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Q. Who is eligible to use the Ticket Exchange service to sell their seat(s)?
A. Platinum (Club Level) or Gold Level members of the Arsenal Membership Scheme can use this service to sell their seat(s) for a forthcoming fixture.
Q. I am a Gold Level member in the Family Enclosure can I use the Ticket Exchange service?
A. Unfortunately you will not be able to use this facility online, however, please telephone the Contact Centre on 020 7 619 5000 for more details.
Q. I am a Gold Level member in the Disabled Enclosure can I use this service?
A. Unfortunately you will not be able to use this facility online, however, please contact the Disability Team on 020 7619 5050 for more details.
Q. I am a Gold Member, can I post my seat for sale via the Ticket Exchange service for Champions League fixtures?
A. Yes, tickets for UEFA Champions League fixtures can be sold on Ticket Exchange. This excludes ticket holders who are currently relocated due to UEFA requirements who should telephone the Contact Centre on 020 7 619 5000 for more details.
Q. I am a Silver / Red Member can I sell my ticket using this service?
A. No. Unfortunately, you will not be able to sell your tickets via this service.
Q. Is this service available over the telephone?
A No unfortunately due to the number of exchanges that are likely to take place and the need for automation this is an online service only available through www.arsenal.com.
Q. How do I view my Ticket Exchange account?
A. You can view your Ticket Exchange account entering your membership number & password into the Online Box Office. Under the Account History section select Ticket Exchange and you view a full Ticket Exchange history.
Q. How do I use the Ticket Exchange service?
A. A full step-by-step guide to this service will be available on www.arsenal.com.
Q. My friend does not have access to a computer can I trade on his behalf via the Ticket Exchange service?
A. Yes, please ensure that if you are posting tickets on behalf of another season ticket holder that they are added to level 2 of your online network prior to the process.
Q. What is My Network?
A. Adding members to your network will make it easier for you to use our online services. A full step-by-step guide to this service will be available on www.arsenal.com
Q. How much will I be charged for the Service?
A. If a seller posts their ticket on Ticket Exchange to be sold through the Club a nominal fee of approximately 10% will be applied. If the seller sells their ticket directly to a Member of their choice via Ticket Exchange a 4% charge will apply.
Please note the fee will be deducted from the Season Ticket match day ticket price and not the advertised member's price.
Q. When will I receive the sum credited to my account for the matches I have traded?
A. The balance of your account will be deducted from your season membership renewal charge.
Q. Can I use Ticket Exchange for any Arsenal home fixture?
A. The Ticket Exchange service will only be made available for certain fixtures once all tickets have sold. (Please check www.arsenal.com for availability)
Q. What can I do if I have registered my seat for sale and then change my mind?
A. If your seat remains unsold you will have the facility to cancel.
Q. I have sold my seat through the Ticket Exchange service and now wish to attend the fixture that I have sold the ticket for, is there anything I can do?
A. Unfortunately not.
I am a Platinum member; can I use the service to resell ticket(s) for Capital One Cup fixtures (formerly the Carling Cup)?
A. Unfortunately, the service will not be available for Capital One Cup fixtures (formerly the Carling Cup).
Q. What is the latest I can register my seat for sale?
A. The deadline time is usually 3pm on the Friday prior to the fixture.
Q. When can I put my seat up for sale?
A. You will be able to register your seat once all tickets have sold out for a fixture.
Q. Is there a limit to how many times that I can trade a seat in a season?
A. Subject to Ticket Exchange being 'live' for a fixture, you can trade as many times as you wish.
Q. Are there any other ways that I can resell my ticket?
A. No, Ticket Exchange is the only official and legal way for Platinum/Gold members to resell their seats.
Q. Can I check the status of my posted seat(s) online?
You can view your Ticket Exchange account entering your membership number & password into the Online Box Office. Under the Account History section select Ticket Exchange.
Q: Will I be notified on the status of my seat once the service has closed?
A: We would always recommend that you visit your online account for confirmation on the status of your seat once the service has closed. If you do not have access to your online account or have not received notification on the status of your seat you can alternatively contact Arsenal Box Office on 0207 619 5000, Monday- Friday 9:30am-5:00pm.
Q. I have more than one season ticket seat within my network that I wish to post via the Ticket Exchange. Can I post them so they can only be sold as a group?
A. At present, it is not possible to restrict your group to be sold in this way via the Arsenal Ticket Exchange. Each seat will be posted individually for resell once successfully posted.
Q. My season ticket is relocated for UEFA Champions League games. Can I post my seat on the Ticket Exchange for resell?
A. As you receive a discount on your season ticket, you will only be able to post your seat for UEFA Champions League games from the Quarter Final stage onwards.
Copyright 2018 The Arsenal Football Club plc. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.


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Protect Your Teeth
There are many symptoms that result from clenching your teeth. Listen to the audio tip to learn how you can alleviate these symptoms and protect your teeth and jaw joint.
Energy drinks and sports drinks are detrimental to the enamel of your teeth. Listen to hear why these drinks are damaging and how you can keep your teeth strong.
Listen to the audio tip below to learn why regular dental exams are crucial to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

subset: commoncrawl


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New Car Review Video
2014 Toyota Highlander: 5 Reasons to Buy - Video
How do you redesign one of the most popular crossovers in the country? Carefully -- very carefully. The 2014 Toyota Highlander's styling is fresh, of course, and it gets improvements where they're needed most, but it also retains the traditional virtues that Highlander fans expect. We spent a lot of time behind the new Highlander's wheel, and we've got five reasons why you should keep those expectations high.
Reinvented Cabin
If there's one thing that held the previous Highlander back, it was lackluster interior quality. The panels were all hard plastic, and it just didn't have that upscale feel. Meanwhile, rivals from Dodge, Ford and Hyundai were going upscale with supple surfaces inside. But in the new Highlander, soft-touch materials are everywhere, and there's even fancy accent stitching on the dashboard. It's a premium environment that justifies the price. In fact, it's almost as nice as what you'll find in the related Lexus RX.
Seating for Eight
The old Highlander only had two seats in the third row, but the new one's a little wider, so now there's enough space for a 3-person bench in the way back. That makes the Highlander one of the few midsize crossovers with a standard 8-passenger capacity. Even with the optional second-row captain's chairs, there's still room for seven. Not many crossovers are genuine minivan substitutes, but the new Highlander's part of that select group.
Same V6, Sharper Transmission
The Highlander continues to employ Toyota's 3.5-liter V6, and that's great news. It's smooth, it's quiet, but man, is it fast when you give it the spurs. Helping matters is the responsive new 6-speed automatic transmission, which replaces the previous 5-speed. You can really feel the extra snap when you pull out to pass; even though it has the same engine as before, the Highlander feels like a faster vehicle this time around.
Impressive Fuel Economy
Although the Highlander is available with a cheaper 4-cylinder engine, Toyota expects almost every model to have the V6. Why? Because the much stronger V6 gets 25 miles per gallon on the highway with front-wheel drive, and that's the exact same highway rating as the much weaker four. If you want all-wheel drive with your V6, by the way, it gets 24 mpg hwy, so there's barely a penalty. That's remarkable fuel economy for a 270-horsepower, 8-passenger crossover.
Composed Ride and Handling
The Highlander may look like a big wagon on stilts, but it feels surprisingly buttoned-down from behind the wheel. Toyota has redesigned the suspension with double wishbones in the rear, and the result is less body roll and more composure in corners. As for the ride quality, it's creamier than ever. On the road, the Highlander's got all the moves.
AutoTrader Says
With all of these improvements, is the 2014 Toyota Highlander the best midsize crossover that you can buy? Stop by your Toyota dealer and tell us what you think.


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LOCK TABLES and
TABLES interact with the use of transactions as
LOCK TABLESis not transaction-safe and implicitly commits any active transaction before attempting to lock the tables.
UNLOCK TABLESimplicitly commits any active transaction, but only if
LOCK TABLEShas been used to acquire table locks. For example, in the following set of statements,
UNLOCK TABLESreleases the global read lock but does not commit the transaction because no table locks are in effect:
Beginning a transaction (for example, with
START TRANSACTION) implicitly commits any current transaction and releases existing table locks.
FLUSH TABLES WITH READ LOCKacquires a global read lock and not table locks, so it is not subject to the same behavior as
LOCK TABLESand
UNLOCK TABLESwith respect to table locking and implicit commits. For example,
START TRANSACTIONdoes not release the global read lock. See Section 184.108.40.206, "FLUSH Syntax".
Other statements that implicitly cause transactions to be committed do not release existing table locks. For a list of such statements, see Section 13.3.3, "Statements That Cause an Implicit Commit".
The correct way to use
LOCK TABLESand
UNLOCK TABLESwith transactional tables, such as
InnoDBtables, is to begin a transaction with
SET autocommit = 0(not
START TRANSACTION) followed by
LOCK TABLES, and to not call
UNLOCK TABLESuntil you commit the transaction explicitly. For example, if you need to write to table
t1and read from table
t2, you can do this:
SET autocommit=0; LOCK TABLES t1 WRITE, t2 READ, ...; ... do something with tables t1 and t2 here ... COMMIT; UNLOCK TABLES;
When you call
InnoDBinternally takes its own table lock, and MySQL takes its own table lock.
InnoDBreleases its internal table lock at the next commit, but for MySQL to release its table lock, you have to call
UNLOCK TABLES. You should not have
autocommit = 1, because then
InnoDBreleases its internal table lock immediately after the call of
LOCK TABLES, and deadlocks can very easily happen.
InnoDBdoes not acquire the internal table lock at all if
autocommit = 1, to help old applications avoid unnecessary deadlocks.
ROLLBACKdoes not release table locks.
SET autocommit=0;
LOCK TABLES foo WRITE;
INSERT INTO foo (foo_name) VALUES ('John');
LOCK TABLES bar WRITE; -- Implicit commit
ROLLBACK; -- No effect: data already committed
In many cases, LOCK TABLES can be replaced by SELECT ... FOR UPDATE which is fully transaction aware and doesn't need any special syntax:
SELECT COUNT(*) FROM foo FOR UPDATE; -- Lock issued
INSERT INTO foo (foo_name) VALUES ('John');
SELECT COUNT(*) FROM bar FOR UPDATE; -- Lock issued, no side effects
ROLLBACK; -- Rollback works as expected
See "126.96.36.199 SELECT ... FOR UPDATE and SELECT ... LOCK IN SHARE MODE Locking Reads" for the details—please note that "SELECT COUNT(*)" was just a (meaningless) example.


