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Hear the untold stories of enslaved people and learn about historical and contemporary slavery.
Historical and contemporary slavery.
A beautiful building housing one of the UK's finest collections of fine and decorative art.
Paintings, Wedgwood and Chinese ceramics.
Uncover objects from the Titanic, find out about life at sea and learn about the port of Liverpool.
The Titanic, life at sea and Liverpool's port.
This museum tells the story of Liverpool with diverse exhibits housed in a stunning building.
Liverpool's history and popular culture.
Explore a Victorian merchant's house with its period furniture and beautiful paintings.
Paintings, vintage fashion and furniture.
Beautiful paintings, sculpture and decorative art from the 13th century to the present day.
Paintings, sculpture and decorative art.
Discover treasures from around the world, explore outer space and meet live creatures!
World cultures, space and live creatures.
Also in this section…?
Here is a selection of festive treats from National Museums Liverpool's collections to get you in the Christmas spirit. Most of these are not on display and can only be seen in this online exhibition.
Follow the links below to find out about each object.
Christmas adventure card
Blackler's Christmas Grotto
Christmas trees
Tavener Christmas card
Christmas Toby Jug
Half Man Half Biscuit single
There are more Christmas things to see in these two special online exhibitions from the Maritime Archives and Library.
Stewart Bale collection Christmas online exhibition
Christmas at sea online exhibition
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National Museums Liverpool
© Copyright 2019


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Beware of Over-the-Counter Contact Lenses
Beware of Over-the-Counter Contact Lenses
Want to make your brown eyes blue? You've got lots of company. Decorative contact lenses have grown more and more popular. The young especially find them appealing. You can even find lenses that look like cat eyes or sports team logos.
You can buy contacts with no prescription at some beauty salons, flea markets, and websites. But those contacts may be trouble. The FDA warns that nonprescription lenses raise major risks of blindness and eye injuries.
The dangers linked with contact lens wear (which often come from less oxygen reaching the cornea) don't change whether you're wearing the lenses to fix a vision problem or for cosmetic reasons.
Contacts that aren't properly prescribed and cared for can lead to allergic reactions, bacterial infections, corneal ulcers, and corneal scrapes. Some problems can end in blindness.
Nonprescription contacts may offer extra risks. You may not know if they were made with the right materials in clean conditions.
That's why you should visit an eye care professional before you buy contact lenses. He or she will decide if contacts are right for you, give you a proper fitting, and offer instructions for wear, care, and follow-up exams.
Common sense with contacts
Be smart about contact use:
Wear only contact lenses that were prescribed by an eye care provider.
Always clean and disinfect lenses as you were taught.
Do not buy contact lenses from anyone who is not licensed to sell them.
Never share or swap contact lenses.
Have your eyes examined regularly according to your eye care provider's advice.
March 21, 2017
Reviewed By:
Griggs, Paul B., MD

subset: commoncrawl


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The Farm Bill may be responsible for what's on our plate, but it is not acting responsibly. The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, nicknamed the Farm Bill, is the primary agricultural policy tool of the U.S. government; it regulates international food trade, food stamps, and allocates funding to support farmers. It is responsible for the nutrition of 45 million low-income Americans- half of them children- enrolled in its food stamp program.
Americans on food stamps stretch their assistance dollars as far as possible. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the Farm Bill to subsidize healthful fruits and vegetables to make them the financially accessible as well as favorable choice. However, in the bill, nutrition is overshadowed by business interests. Since 2008 farmers have received annual subsidies of approximately $17.3 billion to support commodities such as wheat, corn, grain sorghum, barley, oats, upland cotton, long-grain rice, medium-grain rice, soybeans, peanuts, and other oilseeds, and cheddar cheese, butter, and nonfat dry milk. In 2008, $4.2 billion went to subsidizing corn alone - the one vegetable on that list, which, according to Michael Pollan, doesn't even make it to our table on a cob. Among its primary uses are producing rapidly fattening cows and ethanol, both multi-billion dollar industries.
In contrast to grandiose commodity crop spending, a mere $55 million per year is allocated to grants for fruit and vegetable crops, known in the Farm Bill as "specialty crops". The bills states that "A competitive specialty crop industry in the United States is necessary for the production of an abundant, affordable supply of highly nutritious fruits, vegetables, and other specialty crops, which are vital to the health and well-being of all Americans." According to Mark Bittman of the New York Times, if all Americans were to eat the daily recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables there would not be enough to go around. Congress is aware that Specialty Crops are more nutritious, but they keep them nearly unsubsidized, and therefore relatively expensive and in short supply.
In fairness, there is a small movement to get a few more vegetables on the scene. The 2008 Farm Bill permits the production of cucumbers, green peas, lima beans, pumpkins, snap beans, sweet corn, and tomatoes for processing on thousands of acres in the Midwest, which in the past had been land strictly prohibited from being used for nearly all fruit or vegetable crops. Other new crop ventures funded by the bill include a $35 million project to develop hard white wheat, $10 million a year to develop durum wheat, and an incentive program to develop "oilseeds with special traits that enhance human health." How about subsidizing fruits and vegetables known to benefit human health?
The Farm Bill pursues its economic goals at the cost of the people it is supposed to protect, those with food insecurity. Atlanta resident, Revisha Martinez, can spend $3 at the supermarket and purchase one peach for each member of her family or for the same price can go home with 6 boxes or 18 servings of fortified macaroni and cheese. Martinez feeds four kids on her husband's salary as a retired bus driver. "There is no doubt we would buy more peaches if they were cheaper. My kids really do love fruits and vegetables. When we get them, it's a big treat."
In 2012 when the Farm Bill comes under review hopefully the obesity and diabetes epidemic, especially among the low-income, will be enough to convince legislators that our nation needs fundamental policy changes that incentivize farmers to grow fruits and vegetables, not just commodity crops like corn, soybeans, and animal feed. The pendulum should swing away from the interests of large agro-business and toward supporting small and middle size fresh produce growers that boost local economies and increase availability and affordability of produce.
Legislators have the opportunity to transform health outcomes for the Martinez family and millions of other Americans without spending a dime, simply shifting how the billions of dollars allocated to farm subsidies are spent. We will see in the coming year if the health of families and individuals prevails over the interests of corporations and agro-businesses.


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|Saturday 23 February 2019
|1 confirmed events for today
|Events for day: Tuesday 15 May 2018
| << Previous day Next day >>
CPA Member Bob CassanovaCategory : Exhibit Related
Bob has a framed photograph, "Purple Gladiolus", in the 5th Annual South-Atlantic Juried Exhibition at the Montpelier Center for the Arts in Montpelier, Virginia on display until June 25.
21st Annual Celebration of the Arts:April 28th 7pm Members $20, non-members $25 ...
Read more
CPA Member Brenda Wynne awarded 3rd Place in 311 Gallery ExhibitionCategory : Exhibit Related Location : 311 West Martin Street Raleigh, NC 27601
Brenda's work, "Cup of Joe", was awarded 3rd Place in the 2018 311 Gallery Annual Portraying Pets and People National Juried Art Show.
Read more


