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The tools of yesterday don't comply with today's air and groundwater quality standards.
CLARA™ - Precision Farming System: Water, Nutrient and Manure Management For Dairy Sustainability
Manure management for dairy farms presents one of the most exciting opportunities available today. Why? Because so much of the dairy's potential profit flows away or is hauled off the facility without properly recovering lucrative nutrients or reusing easily recyclable wastewater.
Leaving manure management in the antiquated treatment methods of yesterday is dangerous while at the same time wasteful for the financial health of your dairy. There is gold in that sludge. And harvesting it could significantly improve the bottom line of your dairy while removing pollutants that are monitored by government agencies.
Water is an essential part of your operation. And it presents many challenges, as well as opportunities. By implementing a solution for your water issues, you not only address nutrient recovery, but a variety of factors on your dairy.
Figure 8 Environment connects all of these issues and creates a complete ecosystem for profitability. Here's what we can provide:
Immediate Large Particle Bedding Recovery
Reduction in Phosphorus, Salt and Nitrogen Loading in Flush Water Irrigation
Quick Flush Clarification, Reuse and Avoidance of Fines
Nutrient Extraction and Recovery
Energy Production
Purchasing of Byproducts From Dairies for Additional Income


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Advice for Buyers, Montgomery County Schools, Relocation
Month: November 2015
7 Posts
Bethesda Condos for Sale, Crescent Plaza
Crescent Plaza Condominiums – One of the Best Deals in Downtown Bethesda
Bethesda Services, Shopping In Bethesda
How to Keep Your Copper Pots from Williams Sonoma All Shiny and New
Advice for Buyers, Bethesda Real Estate
Montgomery County Homeowners Associations – Good or Bad?
Winter Wonderland In Bethesda On Saturday December 5!
Advice for Buyers, Advice for Sellers, Bethesda Condos for Sale, Condos in Bethesda, Luxury Bethesda Condos, The Wisconsin

subset: commoncrawl


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Weekly session for parents who are expecting together with parents/carers of babies from birth until they are on the move, once babies are crawling its 'Crawlers & Cruisers'. All places must be booked in advance: https://booking.westberks.gov.uk/
family channelWest Family Hub (Newbury)Remove
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5 week course, £7 per session, places must be booked and paid for in advance, please contact the Family Hub on 01635 31143 for dates/times of next course
Breastfeeding support is available during our Baby Group, via phone or face to face by appointment - Please contact the Hub on 01635 31143 or Jo Roberts on 07500951014 Via our facebook page:West-Berkshire-Community-Breastfeeding-Support Health Visitor Chat Health Texting Service: 07312263283
Session for parents/carers together with babies who are crawling up until they are 18 months old then it's Stay. Play & Learn. £2.50 per family per session, places must be booked in advance: https://booking.westberks.gov.uk/ Unfortunately we are unable to accommodate older siblings at this group.
The Family Hub is offering a range of sessions. Please follow the link to see what is currently available: https://booking.westberks.gov.uk/family_hubs_ The staff are in the Family Hub Monday - Friday and can be contacted on 01635 31143 You can also get up to date information on our Facebook Page. West…
We offer a range of Family Learning Courses, including: BOOST, Time out for Parents The Early Years 2-4yrs, Cooking & Nutrition, Peep Learning Together. Please contact the centre for more information. Due to funding received from West Berkshire Community Learning we are able to offer…
Weekly session for parents/carers together with children aged 18 months-4 years old. £2.50 per family per session, places must be booked in advance: https://booking.westberks.gov.uk/family_hubs_events.html#/event_list


text: "SHAZAM! AND THE SEVEN REALMS" continues! Billy Batson's world is turned upside down by a figure from the past while Mary, Freddy and the rest of the Shazam Family enter a realm of endless amusements, candy factories and friends in the Funlands! But what's the catch? Plus, a shocking development within the Library of Eternity!


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J. 'Psyche' Coderre MAAT, is a 20-year veteran of the goth/alternative scene. She created her website, Death and Taxes in 2009. When she says she's focused on keeping clients in the 'black' she means it literally! Not only is her website different. She is obviously deserving of an INABA (it stands for 'I'm Not A Boring Accountant').
Psyche (sy-kee) tells me that:
Most alternative types, as they progress through life, are faced with a choice: Change your appearance, or accept that your career choices may be somewhat limited. Many of us fear experiencing the fate of Richmond from "The IT Crowd", whose adoption of goth fashion saw him banished to the office basement. However, I quite like my hair purple.
When I completed my AAT qualification in 2009, I wasn't looking forward to removing my piercings, dyeing my hair a normal colour, suiting up and joining a City firm. The option of going into practice -- where, as the boss, I could set my own dress code -- seemed far more appealing. As did the prospect of working with other alternative types like myself, who were running their own micro-businesses and seeking to earn a living outside of the corporate culture.
Death and Taxes was the obvious name for a goth accountancy firm. The logo of the Grim Reaper with a calculator immediately suggested itself, and I commissioned the design from an artist who had previously created flyers for the club night I used to run in Washington, D.C.
I wasn't sure how well it would go over; whether, in spite of the humorous branding, I'd be seen as someone people would want to bring business to. But due to the nature of accountancy selling itself mainly through word-of-mouth, this wasn't an issue I experienced. And word-of-mouth travels very well within the close-knit alternative scene.
Once word got around that "one of us" was offering accountancy services, people from across the scene started contacting me.
It's not just goths who have responded well to Death and Taxes. I'm often greeted by "I love that name!" when ringing HMRC with a query.
People don't expect a stereotypically "dull" accountant to have a sense of humour.
It's also aided my practice by making it memorable. It's easy to forget whether the accountants your friend recommended six months ago were Smith and Jones Accountants or Jones and Smith Accountants, but everyone remembers Death and Taxes!
Another advantage is that when meeting a client for the first time, I am very easy to spot.
I'm also probably one of the very few accountancy firms to be selling its own branded merchandise.
I love watching new people I meet do double takes when they ask what I do, and I tell them I'm an accountant. I love subverting the "boring accountant" stereotype!If you know someone who may qualify for an INABA, please check the (very simple) criteria here and then let me know via my website: www.BookMarkLee.co.uk


text: Carol Moldaw is the author of Beauty Refracted, a poetry collection (Four Way Books 2018); The Widening, a short novel; The Lightning Field, which won The FIELD Prize; and a chapbook, Through the Window, which was published as Pencereden in Istanbul, in a bi-lingual Turkish-English edition. Moldaw is the recipient of an NEA Creative Writing Fellowship in poetry, a Pushcart Prize, and a Lannan Foundation Marfa Writer's Residency. Her book So Late, So Soon: New and Selected Poems, was shortlisted for the PEN Southwest Book Award (2011). Moldaw grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and received her undergraduate degree from Harvard College and an M.A. in Creative Writing from Boston University. From 2005-2008 Moldaw was on the faculty of Stonecoast, the University of Southern Maine's low-residency M.F.A. program, and she has conducted residencies at the Vermont Studio Center, taught at the College of Santa Fe and in the MFA program at Naropa University, as well as Bucknell's Stadler Center for Poetry. In the spring of 2011 she served as the Louis D. Rubin, Jr., Writer-in-Residence at Hollins University. Moldaw teaches privately and lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico with her husband and daughter.


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This parenting guide is filled with stress management solutions for you and your children!
Kids today are more stressed, overwhelmed, and struggling with anxiety than ever before. Children are not born with the coping strategies needed to navigate today's increasing demands of technology, bullying, academics, and family dynamics. You yourself might wonder how your own stressed-out lifestyle is affecting your children. Based on Lori Lite's award-winning series, Stress Free Kids provides relaxation techniques you can use to free your child from stress.
Lite shows you how to apply breathing, visualizations, affirmations, and muscle relaxation exercises effortlessly throughout the day. These parenting solutions to everyday stressors will reduce worries and anxiety while increasing self-esteem. You and your children will gain freedom as you live a more joy-filled life with less stress.
With this complete resource as your guide, your family will create your own collection of stress-free moments that add up to peace and confidence–for you and your children.
"One of the best Stress Management books of all time" – BookAuthority
This parenting guide has been named "Top 10 Inspirational Books" by Aspire Magazine.
"Parenting is full of ups and downs, but with the book by Lori Lite, you can minimize your stress! Full of amazing information, great insight and a plan! Not many books give you strategies and tangible ideas to help, but this one does!" – Louise Sattler
"As a stressed-out parent, I was immediately drawn to this book's title: Stress-Free Kids. It's heart breaking to see my sons dealing with stress and to watch them mirror some of my own bad coping strategies. One of my favorite expressions is: When the student is ready, the teacher appears. In this book, I was so happy to discover such a treasure trove of stress- reducing techniques and tips for me to use and model for my children–and also so many techniques and tips to teach my sons. I recommend this book to all parents who wish to have less stressed, happier families and lives." – Jennifer Bright Reich


