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Acta Universitatis Danubius. Œconomica, Vol 10, No 3 (2014)
The Role of Urban Financial
Centers within the Economy of Global Cities
Oana Mionel1, Viorel Mionel2, Cristina Mihăescu3
Abstract: Nowadays, there is no doubt that state economy refers to city economy. In other words, the most part of a state's GDP is given by the urban environment, especially by capitals, which are often the economic engine of this environment. There are also cities having great economic importance abroad, beyond the state and even continental borders. These are the so-called global cities where the financial activities play an important role. There are a few cities (New York, London, Hong Kong etc.) centering financial activities which are influential for large geographic areas. This research highlights the importance of the financial sector within urban economy and, subsequently, how it consolidates the status of global city. These cities are the engine of the international financial system as they host the headquarters of the most important and famous international stock exchange markets, financial supervision institutions, law firms and consulting companies.
Keywords: urban economy; international financial centers; world cities
JEL Classification: G1; F6
1. Introduction
Nowadays humankind experiences certain economic interdependence which connects national economies and urban centers with each other. Global economy refers to city economy where the most dynamic and innovative urban centers gather ground and influence economic policies (Sassen, 1991). Cities are the engines which make their countries develop and they are also gates for their regions.
Parag Khanna's (2010, p. 42) thoughts suggesting the same ideas may also be added here: "The twenty-first century will not be dominated by America or China, Brazil or India; the city will do this". Within a time when management is more and more difficult, Khana notices that it is cities, not states that become governance islands. Global cities – the most powerful and influent cities of the world – will represent the basis of the future world; a new world that will look like a network of different global cities. In other words, the globalization story is the same as the urbanization story.
Most researchers connect urban economy to commercial, industrial, financial and real-estate activities (Kindleberger, 1974, 1985; Gehrig, 1998). Previous economic segments are regarded as corresponding to the urban area creation by certain researchers (Smith, 2008; Lefebvre, 1991). Urban crowdedness appears as a result of the interactions between scale economies - that affect production - and market size. That is why only 100 cities provide 30% of the global economy and wholly concentrate the world innovation (Khanna, 2010).
More and more economists have been interested in studying urban economy and in the issue regarding the placement of the economic structure within the urban environment (Henderson, 1988; Krugman, 1991a; Becker & Murphy, 1992). Sometimes, for example in Krugman's (1991b) or Fujita and Thisse's (2000) cases, urban economy overlaps the process of urban crowdedness. The last two previously mentioned researchers, for example, argue that economic crowdedness appears when different economic units (restaurants, cinemas, stores etc.) try to sell similar products in a certain urban area, thus losing sight of the importance of the financial sector which is greater if the city is larger. Neglecting this aspect is striking, as Mainelli (2006) noticed that, according to the domain literature related to financial centers, concentration is important and leads to crowdedness.
An increase in the service sector and the growing need for highly-qualified people are fundamental characteristics of urban economies. The financial sector, which controls the most important cities of the world (Sassen, 2000, p.81), mostly requires highly-qualified people.
Starting from the premise that the financial sector is a growing domain which occupies more and more of the urban economy, this article tries to point out the place and the role financial centers have within city economy. The present analysis is also related to a second purpose, namely to highlight if there is any objective connection between the size and importance of financial centers and the status of global cities that some urban areas have; and, to what extent the importance of financial centers is as great as the importance of global cities. The question to be asked is: are there hierarchical similarities between financial centers and global cities?
The extraordinary global evolution of finance over the last thirty years has proved us that competition among the big world cities in order to control the main international cash-flow has grown (Poon, 2003). There is a lot of evidence that shows that the important financial centers are fighting for their primacy within the global hierarchy, acting like capitals of the world at the same time (Khanna, 2010). Among the most objective evidence we mention the overall focus of financial activities and productivity. A mere look at the latest hierarchies regarding the urban financial centers shows a real "fight" between London and New York. (Engelen & Glasmacher, 2013). These two cities, which – together with others – are considered capitals of the capital by Cassis (2006), concentrate the biggest volume of share investment, both by value and by the risk involved. From the historical point of view, the urban financial sector evolution places New York on the first position as the leader of global finances after the World War II. (Cetorelli & Peristiani 2013).
The Analysis of the Literature
The International Financial Centers
When thinking of financial centers, we recall the names of the large cities (Gehrig, 2000), where, according to Jarvis (2011) and Poon (2003), competition for money is bigger and bigger. Historically, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries a few large financial centers appeared in order to serve the regional and international markets regarding the volume of economic exchange. Their complexity has grown since that time. Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Florence, London, Milan, Paris, New York, Rome, Philadelphia, Torino, Venice, Shanghai and Zurich, appeared as leading financial and commercial centers (Fratianni, 2009).
There is no widely-accepted definition of financial center, but, generally speaking, a financial center must have the following characteristics (Ogloblina, 2012; Lennoo, 2007): to own stock markets, to host numerous international financial institutions, the headquarters of worldwide famous surveillance institutions, central banks, together with law firms and consultancy companies, all in the same location (Mainelli, 2006).
Financial centers have become a dynamic concept, with efficient strategies designed to obtain and keep the brand of financial center (Lennoo, 2007). Authors such as Engelen şi Glasmacher (2013) speak about the urban financial centers in terms of financial modernities, pointing out their importance for the city economy and innovation. Briefly, financial centers can be defined as locations where important financial institutions are gathered and where there is considerable mobilization and redistribution of financial resources (Ogloblina, 2012).
The Global Financial Centers Index (GFCI) sets three axes which determine the financial center profile: connectivity, diversity and specialization. According to GFCI, the first axis, connectivity, refers to how famous the financial center is worldwide and to what extent non-resident specialists consider that there is a tight connection between that financial center and other financial centers. Diversity, the second axis, refers to the number of activity sectors (financial mediation, insurance, fund administration etc.) within a financial center. The last axis, specialization, refers to the activities related to the sectors: investment management, insurances, professional services (redesigning the business model, access to funds, selling and buying assets etc.) (Yeandle & von Gunten, 2013).
A financial center is considered to be competitive due to a combination of indexes. These indexes were grouped by GFCI researchers as it follows: (1) the human resource, (2) the business environment, (3) market access, (4) infrastructure and (5) competitiveness (Yeandle & von Gunten, 2013, p. 32). We will briefly present each factor for better accuracy and understanding of the analysis method. For example, regarding the human resources, the urban financial center analysis takes into account the human development index (HDI), the purchasing power, life quality, number of graduates from the economic and juridical fields, the human security index etc.
For the business environment, the factors taken into account are: the ease of doing business index, the operational risk rating, the real interest rate, the economic increase rate of the city, profit tax, corruption perception, the city GDP or the taxation for employees. Market access means, in fact, the index of market access, stock market capitalization, value and amount of transacted stocks and bonds, amount of ongoing futures and options contracts, mutual fund assets and, last but not least, the external position of domestic and central banks. Regarding infrastructure, the urban financial centers have to provide quality services such as: office centers both in and outside the city, efficient means of transport (by road, air or rail) and well-functioning IT logistics. The index of financial center competiveness is made of: the contribution and safety of direct foreign investment, the ratio between the city GDP and the national GDP, the innovation index, the price level and the global power city index, its global attraction. Obviously, there are other aspects in addition to these but we cannot approach them due to space reasons.
Financial centers are part of a hierarchical organization of finance, communications and management. In 2000, the International Monetary Fund divided financial centers into international financial centers (IFC), regional financial centers (RFC) and offshore financial centers (OFC) (Lennoo, 2007). IFC provide a wide range of financial services and are characterized by liquid markets (London, New York, Tokyo). Within these financial centers, international banks as well as important financial supervision institutions place their headquarters. RFC rely on well-developed financial markets and infrastructure associated with internal economies and regional banks which make regional fund transfer possible. OFCs are much smaller and provide a limited range of services. These centers refer to those countries with a financial sector which is larger than the economy itself and the taxation system is more relaxed. Different OFC - financial services are designed for non-residents mainly.
Lately, the major events all over the world have influenced the status of IFC. Cetorelli şi Peristiani (2013) state that, due to the Soviet Union disintegration, China's turn to authentic market economy and the creation of the European single market, the markets have integrated very quickly, especially after 1990. These international changes motivated the traditional financial centers (New York, London), and a few new locations (Hong Kong, Singapore) were generated by the necessity of financial services in order to develop new businesses. Consequently, there are a few cities that can be considered international or global financial centers (Poon, Eldredge & Yeung, 2004): Paris, London, Frankfurt and Zurich – in Europe; New York, Chicago and Toronto in North America; Tokyo, Hong-Kong and Singapore – hosting the most powerful financial centers in Asia.
