food and Orchard Road
November 24, 2010
Singapore Day 4: Chinese Food and Orchard Road
The jetlag woke me up again early, but this time only at 6:30 which was pretty sweet. I went down for breakfast and caught up on my journal. Across the road is a 24-hr bakery called Hanis Cafe and Bakery, but from the dining room at the hotel it looks like it says "Hanks". Upstairs at the building which houses Hanis Bakery is a Kaplan Learning Center, but from the view across the road I could sware they have a large-sized rectangular Toy Story 3 Colourscript on the wall. :) So Matt and I started joking that Pixar's (well, non-existent) Singapore office was across the road and we started calling the bakery "Tom Hanks" (get it, he's in Toy Story) instead of "Hanis." Yes, this is how a jet-lagged computer scientist's brain works. Don't ask me, I just work here. :)
And off to work! We are teaching a lot of classes here and the classes started today, which was awesome. After the morning of discussions/emails/work, we met up with Nigel and Chris and took off to Chiangi Airport for some amazing Chinese food. We got "Drunken" chicken, eggs in different styles, a fish & tofu with chili (which was AMAZING!!) and a Beef and Mushrooms dish (SO GOOD!!!!!!!) This was really great food and it's so funny it was at the airport! Not like SFO - where you might find a Starbucks if you're lucky and you will definitely find a $12 sandwich with brown lettuce and gross bread. :) So that was totally amazing!
We got back to work and found a Wall's Ice Cream guy outside of the office! Yes!! I was going to have my chance to try the Durian Ice Cream "Sandwich" that Matt had talked about! Instead of putting your ice cream in a cup or a cone, you can choose wafers (boring) or a sort of food colouring-infused Neopolitan Bread, which they fold in half and put your Ice Cream in between! The guy sliced a huge rectangle of Ice Cream and laughed at me when I excitedly ordered the Durian flavour. They had some "normal" kinds too like Coffee, Mint Chocolate, and... uh... Yam (?!) but I wanted to get Durian for sure. The first half was good, it was awesome to have Ice Cream on a hot day, and it was so weird that it was on a slice of white bread. So weird! But about halfway through, the Durian flavour started to get the upper-hand, and it started taking on a distinct flavour of Thanksgiving dinner, and Onions. Gross, and awesome!!
We got back inside to work and Charissa told us she was planning a dinner for us for tomorrow night. Matt is obsessed with the Xiao Long Bao soup dumplings (or "XLB" for short), so Charissa gave us a great recommendation for dinner. She recommended "Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao" in Ngee Ann City/Takashimaya Mall at Orchard Road.
After a great first day of teaching, we headed to Orchard Road after work. This is an INSANE shopping area, with lots of beautiful lights. But... it's a lot like Union Square in some ways - Tiffany's, Ermenegildo Zegna, Gucci, etc. Our first impression was that there was a LOT of High End stuff only. We saw like 1,000 Coach and Louis Vuitton stores. There are only so many high-fashion handbags that we needed to purchase (haha) so we took off from the really fancy area and wandered around a bit. Eventually we found a Marks and Spencer and got some British candy. Then in the sea of pricey stuff... Uni Qlo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes, Uni Qlo!!!!!!! This was the so-called "Asian Gap" that I loved in Japan last year and was trying to find at the Narita Airport. So awesome!! I was really excited to see it. We took a quick look but we were tired and they were closing up at about 10pm so we decided to head back to Dhoby Ghaut. The weather was a little cooler today, maybe even a bit less humid. (Still 26 C though!)
On the way home, I got a few juices for the hotel room (they had Ribena! So British!) We got back to the hotel rooms early and I called Mom for her Birthday with my iPod Touch, external microphone and Skype. Fancy!
After a long day of excitement and humidity and food, it was time for a good sleep. This time, to bed by 12! Good stuff.
Out for Chinese Food at Chiangi Airport, Terminal 3!
"Drunken Chicken" - it was good
Ice Cream "Sandwich" cart guy!! This was amazing. You could get an Ice Cream (literal) "Sandwich" - see the stack of food colouring-infused bread on top of the plastic bin? They cut a rectangular block of Ice Cream and then fold it up in the bread! Amazing.
Matt, Me, and a foggy lens
Re-touched to remove some of the fogginess. This is me eating a Durian Ice Cream "Sandwich" - literally a rectangular block of Durian-flavoured Ice Cream inside of a folded piece of bread. Oh, Singapore.
At this point through the Durian Ice Cream Sandwich, I was still happy to be eating Ice Cream on a warm, humid day. A moment later, the Durian turned on me and it started tasting less like Ice Cream and more like a Thanksgiving Turkey dinner with Onions. Gross. But I still ate it all. It rocked.
We took Charissa's recommendation and went to a Chinese Food restaurant specializing in Xiao Long Bao (Chinese Pork Soupy Dumplings) since Matt loved them.
I couldn't try the Xiao Long Bao (or "XLB" for short), but there was some amazing beef, veggie dumplings, and lots of other great stuff.
