text:
Did Einstein say we could only last four years on Earth without bees around?
Commercial beekeepers in the United States have grappled with crippling die-offs of their honeybee colonies, due to seemingly mysterious causes. Colony collapse disorder has decimated the population of commercial hives, crucial for the pollination of many of the nation's fruits and vegetables, with the die-off this year particularly bad. Growing evidence points to a powerful new class of pesticides known as neonicotinoids which have particularly crippling effect on honeybees. Read more
Mystery Malady Kills More Bees, Heightening Worry on Farms
A Disastrous Year for Bees: For America's beekeepers, who have struggled for nearly a decade with a mysterious malady called colony collapse disorder that kills honeybees en masse, this past year was particularly bad.
By MICHAEL WINES in New York Times (28 March 2013):
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — A mysterious malady that has been killing honeybees en masse for several years appears to have expanded drastically in the last year, commercial beekeepers say, wiping out 40 percent or even 50 percent of the hives needed to pollinate many of the nation's fruits and vegetables.
A conclusive explanation so far has escaped scientists studying the ailment, colony collapse disorder, since it first surfaced around 2005. But beekeepers and some researchers say there is growing evidence that a powerful new class of pesticides known as neonicotinoids, incorporated into the plants themselves, could be an important factor.
The pesticide industry disputes that. But its representatives also say they are open to further studies to clarify what, if anything, is happening.
"They looked so healthy last spring," said Bill Dahle, 50, who owns Big Sky Honey in Fairview, Mont. "We were so proud of them. Then, about the first of September, they started to fall on their face, to die like crazy. We've been doing this 30 years, and we've never experienced this kind of loss before."
In a show of concern, the Environmental Protection Agency recently sent its acting assistant administrator for chemical safety and two top chemical experts here, to the San Joaquin Valley of California, for discussions.
In the valley, where 1.6 million hives of bees just finished pollinating an endless expanse of almond groves, commercial beekeepers who only recently were losing a third of their bees to the disorder say the past year has brought far greater losses.
The federal Agriculture Department is to issue its own assessment in May. But in an interview, the research leader at its Beltsville, Md., bee research laboratory, Jeff Pettis, said he was confident that the death rate would be "much higher than it's ever been."
Following a now-familiar pattern, bee deaths rose swiftly last autumn and dwindled as operators moved colonies to faraway farms for the pollination season. Beekeepers say the latest string of deaths has dealt them a heavy blow.
Bret Adee, who is an owner, with his father and brother, of Adee Honey Farms of South Dakota, the nation's largest beekeeper, described mounting losses.
"We lost 42 percent over the winter. But by the time we came around to pollinate almonds, it was a 55 percent loss," he said in an interview here this week.
"They looked beautiful in October," Mr. Adee said, "and in December, they started falling apart, when it got cold."
Mr. Dahle said he had planned to bring 13,000 beehives from Montana — 31 tractor-trailers full — to work the California almond groves. But by the start of pollination last month, only 3,000 healthy hives remained.
Annual bee losses of 5 percent to 10 percent once were the norm for beekeepers. But after colony collapse disorder surfaced around 2005, the losses approached one-third of all bees, despite beekeepers' best efforts to ensure their health.
Nor is the impact limited to beekeepers. The Agriculture Department says a quarter of the American diet, from apples to cherries to watermelons to onions, depends on pollination by honeybees. Fewer bees means smaller harvests and higher food prices.
Almonds are a bellwether. Eighty percent of the nation's almonds grow here, and 80 percent of those are exported, a multibillion-dollar crop crucial to California agriculture. Pollinating up to 800,000 acres, with at least two hives per acre, takes as many as two-thirds of all commercial hives.
This past winter's die-off sent growers scrambling for enough hives to guarantee a harvest. Chris Moore, a beekeeper in Kountze, Tex., said he had planned to skip the groves after sickness killed 40 percent of his bees and left survivors weakened.
"But California was short, and I got a call in the middle of February that they were desperate for just about anything," he said. So he sent two truckloads of hives that he normally would not have put to work.
Bee shortages pushed the cost to farmers of renting bees to $200 per hive at times, 20 percent above normal. That, too, may translate into higher prices for food.
Precisely why last year's deaths were so great is unclear. Some blame drought in the Midwest, though Mr. Dahle lost nearly 80 percent of his bees despite excellent summer conditions. Others cite bee mites that have become increasingly resistant to pesticides. Still others blame viruses.
But many beekeepers suspect the biggest culprit is the growing soup of pesticides, fungicides and herbicides that are used to control pests.
While each substance has been certified, there has been less study of their combined effects. Nor, many critics say, have scientists sufficiently studied the impact of neonicotinoids, the nicotine-derived pesticide that European regulators implicate in bee deaths.
The explosive growth of neonicotinoids since 2005 has roughly tracked rising bee deaths.
Neonics, as farmers call them, are applied in smaller doses than older pesticides. They are systemic pesticides, often embedded in seeds so that the plant itself carries the chemical that kills insects that feed on it.
Older pesticides could kill bees and other beneficial insects. But while they quickly degraded — often in a matter of days — neonicotinoids persist for weeks and even months. Beekeepers worry that bees carry a summer's worth of contaminated pollen to hives, where ensuing generations dine on a steady dose of pesticide that, eaten once or twice, might not be dangerous.
"Soybean fields or canola fields or sunflower fields, they all have this systemic insecticide," Mr. Adee said. "If you have one shot of whiskey on Thanksgiving and one on the Fourth of July, it's not going to make any difference. But if you have whiskey every night, 365 days a year, your liver's gone. It's the same thing."
Research to date on neonicotinoids "supports the notion that the products are safe and are not contributing in any measurable way to pollinator health concerns," the president of CropLife America, Jay Vroom, said Wednesday. The group represents more than 90 pesticide producers.
He said the group nevertheless supported further research. "We stand with science and will let science take the regulation of our products in whatever direction science will guide it," Mr. Vroom said.
A coalition of beekeepers and environmental and consumer groups sued the E.P.A. last week, saying it exceeded its authority by conditionally approving some neonicotinoids. The agency has begun an accelerated review of their impact on bees and other wildlife.
The European Union has proposed to ban their use on crops frequented by bees. Some researchers have concluded that neonicotinoids caused extensive die-offs in Germany and France.
Neonicotinoids are hardly the beekeepers' only concern. Herbicide use has grown as farmers have adopted crop varieties, from corn to sunflowers, that are genetically modified to survive spraying with weedkillers. Experts say some fungicides have been laced with regulators that keep insects from maturing, a problem some beekeepers have reported.
Eric Mussen, an apiculturist at the University of California, Davis, said analysts had documented about 150 chemical residues in pollen and wax gathered from beehives.
"Where do you start?" Dr. Mussen said. "When you have all these chemicals at a sublethal level, how do they react with each other? What are the consequences?"
Experts say nobody knows. But Mr. Adee, who said he had long scorned environmentalists' hand-wringing about such issues, said he was starting to wonder whether they had a point.
Of the "environmentalist" label, Mr. Adee said: "I would have been insulted if you had called me that a few years ago. But what you would have called extreme — a light comes on, and you think, 'These guys really have something. Maybe they were just ahead of the bell curve.'"
A version of this article appeared in print on March 29, 2013, on page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: Mystery Malady Kills More Bees, Heightening Worry on Farms.
Source: www.nytimes.com