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To use a refractomter for the FG you would need to also use a calculation to estimate the true FG because a refractomter doesn't account for alcohol properly.
Back to OP, I read that if you heat your mead to 170+ it should denature the Sorbate. The problem is it becomes a sulfur compound and that may stick in your mead.... Id start working on a batch to ferment dry to mix.


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Say It With Cool, Funny, Witty, Sarcastic, Humor, Funky, Vintage, Crazy Quotes And Slogan Tshirts
Wearing tshirts can be a lot of fun. Tshirts are cool and casual as a fashion statement. Tshirts can reflect the mood and personality of a person. Tshirts can have artistic, graphic, illustrative, cartoonistic design or based on cool, funny text based quotes, slogan or messages. Tshirts are a cool fashion statement to let out your expressions. Tshirts help you out to speak your attitude through them. Tshirts can often be help to make a great satirical and sarcastic statement on friends, colleagues, boss, profession, relationships etc. Design Tshirts are a very good way to reflect messages on current social issues.
These tshirts can further be categorized into cool and funny crazy tshirts, wacky tshirts, witty tshirts, cool and funny sarcastic tshirts, humor tshirts, cool and funny wicked tshirts, naughty tshirts, funky tshirts, vintage tshirts, custom tshirts, humour tshirts, cool and funny graphic tshirts, logo tshirts, coolfunnyquotes tshirts, inspirational tshirts, motivational tshirts, cool and funny oneliner based tshirts, quotation based tshirts, quote tshirts, slogan tshirt, design tshirts, printed tshirts, hindi tshirts, cool and funny bengali tshirts, bangla tshirts, kolkata tshirts, delhi tshirts, regional tshirts, cool and funny language tshirts, india tshirts, country tshirts, independence day tshirts, republic day tshirts, mother's day tshirts, cool and funny recession tshirts, cool and funny cricket tshirts, cool and funny bollywood tshirts, movie tshirts, cool and funny filmy tshirts, hollywood tshirts, romantic tshirts, romance tshirts, valentine's day tshirts, college tshirts, school tshirts, office tshirts, boss tshirts, friends tshirts, geek tshirts, cool and funny gift tshirts, kid's tshirts, boyfriend gift tshirts, girlfriend gift tshirts, friends gift tshirts, best friend tshirts, mother gift tshirts, father tshirts, son gift tshirts, daughter gift tshirts, sister gift tshirts, brother gift tshirts, boss gift tshirts, colleague gift tshirts, bride tshirts, groom tshirts, wedding tshirts, couple tshirts, single tshirts, bachelor tshirts, just married tshirts, expressive tshirts, message tshirts, male tshirts, cool and funny profession tshirts, attitude tshirts and more.
You can visit www.coolfunnytshirts.net for this vast category of collection.
– coolfunnytshirts.net
Get cool and funny! – Go for Cool, Funny, Witty, Crazy Quotes and Slogan Tshirts. Unleash your expressions and attitude through your tshirts. Buy cheap cool funny tshirts online at www.coolfunnytshirts.net


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A Good Hard Look by Ann Napolitano is the exquisitely written, emotionally taut, and compelling story of four people doing their best to navigate their lives in a small Southern town. That one of these people is a fascinating and fictionalized version of Flannery O'Connor only adds to the complicated tapestry Napolitano weaves here, braiding the sins humans can commit out of boredom with the pain of a physical disease and the events of a tragic afternoon.
Napolitano's gift is getting inside the heart of her characters, so that readers are rooting for every one of them, so that it's possible – even when they have done terrible, selfish things – to forgive them their frailty. Her believable, research-based portrait of Flannery, channeled through the menagerie of peacocks that roam the O'Connor estate, screaming in the night and eating each flower as it blooms, heightens the sense that there is redemption to be found, to be sure, but only after we realize we all a little flawed, and a little doomed.
(If, like me, this book sends you on a mad quest for nonfiction about FC, I urge you to consider Flannery: A Life of Flannery O'Connor by Brad Gooch.)


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Anyone have any input for foostraps/pads that would best suit old school style of riding? I have 2011 nobile pads, I find they lock my feet in too well. I have quite flat feet so would suit a footpad that doesn't have a huge arch support in it so i could slide my feet in and out easier.
Liquid force comp pads 2011?
Crazyfly pro pads?
Any others


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Apr. 26, 2013 1:32pm Liz Klimas
A Florida woman could face up to five years in prison for animal cruelty charges. She contends though that the charges are unfair as she simply didn't have enough money to take her ailing dog to the doctor for veterinary care.
According to WTVT-TV, Tammy Brown was living on a fixed income of $508 a month, which goes toward a mortgage, utilities, food and medicine.
Her dog Harley at 14 years old was taken away by animal services and put down in 2011 for what the vet told the jury in her trial was long-term neglect, which included a large growth on his neck. She says she tried treating the growth with skin ointments.
But not taking care of Harley's health is never what she intended, her attorney said, noting that she barely had enough to pay for her own expenses, WTVT reported.
"Should all of Pasco County go down as . . . animal cruelty just because they can't afford to take their dog to a vet?" Brown asked from jail. "I don't think that's fair.
WTVT reported Brown will receive her sentence Friday.
Tammy Brown, Harley's Owner, was living on a fixed income of $508 a month, which goes toward a mortgage, utilities, food and medicine. She has already spent 36 days in prison and faces 5 more years.
The woman from Moon Lake spent 36 days in jail already and told WTVT in tears that while being there to think about Harley, she regrets not calling someone about helping the dog.
Read More and Watch the report at The Blaze:
(H/T: Blaze reader Susan H.)


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2015 Events
2014 Events
2013 Events
2012 Events
2011 Events
2010 Events
2009 Events
Monday, December 5, 2011Abba M. Krieger, Ph.D.Professor of Statistics and Operations Research, University of PennsylvaniaUnderstanding Autism Through the Lens of the Simons Foundation Data: Empirical Findings and Statistical Complexities
Tuesday, November 22, 2011Simon Kelly, Ph.D.Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, The City College of New YorkDecision Making in Continuous Monitoring Contexts
Friday, October 14, 2011Clare Kelly, Ph.D.Leon Levy Research Assistant Professor, Child and Adolescent PsychiatryDepartment of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU School of MedicineAssistant Director, Phyllis Green and Randolph Cowen Institute for Pediatric Neuroscience, NYU Child Study CenterDevelopment of the Brain's Intrinsic Functional Architecture
Monday, August 15, 2011Scott Makeig, Ph.D.Research Scientist and Director, Swartz Center for Computational Neuroscience, Institute for Neural Computation and Adj. Prof. of Neurosciences, University of CaliforniaTowards EEG-Based Functional Brain Imaging of Active Cognition
Tuesday, July 26, 2011Steven Yantis, Ph.D.Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins UniversityMechanisms of Attentional Control: Voluntary Shifts of Attention and Value-Driven Attentional Capture
Monday, July 11, 2011Adele Diederich, Ph.D.Professor of Pyschology, Jacobs University BremenHans Colonius, Ph.D.Professor of Pyschology, University of OldenburgThe Optimal Time Window of Audiovisual Integration in Saccadic Reaction Times
Wednesday, July 6, 2011ICare4Autism International Autism Conference"Autism: A Global Perspective: What Does Medical and Education Research Tell Us? Finding the Causes and Treatments for ASD"
Thursday, June 16, 2011James McPartland, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Yale Autism ProgramAssociate Director, Developmental Electrophysiology LaboratoryDevelopmental Models of Social Brain Function in Autism
Wednesday, June 15, 2011Pierre Mégevand, M.D., Ph.D.Service of Neurology, Department of Clinical Neuroscience and DermatologyGeneva University Hospital and School of Medicine, Geneva, SwitzerlandMapping the Function, Plasticity and Development of Sensorimotor Networks in Rodents Using High-Density EEG
Friday, June 10, 2011Kâmil Uludağ, Ph.D.Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Maastricht UniversityUnderstanding the physiological and physical basis of fMRI
Monday, May 16, 2011Claire D. Coles, Ph.D., Director, Maternal Substance Abuse and Child Development Laboratory, Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, GeorgiaJulie B. Herbstman, Ph.D., Sc.M., Director, World Trade Center Pregnancy Study, Assistant Professor, Environmental Health Sciences, Columbia University, New YorkFrancine H. Einstein, M.D., Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Women's Health, Department of Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New YorkAntonio Convit, M.D., Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Department of Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New YorkRobert C. Kaplan, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New YorkCarmen R. Isasi, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New YorkRFK-IDDRC Workshop SeriesThe Exposome and the Developing Brain
Friday, April 8, 2011Dara S. Manoach, Ph.D.Associate Professor of Psychology, Dept. of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School;Psychiatric Neuroimaging, Massachusetts General HospitalMultimodal Neuroimaging of Errors in Health and Neuropsychiatric Disorders
Tuesday, February 8, 2011Steven A. Hillyard, Ph.D.Professor of Neurosciences, Director, ERP Lab, University of California, San DiegoUsing Steady-State Visual Evoked Potentials to Study Allocations of Attention