Wandering around Orchard Road
Matt liked the Christmas lights
More Christmas lights
"Live in harmony with one another"
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Singapore/Malaysia Day 3: First day of work and Merlion Park
November 23, 2010
Singapore Day 3: First day of work and Merlion Park
We had some more great food on the plane last night and a super smooth arrival into Chiangi Airport in Singapore at around 12:30am (on Nov 23rd). Once we got on the plane in Tokyo, it was 1:30 or 2:00am SF time so I was pretty tired. I actually managed to get quite a lot of sleep - maybe 4 or 5 hrs! I was starting to get a headache but after the sleep I felt pretty great.
Chiangi Airport was super smooth and was surprisingly busy for 12:30am! We went to an ATM, got our baggage and it was quick quick. There was even a bowl of candy at Passport Control!! They were "Fox Mints" and they were really good :) The taxi stand was very organized and reminded me a bit of Japan. Our cab driver was very nice, and explained lots of details about Singapore. Also: it's HOT!!!!!!!! It was about 28 Celcius at 12:30am?!! Insane. It is pretty humid too - my hair is gonna be crazy.
We got into the hotel in about 20 min. It's funny - the cars here are right-side drive but the road signs are in km/h. Like Australia, I guess?! The highway was very clean, and there were lots of neatly trimmed trees along the highway. We drove by Marina Bay Sands, the crazy 3-tower casino/hotel with a ship on top of it. That's the one with the crazy infinity pool that I really want to take a photo of. We also drove past the Singapore Eye (a big ferris wheel). There were some nice-looking apartments with ocean views that the driver told us cost 2-5Million each. Crazy! There were LOTS of boats in the Harbour as we flew in, and we saw them from the taxi too. The driver told us that most of them are parked, and waiting for permits to come into the docks, or something like that. Interesting.
We arrived at the hotel and checked in. As we walked in the door, they said, "You must be Mr. Jutan and Mr. Parrott!" Haha, awesome. We got our stuff upstairs and checked into our rooms. In my room the lights were already on, the air conditioning was blasting, and there was some light classical music playing on the radio! Amazing. That was a very comfortable welcome after a suuuuuuper long amount of travel. I was very tired and gross, but had a nice shower and was asleep by 2am (Singapore time) - which was 10am body time. What day? Who knows!
I woke up at 5:30am, and was wide awake. I tried to sleep a little more but just got up and sent some emails at 6, and got up at 6:30. I unpacked all of my stuff, made a coffee, and found the hairdryer that I was trying to find the night before (well, 4 hours before) :) The apartment/hotel is a great setup with a fridge, kitchen equipment, a tea pot, cups, kettle, etc. Awesome!
The jet lag had me totally awake and ready for breakfast, but I didn't want to call Matt's room too early. So instead I unpacked all my clothes and bag completely, found a laundry hamper, and listened to the same Classical Music station from last night! Really fun. I looked at some emails and the MRT (Subway) Map, and figured out our route to work. Then I prepped the gifts we'd brought for the training people and folks who had helped plan our trip to Singapore. Then I headed down to meet Matt for breakfast.
The breakfast was fantastic. There were eggs, turkey sausages, little curry puffs, pastries, guava juice, and great coffee. I chatted with a girl who worked at the hotel while I was getting a coffee. "How is the jet lag? You just got here last night?" she said, surprised at how awake I looked. "You look very excited" she said, "I don't think you need coffee!" I laughed and said, "Haha, that's what they tell me at home." :)
After the breakfast with Matt, I headed back up to my room and got the gifts and notes ready, complete with Canadian flag pins. hehe. Then we were off to the Dhoby Ghaut MRT station. Apparently the Little India station is a little closer, but we have one less transfer to make if we go to Dhoby Ghaut. It is HOT outside. We walked there and we were sweating like crazy.
We found the MRT station pretty quickly and bought a Translink-like fast card for the subway. It was pretty sweet and also seems to give you 50% off all the trips or so, which is a sweet deal. We then went from Dhoby Ghaut->City Hall->Tanah Marah station. The MRT was really organized and clean and doesn't smell horrible like the BART. To remember the station names, we gave them silly names like Tanah Marah = "Tuna Melt". We tried that "joke" on someone later in the day and they had absolutely no idea what we were talking about. We then took the final transfer station to Expo and found the office. We got in and people helped us find our desks. Our logins worked, there were dual-boot machines already set up for us, and our USA phone extensions were even re-routed already to Singapore! Very cool!! We got a tour around the studio and gave gifts to the people who had helped us out on the trip.
Then it was lunchtime so we took off for a nice lunch with Tommy. That was super fun and we learned about the buildings around the studio. We got some sandwiches and I got a salad with Turkey Bacon (that's a new one! Must be less pork here because of a large Muslim community - that's helpful for me too!) I also got an Apple Cinnamon Lassi which was super amazingly freakin' amazing.