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Filmmaker Robert Zemeckis is never one to shy away from a challenge. Whether it's re-casting his Back to the Future leading man midway through production or putting his film Cast Away on hiatus in order so Tom Hanks could look like a suitably gaunt tropical island dweller, Zemeckis has always demonstrated technical facility alongside narrative flair. Then, of course, there's the sly social commentary of Forrest Gump in which Hanks' titular character is subtly placed, via CGI, into news footage alongside faces such a short President Nixon.
His celebrated 1988 fantasy-comedy Who Framed Roger Rabbit remains, to this day, a marvel of technical accomplishment and narrative wit. The fondly remembered Bob Hoskins plays gumshoe Eddie Valiant who is investigating a murder seemingly undertaken by a cartoon character – yes, the movie is famously an intersection point between live action and some of the most famous toons ever created, including Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny and many more.
Sly mashing up Chinatown's corporate conspiracy with a mind-boggling assortment of familiar faces from various properties (god knows how difficult the licensing issues must have been), the film's dazzling special effects still hold up today. The movie's zany character and brio extends to the score from Zemeckis regular Alan Silvestri, whose acclaimed score is now presented in its complete form for the first time, courtesy of a 3-disc set from Intrada.
At the time Silvestri had completed a rapid ascent to the top of the Hollywood scoring ladder. His first collaboration with Zemeckis, 1984's Romancing the Stone, famously hadn't impressed producer Steven Spielberg (who also oversaw Roger Rabbit), but any doubts were laid to rest with the composer's seminal score for the first Back to the Future movie. Thundering along to the sound of what was then the largest orchestra ever assembled for a motion picture, it was an intricately orchestrated masterwork that announced Silvestri as a key talent, paving the way for the likes of Predator.
Zemeckis and Silvestri's partnership is among the longest-standing in Hollywood history and has encompassed a host of diverse genres, from sweetly nostalgic (the aforementioned Forrest Gump) to chilling Bernard Herrmann pastiche (What Lies Beneath). Given the madcap creativity on display in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, it comes as no surprise that the score remains one of their most diverse and complex, tasked with not only giving voice to the dazzling toon/human interaction but also toon-hating Valiant's quest for redemption.
The original 1988 CD release is presented here, alongside two more discs including the full score, alternate cues and music from short films also featuring the Roger Rabbit character. Whereas the original soundtrack release contained 50 minutes of Silvestri's music, an eye-widening 100-plus minute treasure trove of delights awaits here, allowing long-time fans of both the score and film to see things in a different light. Just as the extended Back to the Future score releases revealed an initially different intention from Silvestri, one hewing to a much darker and more experimental tone, it's fascinating to now hear Silvestri's music in its complete form, as opposed to its truncated presentation in the movie.
Performed by the London Symphony Orchestra with prominent input from key American jazz soloists, the score is, in the composer's usual style, thematically led with numerous highlights. Many will already know the beautifully melancholy, trumpet-led theme of 'Valiant and Valiant' (a fitting encapsulation of Hoskins' endearing performance if ever there was one), the ominous bells and low-register strings of the theme for Christopher Lloyd's villain 'Judge Doom' (echoes of Predator's creature theme) and the slinky saxophone of 'Jessica Rabbit's' theme (voiced by Kathleen Turner).
Of particular note on the expanded score is the dialogue-free take of the frantic 'Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2'. Originally presented with the voices of Donald and Daffy Duck (who perform the piece in one of the film's most memorable scenes), one can now better appreciate Silvestri's arrangement of the Liszt staple. Likewise, the full presentation of the numerous action scenes also allows Silvestri's music to properly breathe.
A particular highlight is the delightful interaction between tubas and bassoons in car chase cue 'Got Ya, Kid', which gives way to a superbly intricate dialogue between jazz piano, double bass and sax in a manner that is brilliantly inventive. (Little wonder that Zemeckis, during the recording sessions, is said to have observed, with some amusement, that the musicians sometimes struggled to keep up with Silvestri's deceptively complex orchestration).
Additional highlights include the unused 'Hollywood' alternate cue, one of many alluding to the composer's jazz background, the forlorn extension of Eddie's theme in 'Toon Killed My Brother' (also treated to two alternate takes) , and the wealth of material expanding Judge Doom's Theme, including the likes of 'Start the Dip'. As one would expect, the signature 'Why Don't You Do Right', performed with no small amount of seductive zeal by Turner, is present and correct, as well as music for related Roger Rabbit properties. These are 'Rollercoaster Rabbit' and 'Trail Mix-Up' from Silverado composer Bruce Broughton, and 'Tummy Trouble' from the late James Horner.
That the release of the complete Roger Rabbit score can generate such excitement is surely a testament to both Silvestri's compositional skill and also the impact of his music on the movie itself. It's a movie etched onto the memory of an entire generation (this writer included), and not just for the extraordinary way it blends cartoon and live-action. Silvestri's alternately manic and moving music pulls off a tricky balancing act between sincerity and spoof, reinforcing why his partnership with Zemeckis is one of the richest in the business.
Those who are fans of the composer are urged to get their hands on this release – it paints a Silvestri masterpiece in a whole new light.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit is now available from Intrada Records.


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Aesthetica. 50 Years Of Computer Generated Art
30 May 2015 – 1 Aug 2015
Regular hours
- Saturday
- 12:00 – 16:00
- Wednesday
- 13:00 – 18:00
- Thursday
- 13:00 – 18:00
- Friday
- 13:00 – 18:00
- Michaelkirchplatz 1
- Berlin
- 10179
- Germany
AESTHETICA refers to the philosopher Max Bense´s publication of the same name from 1965. Simultaneously, he initiated the first exhibition of Georg Nees´s algorithmically generated plotter drawings at TH Stuttgart´s campus gallery.
That same year, other exhibitions of Frieder Nake in Stuttgart and Michael A. Noll in New York followed. Fifty years later, the computer as a tool has decisively inspired and expanded 21st century art. Net art, software art and interactive installations are just a few examples of the varying creative directions.
Horst Bartnig, D⎜Peter Beyls, B⎜Vuk Cosic, SLO⎜Hans Dehlinger, D⎜Manuel Felguerez, MEX⎜Patrick Lichty, US⎜Tony Longson, GB⎜Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, MEX-CDN⎜Manfred Mohr, D ⎜Vera Molnar, F⎜Frieder Nake, D⎜Georg Nees, D⎜Casey Reas, US⎜Brian Reffin Smith, GB⎜Antoine Schmitt, F⎜Sommerer & Mignonneau, A-F⎜Kerry Strand, US⎜Roman Verostko, US⎜Roger Vilder, F-CDN⎜Mark Wilson, US


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Dec 02, 2023
Dec 02, 2023
As the diplomatic stand off between India and Pakistan continues with accusations from Islamabad of air violation by the Indian Air Force strongly denied by New Delhi, the question haunting every one is will Pakistan dismantle the terror infra structure nurtured by the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) over the past three decades plus? Noted analyst and author Ahmed Rashid sees this as a strategic opportunity to make peace if India and Pakistan understand the Al Qaeda game plan thus, 'If India and Pakistan can understand that they are both victims of a strategic diversion by al-Qaeda and if international mediation can help deepen that understanding, then there is perhaps a greater opportunity for the two countries to address the conflicts that have bedeviled their relationship for 60 years - Kashmir and other lesser issues'.
Pakistan's role in Kashmir given the response of the people of the state to elections is now limited and the coercive brand of separatism fostered by these groups have restricted relevance. At the same time there is willingness of both sides for greater openness to resolve the Kashmir issue with border trade having started thereby indicating that resolution through talks is feasible. Under the circumstances terrorist groups as the LeT can be abandoned by the state. But this would have to be a gradual response for the public opinion in the country at present would not accept the government doing so as these are being wrongly tagged as nationalist forces in the country.
The Pakistani political space is also divided as per Aakar Patel on legitimacy of the war against the TTP. It is said to be fought between one Pakistan and another Pakistan. Zardari, Musharraf, the MQM, Kayani, Asfandyar Wali supported the war against the Taliban, Jaish, Lashkar, Baitullah Mehsud, Lal Masjid. As is common in such situations some of the opposition leaders are neutrals which in this case included Nawaz Sharif, Imran Khan, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Hameed Gul, Fazlur Rehman. These fissures certainly affected the response of the government.
But for any fundamental change in policy there has to be a consensus between the political parties and the army. There are three entities which are seen to be influential in Pakistan, the political parties, the army and terrorist groups. While the world has lauded the government of Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and Mr. Zardari as a democratically elected one, it is the weakest of the three as political parties in Pakistan are for ever riddled with controversies, conspiracies and differences.
Pakistani polity is also in a crisis with second confrontation building against the judiciary. The case pertaining to alleged favor shown to the daughter of the Chief Justice of Pakistan Hamid Dogar by giving her supplementary marks was being investigated by a parliamentary committee. However the Supreme Court ruled that the case was sub judice and the National Assembly Standing Committee on Education investigating the issue was ordered to cease inquiry. The Standing Committee's Chairman, Mr. Abid Sher Ali, member of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz refused to accept the Supreme Court's 'stay' order thus denoting potential of conflict between the legislature and the judiciary in the future as per an editorial in the influential Pakistani newspaper, Daily Times.
The second and some say the most important institution in the country is the Army. With a weak political culture and lack of effective governance, the Army is seen by many as the only instrument of the state which can deliver despite the many wrongs perpetrated by the previous Army Chief Pervez Musharraf during the Emergencies imposed in 2007. The Army retains an iron grip over state instruments and is also seen to direct the strategic space dictating the regional agenda particularly with reference to Afghanistan and Kashmir. The Army also controls the powerful Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) technically working under the Prime Minister.
The ISI is accused of being a state within a state linked inextricably with the third pressure group, the militants. While ISI and the Army have consistently denied such linkages they are frequently accused of using terrorist groups as an instrument of instability in Afghanistan and Kashmir. More over former ISI chiefs such as Hamid Gul and many middle and junior level operatives are alleged to be maintaining links with such organizations raised in the 1980's to fight the Mujahideen war in Afghanistan.
These militant groups can be divided broadly into four categories. The first is the Al Qaeda, with its global militancy perspective, the Tehreek e Taliban (TTP) comprising mainly Pashtun tribal of the Western frontier focusing on the war in Afghanistan but increasingly extending influence even up to Karachi is the second. The Lashkar e Taiyyaba with its mother organization the Jamaat ud Dawa and the Jaish e Mohammad primarily directed towards a terror campaign against India focused on Kashmir is the third group. The fourth and the final cluster comprises of Sunni groups such as the Sipaha e Saheba and Lashkar e Jhangvi which are involved in sectarian violence. Of these the first two, the Al Qaeda and the TTP are fighting as much against the Pakistan state as the United States. The LeT and the JeM are part of the larger Al Qaeda fraternity and the axis known as the International Islamic Front are primarily directed against India.
The attacks in Mumbai have a strong Al Qaeda connection replicating tactics employed by the organization Qaeda. These were well planned and strategically targeted operations with suicide attacks at multiple points, with varied tactics of bombs, grenades, indiscriminate firing and hostage taking. So reframing the Question in the light of our discussion on saving Pakistan from the Al Qaeda last week would be relevant. Will the Al Qaeda permit Pakistan to neutralize it? All one can say for sure is that the rabid fundamentalists will resist it with all resources under their command.
More by : Col. Rahul K. Bhonsle


