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Independents and Brands Increase Direct Bookings Using Predictive Analytics Comparing Consumer Behavior on Hotel Websites and OTAs
nSight's HOT Report gives insight to a hotel's best potential guests as consumers shop online, pinpointing digital targets and reducing channel commission fees
NASHVILLE, TN (November 4, 2015) nSight, the leader in online consumer shopping intelligence for hotels and destinations, today announced that hundreds of independent and brand hotels are now embracing nSight's forward-looking data to improve marketing and revenue decisions that increase direct bookings and optimize profitability. Driven to reduce dependence on OTAs, hoteliers are adopting nSight's Hotel Online Traffic Report, or HOT Report, that compares how consumers look and book a hotel website to how they shop a hotel on travel websites. This report is becoming a must-have marketing and revenue management tool for hoteliers looking to shift booking share from the OTAs to direct channels.
According to a recent study*, OTAs are forecasted to represent 48-58% of online volume for U.S. independent hotels in 2015. The outcome is lower profitability due to higher fees and lost connections with consumers. It is possible to change the direction of online bookings. Everyday millions of data points are placed on the Internet while consumers shop online and when aggregated and analyzed can paint a clear picture of the path to purchase. This is a goldmine of opportunity and revenue potential for any hotelier who sees what others may not.
"Data from a hotel website provides valuable information on the consumers that hotel marketers have successfully attracted to their website. But what about the active travel consumers that have not visited the hotel site yet?," asks Rich Maradik, Founder of nSight. "nSight looks beyond the hotel website to the full potential of consumers shopping a hotel, its competitors and the market. With total demand perspective, hoteliers have the insight to make smarter marketing and revenue strategy decisions based on predictive analytics not just booked business and past market trends."
Traditional brands are looking at the HOT Report as a way to enhance conventional digital marketing.
"We use the HOT Report to fine tune our PPC and banner ad targeting to get the best ROI," said John Yazbeck, Director of Sales and Marketing, the Wyndham New Yorker. "nSight helps us get the online consumer before they book via the third parties. So, we not only own the client but we also reduce fees."
Independent hotels leverage predictive data to level the playing field.
"The HOT Report shows me the target markets that are more effective to invest in," explains Troy Jones, Director of Sales & Marketing at Pier 2620 Hotel Fisherman's Wharf. "It's not always economical to go after major targets when you're in a competitive market like San Francisco. nSight helps me prioritize my spend by identifying the secondary markets where demand is high and growing, and I have the buying clout to stand out. The real power is in seeing if you win or lose share on a weekly basis. I like that!"
Try nSight's HOT Report Free
To enable hotels and management groups to experience the power of predictive consumer data, nSight is offering its Hotel Online Traffic Report free for hoteliers to try. Travel marketers and channel managers can directly compare consumers who are searching and booking their hotel on third parties and consumers searching and booking their hotel website.
nSight's Hotel Solutions consists of the nSight interactive SaaS application and action-oriented reporting that brings search, booking and rate dynamics into one forward-looking view so Marketing and Revenue Management can act together. nSight equips hoteliers with predictive data that gives a clear picture of who and where consumers are who are shopping right now for a hotel and its competitive set, allowing properties to boost online presence and grow direct bookings from active, qualified consumers.
About nSight
nSight combines the world's largest view of consumer shopping data with predictive marketing and revenue management solutions to deliver more guests to your hotel and visitors to your destination. Only nSight aggregates more than 85 million travel consumer shops and bookings daily across over 5,000 third-party travel websites. Understanding consumer shopping behavior, rate impact and future market demand enables better marketing and revenue management decisions. Follow nSight on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
* Independent Lodging Market: Marketing, Distribution and Technology Strategies for Non-Branded Properties; Phocuswright, h2c; November 2015.


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There's a new Contra game on the way! While it doesn't look too different than past incarnations, it does look like there's going to be a PvP mode that allows players to take each other on! What doesn't look different is the immense difficulty rating.
Check out the full trailer below.

subset: commoncrawl


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Episode 34 | Brain Freeze
00:00:00 - Yeah, yeah, yeah, Paleopals, drinking, some kind of theme. There's no guest this week, just the usual knuckleheads. It only takes a few minutes to get through, SCIENCE happens soon.
00:08:03 - After hearing that who on earth would feel inspired to become a scientist? Probably no one, but then again the Paleopals haven't attained pop-culture icon status… yet. Someday in the future people will definitely say "I became a scientist because of Science… sort of!" Those will be grand days indeed.
- In this segment we also mention the superhero The Atom, cause he's a physicist, and Ryan recommends the comic Identity Crisis for those jonesing for some good Atom action.
00:21:55 - Asteroids are full of chemicals, some more interesting than others. Charlie tries to unboring up this story for the guys while Ryan complains about the media… again. Guys really got a hard on for reporters, must be some history there. Best not to ask and just move on to…
00:32:38 - Trailer Trash Talk (T^3) which this week is talking about another brainy guy with issues while reviewing indie movie The Scientist. Opinions are mixed, hearts are broken, little is accomplished.
00:50:12 - Ryan has your weekly CalAcademy Nightlife breakdown; it's your best chance to see a Paleopal in their natural environment (i.e. drinking around SCIENCE). Like the show, all interactions with live Paleopals will be pre-recorded and highly edited.
00:41:14 - If you're not bored with the show yet, then you'll love this next bit. If you are bored you've likely yawned, well your brain has tricked you into paying attention! HA! Take that stupid brain. If you feel that you were tricked you should send your complaints to us which may earn you a spot in the…
00:52:39 - PaleoPOW segment! We love the Paleoposse and devote (an increasing) chunk of the show to singing their praises. This week Ryan B. raises a question in the wrong solar direction, James P. P. (actually) and Patrick will not let whole fly penis thing go, and Ryan is pronoun confounded on iTunes. Of course Ryan also has more to announce such as:
- Another Iron Man article, this time on User Interface at marvel.com
- Another iFanboy article about how comics have predicted the future at ifanboy.com
- Another guest spot on the Nerd List #20, this time talking Marvel villains vs. DC villains at thenerdlist.com
Music this week provided by:
- Still Alive – Jonathan Coulton & GLaDOS
- The Motivation Proclamation – Good Charlotte
- Rest My Chemistry – Interpol
- Scientist – The Dandy Warhols
- I Wanna Be Sedated - The Ramones


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We're thrilled to welcome Benjamin'sPlague from the Netherlands to our label! Building up his profile by performing with acts such as Aesthetic Perfection, amassing a growing remix discography on his soundcloud and having his tracks played at afterparties of festivals such as M'era Luna and Infest, the Dutch solo project of Benjamin Schoones has honed an original sound that combines hellektro aggression with an EDM sound-palette along with layered harsh/sung vocals for a dramatically engaging result destined for the dancefloor.
With the final mix & master taken care of by Blind Mice Productions, Benjamin'sPlague presents a debut single that packs a massive punch. "You Will Pay" contains 2 original tracks and a massive remix by fellow Netherlanders XMH.
Out October 29 2014 on Blind Mice Productions!
Pre-order available now from Bandcamp.


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The 168 minors rescued last month during a nationwide FBI crackdown on child sex trafficking included juveniles who never had been reported missing in the first place. It's a population that law enforcement encounters often and that especially concerns child welfare advocates.
1. THE CHILDREN WERE RECOVERED IN AN ACTION CALLED OPERATION CROSS COUNTRY. The most recent Operation Cross County occurred in 106 cities and involved an effort by local and federal law enforcement to recover child sex trafficking victims from the streets, hotel rooms, truck stops and homes. Officials say 168 juveniles were recovered.
2. SOME VICTIMS HAD NOT BEEN REPORTED MISSING. Child welfare advocates say the operation and others like it underscore the need for a standardized way to report children as missing. State policies and laws vary in terms of how and when law enforcement is to be notified when children go missing.
3. THE SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM IS UNKNOWN. It's hard to know how many children are being trafficked for sex or are in the custody of pimps. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children says 1 out of 7 endangered runaways reported to the center in 2013 likely was a child sex trafficking victim. The center says it received more than 57,000 missing child cases between 2009 and 2013, 81 percent of which are endangered runaways.
4. CHILDREN IN STATE WELFARE SYSTEMS ARE SEEN AS ESPECIALLY VULNERABLE. The missing children center says of the children reported missing in 2013 who were also likely sex-trafficking victims, about two-thirds were in the care of child welfare when they ran. Still, the FBI says the problem isn't limited to foster care programs; far more children recovered in the most recent Operation Cross County were from single-family homes rather than from families under the supervision of the state.
5. STATE AND LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS ARE BEING MADE. One proposal in Congress, which has bipartisan support, would require child welfare agencies to report missing children to law enforcement and the missing children's center with 24 hours of a juvenile's disappearance.
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text: In Chapter 10 of 12 in his 2010 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, media and publishing entrepreneur Phil McKenzie shares why authenticity matters creating a personalized brand experience. Creating standout brand experiences comes with research and preparation, similar to investing time in curating guests for a dinner party. Phil McKenzie graduated from Howard University and earned an MBA from the Duke University Fuqua School of Business. Before starting FREE DMC and the Influencer Conference, McKenzie worked for eight years in sales and trading at Goldman Sachs.