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Stock-picking skills should come to the fore as macroeconomic and investment-style factors loosen their grip on markets, says Geir Lode, head of Hermes Quantitative Equities.
Macro to micro: In mid-2012, macro and style factors accounted for 53% of the differences among global stock returns within sectors. At the end of February, they represented less than 27% as the importance of stock selection increased to a level not seen since before the financial crisis.
Proportion of cross-sectional volatility explained by style effects (%)
Source: FactSet 28/02/13
Going passive: Macro events and style factors, such as quality and growth, have dominated the dispersion among stock returns since late 2011. Markets shifted on policymakers' moves to combat debt problems and stoke economic growth in the US and Europe. This drove many investors to focus on asset allocation and thematic or index-tracking strategies.
Now active: Narrow differences among the returns of equities within the same sector – in many cases, irrespective of their intrinsic value – made this a difficult time for stock-pickers. Now, the market holds more opportunities for active managers to outperform through stock selection as the influence of macro and style factors diminishes.
Time will tell: At the end of February, stock-specific volatility outweighed style factors in all equity sectors. However it's too early to determine if this will continue. More stock-picking opportunities will emerge if macro and style factors subside further.
Investor optimism at three-year high
Seeking rigour in stock-market horoscopes
Press contacts
Jeannie Dumas
Head of Corporate Communications & Shareholder Relations email@example.com +44 (0)20 7680 2152 +44 (0)7841 324061
Melanie Bradley
Head of Investment & Stewardship Communications firstname.lastname@example.com +44 (0)20 7680 2218 + 44 (0)7767 162 317
Rachael Dowers
Assistant Manager, Corporate Communications email@example.com + 44 (0)20 7680 4698


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8:00 pm
Dialogue "Coming to My Senses" Idaho native Alyssa Harad tells how she became obsessed with perfume and its powers and wrote her book Coming to My Senses. Now a resident of Texas, she and host Marcia Franklin discuss what she learned and experienced while learning and experimenting with perfume.G
8:30 pm
Reggie Perrin The success of the new product range leaves Reggie with a difficult decision, which could result in layoffs for some of his colleagues. Meanwhile, his efforts to reconcile with Nicola lead to a shocking discovery that threatens to change everythingG
9:00 pm
Tonic Sol-Fa Christmas The a cappella group, which specializes in pop arrangements, celebrates the holidays at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The spirited program highlights the foursome's trademark humor and skilled musicianship as they perform a mix of traditional, secular and original holiday songs. The music is intertwined with interviews with group members.G
10:00 pm
Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Featuring Jane Seymour and Nathan Gunn Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress Jane Seymour and Grammy Award-winning baritone Nathan Gunn join the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra in the Conference Center at Temple Square in Salt Lake City for a Christmas special featuring some of the season's best-loved songs. The performance features the Bells on Temple Square, a stage decorated as a medieval castle, dancers in regal costumes, fanfare trumpets and falling snow.G
11:00 pm
Charlie Rose NULL


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Welcome to Fall 2018!
The CPDC is OPEN Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Welcome to the Career & Professional Development Center!
The Career and Professional Development Center (CPDC) is Carnegie Mellon University's centralized career services center providing a comprehensive range of services, programs and materials focusing on career exploration and decision making, professional development, experiential learning and employment assistance to meet today's evolving workplace and student goals of finding satisfying work!
Featured Student Resources:
Drop-in Hours When Classes Are In Session: Monday thru Friday, 11:30-1:30 (West Wing, 2nd Floor)


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Style # 237919
Hi-lo peplum tops are unforgiving this season! Our sexy U-neck cut tops feature an added flare that's high-waist and styles like a tank. You'll love the fit and the liquid luxe sleeves.
- 88% Nylon, 12 % spandex
- Hand wash
- Made in USA
- Center back to hem: 13" (33 cm)
- Model is 5'10" and wears a US size S


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Mississippi became the 21st state to establish and maintain a Corn Promotion Board (CPB). Gov. Hayley Barbour has signed into law the legislation enabling a 1 cent-per-bushel checkoff fund and appointed a 12-member board to oversee research and promotion efforts.
The new organization will complement the existing Mississippi Corn Growers Association (MCGA) in serving the needs of the state's corn producers.
"We will meet with specialists from Mississippi State University to help set our agenda for the upcoming year," said Doug Mitchell, board member from Corinth, Miss. "At this point, we expect to be active in funding research projects."
"By funding research and marketing programs through a checkoff program, Mississippi corn growers are actively participating in their future," noted National Corn Growers Association President Ken McCauley.
"The challenge of managing each corn producer's checkoff investment to capture the greatest value, to nurture established markets and invest in new possibilities and potential is a difficult job. But the years have proven that the investment will pay dividends."
Revenue from the checkoff could bring in approximately $400,000 in a typical year, Mitchell estimated.
The board met for the first time Nov. 28 and elected Daniel Murphy of Canton, Miss., as chairman, Rob Coker of Yazoo City, Miss., as vice chairman, and Webb Bozeman of Jackson, Miss., as treasurer-secretary. Erick Larsen of Mississippi State University, who serves as MCGA secretary/treasurer, will also staff the CPB.


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35020 Storage Unit, Storage Facility Near Bessemer, AL 35020
Renting cheap storage near 35020 in Bessemer, AL is easy at OnlineSelfStorageDirectory.com. With up to 19 storage facilities near 35020 for you to choose from, we are confident you will find the perfect size and price that you need. The average price for a storage unit near 35020 is $1.06 per sq ft. That is 6.09% higher than the national average of $1 per sq ft. Storage prices in 35020 are higher than the national average due to some conditions including land is more expensive near Bessemer, AL which has a higher cost of living, or less competitive prices in zip code 35020.
Show above are listings 1-19 including fields for facility name, address, distance, reviews, unit info, unit price, and amenities. With these storage companies near 35020 in Bessemer, AL available to rent, renting storage is a few mouse clicks or a phone call away. We have included below several listings which may interest you by category below:
Closest Storage Company Near 35020 in Bessemer, AL
Metro Mini Storage - Bessemer, Bessemer, AL (1.13 Miles Away) is renting a 10' x 10' Unit for $98.00 a month. Amenities include 24 Hour Access, Outdoor Access, Roll Up Door. Current Promotion: The second full month free with one month pre-payment and waived deposit when you reserve online.
Cheapest Storage Price in Bessemer, AL 35020
iStorage Inverness, Birmingham, AL is renting a 5' x 10' Unit for $42.00 a month. Amenities include 2nd Floor, Climate Controlled, Interior. Current Promotion: Refer A Friend.
Most Expensive Storage Price in 35020
Metro Mini Storage - Hueytown, Hueytown, AL is renting a 15' x 50' Unit for $298.00 a month. Amenities include 24 Hour Access, Available for Indoor Vehicle Storage, Drive Up Access, Premium Location, Roll Up Door.
Smallest Storage Unit Available in 35020 Near Bessemer, AL
3rd Ave South Storage, Birmingham, AL is renting a 5' x 9' Unit for $90.00 a month. Amenities include Climate Controlled, Interior, Roll Up Door.
Best Reviewed Storage Location in Bessemer, AL 35020
Metro Mini Storage - Downtown Birmingham, Birmingham, AL with 15 reviews and a rating of 5 out of 5 stars is renting a 5' x 10' Unit for $69.00 a month. Amenities include 2nd Floor, 9' Ceiling, ADA Accessible, Air Cooled, Heated, Humidity Controlled, Interior, Light in Unit, Premium Location, Roll Up Door. Current Promotion: The first full month free with one month pre-payment.
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Whether you need a self storage unit near 35020 or a climate controlled unit near 35020 or a vehicle storage unit near 35020, OnlineSelfStorageDirectory.com has them listed all on our site. Rend directly online with us or call 1-877-691-2497 for all your storage needs.
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Bessemer, AL Storage Units
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Samuel Henry "Errie" Ball, one of the most popular PGA teaching professionals in Illinois PGA Section history, also is the last surviving member of the 72-member inaugural Masters field of 1934. He received his invitation to the major from the legendary Bobby Jones, whom he had met at the 1930 Open Championship at Hoylake. Jones would ultimately write a letter of recommendation that resulted in Ball gaining his first club professional position.
Born in Bangor, Wales, to a renowned golf family, Ball first played golf at age 10, turned professional at age 17 and is the second oldest living and second longest serving PGA Professional. He was elected to PGA membership in June 1931.
To return to our complete coverage of the 2011 PGA Golf Professional Hall of Fame induction ceremony, click here.
Ball was inspired and coached by his father, William Henry Ball, a golf professional at Lancaster Golf Club for 50 years. Errie's great granduncle, John Ball, was the first amateur to win the Open Championship (1890) along with eight British Amateur Championships and the British National Open. Errie was urged by his uncle, Frank Ball, then the PGA head professional at East Lake Country Club in Atlanta, to begin a golf career in America.
Ball later assisted George Sargent, who became PGA of America president, and in 1933 received Jones' letter that led him to his first head professional post at Mobile (Ala.) Country Club. On the course, Ball won the 1931 Southeastern PGA Championship and the 1932 Atlanta Open. He served as PGA head professional from 1937-42 at Farmington Country Club in Charlottesville, Va., before he was drafted by the U.S. Navy.
Following the war, Ball became head professional at Oak Park (Ill.) Country Club, and would serve 24 years, while spending 20 winters teaching at Tucson (Ariz.) Country Club. He spent one winter (1962) as director of golf at John's Island in Vero Beach, Fla. In 1972, Ball became the first PGA head professional and later PGA director of golf at Butler National Golf Club in Oak Brook, Ill. He would make a return to the Masters 23 years later in 1957, the longest span between competitions for any Masters competitor.
Ball qualified for 20 U.S. Open Championships; competed in 12 PGA Championships and won PGA Section titles in the former Southeastern Section, Arizona and Illinois. He won three Illinois PGA Championships, the Illinois Open, and Illinois PGA Senior Open and Match Play Championship. Ball was inducted into the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame in 1990, a year after being named PGA Professional emeritus at Willoughby Golf Club in Stuart, Fla., where he continues to give lessons today.
On Nov. 14, 2010, Ball celebrated his 100th birthday, honored by 17 PGA Professionals, the majority of whom served under him during his career. Ball and his wife, the former Maxwell "Maxie" Wright of Richmond, Va., live in Stuart, Fla. They have a daughter, Leslie, and two grandchildren, and celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary on Sept. 26.


