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July 12, 2018
Investigation reopened in brutal slaying of Emmett Till
The U.S. government has reopened its investigation into the slaying of
Emmett Till
, the black teenager whose brutal killing in
shocked the world and helped inspire the civil rights movement more than 60 years ago.
The Justice Department told Congress in a report in March that it is reinvestigating Till's slaying in Money, Miss., in 1955 after receiving "new information." The case was closed in 2007 with authorities saying the suspects were dead; a state grand jury didn't file any new charges.
Deborah Watts, a cousin of Till's, said she was unaware the case had been reopened until contacted Wednesday by The Associated Press.
The federal report, sent annually to lawmakers under a law that bears Till's name, does not indicate what the new information might be.
But it was issued in late March after the publication last year of The Blood of Emmett Till, a book that says a key figure in the case acknowledged lying about events preceding the slaying of the 14-year-old youth from Chicago.
A Mississippi prosecutor declined to comment Thursday on whether federal authorities had given him new information since they reopened the probe.
"It's probably always an open case until all the parties have passed away," said District Attorney Dewayne Richardson, whose circuit includes the community where Till was abducted.
Richardson said if a case were to move forward, he and the district attorney in the county where Till's body was found could decide who would prosecute it.
The book, by Timothy B. Tyson, quotes a white woman, Carolyn Donham, as acknowledging during a 2008 interview that she wasn't truthful when she testified that Till grabbed her, whistled and made sexual advances at a store in 1955.
Two white men — Donham's then-husband, Roy Bryant, and his half-brother, J.W. Milam — were charged with murder but acquitted in the slaying of Till, who had been staying with relatives in northern Mississippi at the time. The men later confessed to the crime in a magazine interview but weren't retried. Both are now dead.
Donham, who turns 84 this month, lives in Raleigh, N.C. A man who came to the door at her residence declined to comment about the FBI reopening the investigation.
"We don't want to talk to you," the man said before going back inside.
Paula Johnson, co-director of an academic group that reviews unsolved civil rights slayings, said she can't think of anything other than Tyson's book that could have prompted the Justice Department to reopen the Till investigation.
"We're happy to have that be the case so that ultimately or finally someone can be held responsible for his murder," said Johnson, who leads the Cold Case Justice Initiative at Syracuse University.
The Justice Department declined to comment on the status of the investigation.
The government has investigated 115 cases involving 128 victims under the "cold case" law named for Till, the report said. Only one resulted in a federal conviction since the act became law, that of Ku Klux Klansman James Ford Seale for kidnapping two black teenagers, Charles Moore and Henry Dee, who were killed in Mississippi in 1964. At least 109 of the investigations have been closed, the report said.
State prosecutions assisted by federal authorities have resulted in additional convictions, most recently when a one-time Alabama state trooper was convicted of shooting a black man, Jimmie Lee Jackson, during a protest in 1965. Jackson's slaying was an impetus for the Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights march later that year.
Watts, co-founder of the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation, said it's "wonderful" her cousin's killing is getting another look, but she didn't want to discuss details.
"None of us wants to do anything that jeopardizes any investigation or impedes, but we are also very interested in justice being done," she said.
Abducted from the home where he was staying, Till was beaten and shot, and his body was found weighted down with a cotton gin fan in the Tallahatchie River. His mother, Mamie Till, had his casket left open. Images of his mutilated body gave witness to the depth of racial hatred in the Deep South and helped build momentum for subsequent civil rights campaigns.
Relatives of Till pushed Attorney General Jeff Sessions to reopen the case last year after publication of the book.
Donham, then 21 years old and known as Carolyn Bryant, testified in 1955 as a prospective defence witness in the trial of Bryant and Milam. With jurors out of the courtroom, she said a "n---- man" she didn't know took her by the arm.
"Just what did he say when he grabbed your hand?" defence attorney Sidney Carlton asked, according to a trial transcript released by the FBI a decade ago.
"He said, 'How about a date, baby?'" she testified. Bryant said she pulled away, and moments later the young man "caught me at the cash register," grasping her around the waist with both hands and pulling her toward him.
"He said, 'What's the matter baby, can't you take it?'" she testified. Bryant also said he told her "you don't need to be afraid of me," claiming that he used an obscenity and mentioned something he had done "with white women before."
A judge ruled the testimony inadmissible. An all-white jury freed her husband and the other man even without it. Testimony indicated a woman might have been in a car with Bryant and Milam when they abducted Till, but no one else was ever charged.