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Virginia Rivenbark, CD(DONA), LCCE
Past President
Virginia's involvement with DONA International began with a doula training in 2001 and certification in 2002. She currently works with clients as a certified doula and Lamaze certified childbirth educator. She became a DONA International volunteer in 2011 and has since served on numerous committees, including certification and conference committees, and as DONA International Northeastern US Regional Director. Since January 2106, Virginia has been serving the organization as President Elect. Virginia's focus is on finding new and different ways to reach all DONA members through webinars, the blog and social media. Virginia and her husband, Tom, were high school sweethearts and have been married for 37 years. They enjoy their eight children and seven grandchildren, and they make their home in Berwick, PA, a small town in the northeast part of the state.


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Kicking in another batch of trailers ayma start with a very cute but heartwarming punch!
1) Cutie and the Boxer
I find this endearing. I know it's like documentary but I find it quirky, cute and refreshing.
Status: I'll be waiting to watch this thing! 🙂
2) Me, You and Everyone we know
I remember reading the synopsis and hearing it was good movie. To be honest the trailer did not give me the "umph" i was looking for. Yet, there a lot of movies who have exciting trailers but a massive disappointment and vise versa.
Status: I am going to give it a chance
3) A Touch of Sin
Something caught me in this intense yet simple trailer. It doesn't usually you give this action packed kind of baaaang in a thriller or drama. But it is subtle, gradual and effective just like a snake's attack. I am actually looking forward to this if I get hold of it!
Status: Hell ya! This will be one hell of a ride.
4) Behind the Candelabra
I didn't think this would be interesting but by golly, I think I am all aboard for this one. I thought it would be like the usual biopic of a famous celebrity which I find most of them very boring and overly dramatic (as a trailer. But it does tend to be a bit of a bore in film as well.) Yet this one is entertaining. It not only made me entertain but feel for the characters as well.
Status: I am all aboard!
5) The one I love
I actually read about this a long time ago when I think it just was shown to some festivals. And oh booooy did I want to see the trailer. Unfortunately at that time it wasn't available. Now that I've seen the it, it didn't really say anything about the story. BUUUUT that's a good thing! It made me feel more curious.
Status: I WANT TO WATCH THIS!
6) God Help the Girl
Ohhhhh! So beautiful!!! I like this quirky, fresh, saturated and just sun kiss cute kind of story! I don't know how to explain this kind of film but I don't know why, it's very attractive. It's not the usual mainstream rom-com. Can I just say a 'quirky' rom-com genre? Can I?
Status: Definitely in the look out!
7) The Skeleton Twins
AHHHHHH!!!! Kristen Wiig!!! Bill Hader!!! AHHHHH!!! Can I just keep yelling! Gosh! I love these two in SNL. They are such great comedians and man can they act in drama. What I love about them is that they can insert comedy juices in one hot meal of a drama! The story seem realistic and not the usual mainstream comedy or drama. It has the right amount. They perfectly placed them equally together! Usually in these kinds of movie, 'the dramedy' genre, it tends to get boring for me. But they just made it right! Well done!
Can I scream again?
Status: As I said, can I scream again? OF COURSE I'M GOING TO WATCH THIS!
8) Laggies
Then let's go to a more 'chill pill'. Some kind of coming of age kind of story but for young adults or mid 20's. It actually looks interesting. And cannot believe Keira Knightley is doing an American Accent! 🙂 hehe She is actually pretty good and sounds really different.
This movie seems like those chilling in my pool kind of thing in a sunny afternoon. I am no sun loving person but man with this movie just made me relax and take a sip on my ice cold four seasons juice with the small umbrella!
Status: Sure!
9) The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby
I've got to admit I clicked this trailer because of James McAvoy. But who wouldn't! Great amazing actor and a bonus feature- his looks! 😀 Gaaaahhhhh!!! Why are you freaking talented! Once I pressed play it seemed like the sappy romantic 'serious' kind of story. I am not so sure to watch it. Not only does it include McAvoy but Jessica Chastain who I saw in 'Zero Dark Thirty' and boooy was she was incredible in that film! Not to mention that movie was intense and spell bounding. Despite my love for McAvoy, I am not so sure with the story and how the trailer paced the story. I don't want to be bias here… it's 50/50.
Status: Let's see. Will watch with a neutral feelings. Then judge at the end of the movie.
10) St. Vincent
And now let's go to a more light beat kind of movie! 😀 Kinda reminds me of 'About a Boy' (Not the remake! The movie one!
Status: Sure why not! Let's have a light hearted comedy!


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custom designed printing luxury gift folding corrugated plastic box
2.Factory Supplier
3.Good quality
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Other details
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AVAILABLE AUGUST 2019- 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath, 2 car garage. Cathedral ceiling, fireplace, family room.
AVAILABLE MAY 2019---Newer construction, fireplace and lots of bathrooms! Unfinished basement that can be used for family room, workout space or storage. 1 car garage, 2.5 baths, 3 bedrooms and that great basement! Large common yard with mature trees and landscaping. Great neighborhood! When unfinished basement is included your square footage is over 1700.
AVAILABLE JUNE 2019----Affordable 2 bedroom units--HEAT FURNISHED, 1 bath, large bedrooms, laundry hook ups. Open kitchen, large living room with built in book shelf. Window air conditioner. NO PETS
AVAILABLE NOVEMBER 2017--2 bedroom, 1 bath, eat in kitchen, pantry, washer/dryer, deck, , 1 CAR detached garage. Tennis court and swimming pool privileges available. SORRY, NO PETS--RENTAL PRICE $690.00
AVAILABLE NOW--Second floor condo in a quiet development with all new carpet and vinyl flooring. Two bedrooms and one and a half baths plus a living room with fireplace and a spacious eat-in kitchen with newer appliances that leads to wood deck - great for grilling or relaxing. Access to common pool and tennis courts too!
AVAILABLE FEBRUARY 2019--This is a two unit duplex property. Two efficiency units, 2 bedroom, 1 bath/shower only, living room and effIciency kitchen. Window AC.
Move to the country this Summer! This is a newly remodeled home with a 3 generous bedrooms, 1.5 baths, full basement, main floor laundry, 1 car garage, and a great country location. Ask us about bringing your horses!
CURRENTLY RENTED--3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage. Wood deck, partially finished basement. Great kitchen and open floor plan. Big yard and great neighborhood.
CURRENTLY RENTED --3 bedroom, den, 2.5 baths, hardwood floors,2 car garage , crawl space.
CURRENTLY RENTED---3 BEDROOMS, FAMILY ROOM, KITCHEN, fireplace, pantry, laundry hookups in laundry area off kitchen, 2 bath, 2 car garage. Bonus room too!Could be another bedroom or work out room! Large yard, storage shed and Great Neighborhood!
CURRENTLY RENTED--Come see this beautifully remodeled and well landscaped three bedroom, two bathroom ranch on a large lot in Mahomet. The open floor plan features excellent space and there are ceiling fans in every bedroom and closet organizers too. The remodeled bathrooms allow in lots of natural light. Additional updates include custom fitted wood blinds with 'blackout' blinds for the Master bedroom plus a newer water heather. The spacious backyard has wood deck, garden, shed, and covered gazebo that could fit a band! Private feeling back yard provides lots of trees and a great sledding hill for this winter!
CURRENTLY LEASED---This darling three bedroom, two full bath ranch is situated on a water frontage cul-de-sac lot and boasts an open family room with gas fireplace, an eat-in kitchen, cathedral ceilings and a spacious kitchen with Schrock cabinets. There's a built-in speaker system and this home is clean and ready for you to move right in!
CURRENTLY RENTED ---three bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, two story units with 2 car garages. Soaring Ceilings and fireplaces. All have covered patios. Great homes and wonderful neighborhood!
CURRENTLY RENTED----Three Bedroom, 2 bath, 3 car garage on double lot! New carpeting and hardwood floors in living room, bedroom and hallway. New AC, furnace, and water heater. Large family room with wood burning fireplace. Third bedroom is a master suite with full bath.
CURRENTLY RENTED - Immaculate 3 bed, 2 bath duplex with 2 car garage. Washer and Dryer Included. Great space! 1 year lease min.
CURRENTLY LEASED---3 bedroom, 2.5 bath, eat in kitchen, pantry, dining room, wood burning fireplace, patio, 2 car garage, large lot and great neighborhood! Master bedroom has cathedral ceilings, walk in closet and double sinks in the en suite bathroom. A jack and jill bath connects the other two bedrooms; one of which has another walk in closet.. Upstairs laundry area will save time.
Nick Taylor (217) 355-0700
CURRENTLY LEASED--3 bedroom, split level, 2 bath house. 2 car garage with work bench, deck, yard and downstairs family room. Brand new gas stove.
CURRENTLY LEASED---Nearly new zero lot line home with a popular open floor plan, three bedrooms and two full baths. Spacious living room with gas fireplace leads to an eat-in kitchen with breakfast bar and all appliances will stay! Nice rear patio for relaxing or entertaining guests.
THIS HOUSE CURRENTLY RENTED----3 bed, 2 bath, ranch. Wood burning fireplace, cathedral ceiling in living room and dining. Appliances furnished. Laundry-mud room. Large deck off kitchen. Located in quiet neighborhood with lovely back yard. Fishing available in local lakes. Easy access to Parkland, U of I and businesses
CURRENTLY RENTED---2 bedroom,open floorplan, appliance furnished kitchen, laundry room with hook ups, large master suite, 2 full baths, fireplace, 2 car garage. Average utilities $170 per month.