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is there any particular reason for having only one turntable at reggae sound systems?
just curious
Moderator: B&F Moderator
arty wrote:how do people want the music presented though rez - mixed together, or do they want to hear the intro? usually a couple of times.
so what do you actually need the second deck for?
tim.p wrote:This stuff will become increasingly redundant as people play more and more on CD I guess. How about 1 Ipod??
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The stadium was transformed into a colossal obstacle course for the world-famous Spartan Race, a challenging competition featuring a high jump, spear toss, and a stadium stair run with a 30-pound sandbags.
The top finisher on the men's side was 22-year-old Jonathan Roche of New Brunswick, New Jersey, while the top female finisher was 27-year-old Jacklyn Mannion of Merrick.
"Although the race was challenging, it was a lot of fun." said Jay Quinn, a personal trainer at Force Fitness Club in Ridgewood. "Whether you are an individual who is serious about fitness training, or just want to exercise while having fun with friends or coworkers, the Spartan Race is the event for you."
Competitions like the Spartan Race have grown in popularity over the past two years. In 2012, more than 1.5 million people competed in events such as the Spartan Race, including the Tough Mudder and Warrior Dash.
The competition at Citi Field is just one of more than 60 Spartan Races scheduled for this year. The event was created by 43-year-old Joe De Sena.
"The competition helps build obstacle immunity," De Sena told bloomberg.com. "We put you up against a wall, literally, and you and your friends see how you react against those obstacles. You then start to react differently to the stupid little obstacles in life, like coffee being too cold, the car not starting, minor things where you used to get frustrated."
De Sena hopes that a competition like the Spartan Race will be considered for the Olympics one day.
"If they have ping pong and curling in the Olympics, they should have Spartan racing."


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|Manufacturer: Grace #GMC-RBR-30
|This items comes with 4 hanging chain, ceiling mounting hardware and matching pot hooks. These pot racks have heavy weight support straps and use high grade steel everywhere. The dimensions are 30 Inchx15 Inch. For extra lengths of chain, please contact customer service.
When can I expect my order to arrive?
Items are shipped via FedEx Ground or UPS Ground and part on a truck, depending on the item, within 2 weeks.
Product ships from Rome, GA 30161.
This product carries a one year limited warranty from the manufacturer against defects in material and craftsmanship, subject to normal use.
Please contact our Customer Service department at 1-800-530-TAIL(8245) for assistance with warranty questions or claims.


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Gragg Advertising Announces Groundbreaking Marketing Software
Jan 30, 2013, 11:00 ET
KANSAS CITY, Mo., Jan. 30, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Gragg Advertising, a full-service, strategic advertising agency in Kansas City, has just announced the roll out of their new self-service inquiry aggregation platform, Alpine SaaS. Alpine SaaS allows clients to implement lead generation campaigns through a fully customizable and dynamic tracking and reporting tool.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101229/CG22665LOGO)
"Alpine SaaS is something we have been working on for quite some time and I am very excited that we are finally unveiling this service to clients. It's a sophisticated reporting, management and aggregation tool that will allow companies with marketing teams already in place, but no aggregation technology, to manage their campaigns independently through our software," Michael Schuler, Chief Information Officer of Gragg Advertising, said.
Gragg Advertising's software allows them to make changes to marketing plans on a day-to-day basis. The software manages lead flow for companies while automatically invalidating based on parameters set by the client. In addition, companies can set budget caps, manage complex filtering options, and fully manage both offline and online media campaigns.
"Something Gragg does extremely well is manage our clients' campaigns and think strategically on how to grow them. However, we have found some larger companies may already have an internal marketing team in place. With Alpine SaaS these companies are able to fully implement, track, and customize lead generation initiatives in house, while utilizing the same software that we use when managing our lead generation programs," Darryl Mattox, President of Gragg Advertising, said.
Over the past 20 years, Gragg Advertising has established itself as a forerunner in lead aggregation. This new technology strengthens Gragg Advertising's position as an innovative company within the industry. Gragg Advertising will be launching its first new client on Alpine SaaS February 1st.
About Gragg Advertising
Gragg Advertising is a full-service, strategic advertising agency focusing on data-driven results and direct-response marketing. Gragg Advertising was established in 1992 by Greg Gragg and now employs over 70 people. Working with clients around the globe, Gragg Advertising focuses on providing a quantifiable return on investment for the marketing dollars of their clients. The agency combines traditional branding strategy with proven direct response marketing tactics in order to create advertising that is both memorable and measurable. Learn more at www.graggadv.com.
Brian Van Note
Public Relations Specialist
816.994.1300 ext 308
450 E 4th Street, Suite 100
Kansas City, MO 64106
SOURCE Gragg Advertising


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Holy Rig Veda is a sacred text of Hinduism.
This is the english translation in Mobipocket Reader PRC format.
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The Rig Veda (Sanskrit 'praise' + 'knowledge') is the earliest of the four Hindu religious scriptures known as the Vedas. It consists of 1,017 hymns (1,028 including the apocryphal valakhilya hymns 8.49-8.59) composed in Vedic Sanskrit, many of which are intended for various sacrifical rituals). These are contained in 10 books, known as Mandalas. This long collection of short hymns is mostly devoted to the praise of the gods. However, it also contains fragmentary references to historical events, notably the struggle between the early Vedic peoples (known as Aryans) and their enemies, the Dasa.
The chief gods of the Rig-Veda are Agni, the sacrificial fire, Indra, a heroic god that is praised for having slain his enemy Vrtra, and Soma, the sacred potion, or the plant it is made from. Other prominent gods are Mitra, Varuna and Ushas (the dawn).
Also invoked are Savitar, Vishnu, Rudra, Pushan, Brhaspati, Brahmanaspati, Dyaus Pita (the sky), Prithivi (the earth), Surya (the sun), Savitar, Vayu (the wind), the Maruts, the Asvins, the Adityas, the Rbhus, the Vishvadevas (the all-gods) as well as various further minor gods, persons, concepts, phenomena and items.
Some of the names of gods and goddesses found in the Rig-Veda are found amongst other Indo-European peoples as well: Dyaus is cognate with Greek Zeus, Latin Jupiter, and Germanic Tyr, while Mitra is cognate with Persian Mithra (who became Roman Mithras) and Ushas with Greek Eos, Latin Aurora. Finally, Agni is cognate with Latin ignis, "fire".
Intro taken from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rigveda
Holy Rig Veda is a sacred text of Hinduism.


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University of Vermont
2012-2013 Catalogue
Accountancy (Master of Accountancy)
The Master of Accountancy provides a means of entry into the public accounting profession. The degree requires at least thirty credits beyond a bachelor's degree and completion of any of the prerequisite courses, if not completed as an undergraduate. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) requires 150 academic credits for membership in the organization and most states require 150 credits for licensure as a CPA. Each state sets its own specific requirements for completing the CPA examination and the State Board should be contacted for the specific courses required by the state in which you plan to work. More information on the MAcc program can be found online at MAcc website.
- Colleges and Schools: Graduate College. School of Business Administration.


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Press Release
Survey: What IT Teams Want Their CIOs to Know About Enterprise Big Data
IT Staff to CIOs: Siloed Data Tops Challenges; Hadoop Isn't Enough; Focus on the Application.
AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Big Data cloud services provider Infochimps (Infochimps.com) today unveiled the results of a survey, which identifies the top items that IT team members would like their CIOs to understand concerning their Big Data projects. The report — CIOs & Big Data: What Your IT Team Wants You to Know — is based on Infochimps' query of more than 300 IT department employees, 58% of whom are currently engaged in Big Data projects, and aims to identify pitfalls that implementation teams encounter, and could avoid, if top management had a more complete view.
"It isn't surprising to find that 55% of Big Data projects aren't completed and many more fail to achieve their objectives — often those charged with implementation are the last consulted," said Jim Kaskade, CEO, Infochimps. "We created this report as a resource to give CIOs insight into the too-often overlooked views of those charged with the heavy lifting."
The survey indicates that 81% of companies include Big Data/advanced analytics projects among their top five IT priorities for 2013. According to Infochimps, CIOs who want their projects to succeed should consider the following perspectives from IT staff.
The Top Challenge: A Culture of Siloed Data
Respondents said that the most significant challenge they face when working with Big Data is accessing the data siloed in various business applications across the organization (76%). In addition, inaccurate scope was listed as a top reason why IT projects in general fail (58%).
"Companies need to start with the business problem first to properly scope their projects," said Kaskade. "Too many organizations are building Big Data platforms intended to meet the entire organization's needs. Unless they understand specific use-cases first, many will find such an approach falls short."
Respondents also identified other top challenges related to their Big Data projects:
- Staff education and understanding the platforms
- Lack of data context and inability to connect the dots (indicating a data analysis talent gap)
- Processing, analyzing and on-going management of the data
IT Staffers Want to Focus on the Application Layer
Respondents were much more interested in focusing on the application layer than on infrastructure. "Departments will find the greatest return on investment when their time is invested honing the front-end for business agility and value, and not spent managing the back-end," said Kaskade. "New Big Data technologies also represent a huge opportunity for IT professionals to grow their talents and resumes — departments that ignore this perspective risk high attrition in the future."
Critical Requirements for Big Data
Respondents ranked as the top five most critical requirements for Big Data platforms:
- Ability to scale
- Ease of management
- Flexible architecture
- Speed to deployment
- Security
The report also showed that, when it comes to Big Data success, Hadoop is not enough — respondents rank real-time/near-real-time analysis and batch analysis as nearly equal in decision-making importance.
"The dirty little secret is that Hadoop is only a part of the answer," said Kaskade. "Almost every business problem requires historic data batch analytics, ad-hoc, and real-time analytics, integrated and made easy to consume by application developers. Hadoop can't do all that."
The "One Thing" Respondents Wanted CIOs to Know: Big Data Takes Commitment
When asked what single thing they wanted their CIO to know, participants offered valuable insight on subjects ranging from combining batch and real-time analysis, to overall vision. However, the theme of time remained at the forefront, indicating a desire to remind CIOs of the level of commitment required by Big Data projects:
"It takes time to interact with data"… "the time it takes to normalize data so that it can be analyzed properly"… "it has inertia, and structural changes don't happen quickly"… "time to put in place"… "time to develop"… "time and effort required"… "this will take more time not more people"… "nothing is fast"
Infochimps reduces the risk, time-to-value and complexity of enterprise Big Data projects, allowing companies to focus on answering their most important questions without having to worry about the underlying technology, or make a significant investment of time, capital or resources. Infochimps swiftly ties together data from Hadoop, NoSQL database, and real-time stream processing analytics, and seamlessly integrates it with the enterprises' existing environment.
To download the full report, please visit http://bigdata.infochimps.com/report-cios-big-data.