text:
Wed 2 Jul 2008
Forget Wikipedia! Now you're blocking Facebook!?!Posted by + mOdOk + under China news , Currents , Great Firewall of China , Life in Beijing , My Life the Soap Opera
Chinese language version of Facebook
A little more than a week after the launch of the simplified Chinese Facebook site, users all across China, including yours truly, are reporting that they are unable to access Facebook. Having had to endure the Great Firewall of China for over five years now, I am quite familiar with the slight of DNS error technique that can be observed in the status messages at the bottom of the Firefox browser when attempting to access the typical blocked site, and the phenomenon is definitely observable when attempting to access Facebook. The interesting thing is that I have seen similar errors on and off for the past couple of months. Usually just closing the instance of the browser and opening a new one will fix it, but not today. This time it appears it may be for keeps. Or not. It is never a simple task to attempt to predict how the censor goons will behave.
I suppose I should question why it would really bother me so much that Facebook is blocked. I am actually surprised at how accustomed I have become to the social network, to the point that I would definitely feel deprived if I was unable to access it. Compare this with my first social networking site, Tribe, that I have pretty much abandoned after spending hours a day every day for months on end. What is it I wonder? I believe the difference is that a good number of my friends on Facebook are my real flesh and blood friends, rather than mere Internet-only "friends", although I have a fair number of those as well. Somehow, I enjoy the news feed that keeps me updated on the goings on of my circle of friends, without having to actually meet them and and talk to them to find these things out. Is this progress? I wonder. Certainly the amount of "flesh time" I spend with most of my Facebook friends is relatively low, so, is it right that I am so up to date on their goings on? Well, actually, I rarely follow the stories in the news feed, but I do find it far more interesting than the news offered by, say, CNN, and, in fact, many of the most interesting stories I find on the Internet these days are from links posted by friends on Facebook.
Facebook is many things to many people. To me, it sometimes seems like little more than the ultimate stalking utility. Yet, I have exchanged some of the most meaningful philosophical conversations of my life here as well, although, Tribe is really hard to beat on that front. So, the bottom line is… Why block it? Is it really that subversive? Who knows? I just hope that like Wikipedia, the blockages will come and go. But mostly go. Facebook through a proxy is tedious in the extreme.
2 Responses to "Forget Wikipedia! Now you're blocking Facebook!?!"
+ mOdOk + (10 comments) Says:
July 3rd, 2008 at 10:14 am
Well, it seems now that I can access Facebook again. We'll see how it goes. I have had trouble in the past, and expect I will again in the future. Ambiguity favors strong in the arsenal of the sheriffs of the Great Firewall of China, though access issues could indeed be related to "mere" network problems.
The debate will no doubt forge on…
+ mOdOk + (10 comments) Says:
July 4th, 2008 at 8:46 am
And since posting that comment, I have been completely unable to access Facebook except through a proxy. The quick shift in the status bar message is definitely indicative of a blocked site.
Very strange.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Oscar Emmanuel Peterson ( August 15, Montreal, Toronto, 1925 - 23 december 2007) was a Canadian jazzpianist and composer.
His father taught him at the age of five play trumpet and piano . After he had gotten tuberculosis , he concentrated on his seventh on the piano. He quickly acquired a reputation as a technically brilliant and melodically inventive jazz pianist, and was a regular guest in radio programs. He made his first appearance in the Carnegie Hall in 1949.
He played together with Ray Brown, Herb Ellis, Ed Thigpen, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Stan Getz, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Anita O'Day, Clark Terry and Joe Pass. An important moment in his career was when he joined the impresario Norman Granz 's labels (especially Verve Records), leaving him with the great jazz artists of that time could work together.
Artists who influenced Oscar in his early years, were among others Teddy Wilson, Nat "King" Cole, James p. Johnson and the legendary Art Tatum.
Peterson got a stroke In 1993 , leaving his left weakened and he had to keep peace for two years. He came over it and went doing well by performing, recording and composing. In 1997 he received a Grammy Award for his entire career and an International Jazz Hall of Fame Award, proof that Peterson is seen as one of the greatest jazz musicians.
His work earned him seven Grammy Awards over the years. In 1978 , he was included in the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. It was also in the Juno Awards Hall of Fame and the Canadian Jazz and Blues Hall of Fame.
In 1972 , he was an officer of the order of Canada and in 1984 he became Companion, the highest rank, promoted. He is also a member of the order of Ontario, Knight of the Ordre du Québec and officer of the French Ordre des Arts and des Lettres.
In 1978 he received the Roy Thomson Award, in 1991 the Toronto Arts Award for his entire career, in 1992 , the Governor General's Performing Arts Awardin 1993 the Glenn Gould Prize, in 1995 the price of theInternational Society for Performing Artists, the Loyola Medal in 1997 by the Concordia University, in 1999 the Praemium Imperiale World Art Award, in 2000 the UNESCO Music Prize, and in 2001 the Toronto Musicians ' Association Musician of the Year Award.
Peterson played 15 times at the North Sea Jazz Festival, most recently in 2005. He died in 2007 to a liver disease.
Some of his recordings are:
- Exclusively for My Friends
- The President Plays With The Oscar Peterson Trio (1952)
- Oscar Peterson Plays Duke Ellington (1953)
- Oscar Peterson Plays the Duke Ellington Song Book (1959)
- A Portrait of Frank Sinatra (1959) (1971 , reissued in)
- West Side Story: Oscar Peterson Trio (1962)
- Night Train (1962)
- Canadiana Suite (1963)
- Hymn to Freedom (1964)
- We Get Requests (1964)
- Easter Suite (1984)
- Oscar Peterson Plays the Duke Ellington Song Book (1999), combined reissue of the Ellington-recordings from 1953 and 1959.