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On July 4, Bristol held its 33rd annual Great Outhouse Race. The winners of four preliminary heats faced off in a final race that saw Team Snap's — representing Snap's Restaurant in Bristol — win their third straight Outhouse Race. They received stiff competition this year, however, and had to come from behind in the final race to snatch victory from newcomers team Camp Kookamunga of Middlebury.
As Governor of Vermont, one of my first priorities was to strengthen and grow our state's centuries-long partnership with the Canadian Province of Quebec. I believed then as I do now that this relationship is critical to the success of our great state. Quebec is our largest trading partner and a significant source of clean, stable and, most importantly, renewable energy from Hydro-Quebec. Not only do we share an international border, but we share a deep cultural and historic connection; indeed many families have relatives on both sides.
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When Josefina was two weeks old, she was abandoned in a dumpster.
Whether she was the product of a premature feline mother that couldn't handle the stress of kittens or she was the victim of callous owners, we will never know.
BRISTOL — With less than 100 feet remaining in the final heat of Bristol's 33rd annual Great Outhouse Race, it looked like the two-time reigning champions representing Snap's Restaurant might lose to the rookies from Camp Kookamunga. Then, from somewhere deep in the hot depths of this year's Fourth of July festivities, cousins Chris and Kevin Berry, 23 and 20, found their legs, turned on the afterburners and jetted straight through the finish line to reclaim their title as the "World Champions" for the third consecutive year.
ADDISON COUNTY — Addison County's senatorial district would swap Brandon for Charlotte in a proposed redistricting plan recently endorsed by the Vermont Apportionment Board (VAB), which had until July 1 to submit final proposals for legislative review.
It is a neighborhood of porches. Deep, wide porches framed by white columns and balustrades that are the perfect spot for a sandaled foot to rest.
And resting – taking a load off, settling in for a chat with a housemate or savoring a solitary scotch as the slow summer evening fades toward its demise – that's what these porches are made for.
For cooling off when it's too hot to do anything else. For conversation when it's lonely inside.
I love the L-screen.
It makes me feel years younger. I am always on the lookout for ways to feel younger these days. I have a bad case of Old Jock Syndrome.
The L-screen is a simple concept: It's netting on an aluminum frame shaped like a fat "L." It has revolutionized batting practice in baseball.
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I recently got this newsletter from my eye doctor's office. It talks about the dangers of blue light from fluorescent lights, computer screens, tablets, and so on. It makes we want to go back to film photography instead of digital so I don't have to work with LCD's.
Here is a link: http://www.macular.org/bluelite.html
and the newseltter: http://www.eyecontactmadison.com/newsletter
Blue light is everywhere. It exists in the very fiber of our culture. How can you protect yourself? We learn at a young age about the visible light spectrum, you know, the rainbow? Well, each color, or wavelength, of the light spectrum has a unique effect on us, beyond the color you painted your bedroom in high school. Researchers have shown that light influences our hormone secretion, heart rate, alertness, obesity, sleep propensity, body temperature, disease and gene expression. That pretty much covers everything a person ought to be concerned about health wise. Clearly light, and most specifically blue wavelengths of light, impact our quality of life in so many ways.
Circadian Rhythms
Circadian rhythm is a natural biological process that for most humans repeats every 24 hours, give or take an hour. Its regulated by communication between the hypothalamus (a part of your brain) and the optic nerve. Before the industrial revolution, the human circadian rhythm was dependent on the sun, the moon and the four seasons. We maximized our sun exposure when we rose early, worked outside and went to bed when it became dark. The invention of fluorescent lighting, TV, desk and laptop computers, iPads, handheld phones, and video games have recently and dramatically changed this pattern. We are increasingly exposed to blue light in a way that has had a significant effect on our natural rhythms. Blue light is now ingrained in our society during all hours of the day. Research by NASA has shown that the presence of blue light in the dark portion of the human circadian rhythm is disruptive to the human sleep cycle. Blue light has also been shown to drastically reduce the production of Melatonin, the brains natural sleep-aid. NASA researchers have created a simulated sleep/wake schedule for their astronauts by altering the wavelengths of light in the shuttle in accordance with natural circadian rhythm. This promotes sleep, thereby wellness for their orbiting astronauts. Numerous studies show increasing correlation between sleep disruption and disease. According to Harvard sleep researcher Stephen Lockley Light at night is part of the reason so many people don't get enough sleep, and researchers have linked short sleep to increased risk for depression, as well as diabetes and cardiovascular problems. Another recent Harvard study suggests a strong correlation between blue light, obesity and type 2 diabetes. The study, which put a panel of people on a shifting circadian rhythm cycle by altering their exposure to blue light wavelengths, showed a spike in blood sugar levels and an increase in the hormone leptin (a hormone that regulates hunger and satiety) after exposure to blue light during dark hours. Coincidence? We think not.
Ocular Hazards
Our eyes are our light filters. The very images we see are light reflections. It is widely understood that certain light wavelengths can cause harm to our skin and eyes when left unprotected. Hence sunscreen and UV protected sunglasses. What about the blue light that is emitted from your iMac or Android phone? Or the fluorescent lighting in your office or home? How do you protect your self from that? Countless studies are legitimizing the correlation between overexposure to blue light and retinal damage. One of the leading modifiable environmental risk factors associated with Age-related Macular Degeneration is prolonged, unprotected exposure to blue light. In fact, there is mounting medical evidence that prolonged exposure to blue light may permanently damage the eyes, contribute to cataracts and to the destruction of the macula. In an era dominated by office environments and gadgets emitting blue light, what can be done to protect and preserve your health and vision from its hazardous effects?
A simple change for your health
I am not going to sit on a soap box and talk about how we all should limit our gaming, TV or internet addictions as I am aware it would be like trying to scream underwater. These things have quickly, for better AND for worse, become the fabric of our culture. I am certainly not going to give up my iPhone or computer anytime soon, and I know no one else on the planet will either. Lens manufacturers are now focusing on making blue blocking lenses. These lenses can be made with your prescription and will help to protect your eyes from the harmful effects of your blue light gadgetry. The lenses have a yellow tint which could take some getting used to, but the benefits do outweigh the interesting fashion statement. Aside from blue-blocking lenses, here are some small steps that can be taken to help reduce your exposure to blue light and protect your eyes. Supplementing Lutein, Zeaxanthin and Meso-Zeaxanthin, the light filtering carotenoids present in the macula will increase the density of your macular pigment thereby increasing protection from the inside of the eye. Keep low ambient, non fluorescent lighting in your bedroom. It is important to maintain the integrity of your circadian rhythm. Maybe even spend at least an hour before bed without looking at your phone, computer screen, etc. Okay, I know that last one may be a stretch but, think of it as my personal challenge to you. Who knows? It may be the ticket to a healthier happier, more well rested you!"


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On the financial road of life, there aren't many mulligans.
But if you tarnished yourcredit scoreby falling behind on your credit cardpayments, you might just qualify for one of the few that exist.
Most credit card companies, eager to collect on overdue balances, offer card holders an opportunity to re-age delinquent accounts.
In essence, that means they'll reclassify your account from "past due" to "current," halt new late fees and stop reports to the credit bureau, though they won't change your balance or retroactively wave fee charges.
You credit score gets an immediate shot in the arm and will continue to improve each month you make your payment on time, making it easier to qualify for the most favorable interest rates on future loans.
"So many consumers are unable to crawl out of that hole they've dug because with minimum payments and late fees the balance is actually growing," says Gail Cunningham, spokeswoman for the National Foundation for Credit Counseling in Silver Spring, Md. "It's critical that they get their account brought current, have late fees stopped and negotiate a more acceptable monthly payment so they can begin rebuilding their credit score."
Being late on your payments, she notes, is "the worst thing you can do" because it's the heaviest weighted element in the credit scoring model—credit history accounts for fully 35 percent of your total score.
A re-age is typically done as part of a comprehensive debt management program, negotiated through a credit counseling agency to help borrowers who are experiencing financial hardship make good on their payments, says Bill Druliner, a financial counselor with GreenPath Debt Solutions in Milwaukee, WI., a nonprofit credit counseling agency.
Such programs, generally include other concessions as well from the creditor, including a temporarily lower interest rate (which can save borrowers hundreds of dollars a month) and a reduced monthly payment.
Credit counseling agencies, which are funded by the credit card companies, typically charge clients between $25 and $50 a month to set up a debt management plan.
But cardholders can request a re-age on their own as well, particularly if they enter a payment assistance program offered by many credit card companies.
Do You Qualify?
To be eligible for a re-age, you must meet certain conditions, as laid out by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council.
For starters, you must demonstrate a "willingness and ability" to repay the loan in full.
This is best done in writing, which gives you the opportunity to document what went wrong during the months you were delinquent on your payments and how your financial situation has improved (you found a job or your medical bills are paid off.)
Don't forget to request written documentation from your card company in return that confirms your account has been re-aged.
Additionally, your account must be at least nine months old, and you must make at least three consecutive minimum monthly payments or the equivalent cumulative amount.
But don't request a re-age frivolously, warns Cunningham.
"Don't re-age an account unless you feel you can make good on your agreement," she says. "You don't want to play your ace in the hole indiscriminately."
Indeed, under federal requirements creditors cannot re-age an open-end account (such as a credit card account) more than once in 12-months and not more than twice in a 5-year period.
If you use it, you lose it—at least until the clock resets.
Keep in mind that some lenders are more restrictive still in how often they'll allow for a re-age and a few don't offer it at all.
If, after re-aging your account, you fall behind on your payments again, you will not incur any additional penalties.
But past due notices to the credit bureaus will once again resume and late fees will begin to accumulate.
Other Options
For those experiencing short-term financial difficulty, of course, a re-age is not their only option.
"If you're running delinquent due to a layoff or medical expenses, call your card company and they may allow you to pay $100 for the next six months and stop late fees or lower your interest rate to give you a chance to get back on track," says Druliner. "Sometimes that's all a client needs."
Other options exist as well, including loan consolidation, balance transfers, 401(k) loans, mortgage refinancing and even bankruptcy.
"You have to assess what the best approach is to get your bills under control," says Druliner. "All options are on the table and the goal is to sort through the pros and cons of each