Why are financial centers so important for cities? Well, Sassen simply answers this by making a comparison. He states that, while industrial services can hardly survive, the financial ones make supernormal profit (Sassen, 2000). The presence of numerous financial services and their concentration in localized forms (Sassen, 2000) enhance their status of global cities.
Global Cities – Concept, Terminology, Characteristics
Going further, realizing the analytical connection between the financial centers and global cities means understanding the conceptual aspects which define global cities. However, we must mention that many supporters of global cities agree to the idea that the existence of a sophisticated financial complex is a precondition for global city appearance (Poon, 2003, p. 137).
So, what are global cities and what makes them remarkable? The first who makes this methodological and theoretical reference is the sociologist Saskia Sassen in his famous work The Global City: New York, London, and Tokyo which was first published in 1991. His concept was soon adopted and developed by researchers of different fields (Acuto, 2013; Mayaram, 2009; Brenner & Keil, 2006; Beaverstock, 2002; Child Hill & June, 2000; Abu-Lughod, 1999), as it was refering to a new reality. Some authors use terms such as world cities (Jacobs, 2013; Massey, 2013; Derudder & Witlox, 2011; Knox & Taylor, 1995) or alpha cities (Globalization and World Cities Research Network, 2014) in their works, which refer to the same reality described by Sassen.
Returning to Sassen's original ideas, he argues that after the '60s of the previous century, the economic activity started changing and, at the same time, global economy deeply influenced city life. The author's idea fits the classical pattern of the economy-space ratio. Global cities are those urban centers considered to be important knots in the economic world system. For example, the economy of New York is greater than the 46 national sub-Saharan economies together, and there are more tourists coming to Hong Kong than to India per year (Khanna, 2010). The economic power concentrates in global cities while the former production centers suffer (Sassen, 2000).
Although (as we have already noticed) the term has been launched by a sociologist, its origins are in geography and urbanism study. The concept is based on the interpretation according to which globalization is deeply created, facilitated and adopted in geographically strategic places for the global finance and commerce system functioning. Global cities are command centers as they mean power, sophistication, wealth and influence (A.T. Kearney, 2008). The urban centers that have the largest capital markets, elite universities, the most diverse and educated inhabitants, the largest multinationals and the most important international organizations, are connected with the rest of the world more than any other place and they are the real global cities.
According to A.T. Kearney (2008) company researchers, global cities are analyzed by paying attention to the following five dimensions: (1) the economic activity, (2) the human capital, (3) the information exchange, (4) the cultural experience and (5) the political commitment. Together, these five analysis components outline the hierarchy of the global cities.
Taking them on turn, as we did when classifying the financial centers, these five dimensions are composed as it follows. The economic activity is an indicator made of the value of the capital markets, the number of companies in Top Fortune Global 500 having their headquarters in the city and the amount of goods transiting the city. By human capital we mean aspects such as: how the city attracts different groups of people and talents, the number of immigrants within the city, the number of international schools and the percentage of residents who have university diplomas. The information exchange refers to the following aspects: how well news and information are spread in the city and to the rest of the world, the number of international mass-media offices, the amount of international news in the most important local newspapers and the number of internet subscribers. The fourth aspect, the cultural experience includes the number of attractions (not only the tourist ones) for foreign residents and for tourists, the number of major sports events hosted by the city and others. Finally, the last dimension that refers to the political commitment is made of the data referring to how a city influences the global politics and dialog plus the number of embassies, consulates, international organizations, the relationships with other cities and the number of conferences hosted by the city.
The cities in this category are world leaders in fields such as: finance, politics and culture. Some of them are megacities of a developing world and their demand for resources urges them to establish close relationships with their neighbors and to provide services to more and more immigrants. A paradigm of the world we are living in finally appears, namely the fact that cities like Seoul, for example, have more things in common with Singapore or Hong Kong, than with smaller cities in South Korea (Mendoza Pena & Hales, 2012).
3. Methodological Explanations
This research is based on detailed analysis of the domain literature regarding the key-terms used in the text. Taking into account the latest research, we have also used the works about the two main concepts (global cities and financial centers) which places our research within the context of international financial reality.
Regarding the analysis of how important it is for the global city economy to concentrate the financial activities, we had to refer only to the first twenty global cities. Thus, the studies referring to the two classifications – global cities, on one hand, and international financial centers, on the other hand – include only a few cities. As for the global cities, Andres Mendoza Pena and Mike Hales's (2012) study includes only 66 cities, while 79 international financial centers are analyzed (Yeandle & von Gunten, 2013). We mention this in order to point out the importance that the cities presented in the two classifications have for the global economy, taking into account the fact that, at a global level, the number of cities (including those with hundreds of thousands of inhabitants) is impressive. We also had to focus our analysis to the most important global cities in order not to waste the essence of the topic by providing too many useless details. However, we are certain that the results of this study can also be applied to the other urban centers that are globally important.
The statistical data provided by the two studies (2012 Global Cities Index and Emerging Cities Outlook and The Global Financial Centers Index 2013) and by Global Metro Monitor (Istrate & Nadeau, 2012) were really helpful to us. The analysis of the information in the three sources generated interesting comparisons among the twenty global cities.
3.1. The Role of Financial Centers For The Urban Economy
Global Cities/ International Financial Centers Ratio
The first aspect of our discussion is centered on the ratio between global cities and the international financial centers. Thus, the table below shows a few critical aspects of the current analysis. First of all, a real connection between the importance of global cities and their financial sector can be noticed. Except for Los Angeles and Berlin, the first twenty global cities are very important for the international financial centers hierarchy. Moreover, New York and London "fight" for the first position not only regarding the global city hierarchy, but also regarding the financial supremacy where the American metropolis is behind the British one.
According to the data, Europe is the most important continent from the financial point of view, as 20 European cities are part of GFCI 2013 hierarchy. This time Zurich (5), Geneva (7) and Frankfurt (10) (Yeandle & von Gunten, 2013) are found together with London (1), Vienna (20), Paris (26), Brussels (46), Madrid (51) and Moscow (65) which are in the table. Even if they are among the most powerful and influential global cities, they are lower within the international financial hierarchy. One explanation is that, because they do not have a tradition and they are geographically close to the traditional ones, the most important financial flows and services have been taken over by the traditional ones.
The second place regarding the ratio between global cities and international financial centers is occupied by Asia. There are a few powerful financial centers here: Tokyo (6), Hong Kong (3), Seoul (9) and Singapore (4). For our analysis, the power of these cities is given by their GDP (both the total GDP and the GDP per capita). Tokyo is by far the most important international economic center due to its GDP which is $310 billion more than New York's GDP. The economic power of the Japanese metropolis is amazing by also considering the difference which separates it from New York, difference which almost equal to the GDP of cities such as Hong Kong ($350.4 bn.), Singapore ($327.2 bn.) or Boston ($320.7 bn.). Paradoxically, these cities have very important international positions from the financial point of view (Hong Kong – third position, Singapore – fourth position and Seoul – ninth position), two of them coming before Tokyo. The strategic advantage Hong Kong had in the '80s-'90s regarding the connection of the global capital to the Chinese market meant a rapid development of the economic sector, especially the finance (Lai, 2012).
The fact that Latin America is not present in any of the two hierarchies in the table – which could have contributed to the importance of the American continent – is compensated by the presence of New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, Boston, Toronto and San Francisco, all representing the Anglo-Saxon America. Among these urban areas, New York is relevant for its economic power, its financial importance and its global sphere of influence. Except for New York, other ten cities (Boston, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Paris, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, and Zurich) are considered to be global leaders of finance (Yeandle & von Gunten, 2013, p. 10), as they are involved in a wide range of financial activities and are connected to other financial centers.
Table 1. The twenty most important global cities
The second aspect of our analysis is focused on the importance of the financial sector for the internal economy of cities, and for this reason we need to look back at Table 1. The total percentage value of finance and businesses provides a new context for the city economy. In this context, obtaining financial flows becomes a priority for those urban areas that want to be command centers for the global economy.
Besides Beijing, with less than 20% in business and finance, all the other global cities' economy is based on finance and related sectors. The financial sector is the most important even in Los Angeles and Berlin, cities which are not included in the hierarchy of international financial centers: 31.4% for the first city and 35.8% for the second one. London (47.8%), Paris (47.4%) and New York (40.3%) are clear examples of the urban strategy for finance-based economic development.
According to a study of The Economist Intelligence Unit (2013), London is the most competitive city and the greatest financial center at the same time. London's financial clusters helped the city become a financial leader worldwide. The City cluster is a "financial city" and juridical center of Great Britain allocating about 7.7 million square meters to office spaces. It is considered a "home" for about 1600 companies from 60 countries and 42 activity sectors and more than 300 thousand employees work here, half of them activating in finance, banks, insurance and accountancy. The Canary Wharf is the second important cluster, especially due to its large number of international banks, agencies and companies providing professional services (Barclays, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Fitch Ratings, KPMG, Thomson Reuters, and J.P. Morgan) and having their headquarters here.