text:
I think a good example for you to consider is the same name on a different person. In this case another Asian. I would be willing to bet that the majority of young girls who would love to own a Jimmy Choo original have any idea of his ethnicity ( Malaysian, by the way). When the fashion folks make numerous puns about "Choo-sing Choo" I do not believe they are being racially insensitive... Especially since Jimmy Choo has now endorsed the pun and released a line with H&M based on it.
Concerning Jeremy Lin, the comment used was "Chink in the armor"... That is racially insensitive... If the same author has instead written an article after Jeremy was injured and could not play and the team lost... Would it also be racially insensitive if the title of that article was "Missing LINk?" ? I do not believe so.
FYI... My last name in the real world is Meyer... Pronounced like "mire"... I loved when I learned my students had a chat page talking about my class and called it "Wallowing in the Meyer"... I have even co-opted the name for my forthcoming blog.
Bottom line: Plays on names can be insensitive.. IF there is an intent ( or link) to deride that individual or culture. If not, it's just creative fun.


text:
SHAFAQNA – The Grand Ayatollah Khamenie answered a question about Charshanbe Suri/festival of fire (which is celebrated in some middle-eastern countries).
Question: What is your opinion about Charshanbe Suri?
The Grand Ayatollah Khamenei: As well as not having any religious base; it causes a lot of harm and it is unhealthy which is better to be avoided.
Source: PERSIAN SHAFAQNA


text:
Penn State Harrisburg
Current International Students
Immigration Information
ISSS provides immigration advising and support to Penn State Harrisburg students in F-1 and J-1 immigration status. Visit the Global Penn State website to get specific information on enrollment, insurance, dependents, program extensions, employment, and more.
ISSS Programs and Services
ISSS has implemented various programs to facilitate intercultural sharing, and promote Penn State Harrisburg's goals for academic excellence, diversity and global citizenship. Check the calendar for all the wonderful programs and events.
The Global Ambassador Program trains future world leaders by involving students with planning and implementing international students programs, participating in community services and building relations with students, faculty and community leaders. Expectations for this group of highly motivated and dedicated students include a passion for international students, a team spirit and a sincere desire to serve others.
Our Global Lion Mentor Program supports international students in their transition to Penn State Harrisburg through on-campus activities and off-campus events. Mentees are new international students, who can apply to participate before they arrive in Penn State Harrisburg. Mentors are both international students and domestic students. The peer-to-peer program assists international students in adjusting to the new environment, both academically and socially.
The Fun English Conversation Program brings international students, domestic students and local residents together to play games and speak English. Nice program to help build English conversation skills and make new friends.
The Lunch with an International Flavor meets once a month. Each luncheon features a country or a region of the world. Students from the featured country or region of the world present their native culture. This program brings together internationals and Americans to interact while sampling cuisines of the world.
The International Coffee Hour is a monthly program that features snacks from a country or a region of the world. It brings Penn State Harrisburg students, faculty, staff, and community members for conversation together over coffee, tea and international snacks.
Our Cultural Celebrations are designed to celebrate major holidays of the world to showcase performances of the students and community artisans. The events promote cultural sharing, internationalization and global interaction.
The Thanksgiving Feast is a cultural/educational event that provides a unique opportunity for international students to have a turkey dinner while learning from domestic students about the customs, traditions, and holidays celebrated in the United States.
Our Tax Assistance Program serves internationals students during tax season with the help of volunteer tax advisors and accountants.
Our World Fest is a biennial festival that boasts international displays, a parade of many countries, global cuisine and multinational performances. It offers a wonderful opportunity for students, faculty and staff to virtually
"travel" around the world. Read news on our first campus wide World Fest that was held on April 10, 2015.
The Cooking and Crafts Group offers local residents and students to meet new people, cook together, share recipes, practice English and create beautiful crafts.
Our Global Speakers Program provides opportunities for cross-cultural sharing and learning by bringing international students into local schools or civic groups of the community.
The International Friendship Program provides local residents with an opportunity to extend friendship and hospitality to international students who are new to the community.
- The Community Connections Program offers community volunteers to connect with students at Penn State Harrisburg. The mission is to facilitate resources and foster intercultural understanding with programs to enrich the vitality of the region by bringing people of diverse national origins together for global interactions and intercultural learning.


text:
Hyperrealist artist Ivan Hoo
These photo-realistic drawings on board can make any viewer speechless, so difficult to believe that these portraits, animals, and objects in front of you are drawings. Young and talented Singaporean artist Ivan Hoo creates exquisite hyperrealistic drawings using pencils and pastels on a wooden surface. The artist has found a way to keep the color of pastel vibrant after fixing on board. Ivan Hoo shares his incredible art on social sites, like Facebook, twitter, tumblr, deviant-art, YouTube, where he has lots of subscribers, admirers and followers. Currently, his brilliant photo-realistic drawings are featured in Art Speaks Studio in Singapore.