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Francona finalist for BBWAA's top AL skipper honor
CLEVELAND -- Terry Francona's impact on the Indians was immediate. In his first season in the manager's chair, Cleveland experienced an incredible turnaround, capturing the American League's top Wild Card spot to reach the postseason for the first time in six years.
Francona quickly became beloved in his new city, which has waited a long time to experience a World Series triumph. It made sense then that Francona was named Tuesday night as one of three candidates for the Baseball Writers' Association of AL America's Manager of the Year Award.
CLEVELAND -- Terry Francona's impact on the Indians was immediate. In his first season in the manager's chair, Cleveland experienced an incredible turnaround, capturing the American League's top Wild Card spot to reach the postseason for the first time in six years.
Francona quickly became beloved in his new city, which has waited a long time to experience a World Series triumph. It made sense then that Francona was named Tuesday night as one of three candidates for the Baseball Writers' Association of AL America's Manager of the Year Award.
Red Sox manager John Farrell and A's manager Bob Melvin are Francona's competition for the award, which will be revealed at 6 p.m. ET on Nov. 12 on MLB Network.
Balloting for the award took place by BBWAA members before the postseason.
"I think I've probably gotten too much credit at times," Francona said toward the end of this past season.
While Francona will deflect questions about his influence, others around the Indians are quick to praise the work he did from the moment he was hired last October. Francona -- with a pair of World Series rings (2004 and '07) on his resume from his Red Sox days -- immediately garnered respect, but also created a loose atmosphere behind the scenes.
"As excited as I was a year ago when we hired Tito," Indians general manager Chris Antonetti said at the end of the season, "I'm even more excited today, having had the opportunity work alongside him this past year. ... To experience it firsthand and see his passion, his work ethic, the way he prepares for games, how much he cares about each player, the environment he creates, it's impressive."
The Indians lost 94 games in 2012 and Antonetti embarked on a drastic overhauling of his roster and coaching staff for the following campaign. The restructuring began with the hiring of Francona, and continued with a wave of transactions -- both through free agency and trades -- aimed at swiftly turning the page on Cleveland's disastrous season.
All the moves paid off to the tune of 92 victories and a spot in the AL's Wild Card Game, which the Indians lost to the Rays. Despite the quick exit from October, the Tribe enjoyed a memorable season. The 24-win improvement from 2012 to '13 tied the largest one-year wins increase in franchise history, excluding strike-shortened seasons.
Francona became one of 10 managers since 1969 to guide a team to a one-year improvement of at least 24 wins in his first season at the helm, and is one of only six in that group to notch at least 92 victories in the process.
"If Tito doesn't come here, I don't think we make the moves that we made," Indians reliever Vinnie Pestano said in September. "I think when the front office made the commitment to Tito, they were also making a commitment to fill out this roster. He was definitely the first domino to fall."
Dating back to his time managing the Red Sox, Francona has now won at least 86 games in nine consecutive seasons, marking the sixth-longest streak of its kind in baseball history. He has won at least 90 games seven times in his 13 managerial seasons, and his nine straight winning seasons represents the longest streak among active managers.
"The biggest kid in this locker room is Tito," said Indians infielder Mike Aviles, who also played for Francona in Boston. "There's a reason why everybody loves playing for him. He brings a certain passion. He brings a certain knowledge. He's the kind of guy you can talk to. He's just a good all-around person.
"When you get a guy like that at the helm, there's nothing you won't do for him."
Melvin helped lead the A's to the AL West title this season and Farrell (in his first season as Boston's manager) guided the Red Sox to 97 wins, an AL East crown and a World Series victory over the Cardinals. Farrell's Red Sox are a worst-to-first story, and he helped the club win 27 more games this season than a year ago.
Farrell -- a close friend of Francona's since their days as teammates with the Indians -- served as Francona's pitching coach during Boston's run to the World Series crown in 2007. When the Red Sox brought Farrell on board to be their manager for this past season, Francona felt his former team made the right hire.
"I always felt that way," Francona said at the end of the season. "I just thought there was an immediate buy-in from the best players on that team, the guys that were already there that knew him. And guys I've mentioned -- [Jon] Lester, [Clay] Buchholz, [Dustin] Pedroia -- I guarantee you they were excited when he was hired. That immediately got them back to where they were going to be, not only relevant, but really good."
The same goal applies to the Indians with Francona leading the way.
"One of my goals was, 'If we could just get to September, you don't know what can happen,'" Francona said. "And we played pretty well. Now, I think our goal is to continue to get better. That will be harder, but it doesn't mean we can't do it."
Jordan Bastian is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Major League Bastian, and follow him on Twitter @MLBastian.


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pivotalperforrmance needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 175 designs submitted by 30 freelance designers.
Pivotal Performance or Pivotal Perfromance Program
We are 2 small business owners who are developing a program to be used in corporates to help teams excel.
We are developing the program and will be responsible for facilitating and coaching in a range of different types of business
The program is for teams in organisations where their success is fundamental to a significant part of business results; the team may be a senior management team, or a team responsible for delivery of a large investment project, a large proportion of revenue or the delivery of increased efficiencies. In these situations the pressure is on for high impact performance
An important part of selling the program will be the relationships we establish within the business
The program will combine a number of different aspects – assessment, workshops, coaching, observation, review meetings
It is aimed at senior managers
We are looking for a logo to represent our program. It needs to reflect s a quality product aimed at teams responsible for significant parts of an organisations revenue/ budget/ success.
Elements of the brand are:
Superior quality,Expert,Well grounded,Sustainable,Robust,Results,
Credible,Business value,Sought after,Relationships
Using pivotal to reflect it is of crucial importance for the team to perform at a high level.
Also focusing on tag line - achieving awesome results
We want a logo that we can use in program materials, marketing materials and could be extended to a web site at some stage
The brand companies for our 2 existing businesses are:
1. RGB – R0:G84: B159 and RGB R226,G 23, B118
2. RGB - RGB: R154, G0, B0 and R128, G128, B0
We are open to design options that use a combination of the 2 colour schemes or something completely different (it is a stand along program). We want to be sure that the colours used wouldn't clash with either companies existing colours.
The typeface should be clear, simple and bold. We want something that stands out and is easy to use in materials
The files we will require are:
Print file format - .ai (CMYK), png
Web file format - .jpg and layered .psd (RGB)
The logo needs to look/ print clearly in mono as well as colour
Please do not use any stock images or clip art in the logo
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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Welcome to the Golden West College Library
Quick Links
Find books, e-books, media, course reserves & textbooks.
Online Databases
Find full-text articles in journals, newspapers, & magazines.
Course Reserves
Find textbooks, tests, media & additional course related materials.
Informational Links
Library Hours & Directions
Fall & Spring hours.
Library Group Study Rooms
Reservation policies and room availability.
Library Computers, Computer Policies, and FAQ's
Find policies regarding library computers.
Chronicle of Higher Education
Weekly news information source for college faculty, administrators, and students. On campus use only.
The Western Sun
THE WESTERN SUN is published bi-weekly on Wednesdays by the newspaper production classes of Golden West College.


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Interview with West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin: Tax Reform
EDITOR'S NOTE: Boris Epshteyn formerly served as a Senior Advisor to the Trump Campaign and served in the White House as Special Assistant to The President and Assistant Communications Director for Surrogate Operations.
WASHINGTON (Sinclair Broadcast Group) -
BORIS EPSHTEYN: Hello, we're joined today by Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Senator, thank you so much for joining us.
SEN. JOE MANCHIN: Thanks for having me.
BORIS: Let's dive right in. On tax reform - that is the major issue that's dominating the headlines. It's the focus of Congress as you head into the end of the year. The House Republicans just put out a bill that's backed by the White House. When that happened, you released a statement, you said "it didn't reflect the goals President Trump and I had discussed over the last several months," referring to the GOP bill. What specifically is missing from the bill that you've discussed with the president?
MANCHIN: Well the president and I had dinner and we had other senators there with us in a bipartisan way. The president was very clear in starting the conversation saying this is not going to be a tax cut for the wealthy. This is going to be a tax cut for working America and they are the ones who got left behind the last two decades and not seeing any personal gains. I said that's a great place to start, Mr. President. So we talked a little bit about that, but the plans that I see coming out doesn't really reflect the work the president was thinking and what he conversed with me. So I'm thinking, the president hasn't put his stamp of approval on anything yet so let's keep working trying to find that bipartisan middle if we can. The only thing that I conveyed at that time and I convey today, that in the Senate, we've never done a major overhaul a major piece of policy change especially in tax reform without a bipartisan effort, without what we call regular order so we've never used the budget reconciliation which allows the Senate in certain instances to operate the same as the House. Simple majority - there's 100 senators so 50 plus 1, 51. The House we know, who's ever in control of the House that's how it's going to roll. But it's the Senate that kind of brings it back to the sensible middle. And we don't have that today and that's what Democrats you hear from all spectrums are saying, let us have input. And so we're hoping that this process allows more input and we can go through more regular order.
BORIS: What changes would you want to see from the House version, the House GOP version, of the tax reform plan?
MANCHIN: Well my concern is this- the House version starts out assuming that there could be, if things don't go exactly as planned, $1.5 trillion in new debt. I think that's been scored, they said this could happen. They are saying that won't happen though, my friends on the Republican side, because we're going to have X amount of growth. Okay, if we're going to have X amount of growth but let's say that this doesn't happen exactly the way you think it might happen, don't you think we ought to have some checks and balances that prevent us from digging a hole deeper. And all I've said is we're trying to look at triggers so if you want to reduce from 35 to 20 remember this, every point every 1 percent of corporate taxes $100 billion. 100 billion. So I was looking at something more reasonable at 25 percent that kept us more competitive plus gave us a 10 percent reduction of a trillion dollars and I've talked to a lot of corporations. But the president is determined at 20 percent. Well if you're trying to find that middle do you say okay let's reduce the 3 percent a year down to 25 or 26 percent. We stop there to see if the GDP to debt. If GDP to debt is not in sync, if we're still going further in debt and GDP hasn't grown like you thought it would then we don't dig that hole deeper. There's some middle ground, there's always middle ground, and people want to work together.
BORIS: On tax reform, you just had a meeting with Gary Cohn, the director for National Economic Council, and Marc Short who is the White House director of legislative affairs. What specifics were discussed in that meeting and did it get you any closer to being a yes on tax reform?
MANCHIN: Well it got us closer to saying, they want to work. Gary kept saying wait until the Senate version comes out and the Senate version is going to come out soon. So when the Senate version comes out we really have something to look at. But if they bring the Senate version out with the Republican senators the only ones working on that, This is the first, the meeting with Gary was the first meeting we've had --
BORIS: There were other Democratic senators in that meeting, right?
MANCHIN: Oh there were 12 of us. I brought 12. I talked to Marc Short and Marc said, "Joe bring some people together" and I said "I'll do that Mark." So we had a meeting. We met at the Library of Congress, it was a wonderful meeting, very informative. And Gary says wait until the Senate version comes out. He says now the House version I don't believe is a version that you're going to see in the final version. And I said fine, that's good...So rather than going out and trashing it, let's wait until the Senate version. But if the Senate version comes out in a quick timeline and let's say they introduce it at the end of the week and all of a sudden next week let's start markup, that doesn't give you much time. I mean the last time they did any sort of tax reform There was a 9, 12, 14 month review. Everybody had input. Brought all the professions in from all sides to see how we fit. That's all we're asking. We're not saying it needs to be 12 months or so but it needs to have some time for everybody to have input on this thing to see how this impacts every category. They're saying this 20-40,000. First of all, what I see is I like the doubling of the tax exemption...
BORIS: That's a standard reduction, zero rate...
MANCHIN: I mean yeah it used to be, it doubled from 6 to 12 for single, 12 to 24 for married, that's great, that's fine. Because that affects a lot of West Virginians who don't do itemization. Those 20 percent or more who itemize their taxes, it's not so fine for them. They're concerned. Small businesses right now are concerned. Because every small business in the 75,000 range pays with pass throughs of about 15 percent. They're gonna pay a minimum 25. They get a 10 percent increase. We're looking at all this and it needs to be taken in consideration because if you really want to help the working, middle class, then that's small businesses and people that are working. And we have to make sure they are all part of this.
BORIS: Are you expecting further meetings between you, leading this group of other Democratic senators, and the White House?
MANCHIN: Oh yes, we will continue to do that because I think the White House is going to have an awful lot. Because I think that's when you're going to see the president and his thought process what he conveyed with me kick in
BORIS: The president called into this meeting, right?
MANCHIN: He called in to the meeting. He's over in Japan, he called in and he was on there and he told us what his thoughts are. It's good to have him concerned and interested. And it's also good that he knows there's a group of Democrats who want to work with you. We want to work with you. The values that we have and the concerns that we have are going to be expressed and if there's a practical way forward, fine, if not, if it's so serious enough to think no way in the world can I vote for this, that's fine too, they'll make that decision. I'm still looking and I feel confident that we can find that pathway forward.