In the middle of the city, London Stock Exchange (LSE) is the most important European stock exchange and one of the biggest all over the world. The LSE status can be accessed only by certified investment and credit companies within the European economic area. LSE is made of two different stock markets: Main Market (MM) and Alternative Investment Market (AIM). MM represents the symbolic market for listing shares, bonds and other financial titles of the largest famous companies. AIM is meant to help small and medium- seized companies to increase the capital they need in order to develop (Mionel, 2013).
Looking back at Table 1, we notice that the financial sector has obvious importance for the host-city economy. Mainly, the 47.8 percentage meaning the financial sector of the London economy represents $ 349.5 billion. The 47.4% of the Paris economy represent more than $ 317 billion. And for New York, the income provided by financial and business activities equals the fabulous sum of $ 487.6 billion.
New York is the second most important financial center of the world and also a traditional one. The US concentration of investment banks and their domination on the market left the other competing national financial centers behind (Sassen, 1999). According to Poon (2003), New York is a financial supercenter due to the dimension of the financial market on one hand, and, on the other hand, due to the ability of getting a solid informational basis that allows the global exploitation of information asymmetry. A better regulatory environment (Mainelli, 2006) connected to a high level of transparency can also be added.
Since the American dollar is the mainly used currency in international transactions and the internal market of the city is large, the New York monetary sector seems to be quite privileged. Even if it is on the second position in the hierarchy of international financial centers, New York still dominates the capital market made of the city institutional clusters such as the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). NYSE has been superior to other American stock exchanges since the time of the telecommunication revolution in the middle of the nineteenth century. According to Cassis (2006), NYSE developed as the real American national financial market. We naturally add that nowadays New York functions as a real international financial market which is the symbol of the financial power this global city has.
The comparison between the urban economies of Tokyo and New York shows (as we have seen above) the superiority of the Japanese metropolis. But the contribution of the financial sector (which is quite important for Tokyo – $ 481.8 billion) is much bigger in New York. The Table 1 shows that the income given by the financial sector of these two urban economies places the cities on the eighth and ninth positions in the total GDP classification in the third column. Moreover, if we compared the financial income to the income of some states, we would notice unequal income distribution and how concentrated financial services are in a few cities. The income of business and finance places New York and Tokyo before some states such as Argentina ($ 474.9 billion), Austria ($ 398.5 billion), South Africa ($ 384.3 billion), Thailand ($ 365.5 billion), Denmark ($ 313.6 billion) or Finland ($ 250.1 billion).
According to Global Metro Monitor (2012) report, the only economic fields which compete with the financial field regarding the income provided to the global cities are the local/non-market services and commerce and tourism together. Local/non-market services include: dump goods management, maintenance services, education, health and others. Regarding the internal economy percentage, with few exceptions, financial services are not outmatched by the local/non-market services. Here are some examples: New York (37.2%), London (15.2%), Paris (20.9%), Tokyo (15.3%), Hong Kong (18.5), Los Angeles (37.5%), Chicago (33%), Boston (38.7%), Beijing (35.3%) etc. Tourism and commerce, on the other hand, provide higher percentages than the financial sector only in Hong Kong (31.5%) and Moscow (37.2%).
Despite the fact that tourism holds a higher share of the internal economy than finance, Hong Kong is still the leading international financial center in Asia. Being placed on a higher position than Beijing and Shanghai within the Chinese internal competition and preceding the Singapore state-city, Hong-Kong remains an undeniable global leader in the finance and bank field (Lai, 2012). The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE) had a great contribution in reaching one of the three leading position and in staying in the world top of financial centers. Unlike the Shanghai Stock Exchange which mainly attracts local, generally small companies, oriented towards the internal Chinese market, HKSE focused on attracting large, internationally-oriented companies. Honk Kong's success is mainly due to HKSE's success. The stock exchange strategy proves courage and openness. The companies which are listed at the stock exchange are not only globally important, but they are also similar to the most dynamic and competitive companies, activating in specialized service fields (banks, insurances, telecommunications and informatics technology). At the end of 2012, there were1547 companies listed at HKSE (World Federation of Exchanges, 2013). This large number of companies points out a few positive aspects of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It has a liquid market, capable of catalyzing important capital into convertible currency. It increases the international reputation for the transacted labels, which represents an advantage for the overseas labels expansion. The listing process is quite rigid and it stimulates the corporate governance and the assessment of the listed companies (Lai, 2012). The magnetism of the stock exchange is also reflected by the impressive density of the financial service companies which form profile clusters that benefit from the rewards associated to this aspect. According to Jarvis (2011), Hong Kong has an impressive portfolio of licensed banks (more than 200, out of which 145 have foreign capital), including 69 which are among the first 100 in the world. Thus, specialists consider the bank sector in Hong Kong a developed and various one (classical bank deposits, financial titles, treasury activities, precious metal trade etc.) Finally, the data in the table show us that the total GDP of the first twenty global cities represents $ 10,179.1 billion, which is 14% of the world's GDP. The economic power of these global centers is based on the financial sector reaching an average of 33.71%. In other words, $ 3,430.9 billion are obtained only due to the financial activities in the twenty most important cities of the world.
4. Conclusions
Concentrating about 1/6 of the world GDP in only twenty urban centers (which are not necessarily the largest considering the population number), the global cities have been dealing with the world finance despite the obstacles created by the cyberspace. Although online transaction platforms and other such modern informatics instruments provide solutions for profit maximization, companies will need a command center, a headquarters which will manage all the activities. Consequently, the economic clusters in general and the financial ones in particular will not disappear but they will paradoxically consolidate and will gather more and more profile companies. Some of them enter the new market niches provided by their location and by certain increasing services within cyberspace. More concentrated financial activities lead to a diminished role of some financial centers or, more than that, to the disappearance of some very important international financial centers. Those that will keep their status by competitiveness and by quality services will have benefits. The income resulting from financial activities is more and more consistent so it could even exceed the 50% threshold of the urban economy in some cases. Considering all these, the international financial activities will definitely keep New York and London as leading financial centers due to their enormous concentration of resources and talents. They have the ability of "packing the capital in innovative ways" (Sassen, 1999) by working with their subsidiaries (in secondary cities) where they have exported certain financial services.
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Yeandle, Mark & Chiara von Gunten (2013). The Global Financial Centers Index. London: City of London.
1 Associate Professor, PhD, "Dimitrie Cantemir" Christian University, Romania, Address: 176 Splaiul Unirii, Sector 4, Bucharest, Romania, Tel.: 0040213308931, Corresponding author: email@example.com.
2 Lecturer, PhD, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania, Address: Calea Dorobanţilor 15-17, Sector 1, Bucharest, Romania, Tel.: 004021319.19.00/interior 378, E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com.
3 Junior Lecturer, PhD Candidate, "Dimitrie Cantemir" Christian University, Romania, Address: 176 Splaiul Unirii, Sector 4, Bucharest, Romania, Tel.: 0040213308931, E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com.
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Mauna Kea is the sacred birthplace of life for the Hawaiian Kingdom. Protecting this ancestor or "God" is synonymous with protecting all that is sacred on earth, the sacred being all that gives life and is life giving. The struggle to protect Mauna Kea is the same struggle we saw at Standing Rock and the same voice of humanity that is rising to speak to climate change. It is the voice of Greta Thunberg, it is the voice of Marianne Williamson, it is our voice and the voice of the planet calling out. It is the pain in our hearts that we see children in cages of violence against races. This voice is the voice of connection and empathy; of love and of the future.
My prayer is for unity; for all causes, all peoples of all walks of life to unite in a single understanding of our great potential under an allied vision. We are in a global crisis and action must be taken to transition into the future. The structures and options are available it is simply a matter of practice and initiation that we usher our selves foreword.
Similar to the way that we return to ourselves in health and wellness or reconnect with others in joy. Every time we make an effort and choose responsibly we initiate our belief in our unity and ability to make a difference.
May we all make choices that influence a better future, May we all take action with our words to propel truth speaking. May we all feel inspired to do good in this world.

subset: commoncrawl


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Season 3, Episode 14: The Election
Season 3 closes with Stockwell losing the election and Brian losing his life savings. Hunter's mother shows up forcing Michael to risk it all. Ted's addiction comes to a shocking conclusion which drives him into rehab where a familiar face awaits him.
Subscribe in Apple Podcasts for a fresh episode each week! (also available on Google Play, Overcast, Pocketcast, and Stitcher above). Please take a hot minute to rate and review us and help us move up in the rankings so other fans can find us!