We got back to work and took care of some emails and chatting with lots of people. There was a screening of Harry Potter 7 planned so we picked up tickets which was super great. We got hooked up with some info for our Kuala Lumpur trip (which is coming up this weekend). Then we took off to Bugis area to go to a movie theatre. There was a cool Art Deco building outside. We checked out the food court the basement of the Bugis mall and ended up getting a turkey hot dog upstairs. The movie was great - but the jetlag was starting to set in!
After the movie we headed back to the basement and looked for more food options. We ended up getting a few yaki tori chicken skewers and then headed to the City Hall area to take photos. As we were wandering, we noticed how many people were out late, walking around the subway station.
We got out at City Hall and there were tons of HUGE buildings. My lens was fogging up a lot from the change in temperature between the subway and the outside humidity. We walked across a bridge to Merlion Park and took a photo of the Singapore Mascot, the half-lion/half-fish Merlion. I thought his body looked like a Shrimp! It was super funny and awesome. A group of tourists wanted me to take their photo a few times, and I took lots of photos of my own too. The Marina Bay Sands casino/hotel looks INSANE! I love it. We gotta figure out how we can get a chance to swim in their infinity pool. :)
The Durian building was there too (nicknamed that because it looks like a Durian), and the Fullerton Hotel looked amazing. We then headed back to the mall but it was 10:30ish so things were starting to close. We got a couple pastries, and headed back to Dhoby Ghaut. We didn't really have dinner so we wandered by the only thing open on our way back (McDonald's) and I tried a McSpicy, with cold Milo as a drink! That was fun and I always like trying McDonald's in foreign countries - it's always so interesting to see how it's different. But McSpicy was about as weird as the Singapore menu got - it wasn't super unusual like that next-to-unpronounceable "Juicy Chicken Agatougarashi" in Japan last year. We headed back to the hotel. I put down my stuff and a moment later went to sleep.
Before these crowded streets photo of Matt
I really like this one of Matt with the Singapore skyline!
Darn! Had my white balance on the wrong value... looks too orangey. But I think it still works.
Fullerton Hotel, this place looked amazing
Merlion Park from afar
The glorious, amazing, wondrous, insanely absurd Marina Bay Sands casino and hotel
The "Durian Building"
This place looked gorgeous
Merlion Park
Monks and the city skyline
Marina Bay Sands, soooo awesome
Merlion from one side
Then I realized my white balance was off, and fixed it. Much better!
Another pic of our buddy the Merlion


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Yeah right, "fix" them!
By the word "fix" you mean a council van rolls up, three blokes get out, two light-up the other makes tea. Then after 45 mins they mix up a batch of what looks like Marmite, supposed to be tar I presume, slap it roughly into the pot-hole, bang it flat with a spade, dump a traffic cone in the spot and bugger off to the next one!
Don't know about anyone else, but that's all that seems to happen around my way. Of cource that's when it does actually happen, most of the time the holes stay there for about 6 months before they turn up to "fix" them!


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The Court of Appeals
CarMax Auto Superstores West Coast, Inc., Appellant,
South Carolina Department of Revenue, Respondent.
From Administrative Law Court
Carolyn C. Matthews
No. 4953
January 26, 2012 Filed March 14, 2012
John C. von Lehe, Jr., and Bryson M. Geer, both of Charleston, for Appellant.
Milton G. Kimpson and Harry A. Hancock, both of Columbia, for Respondent.
Alexandra E. Sampson, of Washington, D.C., and Burnet R. Maybank, III, of Columbia, for Amicus Curiae Council on State Taxation.
Robert L. Widener and Erick P. Doerring, both of Columbia, for Amicus Curiae South Carolina State Chamber of Commerce.
LOCKEMY, J.: This appeal arises out of CarMax Auto Superstores West Coast, Inc.'s (CarMax West) protest of an assessment of corporate income taxes by the South Carolina Department of Revenue (the Department). CarMax West alleges the Administrative Law Court (ALC) erred in: (1) failing to place the burden of proof on the Department to establish by clear and convincing evidence that the standard statutory apportionment method used by CarMax West does not reflect the extent of CarMax West's business in South Carolina and that the Department's alternative accounting method is reasonable; (2) failing to consider and find that CarMax West operates a unitary business; (3) concluding that the activities of CarMax West in South Carolina are not fairly represented by the standard statutory apportionment method; (4) allowing the Department to apply separate accounting to a unitary business; (5) failing to apply the "place of activity" test set forth in Lockwood Greene Engineers v. South Carolina Tax Commission, 293 S.C. 447, 361 S.E.2d 346 (Ct. App. 1987) and concluding that CarMax West's financing receipts should be sourced to South Carolina; and (6) concluding that the Department did not violate CarMax West's constitutional rights by applying separate accounting to a unitary business and by sourcing financing receipts to South Carolina. We reverse and remand.