In the book, author Tyson wrote that Donham told him her testimony about Till accosting her wasn't true.
"Nothing that boy did could ever justify what happened to him," the book quotes her as saying.
Sen. Doug Jones, D-Alabama, introduced legislation this week that would make the government release information about unsolved civil rights killings. In an interview, Jones said the Till killing or any other case likely wouldn't be covered by this legislation if authorities were actively investigating.
"You'd have to leave it to the judgment of some of the law enforcement agencies that are involved or the commission that would be created" to consider materials for release, Jones said.
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Last month, Defense Secretary James Mattis called climate change a threat to America's military capability when he submitted Senate testimony that unequivocally states climate change is a threat to America's national security. In his testimony, Science Magazine reported, Mattis stressed that it was incumbent on the U.S. military to consider how changes like open-water routes in the thawing Arctic and drought in global trouble spots can pose challenges for troops and defense planners.
That climate threatens national security is not a new revelation. For the Secretary of Defense in the climate-denying Trump administration to bluntly state it for the record – that's seismic. It means the largest institutional consumer of fuel and energy in the world – the U.S. military – will not retreat from its positions about the national security threats of climate change because of the change in leadership.
Just days before the Mattis statement, Boston Green Ribbon Commission (GRC) working group staff met to talk about the climate-military-security nexus and how it could play out in Massachusetts. Jim Goudreau, Head of Climate for Novartis and formerly Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, provided the expert military perspective. Jim worked as part of the Navy's 7th Fleet in the Pacific, where he led energy and resilience strategy for the $171 billion, 730,000-person naval organization. He did not lack examples of why climate change makes it harder and riskier for the Navy to do its job. View the full presentation below.
As global temperatures warm, fresh water depletes, sea levels rise, and weather patterns become more volatile, these scenarios will become more prevalent.
The U.S. military has been working on both mitigation and adaptation efforts for some time, understanding that they will have to continue to operate globally even as locales change as a result of climate impact. The U.S. military has been testing and developing energy technologies for decades to increase its operational capabilities, and many of those technologies are inherently more energy efficient and less carbon intensive. Here in Massachusetts, clean tech companies are partnering with military bases to deploy advanced energy technologies such as solar photovoltaics (PV) and community microgrids. The track record of military energy innovation here in the Baystate includes examples such as:
For Massachusetts, one question is how our corporate, academic, and health institutions can build ties with military bases to leverage their knowledge and experience into our work around climate mitigation and adaptation? Wilson Rickerson, Principal of Converge Strategies, LLC and a resilient energy strategy and policy expert, joined Jim Goudreau in addressing the GRC and led a conversation about potential opportunities for local military-private sector problem solving.
Some angles to consider include:
National security experts will continue to generate new ideas and strategies for maintaining operations and capabilities in a changing climate. We in the wider community – including the businesses and institutions that comprise the GRC here in Boston – must be on the lookout for additional opportunities to partner and share best practices as we move forward to create a safer, more resilient world.« go to news

subset: commoncrawl


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Artist and company profiles
This is a list of professional Deaf and disabled artists, or disabled-led companies, who are actively seeking international partners and opportunities. Each artist or company currently has work ready to tour or for exhibition. We are proud to list companies from all over the world.
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Kaite O'Reilly
Tags: Dance, Literature, Theatre
Kaite O'Reilly is a UK-based playwright and theatre maker who works internationally in disability arts and culture and so-called 'mainstream' culture. Read more
Tags: Dance, Film, Literature, Theatre, Visual Arts
Per.Art is an independent organization active in the field of contemporary performing arts in Serbia. Since 1999, our Art and Inclusion program has brought together people with learning disabilities, artists (theatre, dance and visual arts), special educators, representatives of cultural institutions, architects and students. Read more
Together! 2012
Tags: Comedy, Dance, Fashion, Film, Literature, Live Art, Music, Spoken Word / Live Literature, Theatre, Visual Arts
Working to make the main host borough of Newham an international centre of excellence for Disability Arts as part of the Paralympic cultural legacy. Read more


text:
Chris Hermann
Principal, AICP
Chris is adept at helping communities create a unique, compelling vision and translating that vision into strategic steps that transform cities and spaces.
Chris provides a broad range of project experience to the firm including skills in comprehensive planning, municipal and regional planning, urban design, community revitalization/reinvestment, economic development, form-based codes and design guidelines.