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10 July 2017
Moodle version 3.2.4 is now available.
Upgrading to Moodle 3.2.4
Moodle 3.2.4 can be upgraded to (or installed) using any of Installatron's products. Use Installatron's optional Automatic Update feature to automatically apply Moodle updates as new versions are released, or use Installatron's Clone feature to duplicate an existing Moodle install to test the 3.2.4 upgrade prior to applying it live. Get started managing your Moodle installations with Installatron
What's New in Moodle 3.2.4
Security issues
Fixes and improvements


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Are Second Pillar Pensions Robust in the Face of Economic Shocks?
A view from Central Europe and the Baltics
[1] Saving for old age is important in countries where longevity is increasing. Countries in Central Europe and the Baltics emerged from the economic transition of the 1990s recognizing that they needed to encourage their workforce to retire later and save more in order to be comfortable in old age. To this end, they modified their pay as you go pension systems which collects taxes from workers to pay retirees (the "first pillar") to create an additional or "second pillar" of individual pension accounts funded by taxes. As these second pillar pension accounts were the private property of individual workers, they were expected to encourage saving. Over time as these savings grew, it would be possible to reduce the pensions paid by the government from the first pillar without reducing the standard of living for pensioners who would be able to rely on complementary pensions from their private saving in the second pillar. Typically, a share of payroll tax receipts was redirected to finance individual pension saving accounts. This resulted in revenue shortfalls in pay as you go you pension schemes, and most governments raised additional debt to meet their obligations which was in turn held by the companies who were managing the pension savings on behalf of employees. However, since the economies were growing rapidly, fiscal deficits were generally kept manageable, easing concerns about additional debt.
Following the global financial crisis of 2008, growth slowed sharply in Central Europe and the Baltics. Heavily integrated with Western capital markets, the financial crisis led to a huge contraction in both credit and demand. As growth rates tumbled, the second pillar became a casualty - with many countries using the tax revenues that were funding second pillar accounts to shore up deteriorating public finances.
Estonia was the first, announcing a temporary suspension of contributions to the second pillar [2] for two years in 2009. Latvia and Lithuania followed by reducing contributions to the second pillar [3], with the understanding that this decision would be revisited as public finances permitted. The larger economies experienced financing difficulties later but then followed suit. Romania announced a postponement in its scheduled increase in contributions to the second pillar in 2010, followed by reductions to second pillar contributions in Poland and Slovakia in 2012.
With economic growth now resuming [4], the response from these countries has varied. Following the end of the temporary suspension, Estonia is attempting to make good on the "lost" contributions - not only restoring contribution rates to former levels but also encouraging higher contributions in 2014-17. But it is the only country to do so. While Romania has resumed increasing its contribution rates, Latvia and Lithuania are partially restoring their second pillar contributions. Poland will not restore contribution rates, as it intends to have a smaller second pillar which is divested of government bonds, and neither will Slovakia.
So, to answer the question posed in the title of this blog: second pillars have not proven to be robust in the face of the economic downturn - with the possible exception of Estonia.
In large part, the difficulty appears to lie in the decision to finance the transition costs of introducing a second pillar through issuing government debt. This strategy runs into difficulties when the economy slows down and public debt begins to mount. In all cases, reducing the allocation from tax receipts to second pillar accounts allowed countries to bring deficits under control to meet EU or national requirements. The downturn also threw into relief the relatively high fees charged by companies who manage second pillar accounts, which relate to design features that can be improved upon. Finally, there also appears to have been an issue of "ownership" of second pillar accounts by the public at large - the only country where the second pillar has come out of the economic crisis relatively unscathed is Estonia, where participants are encouraged to make a personal top-up of additional contributions. Many of them do - making them far more invested in the system than in other countries.
With countries having mostly chosen to have smaller second pillars, the question remains as to how they are planning to address the challenges that second pillars were designed to help with – namely, the need for more retirement saving to compensate for lower but more affordable public pensions. These challenges are made more acute by the rapid aging of the population as shown by my colleagues Anita Schwarz and Omar Arias [5]. Countries can either choose to restore their second pillars following Estonia's example. This will involve expenditure reductions elsewhere to keep deficits under control. Or they can explore alternative ways of encouraging retirement saving while still keeping public spending in check. Either way, more retirement saving is likely an important part of the solution, which means that countries need to think hard about what policy and institutional design choices [6] can best make this happen.
- Tags:
- Public Sector and Governance [7]
- Labor and Social Protection [8]
- Europe and Central Asia [9]
- Croatia [10]
- Bulgaria [11]
- Slovak Republic [12]
- Romania [13]
- Poland [14]
- Latvia [15]
- Estonia [16]
- Pensions [17]
- Taxes [18]


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Conducive and Convenient CPUs
Location, location, location – it's the mantra of realtors, of course, but is just as important to retailers and service providers, like the U.S. Postal Service. USPS understands the importance of being where people live and shop. It also knows that keeping hours conducive to people's shopping habits increases customer traffic. Cue contract postal units (CPUs), which the Postal Service uses to supplement its 32,000 post offices around the country.


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After the procedure, Kristi Tonndorf of Cornwall bought two fitted button-down blouses — one in hot purple and the other an aqua blue.
After the procedure, Kristi Tonndorf of Cornwall bought two fitted button-down blouses — one in hot purple and the other an aqua blue.
"Colors like those would show the wetness immediately," she says of the hyperhidrosis, or excessive sweating, that has plagued her every day — even in winter — since her teenage years. "I was hypersensitive — so I made sure nobody knew."
She was conscious of the positioning of her arms. She wore lots of sweaters and no thin shirts. If a suit was the day's attire, the jacket stayed on. She even tried arm pads, but found them awkward.
In February, however, Tonndorf, 42, finally found a permanent solution — Precision Tx, a surgical laser treatment. Dr. Ran Y. Rubinstein, board-certified in facial plastic surgery and an assistant clinical professor at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, says he believes he's the first to offer this procedure locally.
"Within a few weeks of FDA approval less than a year ago, I was onboard," he says of the procedure offered at his Laser & Cosmetic Surgery Specialists P.C., in Newburgh. "It's an expensive device to own."
But not an uncommon condition to treat. Rubinstein says about 2 percent to 3 percent of the population is affected, and there was previously no cure.
"And more women than men, although we don't know why," says Rubinstein. "The condition is not linked to obesity. A skinny woman can also have this socially embarrassing problem," he says, noting that rosacea, or facial flushing, which can also be embarrassing, affects fewer people but is better known among the general population.
For the past 10 years, Boxtox has been an approved treatment for hyperhidrosis, and Rubinstein says he's treated hundreds of patients over the years with multiple needle pricks injecting Boxtox in the underarm area.
"It's effective, but it costs between $1,000 and $2,000 per treatment, which typically isn't covered by insurance. And it has to be repeated every four months," he says. "There is also an FDA warning about fake Botox, which is extremely cheap but can cause the patient harm because the strength cannot be controlled."
With the Precision Tx, Rubinstein uses the laser to ablate, or seal, the overactive sweat glands. After numbing the site, a small puncture is made in the underarm area through which the laser fiber is inserted. The entire treatment is done under the skin, and both sides can be done in one session.
"I could feel the movement, but no pain," says Tonndorf. "Afterward, I was a little sore, like the soreness you would get from using crutches. I just took Advil. And for two weeks, no deodorant. ... But I noticed a change right away."
Rubinstein says it can take six months for a patient to experience the full effects, but in most cases, results are noticed much sooner, typically taking about three months for the sweat glands to shrink approximately 75 percent. Ultimately, sweating then becomes like that of a person who does not have hyperhidrosis, negating any concern about interfering with an important bodily function, which helps regulate temperature.
"We also sweat from other areas of the body such as the palms and the face," he says.
Rubinstein has already treated close to 50 people with this one-time procedure for which he says there's really no down time — except for someone who's involved in physical labor.
The only potential downside for some might be the cost — about $3,750, which, for those already getting quarterly Botox treatments, would actually be a bargain, says Rubinstein.
"Now I can wear what I want because I will never sweat like that again," says Tonndorf.