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The Blackhawks got their "circus trip" off to a good start in Edmonton on Wednesday night with a 5-0 shutout of the Oilers, their first shutout of the season. Shutouts seem to be in vogue this week for Chicago teams, with the Bears' shutout of the Dolphins Thursday night (their first since 2006), so perhaps the Hawks can do the same tonight in Calgary against an injury-depleted Flames squad.
The Flames have three key players on injured reserve: Ales Kotalik (knee), Raitis Ivanans (concussion) and Adam Pardy (shoulder) all on injured reserve. Meanwhile, the Blackhawks are now back at full strength after missing Marian Hossa, Dave Bolland and Brian Campbell for varying lengths of time. This should go a long way toward having the Hawks get some consistency in their lines, something they've clearly been missing in their struggles so far this season.
It's a propitious time for the Hawks to have this meeting; they swept the Flames (4-0) last year and Calgary has lost seven of its last eight games to rank 14th in the Western Conference. The Flames made a trade just two days ago, acquiring Anton Babchuk and Tom Kostopoulos for Ian White and Brett Sutter, so they haven't yet worked the new players into their lineup.
Tonight's game begins at 8:30 p.m. CST and will be televised on CSN Chicago.


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Providing Service and Loving Support
to the Body of Christ
TLC ministry strives to be a blessing and comfort to families and individuals by providing meals during significant life events and matching those who need assistance or services with those who wish to provide. Loving support of the community within the body of Christ allows us to live out God's word glorifying Him through service and love of one another.
We are now providing our TLC assistance through our own online "TACC TLC Ministry" site hosted by "Lotsa Helping Hands". This site provides a central location for people in our church family to request help for themselves or others in need as well as a place for volunteers to offer a helping hand. It also allows us to go beyond providing meals to assisting with many other services required by those in our midst with needs.
To sign up to provide assistance:
- Go to the TACC TLC Ministry website
- Click on "Join This Community"
- Complete the requested information and click "Send Email"
- An email will be sent to our TLC Coodinator so that she can allow you into the community
- When you receive your confirmation email, go to TACC TLC Ministry and sign in
- Check the calendar for current service opportunities! Green date boxes indicate "Help Needed" and blue date boxes indicate "Needs Met"
- Visit the site or check your email regularly for new needs, announcements and information
To request assistance or to let us know of a need:
Email Women's Ministries to notify the TLC system of a need.
You only need to sign up once. You will be notified by email when assistance is needed and you will then have an opportunity to fill needs on the "Lotsa Helping Hands" calendar.


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MON. - FRI. 10:00 to 18:00
Band ring made of thin twig. An elegant and delicate minimal ring to create layers inspired by the nature of the forest!
The ring is made of silver 925 and is pink gold plated.
Band thickness: about 0,15 cm
Avoid contact with water, perfumes, alcohol and oils. We suggest you to keep the ring in its box or in your own jewellery box when you are not wearing it.
Each piece of jewellery from Agapis Jewellery is handmade and unique. This is why your order may have some slight differences from the photo. If you wish to order a plate that is out of stock, you may send us an e-mail and we will take care of it. This may take 3-4 days.


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You can send birthday cards to make WWII vet's birthday special
MARLOW, OK (TNN) - A World War II veteran from Marlow is turning 93 on April 17th and his family is already trying to get cards sent to him for his birthday to surprise him. His daughter Liz Anderson said her dad Recil Troxel loves getting any kind of mail. He's 92-year-old and obsessed with checking the mail.
"He sits here in this chair looking out the window every day," Anderson said. "When the mail is here, he's like the mail is here, we better go get the mail."
But it's not very often Troxel finds something in there for him.
"I don't get mail anymore," he said.
Troxel's birthday is in April, but his family decided they'd try to start his birthday celebration early so he can get enjoyment from one of his favorite things.
"It's exciting when he gets it because he will sit there and hold it," Anderson said. "Sometimes he won't open it for an hour or two. Other times, he has a knife in his pocket, and he rips that knife out and rips that letter open to see what it is."
Anderson said he hasn't always enjoyed getting the mail like he does now.
"At that age, if you get something in the mail, you're just excited because at that age you don't get bills anymore," she said. "So, it's just something exciting for him."
The WWII veteran is currently undergoing cancer treatment, and his family just wants to make him happy which is why they're trying to get birthday cards sent to him.
"It makes me happy that he has something because anything that's an enjoyment to him, is an enjoyment to me," she said.
If you'd like to send him a card, you can mail it to 2684 North Highway 81 Marlow, Oklahoma 73055.
Copyright 2019 Texoma News Network. All rights reserved.


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With Russia's military involvement in Syria growing by the hour, the conventional belief among many Christians is that Russia is Magog from the End of Days War of Gog and Magog is causing Bible believers to pay especially close attention to what's going on at Israel's northern border.
The Bible tells us that Gog is the leader of the land of Magog. However, it does not tell us clearly what the land of Magog will be called at the End of Days. The idea that the land of Magog is situated to Israel's north can be traced to Ezekiel 37:2:
"And I will unbridle and entice you and lead you up from the utmost parts of the north and bring you upon the mountains of Israel."
Russia is, of course, the northernmost country in Eurasia and Syria sits at Israel's northern border.
In addition to the 150,000 Russian troops Russia's president Vladimir Putin is sending to Syria, in recent days, Putin has put together a growing coalition of countries, including Syria, Iran, Iraq and, most recently China, to fight against ISIS in Syria and neutralize their meteoric rise to power.
This coalition appears to be the fulfillment of Ezekiel 38:15:
"And you will come from your place, from the utmost north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding horses; a great assembly and a mighty army."
While some applaud the coalition fighting against ISIS in Syria, others see a darker cloud gathering on Israel's northern border. It has been suggested that Russia's interest in assisting Syria is connected to the recent major oil find in the Golan Heights. The multi-national coalition that is currently fighting ISIS can rapidly turn against Israel over oil.
America's popular conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh warns that the oil find will inflame the region. "The oil discovery in Israel, it is said to be that it could be huge. Depending on how deep it is, the layers, it could be a gigantic find…So, if all that's true, and we won't know for a while, there's no question it's a game-changer. But it's just gonna focus enemies on Israel even more. That's the last thing anybody wants in that region is for Israel to become even more empowered. So the claim will be it isn't Israel's, it's Syria's or whatever, you watch. They're just not gonna sit by and let this happen."
Sputnik News, an international news agency wholly owned and operated by the Russian government, is already claiming that the oil belongs to Syria. "The oil deposit lies in the Golan Heights, which is internationally recognized as Syrian territory but has been occupied by Israel since the 1967 war between Israel and Arab states."
End Times author and rabbinic scholar Rabbi Pinchas Winston asserts that there is reason to believe we are, indeed, seeing the war of Gog and Magog, despite claims otherwise.
He told Breaking Israel News, "There is a prophecy about Moshiach (Messiah) coming from the north. There is also a tradition that Magog may have migrated to some place around what is today modern day Moscow. From a secular point of view, the Syrian conflict and war against ISIS is just the latest and deadliest of a long history of conflict. From a Biblical point of view, it is an eyebrow raiser as so many End-of-Days elements start to come together just north of the Jewish State."
A teaching from the 18th century Rabbinic sage known as the Vilna Gaon further strengthens the pivotal role of Russia at the End of Days. "When you hear that the Russians have captured the city of Crimea, you should know that the times of the Messiah have started, that his steps are being heard. And when you hear that the Russians have reached the city of Constantinople (today's Istanbul), you should put on your Shabbat clothes and don't take them off, because it means that the Messiah is about to come any minute."


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About Marc Gieselmann
Table of Contents
Marc Gieselmann is a San Diego general contractor. He runs HK Construction which is a popular and trusted San Diego home remodeling company.
Marc Gieselmann began his life long career as a general contractor when he was young. Since he loves building things he built a loving family with two children. They are now happy adults and successful on their own. He is active in his community with charity events. Like how he sponsors Little League baseball teams for kids and is an avid off road enthusiast.
Marc built his career from the ground up. He started in the 1980's as a self-employed remodeling contractor working throughout California. After honing his craft for a number of years and developing a real rapport with his customers.
So Marc went on to found HK Construction in 1990, then later incorporate in 1997. Since then, the company has built up a reputation as the most reliable construction contractor service in San Diego and the surrounding area.
Working particularly in the design and new construction industry Marc Gieselmann honed his strength and skills. He quickly became a man well worth knowing. His long-lasting relationships with the very finest subcontractors bear testimony to this claim. Because of this HK Construction quickly gets to work on any type of project with confidence. And then complete the job to a standard that goes above and beyond most expectations.
Focus on Customer Service
Marc personally involves himself in each and every project and will follow things through every step of the way. Thanks to his wealth of experience in construction and remodeling, Marc and his team can complete projects with minimal disruption. And they are keen to build up a long lasting relationship with each and every client.
From the first meeting, HK Construction aims to completely understand the client's needs and meet them perfectly. Because the initial meeting also gives us the chance to outline how we will get to work in your home. And additionally without getting in the way of your normal schedule. We pay attention to even the smallest of details. And use our expertise and experience to complete every project on time and to budget.
Customer satisfaction is our ultimate aim.
And for that reason we will assign you a dedicated project manager to oversee the whole process. So when you figure in the expert level service our employees bring to the table that makes HK Construction the number one choice throughout San Diego and surrounding areas.
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text: There's always a rainbow somewhere. Last week, I woke in Riverside for oral argument. There were incredible photo ops right outside my window, and I will share a few tonight. Tomorrow, I will get back to keeping track of the La Brea Fire, but tonight, I'd like to "mix it up" a bit to share the beauty I witnessed.