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VLW Blog links here to this opinion from the Court of Appeals, in which the panel of Judges Kelsey and Petty and Senior Judge Bumgardner granted a writ of innocence.
And, the basis was evidence that the firearm was not a firearm.
Which makes me think of a case years ago, where a Bristol lawyer was defending somebody charged with transporting a truckload of marijuana, and he was going to try to prove that the stuff was not marijuana, and I think the plan was that since he had no expert witness he offered to prove this at trial by putting some in the Commonwealth's Attorney's pipe to see what would happen.


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Whether you've just bought a pair of shoes from high-end cobbler John Lobb, or your first pair of wingtips from Florsheim, properly maintaining your footwear makes a good impression.
Following are some tips on protecting your footwear investment:
–Start by giving shoes a break between wearings by letting them air out a day or two. To help keep their shape, use a shoe tree. Those made of cedar also help absorb moisture and odors.
–Shoe horns may sound like something out of your grandfather's closet, but they can help keep a shoe's shape. Forcing the foot into shoes can stretch them in the wrong places.
–Nothing looks sloppier than a pair of old, unraveled. Keep an extra pair in the shoe box so you won't run the risk of leaving the house with a mismatched pair. And, make sure they're the right length and shape since laces come in flat to round versions. If you want to make a statement, there are lots of colored laces to choose from these days in everything from purple to orange.
–If living in a climate with varying weather conditions, use a leather or suede protector for water repellency. While it won't make the shoes completely waterproof, it will help avoid stains.
–Putting a shine on your shoes is easy to do with a range of polishes available in paste or liquid form. Check to see the color matches correctly or play safe with a neutral option.
–For suede and nubuck, stay away from polishes. Instead, use a soft brush designed for these materials. You can then apply a spray meant for water and stain resistance.
–A leather conditioner can help protect leathers by keeping them supple. While a leather sofa might look good with age, the same can't be said for footwear.
–Lastly, for those who find themselves short on time, periodic visits to a shoe repair shop can yield the same results.


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The Steve Shaughnessy Quartet will be performing a very special live show at the Museum on Friday, July 15th, 2016 from 6:00pm - 7:30pm. Stop by and enjoy live jazz music in an intimate setting.
This event is FREE and open to the public!
Funded by Suffolk County Dept of Parks, Recreation And Conservation.


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Baseball / Softball I Can Do Medallion Christian Necklace
This necklace offers the athlete a reminder that Christ is with them and will provide the strength to handle the challenges of life.
Philippians 4:13 circles the enameled and epoxy coated ball. So if you are a baseman, fielder, short stop, catcher, pinch hitter, or pitcher in the game or simply a fan, this necklace fits the bill!
Back - Philippians 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me
Lead free pewter and epoxy enamel on 24 inch ball chain necklace


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Late Supper
Comforting and full of flavour, these recipes will help you to create a tasty dish to enjoy at the end of a long day.
These recipes include...
Aubergine Hummus
This is an alternative to ordinary hummus. Made from aubergines, herbs and spices, it is delicious served warm with a crusty, rustic bread of your choice. (more)
Baked Vacherin Cheese with Iberico Ham
Here is an unusual marinated cheese recipe.Wrapped in Iberico ham and cooked to perfection, it is one of the most popular dishes at my gastropub 'Touch of Novelli' and also a favourite of my co-partners at The White Horse, Harry Nugent and Tony... (more)
Crispy Ham and Cheese Pork Chop Cappuccio
A nice and original way to cook pork, try to use organic, or you could substitute it with veal, smoked ham or smoked salmon. The idea is similar to the old favourite 'cordon bleu'. It can be served simply with a mixed salad or even with a fried... (more)
My Own French Onion Soup
This soup is streets ahead of other good, hearty soups and no book of mine would be the same without it. I use St André red onions but white onions will also do. If you do use sharp white onions, keep them in milk for several hours before... (more)
Shepherd's Pie-style Baked Jacket Potatoes
An unusual way to serve jacket potatoes, this dish is actually very similar to shepherd's pie. I use Maris Piper potatoes and, since it is not always possible to buy fresh chicken livers, frozen will do – once thawed they work just as well. (more)


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CarPlan - T-Cut Metal Polish - 500ml.
T-Cut Metal Polish Cleans, Polishes, Protects in the car and around the Home.
T-Cut Metal Polish is a multi-purpose cleaner specially formulated to remove light scratches, tarnish and fingerprints, leaving an outstanding highly polished finish. The appearance of deeper scratches will be improved or removed over time after every application.
The unique abrasive formula of T-Cut Metal Polish will remove all superficial dirt and contaminants, leaving the metal surface looking brand new.
Use T-Cut Metal Polish on all types of alloy, copper, chrome and brass in the car, on boats, caravans and around the home, for an outstanding, rejuvenated finish.
*A surface scratch is determined by feeling no obstruction when passing a fingernail over the mark. If an obstruction is noticed, it will be deeper then a surface scratch and T-Cut Metal Polish can only help in improving the appearance of the scratch.
Product 2/12
This product was added to our catalog on Monday 01 September, 2008.


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text: Occasionally in the design world, we get to do something that may actually help the world world. We have the distinct honor of working with The Nature Conservancy from time to time on design pieces they have. This has meant that we've learned a great deal about The Niobrara Valley Preserve, sandhill cranes, and bison over the years. And now, we know a little more about irrigation.


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So it probably comes as no surprise that I'm loving colour for the Autumn Winter season. I mean, you really only have a short window of opportunity in which you can get away with wearing bright orange velvet pants. You may as well just live it up! Here's a song to get you in the "dance-around-the-house-like-a-maniac" spirit.
These awesome creations are made by Swedish born / German based designer Charlotte Sörman from Cmig {which means "see me" in Swedish}. The selection of pants featured here is made from velvet, but you can find them in a range of different fabrics. Charlotte also designs an adorable collection of printed tees, pyjamas and hats for kids and clothing for Mums and Dads as well.
You'll find some of Charlotte's garments in her Etsy store, or you can visit her blog to check out the full collection {it's in Swedish though…}


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Tony Gallagher Photography
With more than 16 years of professional experience, a distinct eye for detail, artistic vision and the guiding principle of client satisfaction.
I'd love to hear from you and discuss your photography needs. Feel free to contact me by phone or email for more information about my services and pricing.
Address: 715 Galapago St. Denver, Colorado, United States, 80204
Phone: 303-520-9111
Website: http://www.tonygallagherphotography.com/