1. Formation and Corporate Structure of CarMax, Inc.
CarMax, Inc. (CarMax) was formed in 1993 and is the nation's largest retailer of used cars and light trucks. From 2002-2004, CarMax operated as a holding company with two wholly owned subsidiaries: (1) CarMax West, which sold used vehicles in the western United States and owned substantially all of CarMax's intellectual property; and (2) CarMax Auto Superstores, Inc. (CarMax East), which sold used vehicles in the eastern and mid-western United States, including South Carolina, and handled financing and corporate overhead/management. Prior to 2004, CarMax East paid CarMax West a royalty for its use of the intellectual property. In 2004, CarMax's corporate structure was reorganized. CarMax Business Services, LLC (CBS) was created to: (1) house CarMax's financing operations (CarMax Auto Finance (CAF)); (2) provide certain shared services to the companies in the group; and (3) own the intellectual property. CBS was created as a multi-member limited liability company between CarMax West and CarMax East, with CarMax West owning a 93.5% interest in CBS and CarMax East owning a 6.5% interest in CBS. CBS charges CarMax West and CarMax East a per vehicle management services fee, which includes an intellectual property royalty component. The income from the management fee, in addition to the financing income generated through CAF, is distributed to CarMax West (93.5%) and CarMax East (6.5%).
2. Income Tax Returns, Audit, and Department Determination
CarMax West filed South Carolina corporate income tax returns for the years 2002-2007 utilizing the standard apportionment formula for multi-state taxpayers outlined in section 12-6-2250 of the South Carolina Code (2000). This formula calculates a taxpayer's taxable income in South Carolina by computing a ratio of the taxpayer's total property, payroll, and sales. The Department audited CarMax West for the tax years 2002-2007 and issued an audit report on June 19, 2008, adjusting the apportionment formula used by CarMax West and issuing a proposed assessment totaling $829,490. On October 20, 2008, CarMax West submitted a Notice of Protest. On March 11, 2009, the Department issued a Final Agency Determination upholding the proposed assessment. The Department found neither the standard formula nor the gross receipts formula fairly represented the extent of CarMax West's business in South Carolina. The Department applied an alternative method to calculate CarMax West's taxable income in South Carolina. The alternative apportionment formula divided CarMax West's income from royalties and financing receipts from within South Carolina by its royalties and financing receipts from everywhere CarMax West does business to determine its ratio of apportionable income taxable in South Carolina. The Department's method did not include the retail income earned by CarMax West in other states. After the audit and the Department's Determination, CarMax West filed amended tax returns in September 2009, utilizing the gross receipts formula. To calculate taxable income using gross receipts, a fraction is created with the numerator being the taxpayer's South Carolina receipts and the denominator being the taxpayer's total receipts in all states. This fraction is multiplied by the taxpayer's apportionable net income to determine the taxable income. Here, CarMax West included income from South Carolina royalties but excluded financing revenue in the numerator.
3. ALC Determination
CarMax West filed this matter for a contested case hearing before the ALC. Following a hearing on February 18 and 19, 2010, the ALC issued its final order on April 22, 2010. The ALC upheld the Department's alternate method for calculating CarMax West's tax liability, and determined the alternate method was reasonable and did not violate the Commerce Clause. According to the ALC, "the significance of considering [CarMax West's] South Carolina source income apart from its retail operations is inherent in the language of 12-6-2320 regarding 'the extent of the taxpayer's business activity in this State.'" The ALC noted that "[w]here a taxpayer engages in a trade or business in another state but receives income from a separate line of business in this State, it is only reasonable that careful consideration be given to how that taxpayer's business is represented in this State for tax purposes." The ALC also determined CarMax West was not negligent in reporting its tax liability and dismissed the penalties imposed by the Department. The ALC denied CarMax West's motion for reconsideration. This appeal followed.
Appeals from the ALC are governed by the Administrative Procedures Act (APA). S.C. Code Ann. 1-23-310 to -400 (2005 & Supp. 2011). Pursuant to the APA, this court may reverse or modify the ALC's decision if the appellant's substantial rights have been prejudiced because the administrative decisions are:
(a) in violation of constitutional or statutory provisions; (b) in excess of the statutory authority of the agency; (c) made upon unlawful procedure; (d) affected by other error of law; (e) clearly erroneous in view of the reliable, probative, and substantial evidence on the whole record; or (f) arbitrary or capricious or characterized by abuse of discretion or clearly unwarranted exercise of discretion.
S.C. Code Ann. 1-23-380(5) (Supp. 2011). "As to factual issues, judicial review of administrative agency orders is limited to a determination whether the order is supported by substantial evidence." MRI at Belfair, LLC v. S.C. Dep't of Health & Envtl. Control, 379 S.C. 1, 6, 664 S.E.2d 471, 474 (2008).
CarMax West argues the ALC erred in failing to place the burden of proof on the Department to establish by clear and convincing evidence that the standard statutory apportionment method used by CarMax West did not reflect the extent of CarMax West's business in South Carolina and that the Department's alternative accounting method is reasonable.