text:
BeAmman – a large local blog about Amman – latest artice July 2016
The Cuisine Collective are Aleksandra from Poland and Michael from Ireland living in Amman and posting about their cooking, dining and food shopping experiences. If you are hungry, you should visit their blog. You will either find a nice recipe or an excellent location where to grab a bite.
The Desert Olives – Jeremy and Kelly from Colorado living in Jordan since 2011 with their sons. They blog about their interesting family lives in Jordan.
The Elephant Soul – is Diana living in Amman who loves and cares for elephants, and writes about expat life in general and explores things like female entrepreneurs in Amman.
My Amman Life – Chelsea from California has lived away from home for many years and gives a perspective on Jordan from many different angles such as a Vegetarian, a pet lover or somebody who cares about the environment. She lived in Jordan for some months in 2017 and 2018.
Mummy in Amman by Rachel desaintpern is a Blog of a British expat or immigrant married to a Jordanian with one son and another one soon to come. She blogs about life in Amman, the Arabic cuisine, the difficulties of learning Arabic, and of course being a mom in the middle East.
Sleepless in Amman – Lara offers a local view on places, culture, food, and motherhood in Jordan. As a journalist, she has long-time experience in writing and combined her several articles into a single blog from 2010 onward. Latest article from August 2017.
Trijordan – Rashed Naber is a professional sportsman doing triathlon, cycling and discovering his own country via outdoor activities. – active
Une Familie en Jordanie or Family in Jordan is a blog of a French family with 3 kids living in Jordan since late 2017. They post both in French and English about life and culture in Jordan, traveling the country and outdoor activities such as hiking, climbing, or mountain biking. – Left in 2019
Your Parentology is a blog by Yoko, a Japanese woman, married to an Egyptian-American. residing in Amman since 2018 and writing about parenthood, the beauty of Jordan and life in the Middle East.
Your Parentology Screenshot