text:
Tickets for the Clarenville 2014 Opening & Closing Ceremonies go on sale to the General Public on Thursday, February 20 at noon.
Opening Ceremonies start 6pm Saturday March 1 and Closing Ceremonies start 7pm Saturday March 8, at the Clarenville Events Centre.
Tickets are $13 each (taxes & surcharges included) with a limit of 6 tickets per person, and may be purchased in person at the Box Office or by phoning (709) 466-4105 ext. 222.
Box Office hours are weekdays noon - 5pm; Visa & Mastercard accepted; Limited # of Tickets available.
News >


text:
Related Practices
Related Industries
Insurance Class Action Defense
Steptoe's insurance litigation practice has extensive experience defending class actions in jurisdictions across the country, including complex national and statewide classes, and individual "opt-out" cases.
We combine deep class action procedural knowledge with a thorough understanding of the insurance industry, including coverage types, claims adjustment procedures, and related financial laws and regulations. We have successfully defeated class claims prior to discovery and substantially limited class discovery prior to dispositive motions. Where settlement is a favorable alternative to litigation, we creatively resolve cases as inexpensively and efficiently as possible.
Our lawyers have successfully battled class allegations in Circuit Courts of Appeal, federal district courts, and state trial, appellate, and supreme courts. Of particular note, we recently defended Allstate Insurance Company in eight certified or putative class actions in Arizona, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Montana, New Mexico, Texas, and the District of Columbia.
Representative Matters
- Defended insurance client and group of affiliated insurance companies in putative nationwide class action asserting bad faith and other causes of action arising out of client's use of Colossus, a claim software system.
- Represented global insurer in advertising liability coverage consumer class action cases.
- Secured summary judgment for client in a coverage action seeking defense and indemnity for liability associated with two class action antitrust suits under the "personal and advertising injury" of CGL policies. In an issue of first impression, the court ruled that there was no "offense" within the meaning of the policy, the criminal acts exclusion barred coverage, and the requisite "advertisement injury" did not exist.
- Prevailed in a motion to decertify a class against an insured for a major insurance carrier in a case brought by individuals who owned or occupied property within a 1.25-mile radius of an industrial hog farm, who allegedly suffered damages from odors associated with the farm's operation in western Kentucky. Previously, the district court had certified the class, and that certification order had survived an appeal to the 6th Circuit. However, Steptoe successfully argued for summary judgment and developed evidence to convince the court to decertify the class. The case settled.
- Represented personal lines carrier in a putative statewide (Illinois) class action filed in Madison County, Illinois, by an insured that attacked the company's claim-settlement practices for "minor impact soft tissue" injuries. Steptoe obtained a dismissal order, persuading the Madison County trial court to dismiss the case because the putative class representative lacked any legally recognized injury and could not show that the insurer breached its contract with the plaintiff.
- Defended client and related entities in putative nationwide class action regarding the "v550" policy endorsement for automobile liability policies.


text:
Keywords: notices, nonurgentnotices, normalnotices, urgentnotices
Undeliverable messages are held in a given channel queue for specified amount of time before being returned to sender. In addition, a series of status/warning messages can be returned to the sender while Messaging Server attempts delivery. The amount of time and intervals between messages can be specified with the notices, nonurgentnotices, normalnotices, or urgentnotices keywords. Examples:
notices 1 2 3
Transient failure status notification messages are sent after 1 and 2 days for all messages. If the message is still not delivered after 3 days, it is returned to its originator.
urgentnotices 2,4,6,8
Transient failure notifications are sent after 2, 4, and 6 days for messages of urgent priority. If the message is still not delivered after 8 days, it is returned to its originator.
Note that the RETURN_UNITS option in the MTA Options file allows you to specify the units in either hours (1) or days (0). The default is days (0). If you set RETURN_UNITS=1, then you will need to schedule the return job to run hourly as well to get hourly notices. When the return job runs every hour it will also roll over the mail.log* files every hour. To prevent the hourly rollover of the mail.log file, set the IMTA_RETURN_SPLIT_PERIOD tailor file option in the imta.tailor file to 24. Return job scheduling is controlled by the local.schedule.return_job configutil parameter. Note, however, that by default this command is run on a regular basis (see 4.6.2 Pre-defined Automatic Tasks).
If no notices keyword is specified, the default is to use the notices setting for the local, l, channel. If no setting has been made for the local channel, then the default is to use notices 3, 6, 9, 12.


text:
Mayor Jorge Elorza today joined members of the Providence City Council, Economic Opportunity Director Brian Hull, Center for Women and Enterprise (CWE) Director for Rhode Island, Maryellen O'Mahony, and Francine Lepizzera, Workforce Development Supervisor for Workforce Solutions of Providence/Cranston at the Providence netWORKri Job Center to announce the launch of the PVD Self-Employment Program.
A citywide parking ban will remain in effect in the City of Providence until 9:00AM, Friday, January 5. Residents with overnight parking passes are advised that they cannot park on the street during the duration of the citywide parking ban.
Due to winter storm conditions, Providence Public Schools and Recreation Centers will be closed tomorrow, January 4 and Friday, January 5. There will also be a citywide parking ban beginning at 10:00AM on January 4, which will remain in effect until further notice.
Mayor Jorge Elorza today announced that the City of Providence will launch JUMP Bikes, New England's first electric bike share system in summer 2018. A contract for a bike share system with 400 JUMP electric-assist bikes (e-bikes) was signed on December 15, 2017.
Request Trash Pickup, Report Potholes, Graffiti and more.


text: I've been doing some research lately since I wanted to know the year some of the bags were invented. So far I have: Hermes started 1837 Kelly--1930 but made famous in 1956 by Grace Kelly when she used her H bag to hide her baby bump. Originally named Petit Sac Haut a Courroies Birkin--Named after Jane Birkin who wanted a roomier bag for everyday use (I believe it was actually a diaper bag). 1984 or 1986. I'm confused....I think the designer spoke to her in 1984 on an airplane and then it was launched in 1986. HAC--1930 or 1982. I'm confused by the source....Used for carrying boots or saddles. JPG Birkin--?? I want to know! JPG Kelly--?? I want to know! The following was taken from HermesGroupie's post: Evelyn: Based on the bag worn by stable boys to carry the grooming equipment for horses. The holes were to allow the equipment to dry. Hermes designed the bag with the holes in an "H" pattern. It was actually meant to be worn with the H against the body. Picotin: Designed after the feedbag for horses. The handles were meant to be looped around the horse's ears. Garden Party: Based on a gardener's bag, which was used to carry gardening implements. Mangeoire: Another bag based on a feedbag. Bolide: First known as the Bugatti. Designed because the owner of Hermes' wife complained she could not find an appropriate bag to carry in the new fangled invention called the car. Plume: Translates into feather. Based on the bag used to carry blankets. Constance: Named after the designer's daughter Yeoh: Named after Michelle Yeoh Sandrine: I thought this was cool. Named after Jean-Louis's daughter.