The ALC held:
[t]he standard of proof is a preponderance of the evidence. Anonymous v. State Bd. of Med. Exam'rs, 329 S.C. 371, 496 S.E.2d 17 (1998). Additionally, the burden of proof is generally upon the party asserting the affirmative in an adjudicatory administrative proceeding. 2 Am. Jur. 2d Administrative Law 354 (2004). The taxpayer in this matter requested a contested case hearing to challenge the Department's proposed assessment; thus, the taxpayer bears the burden of proof.
CarMax West argues that although this is the appropriate standard in tax assessment cases generally, an exception to the rule applies when a party wishes to deviate from the standard method of apportionment. In such a case, CarMax West contends, the burden shifts to the party attempting to deviate to show by clear and convincing evidence why the standard method should not be used and the alternative method is reasonable. CarMax West cites several decisions from other jurisdictions applying similar shifts in the burden of proof. See Limited Stores, Inc. v. Franchise Tax Bd., 152 Cal. App. 4th 1491, 1498, 62 Cal. Rptr.3d 191, 196 (Cal. App. 1 Dist. 2007) (holding the party asserting alternative apportionment bears the burden of showing by clear and convincing evidence that alternative apportionment is appropriate); Union Pacific Corp. v. Idaho State Tax Comm'n, 139 Idaho 572, 575, 83 P.3d 116, 119 (Idaho 2004) (holding "[t]he party asserting alternative apportionment bears the burden of showing that alternative apportionment is appropriate"); St. Johnsbury Trucking Co. v. State, 118 N.H. 209, 212, 385 A.2d 215, 217 (N.H. 1978) (holding "an alternative formula is the exception, and the party who wants to use an alternative formula accordingly has the burden of showing that the alternative is appropriate"); Donald M. Drake Co. v. Dep't of Revenue, 263 Or. 26, 32, 500 P.2d 1041, 1044 (Or. 1972) (holding "the use of any method other than apportionment should be exceptional" and the party seeking to use an alternative method bears the burden of proof); Kmart Properties, Inc. v. N.M. Taxation & Revenue Dep't, 139 N.M. 177, 191, 131 P.3d 27, 41 (N.M. App. 2001) (holding the Department of Revenue had the burden of proof "to justify any modification of the [Uniform Division of Income for Tax Purposes Act] formula"), rev'd on other grounds, 139 N.M. 172, 131 P.3d 22 (N.M. 2005). CarMax West also contends the Department failed to cite any authority to the contrary and agreed at trial that the Department bore the burden.
The Department maintains: (1) no such standard of proof is found in the plain language of section 12-6-2320(A); (2) the cases cited by CarMax West are non-binding; and (3) our supreme court has not adopted the clear and convincing standard. The Department contends there is a shifting burden of proof. First, the Department argues it bears the burden of proving CarMax West's chosen method of apportionment is not reasonable. Thereafter, once the Department meets its burden, CarMax West bears the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that under the Department's alternate method the income attributed to South Carolina is "out of all appropriate proportions to the business transacted" in South Carolina or has led to a "grossly distorted result."
We find the ALC erred in finding CarMax West had the burden of proving the Department's alternate accounting method was not reasonable. There are two burdens of proof which must be met in this case. First, we note both the Department and CarMax West agree the Department bears the burden of proving the gross receipts formula does not fairly represent CarMax West's business activity in South Carolina. Second, the Department bears the burden of proving its alternative accounting method is reasonable and more fairly represents CarMax West's business activity in South Carolina.
In Media General Communications, Inc. v. South Carolina Department of Revenue, 388 S.C. 138, 146, 694 S.E.2d 525, 529 (2010), it was undisputed that the gross receipts apportionment statute "did not fairly represent [the multi-state] Taxpayers' income." It was also undisputed that the alternative method proposed by the Taxpayer "did fairly measure the Taxpayers' business activity in South Carolina." Media General, 388 S.C. at 146, 694 S.E.2d at 529. Our supreme court upheld the Taxpayers' alternative method, because "the Department has not established that another method would be more appropriate." Id. at 152, 694 S.E.2d at 532. Thus, based on Media General, the Department, as the proponent of an alternative apportionment method, must establish that its alternative method is not only appropriate, but more appropriate than any competing methods.
Furthermore, although the statutes do not provide a standard of proof, we find they evidence intent by the General Assembly to require proponents of alternate apportionment methods to prove their method fairly represents the extent of the taxpayer's business activity in South Carolina. It is only logical that a party seeking to override the legislatively determined apportionment method bears the burden of proving that method is not appropriate and an alternative method more accurately reflects the taxpayer's business activity within the state. Additionally, we disagree with CarMax West's assertion that the standard of proof is clear and convincing evidence. CarMax West has failed to cite any South Carolina authority supporting its position and the statutes do not indicate a legislative intent to apply the clear and convincing standard. Accordingly, we reverse the ALC's determination that CarMax West had the burden of proof, and remand for a reconsideration of all issues applying the preponderance of the evidence burden of proof.