text:
- | Monetary Policy Monetary Policy
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Vincent Grossmann-Wirth on the European Central Bank in a Post-COVID Economy
The ECB recognized the severity of the COVID crisis early on, and they have responded quickly and aggressively.
Vincent Grossmann-Wirth is the Deputy Head of Monetary Policy Implementation Division at the Banque de France. Vincent joins Macro Musings to discuss the European Central Bank's response to the COVID-19 crisis and what may lie ahead for the central bank. Specifically, Vincent and David discuss how the ECB's structure and operating system compares to the US Federal Reserve System, the various dimensions of the ECB's response to COVID-19, and what the ECB's review of its operating framework portends for the future of monetary policy.
Read the full episode transcript:
Note: While transcripts are lightly edited, they are not rigorously proofed for accuracy. If you notice an error, please reach out to [email protected].
David Beckworth: Vincent, welcome to the show.
Vincent Grossmann-Wirth: Thank you. Hi David. Thanks for having me.
Beckworth: Well it's good to have you on. Now, technically Vincent, this is your second time on the show, even though your first time hasn't aired and I owe you a big apology. And you've been very gracious with me as a host. But you are one of those unfortunate souls who did a podcast with me right before COVID-19 broke out, and news cycle moves fast and basically your show got stuck in the pipeline. And I owe you big time, so we're making it up for that previous one. And we'll cover some of the same topics, but I appreciate you coming on for a second time, Vincent.
Grossmann-Wirth: Oh, thank you, no problem at all.
Beckworth: Yeah, and we have gotten to know each other because you listen to the show. We corresponded on email, on Twitter, and you do interesting work on the operations side of central banking. And we had one of your former colleagues, maybe he's still a current colleague, but Ulrich Bindseil on the show, who also works with the ECB in terms of operations and implementation of monetary policy, the monetary plumbing side, all those technical details. So you've got a very interesting job there at the ECB. And many of my listeners of course are focused on the US side of central banking, but we have a lot of international listeners as well, so it's good to get you on, kind of broaden our perspective, our scope. And today we'll do that by talking about the European Central Bank.
Beckworth: Before we get into that though, tell us about your career path. How did you get into central banking and end up at the French National Bank?
Grossmann-Wirth: First, thank you David for the introduction. I'm very glad to be on the show. So well, I started the macroeconomics training, I graduated in macro in Grenoble in the south east of France to what they now call Grenoble Alpes University, so in the Alps which has skiing which is also nice in this region. I really enjoyed studying macro there. The teaching actually was quite open with several kinds of approaches in Post-Keynesian and international economy courses. So that was a nice thing there to study and getting to know economic approaches. And in 2007, I had the chance to take a job at the French Embassy in DC, which was before the GFC, and so for two years I did some reporting for the Treasury and on the US policy responses to the crisis. And after that, I got a job back in France, in Paris, at the French Treasury where I did international forecasts, European affairs, and after a few years, I moved to Banque de France, it was in 2015. And eventually, in 2017, so three years ago, I started to work more on monetary policy implementation and to dig a bit deeper into the details of central banking variation.
Beckworth: Very interesting. I didn't realize you got to do a lot of skiing while you studies macro in college, that's awesome. So you were in the Alps skiing and thinking of macroeconomic theories as you went down the slopes, huh?
Grossmann-Wirth: Exactly.
Basics of the ECB
Beckworth: Yeah. Now let's talk about the ECB, because you're at the French National Bank, so it's one of the 19 member banks of the ECB. And I want to go through the structure of it with you, and then ultimately talk about where you are. But my understanding is there's three key parts to the EBC, and that's maybe a simplification on my side, but you can think of the Executive Board, the Governing Council, and then the 19 member banks. So the Executive Board is made up of members that would be equivalent to the Board of Governors at the Federal Reserve System, is that fair?
Grossmann-Wirth: Yes, I would say it's quite fair. The main decision-making body of the ECB and the whole Euro system, because it's a bit misleading but sometimes we use the term ECB for everything and sometimes we use it just to designate the institution in Frankfurt. But for the whole ECB, the main decision-making body is the Governing Council, which includes the members of the Executive Board and also the governors or presidents of each national central bank, each NCB, so that's the main decision-making body. And then the Executive board is also a decision-making body, but for more implementation-side of things and also of course the induction of decisions. But otherwise, the governors and the presidents of the national central banks, take part to the main decisions when meeting in Frankfurt, or right now, of course it has been the case for a while, by telecom.
Beckworth: Okay. So just for comparison's sake, the Executive Board is like the Board of Governors. So Christine Lagarde is at the Executive Board, Jay Powell is at the Board of Governors. You have a governing council, which is all the members of central banks, plus the Executive board members, and they vote on monetary policy. And in the US-
Grossmann-Wirth: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Beckworth: ... we have the Federal Open Mark Committee, the FOMC, which is all the regional, well some of the regional Federal Reserve banks, plus the governors, and they vote. So that's the equivalent, I think. And then the member banks, so you got 19 at the ECB and we've got 12 here in the United States. So there's some similarities there, is that fair?
Grossmann-Wirth: Yes, yes indeed, yes.
Beckworth: Okay.
Grossmann-Wirth: Yes indeed, there are similarities. And it's also because in the euro area, it's very much organized in a federal fashion, as far a monetary policy is concerned. It's the case more than for all other dimensions, such as fiscal policing, which has remained for now because it was moving to but it has remained for now, more at the national level. There are some rules and procedures at the European level, but it's a bit less federalized, in some ways. So, if you look at monetary policy, actually there are many similarities between the two systems, yeah.
Beckworth: Yeah. Now that's useful framework, I think, for people that aren't familiar with the ECB, as to just kind of map it alongside the Federal Reserve System, but there are differences as well. And I want to start with one that's related to your line of work, and that is the actual implementation of monetary policy. So I mentioned earlier, we had Ulrich Bindseil on the show, and he was the head of market operations/monetary policy implementation, for the ECB as a whole. So for me, my initial thought is so he's like someone at the New York Federal Reserve Bank. But what he said on the show is it's not quite like that, because a lot of the implementation is done at the member bank. So for you, for example, so maybe talk us through that. How is implementation maybe a little bit different than at the Federal Reserve System?
Grossmann-Wirth: Yeah, I think it's what Ulrich has told you, which I wouldn't disagree with anyway. It's true that for the monetary policy implementation side, I think it's more decentralized in the Eurosystem. For the Fed, you know that better than I do, but the New York Fed is tasked with controlling and conducting monetary policy operations. So it's not in DC or in New York, but still, [in the US Fed system] there is one bank taking this common control, while in the euro area, these variations are more decentralized across the 19 national central banks, and the ECB also. But if you look, for example, at the Eurosystem balance sheet, so you see that the ECB account for a small share of it, it has moved now but like 500 billion I guess out of five trillion or something, so it's maybe not the precise numbers, but the other magnitude to this one.
[In the US Fed system] there is one bank taking this common control, while in the euro area, these variations are more decentralized across the 19 national central banks.
Grossmann-Wirth: And the biggest national central banks, like the Bundesbank, Banque de France, Bank of Italy, and so on, their account's more than the ECB in the total balance sheet account. So this is consistent with the federal setup I just described, but yeah you're right that it's a bit more decentralized, I would say in the US. And then of course the decisions are quite centralized at the ECB level, even if all national central banks are involved in the decisions, but there is some level of centralization of course at the ECB level, so that we ensure everything is consistent across the euro area.
Beckworth: Yeah that makes a lot of sense when you think about the differences among the two economic regions. So we have one financial market, one US market here, so it makes sense that there's one central bank implementing it at the heartbeat of the US financial system-
Grossmann-Wirth: Yes, mm-hmm (affirmative).
Beckworth: ... in New York. But in Europe, you mean there's multiple financial markets, there's one in each country. So the German central bank has to interact with markets in its country, you have to interact in France, so it makes sense that implementation would more decentralized, given the different way the system is set up.
Grossmann-Wirth: Yeah exactly, and yeah it's also easier for us, Banque de France, to know our monetary policy counterparties better and to exchange with them and to provide equity and so on. I guess it's a bit easier than if it was done at the ECB level. Then again, the ECB is also doing monetary policy implementation, but more on the Asset Purchases Program as primary goal. That kind of thing. Of course, all the money sharing also is very strong at the ECB level, but for credit operation, for example, creditor management, it's very much in the national central bank.
Beckworth: Okay. So we hear a lot about the appointment of the head of the ECB, so Christine Lagarde, that was in the news, you know a lot of discussion of who's it going to be. And she gets the position, and there's politics in all these decisions that are made. But one thing that I haven't heard much about, and I'd love to hear from you, is how are the presidents or the heads of the national central banks appointed? So how is your boss at the Banque de France or the Bundesbank, how do they get appointed in each country locally?
Grossmann-Wirth: Yeah, they are usually appointed by the executive branch in each jurisdiction. It is a least the case in France where the governor is appointed for six years by a presidential executive order. Then you also have an opinion and base of power by the financial committees of both chambers of Parliament, so the Parliament is also involved of course. But yeah, the appointment is more on the executive branch side. And on the ECB side, so it's an eight year, nonrenewable term, and the decision is taken by a qualified majority vote of the European Council, so the body which is composed of head of states at the European level. So yeah, I'm not sure it's very different, European from the US process. There are some differences, of course, but I guess it's not too different.
Beckworth: Yes, there are a lot of similarities, as you mentioned. I would note, probably the biggest one in what you just described is the appointment of the member bank president. So where you are, it's done through the executive, who is elected to office. So indirectly, they're accountable, right? There's democracy, there's accountability, people get elected. If they don't like who they appointed to the national bank, maybe other reasons, they might choose to elect someone else. Where, in the United States, the regional bank presidents are actually chosen from the boards of those regional banks, with approval from the Federal Reserve System. And there's been some criticism here in the United States about that appointment process. So for example, how did John Williams end up at the New York Fed? How did Neel Kashkari end up at the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank? So there is some discussion about how we get our presidents appointed at the regional banks, where it sounds like, in Europe, it's a much more transparent process, done through elected officials, and therefore a little more accountability, a little more transparency. So that might be one big difference, but there is a lot of similarities overall, as you mentioned.
Beckworth: Let's move on though, and let's talk about the ECB in general here and what's been going on. So maybe walk us through what has the ECB done during this crisis? I mean walk us through what you think are the important developments and steps it has taken. You've recently written a blog post that we will link to, where you outline some of the steps. It's really informative, but maybe you could walk us through them?
Grossmann-Wirth: Yeah I think, I won't go into the details of each single measure but what is interesting maybe, especially for US listeners, is the type of operations which has been decided on. So yeah, we deployed quite quickly, I think, significant measures to support the provision of financing to the economy. And in the euro area, as you know, the banking system is quite important for the financing of the economy, so that can be one big difference with the US, where banks are of course important, but you also have a big place for market financing.
Beckworth: Yeah.
Grossmann-Wirth: A bit more than in Europe. And so that's while also our measures, and reforms really, ensures the credit operations, which have been adjusted and expanded. And also collateral-easing measures, which have been introduced also to ease the financing of the banking system. And then of course, one of the most known type of measures, which is the purchase of securities, especially sovereign but not only. So these are three main type of measures, and so yeah I can go a bit into the details.
Beckworth: Yeah, why don't you walk me through each one.
ECB's Credit Operations
Grossmann-Wirth: So, the first type of measures, so of course it's kind of theoretical distinction because the first two interlinked quite closely but it's easier to distinguish them. So the first type of measures, the credit operations, we started by significantly easing our TLTROs. And so that's something which is quite important in Europe and in the euro area. We have this operation which are long-term, three-year operation with variable pricing, and this is an important tool for us to provide equity to banks. And on March 12th, and then again on April 30th, the ECB announced that it was further easing the conditions of this operation. So what we did is we introduced a special period, running from June 2020 to June 2021, during which the rates on the operation are reduced to 50 basis points below the difference, so this is right now, minus 1%. So banks can take equity for three years and, on this special period, at minus 1%. So this is a very aggressive policy indeed, and so that's one of the main measures we took on this side of the operations.
What we did is we introduced a special period, running from June 2020 to June 2021, during which the rates on the operation are reduced to 50 basis points below the difference, so this is right now, minus 1%.
Grossmann-Wirth: But we also launched a number of new operations. The bridge LTROs we announced on March 12th also, where a series of 13 additional longer-term refinancing operations with a weekly standard procedures seek trade with [inaudible], and at the deposit facility rate, so minus 50 basis points. And so all these operations measures end on June 24th, 2020, but the purpose was to provide liquidity support and bridge to carry us into the new scheduled operations were launched with the relaxed requirements. So we announced the TLTROs, the targeted long-term operations, at the same time as we decided on an operation to bridge until they were launched.
Grossmann-Wirth: Then we also introduced new dollar operations, so this was also mid-March, and it was coordinated with other big central banks and was also very important on the dollar side of things to ensure that the tension would ease, essentially. And one important element, which was implemented in recent, I think ECB building, was that the frequency of the seven-day operation, which was increased to daily on March 20th, was also very important. So we had these operations essentially every day to be sure the tensions on dollar equity was announced.
Beckworth: Well, Vincent, let me ask you a question on that.
Grossmann-Wirth: Okay.
Beckworth: ... you're talking about dollar swap lines here, right?
Grossmann-Wirth: Mm-hmm (affirmative), yes.
Beckworth: So you actually implemented them at the level where you are, at the French National Bank? The ECB didn't, you actually operationalized the dollar swap lines from the Federal Reserve, is that correct?
Grossmann-Wirth: Actually, that is decided at the ECB level, the whole Eurosystem, and then it was implemented at the national central bank level. So we have this dollar facility, which we implement at Banque de France that policy trust members working on this-
Beckworth: Yep. Okay.
Grossmann-Wirth: ... and so they did it, but we were also involved in the discussion, which conducted to this decision of course. But this was decided for the whole Eurosystem.
Beckworth: So the ECB decides they're going to be a part of the dollar swap line, but then you and your office, you actually implement it. And then, depending on how much demand there is for it in Paris and Germany and other parts of the Eurozone, that determines the actual total size that's used, is that fair?
Grossmann-Wirth: Exactly, yes.
Beckworth: Okay. All right, and let me ask you another question about another facility you just mentioned, but I believe you were talking about the targeted longer-term refinancing operations, the TLTROs? Yeah, so just for our listeners, that TLTROs, T-L-T-R-O-S, stands for the targeted longer-term refinancing operations. They've been popular for people like me and other people who closely follow central banking, because they appear to be a very powerful way to provide stimulus to economy through central bank, even when you get very low rates. Because you're supercharging, you're letting the banks take at a negative rate, but the condition is they have to lend to the real economy, is that right?
Grossmann-Wirth: Yes, it is conditional to a rate approach of their eligible portfolio flow, yeah.
Beckworth: Yeah and the argument is you're letting the banks borrow at a rate lower than the other rates, it's really kind of supercharging the incentive for banks to take these things out, and then they can loan the funds to the real economy and hopefully it's a win-win for everyone. Banks aren't harmed by negative rates because their getting a great deal, and then the real economy is getting extra funding, so it's a great deal for them. And that hasn't been tried in the US yet, but that's at least the argument, is that right?
Grossmann-Wirth: Yes, yes, I agree. Being more on the Post-Keynesian side of the theoretical debate, I still wouldn't say that the terms are taken by the banks and then used to be lent, because they don't need the talk of equity to lend without previously having help.
Beckworth: Yeah, fair point. It's a signal.
Grossmann-Wirth: But still it is an incentive and it is also a decrease of the pricing of the liabilities to them, so it's an incentive for them to lend. And so yeah, we think it has been and still is very successful.
Beckworth: Yeah, so I know where you're coming from, as you said you're Post-Keynesian so you like to view this from the other side. The demand for loans would be met by this facility versus pushing the loans out the other way around.
Grossmann-Wirth: Yeah.
Beckworth: But another of looking at it, maybe from a more finance perspective is, you're preserving the spreads for banks, you're preserving net interest margins for banks-
Grossmann-Wirth: Exactly, yeah.
Beckworth: ... by offering this really low... so another way of saying this, given that there is demand for some kind of funding from banking, why not do it in a way that keeps banks profitable even in a negative interest rate environment?
Grossmann-Wirth: Yeah, exactly, exactly. And it's also why, I don't know if you wanted to talk about this or not, but before COVID-19 we introduced a measure which is called the tiering system, which is also useful to be sure that the excess equity, which is charged actually to banks at minus 50% now, doesn't have too much of an impact on net interest margin. So it's also important for the conduct monetary policy, for the transmission to the real economy, we don't have a negative impact.
Beckworth: Yeah.
Grossmann-Wirth: There are also other problems related to the business model of things and to the situation of the banking system, but yeah the monetary policy side, we want to be accommodative and be sure that the transmission of monetary policy is fully effective.
Beckworth: Yeah, and as you mentioned, banking is so much more important in Europe than the United States. We rely more on market finance bonds and other securitization more, where you truly rely on more bank intermediation, so it is a big deal. All right so let's go into your second area, I believe it was collateral, and I know it was closely tied to what we've been talking about.
ECB's Collateral Framework
Grossmann-Wirth: Yeah, exactly. So to take liquidity at the central bank, so it's the case in euro area, it's also the case in the US, you need this kind of refinancing operation, or repo is a bit less used but nonetheless. And so you have to put this collateral in exchange for liquidity, and we have to be sure that the first banks would have enough of collateral to take out new liquidity provided by the new measures. And we also have to make sure that the conditions were eased also on the collateral side. To summarize, what we did is we enlarged the scope of eligible credit banks. So the credit banks are just the bank loans that we accept as collateral. We can accept marketable assets, but we can also accept bank loans, so non-marketable. And so we enlarged it to include especially the government-guaranteed loans to corporate, so there have been many decision by the governments of the euro area to provide guarantees for loans and the decision to make sure that these loans would be eligible to operations.