text:
Complimentary Admission for Kids at Fan Expo Dallas
Tons of Family-Friendly Attractions at June 3 – 5 Event Formerly Known as Dallas Comic Con
DALLAS, May 25, 2016 – Texas' most exciting event for kids, and those who are kids at heart, just got even better. FAN EXPO DALLAS™ (formerly known as Dallas Comic Con), in conjunction with the BRICK LEGO Show, is offering complimentary admission to all children 12 and younger with the purchase of a paid adult ticket, opening the doors to the state's largest convention for lovers of comics, sci-fi, horror, anime, gaming and more, which runs Friday, June 3, to Sunday, June 5, 2016, at the Dallas Convention Center.
Coupons for free admission can be found here: http://fanexpodallas.com/wp- content/uploads/FED16- Kidscoupon-v2.pdf.
Among the many family-friendly activities taking place over the weekend are:
· Kids Zone Family Lounge, where children can dress in costumes, color and maybe even meet a superhero;
· Kids Costume Contest with participation ribbons and special awards for the top three winners;
· Free photos with the 17-foot-long Star Wars Roxy the Rancor monster, the Luggabeast from The Force Awakens, and more;
· Q-and-As with the voices of SpongeBob SquarePants, Batman and Winnie the Pooh, among others;
· Lessons in how to speak Klingon;
· Chances to meet Stormtroopers and Jedi knights, Vulcans and Romulans, robots and androids, superheroes and villains, and who knows who else?!
Celebrity appearances will include Doctor Who's Peter Capaldi, Michelle Gomez and Jenna Coleman together for the first time in North America; Stan "The Man" Lee (co-creator of Spider-Man, the Avengers, X-Men and innumerable other Marvel Comics characters); original Star Trek cast members William Shatner, George Takei and Nichelle Nichols; Hollywood icons John and Joan Cusack; creative genius Frank Miller (Dark Knight III); and performers from Game of Thrones, Netflix's Daredevil and Jessica Jones, Angel, The Vampire Diaries, DC's Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash, Arrow, Pretty Little Liars, Harry Potter, Agent Carter, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and many more.
Tickets and packages (tickets, exclusives and perks) to Fan Expo Dallas start at $25 and can be purchased online (http://fanexpodallas.com/ tickets/) or at the box office on-site. Ticket prices are:
· Friday: $25 advance, $30 door
· Saturday: $50 advance, $55 door
· Sunday: $40 advance, $45 door
· 3-day pass: $89 advance, $95 door
For the full list of appearances and family-friendly activities, tickets and other information, please visit www.fanexpodallas.com. Stay connected with the show for announcements and updates by registering for their newsletter and following them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
About FAN EXPO DALLAS
FAN EXPO DALLAS is the largest comics, sci-fi, horror, anime and gaming event in Texas and is quickly growing into one of the largest events in North America. It is packed with exciting, family-friendly activities and celebrity guests. The pop culture extravaganza is host to 50,000 fans at the Dallas Convention Center for the three-day annual event.
FAN EXPO HQ is one of the largest entertainment convention groups in North America. Collectively it hosts over 300,000 fans annually at FAN EXPO CANADA™, FAN EXPO VANCOUVER™, FAN EXPO REGINA™, Toronto ComiCon, MegaCon Orlando, FAN EXPO DALLAS and two other Dallas shows.


text:
Contact Us
We encourage you to reach out, get to know us, and find out more about how our services can help you.
If you have a general inquiry or would like to learn more about our services, please call us directly or complete the form below to have an Elite Health representative contact you.
If you are interested in career opportunities with Elite Health, please click here to Apply.


text:
Pamela Joyce Tufts
- 49 years old
- Date of birth: May 3rd, 1966
- Date of passing: November 19th, 2015
This memorial website was created in the memory of our loved one, Pamela Joyce Tufts, 49, born on May 3rd, 1966 and passed away on November 19th, 2015. We will remember her forever.
Leave a Tribute:
Invite your family and friends to visit this memorial:
Subscribe to receive e-mail notifications when others contribute to this memorial.
335 views
Have a suggestion for us?