2017 APA Ohio Planning Award for Comprehensive Planning-Large Jurisdiction, Downtown Toledo Master Plan
2015 APA Ohio Award for Focused Built Project, Long Street Bridge and Cultural Wall
2015 OCASLA Honor Award, Bike New Albany Plan
2015 APA National Vernon Deines Award for Outstanding Small Town Plan, Essence of Athens


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Money, sex, and power are the three sins to which people in power seem most prone to fall. Money, because it is tempting to allot extra to yourself, to permit yourself another dip in the bucket, and to make use of the fiscal resources at your disposal to illicitly advance your agenda (i.e., bribery). Virtually every politician in history has had some connection to the misappropriation of civic funds—and in my home state of Illinois three of its recent governors are serving prison sentences for just this. Sex, because power is attractive, and the allure of power appeals to people who want to be near power, possibly to influence power, and who consequently mold themselves to appear more attractive and appealing to your desire. They prostitute themselves to the powerful in exchange for power, whether real or perceived. The list of examples for this is quite long as well—Bill Clinton, David and Bathsheba, etc. Lastly, power itself awakens its own breed of temptations. The allure of getting your own way, the desire to exact vengeance on your enemies, the pleasure of achieving something for your own name, no matter how you damage others in the process, the allure of justifying improper means with appealing ends. In recent news, we might point to Mark Driscoll, pastor of Seattle's Mars Hill church, who is on record saying that "There is a pile of dead bodies behind the Mars Hill bus, and by God's grace, it'll be a mountain by the time we're done." Do the ends justify the means?
These thoughts trundled through my mind when I recently read N.K. Jemisin's fantasy novel, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. Jemisin's book was a compelling story, portrayed an interesting world, and did these things with above average execution. But after I had finished the book I was troubled by a fundamental flaw in the book's logic. The premise of the story is that a group of gods walk among humans, imprisoned and unable to access their full divine power. The main character, a human, is unexpectedly jettisoned into a position near the apex of earthly power. As the story unfolds, Jemisin makes an explicit point that the humans have been made in the gods' image, and that this explains their immorality. The humans are capricious and cold, violent, vindictive, acting according to whim and fancy, and are profoundly immoral (or possibly amoral)—just like their gods. But as the heroine acquaints herself with the imprisoned gods she discovers that they answer to a moral code which, because of their power, is inscrutable to human minds. This shows up in capriciousness, violence, and, especially (in the novel) sex—these gods are permitted to sleep with whomever they like, each other, without boundaries, consequences, gender differentiation, or limits.
As I hope you can see, Jemisin has taken a common assumption—that power mitigates morality—and simply extended it to a divine level. We humans assume that the more powerful a person is, the more immoral he or she will become. If this is the case, then how much more will a god be immoral by extension? Look, for example, at the Greek gods, who are essentially personifications of human emotions and whims—war, sex, creativity, love, thought, power. The Greek gods are essentially human figures boosted to levels of incredible power, and with the freedom to exact that power on any human figure they desire.
The flaw within Jemisin's book is fairly simple, if essential, because all actions, whether they are divine or human in origin, are moral actions; all choices are moral choices whether the actor is powerful or weak. The strength of the heroine's position is that she maintains a moral centre within the chaos of the immoral world she inhabits. She judges the actions of others. But if Jemisin's world really is a place of shifting morality, shifting especially as you achieve more power, then her heroine has no viable perspective from which to judge the immorality of her compatriots. Furthermore, assuming the logic of the world is accurate, then we the readers have no position of morality from which to consider either the heroine's actions just or the divine actions unjust. To remove morality is to remove the judgment of any motive entirely. The plot falls apart because there is no reason for concern, growth, or change.
What troubled me about Jemisin's book was not the immorality of her characters, but rather the assumptions about morality that she made in writing it. We seem to believe that circumstances have power to mitigate our morality, that power causes morality to blur. When President Bill Clinton was being investigated for his illicit sexual actions while in the White House, there was a strong move, at that time, to excuse Clinton's actions precisely because he was president. I even remember one person suggesting to me that one of the perks of being president ought to be sexual access to whomever he liked at any time—after all, this person reasoned, he's got other things to think about.
Whether the issue is money, sex, or power, with each indiscretion there is a temptation to blame immorality on power. As if by identifying the fact of power we have at the same time made full excuses for its abuse. "What did you expect?" we reason, "It's power we're talking about, and don't you know that power corrupts?" Thus we are given permission at the same time to both excuse and blame those who have power.