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Meet the family
Discover just how amazing our Kincade home plans really are.
* Starting price after limited incentives in select communities.
Break out of the box.
When it comes to something as important as your home, why trade good looks for practical design? You don't have to live in a boring box to get the functionality and savings you've always wanted. With Kincade Homes, you get efficient features with eye-catching style. Practical never looked so good.
Built on the Schell Brothers foundation.
From the roots up, Kincade homes are built with the same high quality craftsmanship that has defined the Schell Brothers legacy. We've poured over ten years of experience into designing homes that will make you proud. Our number one goal is happiness, and Kincade Homes delivers on that promise.
Live in the future, today.
Schellter™ Advanced Building Science is the smart technology developed by Schell Brothers to provide you with the ultimate high performance home. Designed with the future in mind, think of it as your live-in time machine. It's a new home for a new era.
Schellter™ Advanced Building Science
Schellter™ Advanced Building Science was developed as part of our continual commitment to provide our homeowners with an exceptional home. Schellter™ is comprised of three components: Enerwize™, SanctuAIR™, and 4Tress™.
Our goal was to use the scientific process to create a new type of home... a home that is extremely energy efficient (Enerwize™), eliminates the health risks associated with homes (SanctuAIR™), and provides unparalleled durability, longevity, strength, and quality (4Tress™).
Schellter™ was developed in collaboration with one of the top building science firms in the country and incorporates the research and technologies of the US Department of Energy's Building America program.
Enerwize™ sets a new standard for home energy efficiency by far surpassing the requirements and efficiency ratings of homes built to Energy Star specifications.
While all Kincade homes are also Energy Star certified, the addition of Enerwize™ features and technology yields homes that are approximately 50% more energy efficient than a typical Energy Star certified home.
In addition, Enerwize™ homes are over 100% more energy efficient than the average existing home, which means an Enerwize™ home will have energy costs that are less than half those of an equivalently sized existing home. By buying an Enerwize™ home, you're not only saving money, you're helping our environment by reducing the carbon footprint of your home.
The Home Energy Rating System
The Home Energy Rating System (HERS) measures a home's energy efficiency. Schell Brothers homes average 52 on the HERS Scale, making them some of the most energy efficient homes in the country.
SanctuAIR™ includes features such as MERV 14 air filters, low VOC materials, fresh air ventilation, advanced moisture and humidity management, and many other features. With SanctuAIR™, your home is your health sanctuary.
The Environmental Protection Agency ranks indoor air quality as one of the greatest but least recognized risks to public health. Poor indoor air quality is estimated to cause thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of health problems each year, especially among children and the elderly. Most existing and even some new homes contain materials that emit harmful chemical pollutants (aka VOCs or Volatile Organic Compounds). In addition, many homes are breeding grounds for biological pollutants such as mold and bacteria. Respiratory health problems such as asthma and chronic coughs have often been linked directly to poor indoor air quality.
At Kincade Homes, we take this problem very seriously and have included numerous features and construction techniques in our homes to ensure a healthy environment for our homeowners and their families. We call this technology SanctuAIR™.
You can be assured that a 4Tress™ built home will stand the test of time and provide your family with safety and comfort for many years to come.
Since most people know very little about the materials and techniques used in home construction, many builders use the cheapest materials and labor possible to lower the cost of the home. The thinking is; why spend extra money on things the home buyer doesn't know about? Unfortunately, this philosophy yields homes with very low quality that might look fine at the outset but very quickly become plagued with costly repair and maintenance problems.
With 4Tress™ Technology, we've taken home building quality to a new level. All 4Tress™ homes meet stringent requirements in 4 categories: durability, strength, moisture & water protection, and sound attenuation.
A New Generation of New Homes in Delaware Kincade Homes by Schell Brothers has transformed the homebuilding landscape by delivering the ideal balance between functionality and style. Beautifully efficient, our homes are designed to amaze.
What makes a Kincade home different?
No sacrifices. We research everything. We listen to our customers - and then we listen more. We embrace change. We've put ten years of knowledge and experience into our designs because we don't expect you to make any sacrifices in the way you live. In fact, we want you to live better.
Building the Best New Homes in Delaware
Our team is passionate about designing a home that fits the way you really live. On a busy night, we know your kids might be doing homework in the kitchen while you're making dinner, so our designers kept that in mind. You want bright spaces without losing energy efficiency. And everyone deserves the best bathroom design possible. We identified every opportunity to enhance room flow throughout the house, add storage space, and give you flexibility for the future. That means you'll find a pantry just where you need it, specially designed mudrooms and laundry areas, and ample secondary bedrooms that would make some master suites jealous.
Kincade Homes is a new company for a new era of homeowners who have decided to live better.
You already know Delaware has so much to offer. Who can resist the relaxed coastal lifestyle, low tax living, and friendly people? All you need now is a home that will make you proud.


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Potty Progress Report
Cee has been experimenting with using the potty for months now. 6 months, actually. I wrote about it here, where I expressed some ambivalence about the process and pledged that I would be an easy-going, no-pressure mama about the whole thing. Although all of this is still true, I think, I'm here today to confess that I did have a secret hope that we had a potty prodigy on our hands. Based on her early interest and success, I figured that she'd potty train herself by her second birthday. Silly me.
Instead, Cee's interest in the potty seems to have plateaued to using the potty just once or twice per week. She's still very interested in what goes on when I'm on the potty, but she herself prefers to go in a diaper. Rather than use the potty, Cee has been reading up on the process. One of her favorite texts these days is "Potty" by Leslie Patricelli.
We have a few books by this author and love them all.
This is Cee's favorite part of the "Potty" book:
To which she always responds, joyfully: "YES!"
Then she giggles at her own joke. OK, we giggle sometimes, too. I have a feeling that my almost-two-year-old has caught on to the fact that we like it when she goes potty, and at this stage of her life, she sometimes goes out of her way to do the opposite of what we want. And I'm realizing that we could be at this stage of potty learning for a while.
Meanwhile, Cee's caregiver informed me this morning that Cee pees in the potty several times per day at her house. Curious, isn't it?


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In Defense of Shopping Centers
David Bodamer August 12th, 2008
On Friday, I linked to a screed about the future of shopping centers. A blog called The Sledgehammer has written a response entitled "In Defense of the Traditional Shopping Mall." The post is labeled "Part 1" so I'll keep an eye out for any future addenda to Lutz's post.
Contrary to what the article seems to imply, there are no truly dead malls in the Seattle area. For a mall to be truly dead, it has to be either completely or almost completely abandoned. Sure, there are a number of malls that are underperforming with high vacancy rates, but even at Totem Lake (the Seattle Metro area's current poster child for dead malls), most of the upper mall area remains occupied at this time with stable tenants, several of which have been there as long as the upper mall has existed. In fact, Denny's Pet World in the upper mall has been there since Day 1, and is celebrating their 34th anniversary this weekend. They opened in a different space (in what used to be the "mall" portion of the upper mall and is now the Guitar Center store) than they are located in currently, but they were there on Day 1. If you count mergers and name changes, the Big 5 Sporting Goods store (which originally opened as SportsWest, another Pay and Save brand) has been around for just as long.
To see the full entry — and follow the links — go to the Traffic Court blog at blog.retailtrafficmag.com/retail_traffic_court/.


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Day of the Ninja is my favorite under celebrated holiday! I'll be celebrating today with my Day of the Ninja post on my shop blog and attempting a ninja bento. Anyone else up for a Ninja Bento Challenge?
Blog and Shop: http://ojami.etsy.com and http://ojamiya.com
Here's my ninja as he contemplates how to infiltrate a castle.
He's very cute. The castle looks a little like a Japanese snowman!
My blog is Food and Shoes
I made the mistake of thinking this might be one of those quirky Japanese calendar days like:
the 29th of the month being "meat day" (2+9 ni+kyu sounds like niku=meat)
The 12th of the month (and 2nd October) is tofu day (explained here http://kimikokitani.blogspot.com/2009/02/tofu-no-hi-day-of-tofu.html)
Those who like baked goods get a day too http://kimikokitani.blogspot.com/2009/02/bisuketto-no-hi-day-of-biscuit.... (I hadn't known about this one! Or about Nori day on the 6th February http://kimikokitani.blogspot.com/2009/02/nori-no-hi-day-of-nori.html)
22nd January is Jazz day (Ja22) It is also Curry Day (but I've never found out why http://blog.realestate-tokyo.com/archives/50573128.html )
And lest we forget another important task related to eating
4th June is oral hygiene day (explanation http://kimikokitani.blogspot.com/2009/06/mushiba-yobo-de.html )
And I like Bath Day (the 26th of the month http://kimikokitani.blogspot.com/2009/02/furo-no-hi-day-of-bath.html) when lots of Public Sento and Onsen give discounted entry
(Here's a list of the more traditional days: http://www.nnh.to/ - Japanese only, still haven't found this calendar in English)
Sorry, I don't much like the ninja burger/ninja day concept and I lack the grace and diplomacy to explain why.
And, for the ravelry forum members, I just found out also about 10th February, Knitting Day: http://kimikokitani.blogspot.com/2009/02/nitto-no-hi.html
There's even a Fugu Day! http://kimikokitani.blogspot.com/2009/02/fuku-no-hi.html
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@makiwi - Maki tweets at random


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My Breasts Are Different Sizes. Is This Normal?
Lately I've noticed that my boobs are different sizes. My left boob is a "B"
cup and the right one is an "A" cup. Is there any pill or anything that will help
make them normal?
– Joy*
First, girls whose breasts are different sizes or develop at different rates are normal. Differences in breast size tend to even out once a girl is older or fully grown — usually anywhere from age 16 to 20. But even fully developed women may have one breast that's slightly larger or is shaped differently from the other. Lots of women have different-sized breasts, so you are definitely not alone.
It might help to remember that you're probably more aware of the difference in your cup size just because the process of buying a bra makes you focus on breast measurement. So although the difference may seem like a big deal to you, other people usually never notice differences in a girl's breasts.
If you're self-conscious about it, you can wear a padded bra or even a bra with a pad on just one side. Let your doctor know if you have questions or concerns about your breast development.
*Names have been changed to protect user privacy.