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Jarvis aiming for England form
Winger knows he must be at the top of his game if he is to prove his point to Fabio Capello against Fulham today
The feelgood story was meant to see us nicely into the summer. Matt Jarvis helps save Wolves from relegation, then earns his second England cap against Switzerland before jetting out to Mauritius to be married three days later to his sweetheart, Sarah. Two out of three ain't bad.
Amid talk of pina coladas on the beach, Jarvis was dumped by Fabio Capello from the squad called up for the game at Wembley. No text, no phone call, no champagne and flowers waiting in the honeymoon suite with an apologetic card from Capello and his assistant, Franco Baldini.
"I found out the same way as everybody else, on Sky Sports News," says Jarvis. "But that's up to Fabio and his team. It's intense waiting for the…


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Ada Ehi Songs
Ada Ogochukwu Ehi simply known by her stage name, Ada is a Nigerian born International gospel singer and songwriter born September 18, 1983. This list of Ada songs is one of the top played list. Having started her music career at the age of 10, Ada Ehi was selected to become a member of the girls band of Nigerian star, Tosin Jegede. Ada professionally joined the music industry in 2009 after joining the LoveWorld records.
Ada Ehi graduated from the Lagos State University with a degree in Polymer Engineering and then joined the Christ Embassy Church. Ada Ehi became a member of the Christ Embassy Presidential Choir and that gave her a platform to spring into her gospel music career. Ada is happily married to Ehi Moses and they have two children.
Below is a list of Ada Ehi songs:


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The Weekend Neos Kosmos : 13 April 2019
DIGITAL.NEOSKOSMOS.COM THE WEEKEND NEOS KOSMOS | SATURDAY 13 APRIL 2019 7 NEWS Vissi reduced Australian tour fee after threat to fill Rod Laver with homeless hecklers Anna Vissi ANTHONY STAVRINOS Facing financial disaster after disastrous ticket sales, desperate times had called for desperate measures during Greek superstar Anna Vissi's 2002 Australian tour, so promoter Michael Chugg called in his 'Mr Fix-it'. That included high-pressure tactics to force Vissi to agree to a drastic $200,000 reduction in her guaranteed fee, the ABC's Background Briefing radio program has revealed. Greek Australian investiga- tive reporter Mario Christodoulou delves into the brief collaboration between Australian music industry legend, Chugg and others, including promoter Aresh 'AJ' Maddah with American financier Jack Utsick, now serving an 18-year jail term over his role in a Ponzi scheme. Utsick spoke with Christodoulou by phone from his cell and provided him with documents which chronicle his Australian music industry partners as the Ponzi scheme wreaked havoc. Unaware Utsick's money was generated by fraud, his Australian partners continued to pitch acts for local tours, including some spectacular flops - Vissi's tour among them. Promoter Constantine Nellis convinced his mentor and long-time employer Chugg to take a chance on Vissi.Chugg took the idea to Utsick, hyping Vissi as the 'Greek Madonna' with the promise she'd be a hit in the Australian market. "Every Greek would come to see her because they all loved her. She was the biggest star in Greece and she would have a tremendous following in Australia," Ut- sick told Background Briefing. But it all went horribly wrong. With only half the seats for Vissi's Sydney tour date sold and two thirds of seats at Melbourne's Rod Chugg labelled the concert a "Greek Tragedy" and reported deploying a "fixer", fellow promoter Maddah, with whom he flew to Melbourne on a mission to cut costs. Maddah, who wasted no time delivering Vissi an ultimatum. Utsick spoke with Christodoulou by phone from his cell and provided Christodoulou with documents which chronicle his Australian music industry partners as the Ponzi scheme wreaked havoc. Laver Arena, empty Utsick and Chugg were facing a loss of more than a million dollars. Among the documents supplied to the ABC is an urgent fax to Utsick in which To start, the pair renegotiated venue hire agreements and lighting costs and axed "unnecessary staff and hangers on" but reducing Vissi's guaranteed fee was also necessary. "AJ negotiated a further $200,000 off the artist's fee by explaining that he was there to cut costs and it would either come via a break in the guaranteed fee or by […] filling the spare seats full of homeless people to boo her after every song," Chugg added in his dispatch. Christodoulou also spoke to Maddah who remembers and confirmed the tactics used."I actually did that, thankfully they didn't question how I was going to round up all those homeless people in a matter of 24 hours," he said. "That was a very unique case and it's not something that's ever been repeated or done before that or done after. "It was more of a jest thing." With the cost-cutting mission complete, the financial result far worse than expected, with Nellis a chain-smoking wreck. He was nominated for the unenviable task of delivering the news to Utsick. "I rang Jack up and said 'Jack I'm so sorry, we've just dropped x amount of dollars' and he just laughed," Nellis told Background Briefing. "I said 'what's funny?' - he said 'Constantine, I lose more money on the tables in 15 minutes than that." Chugg declined to respond to questions about the concert, citing a related confidential settlement. The experience, thankfully has not discouraged Vissi from visiting Australia on multiple occasions to perform since, with another tour scheduled for October this year.
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The explosive volcanic eruption lasted about seven minutes. Volcanologists say that the eruption was soft enough, but warn of danger for residents near the volcano and in river valleys.
On June 28, the volcano Agung began to erupt the ashes, because of which the air service was stopped with the Indonesian island. In November 2017, thousands of tourists were blocked due to the eruption of the Agung volcano in the resorts of Bali.


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The Travel Insurance Does Not Always Mean Coverage
It's that season again in which the sun smiles here, school has gone out and also the wide, wide realm of travel is simply a flight away.
Which means you do your homework on holiday options. You book a flight ticket. You reserve hotels. And last and surely most famously, you call an insurance coverage agent to have an appropriate travel policy.
"Ah," you believe to yourself. "I am covered all angles."
Not too fast, mister or ma'am!
While some like yourself may see the insurance they purchased like a ticket to reassurance, it isn't always so.
Its not all loss scenario that you could picture occurring is going to be covered.
This articles handles problems that may arise because of not preparing in advance or teaching yourself correctly about insurance issues.
Some Occasions when Travel Cover doesn't Cover Losses
1. If you feel you're smart by purchasing travel cover whenever you hear radio stations let you know about the next storm, reconsider. A travel policy won't cover the cancellation of the trip following publicized storm information.
2. Should you suppose travel cover will give you compensation for ordinary problems, stop dreaming. Your insurance won't compensate you for common inconveniences or insufficient enjoyment.
3. Don't intend on getting covered for losses you can't prove. You will have to show a sales receipt so your loss could be substantiated.
4. Remember that your insurance plan will not provide coverage for occurrences that happened when you were intoxicated by alcohol or drugs.
5. Get the physician involved prior to going in your trip or you might not receive medical care coverage beneath your travel cover. If you fail to prove you had been in good condition prior to of the routine, you might encounter coverage problems if you want health care during vacation.
6. Don't assume every activity you take part in is included beneath your travel plan. When you get hurt while participating in something which the insurer views harmful you might not see reimbursement. Take a look at policy to determine which activities insurance companies includes and which are thought to be risky.
As in all forms of indemnity, travel cover has limits and deductibles, in addition to exclusions. Your debt it to your and yourself a vacation in perform the proper research in front of the game. Talking with a skilled independent agent can help you determine what policy is the best for you and the way to don't get denied for any related claim.
Thailand Dental Tourism in 2018
East Asia and South Asia may be the preferred hub for patients from US, United kingdom along with other Countries In Europe. Whenever we discuss East Parts of asia then Thailand is the one that happens to be the best choice within this place in the world.
Dental Tourism or Mix Border Treatment methods are growing by a lot. Bangkok, the main city town of Thailand, is easily the most premier and searched for after hub for Dental tourism despite being encircled by Singapore. This Year Thailand welcomed 2.5 million patients from various areas of the planet. The reason behind this type of huge turnout may be the economical treatment provided here. The price effectiveness hasn't discouraged the caliber of treatment. This can be a obvious indication that Thailand draws the majority of its revenue by supplying Dental care to the visitors.
Dental Tourism in Bangkok keeps growing daily. Patients travel all parts around the globe for this city. Probably the most searched for after treatment methods are Cosmetic Dental Work in Bangkok. Aside from this patients travel for root canal treatment, teeth implants, Dentures, Gum Treatments, Connecting, Teeth Whitening and much more. Another reason behind Thailand to guide those within the Dental Tourism sector is due to the nice and cozy and hospitable nature from the residents here. Might be this is exactly why Thailand is frequently known as Land of Smiles.
It might be surprising for you personally but following the devastating ton this year Thailand welcomed 19 million vacationers this year itself. It was 20% greater than the year before. From these 19 million vacationers nearly 500,000 have there been for treatment therefore supporting Dental tourism in Thailand. When the stats should be compared then Singapore sees 10.two million vacationers each year of that 200,000 travel for Dental care.