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Writing Conflicted Loyalties: An Indian Journalist's perspectives on the dilemmas of Indian troops in Indonesia, 1945
Heather Goodall (UTS), Professor (History)
Page 1
The Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic blasts in August 1945 seemed to bring the Second World War to an abrupt end – that is, if you were in Europe or the USA. For Asia, the Second World War ended much more slowly.
Here, the hostilities continued in many different forms, with the main protagonists all still very much involved. The Japanese remained largely where they had been before August 15. In some places they were in flight and under attack, but in many other places they were as bewildered and confused as the local people.
At the same time, the old hostilities which had often been the justification for fighting – like opposition to the long established European empires – were reasserting themselves once the immediate crisis of warfare was over. Opposition to European empires had, after all, been one of the rationales used by the Japanese for their rapid occupations in 1942, and it had certainly been a motive for the early tolerance or even support extended to the incoming Japanese by some previously colonised local people. There were many reasons. Indians in South East Asia were in the Indian National Army (INA) for example, but those who had chosen to join (rather than being coerced) had done so in the hope that the Japanese would assist them to bring an end to British colonisation. [1] For such people, the end of the war did not resolve their wider concerns. Rather than a sudden end to hostilities on August 15, the tensions in many ways escalated, as the European empires began moving to reassert their old powers.
The British were leading the South East Asian Command (SEAC), charged with accepting the Japanese surrender and 'restoring order' after Japanese military and civil occupation. Although the phrases of the 1941 Atlantic Charter – calling for self determination for all – continued to echo around Asia, it became clear that in most cases, SEAC under the British was simply going to facilitate the return of those old empires. [2]
The Indian troops in the British Army have been described as a model of the 'colonial army' – cheap and plentiful because recruited from among colonised peoples, and chosen according to the British 'martial races' mythology as being supposedly innately suited to combat and therefore loyalty to their colonial officers, rather than to any emerging anti-colonial nationalism. [3] Most were Hindus and Sikhs, with some Christians. Initially, there had been fewer Muslims, who were thought to be associated with the Mughal Empire which had been defeated by the British in the colonisation of the Raj. After the Rebellion of 1857, the British had in fact harboured a lingering suspicion also about the loyalty of Hindus and Sikhs, so from that time Indian troops had been organised into fighting units according to their ethnicity and origins, in a clear strategy of 'divide and rule'. [4] Yet the Indians in the British Army, while often known as the 'Indian Army', with lower status and on lower rates of pay than British officers or troops, nevertheless included career soldiers who prided themselves on being a part of that British Army. [5] These loyalties were to come under intense challenge during this long end to World War 2, as the documents in this collection show.
These documents arise from observations of these troops during the uneasy period after August 15 in South East Asia, in which the Japanese, the Allies and local people all continued to come into armed conflict. These observations are unique in that they are the only extensive writing about Indian troops by another Indian, PRS Mani, a journalist commissioned as a Captain in the British Army, serving in the Public Relations unit. Despite Mani's focus on the months after the Japanese surrender, these documents – and the course of this 'long end' to the war – were shaped directly by the events of the war itself. So this discussion will address both periods in order to allow some context for interpreting the documents here.
Furthermore, each type of source material we have is limited – this was an environment of many layers of communication – official military dispatches, government policies, newspapers, photographs, radio, newsreel film and, of course, constant rumours. The documentary sources which have survived might openly reference these other types of communication or might have just assumed that they were part of every reader's awareness.
Indian Journalists in South East Asia during the war: Manipur and Burma, 1944
Indian journalists had been very involved in the war AS journalists both inside and outside of the conflicting armies. An example of a war correspondent for Indian newspapers was T. G. Narayanan, an outstanding journalist from the staff of the Hindu, who became well known in 1944 because of his published accounts of the gruelling famine in Bengal, which was so directly a result of the warfare conditions. Narayanan continued on the staff of the Hindu in Manipur and then Burma, covering the battles with the Japanese and then their retreat down the spine of Burma into Malaya. When Japan surrendered, Narayanan went to Batavia, still reporting for the Hindu, to cover the emerging conflict between the Indonesian Republicans, the SEAC under British command, the Dutch seeking to return and – in some cases – the Japanese whom the British recruited on occasions to maintain policing duties.
An example of journalists working inside the British Army was PRS Mani (known initially by his full name of PR Subrahmanyan) who was the author of most of the documents to be considered in this study. Mani was a young investigative reporter also from near Madras, on the south eastern coast of India and a close friend of T.G. Narayanan with whom he had attended Madras Christian College. Mani had been interested in Theosophy, meeting many of the European visitors to the Theosophical centre at Adyar during the 1930s, leaving him with an internationalist outlook as well as a sense of puzzlement that the Dutch colonialists he met in Indonesia were so different from the Dutch theosophists he had met at Adyar. His great passion however was for Indian nationalism and in 1939 he wrote an extended homage to Jawaharlal Nehru, whose commitment to grappling with real world problems seemed to Mani to embody the socialism to which he himself adhered.
Mani had worked for All India Radio in the early 1940s but he was passionately opposed to Fascism, and after the Japanese occupation of South East Asia and its threat to eastern India, Mani was determined to contribute to fighting the Japanese. He was commissioned as a Captain in the British Army and posted to the Public Relations division in Manipur, on the edge of the conflict with the Japanese in Burma. [6]
The British Army – and the British government – expected the Public Relations (PR) division to boost morale – and for Indian journalists in the PR department to focus their efforts on building up the fighting spirit of the Indian troops. [7] Its instruction book to PR staff first quoted Dusty Miller, a 'famous boxer and Army trainer', then explained the role expected of its PR officers:
You will never get a chap to fight if he has something on his mind: Today YOU officers, British and Indian, are true trainers and YOURS is the task of taking these 'somethings' off the mind of each soldier by understanding, by interest, by sympathy and by explanation. [8]
Mani did not see his role in this way. He always signed his dispatches as 'Mani, Indian Army Observer' (rather than 'Public Relations' officer). Like Narayanan, Mani was a Tamil which meant he was from a very different area and culture than the majority of Indians recruited into the Army, who had come from the states of the North West, like the Punjab and Maharashtra. Yet, although Mani fulfilled the British Army expectations by sending off regular dispatches, he acted to subvert the British strategy of 'divide and rule' in order to marginalise any unified Indian nationalist sentiments. Mani instead sought to inform all Indian troops – and the Indian public – about the diversity of their fellow countrymen in different units, despite their different religions or places of origin. He clearly felt, as he was to note in his diary in 1945, an intense loyalty to all these Indian troops who made up a substantial proportion of the British Army in South East Asia. He was aware that the British press and military information machine paid little attention to the Indian soldiers who were fighting so bravely and in so many different parts of the army. The Imperial War Museum (IWM) film footage of this period makes an instructive comparison – filmed by British cinematographers, the IWM cameras focussed consistently on the British troops, with shots composed so that the troops who were not British were on the edges of the frame or too far away to be individually identified.
Mani titled his 1944 dispatches as reports on The Battle of Manipur and they were very different from the IWM images. Each of Mani's reports was a tightly crafted vignette highlighting the actions and personality of a different Indian soldier or group of fighting men, from many different local places in India, some from as far afield as Madras and other areas, many Hindu but some also Muslim and from a range of different castes. Some were subaltern foot soldiers and some were officers. Some were tank drivers, some were artillerymen and others were mule handlers. Mani profiled each in turn, introducing them in effect to each other, seeking out the many different origins and affiliations of Indian soldiers, celebrating their achievements and ensuring that all of them were recognised for their courage, initiative and resilience.
As well as researching and writing these dispatches, Mani was active in attending to the interests – and therefore the morale – of the Indian troops, ensuring for example that they had access to radio entertainment and news from home through the very modern electronic media with which he was so familiar.
Mani was doing far more, however, than attending to the men within the army. As an investigative journalist, he continued to see himself as seeking out and learning how to understand the local conditions. He was in close touch with T. G. Narayanan and Mani found many other southern Indians in South East Asia – not only in Manipur but – as the Japanese Army retreated – also down in Burma and Malaya. To find the southern Indians among the Indian troops, Mani had had to be very active in seeking them out for his dispatches. But in South East Asia there were substantial Tamil and Malayali-speaking communities. [9] Some of these people had fled the incoming Japanese – including the family of PRS Mani's future wife – and were now in places like Manipur or moving further into the other eastern Indian states. Others – including those who had left India in protest against the rule of the British, like Gouri Sen's father [10] – refused to leave Burma or Malaya when the Japanese occupied it. Instead they remained and often took up roles in the Indian Independence Leagues (IILs), the civilian organisations comprised of many southern Indians, which arose across South East Asia after 1942. The IILs articulated the interests of local diasporic Indian communities and expressed their opposition to the continued presence of the British in India. The Japanese tolerated the existence of these bodies but the relationship between the IILs and the Japanese was varied and often uneasy. Many of the IIL members either supported or joined the emerging Indian National Army (INA), which formed up for the second time under Subhas Chandra Bose (known as Netaji) in 1943. The INA aimed to use military force to attack British colonial control over India. It was endorsed by the Japanese although it appears that relationships between the INA and the Japanese were uneasy. The INA was composed of both Indian troops (who had previously been prisoners of the Japanese and had opted or been forced to join the INA) and of Indian volunteers (both men and women) from across South East Asia. Around 75 Indian men, for example, travelled from the Indian communities across what was then the Netherlands East Indies, to join the INA in Malaya. [11]
Mani was not sympathetic to Bose or the goals of the INA itself, because despite sharing the ideas of the INA's nationalism, he had remained firmly committed to fighting what he saw as the Fascism of the Japanese. What he was very interested in, however, were the INA's relationships with the local Indian populations in Burma and Malaya, whom Mani could see were often exploited as indentured plantation labourers in Malaya or as industrial workers in Burma. Others again were merchants or professional people, like Gouri Sen's father who was a lawyer. Many of these people were therefore articulate and well able to present the facts of their conditions under both the present Japanese and the earlier British occupations. Mani assisted T.G. Narayanan to write a detailed report on the INA and the local Indian populations which Mani explained in his 1986 book. Narayanan had 'painfully compiled the account over a period of several months, often seeking contacts in territory beyond the control of the British forces. Mani's interest particularly lay in the way the INA and Bose had recognised the industrial and civil conditions of the local Indian populations, so that the INA leadership held not just military goals but social goals as well. [12]
After this extensive research report was compiled, Mani delivered it personally to Nehru himself, probably late in 1944 or early 1945, when he returned to India in his official PR role in the British Army to give radio broadcasts about the conditions of the Indian troops in Manipur and Burma. [13] The existence of the INA was at that stage being kept secret by the British Army and so Mani's dispatches do not ever mention it – but the INA was broadcasting on short wave radio and it is understood that these broadcasts were informing people in eastern India to some extent about the existence and rationale of the INA. Indians who had remained inside Malaya and Burma have strong memories of these broadcasts. [14] Mani's delivery of the INA report to Nehru was apparently successful but the report itself has not yet been found among the Nehru papers held in the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library.
Another aspect of the INA to which Mani paid close attention was the relationship between the INA and the Japanese. He came to the conclusion, as he discussed in his later book, that the INA under Netaji may have been in alliance with the Japanese but was not by any means dependent on or subservient to Japan in either social or military direction. This conclusion was important in Mani's later assessment of the Indonesian republicans like Sukarno, who had taken leadership roles under the Japanese and cooperated with their civil structure during the Japanese occupation, but still claimed to be independent of Japanese control. In Mani's view, this claim could be valid, as he had seen the same type of retention of independence among the INA leadership despite the need to work with the Japanese during their occupation. [15]
So Mani's early dispatches, until the Japanese surrender in August 1945, demonstrate that although the British saw Mani and other Indian journalists as being employed solely to 'boost morale' in accordance with British military goals, Mani himself saw his role very differently. He did fulfil the British expectation to boost morale but only in accordance with his own strategy of doing so by recognising and celebrating Indian troop achievements which were being routinely ignored by the British. But far more than this, Mani continued to see himself as an investigative journalist and he operated far beyond the range of the British instructions or indeed knowledge, to learn about and evaluate the situation of Indians and local people, both military and civilian, in the very difficult conditions of warfare. The outcomes of these investigations are more difficult to find than his dispatches to the military. His investigative work emerged only in his later writing or in some cases – such as that of the report on the INA from 1944 – it has not yet surfaced at all.
The War 'Ends'
When the Japanese surrendered, there did not seem to be a dramatic change for the Indians in the British army. There was no automatic discharge: their terms of duty continued and the British continued to regard them as reliable troops of its 'colonial army' who could be expected to go on obeying British orders without question.
Once the immediate threat of Japanese invasion appeared to be over, however, a simmering anger resurfaced within India about the refusal of the British to leave. This anger was widely evident in Indian newspapers of which not only Mani himself but Indian troops in general were well aware. [16] Already a committed Nationalist, Mani was perhaps even more fervent after his wartime experiences. He was alarmed to realise that he and the troops to whom he had become so close were all now to be moved over into the flashpoint areas of the region – in particular into Indochina and Indonesia – where nationalist movements had already emerged and yet where the British insisted their role was to restore the old European imperial controls. Mani's papers suggest he was from the beginning very unhappy about this situation but believed he should remain with the troops, as he was one of the few who was recording their perspectives. [17] From the first landing at Batavia, Mani in his dispatch of September 29 was uneasy about the 'lukewarm' reception by Indonesians for the Indian troops, who while still at sea had confided in him that their goals were to reestablish the ancient bonds between Indian and Indonesian peoples. By the time Mani was writing his personal diary entries from Surabaya for October 25 to 28, the hostility of the Indonesians to what they saw as another colonial army was not only evident but was taking its toll on the morale of Indian troops. [18] Over the six months from August to December 1945, Mani wrestled with this dilemma. [19] He soon found himself in the most ferocious battle of all for the troops under Britain's South East Asia Command (SEAC), the Battle of Surabaya, but he continued to submit dispatches to the British.
At the same time, however, he released his frustrations by keeping a diary, fragments of which survive, closely typed on fragile paper. The diary reveals a wide discrepancy between his view of any situation and the way he wrote about it for the British. Only when he eventually resigned his commission with the British, and became a foreign correspondent in March 1946 with the Free Press Journal of Bombay, did his views find a public platform. Mani did not take the route of publishing his frustrations in the Indian press while he was still in the army, although some other Indian journalists did. Indeed, events swept Mani up so rapidly that there was hardly time to consider what the alternatives might be. Yet his rising distress and frustration became clear in his diary entries, as the following documents show.
Indonesia, late 1945
When Mani arrived in Batavia on 28 September 1945, he was immediately concerned about the sullen response which the Indians received. He compared it to the welcome given to Indian troops arriving as part of the British Army into Singapore in August, where they were seen as liberating the city. Mani remarked poignantly that, while travelling on the ship heading for Indonesia, the Indian troops had told him that they were hoping that the Indonesians would welcome them as brothers, reuniting two related but long separated cultures.
Even before they landed in Indonesia, Mani and the Indian troops he travelled with were made aware of the enormous anger being expressed at home as nationalists across India protested bitterly at the British use of Indian troops, particularly in Indochina, where they had been deployed directly in armed conflict with the Annamites or Vietnamese Nationalists. Some English-born troops in the British Army in Indonesia were also uneasy about the role they were being asked to play, with one group writing to the Labour Prime Minister in London protesting at the position into which they were being forced. Indonesians had also heard about the use of British troops against the Indo-Chinese nationalists. So it was hardly surprising that when the troops and Mani arrived in Batavia (Jakarta) the crowds who greeted them were silent. Mani saw anti-British graffiti all over the buildings as they were taken into their barracks and it as clear that their arrival was not welcomed.
In these first few weeks in Batavia, in early October, Mani reported that Indian troops were largely asked to do no more than simple policing duties, although his dispatches showed that he was angered by the menial nature of the tasks they were asked to perform for British officers. [20] He suggested in general that Indian troops were uneasy about their position, but as yet had little sense of urgency. This was to change dramatically when the troops arrived at Surabaya on October 25.
Some of Mani's account comes from his book, Story of Indonesian Revolution, published in 1986. He gathered together his papers from 1945 to write this book and seems to have been careful to rely on them. There were however some sections of his papers which were not included in the book – like his account of Manipur and Burma – while some vital contextual details for the 1945 documents are included only in the book. We learn from his book, for example, that in Indonesia – just as he had in Manipur and Burma – he went much further than the PR role which the British expected. As an investigative journalist, apart from supporting the Indian troops with recreational radio again, Mani set about meeting and getting to know the Indonesian nationalist leadership, becoming particularly close friends with Sutan Sjahrir and Amir Sjarifuddin. [21] The British in Batavia were scathing about Sukarno, whom they called a Quisling because of his history of working with the Japanese, and they also denigrated other Indonesian leaders, describing the town – in which substantial numbers of Dutch were present seeking to be restored to power – as confused and disordered. [22] Mani's friend T. G. Narayanan was also in Batavia and Mani was in close contact with him. [23] In one of a series of thoughtful features for the Hindu, Narayanan explained that the chaos in Batavia was caused by the many competing forces in the city. He pointed the Hindu readers instead to Bandung, where the Nationalists were largely in control. Here Narayanan argued, order and calm prevailed. It was the Dutch and the British, he explained, who had been making Batavia ungovernable. [24]
After only a few weeks, the Indian troops with whom Mani was posted, the 23rd Indian Division, were sent to Surabaya. The division contained Mahratti and Rajput artillerymen, as well as troops from many other Indian regions. Surabaya was a busy maritime port with a highly politicised population like any port city. Moreover, it was completely in the hands of the Indonesian Republicans. The Japanese had surrendered to a small group of impatient Dutch – who were promptly imprisoned by the Indonesian Republicans who then assumed control of the whole Japanese armoury. This was in fact the only Indonesian city in which the Republicans formed the sole civil structure – for even in Bandung some British and Dutch were present. At Surabaya, the Indonesians had been running the city effectively for some weeks by the time the British and Indians arrived. The SEAC troops had been delayed by the logistics of evacuating internees from the other cities where they had been installed. So by the time the British and Indians arrived at Surabaya on October 25, the civil order of the city was firmly established under the Republicans. Again, Mani noted the hostility of the crowds at the docks: "As in Batavia, local reception was cold and unenthusiastic and anti-Dutch slogans greeted us all over the harbour."
The British had by this stage made it clear they were not prepared to accept Republican control as 'normalcy' and they would insist on the start of talks with the Dutch to facilitate the return of the Dutch to control the port. Nevertheless, the initial British negotiation with the Republican mayor of the city appeared to commit the British to remaining in the port area itself, on the mouth of the river and at the edge of the town. Mani reported in his dispatch of October 25 that there 'were no incidents' and on October 26: "The occupation by Indian troops is proceeding peacefully according to plan… so far there has been no hitch….".
The history of the 23rd Division, The Fighting Cock, by a British officer, Lieutenant-Colonel AJF Doulton, portrays the troops in Surabaya as being in complete isolation from any local population, other than in engagements with the people it identifies as 'the enemy'. Again Mani's accounts of these early days in Surabaya were different. He had already pointed out in dispatches from Batavia that some Indian soldiers had been born and raised in Indonesia, in Medan in one case, and spoke fluent Malay.
Now from Surabaya, Mani sent two dispatches on his third day there, October 27. The first one focussed on how Indian merchants living in Surabaya had been crucial to the peaceful initial landing. Mani describes the close communication between local Indonesian leaders and the resident Indians, who then approached an Indian Major leading troops into the city and successfully persuaded him to camp for the night outside the urban area. Such a recognition of the presence and active role of local Indian populations cannot be found in the British accounts of the day, except in the underlying suspicion with which the British military consistently regarded local Indians. [25]
In Mani's second official dispatch of October 27, he gives a bland account of a meeting held by the British commanding officer, Brigadier Mallaby, with the Indonesian authorities after a leaflet was dropped across Surabaya, authorised by the British commander in Batavia, demanding all Indonesians disarm:
Brigadier told doctor [Mustafa – the Indonesian governor of East Java] that his orders to disarm the Indonesians were direct from SACSEA that voluntary disarmament should be complete by the end of the month….
Mani's diary for these same dates tell a very different story in every respect. From the very first sight of the city, the anxiety amongst Indian troops increased. Mani had only hinted at this in his dispatches, but his diary entry for October 25 said:
The port is 'decorated' with anti-Dutch and anti-imperialist slogans, and for the first time in Java, slogans have also appeared in Hindustani: "Azadi ya Khunrezi!" (Freedom or Bloodshed!) Its effect on Indian troops, especially the Mahrattas and Rajrifs, who compose the Brigade, is remarkable. Reports have reached me that they are already beginning to ask their officers if they have to fight the Indonesians…. [26]
Mani was billeted away from most of the troops. He was at the Liberty Hotel with other PR staff and with the staff of the Allied forces RAPWI (Recovery of Allied Prisoners of War and Internees), whose job it was to find and repatriate allied troops and civilians who had been prisoners of war. From here, Mani made forays into the city to try to learn more about it and its people.
In this diary entry of 25 October Mani wrote that Mallaby had handled his first meeting with the Indonesians very poorly. As Mani saw it, Mallaby had been insensitive and rude and had apparently failed completely to appreciate the position of the Indonesian authorities who were trying to allay the anxieties of the various groups of nationalists in the city. Mani feared that the Indonesians were:
beginning to regard us as the vanguard of Dutch Imperialism… The pity is we are all Indians here and appreciate like their leaders in Batavia that we have not come to Java of our own volition. [27]
By the time he wrote the second Surabaya entry on October 26, Mani was seriously alarmed. Despite the dispassionate tone in his dispatches, his diary entries show that Mani felt that Mallaby's next conference had also gone badly. Mallaby appeared to Mani to have been contemptuous of Indonesian armed strength.
In this entry, Mani wrote: "A thousand Regrets I am not a free correspondent to report what I observe. Anyway, duty by troops from my own country and cannot leave them." He went to bed "with a vague suspicion there may be a bloodbath in store for us….." [28]
Worse was to come on October 27 with the dropping of the leaflets in Indonesian – which Mani could read with the Malay he had picked up in the Malayan and Burma campaigns. Mani's diary entry tells a very different story than his bland dispatch about this sequence of events, quoted above. This leaflet had demanded that the Indonesian forces give up their arms, which was explicitly contrary to the commitments Mani knew that Mallaby had given. Mani wrote: "I feel that the proud Indonesians would not give up their arms until the Dutch menace is removed." [29] Yet Mallaby had displayed what Mani believed was 'sheer arrogance', telling the Indonesians that 'he is the ruler of the place'.
Trying to find the real story, Mani went out again to see T.D.Kundan, the well-informed Sindhi merchant who was trusted by the Indonesian nationalists. Kundan gave Mani 'plenty of dope on the local situation'. Mani wrote of his sorrow:
for the Indian troops who are weary of war and are longing to be back home. These famous warriors seem to be forever trapped in the web of destiny to which they so pathetically cling. [30]
What Mani did not know was that early the next day, on October 28, Mallaby ordered the Indian troops to be deployed across the city – far beyond the port area – in what was another contravention of the agreement previously reached with the local authorities. Mallaby ordered the Indian troops to set up in small units, referred to as 'penny packets', within the kampungs, or neighbourhoods ('urban villages'). This could be no more than a symbolic occupation of the city. The Indian troops continued to be far outnumbered. [31]
In the morning of October 28, Mani spent more time with Kundan over lunch and returned to the hotel around 4pm. Not long afterwards, he heard the first shots ring out as the battle was beginning in earnest.
Their hotel was soon besieged and all radio communication outwards was cut off. Mani, as a Captain, was second in command for the Indian troops posted at the hotel who tried to defend the journalists and RAPWI staff – and themselves. Mani moved from position to position to support the soldiers but also tried to monitor the radio. Although he could not get messages out, Mani could hear the harrowing Mayday calls from the many isolated units of Indian troops which were now all under attack.
Then he heard their screams as their posts were overrun and they were killed, one by one. These broadcasts were also described by Major Henstock who recorded his memories of listening, similarly helpless, from the HQ radio. [32] Mani did not learn until later that other Indian soldiers had been burned alive when their post in a cinema was set on fire.
He was finally able to speak to Kundan, who was trying to get a message through to Mallaby at the British HQ to call a truce. Mani explained all communications were disrupted and begged Kundan to move through the city by car to get the message through. [33] Mani did not know either that he had been lucky to have been able to return to the hotel at all.