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Mass Production Meets Custom Manufacturing at Mars
Its a blend of new and déjà vu in Mars Hackettstown, N.J., plant, where the 21st century technology of My M&MS meets the 24-hour production of an American icon.
Mars Snackfood's manufacturing technology has been as low-key and private as its parent firm, one of the most guarded firms in the food industry. But there has been a 97-year history of innovation and technology adoption that has made Mars the leading chocolate company in the world.
Mars Inc. has not wavered from its belief in the competitive edge that superior manufacturing and technological know-how provide. The company has developed product, program and processing innovations and assiduously attended to mastering efficiency throughout the organization. Its chocolate formulations remain proprietary and, despite industry pressures to outsource, it continues to make its own chocolate and chocolate liquor.
But times have changed, and so has Mars.
We visited the M&M'S production facility in Hackettstown, N.J., where manufacturing follows the divergent paths of old and new. On the one hand is the continued commitment to the dedicated mass-production lines that have served Mars and its powerhouse stable of brands for decades. On the other is a newfound excitement about extremely short-run, rapid-changeover production of personalized, made-to-order "special occasion" products.
Each has important purpose. First, high-volume output from lines and equipment dedicated to globally popular M&M'S products are one of the pillars of the company's success. Second, the M&M'S portfolio offers the kind of universally appreciated products that invite personalization, customer loyalty and the handsome profit margins that customization promises.
Agile to the max
In 2004, Mars North America created "Mars Direct," a division of the Mars Snackfood U.S. division, with an exciting but daunting mission: to launch special order products with custom-printed names, phrases or identifiers on product or wrapper for weddings, showers, graduation parties, birthdays and fund-raising activities.
Within 90 days, a hand-picked, cross-functional team produced the first personalized "My Message" M&M'S order.
Sales have been hot, but those closest to the action say: "You ain't seen nothin' yet!"
"We have five to six years of innovation that will be finding its way to the market," Ralph Jerome, vice president of research and development, says of the technology developed for My M&M'S. "[Personalization] takes the brand from something physical to something aspirational – something with a message. That's high on the hierarchy of consumer benefits … nearing the Grail!"
What it has taken technologically to reach this degree of truly "personal" product delivery also nears what engineers and manufacturing gurus have regarded as their "Holy Grail" – agile manufacturing refined and leveraged to the max for rapid and highly profitable short-run product delivery.
"There's a lot of technology – a whole manufacturing process – behind this," says Jerome. "The enabler is high-speed printing capability with all food-grade materials. A lot of that technology is in the formulation of inks. We have a program printer for four different messages."
Jim Cass, general manager of My M&M'S, credits three specific systems with the line's success to date: ink-jet printing technology ("Without our ability to print with food-grade inks, we wouldn't have a business!"); order-management technology ("to get orders through our firewalls and networks, reviewing every message personally for appropriateness and accuracy … within hours"); and inbound product delivery that provides the critical ingredient – fresh M&M'S product, within 24 hours.
But an outside technology -- the Internet – may be the biggest difference maker, according to John Dodge, site manager at the Hackettstown M&M'S plant. "It's not just the technology in the plant but the route to the consumer that makes (My M&M'S) work," he says. "Ordering on-line is the 'enabling' technology of the past 10 years."
By the end of 2006, My M&M'S had registered more than 325,000 orders, all at a premium price. Mars Direct has since added "My Dove" products, carrying the concept to its premium Dove chocolate line with personalized messages printed on the inner face of the chocolate's foil wrapper.
Winds of change
Mars always is working to help its manufacturing teams better meet global demands and the growing intensity of 21st century competition.
"We've introduced lean manufacturing practices for fast changeover and waste reduction, plus work cell and team concepts, too," says Dodge. "We want to create an environment where teams from operations and maintenance take full responsibility. We're trying to move from the 'big factory' model to a situation where the people who operate the plant own small parts of it."
In many ways, the seeds were planted long ago. "Our associates have always had a voice, always been involved in decision making," insists Cass. Furthermore, Mars has cross-trained its managers for decades, bringing along players earmarked for management through a succession of promotions from R&D posts and shift management to plant management and high-level operations and engineering posts. The mix of product understanding, manufacturing experience and technical understanding pave the way to top management positions.
"A position in plant management ranks high in the Mars organization," says Harald Emberger, vice president-supply chain. "These managers will be our future supply-chain leaders or leaders in other parts of the business."
The practice of global transfer also has broadened that general base of experience and has the added benefit of cross-fertilizing operations with global best practices.
A team sport
The company is trying to leverage the experience and harmony of existing work units to develop its largely home-grown work team concepts.
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Chair, Fortune Most Powerful Women International, Co-Chair, Fortune Global Forum; Principal, SellersEaston Media and Fox News Analyst
Bio Info
Today more than ever, business leaders need to communicate a vision that unites and motivates. Author, TV commentator, and Fortune conference chair Nina Easton has decades of experience interviewing CEOs, global leaders, and politicians–producing compelling and authentic narratives on stage. In her speeches exploring the intersection of Washington politics and the global economy, she draws on decades of award-winning coverage of national elections, political movements, presidential administrations, and financial crises.
A High-Ranking Congressional Leader, Award-Winning Harvard Professor, An Architect-And Later A Critic-Of Modern American Conservatism, Newspaper Columnist, Author, NPR Commentator And Advisor To Presidents
Types: Author, Male, TED, University Professor
Bio Info
It is hard to imagine any area of modern political life in which Mickey Edwards has not been a central player and a pot-stirring innovator who consistently challenges the common wisdoms with his insistence on looking at things from a different angle.
Topics: Africa, American Politics, Asia, Change: Managing/Leading It, China, Courage, Current Events, Education, Election Forecast/Analysis, Ethics, Europe, Foreign Policy - U.S., Government Regulation, Human Rights, Latin America, Leadership, Middle East, Motivation, Overcoming Obstacles and Challenges, Patriotism
CEO and Chief Economist, Arabia Monitor
Types: Economist, Female, University Professor
Bio Info
Former Head of Middle East and North Africa research at JP Morgan and Professor in Finance, American University of Beirut


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When a sexy girl's ass is of the perfect balance of muscle and fat. On each step the cheeks move in a sway and jiggle catching every man's eye. The most important attribute is the jiggle. Each step releases a jiggle in the cheek not moving forward.
That girl's woogahda made gay guys go straight.
Jennifer Lopez has a woogahda.
Jennifer Lopez has a woogahda.
by Troy Tadlock October 12, 2011


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Wolves Rally From Huge Deficit To Top Philly
The Minnesota Timberwolves rallied back from a 19-point deficit to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers 106-99 at Target Center on Wednesday night. The Wolves trailed 61-48 entering halftime.
Kevin Love contributed his usual double-double with 26 points, 15 rebounds and five assists for Minnesota, while Ricky Rubio added 21 points and seven assists. Spencer Hawes lead the Sixers with 21 points.
The Timberwolves are now 11-11 on the season, good for tenth place in the Western Conference, and play at San Antonio on Friday night.


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13 people killed in fire at hotel in China
BEIJING – A fire at an Internet cafe spread to a hotel on the upper floors of a building in central China, killing 13 people and injuring 50 others.
Some of the hotel guests escaped and firefighters rescued others from the building in Xiangyang city in Hubei province. The fire started just after 6:30 a.m. Sunday and was extinguished before 9 a.m., the official Xinhua News Agency said.
It said 42 of the hotel's 50 rooms were occupied.
Two Xiangyang firefighters said the fire started in an Internet cafe on the floor below the hotel in a five-story building. They refused to be identified, as is common with Chinese officials.
One of the firefighters said the Internet cafe was on the second floor and the hotel on the three floors above. He said the cause of the fire was under investigation.
Footage shown on the state-run China News Service showed smoke billowing out of the hotel's windows as firefighters sprayed water at the building and one climbed up a rope. A man and a woman were shown awaiting rescue at one window, the man covering his mouth with a cloth. A woman climbed down a ladder, helped by firefighters. Inside the hotel, bedding was blackened, as was a corridor filled with burned debris.


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What is the NFU?
The National Farmers Union is a direct-membership voluntary organization made up of Canadian farm families who share common goals. It is the only farm organization incorporated through an Act of Parliament.
NFU members believe that the problems facing farmers are common problems, and that farmers producing diverse products must work together to advance effective solutions. The NFU works toward the development of economic and social policies that will maintain the family farm as the primary food-producing unit in Canada.