The influence keeps growing substantially as well as in a lucrative fashion. Medical Tourism in Thailand keeps growing in the rate of 16% each year. Furthermore when we consider the financial side from it, it's thought that through the finish of the year the foreign Dental service should really provide a turnover of 100 million dollars. Presently occasions Dental tourism makes up about .4% of GDP in Thailand. This possibly has switched to prove that Thailand has become the hub of medical tourism. So searching from the different perspective we are able to surely make sure tourism is among the most significant driving factors for Thailand. Tourism contributes for pretty much 6-7% of GDP.
Suvarnbhumi Airport terminal in Thailand is encircled by numerous budget hotels which provides multiple choices for patients. Such facility may come as a benefit for any country's economy. Aside from this the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) possess a dedicate site for Dental tourism. The objective of this website would be to highlight the most popular treatment that patients generally undergo. Another facet of beginning this website would be to raise the Dental tourism a part of Thailand. TAT has additionally partnered with Krungthai Bank and issues debit cards known as as Miracle Thailand Card. This card offers existence insurance in situation of accident.
Dental Tourism is not going anywhere soon but for the lengthy run. As lengthy as country's for example Thailand offer pocket friendly Dental care it'll always remain the best for patients.
Dr. Sunil Phol is really a cosmetic dental work specialist in Thailand. Getting nearly 20 years of expertise, he believes that once we grow, we dwindle careful towards our overall health and due to our erratic eating routine we spoil our mouth and teeth to some large degree. Here he's letting out all of the understanding he can, associated with teeth problems and a few common procedures that's transported out.
Modern Family Cars for the Modern Family Travel
Once we progress through existence we undergo various kinds of cars. It begins having a fun sporty vehicle for the more youthful years until, eventually, you need a household vehicle for your entire family. Fundamental essentials best family cars for that modern family who still really wants to be trendy.
Kia Soul
The Kia Soul is really a large vehicle which has enough room for any family. It's not only large it is not hard to drive due to its practical size. It's been built to be regular sized around the outdoors but spacious inside.
Honda CR-V
The Honda CR-V may be the typical Sports utility vehicle that actually works for just about any family. Road journeys and travels become easy with this particular fantastic design. The Honda CR-V is compact, simple to drive and manoeuvre yet it's more than enough room for the family.
Subaru Outback
The Subaru Outback is among the latest Sports utility vehicle mixers Subaru has released lately. The vehicle is really a mix from a wagon as well as an Sports utility vehicle. With extra room within the back your loved ones is going to be comfortable. The trunk seats are made to support child seats too so your little infant are experiencing comfort too.
Toyota Highlander
Some families prefer to take adventures within the mountain tops or camping through the rivers. You should come with an off-road vehicle which has enough room for your kids within the back. The Toyota Highlander has been created to possess enough trunk space for luggage in addition to leg room within the back seats.
Safety is a vital factor when you are traveling together with your children. Children may not understand the idea of safety which explains why you should possess a safe traveling vehicle without problems. It's also wise to make certain that you simply educate your kids that putting on seatbelts are essential when you are traveling to the destination.
Before thinking about any vehicle it is best to test that to make certain that you could handle its power. Examining the status from the vehicle manufacturer can also be necessary when thinking about it for both you and your family's travels and adventures.
It's also essential that you check the mechanisms from the vehicle before you decide to visit any far destination. Make certain that you simply make sure that all of the lighting is working which the brakes are functioning regularly without stickiness or pulsations. Also be sure that the wheel supplier has correctly fitted, aligned and balanced the wheels around the vehicle.
A1 Wheel and Steering wheel is really a private family managed company specialising within the warehouse and distribution of wheels and tyres towards the automotive fitment trade. The organization includes a well-established operation in Gauteng, Nigeria.
How to Make a Virtual Book Tour Successful in 2018
Book tours have been in existence for any lengthy, lengthy time. Prior to the times of virtual book tours, when tours were writer-backed, covering several metropolitan areas, book tours were very expensive.
Go forward to today. Nowadays, most authors have the effect of their very own book tours. What this means is they need to plan, purchase and promote their very own tours. Thus the main reason very couple of indie authors do in-person book shop tours. The selection for many authors may be the virtual tour.
Regardless of nominal expenses for any virtual tour when compared with an in-person tour, there's still lots of work involved. If you wish to stay sane throughout a virtual book tour, consider putting a minumum of one support person in your team to deal with every detail.
Based on Loolwa Khazzoom, within an article she'd printed within the Huffington Publish, "The greatest mistake authors make delays until their books are printed, before considering contacting media."
The prosperity of your tour depends positioned on where your interviews, posts and comments are published. Thus the main reason to organize your tour out whenever possible.
With this stated, let us take a look at a few of the aspects of an online book tour.
Virtual Book Tour
An online book tour is a mix of online media including radio, podcast shows, teleseminars and webinars that air throughout a specific time period coupled with multiple blogs during the same time frame period.
Many authors focus exclusively on blog tours, there is however an enormous benefit to incorporating media in to the mix.
By mixing your blog tour and media tour you certainly improve your visibility and credibility. Your writings is going to be viewed by new eyeballs and you'll be heard by thousands, possibly millions, of potential book buyers. This is just what you would like.
When done correctly, you'll be able to achieve much more of your target audience. You need to be obvious on who your marketplace is. Also who's studying your blog you will publish on for elevated achieve most abundant in targeted market.
There is no reason for writing for blogs that aren't viewed by individuals who are curious about what there are here and provide.
Guest blogging reveals possibilities for potential partnership relationships with the site owner. Search engines like google love blogs, and, if you use the best keywords, you're creating incredible possibilities for much better Search engine optimization.
Additionally, you are able to improve your own opt-in subscribers, if you have a hyperlink inside your bio in the finish of the publish.
Just how much work will it take?
The quantity of work with a higher-traffic blog or perhaps a low-traffic blog is the same. Your ultimate goal ought to be to find blogs rich in visibility.
You have to discover the blogs, gain permission in the owner to guest blog, write the publish which help market your appearance. Even though this takes time, when done properly, the advantages are all around.
While not always possible, most blog proprietors enables you to include your short bio having a backlink for your web or blogsite. Don't write anonymously. In the end, to visibility and selling books, not just in be writing.
In some instances, you'll be requested to create original content, but oftentimes you will not. You need to determine if it's well worth the time invested to produce original content.
Whenever your systems have established yourself, like a conversion funnel, you will gain incredible take advantage of blog tours and guest blogging.
Blog Tour
1. Your blog tour is really a tour of numerous websites and blogs. It's suggested to publish on blogs that have the identical readership as individuals who'd want to consider your book.
2. Your blog tour is a superb chance to have an author to achieve high figures of potential book buyers and readers.
3. Your blog tour contains blogs, interviews, reviews and/or guest posts which are published to a number of blogs throughout a specific time period.
4. Your blog tour can be achieved live in which the author really visits each blog and solutions questions through the host. You may also perform a tour where your data is posted in advance so that you have greater achieve without having to be restricted through the clock.
5. Virtual blog tours really are a wonderful option to a "live" book shop tour. There is no travel involved and charges are minimal.
Media Tour
There are lots of similarities from a virtual blog tour along with a virtual media tour. The main distinction may be the medium.
Being an author, it is important to look for creative and great ways to market your book(s). Virtual book tours certainly suit you perfectly.
They're also a terrific way to improve your position on Amazon . com. With the proper plan, enough effort and a lot of sales, you may also Hit #1 on Amazon . com.
Florida Is an Incredible Spot to Have a Destination Wedding, Why Destin?
Destin, Florida is really a favored vacation place for visitors who travel from around the world to deal with themselves to some Destin, Florida get-away.
Beaches are delicate, fine, clean, and pure white-colored, and also the sand consists of exceptional quarta movement crystals that allow water to achieve the sparkly shades of blue and eco-friendly that provide the Emerald coast its name.
Lots of celebrities, for example, Sheryl Crow, Mike Huckabee, Jerry Johnson, Emeril Lagasse, and Britney Spears either have homes within the greater Destin area or visit regularly.
Exactly the same reasons which make Destin appealing to vacationers help explain why Destin is a perfect option for a seaside wedding.
Destin is within Northwest Florida around the Gulf coast from the Florida Panhandle, and is just a half day drive a treadmill hour flight from Atlanta.
Destin offers visitors first class beaches and it is packed with incredible spots to remain, eat, shop, play, focus on your tan, and luxuriate in existence.
For couples thinking about getting a seaside wedding in Destin, there are several great causes of getting a seaside wedding that you ought to consider at the start of the look process.