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I'm 40ish, married with 1 boy who (probably) loves his Xbox more than me. I'm on to my third career and an eternal student. Working with a small army of delightful (most of the time) children, my house is a giant Wendy House. I'm a secret writer. I love:
Jammies; slippers; food; charity shops; reading; writing; swimming; pinterest; crafts; baking; creative writing; music; car boot sales; walking; movies; theatre; holidays; alcohol; adventuring; sitting at 2am googling nonsense when I should be sleeping; laughing with friends; writing; my mum and dad; animals; Mr O; being one of the children and when my son shouts 'love you' when I drop him off at school . I hope to add to this list.
My pen name is Beth O'Neal. I could pick any name in the world and I picked Beth O'Neal? What else do you need to know? Career stuff. I completed a questionnaire once and I'm a "completer finisher". The problem is once I've completed whatever it is, I move on to the next thing. This is why I have several college diplomas, two degrees and all are unrelated. I've changed careers several times and had countless jobs ranging from Mushroom Picking to HR Manager. I suppose I can say I like variety.
I'm not very good at:
- Fashion advice (unless it's 90's fashion, as I'm still wearing that stuff from my wardrobe)
- Written articles about sport. I did watch darts once, does that count?
- Anything related to numbers, I'm rubbish with numbers (unless it's about saving money)
- Leaving a party early
- Taking beautiful photographs (I use my battered old Sony phone)
- 'How I lost 50 lbs and kept it off' articles – it's the keeping it off part I struggle with!
- Actually I could fill this list quite easily, so I'll just stop here.