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Physical Therapist Assistants (PTAs) use a variety of hands-on treatments and modalities, under the direction of a physical therapist , to improve function, relieve pain, improve mobility and increase ability of their patients. PTAs work in a variety of settings including hospitals, out-patient clinics, school systems, rehabilitation centers, nursing homes, sub-acute facilities, assisted living centers, home health care organizations, fitness centers, private practices, sports medicine centers, cardiac rehabilitation centers, aquatics programs, pediatric centers, equine therapy programs and many other specialized areas. However, responsibilities vary depending on the work setting. PTAs working in the school system assist with seating, gait training and improving motion, mobility and posture. A PTA in a hospital may see stroke victims, burn patients and a shoulder injury all in one morning. PTAs working in an out-patient orthopedic and sports medicine setting help patients with acute injuries. Each setting is different, and PTAs may move from one setting to another as their career progresses.
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Will be spending the weekend in Concan, but I am there for a wedding. I have some good access right in Concan, but am willing to walk and drive to good access.
Any suggestions of good spots?
Concan for a fishing...I mean wedding
Non-Trout pursuits
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1 post • Page 1 of 1
Post Reply
1 post • Page 1 of 1


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Mass. lawmakers face key budget decisions
BOSTON (AP) — The debate over taxes and spending on Beacon Hill is approaching a critical juncture.
Leaders of the House of Representatives are expected to release a transportation financing plan in the coming days, but it remains to be seen how much and what kind of new revenues lawmakers will seek.
Gov. Deval Patrick has offered a $1.9 billion tax plan to fund transportation and education initiatives. His proposal calls for hiking the state income tax from 5.25 percent to 6.25 percent, accompanied by a reduction in the sales tax from 6.25 percent to 4.5 percent.
House Speaker Robert DeLeo has said publicly that he would prefer a smaller overall tax hike.
DeLeo has said he expects the transportation plan to include enough new funding for the MBTA to head off another round of potential are hikes or service cuts.


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Protecting the Keys to the Kingdom
Cryptography has been around for eons. In fact countries, businesses, spies, and so forth, employ it today and its no secret Julius Caesar practiced it as well. In his particular crypto, in a predetermined pattern, he would simply exchange one character for another in a message and thus it was encrypted. That pattern of movement or similar exchanges would be considered a Key. A simplistic example would be: the letter a would become the letter e, the letter b would become the letter f, etc. Then utilizing the Key to reverse the pattern, the message could be deciphered. For as long as encryption has been around, protecting the Key was and is paramount! If Caesars enemies were able to get their hands on his Key, it would have been mere childs play to decrypt his messages and endanger his empire (sooner). In our time, the quest to obtain an enemys Keys continues. With the weapons of war becoming more lethal and accurate in their deployment, imagine a foreign enemy acquiring the Keys to your militarys encryption!
There are still some that will shout, The secrecy of the algorithm is more important! That statement is simply not true. An Algorithm that is kept hidden and not tried by the fire of analysts and crackers will not be as strong as one that is. So if you develop algorithms obviously you will want to publish them so everyone can take a poke at them. Then as one flaw is discovered, you can fix it and as successive patches are needed and applied, it will become stronger and stronger. So in the long run if you want to make it tougher on the deviants then turn them loose and let everyone bang away at you work. Thus the strength of the algorithm not its secrecy is more of a factor in how long it takes to crack the Key.
A few abbreviated definitions related to Keys, that you should be aware of:
Hash a one-way encryption that cannot be decrypted. Commonly used with passwords (i.e. when the password passes through the Hash, it is stored in that state. When the password is required again for access to the account, computer, or whatever, the person enters the password. It is also encrypted using the Hash. Once that takes place, the two hashes are compared. If they match then access is granted.) On a security standpoint, the Hash provides a reasonable manner in which to store passwords.
Symmetric a single key is utilized to encrypt and decrypt. If you are employing Symmetric Encryption, you must make absolutely sure that any transmission of the key is completed in the most secure means!
Asymmetric: a key pair one private and one public. To employ this key pair, you would transmit your public key to a person that needed to send you an encrypted message. When that person was ready, they would use your public key to encrypt the message. Once in encrypted in that manner, the only way the message can be decrypted is by use of your private key. Protect that private key!
Other items you may want to study up on if you are considering transmitting your Keys to the Kingdom:
Secure versus Trusted Mediums, the Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange or similar procedures, MD5, Triple-DES, etc.
As discussed, crypto is based on Keys. As such it is reasonable to assume that given sufficient time, all crypto can be cracked by Brute Force (trying every possible key combination). A very simple example is found here: where clusters were employed to expedite password cracking. To expedite a Key compromise, clusters could also be employed in a Brute Force Attack.
With that in mind, the answer to keeping your secrets rests with the strength of the algorithm and how well you keep secret, the Keys to Your Kingdom. You should bear in mind that if your nemesis is able to acquire even a small part of the Key, then some of the message could be deciphered. And then as she progresses with her attacks it wont be long and the whole Key will be discovered along with your message. So what do we do?
With the increased use of wireless networks you should be concerned. So if you havent hardened your wireless network as recommended in some of the threads, then you are susceptible. How is that possible? Your Service Set Identifier (SSID) may be enabled and some joker cruising your area, War Driving with a laptop, could connect to your network. How is he able to do that? Your network name is required to connect to your Access Point and you are broadcasting it to everyone within range. Some good examples are found just by entering War Driving into the AO Search Engine. Additionally go enjoy: Video Release 0001: Enter thebroken at here:
So he is connected to your wireless now and intercepting your traffic. I hope youre not feeling safe because you have Wire Equivalent Privacy (WEP) enabled. If you do, then you are mistaken. Your Keys to the Kingdom are hanging out there to be had. Although WEP does encrypt and stronger encryption is forthcoming, one of its major weaknesses is that buried within your message is the Key! Although it may take her a while to locate it, the end result will be the same. Regardless of its shortcomings, do not disable WEP because after a prescribed number of transmissions it alters the Key making it more difficult to crack. However do disable your Service Set Identifier (SSID). Depending on your router, there may be firmware updates available that will assist you in hardening your system.
Now go and read how to secure your wireless network here:
What else can you do? Harden your wired network as well and keep your OS patched/ updated. Additionally, employ any other hardening procedures you would follow to keep the wily cracker at bay. There are a multitude of great threads in AO that pertain directly to accomplishing that goal. They list making networks and OSs more secure, and also the preventative measures (Firewalls, AV, etc.) you should take. I dont want to knowingly duplicate the work of others so please use the search engine to locate that information.
In closing, just remember that if someone compromises your network or home computer, they may very well be looking for your Keys to the Kingdom. Once obtained, they will own you and your secrets


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Red Hat feels open source certification vibe
Getting ahead of itself
Red Hat has yet to release its first run of certified application stacks for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) but already seems convinced it's on to something big. The OS maker has announced that it's looking into two more certification sets.
Tim Yeaton, senior vice president for Red Hat's worldwide marketing, said Red Hat could introduce two more subscription-based services certifying open source and Java software for use with the company's Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) platform. Red Hat is contemplating this expansion ahead of planned delivery of its first three services that certify a brace of web and open source software components to RHEL. Red Hat's web application stack, Java web application stack and enterprise Java stack are due for delivery in the next few weeks.
Stacks are seen as being the best way to ensure developers get to use the latest versions of web and open source software with the latest edition of Red Hat's Linux distribution. The theory is it's quicker and easier to update small stacks of software rather than wait for Red Hat to test and certify them with each release of RHEL.
Testing and certification theoretically removes the need for customers to undertake integration work with RHEL to ensure the components all work together.
Yeaton told The Register the stacks provide a greater degree of flexibility. Normally, Red Hat must decide at some point to lock-down development of each new RHEL release. The software packages that goes into the stacks, though, come from the community, meaning that they are in a constant state of change.
"We can respond to what happens in the community. We could conceivably add stacks as other light technologies come to the fore," Yeaton said.
Red Hat apparently hopes the stacks will help funnel developers and customers, using a brace of popular open source and web technologies, towards the RHEL platform. Red Hat's first stacks tackle Linux, Apache, MySQL and Perl/PHP/Python (LAMP) in addition to the Postgres open source database, Apache Tomcat serverlet and JSP container, and ObjectWeb Consortium's JOnAS application server.
Yeaton said Red Hat had picked these components following requests from customers, while it expects the LAMP stack to become pervasive among developers.
"We observed in the Java community there are a number of frameworks that are very popular with developers. We wanted to respond... it was a way to provide support without tying customers in to the RHEL release model," Yeaton said.
Testing and certification of open source components takes Red Hat into the same market as start-ups SpikeSource and SourceLabs. These companies are trying to build services businesses that offer customers stacks of open source software that they have pre-tested and certified.
Red Hat differs in its approach to SpikeSource and SourceLabs by certifying only to its Linux distribution. SpikeSource and SourceLabs are going for a broader market, which includes other OSes.®