text:
MORE $$ funneled into Cultural Alliance !
Botts, Hanna, Robinson funnel another $ 111,500 into Banning Cultural Alliance
6/25/10 – No, this is not a misprint – just further evidence that the Banning City Council is completely out of control : Mayor Bob Botts as well as Council members Barbara Hanna and Don "taxdodger" Robinson, forming a majority, just voted to give yet another $ 111,500 of your tax money to the unaccountable, scandal ridden Banning Cultural Alliance.
A recent Grand Jury report (view) called for a substantial repayment ($ 162,000) – not more funding. The report also recommended an unequivocal "cease and desist" of any further dealings with the Cultural Alliance. Despite these recommendations, the Council members continued massive funding of the Cultural Alliance, a move that must now be considered nothing short of a conspiracy to steal public funds. (Click here for the session video, the session starts at the 48 min mark, the vote is taken at the 1h :38 min mark).
The Banning Cultural Alliance has A LONG HISTORY OF UNACCOUNTABILITY, FAILURE, SECRET PROCEEDINGS AND EVEN OUTRIGHT DECEPTION
- UNACCOUNTABILITY : With this most recent funding, the Banning Cultural Alliance has received a total of $ 918,003.08 in cash from the city of Banning ( See pg. 3 of Grand Jury's finding – $ 806,503.08 – plus latest funding of $ 111,500.00 = $ 918,003.08). Out of this amount of money, the Cultural Alliance has accounted for only $ 228,052.00 (see their only audit report). This leaves $ 689,951.08 unaudited and therefore unaccounted for. These taxpayer dollars seem to just disappear in a "black hole" which raises the question if the Banning Cultural Alliance is in reality a convenient money laundering operation for certain individuals. This suspicion is further supported by their only available audit report : When one examines that report one notices an unspecified position for $ 126,658.00 for "contractors and staff" (page 4). There is no disclosure of who those contractors are – could they be Bob Botts, Barbara Hanna and Don Robinson or their respective family members or spouses? Why are those three always so eager to provide more funding for the Cultural Alliance ? Why are both Bob Botts' as well as Don Robinson's wives both active board members of the Alliance ( view Alliance board ) ? Again, taxpayer dollars given to the Alliance seem to disappear in a "black hole", and that in itself is an outrage. Should such an unaccountable organization be rewarded more tax dollars ? Apparently Botts, Hanna and Robinson seem to think so.
- FAILURE : The Grand Jury has determined that Banning Cultural Alliance has failed to live up to their contractual obligations in the past. They were paid to advertise the City with Billboard ads, Infomercials, Radio and TV ads and inflight publications yet did not do any of the above, (article). That is why the Grand Jury found that the Cultural Alliance should be asked to repay the City $ 162,000. Mayor Botts and Councilmembers Barbara Hanna, Don Robinson and John Machisic blocked enforcement of the Grand Jury recommendation on May 11, 2010. The bottom line is that an independent body has found that the Cultural Alliance is a failed city contractor. Should the Cultural Alliance' failure to perform under previous contracts now be rewarded with yet another $ 111,500.00 contract ? Apparently Bob Botts, Barbara Hanna and Don Robinson seem to think so.
- SECRET PROCEEDINGS : The Banning Cultural Alliance has been previously identified to have engaged in secret proceedings during which they excluded members of the public from participation, (see our previous article). City policy was being developed during those meetings. The Record Gazette has reported that Bob Botts, Barbara Hanna and Don Robinson have frequented those meetings. Should a taxpayer funded organization hold secret meetings with our elected representatives in attendance ? Doing so presumably constitutes a violation of the Ralph M. Brown Act. Should such a secretive organization be funded with taxpayer money ? Apparently Botts, Hanna and Robinson seem to think so.
- OUTRIGHT DECEPTION : The Executive Director of the Banning Cultural Alliance recently engaged in outright deception when she lied to the public about how the Alliance used taxpayer money in regards to a controversial politically motivated event, (view story here). If they lie about the use of taxpayer money, what does this tell us about the Banning Cultural Alliance ? Should these liars be given even one more dime of our hard earned tax dollars ? Apparently Botts, Hanna and Robinson seem to think so.
Under California law a civil Grand Jury has no enforcement powers, which is why Botts, Hanna and Robinson move so boldly against their recommendations. However, there comes a point when further abuses may enter the criminal arena. We may have crossed this threshold : the defiant actions of these City Council members may constitute a conspiracy to steal public funds. The District Attorney as well as the California Attorney General will have to take a close look at those recent actions. There is also the possibility of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reviewing the City's actions and as a result ask for a refund or possibly even cut off the City of Banning from all redevelopment funding.
The trio is known to be deeply imbedded with leading Cultural Alliance Members. For example, Cultural Alliance members threw a big fundraiser for Barbara Hanna during her 2008 reelection campaign at Banning's "White House". At this event the partner of Alliance Director Carol Newkirk, Beverly Rashid, provided live musical entertainment. Tickets were $ 100 a person. Other than being Newkirk's partner, Rashid is also an acting board member of the Alliance.
Bob Botts has been a former Vice President of the Alliance and his wife's membership on the Alliance' board (view) speaks volumes about what side of the fence Botts is on. Most importantly, a total of 7 executive members of the Alliance are also listed as endorsing Bob Botts for reelection in 2010 (click on list on right side). The 7 are NOT general Alliance members but operate on the executive level of the Alliance (view). Botts' endorsement list raises suspicion that he is giving taxpayer dollars to the Cultural Alliance in exchange for their political endorsements. This also shows that the Cultural Alliance is truly a special interest group. Without the awareness of its many members, the Alliance has been turned into a political organization by its core leadership and is being used to keep not only Botts but also Hanna and Robinson in office – at taxpayer's expense.
Intimate ties with the Cultural Alliance also hold true for Don Robinson who in 2009 had a voting record on the City Council that was 100% identical to that of Botts'. That makes him Botts' "Yes Man" , or if you like Austin Powers, Botts takes the role of "Dr. Evil" while Robinson is his "Mini Me" (view our previous story). It should come as no surprise that Don Robinson's wife Katryn is a Board member of the Alliance.
It could not be more clear : Bob Botts, Barbara Hanna and Don Robinson do not mind engaging in "politically incorrect" conduct ; after all, the public was just made aware by an independent body ( Grand Jury) that the Banning Cultural Alliance is essentially of no value to the public.
Botts, Hanna and Robinson must have known that they will lose support with the voters of Banning if they went head on against any and all recommendations of the Riverside Grand Jury. But they funded the Alliance anyway.
So why on earth would any politician in the right mind consider such a self destructive move ? Politics is all about survival – you've got to play it safe. Why is it " worth it " for these three to risk outrage from the public ? Why "rock the boat" and invite political defeat in the next election? Why do such a thing that is truly unpopular and also politically incorrect ? Why such in-your-face defiance ?
There is only one possible answer and it is not "stupidity" on the part of this trio : There must be something in it for them in order to take such a huge risk. There just is no other way.
This bold move may suggest that Botts, Hanna and Robinson are trying to fund the Banning Cultural Alliance because they want to siphon off as much taxpayer money as possible before being finally thrown out of office for good.
Let's not forget that there is over $ 689,000 that went to the Cultural Alliance that was never audited by anyone. Not by the City and certainly not by the Alliance. In absence of an audit and in light of yet another round of funding madness we have no choice but to assume that something is in it for whoever votes for this funding.
Botts, Hanna and Robinson must be suspected of having a hidden agenda when it comes to funding the Banning Cultural – nothing else makes sense.
Council members Debbie Franklin and John Machisic voted against the funding measure. Franklin stated that the Grand Jury's findings do not allow further funding of the Banning Cultural Alliance. While John Machisic needs to be commended for voting "NO" as well, he did so for the wrong reasons : he was more concerned about "budget" issues and suggested funding the Alliance with "only" $ 91,000 instead. The Grand Jury's recommendations did no seem to be of concern to him. This makes you wonder : Did Machisic even read the Grand Jury report ?
In the meantime, Banning's decline into total corruption continues. Only the voting public can put an end to this demise !