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As the UK's foremost equestrian charity, The British Horse Society works closely with the Government in the interests of horses and owners.
We are often consulted on issues such as access, safety and horse welfare, and to help inform legislation that is beneficial to the lives of horses throughout the UK.
This can include: Criminal Record Checks, Rights of Way, Safeguarding Children, Equality, Highway Code and Driver Licensing Laws.
The Government Affairs Register lists all work and the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for the Horse, who meet three times a year in Westminster, raises issues of importance with Parliament and briefs ministers on current issues affecting horses and their owners, riders and drivers.
These meetings are open to all MPs and Peers, and one representative from each of the following organisations is invited to attend:
For details of the next APPG meeting, please contact Karen Irving at firstname.lastname@example.com.
View or download meeting minutes below (pdfs):
July 2013
May 2013
January 2013
June 2012
March 2012
December 2011
July 2011
March 2011
Find out how your money improves the lives of horses, riders and carriage drivers
Our Work


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40 Best Home Decor Websites
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Dubai shopping and electronic malls are worth visiting to buy electronics at comparatively cheap prices than anywhere else across the globe. The California e-tailer just launched its first collection called NEED, which will piggyback off of the minimal aesthetic of the site with wide leg trousers and kimono-like jackets, among other items. In some cases, stores will offer you free express shipping if you order a certain amount. They also carry a variety of day dresses and other apparel, but everything is incredibly pretty. Take your love for western clothing to another hilt by indulging in shopping in completely new way.
Love Miss Daisy sells vintage pieces from the Forties through to the Eighties, plus a stunning selection of wedding dresses. Keep in touch with us for the best deals in Singapore or check out our new arrivals and promotional campaigns such as Halloween Sale , Black Friday , Online Revolution , and more! While identifying what are essentially and arguably the best possible online shopping sites, it was also made sure that they are online stores that sell the maximum lifestyle products. This is the online equivalent of a high-fashion car-boot sale where the online community comes together to buy and sell each other's wares, with the added advantage of an online team who check over the quality of every item. Gone are the days of waiting in traffic and working our way through overcrowded stores.


text: Many of you have received notices that the MTA will be deducting from pay checks, "overpayments" that were made by a "glitch" in the payroll system. The General Committee was informed of the "glitch" at the same time the letters were sent. The General Committee argued against these unfair deduction as they were no fault of the employees, and demanded a cancelation of the deductions. When the MTA refused to relent, the General Committee studied the labor code and found potential violations of the law. The General Committee then directed legal council to investigate the issue and find a legal solution. As a result, the deductions, that were scheduled for today, have been put on hold until a legal review can run its course. This does not mean that the deduction may not eventually occur, but for now the deductions will not happen. An announcement will be made once a legal decision has been made.


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This column ran on April 20, 2014 in the Capital Gazette
and on April 21, 2014 in the Maryland Gazette
Following a nationwide search for the next Superintendent of Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS), the Board of Education has narrowed the field to three candidates, two of whom are long-time employees of the school system. The Board appears to believe that our schools are on the right track and that consistency is more important than bringing in someone with fresh ideas to improve our schools.
This would be a mistake. While data indicates that our elementary schools are providing a top-notch education, the same cannot be said for our middle and high schools. Rather than continuing the status quo, we need to bring in a data-oriented superintendent who will ask the tough questions and recommend substantial changes to improve our schools.
Maryland School Assessment (MSA) data shows that Anne Arundel County students leave elementary school with reading and math abilities that are among the best in the state and, potentially, the country. Unfortunately, by the end of eighth grade, the MSA math performance of our students has dropped far below that of students in the other top-performing school systems in the state, Howard and Montgomery Counties, and even below the average for all students in the state of Maryland.
While it would be comforting to believe that these poor results are an anomaly of inaccurate MSA testing, our students are also not excelling by other measures. Despite the high potential our students demonstrate in elementary school, the average SAT score of Anne Arundel County students last year was identical to the national average of 1,498. This is in sharp contrast to Montgomery and Howard Counties, whose students score comparably to ours in elementary school but whose soon-to-be graduates have average SAT scores of 1,648 and 1,653, respectively.
There are several factors that could be playing a role in these poor results:
Learn more at www.ImprovingAACPS.com.
Unfortunately, these disturbing statistics are not serving as wake-up calls to improve our schools. While well-run businesses have been utilizing data to continuously improve their operations for decades, AACPS administrators have a tendency to discredit or ignore data that shows the need for improvement.
There is a better way. Large school systems around the country are implementing strong data-driven cultures where decisions are based on hard data showing what works and what doesn't. All three of the large school districts that won the coveted Broad Foundation prize in recent years for dramatically improving academic performance and reducing their achievement gaps attribute a large part of their success to strong real-time, performance-focused data systems that give teachers and administrators the tools to improve their effectiveness.
The choice of Anne Arundel County's next Superintendent will have a substantial impact on the future educational achievement of our children. I ask the Board of Education to choose a candidate who commits to bringing our school system into the 21st century by relying on the analysis of hard data to help all of our students fulfill their full potential.