We have to be sure that the first banks would have enough of collateral to take out new liquidity provided by the new measures. And we also have to make sure that the conditions were eased also on the collateral side. To summarize, what we did is we enlarged the scope of eligible credit banks.
Grossmann-Wirth: Then we also introduced a series of other temporary measures, so I won't list everything, but we made that even smaller-sized credit claims were accepted. We also eased some of the limitations we had on some insecure debt instruments. And then the third type of collateral-easing measures is 20% regional reduction to collateral evaluation haircuts that we decided, 20% and then an additional 20% on credit claims. So the idea again was to make sure that the collateral was available and that the condition were eased in this difficult period for everybody from the corporate to the counterparties and all that.
Beckworth: Yeah.
Grossmann-Wirth: So that, yeah.
Beckworth: Well let's talk about your third area there, how you've responded to COVID and that's the asset purchases, and this has probably been the more controversial one, but tell us what the ECB has done so far.
ECB's Asset Purchases
Grossmann-Wirth: Yeah so what we did, in a nutshell, is to increase the amount of asset purchases, and also we increased the flexibility of this purchase. First, it was 750 billion pandemic emergency purchase program, or PEPP, which was launched on March 18th, after first PEPP which I will keep here for the interest of time. And then the envelope was increased by 600 billion to 1350 billion on June 4th. And the horizon for the net purchases was also extended to end June 2021. So the amount was increased, the horizon was also increased, and maybe more importantly or as importantly we decided to conduct this asset purchasing in a flexible manner. So that means over time, across asset classes and also amongst jurisdictions. And this can be adjusted at any time. So I guess that's also the part you were referring to.
What we did, in a nutshell, is to increase the amount of asset purchases, and also we increased the flexibility of this purchase.
Grossmann-Wirth: It's true that this had a very big impact on the market and it's, in a way, designed to ensure the transmission of monetary policy, but also to ensure that there is no fragmentation, financial fragmentation, in the euro area. And behind financial fragmentation of course you also have tension on the sovereign market which started to be a problem for the ECB and Eurosystem. And so this was also the way to make sure that there was no such financial fragmentation, that we also encountered in our history this before and we didn't want it to come back.
Beckworth: Yes and the ECB's been very aggressive. And if I'm looking at the numbers right, and I might be wrong here, but I'm looking at a chart that says the ECB's total asset as a percent of the Eurozone GDP started out about 40%, so 40% of GDP on the balance sheets of the ECB, and it's grown near 60%. The Federal Reserve similarly has grown quite a bit too, it's grown from in the 20s to the 30s. So I mean a lot of the central banks have rapidly expanded their balance sheets. But the ECB, at least in my view, was much quicker and more aggressive than it has been in the past, and maybe that's from the lessons learned, from more willingness to take things aggressive because it's a very serious crisis. But is that fair for me to say the ECB has been much more aggressive this time around than previous asset purchases?
Grossmann-Wirth: Yeah, I mean yeah it's true that it was very quick, I think it was very obvious, well not obvious but quite clear from the beginning that this was a major crisis. I think Christine Lagarde acted quite clearly, and so there was no doubt on the needs to act very swiftly. And then maybe also there is some learning by doing, you know?
Beckworth: Yep.
Grossmann-Wirth: On the assets purchase, we knew that we had to be very convincing, so what was done was very common thing, and it ensured that there was no market fragmentation and no tension related to this. So yeah no, I would agree that this time was quite quick.
Beckworth: Yeah. Let me switch gears here and talk now about the framework or maybe the mandate for the European Central Bank, and where it is and where it might be going forward. So in the United States, the Federal Reserve is doing a review of its policies, of its framework. The Fed has a dual mandate, but it implements it through an inflation-targeting regime. And they're reviewing that, as well as some other features of its framework. And we supposedly will hear very soon about that, and who knows maybe by the time the show comes out, they will have announced it. But we're supposedly hearing by the end of the year what they have concluded from this. And right before the crisis started, in fact we talked about this last time we recorded this, the ECB had just began its review of its policies, too, its framework. So maybe walk us through that. What is the ECB's current framework? What is it targeting? What is it aiming to do? And then how might that change? What are some of the things discussed at least by officials of what could change, if anything?
ECB's Mandate: Present and Future
Grossmann-Wirth: Yes, so yeah as you know the main primary objective of what we call the ESTB, but the ECB, is to maintain price stability, so that's quite clear. So that's why we often say that there is very important difference from the European side with its single objective mandate, and the US side with its dual objective. Actually when you look at the Treaty, you also have mentioned that without prejudice to this objective, the ECB shall support the general economic policies in the Union. So there are also some openings in the Treaty, but basically the primary objective is to maintain price stability. And yeah, when you say if it could change and you mention the review that we launched. So on the review.
Grossmann-Wirth: The review was announced, as you mentioned, so it was in January, but then there was the COVID crisis of course, and so the conclusion of the strategy review has now been postponed. It was initially in 2020 and it's now mid-2021, due to the Coronavirus pandemic. So that's on the timing. And on the topic which will be discussed. So of course the inflation target will be discussed in the modalities. The extensive formulation of price stability, the question of symmetrics will be discussed, or the type of target, I don't know. But we have to still have as a given which is the Treaty. We are not changing the Treaty.
Beckworth: Okay.
Grossmann-Wirth: So the primary objective of price stability will stay there.
Beckworth: So nominal GDP targeting is out of the question. There's no hope for that, huh?
Grossmann-Wirth: I mean it'd have to be, I don't remember the exact words of Christine Lagarde, but the idea was to have a very open decision, both on the type of topics and also to all stakeholders with meetings and concerns.
Beckworth: Yeah.
Grossmann-Wirth: So I won't excuse that nominal GDP targeting will be in the list. It could be interesting to discuss all kind of new ideas. But yeah, with this field, it's constrained on the price stability objective of course.
Beckworth: Yeah I mean it's easier to talk about in the United States because the Federal Reserve has a dual mandate, and nominal GDP targeting is easier to fit into that than a single mandate of price stability.
Grossmann-Wirth: Mm-hmm (affirmative), yeah. Exactly.
Beckworth: I mean if anyone at the ECB is listening right now and wants to find a way to sneak in nominal GDP targeting, I would say the one way you could argue it that a nominal GDP target is similar to a labor income or wage target. So that if you define price stability as wage stability and some kind of aggregate measure, then you could maybe sneak it in the back door. But I hear you, it's going to be difficult to make that fit into that framework. So the discussion then is really about what does price stability mean? Does it mean what it has in the past, which I think officially the statement was "close to but not 2%"? So I imagine the discussion is, "Do we tweak that? Do we allow for average inflation? Do we have symmetric inflation?" I mean let ask this question, would a price level target be something they would consider, or would that be too radical you think?
Grossmann-Wirth: The price stability mandate hasn't explicitly mentioned away targeting, so it could be a possible decision. I'm not saying at all that it could be an avenue which will be considered seriously, but at least it's more in the package.
Beckworth: It's more likely than nominal GDP targeting, but I mean price level targeting is really inflation targeting with make-up policy added to it. So I guess... I know you can't say a whole lot and you got to be careful what you say, but is make-up policy even an item on the table? Are they going to discuss that, or they just really kind of tweaking what price stability means on the margins?
Grossmann-Wirth: No again, I think the decision [about the ECB's mandate review] will be very open. The idea is really to have a wide-ranging discussion on all kind of topics. It also will include other kind of considerations, like the impact of globalization, on prices, and on inflation, but also on activity. It's willing to [inaudible]. There will be… I mean if you go on the ECB website and you look at the reason for this strategy review, you also have a mention of the historically low interest rates and why it is like that and the limits to it and the instruments which could be used in this context. And of course there is this climate change aspect of things, which is quite different, which will also be very important.
I think the decision [about the ECB's mandate review] will be very open. The idea is really to have a wide-ranging discussion on all kind of topics. It also will include other kind of considerations, like the impact of globalization, on prices, and on inflation, but also on activity.
Grossmann-Wirth: But just to come back to your question, it's not that it won't be discussed at all. Even GDP targeting could be discussed and considered and looked at it, and in the context of the changes, in the way prices are disseminated, the way we understand prices, the way there is a link between the business cycle, properization, declining share of the wage in certain incomes, things like that. So there are many avenues to be considered. I was just mentioning in the beginning that we are not changing the Treaty, so it's not in our image to change the Treaty. So that's why I was putting in this caveat, but many things can be discussed. And you know a change in the Treaty is also not something which is totally excluded. So one day it could be the case, but now it's not in our horizon of time, for this review anyway.
Beckworth: Yeah, it's something that the ECB can do itself without getting a change in the Treaty, that's a more likely option. So okay, well that's interesting and we'll be watching. And the deadline, or the final date, is next year summer time or you said June, was it June next year?
Grossmann-Wirth: Yeah, it's mid-2021.
Beckworth: Mid-2021, okay. So we got about another year to go or so, and then we'll get an update. So we'll see what the Fed has to say by the end of this year, we got the ECB next year, and I don't know if you saw, Vincent, but about a month ago, there was a lot of chatter in the United Kingdom about nominal GDP target over there. Now I don't know if that means anything. But the finance ministry there, which actually sets the target or helps determine the target for the Bank of England, they're a little less independent, was seriously looking at a nominal GDP targeting, and I was very thrilled to hear that. And my-
Grossmann-Wirth: Yeah, yeah, but in England and Canada also there have been this situation quite a strong way for a while, I think.
Beckworth: Yeah, well I'll say this: I was sitting with a former Bank of Canada official that will remain unnamed and he told me they were very close, that one of their past reviews to actually adopting nominal GDP targeting, a lot of the people were on board, but a few top officials kind of axed it at the last minute. But yeah, they've looked at it and they've come very close to adopting it. But I think really what we would need to see is a Bank of Canada, maybe New Zealand central bank, Bank of England even better, if they would take the first step. If you see a smaller economy try it first, it works well for them, kind of like inflation targeting. Inflation targeting was first tried in New Zealand and Great Britain, Canada, they kind of were the avant-gardes, the leaders, they kind of showed the way. I think the same thing probably would be true with nominal GDP targeting. But we're getting off-track here because that's David Beckworth's soapbox, not the realities on the ground of the ECB.
Grossmann-Wirth: That's fine.
Beckworth: So let's go back to what actually is happening there and what you're actually doing. Now the reason I had you on the show, back in January, we did a recording back in January or February, before the COVID crisis kicked in, is because you did an interesting article where you looked at operating systems. So you looked at a floor system, you looked at a corridor system, and you mentioned earlier that there's a tier system that's kind of a hybrid between a floor and a corridor system. And why don't you tell us about what you found and maybe where do you think this conversation will go? Now I know this crisis has postponed this conversation probably for many years, because we got big, big balance sheets across the world in advanced economies, but I'd be still curious to hear your thoughts on this issue, number one, and then maybe number two where do you see this conversation going once it does start happening again, however long it may be in the future?
Comparing Monetary Policy Frameworks
Grossmann-Wirth: Yeah so, what I did at the time was to compare the Fed and the Eurosystem monetary policy operational frameworks, both before and after the crisis. So, at the time, global financial crisis that would be basis of course. So what I tried to do is presenting a framework of the congressional framework, in a way try to look at the different perspectives on the frameworks. And so I looked in particular at five aspects, five dimensions. The first, the congressional target. The second is the balance sheets, the liquidity position. Then there's the counterparty framework, the bank's which are counterparties of non-banks which there is a difference here which is quite important between the Eurosystem, with creditor institutions mostly, and in the US with primary dealers for some operation and depending on banks only for orders.
Grossmann-Wirth: Then the collateral framework. So we talked about that a bit, but there is also a pretty big difference on the collateral framework because in the Eurosystem it is quite broad and uniform, while on the Federal Reserve side it's a bit narrower, at least for the open market operations, and it can wider but on the specific types of operation. And also important: so on the fifth dimension would be the lender of lateral modalities. So the way central banks provide liquidity in a kind of idiosyncratic crisis on institution. And so what is interesting here is that to some extent in the Eurosystem this modality are now embedded in what operation we decided to take in this crisis. So we decided to launch peak rate full management operation on our credit operation. And with this actually we kind of covered this lender of lateral modality, even if we also have instruments, which is ELA which is more often an emergency lending facility.
Grossmann-Wirth: And on the Federal Reserve side, there was only, if I may say, the discount window with some stigma attached to it. And so they had to deploy a lot of other facilities during this time. So yeah I tried to put into perspective the different measures which were taken and have a framework to analyze them. And what is striking is that there are some important similarities in the way monetary policy changed because of the large excess of liquidity which was put into the banking system, which implied that the short-term interest rate was not anymore within the corridor but was either at the floor or even below the corridor. So, that's a common point for both the Eurosystem and the Federal Reserve. But at the same time, as I mentioned, on some type of operation, also on credit operation on one side versus the asset purchase on the other side, there were big differences. So yeah I tried to put that together and draw some conclusions on that. I don't want to be too long, but-
What is striking is that there are some important similarities in the way monetary policy changed because of the large excess of liquidity which was put into the banking system, which implied that the short-term interest rate was not anymore within the corridor but was either at the floor or even below the corridor.
Beckworth: No, this is good.
Grossmann-Wirth: ... I can keep going with the conclusion if you want.
Beckworth: Yeah, share your conclusions.
Grossmann-Wirth: Yeah but I will be short on the conclusions. It's not like revolutionary conclusion, anyway. But what was interesting to me is that you have to be aware of both the availability of lending facilities and the way they provide the liquidity, if there is some stigma or not and so on. And you have also to include, I have not discussed it, but the intraday credit and the payment's modality, which are also important to the mix. So that's something I don't fully develop in the article, but it pops up in some parts and I think it's still under study, even if there are some papers at the ECB and other places. But still it's important to put some input also on intraday credit and the way liquidity is provided.
Grossmann-Wirth: The second conclusion is that you also have to take care of the interaction between this liquidity provision and the change in the financial environment. So that's something which was pretty much common on the two sides, as far as the move to a six-year interbank lending is concerned. But at the same time, you also have the difference we mentioned between market-based finance on one side, to be short, and more banking side finance on the other side with still a move towards market-based finance even in Europe. So this kind of financial environment and even regulatory environment, especially on the liquidity side, is very important. And I know that you documented that also in your podcast with many people including Bill Nesden and other people discussing it on your podcast.
Grossmann-Wirth: And the third conclusion is that, at the end of this analysis, I didn't conclude on the superiority, in terms of simplicity and efficiency of a kind of a floor system versus the corridor system. It's, I think, in both cases, it's very easy now to think of the floor system as the easiest way to conduct monetary policy. It's even more the case now with the COVID crisis and the way the excess liquidity increased again. So, in a way, you could contort this kind of floor system view. But, in both cases actually, you have to monitor very closely liquidity conditions, because there can be some fragmentation in the money market, as we saw in the US. There are some impacts also of the articulation between monetary policy and regulatory measures. So anywhere you have to monitor very closely the money market. And it's still quite often, whether it is better to operate in a purely floor or even below floor system, and compared to a kind of corridor which anyway would be different now because we also have different instruments that we created. But in a system where the excess liquidity is a bit less on both. So yeah, to me it's quite open on this one, too.
Beckworth: Well you know where I stand on this question, Vincent. You know I come down firmly on the symmetric corridor side. And I liked your paper because it was a nice comparative study of different operating systems. And you mentioned the money market issue that comes out of this, that can be of concern. And how do you transition back? I mean that's another fair question. How would you get out of what we're in today into something that could actually work as a corridor system? I mean the answer is, at some point, you have to begin running down the balance sheets. But then the second question, I think you alluded to it earlier, well what do you do with your instruments? And the way I would answer that is: what you have to do is you have lower the interest on excess reserves, below the other overnight market interest rates, to the point where you actually get back to a corridor. But all of that I know is a long process, and it's a conversation that's been pushed down the road many years from now, given the huge size of our balance sheets.
Beckworth: But it will be interesting to watch, as I mentioned with Bill Nesden, what Canada does, because Canada was one of the best examples I believe of a symmetric corridor system. They made it through 2008; they temporarily went to floor system when the zero lower bound hit, then they went back to a corridor system afterwards. They have now vastly expanded their balance sheet, much more than 2008. And so the real, to me, interesting test will be if they can return to a symmetric corridor system. If they don't, maybe if they don't-
Grossmann-Wirth: Last one has fallen.
Beckworth: Yeah, the last one has fallen. And maybe the equilibrium in this world we live in, given the political constraints that are out there, is a floor system, which is not what I want to hear or think. But maybe given the realities of democracies and political economy realities, maybe you always do end up at a floor system, which would be unfortunate. But that's why I think it'll be interesting to watch Canada. Will Canada show that it's still possible to go back? Or is this kind of almost a force of nature that we all gravitate toward a floor system?
Beckworth: Well with that, our time is up. Our guest today has been Vincent Grossmann-Wirth. Vincent, thank you so much for coming on the show, it's been a real treat to chat with you.
Grossmann-Wirth: Thank you very much, David.
Photo by DeFodi Images via Getty Images