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Jj55blue needed a new print or packaging design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 9 designs submitted by 1 freelance designers.
Spy Matrix Pro GPS
My name is Jeffrey Jurist, owner of SpyAssociates.com
We have been catering to Law Enforcement & Private Investigators for the past several years with Surveillance Equipment. GPS Tracking is a very exciting technology, and we are eagerly promoting our Spy Matrix Pro GPS.
Federal Agencies, Police Departments, Sheriffs Departments, Private Investigators
We want to create an exciting mailing campaign to raise awareness of our success!
We are rebranding a new product and want to refresh old material.
look at: http://www.SpyMatrixPro.com
to see the 2 products we are promoting here.


text: [i:Vibes] :: View topic - Frank Waanders & Maglev - Trazzard [OUT NOW] Guidelines FAQ Search Memberlist Usergroups Bookmarks Register Profile Log in to check your private messages Log in Main Menu Frontpage News Reviews Interviews Party Reports Artist Profiles Label profiles Diaries Tutorials What is... Links Radio-info Interactive Forum User Stats Info FAQ Crew-info i:Vibes Info Site Updates Frank Waanders & Maglev - Trazzard [OUT NOW] [i:Vibes] Forum Index -> Artist and Label News View previous topic :: View next topic Author Message KrisAHead BouncerVibes: 119.62Joined: 24 Nov 2008Member #: 26,996Posts: 573 Post subject: Frank Waanders & Maglev - Trazzard [OUT NOW] Artist: Frank Waanders & Maglev Release: Trazzard Label: Always Alive Recordings Spotify / Beatport: https://AlwaysAliveRecordings.lnk.to/AA188 Release Date (all stores): 31st March 2017 SoundCloud Preview: https://soundcloud.com/alwaysaliverecordings/sets/frank-waanders-maglev-trazzard Frank Waanders returns to Always Alive Recordings with an exceptional new production alongside simmering talent Maglev in Trazzard. Kicking off with an Uplifting Mix, Frank Waanders & Maglevs Trazzard showcases an exceptionally polished production from the label regular, full of seamless builds and finessed melodies, Frank Waanders & Maglevs combination provides one of the labels stand-out tunes of 2017 so far. Tying off the release with an alternative Progressive Mix Trazzard delves deeper into an encompassing version showcasing the duos ear for serene, atmospheric builds whilst sprinkling over a stripped down, piano-led melody. Frank Waanders return to Always Alive provides another bona fide hit whilst introducing up-and-coming talent Maglev to the label loyal in the impressive Trazzard. Connect with Frank Waanders: Facebook: http://facebook.com/FrankWaandersOfficial Twitter: http://twitter.com/frankwaanders SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/frankwaanders Connect with Maglev: Facebook: http://facebook.com/maglevmusic Twitter: http://twitter.com/maglevmusic SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/maglevmusic Connect with Always Alive Recordings: Website: http://alwaysaliverecordings.com Facebook: http://enhan.co/AlwaysAliveFacebook Twitter: http://enhan.co/AlwaysAliveTwitter Spotify: https://AlwaysAliveRecordings.lnk.to/Spotify Beatport: http://enhan.co/AlwayaAliveBeatport SoundCloud: http://enhan.co/AlwaysAliveSoundCloud Post rating: 0 Rate this post: Not logged in Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 2:59 pm Back to top Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First [i:Vibes] Forum Index -> Artist and Label News All times are GMT Page 1 of 1 Jump to: Select a forum Spam----------------Spam posts Music----------------Music discussion (trance, techno, progressive and other genres)EquipmentArtist and Label NewsRadio BroadcastsMusic Production and DJ Mix PromotionClub Listings Non-music related----------------Other discussionBuy & Sell [i:Vibes]----------------Site Feedback and Help Content Discussion----------------News DiscussionReview DiscussionInterview DiscussionTutorial DiscussionWhat is...Party ReportsArtist ProfilesLabel Profiles You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forumYou cannot attach files in this forumYou can download files in this forum Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group


text:
|[search keyword in the store]
[12.0cm] [13.0cm] [14.0cm] [15.0cm] [16.0cm]
|JP Post EMS
|Your order will be shipped to you via Japan Post EMS. Japan Post is a speedy delivery service that delivers to more than 120 countries. With an effective tracking system and insurance program, EMS is able to offer a secure delivery worldwide. You can track your package with the tracking code provided and it will be delivered within a week. See estimated shipping fee
|S.F. Express (China & Hong Kong Only)
Your order will be shipped to you via SF Express service. SF Express holds 87 warehouses and 7 distribution centers and provides one-stop supply-chain logistics service in China.
Please note that customs and duty will be paid by customer and gift option is not available at this time when using SF Express.
For new customers utilizing SF Express, a copy of "National Identification Card" is needed when processing your item through customs in China only for your first purchase. Please provide copy to SF Express via Wechat (SF Express Self-service) or email at firstname.lastname@example.com after order is confirmed.
• In accordance with Chinese import regulations, personal shipments with multiple quantity of items per order into China cannot be valued at more than 1,000 RMB (approximately 18,000JPY.To ensure that you can receive your products in the fastest possible time, please make sure that each order is valued at less than 1,000 RMB.
• In the event that you purchase only 1 item per order, the total value of that order cannot exceed 5,000 RMB (approximately 90,000 JPY)
• The quantity for each order cannot exceed 10 pieces
• Once the shipment arrives into China warehouse, SF Express will contact you with regards to the import duties and taxes
|Credit Card
|We accept credit and debit cards.
The following credit and debit cards can be used:
•American Express
The "Payment Amount" is calculated as below.
"Payment Amount" = Product price total + shipping fee
Upon confirming your order, we will send you a link to make a payment via UnionPay's secure payment page.
You must finish the payment process before the deadline to complete your order.
Please check the payment process from the link here.
支付总额 = 商品价格 + 国际运费
|The "Payment Amount" is calculated as below.
"Payment Amount" = Product price total + shipping fee
Upon confirming your order, we will send you a link to make a payment via
Alipay's secure payment page.
You must finish the payment process before the deadline to complete your
Please check the payment process from the link here.
PC: https://global.rakuten.com/en/help/payment/alipay_pc.html
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This product cannot be shipped to United States from the store.
Please contact the store for further information.
Save on shipping by combining your shipments.
Ship products from shops that don't provide international shipping.


text:
Media and entertainment companies getting real results from social are the ones who can support their strategies with a solid foundation.
By building workflows and processes to manage their social media efforts across properties, they're able to find new ways of earning revenue from their social connections with readers, viewers, and fans.
This white paper will help you quickly understand the three key opportunities. You'll learn how leading media and entertainment brands are:
- Gaining an advantage by containing complex corporate structures across properties, teams, and countries
- Protecting your brand assets—and extending your social reach—by tapping into the power of employee advocates
- Using deep social listening and analytics to provide new value to advertisers and partners
To learn how your organization can also profit from these opportunities, fill in the form to download Monetize Your Social Audience & Manage Risk: Three Strategies for Media & Entertainment Brands now.


text:
Rapid City Journal
If people knew the truth about abortion, they would never buy into the pro-choice argument, according to the Rev. Frank Pavone.
"It makes people feel good to talk about choice, freedom and rights," said Pavone, of Port Chester, N.Y., executive director of Priests of Life. "Theoretically, we are all in favor of that. But when certain choices have so many victims we need to reevaluate. Is this the kind of choice our society should be allowing?"
Pavone says the answer is no.
The Catholic priest has made it his life's mission to end abortion. His interest in the pro-life movement began in high school. In 1993, after five years of serving a parish, Pavone was named director of Priests for Life.
He now travels the country, visiting as many as three or four states a week, preaching and teaching against abortion.
Pavone brings his ministry to Rapid City this weekend, with programs for both the public and local clergy. "I think of this as a ministry of encouragement," Pavone said. It's a ministry that "alerts people to the immensity of the abortion problem and encourages them with knowledge that there are things they can do about it."
For clergy, most of whom already embrace the pro-life ideology, Pavone offers support: how to effectively preach on the topic, how to counsel people contemplating abortion and those seeking forgiveness, and how to mobilize a congregation to fight abortion.
To begin his work, Pavone says people must become aware of the basic facts of what is happening. "That an abortion is performed every 20 seconds, making it the most common surgery in America," Pavone said. "... That abortions are legally performed in different parts of the country in the final months of pregnancy— and not just for health reasons.
"If we added up all the American casualties from all the wars we've ever fought, we would find we lose more American lives by abortion in one year than we have in all the wars we have fought since our country was founded," he said. "The more people know about what is actually happening, the more they reject the abortion ethic," Pavone said.
But that's only half the battle. Next they need to mobilize against abortion, he said. "The encouraging part is, people can save lives."
And it doesn't take a major crusade. In his presentation, he talks about the little things: reaching out to people in trouble, wearing pro-life pins and ribbons, participating in pro-life rallies, and writing legislators.
"This issue is a concern of everybody," Pavone said. "It involves the most basic question of all—the very right to live and the right to exist. I try to stress that. Sometimes people think 'this is not my thing.' But we need to resolve it or it will resolve us."
Program targets abortion
The Rev. Frank Pavone, executive director of Priests for Life, will present a public program on abortion Saturday, Jan. 4.
The program, "Encouragement for Troubled Times," is open to everyone. It begins at 2 p.m. in the St. Thomas More High School Commons.
Pavone's program will focus on abortion statistics as well as the many things people can do to solve what he views as "the single most urgent moral crisis in our nation."
Pavone also will give homilies at three Rapid City Catholic churches; St. Therese at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 4; Blessed Sacrament at 9 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 5,: and Our Lady of Perpetual Help Cathedral at I I a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 5.