We find the ALC erred in determining CarMax West had the burden of proving the Department's alternate accounting method was not reasonable, and therefore, we reverse the ALC and remand for a reconsideration of all issues.
HUFF and PIEPER, JJ., concur.


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Due to the write up being sooo long on this one im attaching a more condensed version bellow, then read on for the more waxing lyrical original, let me know which you prefer for the forthcoming site:
"i went out to illustrate piper as a modern religious saint character rising up against the adversity, the police and authorities are crushing the homeless corrupting and spirituality (church). then above the ghettos are the towering office blocks of corporate industry dominating the skyline and looming over you with there consumerism messages and the rich aliens are enclosing in the blue collar workers make there last stand. all wrapped up in a sudo religious iconography meets sci-fi, action, social commentary epic interpretation, in a sort of its post modern delivery but all done with pure love, i listened to the soundtrack continuously whilst working on it!!!"
Well heres my artwork for They Live, As you may (or may not) know I'm a massive John Carpenter Fan also a huge Rowdy Roddy 'Hot Rod' Piper Fan from my wrestling days (they should have made Tag Team a series!!!). i absolutely love They Live, So you can rest assured that this title has been treated with absolute care, attention and devotion which it rightly deserves !! (so that's the gushing over as the nun said to the vicar!). i was pretty excited to get get unleashed on this juggernaut of social commentary meets sci-fi action...
I wanted to create something in a true 80s keyart style, that was VERY action packed, putting piper in an Italian poster style, testosterone driven almost god like religious icon standing aloft like a beacon of social commentary surrounded by the imposing odds of alien control, and NOT forgetting Keith David (who sadly gets pretty much left off all the promotional material for they live, the mans survives The Thing! hes A LEGEND in his own right They Live, The Thing, Road House, platoon COME ON!)
So the challenge lay in trying to compact all that in a design and integrate a story story-line narrative and not have it as just a mass pile of stuff!
This design was actually the merging of two concepts. on had a lone piper in Bank mode and the other had this pair which was inspired by the final shootout sequence.
For pipers image I wanted this rippling muscle god with the awesome blond streaked mullet flowing man (he is massive in the film, the guy was a wrestler and that's where most of his fan base comes from, so i needed to represent the 80s WWF crew). so i thought to hell with it and just rip the god damn the shirt sleeves off, i know it doesn't happen in the film but THAT'S the point, pick up a copy of any Bronx Warriors on VHS and you will know where I'm coming from. Visually this is all steeped in 70s/80s Italian poster/video art history and people like Enzo Sciotti (its so ingrained in my brain now that its almost instinct). He has a total shooting from the pelvis stance of resistance as he's striding adversity. Like i said i did want to give this piece a saintly religious iconography vibe... which is something that MUST have been an influence on the Italian works too, with there culture so steeped in the church, that's my theory anyway!. I didn't want to cover his eyes as i felt it removed the emotion, so Keith was given the cool shades to convey that and piper has his in the pocket.
Colour was the big thing which allowed me to separate out the elements to prevent it all getting too busy. as the alien world is seen in monochrome throughout the film i wanted to keep true to that but stylise it slightly with a more blueish hue. when it came to the Aliens i wanted to convey a sense of claustrophobia so all the buildings and aliens are leaning inwards like waves about to crash in and drown the main characters.
For the bottom section i wanted some action sequence which would depict
to depict the other side of the world and have the police alien lines
(which is how they are seen to the average Joe), the eviction scene with
the church (subliminal religious/saint imagery again) is such a pivotal
element that i had to get it in. Also whenever you see the police they
always bathed in a red flare light so that was a great counter balance
to the blue of the top!
The guys at Scream Factory wanted me to use the original title treatment. Then I had to use Albertus font for all the other copy of course, being a classic Carpenter film. I am hoping to do a limited edition print run of this (when the websites up) and will be shifting the text elements around to make it more theatrical poster esque, so i will also have to change the title treatment which im toying with the idea of putting it in Italian 'Essi vivono'... watch this space!!!
As always right click on the close up sections to get a detailed view.


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The City's goal for sidewalks, curbs and gutters is to maintain a safe, unobstructed route for pedestrians and ensure proper drainage along our streets. Curb and gutter maintenance is the responsibility of the City. Although California state code requires that property owners maintain the portion of sidewalk adjacent to their property, the City does perform sidewalk repair and reconstruction as resources permit. In addition, the City will evaluate reports of hazardous sidewalk conditions and implement temporary patches or grinding if warranted.
To report deteriorated or obstructed sidewalks, curbs or gutters within the public right-of-way, please contact the General Services Department at 916-727-4770, or use the SeeClickFix app to submit a service request directly to the department.
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Aldergrove-born Matt Reisig is back at home, making holiday memories with his wife and one-year-old daughter Ayla this Christmas.
It's something many, including Reisig himself, thought impossible after being paralyzed chest-down by Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) in late February.