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Sew this Simple Coin Purse Keychain with your fabric scraps to get your coins organized. I have shared some coin purse DIY tutorials before, and if you love big handbags, I also shared some projects of sew bags tutorials. Ladies always love the little clutch bag for parties, cellphone or cosmetics, especially with party dress, and don't want to get a large bag but a little one to carry all the all the necessities.
You may love: DIY Flappy Coin Purse Free Sewing Pattern & Tutorial
Click the link here for the DIY Tutorial and Pattern Download:


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Ernest Wong, CFA
Head, Research and Portfolio Manager
Ernest is continually dedicated to becoming a better investor. He is responsible for researching new investments for client portfolios and monitoring existing holdings. He has a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Toronto, and is a CFA Charterholder. He is married with two children, and enjoys playing competitive backgammon and supporting the Raptors.


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Christmas Ornament Display Stand | Laser Cut SVG File
Create an ornament display stand for vendor events and craft fairs.
WATCH the complete video tutorial here for material & assembly instructions.
DIGITAL FILE only! NO PHYSICAL ITEM MAILED.
Purchase includes:
•zipped folder containing SVG files
•ILYB Designs General Use Commercial License
Please verify that these file types will work with your specific program and/or laser or cutting machine before purchasing.
This listing is for an instantly downloadable digital product.
NO PHYSICAL PRODUCT will be shipped.
Please do not share this file or claim this design as your own. Design is copyrighted.
- As soon as the checkout procedure is complete, you will be provided a link to download your files. You will also receive an email containing a download link for the files.
- Files are in a zipped folder containing SVG, PNG, JPEG, and/or PDF files (depending on what is specified in the individual listing.) You must have compatible software to unzip, open, and use these files.
- Use the files with your favorite laser (i.e. Glowforge) or other cutting machine (i.e. Silhouette, Cricut).
- Please verify that these file types will work with your specific program and/or cutting machine before purchasing.
All cut files are copyrighted to ILYB Designs and are for PERSONAL USE or SMALL BUSINESS COMMERCIAL USE ONLY. File sharing or sale of files is NOT permitted without written consent from ILYB Designs.
Buyer may not upload this file to print-on-demand websites (such as but not limited to Merch by Amazon, Cafe Press, Zazzle, Redbubble, etc.) or use this file with a third party printer (such as but not limited to Printful, Printify, etc.).
For larger commercial use (more than 500 items), please contact the designer, Stephanie Miller, (firstname.lastname@example.com) before purchasing for an extended license. No mass production is allowed without expressed written permission from the designer.
This design (whole or in part) may not be copyrighted or trademarked, incorporated into a logo or any other digital product for resale, sold as a transfer or stencil, or digitized for embroidery (either for personal use or resale).
Buyer may not resell, share, trade, give away, or redistribute files in any way (whole or in part) without expressed written permission from the designer.
It is your responsibility to check the USPTO database and research trademarks for any items that you wish to sell.
Due to the digital nature of this product, all sales are final and no refunds will be given.
Shipping times depend on the product ordered. (This is the time it takes to handmake the item and ship it, NOT a delivery date.)
Gift collections have a 1-2 week turnaround time;
Clothing has 1 week turnaround time;
SVG files are an instant download.
Please contact me before placing an order if you need it for a specific date that is sooner than the estimated shipping date.
I am able to accommodate rush orders depending on how busy the shop is at that time.