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General Motors Co.'s Chevrolet brand confirmed Thursday that it has started selling its first diesel car in the U.S. since 1986 with its 2014 Chevrolet Cruze Clean Turbo Diesel — a vehicle it expects will serve as a halo for the Cruze nameplate and bring new buyers to the automaker's largest brand.
GM has sold a few Cruze diesels, which first are being sold in 13 metro markets selected for having a high diesel penetration, said Chevrolet Vice President of Marketing Chris Perry. The vehicles will be available nationally, including in Detroit, in the fall.
The Detroit automaker said there is more openness to diesel technology and it expects diesel popularity to grow in the U.S. It's launching the diesel-powered Cruze to compete head-to-head with Volkswagen's Jetta diesel. Chevy said the Cruze diesel, powered by a 2-liter, four-cylinder turbocharged engine, is certified at 151-horsepower and has peak torque of 264 foot-pounds — slightly better than the specs on the 2013 Jetta TDI Clean Diesel Premium automatic — and has more standard features.
"From a packaging standpoint what we offer in our vehicles, we think is a much more superior product," said. "As mentioned earlier, people getting into this marketplace are mostly concerned about performance and fuel economy. If you look at our numbers there, the Chevrolet clean turbo diesel offers better horsepower, better torque, more miles on a tank of fuel, over 700 miles on a tank of fuel, and the best news is we have achieved 46 miles per gallon highway."
GM officials previously had said they expected about 10 percent of Cruze sales would be diesel versions, but Thursday backed off that number. Chevy spokesman Mike Albano said the company can build diesels to demand.
Diesels account for about 3 percent of U.S. vehicle sales today, but analysts such as LMC Automotive have predicted diesels will rise to 7.5 percent of U.S. sales in five years.
The Cruze diesel starts at $25,695 — a few thousand more than the Cruze Eco which gets 42-mpg highway. GM doesn't expect the Cruze diesel to cut into any Cruze Eco sales. Cristi Landy, a Chevrolet marketing manager, says the vehicle likely will attract a different buyer. She's expecting many Cruze diesel buyers to be males with higher incomes and who may have purchased a diesel before.
GM said its ad campaign around the Cruze diesel will focus on education and the 46 mpg highway. Dealership staff also are being trained to dispel myths such as that diesels are smelly and dirty.
"The faster the customer gets educated, the greater the demand's going to be," said Gary Altman, chief engineer of the Cruze diesel.
Sales also may depend on the spread between gasoline and diesel prices. On Thursday, some Metro Detroit gas stations were selling a gallon of diesel for just 20 cents more than a gallon of unleaded gasoline; at times that difference has been a lot more lopsided.
"It's coming at a really interesting time with high fuel prices," said Allen R. Schaeffer, executive director of the Diesel Technology Forum.
Perry also said Chevy can hardly keep its all-new 2014 Chevrolet Impala full-size sedan on dealer lots. The vehicle is turning in just seven days, which is the fastest of any Chevy, he said.
"Right now, the sales rate is fantastic," Perry said.
General Motors Co.'s Chevrolet brand confirmed Thursday that it has started selling its first diesel car in the U.S. since 1986 with its 2014 Chevrolet Cruze Clean Turbo Diesel — a vehicle it expects will serve as a halo for the Cruze nameplate and bring new buyers to the automaker's largest brand.


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ALFA Group was formed in Russia in 1974 as a counter-terrorist and crime-fighting division of the KGB. ALFA operators oversaw service in Afghanistan and Chechnya, as well as domestic operations. They continue to exist to this day.
ALFA: Antiterror is a turn based tactical combat simulator that lets the player control this special operations force through a four episode campaign based on the real life experiences of former ALFA members from 1984 to 2001. Gameplay takes place in a variety of settings including the desert, mountains and valleys, forests, small cities and towns and features a wide selection of weapons from International manufacturers of warfare such as AKSU-74A, Colts, sniper rifle SVDs, grenade launcher RPG-7s and much more.
More articles about ALFA: Antiterror


text: Learn how easy it is to trim surfaces in AutoCAD 2011. In this video, I demonstrate the powerful combination of surface trimming and surface associativity. Even after trimming away the unwanted portions of the surface and modifying the original geometry, the trim associativity is maintained. The trimmed surfaces automatically update to reflect the changes.


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OP-ED: Nixon Went to China, Who Will Go to Iran?
So, somehow it is good and proper for us to be killing Iranian children -- although perhaps not to be talking about it.
I suspect that some of the reasons why we imagine there is a greater good being served by such actions are the same reasons no U.S. president will go to Iran in the manner in which Nixon went to China. Of course, the common political wisdom in the United States holds that the president who went to China had to be a Republican. By the same logic, the president who goes to Iran must be a militarist power-mad servant of the corporate oligarchy from the Republican party and not a militarist power-mad servant of the corporate oligarchy from the Democratic party. That wouldn't do at all. And yet, U.S. conduct toward Iran has varied little from Bush to Clinton to Bush Jr. to Obama/Clinton, H. A hopeless spiral of delusional counter-productive approaches toward the Islamic Republic of Iran needs to be broken by a 180 degree turn, and it won't make much substantive difference who does it, as long as it doesn't come too late.
Whether the authors intended exactly that or not, the above is the lesson I take away from an excellent new book by Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann Leverett called "Going to Tehran: Why the United States Must Come to Terms with the Islamic Republic of Iran."
It has been U.S. policy for decades not to engage with Iran, and -- misleading rhetoric notwithstanding -- it still is. "More than any of his predecessors, in fact, Obama has given engagement a bad name, by claiming to have reached out to Tehran and failed when the truth is he never really tried."
The Leveretts trace official U.S. policy on Iran to a trio of myths: the myths of irrationality, illegitimacy, and isolation.
The evidence of irrationality on the part of the Iranian people or the Iranian government is very slim. I can find much more irrationality in the U.S. public and government. Iranians, in fact, are better at distinguishing between our people and our government than we seem to be at making that distinction on their side. Iran has funded Hizballah and HAMAS, and we call those groups terrorists. But we call any militants opposing Pentagon interests terrorists. Iranian leaders have made comments verging on anti-Semitic (and routinely distorted into outrageous anti-Semitism), but nothing approaching the things Anwar Sadat or Mahmoud Abbas said or wrote before they were deemed rational actors with whom the U.S. and Israel could (and did) work.
Iran's policies have been defensive, not aggressive. Iran has not threatened to attack or attacked others. Iran has refused to retaliate against chemical weapons attacks or terrorism or our shooting down a commercial jet or our funding efforts within Iran to manipulate its elections or our training of militants seeking to overthrow Iran's government. Iran has refused to develop chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons. Unlike Britain, Russia, or the United States, when provoked Iran has refused to invade Afghanistan, choosing wise reflection over hot-tempered anger. Look at the polling across the Middle East: people fear the United States and Israel, not Iran.
Iran's approach to the United States over the years has been rational and forbearant. In 1995 the Islamic Republic of Iran offered its first foreign oil development contract to the United States, which turned it down. Iran aided President Clinton by shipping arms to Bosnia, which Clinton turned around and condemned Iran for when the story became public. In 2001, the President of Iran requested permission to pray for 911 victims at the site of the World Trade Center and offered to assist in counterterrorism plans, but was turned down. Iran assisted the United States with its invasion of Afghanistan and was labeled "evil" in return. The current president of Iran wrote long friendly letters to President Bush and President Obama, both of whom ignored them except to allow their staffs to publicly mock them. The Iranian government repeatedly proposed substantive dialogue, offering to put everything on the table, including its nuclear energy program, and was turned down. The Obama administration gave Turkey and Brazil terms it was sure Iran wouldn't agree to; Iran agreed to them; and the White House rejected them, choosing instead to grow outraged at Brazil and Turkey.
Iran tried to believe in the change in Obama's (no doubt domestically intended) rhetoric, but never encountered any substance, only fraud and hostility. That Iran attempts civil relations with a nation surrounding and threatening it, imposing deadly sanctions on it, funding terrorism within its borders, and publicly mocking its sincere approaches is indication of either rationality or something almost Christ-like (I'm inclined to go with rationality).
War is immoral, illegal, and counter-productive. That doesn't change if the people bombed are living or suffering under an illegitimate government. Here in the United States an unaccountable Supreme Court rewrites our basic laws, unverifiable privately owned and operated machines count our votes, candidates are chosen by wealth, media coverage is dolled out by a corporate cartel, presidents disregard the legislature, and high crimes and misdemeanors are not prosecuted. And yet, nonetheless -- amazing to tell -- we'd rather not be bombed. I don't give a damn whether this scholar or that scholar believes the Iranian government is legitimate or not; I don't want any human beings killed in my name with my money.
That being said, common claims of illegitimacy for Iran's government are myths. Western experts have predicted its imminent collapse (as well as its imminent development of nukes) for decades. Iranian elections are far more credible than U.S. ones. A government need not be secular to be legitimate. I might favor secular governments, but I'm not an Iranian. I'm a citizen of a government that has been seeking to control Iran's government for over a half century since overthrowing it in 1953; I don't get to have a voice. Iranians are gaining in rights, in education, in health, in life expectancy (the opposite in many ways of the course we are on in the United States). Iranian women used to be permitted to dress as they liked but not to pursue the education and career they liked. Now that has largely been reversed. Iranian women are guaranteed paid maternity leave that outstrips our standards. Iran's approach to drugs is more rational than our own, its approach to homosexuality more mixed than we suspect, its investment in science cutting edge.
All of that being said, the Iranian government abuses its people in ways that need to be addressed by its people and should have been directly addressed by the Leveretts' book.
I also want to quibble with the Leveretts' account of the 1979 revolution in light of the views of some who were there at the time. I'm not convinced that Khomeini led and directed the revolution from the start. I'm willing to believe that secular pro-democracy activists did not represent the views of all Iranians. There's no question that significant support swung to Khomeini and the mullahs who claimed power. But Khomeini's supposed leadership was news in the West before it was ever heard of in Tehran. The Shah was not opposed for his secularism, but for his surveillance, imprisonment, torture, murder, greed, expropriation of wealth, and subservience to foreigners. The Leveretts admit that Khomeini originally proposed a government with less power for himself and then revised his plans, but they claim that he only did so in response to secularists' insistence that he hold no power at all. Not the strongest defense of tyranny I've ever encountered.
The authors then cite a public referendum of December 2-3, 1979, in which, they say, "the new constitution was approved by 98 percent of participating voters." Sounds impressive, right? Guess what choices the voters were offered: an Islamic republic or the Shah! Of course they chose the Islamic republic! But to turn around and claim that 98% voted against a secular republic is misleading. During the 2003-2013 U.S. war on Iraq, a U.S. Democratic-Party group called MoveOn.org polled its membership. Did they support House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's plan for more war or President George W. Bush's? Of course, they overwhelmingly chose Pelosi's. MoveOn then turned around and claimed that their people opposed Congresswoman Barbara Lee's proposal to end the war. Such votes should be given no more dignity than they deserve.
How the government of the 1980s came to be does not tell us everything we should know about today's government, but nothing you could tell me about today's government would have any relevance to the morality of bombing the people of Iran.
The United States has sought to isolate Iran and failed dramatically, with Iran now chairing the Nonaligned Movement. It has sought to use economic and other pressures to overthrow the government, and instead strengthened it. In 2011, Obama opened a "virtual embassy" to propagandize the Iranian people for "regime change." In 2012 it removed the terrorist designation for an opposition terrorist group called the MEK. Imagine if Iran did such things to us, rather than just being Muslim or whatever it is that it's actually done to us. The Leveretts present a long and unrelenting history of incompetence and irrationality . . . from the U.S. side. They have been reduced, reasonably enough, to something that sounds ridiculous: longing for Richard Nixon.
I don't expect you to understand After you've caused so much pain But then again, you're not to blame You're just a human, a victim of the insane We're afraid of everyone Afraid of the sun Isolation The sun will never disappear But the world may not have many years Isolation --John Lennon
* * *
David Swanson's books include "War Is A Lie." He blogs at http://davidswanson.org and http://warisacrime.org and works as Campaign Coordinator for the online activist organization http://rootsaction.org. He hosts Talk Nation Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @davidcnswanson and FaceBook.