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Up to this point I have been sharing principally the history of my father's side of the family. Fortunately I have made significant inroads in tracing his line; however, I decided to switch tack a little and have been working on the matrilineal side of our family tree. As I have written in earlier posts, my mother has been very helpful with this task, sharing with me documents she has, and striving to remember as much as she possibly can about her family of origin.
Many of us who write about family history have sometimes faced roadblocks in recovering the stories of our female ancestors. Often, for reasons which include marriage, their names disappear from the pages of history. As I work to get information about my matrilineal ancestry into some sort of sensible shape, I want to share with you a couple of stanzas from a poem entitled "The Oral Tradition" written by Irish poet Eavan Boland, a poem which speaks to the matter of women living on the periphery of history, the woman of our past who count on us to remember them and recount their stories.
The Oral Tradition
Two women,
were standing in shadow,
one with her back turned.
Their talk was a gesture,
an outstretched hand.
They talk to each other,
and words like "summer",
"birth", "great-grandmother"
kept pleading with me,
urging me to follow.
the oral song
avid as superstition,
layered like an amber in
the wreck of language
and the remnants of a nation.
from The Oral Tradition Copyright ©1990 by Eavan Boland
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Monday, May 31, 2010
Working on The Matrilineal Family Tree
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Welcome Back
In today's post I'd like to share the latest page created for my advent calendar project.
Advent Calendar; Day 19
- Stamps Used; Paper Mania; PMA 10037. Creative Expressions; Poinsettia
- Inks Used; Adirondack; Cranberry
- Paint Used; Adirondack Acrylic Dabber; Gold
- Cuttlebug Alphabet; Olivia
I'd love to see your results if you are making daily pages for a similar advent calendar. If you missed the tutorial at the start, here's Part 1, which contained a download for how to create your calendar. Hope you like this project and will join me tomorrow for the next page.
Best wishes and thanks for reading, see you soon
Billie 🙂