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Back in 2003 I created what's become one of the more popular things on the EdTechPost site, the 'matrix of blog uses in education.' For whatever reason it's gotten lots of links and traffic over the last 3 years, but what has been especially gratifying is when people have picked it up and actually done something new with it (like, you know, re-used/re-mixed it!)
The first example I found a year or so ago was the Dutch site Frankwatching, which took the original sketchy document and translated it into Dutch, along the way making it much more fetching to the eye.
But I was really blown away by a recent example emailed to me by its creator, Tony Lowe. Tony, through a company called Webducate, has developed a number of flash-based tools for creating learning content. Using one of those tools, Dragster, he created an interactive version of the 'matrix of blog uses in education' with a cool innovation – in addition to a pre-existing list of "uses," which the user can drag and drop into their chosen quadrant of the matrix, it allows you to create new ones on the fly to then be placed there.
In an email Tony writes that in future versions people will be able to save completed exercises and look at a gallery of others' work, but even as it is now I can see this being a useful tool to use with faculty or others in workshops to brainstorm different uses they can make of blogs and blogging and help them see it as an activity and process, not an end product (which was a main goal of the 'matrix'). – SWL


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On June 19th – 22nd, you have an opportunity to study watercolor painting under master watercolor artist, Jack Dorsey. In this workshop Jack will teach you a method of watercolor painting using opaque white paint.
While the workshop spans four days, you can choose to take the workshop for just one day, two, three or all four days based on your availability.
The workshop is for people from all experience levels. So whether you are a beginner, intermediate, or advanced artist you will benefit from Jack Dorsey's personalized instruction.
Students will get individual questions answered. There will be a combination of demo's, lecture, critique. The workshop promises to be an overall rich experience, you will make new friends in the arts.
Bring your own watercolor materials (paints, pallete, brushes, paper, painting board). The opaque paint will be provided at the workshop. Easels are optional; tables will be provided. Also bring a sack lunch; or plan to grab a quick lunch at either Tyee Grocery Store (which has a wonderful deli) or Elger Bay; or if you are an Islander, run home for a quick bite.
The workshop will be held at Sunnyshore Studio (2803 S.E. Camano Drive, Camano Island, WA 98282). It costs $50 per day, or $200 for the four days (which is an excellent price!). Scholarships available as needed.
Space is limited. To RSVP call Jack Dorsey at 360.387.7304
- All experience levels
- June 19 – 22, 9:00-4:00pm
- Cost $50 a day, $200 for 4 days
- Bring your own painting materials; opaque paint supplied.
- Sunnyshore Studio: 2803 S.E. Camano Drive, Camano Island, WA 98282
- RSVP with Jack Dorsey: 360.387.7304
To get a feel for Jack Dorsey's art here is the video made for the recent release of his biography: Jack Dorsey: Sketch of an Artist.


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Address: 330 Ahlone Road
Year built: 1990-1995
Architect: Unknown
The Yangon International Hotel's construction started in 1990 and finished five years later. Its endless rows of rounded balconies wouldn't look entirely out of place in Las Vegas.
The Japanese Minatsu Construction Group initially planned a more ambitious project on this site, opposite the People's Park. During the 1990s, several Japanese firms had their representative offices in this building, which explains the hot bath on the upper terrace, as well as the Japanese restaurant and the karaoke venue on the premises. The location may be the best thing about the hotel. An elevator ride to the ninth floor rewards the intrepid explorer with unhindered access to an airy but largely abandoned roof terrace overlooking this leafy part of Yangon, and affording good views of the Shwedagon Pagoda. The hotel management has begun building an almost identical-looking annex, set to open in 2016.


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Leather is a cool way to add texture and chic, and using it on your big day can make the wedding more eye-catchy. Leather jackets as bridal coverups have become a huge cool trend to rock, and many girls wear such jackets in various colors and even with hand painting. But you can incorporate leather into your wedding in many more cool ways! Leather decor and touches can be included into industrial, vintage, rustic, woodland or some other wedding where you need textural and edgy details. Here are some ideas for you to try.
Wedding Stationery
The wedding stationery can be made much more interesting with leather details. These can be leather invitations, leather menus, leather envelopes, tags, seating charts, place cards and many other ideas with letter pressing or calligraphy. Make just a part of your wedding invitation suite of leather and all the rest of paper or cardboard to create a chic look. brown leather looks cool with other materials and with many colors, though you can use leather of other shades, too, to match your wedding color combo.
Wedding Accessories
Besides covering up with a leather jacket, you can also rock leather wedding shoes or booties, add a leather strap to accessorize your dress or a belt to highlight your waist. Grooms and groomsmen can wear leather suspenders for a chic vintage-inspired look, leather boots and watches with a leather band.
Wedding Decor
Leather can be used for napkin rings and utensil rings, for utensil envelopes, menus and cards. Make interesting leather table runners or beautiful leather chargers to add texture and eye-catchiness to the tablescape. Vintage leather suitcases with monograms and blooms can add a chic touch to your wedding decor.
Other Ideas
Wrap your wedding bouquet with leather cord or stripes for a cool textural look, and you can hang whatever you like on the leather cord – watches, rosery, portraits and much more. Put your wedding rings into a leather box with monograms, accessorize your wedding cake with leather belts. Give your guests leather luggage tags as cool favors and your groomsmen and bridesmaids leather bags with various kits. Get inspired!


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Win Tickets to Hear Steven Soderbergh and Sam Esmail at this Weekend's Future of Storytelling Festival
A conversation with Steven Soderbergh and a screening of the season three premiere of Mr. Robot followed by a talk with creator Sam Esmail are just two highlights of the Future of Storytelling Festival, to be held this weekend, October 6 – 8, at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center in Staten Island, New York. In a discussion moderated by Elvis Mitchell, Soderbergh will talk about his overall career as well as Mosaic, the new interactive project he's making with HBO. In addition to Esmail, there are comedy performances, music events, and panels on truth in the age of digital journalism and more. And, there will be over 100 exhibits featuring the latest in VR, AR, AI, Mixed Reality, haptics, sensors, games and interactive film, including 40 projects premiering here for the first time.
Tickets are $40 per day, so the three-pass, complete with a plus-one — free for being a Filmmaker reader — is something amazing. To win, just write me at email@example.com, with FOST in the subject line. The first ten respondents will win a pair of passes. And to learn more about the Future of Storytelling Festival, check out the video above.


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Date(s) - 14/03/2015
9:30 am - 4:00 pm
Trinity Centre, Bristol
Categories No Categories
Regional Transition Network conference in Bristol. Topics include an introduction to Transition, healthchecks for existing groups, celebrating, learning and new opportunities. A great chance to meet other transition people and projects, make connections and learn from and encourage one another. £5 – to book tickets visit https://


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While choosing the restaurant is often a family decision, kids are most often choosing their own meals when dining out. In fact, 78 percent of kids say they choose their own meals whether picking from the adult menu, or from the kids menu, according to a study done by Y-Pulse (ypulse.org) that surveyed 500 kids across the U.S.
The survey also revealed much about what kids are deciding to eat. The majority of 8 and 9-year-olds prefer to order from the kids' menu, while 10-year-olds are split pretty evenly on their preferences for kids or adult menus. The vast majority of respondents 11 to 13 years old said they liked the food choices on the adult menu better than the ones on the kids' menu.
Besides that, a majority of survey respondents (69 percent) viewed themselves as being more sophisticated than their ages might imply. Most were between the ages of 10 and 13, and agreed with the statement that menus covered in cartoons, games, and puzzles were more appealing to kids younger than them.
Sharon Olson, executive director of Y-Pulse says, "We also heard kids say they look for higher quality foods that are healthier and that they like being able to customize their orders." Olson continued, "And a couple of things that came out in earlier surveys are still true today – kids love to eat at restaurants."
The three places kids responding to the survey said they "loved" to eat were fast food restaurants, their own homes and restaurant chains with table service. In particular when commenting about dining at home, kids said they liked "knowing what's in the food," that the food "tastes homemade" and the food is "always fresh." When dining at restaurants with table service, they were more likely to point out mature distinctions about the experience, saying things like, "it's relaxing," that they "liked being served" and liked "sitting down with family."
Of all dining options asked about, the one with the greatest increase from 2010 to 2013 in the percentage of kids saying they "love it" was quick service restaurants. In the 2010 survey, 48 percent of kids said they loved dining at quick service restaurants, while in 2013 that number jumped to 63 percent.
The survey also revealed:
- The places where kids least like to eat
- Dining preferences based upon age
- Kids dining preferences when choosing between neighborhood restaurants with table service and chain restaurants with table service
- Statistics on the kids menus offered by the top 50 chains