Reisig was unable to breathe on his own, eat, and hug "daddy's little girl" for months after first being rushed to Peace Arch Hospital, with what felt like the flu.
RELATED: Paralyzed young father's condition now stabilizing
"It was tingling in my arms and legs," Reisig described, "an overall weakness."
Now, Reisig hopes to raise awareness about GBS – a mysterious inflammatory disorder where the immune system attacks its nerves instead of the virus the body is sick with, according to Muscular Dystrophy Canada.
There is no known cause for the condition.
Initially after falling ill, Reisig – a small-business owner and painter – remembers trying to push back client appointments one week, offering them a discount as an incentive for waiting.
But within seven days, on March 7, the 32-year-old father would be intubated and on life support.
"It's still hard to talk about," Reisig told the Aldergrove Star.
"I don't want anyone else to go through what I went through."
After the initial GBS diagnosis, the disorder sucked the "drive" out of him, along with the loss of his motor skills except for slight head, shoulder, and face movements including nods and eyelid twitches.
"I thought GBS had ruined my life," Reisig told the Aldergrove Star.
Through it all, his wife Ashley stuck by his side at Surrey Memorial Hospital's intensive care unit, managing to sleep nightly on a pull-out couch in his room.
"I would come home once every four days or so," she explained. Even her mother, Ayla's grandmother, relocated from Kamloops to care for the one-year-old full time.
Ayla was uncomfortable and scared seeing her dad incapacitated.
Ashley became Reisig's main mode of communication, and ultimate source of hope.
She tuned-in to what her paralyzed husband was mouthing with his lips.
And for when she wasn't in his room, Ashley made a whiteboard list of Reisig's needs and feelings.
For instance: "I need… suction, a nurse, my wife. Or I feel cold, pain," she said about the list. Reisig reacted to truths pointed out the only way he could, in minute movements.
"When Matt was at his worst, I was constantly telling him, 'It's going to be okay, I know it isn't now but it will be' and, 'This will end. This isn't forever' and 'You're going to make it through this.'"
A turning point came after Reisig faced a week of especially painful nerve pain, but with extreme effort, moved his fingers.
Unbeknownst to Reisig, Ashley had been posting regular status updates to her Facebook page, chronicling 147 days of her husband's condition.
Soon the statuses became the only connection the patient had to the outside world.
Bedridden and defeated, "it got to the point where if Ashley wasn't there I would ask others to read my update and the comments," Resig retold.
When he managed to gain wrist and arm movement, he read through all the messages on his own and "had a good cry," he said.
"You don't really know how big your village is until you're going through something."
An online GoFundMe account for the family has raised over $20,000, which "got [them] through" living and medical expenses, and is still able to accept donations.
There are two days in hospital Reisig will always remember: his wedding anniversary and his first real meal – a reuben sandwich after months of feeding tubes turned-to liquids.
On the Reisigs' fourth wedding anniversary, he asked his physiotherapist to help him sketch a heart on canvas with the words "I love you."
The artwork that Resig said "looks like our daughter did it" now rests on their bedside table at home.
Throughout the five-month ordeal, Reisig said he lost a total of 45 pounds, all of which he has gained back, "and five pounds more," he chuckled.
Undoubtedly, the most crucial part of Reisig's recovery from GBS was "getting off the ventilator," Ashley explained. "We would go down to the lowest level of it and then Matt would panic.
READ MORE: Aldergrove father fights for his life after flu turns paralyzing
"It was a mental switch that had to happen in him," she said. After that occurred, within a week Reisig was breathing on his own, lungs strengthening from their use.
"I told myself I was going to walk again," Reisig explained about his fight for life. And after 16 weeks in the hospital, he did just that.
Reisig returned home to South Surrey on July 24.
Since going public, Reisig has been able to connect with other victims of GBS, ones as young as 11 years old.
"One boy felt like he couldn't connect with anyone because of what he went through," Reisig said about a Calgary child who was diagnosed with GBS.
"He remembers screaming in his head like I did," frustrated by the inability to move or communicate.
Ashley has also been sent hundreds of messages from people all over the world affected by the disease.
Christmas this year looks a lot different for the Reisigs, who before GBS, found the holidays a hectic time of obligation.
"I'm walking every day, hitting the gym… Ayla likes to lay on my chest and sit with me and watch TV," Reisig beamed.
The Reisigs have dedicated time to visit with Santa and watch their daughter's face light-up in wonder of the season.
"It's all so surreal," Ashley said.


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Sinn Féin's candidate in the Irish Presidential election, Martin McGuinness, MP, MLA, told RTÉ's This Week programme yesterday that
"If people want to examine my record, let them examine my record. I stand on my record."
But not before McGuinness declined the invitation by Colm O'Mongain for full disclosure of his role in the Provisional IRA, and quoting Tony Blair, [but not Jonathan Powell? – Ed] and citing meetings with US Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama, and, of course, Nelson Mandela.
Today Martin McGuinness has complained about a media fixation with his past.