We'll discuss a few them here. With some good planning, whenever you decide arrive at Destin for the wedding, you can undergo all of the necessary plans easily and without anxiety.
Reasons it's a good idea to possess your beach wedding in Destin:
1. Destin, Florida is really a first class destination.
Destin has a few of the loveliest shores in the united states. Our seaside beauty is first rate, and there's a great deal to do (angling, golf, beach fun, boating, science and theme parks) for the buddies and family people who may wish to stay some time and revel in Destin either after or before the marriage.
2. You are able to frequently cut costs by getting the wedding ceremony around the beach in Destin.
Unless of course you're booking having a ritzy beach front wedding venue, you are able to will often have the wedding around the beach totally free, or almost so. Generally you will not require a permit, only a regular marriage license that is easily acquired in the county level and doesn't need a bloodstream test.
There are many condition parks in or near to Destin which have structures and pavillions you should use for any ceremony or reception. These may usually be had for any really low fee.
3. It's not hard to get back and forth from Destin.
Transportation back and forth from Destin is simple to set up. Destin visitors can decide on 4 airports with competitive airfares.
Since Destin is appropriate here in the united states, none of the visitors will need to stress over travel permits, visas, other languages, or pricey worldwide flights. Even the annoyance of returning to the united states through customs is totally prevented.
4. Great choices for lodging at each budget and taste.
Probably the most ideal methods to securing lodging in Destin for the group would be to lease a holiday house or condo. Holiday Rentals are extremely well-known and are available in most sizes and budgets in Destin.
You are able to lease a independently owned home for any week to accommodate your marriage party, or perhaps your whole family, in fashion and luxury. These homes frequently have a private pool and price less per person than remaining in a hotel or inn. Additionally they include more choices for cooking meals internally, etc.
Wedding couples typically rent a couple of houses that may fit everyone, which becomes substantially more enjoyable and memorable for those. Some Destin holiday rentals are big enough that you could have your wedding rehearsal dinner or perhaps a casual reception right in the house and steer clear of the price of leasing a location completely.
There's also lots of great restaurants and reception websites that can host the wedding if you would like some thing formal. You may also make the most of a few of the wedding packages they offer and get rid of the stress of planning the whole wedding by yourself
The Best Car Rental Deal You Must Consider to Track Down
There are lots of situations where you are looking for renting a vehicle. Vehicle rental is a great solution in case your vehicle has been repaired, damaged lower or else you did not buy a replacement yet. You may be a weight vacation, whether it's personal or business, and you need to move around leisurely or perhaps in an elegant way without getting to hustle with locals in public places transportation. Maybe you need to accompany your loved ones on a holiday, whether it's domestic or overseas. You may also consider renting a specific vehicle simply to give it a try before you purchase it.
You might be asking "What should i rent a vehicle?" so the remainder of this information will demonstrate what you should need if you wish to rent a vehicle and the way to find the very best vehicle rental deal. To do this goal and steer clear of encountering an irritating situation or incurring an additional payment, research your options in advance and take advantage of the information incorporated in the following paragraphs.
The needs:
ID: Make certain that you've a valid ID which your company name around the ID matches the name in your license as well as on your charge card.
Valid license: You'll want a legitimate license issued out of your country.
Worldwide Driver License: You might be requested to provide your Worldwide Driving License, so make certain you have one out of situation your domestic license isn't familiar or otherwise designed in the Roman alphabet.
Debit or credit card: Make certain you have active debit or credit card with a lot more funds, since most companies utilize it to ask you for for that mileage overage or gas. Keep in mind, some rental companies not accept an atm card.
Insurance: You'll be needed to cover optional car insurance in the vehicle rental company. It is best that you simply check before you decide to purchase any insurance because you might be already included in your employer or from your charge card or other facility.
The needed age comes from 25 to 70 years of age. 21 to 24 years of age renters may incur extra charges.
Other factors and suggestions:
To consider a vehicle rental company, make reference to either printed or online Phone Book, to look for vehicle rental agencies or websites for example Hertz, CarRentals.com, KAYAK, Enterprise and AutoSlash.com. A few of these phone book and websites possess a map view for it to be simpler that you should locate nearby vehicle rental companies. Select a company which has a wide variety of cars which provides you with limitless miles.
Each company features its own rules and policy so make certain you call or e-mail the organization to take a look and look for any hidden charges, surcharges or any penalty clause you might incur.
For those who have any driving offenses upon your name, It might be difficult that you should be recognized like a renter.
There's two primary areas where one can rent cars from. Airport terminal and downtown. Generally, renting from the place apart from airports is going to be cheaper.
Vehicle rental minute rates are not constant, but instead they're unsteady. Rates vary based on economy condition, condition tax, service tax laws and regulations, the dimensions and status from the rental company, occasions, demand, etc. For the greatest rates, search as numerous companies as possible making a list in order to save the rates and do a comparison with one another. It's wise that you simply book the vehicle lengthy ahead of time and recheck the speed so might find a much better offer.
Create a listing to find out all your requirements and time of get and fall off in advance.
While using the vehicle, don't use it on gravel or unpaved road. Rather, utilize it only on paved route to avoid having to pay any extra charges. You have to return the vehicle in good shape while you required it. Don't misuse the vehicle.
If you are planning to book the vehicle for sightseeing, it is advisable to hire the vehicle using its driver. It's especially suggested for a moment rent abroad.
A lot of companies stipulate that you simply return the vehicle having a full tank, so make certain that you simply return the vehicle having a full tank to prevent the additional money you might incur.
In certain countries you might be needed to cover CDW (Collision Damage Waiver).
You might pay yet another fee for extras for example Gps navigation, child seat and bike racks.
To conclude, consider it as it were, should you hurry and rent any vehicle in a rush, you will likely incur extra cash. However, should you take the time to research by calling many vehicle rental agencies and visiting famous vehicle rental websites, you'll certainly find the very best vehicle rental deal that fits your need. Nowadays it is quite easy to do this because of the internet. You can go to many famous vehicle rental companies online to determine lots of offers and travelling inspiration should you did not make a decision yet regarding what to do as well as for just how much.
Fifteen Travelers That I Have Met
You will find really as numerous kind of vacationers because there are people. Ideas have a tongue in oral cavity take a look at a few of the common types.
1. The Entire Budget Traveler
The entire budget traveler travels on the strict budget and doesn't change from it, regardless of how exciting the lately discovered chance is. No extra drinks with this traveller unless of course someone buys him/her one.
2. The Perennial Party Animal
The perennial party animal has one focus and that's to possess fun usually in a bar. These vacationers find places to party where others cannot. Possibly they must be partnered using the complete budget traveler!
3. The Flexible Go-anywhere Traveler
The flexible go-anywhere traveler just chills out where-ever he/she's. There's no requirement for planning – things are good. They be flexible and also to not have to know where they're going. Possibly the traveller that likes any experience.
4. The Systematic Planner
The systematic planner doesn't do anything whatsoever that isn't pre-arranged. Every second is planned so when things fail because they inevitably do, they think unloved. They will be found anywhere the program informs these to be.
5. The Current Technical
The current technical are only able to travel if he/she's the most recent travel accessories and gadgets. Stay near to the modern technical to understand what products works and just what products are a total waste of money for your forthcoming trip.
6. The Enthusiastic Souvenir Buyer
The enthusiastic souvenir buyer has money to invest and something that he/she would like to help remind them from the holiday. The mind for that markets and shops and never thinking about spending whenever using the perennial party animal. Normally has challenge with baggage weight limits around the homeward journey.
7. The Realize it All Traveler
The realize it all traveler studies from the guidebooks and internet just before travel. He/she finds great pleasure in asking probably the most in-depth questions from the guides or constantly interrupts the guide with statements of "fact". Unsure who the realize it all traveller should travel with.
8. The Flamboyant Professional photographer
The flamboyant photography will most likely possess the most costly camera (also keep in mind the lens) and go ahead and take longest to consider any photograph. Other vacationers will always be awaiting him/her at any special sight. Additionally they like to leave very early to "catch the sunshine."
9. The Continual Complainer
The continual complainer finds everything around the tour to not his/her usual standard. Usually tell you they are frequent vacationers and frequently wish to "talk to a greater authority". Most likely should stay at home and relish the stuff that exist!
10. The Helpless Traveler
The helpless traveler finds everything a tad too much. He/she'll ask probably the most unusual and frequently useless questions. Frequently you will see someone around the tour who takes the helpless traveller under their wings to safeguard them in the others.
11. The "I'm searching personally" Traveler
The "I'm searching personally" traveler is trying to find something. It's something unique for every or even the "I'm searching personally" vacationers. Beat to allow them end up but make certain they get about securely.