text:
Sporadic things I care to share...
|Posted by bigceebee on June 5, 2016 at 7:35 AM
|comments (1)
Save up to 80% on the first three Vigilante thrillers!
Prices slashed until June 9, 2016!
Read Full Post »
|Posted by bigceebee on April 28, 2016 at 3:20 PM
|comments (1)
What follows is the text of something I posted on Facebook on April 26, 2016. It is the first part of an exchange I had with a scammer from Ghana. The second part can be found in another blog post at the link below:
Last evening, I received a friend r...Read Full Post »
|Posted by bigceebee on April 28, 2016 at 9:35 AM
|comments (2)
On Tuesday, April 26th, I posted the transcript of a message exchange I had had the previous evening with a scammer from Ghana which you can see at the following link:
I thought our time together was over Monday night but, lo and behold, he was back ...Read Full Post »
|Posted by bigceebee on August 2, 2015 at 10:40 AM
|comments (0)
What do you get when you cross the characters from Russell Blake's bestselling JET series with my VIGILANTE crew?
A whole lot of fast-paced action and mayhem in
Nasty in NIce
That's what!
Read Full Post »
|Posted by bigceebee on August 24, 2014 at 7:30 AM
|comments (0)
Who am I talking about?
This guy, that's who!
For those of you who don't know him, allow me to introduce to Crit Kincaid, author of A Wounded World. I read Crit's book when he released it earlier this year and here's the five star review I posted on Amazon:
Read Full Post »
We often associate "page-turner" with action, adventure and suspense, all terms which ...
|Posted by bigceebee on March 26, 2014 at 10:35 AM
|comments (7)
There's been some buzz and discussion lately about whether AuthorOffer.com, a new book promotion site boasting an emailing list of 635K+ subscribers, is the real deal or a hoax.
The verdict is in, folks…
AuthorOffer.com is 100% bullshit, a scam aimed at sucking hard earned cash out of the pockets of authors the world over.
... Read Full Post »
|Posted by bigceebee on March 16, 2014 at 11:45 AM
|comments (0)
Last fall, nine of us authorly types each took one of our novels and bundled them into a heck of a 99 cent deal called 9 Killer Thrillers. Our intent was to offer readers a quality collection at a very reasonable price while hopefully expanding our readership base. Results have been astounding. ...Read Full Post »
|Posted by bigceebee on November 25, 2013 at 12:50 AM
|comments (3)
About a month ago, author A.R. Silverberry dropped by my website for a visit. All was going fine as we strolled from one page to the next, until we reached my blog page... What follows is a transcript of our conversation when we got there:
A.R.: Dang, this page is pretty dusty. Don't you ever clean in here?
Me *sheepishly*: Sorry, A.R., I haven't been blogging much lately so I often skip this page when I vacuum.
A.R.: Hire a cleaning lady or get a Ro...Read Full Post »
|Posted by bigceebee on November 16, 2013 at 11:45 AM
|comments (1)
We've all heard the idiom, "break a leg" as a good luck wish. In fact, it's been used so much it's become cliché. I think it's time we coined some new "good luck" expressions, if only for the sake of originality.
For example, "dislocate a shoulder", "rupture your spleen" and "crack your skull" have never been used. Someone you know is going for a job interview? Tell that person, "Get hit by a bus, kiddo." or "Snap your spine, buddy....Read Full Post »
|Posted by bigceebee on November 1, 2013 at 11:50 AM
|comments (0)
I was recently interviewed by U.K. author, Simon Duringer, the partial results of which are posted on his blog here: Simon's blog
I mention partial results above because one of the questions, or more specifically, the discussion which ensued, showed a dark, near-demonic side of Simon which he cleverly omitted to post in an attempt to hide his true colours. Little did Simon ...Read Full Post »


text:
Swedish Public Employment Service
The Swedish Public Employment Service (Swedish: Arbetsförmedlingen) is a Swedish government agency organized under the Ministry of Employment mainly responsible for the public employment service in Sweden and the implementation of labour market policies. The agency should help facilitate meetings and bring together employers with job seekers, especially those who are long-term unemployed and have particular difficulties in finding work. In addition to this, the agency should work to increase employment in the long term.[1][2] This is primarily done by giving active support to companies in the recruitment process, facilitating meetings at the premises of the Swedish Public Employment Service and the use of a searchable, gratis vacancy database (Swedish: Platsbanken).[3]
Additional assignments[edit]
The agency has a special responsibility to work with the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (Swedish: Försäkringskassan) to help those with reduced working capacity back to employment. Newly arrived immigrants and refugees have the right to participate in different measures and programmes. In some cases, the agency has the can give economic compensation, such as wage subsidies, to employers. The agency has an additional responsibility to monitor the job seekers to prevent benefit and insurance fraud, and should provide unemployment forecasts and statistics to the government.[1][4]
The agency used to sort under the now defunct Swedish Labour Market Agency (Swedish: Arbetsmarknadsverket, AMV) and its offices belonged to the county labour boards, until it was decided that it should form its own agency under Ministry of Employment in 2008.[5]
In 2013, the agency had 13,055 employees, in 320 local offices, grouped into eleven market areas. It is led by Director-General Mikael Sjöberg, from the head office in Stockholm.[5][6]
See also[edit]
- ^ a b "Regleringsbrev" (in Swedish). ESV. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
- ^ "Förordning (2007:1030) med instruktion för Arbetsförmedlingen" (in Swedish). The Riksdag. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
- ^ "Our service". Arbetsförmedlingen. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
- ^ "Welcome to Arbetsförmedlingen!" (PDF). Arbetsförmedlingen. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
- ^ a b "Vår historia och andra viktiga händelser" (in Swedish). Arbetsförmedlingen. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
- ^ "Our organisation". Arbetsförmedlingen. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
External links[edit]
|This article about a corporation in the service industry is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
|This article about government in Sweden is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.