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Posted By Yossi Katz on Aug 29, 2013 in BaMidbar, Jewish Holidays, Parsha, Pathways on the Parasha | 0 comments
Author: Yossi Katz
Yossi Katz currently lives in Lakewood, NJ where he runs the BRI American Office. He studied in Beth Medrash Gevoha, as well as the former Breslov Kollel of Lakewood headed by Rabbi Shlomo Goldman.
© Breslov Research Institute. All Rights Reserved.


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OAKLAND – They said the injury was not a concern, that Andrew Bogut would not even have X-rays on the sprained left ankle suffered Thursday night in the loss to the Thunder at Oracle Arena. The Warriors, even knowing what that joint means to their playoff chances, consider it, in the words of coach Mark Jackson, "not too much."
Tell it to the rest of the Western Conference.
Implications were already appearing even before Golden State's scheduled 11:30 p.m. departure for Los Angeles, with Bogut skipping the trip in what the team said was a precautionary move and therefore the Friday game against the Lakers in a meeting that could have a great impact on the Western Conference playoff picture. And that may only be the start.
The Lakers are a game ahead of the Jazz for the eighth and final spot, a margin L.A. needs to protect since Utah has the tiebreaker, and now get the shorthanded Warriors two nights after getting the shorthanded Trail Blazers. Golden State is a half-game ahead of the Rockets for No. 6 – Houston has the tiebreaker – and now faces at least one contest without a major interior presence on both ends of the court. Monday, the Warriors play the Spurs, in a battle with Oklahoma City for No. 1 in the conference.
This is no ordinary player and this is no ordinary injury. It is the same ankle that kept Bogut sidelined his entire 2011-12 as a Warrior, originally a fracture while playing for the Bucks before the trade to the Bay Area. It is the same ankle that eventually required microfracture surgery, that cost him most of training camp and the exhibition schedule and cost him 42 games before the Jan. 28 return.
"It certainly doesn't help us," said David Lee, Golden State's All-Star power forward. "We're just going to have to wait and see, though. We'll just cross our fingers that it's just a minor setback and he'll be back real soon. Andrew's a tough kid and, like I said, it's disappointing he's not going to be able to travel with us tomorrow because the Lakers have one of the biggest front lines in the league. But hopefully he'll get good news when he has the MRI."
There would be no MRI or X-rays, the Warriors said. Bogut will be held out one game, Friday against the Lakers, and then a decision will be made on Monday against the Spurs. Only one contest remains after that, Wednesday at Portland, until the playoff opener against an opponent to be determined.
It's that determination process that just became more perilous. Jockeying for postseason positioning is a big enough deal anyway, only now holding at No. 6 is everything: Stay there and get the preferred matchup of the Nuggets, Clippers or Grizzlies, or drop to 7 or 8 and face very bad odds against the Thunder or Spurs.
"We don't think it's too much," Jackson said of the Bogut injury. "We'll find out. But we'll rest it, treat it, and see how he responds. But we're not too concerned right now."
Before the announcement that Bogut would skip Friday in Los Angeles, Jackson was asked if he was tempted to hold his starting center out a game or two as a precaution.
"I'm tempted to make sure he's fine," Jackson replied. " He's too important to us. We'll be very smart with him."


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Thank You for Smoking (UK - DVD R2)
Scott McKenzie gets a lungful of the recent movie starring Aaron Eckhart...
Thank You for Smoking tells the story of Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart), a lobbyist for Big Tobacco who has made it his mission in life to improve the public image of cigarettes. While his job makes him unlikeable in theory, he is blessed with a charm and quick wit that allows him to turn arguments on their head and shoot down his antagonists with ease. However, as he tries to build a relationship with his son and seal a big deal with a Hollywood studio, a reporter (Katie Holmes) enters his life and an anti-smoking senator (William H Macy) turns up the heat.
Based on the novel of the same name, you may be forgiven for thinking that Thank You for Smoking would be similar in theme and tone to Michael Mann's The Insider. Nothing could be further from the truth. This isn't a movie about the evils of tobacco or the journey of a lone hero blowing the whistle on an evil industry; it's a movie about spin and the art of debating. Cigarettes just happen to be the device used to tell the story. As a satirical comedy, the story moves faster than many thrillers and the rapid-fire dialogue kept me gripped all the way through.
Aaron Eckhart inhabits the role of Nick Naylor like he was born to play it. It's hard to imagine another actor offering the same combination of arrogance, charm and smugness, with the exception of Rob Lowe who shows up in a cameo appearance as Naylor's kindred spirit. The relationship Nick shares with his son is very touching and the performance of the young Cameron Bright is spot-on. Nick explains the positive things about his job and we see his son develop the skills his father tries to pass on to him without brainwashing him into thinking smoking is a good thing. The supporting cast is great, in particular Maria Bello and David Koechner, although JK Simmons and William H Macy recycle the types of roles that have made them popular.
I'm a big fan of the art of debating and I love the way the story has been written. Everyone involved in Big Tobacco is shown as knowing that what they're doing is wrong but they have fine-tuned their abilities to spin bad press in their favour to such an extent that they become the heroes, while the well-meaning senator is the bad guy of the movie. It's written with a knowing wit and isn't just a satire of the tobacco industry, but also makes cutting comments about Hollywood. When Nick visits the Hollywood executive played by Rob Lowe, we get a glimpse into how the studios work and director Jason Reitman mentions the similarity to reality on the commentary track.
It's not all perfect though. I thought the comedy wasn't always pitched at the right level, sometimes edging out of satire and into spoof territory with a couple of jokes that would be more at home in a Mel Brooks movie. I also thought Katie Holmes was out of place. For me, she doesn't give her character a lot of depth and I find her squeaky voice grating. That may be superficial but it's the honest effect she had on me and hey, it's my opinion and it's my review. If you're a fan of Katie Holmes, I'm sure you'll be happy to see her here.
As a satire, Thank You for Smoking makes a lot of cutting points and as a straight comedy it actually made me laugh out loud, which so many so-called comedies fail to do (I'm looking at you, Mr Sandler). The central performance by Aaron Eckhart is a tour de force and is certainly a highlight in his career. The screenplay is littered with inspired moments and Jason Reitman has also added his own into the mix, in particular the excellent opening titles and choice of old-time pro-smoking songs on the soundtrack.
Thank You for Smoking is very colourful, with most of the movie drenched in the gold tone that is synonymous with cigarette advertising. The colour and framing of the shots made me think it could have easily have been adapted from a graphic novel than a regular book. The 2.40:1 anamorphic picture is generally easy on the eye, although there is some edge enhancement on show (see the outline of Aaron Eckhart's suit in the second screen shot) and backgrounds in wide shots can be a little blurry.
In this dialogue-heavy movie, it's quite difficult to identify any moments that really impress but what we've got here does the job nicely. The Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track (also available with audio description) is predictably free from any obvious interference and pitches the dialogue and music at the appropriate levels. When you watch Thank You for Smoking there aren't any explosions going off around your living room to make you sit back in awe, but this is a movie about talking and you can be sure of hearing everyone clearly.
The disc opens with a marathon of trailers for Behind Enemy Lines 2, Severance, Little Miss Sunshine, The Devil Wears Prada, The Queen and Harsh Times. The theatrical trailer for the main feature is also available. Thirteen deleted scenes are presented with optional commentary by Jason Reitman, who explains why they were removed from the final cut. These scenes are rare in the sense that they're actually worth watching. Most notable of all is the alternative ending, which changes the tone of the movie and alters the development of Naylor's son and was left out for very good reasons.
Jason Reitman supplies a feature commentary, joined by Aaron Eckhart and David Koechner. The director and his actors obviously had great fun making the movie and their enthusiasm is reflected in their banter-filled commentary. They reveal plenty of details about how the actors came on board and Reitman points out many little moments and in-jokes that you might miss on the first viewing. 'America: Living in Spin' is a five-minute featurette that draws comparisons between the central theme of the movie and the powers-that-be in contemporary America. The 'Making of' featurette contains the usual TV-friendly mix of interviews and clips from the movie, although there isn't any behind the scenes footage included here. There are also three galleries available: posters, storyboards and drawings of logos and props designed by the art department.
Thank You For Smoking is a very enjoyable movie and features a great central performance from Aaron Eckhart. In my opinion Jason Reitman is worth keeping an eye on and in this movie he demonstrates a similar sense of humour to that of his father. Some of the extras feel like filler but the entertaining commentary and deleted scenes are worthy of your time so I'd say this is definitely a disc comedy fans should pick up.
Review by Scott McKenzie
Suitable only for persons of 15 years and over
Disc Details
Release Date: 8th January 2007
Discs: 1
Disc Type: Single side, dual layer
RCE: No
Video: PAL
Aspect: 2.40:1
Anamorphic: Yes
Colour: Yes
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Subtitles: English
Extras: Commentary, Deleted Scenes With Commentary, Unfiltered Comedy: The Making Of Thank You For Smoking, America: Living In Spin Featurette, Still Galleries, Trailers
Easter Egg: No
Feature Details
Director: Jason Reitman
Cast: Aaron Eckhart, Katie Holmes, JK Simmons, Maria Bello, David Koechner
Genre: Comedy and Drama
Length: 88 minutes
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