12. The Incessant Speaking Traveler
The incessant speaking traveler doesn't leave anybody alone. They crave attorney at law on just about any subject. Frequently they're very worthwhile people but enough is sufficient.
13. The Travel Light Traveler
The travel light traveler needs just one cabin bag to determine the planet. They a happy with their achievement however their travelling buddies struggle when there's virtually no time for laundry clothes. They have a tendency to love to gain access to things.
14. The Repeating Traveler
The repeating traveler would go to the same location or holiday every year. He/she will provide a minimum of 101 reasons why you need to join them. They are proud of suggesting they have seen three management changes in the hotel and also the last manager was much better than the present one.
15. The Exercising Traveler
Finally, the exercising traveler increases every day to some energetic physical workout. Only remain at hotels with gymnasium and pool. Usually picky with food and claim that they can eat "healthy" before the free wines are put up for grabs.
Whatever kind of traveler you're or touch – benefit from the experience and grow from them. The most tiresome travelers may have something interesting to state.
Choosing A Travel Destination
Traveling is really exciting, especially if you have been planning it for any lengthy time. After saving your travel money and also the time is finally here, chances are that you'll be lost for choices regarding which destination is right for you and also one which provides you with the most effective to keep in mind. Because of so many top holiday destinations around the world, you certainly need to make the best decision and searching in a couple of things can certainly assist you with that.
Exactly what do you like doing? If you value art for example, you need to look for a destination which has lots of galleries or you love sun and sand, a destination which has plenty of beaches ought to be your approach to take. Sit lower and evaluate what you truly expect out of your holiday that it is simpler that you should narrow lower your research to find the best destination.
The length of time have you got for that holiday? For those who have merely a couple of days to spare for that holiday then you're best selecting a destination that's nearer to home, however if you simply possess a month or even more, you'll be able to choose any destination you want as you have here we are at a lengthy trip. You need to increase your holiday period experiencing the destination and never travelling, hence the significance of matching your destination using the duration.
This really is another key element to think about when selecting a travel destination. The truth is some destinations are very costly when compared with others likewise way some holiday season is costlier than the others. For instance, it may be more costly to choose a skiing holiday and remaining in a ski resort than it might be taking a sightseeing trip and selecting budget hotels for the accommodation. The key here ought to be to know how much cash you've and also the holiday options you've. Managing your travel expenses is among the best steps you can take so a minimum of possess a reasonable plan.
Unless of course you're going for any skiing holiday, then you definitely certainly wish to select a destination which has friendly weather. Sunny, warm days make the best holidays since the weather conditions make it easy for you to definitely enjoy and relax the destination fully. When searching at the top holiday destinations, consider the way the weather is going to be whenever you intend to travel so that you can determine. Be aware of season in the united states or city so you do not get disappointed when you're already there.
Find everything you must know about the destination in the customs, cuisine and also the language. Some use their native languages so when travelling you might like to become familiar with a couple of phrases or have an interpreter to create your holiday enjoyable and fewer confusing. Understanding the culture also enables you to understand the clear way of existence from the locals and provides you insight regarding how to conduct yourself while there.
Six Growing Trends in Bahamas Tourism
1. Heritage Tourism – The Bahamas is really a place that's been wealthy ever, and in the future you will find that increasingly more readers are yearning to understand much more about the places that they're visiting and they would like to learn more concerning the people and just what simply causes us to be Bahamian. Regardless of the various museums and monuments that's available to the general public daily. Our major challenges that people face may be the upkeep of these qualities all year round as well as throughout the off tourism season. Thankfully there are many solutions for this problem and one of these is as simple as maintaining your history alive with the people and it is various programs like "Individuals to People." Through programs such as this visitors are in possession of a one-on-one interaction with persons who are able to provide them with a far more accurate knowledge of the existence within the Bahamas and overall increase the value of Bahamas tourism.
2. Sustainable Tourism – After a period of petitioning and protecting wild existence and also the natural sources from the Bahamas, the Bahamas National Trust with the Secretary of state for Tourism and also the Harvard School of Design became a member of forces to be able to design a sustainable tourism model for that island of Exuma's Land and Ocean Park. Some the earliest fossils are available around the island in addition to a quantity of endangered types of plants and creatures on the landmass and lots of around the surrounding Cays. The model may be the first available ever to become adopted within the Bahamas and any place in someplace sunny and warm. My hope is the fact that you will see more sustainable models similar to this to soon follow alternatively islands from the Bahamas (meaning an advantage for Bahamas Tourism/eco tourism) and also the Caribbean.
3. Adventure Tourism – There's always action surrounding you if you're prepared to look and discover it. From power sailing, jet skiing, to game fishing, yachting, sailing, off roading, camping, hiking as well as cave diving. There's an abundance of chance within the Bahamas and it is becoming a lot more well-liked by youthful travelers and adventure enthusiast.
4. Luxury Tourism – Whenever you consider luxury it appears to become just like a no brainier when resorts for example Atlantis and the best Sea Club spring to mind. However in today's luxury I believe it's reliable advice that it is 1000% dedicated to the requirements and amenities in our visitors and ensuring there every need and need is met. And today the very first time in Bahamas tourism we've the Baha Marly Resort and Albany developing stream showing an abundance in luxury tourism, but really a more powerful competition than in the past. Mainly many of these resorts will offer you usually the same factor. You are able to rent a holiday home or perhaps a suite on your stay, you are able to play golf have one's own butler… the whole shebang. What would be the driving factor obviously would be the cost and cost from the service provided by each property.
5. Culinary Tourism – Obviously whenever visiting a very beautiful country like the Bahamas, one considers going to the best restaurant in the united states or inside the resort and having a good five star meal. However the most recent trend in Bahamas tourism at this time for a number of our guest and guest all over the world would be to fully immerse themselves within the taste from the culture. From taking cooking training concerning the country's cuisine with "Tru Bahamian Food Tours" or attending a food festival like "Eat the shore" in Abaco. Where you will find that both occasions are located by top chefs around the island and provide you with an excellent introduction of Bahamian cuisine.
6. Sports Tourism – Because the opening in our new Thomas A Robinson stadium, the federal government from the Bahamas is raring to display it in public around the world that has now introduced a brand new kind of niche within Bahamas tourism referred to as Sports Tourism. Through the years we've been fortunate to coach and send our very best athletes to compete around the world stage, however because of the partnership between your Bahamas and Chinese government. The Bahamas are now able to host some the finest sporting occasions on the planet such as the IAAF Games which was held here captured. We had the privilege of hosting the Carifta Games earlier this past year and also the soccer tournament between Jamaica's reggae boys and also the Bahamas. Despite the fact that we're a newcomer for this degree of tourism it's an execllent accessory for compliment our wealthy tourism package.
Travelling Tips for the Disabled 2018
Unlike previously, today individuals with disabilities happen to be recognized, and therefore are less discriminated against. In lots of countries you will find legislations that safeguard them making their existence just a little simpler. Also many public structures happen to be designed or renovated to be able to accommodate individuals with disabilities.
With all of these enhancements, individuals with disabilities can now travel for vacation or company business to places a long way away using their home. However, with all of these enhancements we've made, travelling for those who have disabilities continues to be challenging on their behalf, especially when they're travelling alone or, they're going to a mystery destination. Here is a guide to help individuals with all of types of disabilities to visit securely.
1. Plan well ahead of time
Planning is essential to any kind of success. This will be relevant since it reduces likelihood of getting stranded and being inconvenienced. Booking flights and rooms in hotels would be the top priorities, however if you are planning to remain in a friend's or perhaps a relative's house notifying them ahead of time is essential. Then they may be prepared as well as collect you in the airport terminal.
2. Book hotels which are disabled friendly
Hotels with disabled friendly structures are extremely convenient because they allow disabled visitors to move freely with minimal effort. Many of these hotels also provide special emergency protocols that ensure disabled folks are not left out in situation of the emergency, compared to other hotels where these problems are gone looked.
3. Make use of a tour operator that provides holiday packages for disabled travelers
Booking flights and rooms in hotels with travel specialists that provide travel methods to disabled people is beneficial in many ways. They ensure they book for his or her disabled clients airlines and hotels which are disabled friendly. They make an effort to offer services and suggestions which will ensure their customers travel easily.
4. Understand and know your legal rights when in the airport terminal
Travelling, for those who have disabilities, is extremely hectic, particularly when they reach the airport terminal. They face the task of having proper information and directions. This really is further irritated through the huge number of individuals traveling and lengthy queues. In airports, you will find family and friends that are meant to deal with the requirements of individuals travelling with disabilities.
Disabled travelers shouldn't, and aren't, treated differently once they undergo safety measures. They're also protected against any kind of discrimination from the air travel. Disabled travelers are encouraged to be very conversant using their legal rights to prevent and report any kind of discrimination when travelling.