text:
£ 1 WP Hosting: Free SSL Certificates
Click Here To Check NOW
Back in 2007, when I was just starting my online marketing journey, SEO was never a complicated bug. You pull a trigger of few keywords and directory links.
And Bam! You would rank that easy.
But it's 2017. And Google has got sophisticated than ever.
Qualified SEO experts have already reinvented themselves to adapt to the Google's updates.
And this has shifted concentration of SEO experts from manual work to SEO tools.
Now it doesn't matter if you are the Michael Jordon of online marketing, you will need tools.
It's the necessity of modern online marketing science.
With that being said, here are 10 of my favourite picks that you should use RIGHT now.
Google Keyword Planner
Although Google has done everything to shut down doors for SEOs, Keyword Planner is the tool I always refer to during my initial keyword research. It's basically tool best fit for paid search or also known as PPC by many.
I use it not because I don't have other tools in my arsenal. It's simply because I have to know everything through Google's own baby since it's where I'm going to compete. Another reason is that I don't rely on the search volume data given by other tools. This is the best place to know if the keywords you are targeting have enough searches to keep your business rolling.
Screaming Frog
Raise your hand if you are technical SEO fan. Well, I am. But you can't deny that there are guys who don't grab much information about it.
This is where Screaming Frog helps. It's an application that runs on desktop and similar to Google spider crawls through your website looking for issues. For online marketers like me, it's a time saver. In just a few minutes you can find all kind of technical and on-page issues like duplicate titles, missing alt tags, broken links etc.
I guess fixing it won't be that hard after you figure out the problem, right?
If you have been in the SEO game for just over few months, you will know that links are the blood of every SEO project. It's the backlinks that define where the path flows for your site.
Ahrefs is one of the best if not the best tool web has ever provided us. If you are stuck with how to create links for your website, try stealing your competitor's backlinks through Ahrefs. It has the best-sophisticated database that updates its links continuously. Generally, the metrics are correct and the first love of every SEO guy out there.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could just scan through your competitors keywords? Well, evidently you can. And SEMrush is the tool to do that.
Whether it's organic keywords or paid ones, you can get enough data of your competitors that helps you in making big decisions. So what's the post you are going to target? Or what's the ad you want to display in Google? SEMrush has the answer.
Keyword Revealer
As the title suggests, this tools is the ultimate keyword intelligence tools. This is another tool that I use along with Keyword Planner when I'm on keyword research mode. Not only it hooks you up with keywords that are relevant to your search, it also tells you the difficulty of the keyword.
Although I'm a firm believer of checking difficulty manually, this tool can give you a surface idea of what to expect on the certain keywords.
Google has already stated that speed is something they are serious about. With the introduction of AMP, Google has taken one step forward to maintaining a quality user experience. Also, speed is one of the many factors Google use to determine the rank.
But how do you know if your website lags in speed? Out come GTMetrix and its advanced features that make easy for a webmaster to diagnose opportunities for improvements. Yes, there are other tools like Pingdom but this one stands above all.
Google Analytics
If you are a data freak like me, you will absolutely adore Google Analytics. There are many analytical tools in the market that offers in-depth analysis, but as a prolong user of GA, I can say this is one of the best free tools in the market. You can easily understand how your website is working with your target audience through behaviour analysis and many more features this wonderful tool has to offer. You can't make an effective decision without proper metrics. This is why GA is such an effective weapon to have in your arsenal.
Check My Links
Mainly made popular by content marketers, Check My Links is a chrome extension that packs a punch. It simply lets you scan through a page and find broken links. This tool can be useful to build links from broken link method which is quite popular among many SEOs.
Google Search Console
This free tool by Google is a must-have tool if you want to have a better understanding how things work with your website. It gives you an easy visualisation dashboard where you can check every appearance elements. It's simply a bridge that connects webmaster with Google. From search analytics to crawling errors, it offers much more for data lovers.
Wayback Machine
I'm absolutely in love with this tool. This tool has made lives of many white hats as well as grey hat SEOs a breeze. It lets you check what your website looked like few months or years back. It crawls your website just like a bot and saves the screenshot of your site in its database.
This is amazing in a sense that it lets you analyse your SEO efforts in case of content changes. It's also so effective for SEOs who build their site on expired domains. They can easily see how the content was used and can be replicated effectively.
Closing Down
Here is the thing: Tools doesn't give you analytical and decision making a brain. At the end, it's you who have to make the decision. But these tools does help you set the tone for SEO standards of a website.
So, which tool are you using right now? Do let us know in the comments below.
Author Bio
Amin Ghale is Sydney WordPress Developer and business consultant for Small Biz Web Design. He believes in the notion that a successful business is created from the bricks of hits and trials. He loves to write on topics related with Entrepreneurship, Web Design, and Online Marketing.


text:
Very few au pairs come to the US because they want to take care of kids. They can do this in their home countries, with a lot less drama and zero homesickness. While many (let's hope, most) au pairs like kids, and think they will enjoy caring for kids for a year, this is usually *not* the main reason they become au pairs.
But what are the "real" reasons that au pairs come to the US?
Other Motivations to Become an Au Pair
- See the USA
- improve English
- see Las Vegas/New York/California
- learn about US culture
- Escape to the USA
- immigrate illegally
- meet a future husband/wife
- get a green card through future husband/wife
- switch to different kind of visa once here
- Escape home
- escape repressive government
- escape bad economic options
- escape overbearing parents/divorce/abuse
- escape bad social situation
- Don't know what else to do with self
- no interesting job prospects
- no romantic prospects
- can't decide on school or career
- at least it will be an interesting year
- Find herself/himself
- create a challenging adventure
- establish independence
- get another year older, more mature
- Have fun!
- party
- drink
- travel & sight-see
- date people your parents would disapprove of
- experience wild social life without reputation concerns
- Learn skills to get a better job at home
- improve English so you can use it at work
- learn about American culture
- learn about American education system
- Other reasons
- save up some money
- send home some money
- shop, shop, shop
- meet Britney Spears
- get discovered as a model/actress/whatever
I'll bet that virtually no au pairs come here to take courses other than in English.
Why do these other reasons matter?
When parents assume that au pairs are here because they like children, these parents are missing the big(ger) picture of what's motivating their au pairs. And thus, parents aren't able to anticipate concerns, meet the au pair's needs or help him/her meet them, and manage the situation so that everyone is happy and the kids are well cared for.
Have you been surprised by the reasons why your Au Pair(s) chose to spend a year here?
Have you been surprised to discover that, in addition to liking children, your au pair had additional reasons to become an au pair?
What kids of reasons have you discovered?
When have these other reasons really seemed to matter?
Lee on the Fire Escape from NYCArthur
Styling escape from Grant MacDonald