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Barack Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize
President Obama was awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize Friday for his work to improve international diplomacy and rid the world of nuclear weapons -- a stunning decision to celebrate a figure virtually unknown in the world before he launched his campaign for the White House nearly three years ago.
In awarding the coveted prize to Obama, 48, the Norwegian Nobel Committee echoed a global embrace of the U.S. president that has seen his popularity overseas often exceed his support at home. Though Obama's name surfaced early among contenders, the announcement stunned observers -- and drew gasps from the audience in Oslo -- in part because Obama assumed office less than two weeks before the Feb. 1 deadline for nominations.
The committee praised Obama for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples" during his nine months in office and singled out for special recognition Obama's call for a world free of nuclear weapons, which he first made in an April speech in Prague.
Heralding Obama as a transformative figure in U.S. and international diplomacy, the committee said: "Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future. His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population."
Obama is the third sitting U.S. president--and the first in 90 years--to win the prestigious peace prize. His predecessors won during their second White House terms, however, and after significant achievements in their diplomacy. Woodrow Wilson was awarded the price in 1919, after helping to found the League of Nations and shaping the Treatise of Versailles; and Theodore Roosevelt was the recipient in 1906 for his work to negotiate an end to the Russo-Japanese war.
In contrast, Obama is struggling over whether to expand the war in Afghanistan, preparing to withdraw from Iraq, and searching for ways to build momentum to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and assemble an international effort to stop Iran's nuclear program.
The committee's choice of Obama from among 205 nominees appears in part to be a continued rebuke to the Bush administration's go-it-alone approach to world bodies and alliances, including its decision to go to war in Iraq without U.N. approval. In 2007, for example, former Vice President Al Gore received the prize for raising awareness on global warming after the Bush administration abandoned the Kyoto Protocol to reduce carbon emissions, arguing it would take too great a toll on the U.S. economy.
In response to questions from reporters in Oslo, who noted that Obama so far has made little concrete progress in achieving his lofty and ambitious agenda, committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland said he hoped the prize would add momentum to Obama's efforts.
At the same time, Jagland said, "We have not given the prize for what may happen in the future. We are awarding Obama for what he has done in the past year. And we are hoping this may contribute a little bit for what he is trying to do."
Jagland specifically cited Obama's speech about Islam in Cairo last spring, as well as his efforts to address nuclear proliferation and climate change, and to use established international bodies such as the United Nations to pursue his goals. The prize "is a clear signal to the world that we want to advocate the same as he has done to promote international diplomacy," Jagland said.
The committee -- made up of luminaries selected by the Norwegian government -- noted a profound shift in American policy under Obama and said he had "created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play."
The committee did not mention Obama's status as the first black U.S. president.
Jagland told reporters that the U.S. president had not been notified of the award in advance of the announcement, which was made at 11 a.m. in Oslo (5 a.m. in Washington). There was no immediate comment from the White House 0fficials, who also appeared to be surprised by the decision.
Friday's announcement came a week after the International Olympic Committee in Copenhagen rejected Obama's personal appeal to award the 2016 Games to his hometown of Chicago.
Obama and his advisers have described the tenets of his foreign policy as one emphasizing "mutual interest and mutual respect" and the idea that global diplomacy functions on the principles of "rights and responsibilities" of sovereign nations.
"Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts," the committee said in its statement. ". . . the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened."
After recent years that saw the prize go environmentalists like Gore, as well as luminaries in the fight against poverty, the committee's rationale for selecting Obama seemed to strike closer to prize's original mandate.
In his 1895 will, Alfred Nobel, founder of the award, had directed committees selected by the Swedish president to reward "the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between the nations and the abolition or reduction of standing armies and the formation and spreading of peace congresses."
The only other U.S. president to win the peace prize was Jimmy Carter, who won 22 years after leaving office, in 2002, for his work negotiating peace between Israel and Egypt.
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"Leadership is diving after loose balls." -Larry Bird
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"Leadership is diving after loose balls." -Larry Bird
Barney, the Purple Dinosaur, has inspired and educated many children across the world, not to mention encouraging them to treat each other with respect and dignity, and I'm sure he was never even nominated.
Bill Clinton, who's actually done something, would have been a much better choice, in my opinion.
I don't know that President Obama has done "enough" to merit his winning of the prize. I'm not on the selection committe. It seems to me, from this outsider's armchair, that his award is more along the lines of "stay the course" instead of rewarding achievement.
That said, it's sad how the President's detractors are now using his winning of this prize as an excuse to fling even more vile rhetoric his way. Let's see, he's already: the anti-christ; Hitler; a Muslim extremist in hiding; an illegal alien usurper; a communist; etc.
Far be it from me to see how this could make the wingnuts go any more, well, nuts.
Here's a comprehensive list of the Peace Prize winners. Feel free to pick through and discard those whom you feel were undeserving (too lib'rul!).
From the rest of us: Congratulations, and stay the course.
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"Leadership is diving after loose balls." -Larry Bird
Obama said he was surprised and deeply humbled by the honor, and planned to travel to Oslo in December to accept the prize.
"Let me be clear: I do not view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments, but rather as an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations," he said at the White House. "To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who've been honored by this prize."
Read more at: Nobel Prize To Obama Defended
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"Leadership is diving after loose balls." -Larry Bird
Al Gore and his damn stupid Global warming thing which some scientists proved wrong and now this, let me not get into this politics stuff man.
BTW not republican or Demo, just don't get into all that politics bs because most of them up there are all liars and crooks and don't care about the average everyday like me and you, to get caught up in all of that is a joke to me. I can get deep on this but I feel not to on here.
Win or lose this is a game -
You could let it pick your brain for weeks and months, just replay it over and over, won't do you any good at all. When someone loses a loved one and they do that it only brings forth anguish. I feel acceptance is sometimes the key, it happened, now you have to react to it. Giving up is not an option.
Last edited by Rzarector7; 10-10-09 at 01:10 AM.
The majority of scientists still side with global warming. But besides that...
"Puppet for the elite"
I don't think there's justification here. If I define the elite as the wealthy, would I push for taxes that increase the burden primarily on them? Or would I push for governmental public options that would compete with wealthy HMOs?
The longer a person claims to be disenfranchised the less a person will participate in government. And this is exactly the opposite of a well run country.
On the lighter side...
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Obama's High Bar
Somebody explain this to me: The president of the United States wins the Nobel Peace Prize and Rush Limbaugh joins with the Taliban in bitterly denouncing the award? Glenn Beck has a conniption fit and demands that the president not accept what may be the world's most prestigious honor? The Republican National Committee issues a statement sarcastically mocking our nation's leader -- elected, you will recall, by a healthy majority -- as unworthy of such recognition?
Why, oh why, do conservatives hate America so?
Okay, I know, it's just some conservatives who've been exhibiting what they, in a different context, surely would describe as "Hanoi Jane" behavior. Others who haven't taken leave of their political senses -- and are familiar with the concept of manners -- responded to President Obama's unexpected award with equanimity and even grace. Sen. John McCain, for example, offered his good-natured congratulations.
Some of Obama's most strident critics, however, just can't give it a rest. They use words like "farce" and "travesty," as if there were always universal agreement on the worthiness of the Nobel peace laureate. Does anyone remember the controversy over Henry Kissinger or Yasser Arafat or F.W. de Klerk?
The problem for the addlebrained Obama-rejectionists is that the president, as far as they are concerned, couldn't possibly do anything right, and thus is unworthy of any conceivable recognition. If Obama ended world hunger, they'd accuse him of promoting obesity. If he solved global warming, they'd complain it was getting chilly. If he got Mahmoud Abbas and Binyamin Netanyahu to join him around the campfire in a chorus of "Kumbaya," the rejectionists would claim that his singing was out of tune.
Let the rejectionists fulminate and sputter until they wear their vocal cords out. Politically, they're only bashing themselves. As Republican leaders -- except RNC Chairman Michael Steele -- are beginning to realize, "I'm With the Taliban Against America" is not likely to be a winning slogan.
More interesting, but no less goofy, is the recommendation -- by otherwise sane commentators -- that Obama should decline the award. This is ridiculous.
If the award just represented the political views of a handful of left-leaning, self-satisfied Norwegian Eurocrats, as some critics have charged, then it wouldn't matter whether Obama had won it or not. But of course it means much more. The Nobel Peace Prize, irrespective of the idiosyncratic process that selects its winner, is universally recognized as a stamp of the world's approval. For an American president to reject such a token of approval would be absurdly counterproductive.
Obama has shifted U.S. foreign policy away from George W. Bush's cowboy ethos toward a multilateral approach. He envisions, and has begun to implement, a different kind of U.S. leadership that I believe is more likely to succeed in an interconnected, multipolar world. That this shift is being noticed and recognized is to Obama's credit -- and to our country's.
The peace prize comes as Obama is reviewing war strategy in Afghanistan. Some advocates for sending additional troops are complaining -- and some advocates of a pullout are hoping -- that the award may somehow limit the president's options. But the prize is nothing more than an acknowledgement of what Obama has been saying and doing thus far. He hardly needs to be reminded of his philosophy of international relations -- or that he once called Afghanistan a "war of necessity." Threading that needle is not made any easier or harder by the Norwegian Nobel Committee's decision.
What I really don't understand is the view that somehow there's a tremendous downside for Obama in the award. It raises expectations, these commentators say -- as if expectations of any American president, and especially this one, were not already sky-high. Obama has taken on the rescue of the U.S. financial system and the long-term restructuring of the economy. He has launched historic initiatives to revolutionize health care, energy policy and the way we educate our children. He said flatly during the campaign that he wants to be remembered as a transformational president.
The only reasonable response is McCain's: Congratulations. Nothing, not even the Nobel Peace Prize, can set the bar any higher for President Obama than he's already set it for himself.
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Last edited by WhiteChocolateJr; 10-13-09 at 11:56 AM. Reason: Fixed line spacing
...you were saying?
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"Leadership is diving after loose balls." -Larry Bird
in one corner you have Limbaugh, Beck, Osama and the Taliban blasting and hating on the decision. We have Limbaugh and company bitter about it just because they want the president to fail for whatever reason.
And we have Osama and the Taliban hating the decision because they can't use the same techniques to have more countries hate on the U.S now with the world supporting Obama.
Can you believe it? we have terrorists and U.S citizens bashing the U.S President and hoping the U.S fails. Man talk about sad times.....
i dont think he deserved it at this time. and yeah he doesnt have a life's work of accomplishments...at least not yet, but he is in the most important seat at the most critical time (not just the in the U.S but in the World).
and i think that had something to do with him winning the Nobel and im sure he realizes that...hence, his acceptance speech.
i know he will do a good job pointing the country and world in the right direction... disagreeing with the choice is ok but wishing for our country to Fail?
i will applaud any american who wins the Nobel (unless its a Mav or Faker )
That said, here's my personal two cents (doin' y'alls job!):
The article nails the big picture at the expense of the trees.
Specifically, the article makes several points that I agree with. Namely, that the republican reaction on the part of Beck and Limbaugh is ridiculous. Those two efftards are idiots. Point blank, pure and simple. Come to think of it, most intelligent Americans of both parties probably agree with 'Gene on that point. Those wingnuts lining up behind Beck and Limbaugh should just set their foil hats permanently on "stupid."
While that is all well and good, the author goes on to say that the award is given as a recognition of Obama's change of the US foreign policy from Bush's unilateralism to a multinational approach. Cool. What change is he talking about, exactly?
Is Eugene talking about Obama's immediate toning down of the cowboy "with-us-or-'gainst-us" rhetoric? Because Obama has no doubt done this, and I commend him for it. That said, over the last nine months, (since Obama took office in late January), what does this Administration have to show its softer tone? From this armchair: Not much.... yet.
Let me be clear. I believe President Obama will be a very successful leader when its all said and done. I have little doubt that his cool, intellectual approach and analytical thoughtfulness will be recorded in the annals of history as exactly what we needed to 'get over' Bush & co.'s disasters. But Obama isn't there yet. A scant nine months into his presidency, let's consider some of his biggest campaign promises:
The war on terror excepted, let's evaluate what has happened in peace around the world in the last 9 months:
And on.
The point is....so far as we know, President Obama has not stopped a single war, nor ended any of the modern genocides, nor even put forth serious, concrete policies that will lead to the solutions to any of these problems. Yeah, these are huge things for a person to accomplish, but this is the most prestigious award in the world for crying out loud. The Nobel PEACE Prize. Not the Nobel Most Likely to Succeed Prize.
Obama gives great, spell-binding, phenomenal speeches that in many ways reassure a jaded and suspicious world that the US is not simply a bully; that reassures the world that we are all in this together. Beyond the power of his golden tongue, Obama has done little to promote peace in this world as of this moment.
Does Obama deserve the award right now? No.
Does Obama deserve the award in three more years when we've won the war in Afghanistan or (dare i dream) come to a peace agreement in Israel? Absolutely.
Let's just wait till he's done something to deserve it before giving it to him.
The fact that Republican critics are double-effing idiots does absolutely nothing to make Obama deserve the award more. One minor qualification. If Obama found a way to shut up Glenn Beck and that Oxy'd up sack of farts Limbaugh, then I would personally present an award and draft a $1.4M check over to Mr. Obama myself...postdated, of course.
If you are skimming this post, then just read this: Obama was nominated for the Peace Prize less than 2 weeks after taking the oath of office. I voted for Obama; I donated to his campaign; I support his efforts to date as our President; I fail to see how anything he did as a senator from Illinois promoted world peace.
Hell, from the moment he became a senator he did little more than run for President. and his Presidency simply does not have the pedigree that deserves the award. If we are going to give him the award simply because he is "not Bush" (as the article heavily insinuates), then it cheapens the award. I'm not mad at Obama for accepting it - he should have.
I'm just incredibly disappointed that it was given to the President before he earned it.
...now where's Elchiv when you need him?
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Last edited by WhiteChocolateJr; 10-14-09 at 03:46 PM. Reason: spelling.
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After more than 10 years and 1.6 million posts, we're sad to announce that the LLLI Mother-to-Mother Forums is officially closed as of Monday, November 20, 2017, as the LLLI website moves over to a new platform.
We're opening a new LLLI Breastfeeding Support Community on Inspire.com, a health-related online communities website. While smaller in scale than the Mother-to-Mother Forums, the new community is similar in organization and function, and you'll have even more control over your privacy.
You can join the new community at llli.inspire.com. You'll have the option of logging in with your Facebook or Google account (really easy!), or you can create a standalone Inspire account. Even if you log in with Facebook, none of your personal info transfers over to Inspire. You choose your own username and have control over who can see any information you share.
Another option is joining one of the many Facebook groups run by local LLL Groups from all over the world, or the incredibly active LLLI Breastfeeding Support Facebook Group. It's a private group with LLL Leader moderators who screen and respond to every new breastfeeding question.
While it's financially necessary for LLLI to make this change, it's hard to say goodbye to the Forums. We know how many friendships have formed and important moments have been shared there.
Thank you so much to all our members who've made the Forums such a supportive community and helped so many mothers over the years.


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I present this one without much comment, except that I've blocked off a portion of the telephone number to save the poor victim any further abuse. I think the situation speaks for itself... it's pretty mean, but I'll admit I did get a laugh out of it. This is definitely "Best of Craigslist" material.
nikon 70-200mm f2.8 vr II - $1150 (e van)
few scratches on the lens but none on the glass. bought it 2 years ago still have receipt.
call *** *** nine o nine nine
its a land line so dont text and i dont have time to read email so just call
my hateful son always pranks on people who call our landline, if he say we are not selling anything just tell him to get sam on the phone. and he will say i am not there so u just have to call again so i can pick up earlier than he does


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Israel News - Stay Informed, Pray Informed
According to a new study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Israel follows Canada as the second most highly educated population in the world.
In its annual "Education at a Glance" report for 2012, the OECD found that 46 percent of all Israelis between the ages of 25-64 have received a university degree or some other form of higher education. Only Canada ranked higher, with 51 percent of its population receiving a higher education.
The OECD worldwide average for higher education was only 30 percent.
Israel was also among the nine nations with a 90 percent-or-higher rate of high school graduation. The others were Finland, Greece, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Portugal, Slovenia and the UK.
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