5. Bring extra medication
There's no harm in transporting an additional dose of medicine when travelling. People do lose their luggage because they travel so, getting an additional dose will behave as a backup when one dose will get lost. This helps to ensure that when travelling, a disabled person doesn't exhaust their medicine forcing these to start searching for any pharmacy when travelling. These medications ought to be stored correctly to make sure their safety.
6. Have a doctor's note and phone information when travelling
A doctor's note contains information about a disorder that a disabled individual is facing and will also help doctors save considerable time on tests in situation of the emergency. Contact details for the physician enables other doctors to obtain information out of your physician if the need arise. This small, but vital, information can help to save lives.
7. Use direct flights
It's very hectic and tedious for any disabled traveler to make use of connecting flights. Using connecting flights exposes these to lack of their luggage as well as injuries because they get interior and exterior an airplane. Utilizing a direct flight cuts each one of these risks lower and saves a great deal time and effort when travelling. Direct flights also make sure that individuals travelling with disabilities aren't stranded within an airport terminal because they wait for connecting flight.
8. Disabled travelers are encouraged to possess some understanding about where they're going to
There's anything difficult than searching for directions to some place you don't learn about. This really is even tougher for disabled travelers so, you should have a minimum of some understanding and understanding regarding their destination. This gives them a maximum hands when getting around and also the understanding to understand what to do where to not go. This is very useful when they're stranded or receive an emergency situation and want urgent assistance.
9. Carry the right luggage
Disabled travelers are encouraged to carry luggage that they'll manage when they're travelling. Unless of course they've company, travelling with a lot of luggage is difficult. Traveling gently enables disabled travelers to become more flexible to situations that arise besides, a lot of luggage could also easily go missing.
10. Enjoy travelling
Many disabled people don't travel frequently because of a lot limitations which discourages them. However today's technology ensures safe travel for those no matter their condition. Travelling ought to be enjoyed by all as it is an opportunity to experience something totally new which are diverse from what they're accustomed to.


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Nicki Minaj is ''happier'' now she is single because she feels ''more free''.
Nicki Minaj is ''happier'' now she is single.
The 'Superbass' hitmaker has dated a number of famous rappers in the past but she insists she is happy being single at the moment because she feels ''more free''.
Speaking about a man she is seeing, she told host Ellen DeGeneres: ''He's been around for a couple weeks now. But I don't have a boy. Look, I'm just chilling. I've always been in a relationship my whole life. I was in a relationship since I was 15 years old. This is the first time that I'm single, and I'm happier. I'm more free - and it's OK. I used to feel like I had to have a man, I swear. My whole adult life I felt like I had to have a man. I want the women out here to know you absolutely don't.''
Earlier this month, Nicki was locked in a bitter Twitter war of words with her former boyfriend Safaree Samuels, who she dated for almost 15 years, as they traded insults back and forth. He accused her of cheating on him with Meek Mill - whom she dated from 2015 until 2017 - before claiming things got ''toxic'' between them and he ''packed up and left.''
He added: ''We know each other inside out. Everything there was for us. I didn't use your card for prostitutes. We both didn't trust each other. You did sh*t I did sh*t. You said you were messing with meek a few years b4 y'all got together and I'm not mad at that. Towards the end it got toxic and I just packed up and left.
''I did things for spite and so did you. I don't wish you bad and I don't want us back together just like I'm sure you don't. I don't need you you don't need me but we will always be linked in the public no matter what. (sic).''
However, she wasn't prepared to let her ex-beau bad mouth her on social media without dishing some dirt on him.
She hit back: ''U stole my card & told me you thought it was an account with ''free money'' that I didn't know about. On God. God will strike you down & more for lying. Ha! Stop saying u packed & left ! On Jesus u came to my house CRYING BEGGING to go w me to Europe to the EMA's. I said NO DUMMY (sic).''
On 'Tallulah', Grant Nicholas and Taka Hirose seem to have that burning connection again.
The Barbershop gang are back once again. Having had to team up with Angie's ladies...
While the story isn't particularly original, and the movie tends to drift over the top...
One woman thinks she's on a roll with the first serious boyfriend she's had in...
Sid, Manny and Diego are doing a good job so far of surviving the Ice...


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High Desert Plant Finder & Guide
Moonshine Yarrow
Achillea 'Moonshine'
Moonshine Yarrow flowers
(Photo courtesy of NetPS Plant Finder)
Height: 24 inches
Spread: 24 inches
Hardiness Zone: 2
Ornamental Features
Moonshine Yarrow is smothered in stunning yellow flat-top flowers at the ends of the stems from late spring to late summer. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its attractive tomentose ferny leaves remain grayish green in color throughout the season. The fruit is not ornamentally significant.
Landscape Attributes
Moonshine Yarrow is an herbaceous perennial with a mounded form. It brings an extremely fine and delicate texture to the garden composition and should be used to full effect.
This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and should be cut back in late fall in preparation for winter. It is a good choice for attracting bees, butterflies and hummingbirds to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;
- Spreading
- Self-Seeding
Moonshine Yarrow is recommended for the following landscape applications;
- Mass Planting
- Border Edging
- General Garden Use
- Groundcover
- Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens
- Container Planting
Planting & Growing
Moonshine Yarrow will grow to be about 24 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 24 inches. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years.
This plant should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers to grow in average to dry locations, and dislikes excessive moisture. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in both summer and winter to conserve soil moisture and protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.
Moonshine Yarrow is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. It can be used either as 'filler' or as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, depending on the height and form of the other plants used in the container planting. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.
Please note: Our Plant Guide is all about plants that will work in the high desert. It is not, nor is it intended to be, a current list of plants in stock on hand at each location or at our farm. We purposely do not sell or ship plants via the internet. Plant questions and availability are best determined in-store.


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Senior Project Manager -- Salesforce experience
Lowell - Massachusetts - USA
Information Technology
Ref #:
DescriptionAt Kronos, the IT Delivery organization provides a full-range of project and program management services focused on Information Technology. We partner across teams and stakeholders to help deliver enterprise IT projects and programs of critical importance that directly impact revenue and continued viability. We strive to deliver business value for our clients through program and project management services that enable consistent, on time, on budget, high quality results. Our team members work collaboratively and apply their specialized knowledge and experience to help plan, execute and deliver projects and programs that innovate toward a technology-driven future, within an optimized technology portfolio aligned with business needs.
• Follow/enhance a repeatable framework for a project structure to account for all IT required tasks
• Develop detailed project plans for projects with clear identification of resources, dependencies, risks and milestones.
• Develop detailed cost estimates for the project. Develop change management procedures for the project and milestone signoff criteria.
• Drive integration project plans with clear metrics, operating mechanisms and regular updates to stakeholders.
• Identify and manage project risks; escalate as needed for resolution. Improve project management processes and increase efficiencies
• Manage relationships with cross-functional project partners/service providers
Qualifications• BS in Computer Science, Engineering or IT-related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 3-5+ years of experience managing projects and programs in IT
• Demonstrated capability to manage cross-functional teams
• Experience with Salesforce implementation project, specifically Sales Cloud, Service Cloud and Communities
• Experience in technology application development and system integration
• Strong leadership and strong written and verbal communication skills
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously
• Confidence and presence
• Good problem-solving skills
• Familiarity with SDLC (Software Development Lifecycle)
• Know when to solve and mitigate risk and know when to escalate
• Capable of navigating complex and dynamic environment on a politically sensitive tightrope
• Ability to discern order out of chaos
• Skilled in integrating change management into program management methodology
• Excellent computer skills: Word, Excel, Visio, Project, PowerPoint, MS Project, Smartsheet
• PMP and/or Agile certification is a plus
Corporate overview
You're empowered when you're a Kronite.
Want to be part of an elite group of highly skilled professionals? We think our employees are a special group of talented, energetic, and innovative people. And for that reason, we refer to ourselves as Kronites. Kronites care about more than just work. We recognize the need to maintain a healthy work-life balance – to live inspired. In fact, it's expected! You'll soon learn that we take work and fun seriously. No matter what position you hold at Kronos, you're a Kronite. And we want you to feel like you have the power to make a difference in your life and the lives of others, at work and beyond. Want to learn more about our culture? Follow us on Twitter @work4kronos. #MyWorkInspired
Kronos is a global provider of workforce management and human capital management cloud solutions. Kronos' industry-specific workforce applications are purpose built for businesses, healthcare providers, educational institutions and government agencies of all sizes. Tens of thousands of organizations – including half of the Fortune 1000® - and more than 40 million people in over 100 countries use Kronos every day.
EEO StatementKronos is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and is committed to maintaining a diverse and inclusive work environment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, physical or mental disability, age, or veteran status or any other basis protected by federal, state, or local law.