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Volume 2: Thinning Shears - Theory and Techniques DVD
Volume 2: Thinning Shears - Theory and Techniques DVD
In this one hour video Jodi will guide you in what to look for when buying thinning shears. She will explain the different teeth configurations and how each will affect your end results.
Jodi is well known for her flawless thinning shear techniques. Starting her career as a hair stylist many years ago, Jodi has incorporated many techniques from the beauty side and has crossed over to pet grooming. She has developed techniques that will bring your skills to the next level. When used properly thinning shears can be a "great eraser" as well as the ultimate transition tool to naturally blend lines from clipper work into longer coat. Jodi will also demonstrate several breeds with different coat types and walk you through thinning techniques such as blending, lift layering, bulk thinning, softening as well as many other techniques that will significantly improve your finished product.


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Tuesday, April 29, 2008
ALA Schedule
Here's what I'll be doing on Sunday, June 29:
YALSA Speed Dating (lots of YA authors hopping from table to table): 8-11 AM
Signing at Harcourt Booth- 11:30 AM-12:30 PM
Signing at Scholastic Booth- 3-4 PM
I'm going to put this schedule on the right side of the blog, and keep it there until after the conference is over, so if any of you will be at ALA, you'll know where I'll be and when.
On a slightly different note, I should be getting my first copy of the dead and the gone tomorrow. I am beyond excited.
6 comments:
- Dawn said...
YAY! I am so excited! I actually have a break on Sunday from 11:00-12:30, so I will most certainly be seeing you at the Harcourt booth!
- April 29, 2008 at 1:53 PM
- Susan Beth Pfeffer said...
Oh, I'm so pleased.
I'll be easy to recognize. I'll be the one sitting there, autographing pen clutched to my breast, crying out in the wilderness- Why Is Everyone Ignoring Me?
Besides, I look exactly like all my self-portraits!
- April 29, 2008 at 5:52 PM
Just commenting to tell you that an Aussie has a copy of the dead & the gone =P my book shop called me up to inform me that my copy had been imported from England! Haha I've been reading it non-stop since! Its really good so far!
also I'm going to do an oral presentation on Life As We Knew It. We have to read two short extracts from the book - do you have any ideas of which extracts I should pick? Lol.
- April 30, 2008 at 2:45 AM
- Susan Beth Pfeffer said...
Hi Caroline-
I hope you continue to like d&g.
The two sections of LAWKI I read out loud are the one when the meteor actually hits the moon (it's the start of chapter 2 (May 18), and I end it right before Mom says she's going to call Matt (so the last line is about singing the Star Spangled Banner), and I also read from Chapter 3, May 19, starting with When I went outside to wait for the bus, and end it with Mom showing up at school (the beginning of crazy shopping day).
I don't know if that's too long for you (I ususally read one or the other), but they both pull out of the book pretty well.
Let me know how it goes!
- April 30, 2008 at 8:01 AM
- Dawn said...
Ha! I am certain that will not be the case. I fully expect to wait in a long line of equally excited librarians to meet you. See you soon!
- April 30, 2008 at 3:32 PM
- Susan Beth Pfeffer said...
Hi again Dawn (and anyone else who might be reading this)-
Scholastic asked me for a photograph, and since I hate my publicity photo, I forced Marci to take one of me.
I like it so much, it's now my profile photograph.
If you want to know what a beautiful flowering tree looks like with an old short, dumpy, freelance children's book writer standing in front of it looks like, just scroll down and down and down, and there it is.
Ooh, I bet it'll be right next to this comment too. I'll post it and see...
- April 30, 2008 at 4:15 PM


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My baby at her preschool graduation. She still has another year left before kindergarten but all kids participate on graduation night. It was such a fun year for her!
She had the sweetest teacher...Miss Darla. The epitome of church lady, grandma, and preschool teacher all wrapped in one bundle!
Monday, May 23, 2011
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Photo Recovery: Life Through A New Lens
The course offers you photography training as well as a chance to meet new friends and build vital skills that can help you in everyday life. By taking this course we guarantee that your photos will improve 100% and so will your outlook on life. Even if you're a complete beginner our course will take you from being an absolute beginner, or hobby photographer, to becoming an advanced photographer in no time at all. We'll teach you everything you need to know including how to avoid the mistakes made by so many people. Ask weekly questions, engage and grow.


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Maryland Moving Services
Finding a moving company in Maryland you can trust to handle your belongings may be a scary thought. However, with Expedite Moving, rest assured that you are in safe hands. Our team has had plenty of experience moving many clients' belongs across town, states, and even the country. We get that you have a lot on your plate when you're in the middle of the moving process. From figuring out closing details or rental agreements, you are probably stressed out enough already. This is why we offer Maryland moving and storage options to give you the peace of mind that your possessions will be transferred to your new residency or stored safely.
– Accommodating and considerate workers
– We can move your belongings fast and safely
– Great customer service
– Prices remain the same
– Licensed, insured & bonded
Expedite Moving
goes the extra mile to keep customers happy
- Fair & Upfront
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Contact Info
General Inquiries: email@example.com
Support: firstname.lastname@example.com
Toll Free: 1-(888)-877-4425
Business Hours: Monday – Saturday, 9:00am – 6:00pm