Mr McGuinness accused the media of being fixated about his past and sensational headlines about his time in the IRA.
"I remember I think it was 1974, I am open to correction but I think it was the early 1970s, an ITN reporter reported that I had boasted about killing eight soldiers in the Free Derry area, that was a total and outright lie," he said.
"I would say if I get into answering question for question the questions of the media in that regard, I will be answering those from now until kingdom come."
He's deployed the 'fixation' defence before. Notably during the Saville Inquiry. As a BBC report from 2003 mentions
The Mid Ulster MP accused the inquiry of being fixated by his past.
But he added: "I left the IRA in the early part of the 1970s."
That date is narrowed down to 1974 in this BBC profile. Whether anyone believes it is a different matter. As the UTV report notes
"I've never hidden the fact that I was in the IRA and I told the Saville tribunal that I left the IRA in late 1974," Mr McGuinness said. "So that's my position."
By-passing a great chunk of the 20th Century may have been the unofficial agreement between certain interested parties here, but it seems unwise to test that in a Presidential election.
As David Norris found out, you can't cherry-pick your record and expect others not to question your self-selected, and self-serving, account. [Even if they are stupid questions? – Ed] Indeed.
Outside of his northern comfort zone, Martin McGuinness can expect the questioning of his past to continue if he wants to be President of Ireland. As RTÉ's Tommie Gorman says in the audio clip from This Week.
"In many respects it's a moment of truth for Sinn Féin."


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The aim of this article is to provide an introduction to some useful programs in the SSH suite, i.e. sftp, scp, ssh-agent and ssh-add. In the following we suppose that sshd2 daemon is well configured and running.
The second (Secure Copy) is used to copy files over the network securely. It is a replacement for rcp insecure command.
Sftp and scp do not require any dedicated daemon since the two programs connect to sshd servers. In order to use sftp and scp you have to insert the following line in the configuration file /etc/ssh2/sshd2_config:
subsystem-sftp sftp-serverafter this modification you must restart sshd.
sftp myname@host1some options could be specified from the command line (see the sftp manual page for a complete report).
When the sftp2 is ready to accept commands, it will display a prompt sftp>. In the sftp manual page there are a complete list of the commands which the user can use; among them there are:
Since sftp use encryption there is drawback: the connection is slower
(about a factor of 2-3 to my experience), but this point is of
marginal interest considering the great security benefits.
In a test conduced on our local network a Network Sniffer was able to
catch a mean of 4 password by hour, from ftp connections. The
introduction of sftp as standard protocol for transfer file across the
network could eliminate this security problem.
scp local_dir/filename myname@host1:remote_dirIn such a way the file filename is copied with the same name. Wildcards can be used (read more about those from sshregex man page). The command:
scp local_dir/* myname@host1:remote_dircopies all files from directory local_dir into the directory remote_dir of host1.
scp myname@host1:remote_dir/filename .copies the file filename from remote_dir on host1 to the local directory.
scp myname@host1:remote_dir/filename myname@host2:another_dirSee its manual page for a complete presentation.
Obviously, using scp, you must know the exact directory tree of the remote machine, so in practice sftp is often preferred.
There are two way to use ssh-agent depending on that you are running
xdm or not.
In the first case you should edit .xsession file, placed in the $HOME
directory. There are two possible procedures:
Copy .xsession to .xsession-stuff and modify
.xession in such a way it contains only the line:
exec ssh-agent ./.xsession-stuffAlternatively you could edit .xsession file and search for each line containing the expression "exec program". Modify these lines to the form "exec ssh-agent program".
Log out from your X-session and restart it. ssh-agent will start the X-session as its own children and wait for ssh key to insert in its database.
If xdm is not running the procedure to use ssh-agent is simpler because you can start your X session using the command:
ssh-agent startxIn such a way you have ssh-agent properly running.
Failed to connect to authentication agent - agent not running?The use of ssh-add is simple: from the command line issue the command:
ssh-addssh-add scans the file $HOME/.ssh2/identification which contains names of the private keys that are to be used in authentication. If this file doesn't exist, the standard name for the private key is assumed (i.e. $HOME/.ssh2/id_dsa_1024_a).
Adding identity: /home/matt/.ssh2/id_dsa_1024_a.pub Need passphrase for /home/matt/.ssh2/id_dsa_1024_a (..) Enter passphrase:You could obtain a list of all identities currently represented by the agent using the command ssh-add -l:
Listing identities. The authorization agent has one key: id_dsa_1024_a: 1024-bit dsa, (...)
These articles are only an introduction to the SSH suite; more about this topic could be found in the manual pages of ssh, sshd and sftp.
You could get SSH suite from:
SSH master site or
a mirror
Here you could also find some very interesting information about SSH
technology and cryptography in general in the Tech corner.
Otherwise you could check
www.openssh.com where you could
download openssh implementation of SSH protocol. The portable version
is at www.openssh.com/portable.html.
You could also read the openssh FAQ: www.openssh.com/faq.html.