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Housing Tides: Frequently Asked Questions
Basic Facts
What is Housing Tides?
Housing Tides ("Tides") is the only monthly report providing a comprehensive, aggregated, balanced understanding of the health of the U.S. housing and home building industry. Tides was specially designed to help people and organizations wishing to take the guesswork out of the vast amount of forecasting information that is published about the home building and housing industry, easily access the information they need in one consolidated source, and decrease the amount of time required to read through all of the available news sources.
What information is in the Tides Report?
Tides features a monthly forecast of housing permits; a monthly aggregation of over 500 articles published about the housing market in national media; a report card on the accuracy of prominent forecasters in the media and industry; and a housing health index that scores each market on its health, and ranks each market compared to others.
What can people do with Tides?
People use Tides to better understand the market risks associated with housing market health, accurately predict home building volume, and make more timely and informed decisions about investing in this industry.
Who uses Tides?
Anyone who has a stake in the current and future state of the housing market will benefit from Tides – including financial & equity analysts, REITs, mortgage lenders, product manufacturers and distributors, home builders, economic development professionals and home insurers. Also, for media outlets that publish news and perspectives on the U.S. housing and home building industry, the Housing Tides Index is a pioneering resource that will change the way the industry is covered.
Why was Tides developed?
Tides was born out of a need to offer a substantially clearer understanding of the housing market. EnergyLogic, the creator of Tides, feels that the availability of accurate information about the state of the housing market could have helped people better understand the housing crash. It could have mitigated the effects of the housing downturn and mitigated the creation of the bubble in the first place. Moving forward, Tides will help stakeholders make better informed decisions and be better prepared to respond to market changes.
What is the geographic scope of Tides?
Housing Tides currently reflects the U.S. housing and home building industry based on analyses of over 90 news sources. The Housing Tides Index and market analysis covers the top 41 building markets in the U.S. In development is "Tides Local," which will dig deeper into local markets by leveraging information from the Tides Housing Index and economic data, as well as an analysis of local news sources.
Subscription Costs and Access
How much does Tides cost?
The full Housing Tides report is available on a monthly subscription basis for $600 for one user. We also have Tides Local options that focus on individual markets, starting at as low as $85/month. To see our full offering of subscription packages, check out our subscription page.
The Housing Tides Index and Monthly Pulse is available to members of the media at no cost.
I don't understand what is in the Tides report. Can someone explain it to me?
The Housing Tides team is available to give a live, interactive digital demonstration to provide an in-depth understanding of Housing Tides. Request a demo here.
I am a member of the media. What tools are available to me?
Media are invited to subscribe to the Monthly Pulse, an email service that delivers an updated infographic depicting the latest monthly Housing Tides Index, along with a brief executive summary. Subscribe to the Housing Tides Monthly Pulse here. We also offer expert consultations to media, and invite media to join us for a live, interactive digital demonstration. Request a consultation or a private demo.
What forms of payment do you accept?
All payments to EnergyLogic for Service Fees for Your Account must be made using means of payment that we may approve from time to time. We currently require payments be made by a major credit card (i.e., VISA & MasterCard) or company checks. All payments are not refundable, for any reason.
When will I be billed?
Your first payment will be charged within two business days of your registration. After that, payment is due on the 5th of each month ("Billing Date"). All subscriptions paid via credit card will be automatically charged on the 5th. If we do not receive the full amount of your Service Fees by the 5th of the month, your account will be deactivated without further notice if payment is past due, regardless of the dollar amount. Until payment is received, all access to Housing Tides paid content will be revoked.
What is your refund/cancellation policy?
When your paid subscription plan begins, you will receive an e-mail receipt. You will also receive an email with a username and password to access the report. Once the report has been delivered via e-mail and/or digital access, no refund will be given, for any reason. To avoid being billed for an additional month, cancellations must be submitted prior to the 1st of the new month, using the process outlined under "Directions for Cancelling your Account." Once an account has been cancelled, all access to Housing Tides paid content and report credentials are revoked.
How do I cancel my subscription?
Directions for Cancelling your Account
To cancel your account, you may either:
Via email (for accounts paid via check):
- Send an email to firstname.lastname@example.com.
- Cancellations must receive written confirmation of receipt from the Tides customer support team to be valid
Via the Housing Tides website (for accounts paid via credit card):
- Log-in to your customer account and view your subscriptions at https://housingtides.com/my-account/subscriptions/
- Click "view" by the subscription you want to edit or cancel
- Click "cancel"
Key Components of Tides
What is the Housing Tides Index?
The Housing Tides Index is ranking of the health of the top 41 U.S. housing markets, offering the most comprehensive yet succinct measure of market health in a consolidated form. Giving an aggregated view of the top 41 markets across the U.S., the index scores each market on its health and ranks each market compared to others. Numbers are generated based on 18 market indicators ranging from unemployment rates and housing permits to rental vacancy and mortgage foreclosure rates.
The Index helps people understand and give context to changes in market housing health, the movement of the market over time, and how each market ranks in a countrywide comparison – significantly reducing the amount of time that would otherwise be required to research the information themselves.
What are the 18 market indicators?
Labor Force Participation Rate
Housing Permits / Change in Employment Year over Year
Housing Permits / Change Households Year over Year
Homeownership Rate
Existing Home Median Sales Price / Income Ratio
Median Rent List Price / Income Ratio
Consumer Confidence
Construction Unemployment Rate
Housing Inventory
Rental Vacancy Rate
Builder Confidence
Construction Cost
Interest Rates
Mortgage Delinquency Rate
Mortgage Foreclosure Rate
Negative Equity
Loan-to-Price Ratio
What is sentiment tracking and what role does it play in Tides?
Sentiment tracking is a method for assessing positive and negative sentiment in text. For example, in housing news, the statement, "Foreclosures have fallen to the lowest level in 10 years" contains words with negative connotations, but the meaning of the sentence is positive. We built a sentiment model specifically for the housing news domain by uniquely training Tides – using natural language processing and machine learning – to assess the types of text and language associated with housing market news, and to assign appropriate sentiment to it.
The sentiment report provides an objective evaluation of text published in housing media by teasing out the words and distinguishing facts from meaning; assigns a sentiment score of between +1 or -1, based on how good or bad the news is for each article; identifies the article's sources; provides aggregate overviews; informs readers about how reliably sources portray the state of the market; and provides a performance report on the accuracy of forecasting by source.
How does sentiment play a role in media coverage?
Journalists impart meaning in addition to the facts in their reporting – so that even if they get the facts right, they may insert their own opinions and personal interpretations into their reporting, which may distort the facts. As a result, people reading the news naturally have divergent perspectives about what's happening, and form decisions based on information that may or may not be correct.
How does Tides forecasting help improve accountability?
Tides is based on time-tested statistical modeling methods, reasonable forecast horizons and transparency in historical accuracy. This enables meaningful comparisons across research providers and across time, creating accountability in reporting accuracy. Tides also offers a level of transparency of other people's forecasts, holding them accountable for the accuracy of their reporting. The access and accountability of Tides renders a level of transparency within a major sector of our economy – housing – that is now on par with Fantasy Football, where every participant has access to relevant, timely data.
The Technology behind Tides
Who developed Tides?
EnergyLogic Inc. developed Tides as a solution to the company's need for better, higher resolution data about the home construction and housing market.
Who is EnergyLogic?
Berthoud, Colorado-based EnergyLogic is a software and building consulting company that has provided expert resources, education and support to new home builders and energy raters involved in the construction of high-performance homes since 2006. The company also serves as a resource to other organizations that are influential in creating energy efficient housing across America.
EnergyLogic has deep expertise in and insight into housing – working in both new and existing homes and with a wide variety of stakeholders across all housing market sectors. As a data-driven company, EnergyLogic has a history of innovating technology for its own business needs and then offering it to the larger community. The company built the system that analyzes all residential energy ratings in the country, and the system that detects fraud in energy ratings – and now it is building the only system that provides a comprehensive measure and understanding of the health of the U.S. housing and home building industry.
What key technologies were used to create Tides?
Tides is produced with the help of machine learning and natural language processing technologies, enabling it to correctly understand and synthesize large volumes of data, translate language into "sentiment" or the author's explicit meaning, and aggregate that information in a consolidated form that users can easily access and understand.
Did EnergyLogic work with technology partners?
EnergyLogic leveraged IBM Watson's™ technology to develop Tides, bringing a new level of sophistication to understanding data.
Watson technology offers a vast ecosystem of cognitive tools including natural language processing, sentiment analysis, natural language classification (a sophisticated way of doing searches to find specific instances of relevant housing news) and other machine learning components to identify the most accurate forecasters and sources of information about the housing and home building market.
The Marketplace
Are similar reports commercially available?
Research products currently in the marketplace:
- Are incomplete, limited in scope or outdated because of the way and the frequency with which their data is collected
- Rely on construction site surveys, which are time- and resource-intensive, and homebuilder projections, which are inherently biased
- Often only use one or two market indicators, such as price or number of building starts, resulting in reports that are very narrow in scope
- Are often multi-year forecasts with predictions made too far in advance; these forecasts demand considerable assumptions and are divorced from the realities of fast-changing market conditions
- Hide the accuracy of historical models, preventing meaningful comparisons across research providers and enabling forecasters to avoid accountability for the accuracy of their predictions
Will Tides put other market research sources out of business?
That is not the intent. However, Tides will put pressure on the housing media to improve their reporting practices, ultimately resulting in a more complete representation of the health of the housing and home building industry.


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Spain: Toro
The first wine region I visited in Spain was Toro, one of the DOs found in Castilla y Leon, located around the Duero river west of Ribera del Duero and northwest of Rueda. The Duero crosses the region from east to west, becoming the Douro as it drifts through Portugal. Toro wine history dates back to before the Romans and, as the name evokes, has always produced big and bold wines from pre-philloxera vines. Legend has it that it was Toro wines that accompanied Columbus on his journey to discover America.
In the last twenty years Toro has experienced a complete revitalization, with many high-profile wineries such as Vega Sicilia investing in the area. It was in the year 2000, almost a decade before the giant group Louis Vouitton Moet & Chandon recognized the region's potential, that Bodega Dos Victorias was born. Headed by Victoria Benavides, the winery carries its prior proprietor name, Elias Mora. Today Elias Mora is one of the best examples of traditional wine making in Spain.
Victoria Benavides with enologist Vanesa Perez Martinez produce wines from 100% free standing, very old Tinta de Toro bushes that grow on sandy soils covered with rocks. Hard to imagine that anything would thrive in this near-desert environment, but the native grape- a local variant of Tempranillo– loves it. That along with the altitude, harsh winters and short dry summers, yield a concentrated potion of ripe dark fruit, beautiful complex balance and eternal finish. No wonder every wine has achieved over 90 points from all critics and publications.
Bodega Dos Victorias Bodega Elias Mora Douro Duero Louis Vouitton Moet & Chandon philloxera Ribera del Duero Rueda Tempranillo Tinta de Toro Toro Vega Sicilia Victoria Benavides


text: kbass Report post Posted October 15, 2016 Pensacola is looking bright for future meetings. With SB Reefs opening in the nearly future, we expect to have two great LFSs to support future meetings. While we wait for SB Reefs to open, I have scheduled our last meeting of the year at Petland which has been an awesome supporter for the past year. Here are the details as of today (More to come): Date: Sunday, November 13, 2016 Time: 12:30 - 2:30ish Location: Petland More Info to come.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


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Deer Leg Bandage
Every year Tiggywinkles treats over 300 deer, with over 90% of these having limb injuries, caused by road traffic collisions, fence entrapments and dog bites, to name the main reasons.
Bandaging a deer's leg helps stabilize a fracture. We use an array of hard and soft bandages, some of which are inlaid with honey or silver to assist with healing of the wounds and fractures.
Get involved
Tickets are available for one of our informative Conservation Workshops.
Why not try your hand at being a Wildlife Keeper in one of our Experience sessions?
Become a member to help support our work year round.


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When a blood vessel that supplies blood to the brain is blocked by a blood clot, ischemic stroke follows. There are two main ways a blood clot can occur:
Ischemic strokes can result from atherosclerosis, a condition that clogs arteries within the brain or arteries in the neck that supply blood to the brain. Substances like fat and cholesterol build up on the walls of the arteries and form a sticky substance called plaque. Over time, plaque builds up and makes it difficult for blood to flow properly, which can lead to a blood clot.
Blood clots that form in the heart or other parts of the body can also cause ischemic strokes. When these clots travel through the blood stream and get struck in the smaller arteries in the brain this is known as cerebral embolism.
Ischemic stroke can be caused by several different kinds of diseases. According to the National Stroke Association, the most common problem is narrowing of the arteries in the neck or head. This is most often caused atherosclerosis, or gradual cholesterol deposition. If the arteries become too narrow, blood cells may collect and form blood clots.
These blood clots can block the artery where they are formed (thrombosis), or can dislodge and become trapped in arteries closer to the brain (embolism). Another cause of stroke is blood clots in the heart, which can occur as a result of irregular heartbeat (for example, atrial fibrillation), heart attack, or abnormalities of the heart valves. While these are the most common causes of ischemic stroke, there are many other possible causes. Examples include use of street drugs, traumatic injury to the blood vessels of the neck, or disorders of blood clotting.