But something else bizarre happens—not only do we mitigate the circumstances of the powerful because of their power, we also mitigate the circumstances of the powerless because of, ironically, their powerlessness. In recent news, (some) protesters in Ferguson, Missouri have rioted and looted local businesses—their excuse for this behaviour is their powerlessness. Against the militarized perception of the police, some have reacted with (un)civil disobedience. And so, in either case the problem isn't that power corrupts, it is that we use both the presence and the absence of power as excuses for immoral behaviour. It seems that whether power or powerlessness is involved, we are eager to throw off the yoke of our morality.
Ironically, we do this with the Christian God as well. We make a deduction from our perception of power, then apply it to His character. We assume that power mitigates morality, then we conclude that because God is the absolute apex of power His morality must be of a different order than ours. Luther once remarked, in attempting to assert the absolute authority of God, that if God chose to declare something evil to be good, it would be good, even though we considered it evil. It seems our perceptions of power have changed little in the past 500 years.
There are a few things to say about this. First of these is a clarification about power itself. Our widely held perception that power is essentially a corrupting force has been given cultural strength by a famous quote from Lord Acton—one that we famously misquote. The actual quote is as follows: "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority; still more when you superadd the tendency of the certainty of corruption by authority." (Note the missing word in bold.) Today we take Acton's sentiment as axiomatic, but I think it fair to ask if it is even true. Does power corrupt people, or are people natively corrupt, and power only magnifies their inherent corruption? The latter, I hope, is self-evident. As humans we have wickedness within us. It can be small wickedness of petty words, spiteful actions, tax-fibbing, or little lies; it can be great wickedness of murder, theft, adultery, and false witness. We can commit our wickednesses in the quiet of our homes, or we can commit them on stages of public viewing. It is the same wickedness in both cases—the only difference power makes is that of the amplification of the wickedness. David sins with Bathsheba, and the wickedness is common enough—the consequence, however, affects the whole kingdom. Clinton sins with Monica Lewisnky and the sin is common enough—even banal and stupid—but the consequence drags a whole nation down. Driscoll sins with power and the sin is common enough—doing anything to get one's way—but the amplification by power affects the reputation of the church catholic.
So, to begin, let's be clear about something: power is neutral. It is neither evil, nor good, but can be used by humans for either good or evil purposes. It is a magnifying, amplifying force, one that projects the inherent faults in the human creature onto a canvas both visible and large. It is not that people in power sin more, it is that their sins are visible for everyone to see.
That being said, there is a real danger in power—the danger of trusting in one's power. It is a very slight, subtle shift from the sentiment of, "I want this" to the belief that "the power that has been allotted to me means that I deserve this." The temptation of power is precisely in its ability to turn our wants into deserves. I want to get my way—am I appealing to power in order to force my way? I want to enjoy the benefits of illicit relationship with person X—am I appealing to power in order to permit myself that illicit relationship? I want this benefit, this reward, this advantage—am I using the excuse of power to claim that I deserve it?
Again, however, it is not just the visibly powerful who have this temptation. The man who feels powerless in his relationships may turn to pornography to feel the illusion of power, to experience some relational control where he has none. He, quietly, is also sinning in his power. The woman who uses her words to put others in their place is also appealing to the power of her language to dominate and control. She also, quietly, is sinning in her power. And this is one of the dangerous misperceptions of power: that only the visibly powerful—presidents, celebrities, megachurch pastors—have power. In fact, each and every human is endowed with incredible power—power to bless or curse.
But, you may ask, does divinity mitigate morality? Are things different at the apex of power? That this is impossible ought to be clarified by a simple illustration. To the human mind, an error in measurement of .01cm would seem irrelevant—one not worth considering. Is it an error? Certainly, but other circumstances (among them the impossibility of perfection) mitigate the mistake. But imagine making a .01cm mistake in plotting a journey from one solar system to another. .01cm magnified by a distance of four light years has become an enormous error in magnitude. It is the difference between finding your mark and missing it completely. The point of the illustration is that at the level of divinity—which is comparable essentially to a measurement of infinity—the small errors become not inconsequential, but absolutely essential. At the apex of power morality is not ambiguous but absolute—the heights of power demand a perfection beyond anything humans have conceived. Therefore God's power makes morals explicit. When Isaiah beholds a vision of God's power, his first response is repentance for his unclean lips. Visions of absolute power convict us of our moral imperfections. Holiness and ethics are foundationally inseparable.
It should be clear, then, that the ends never ever justify the means. We cannot calculate costs and conclude that injustice in one area is permissible if it achieves a separate justice elsewhere. Especially at the level of divinity, this is absurd. After all, our arguments for ends and means each depend on an assumption of time and temporality. We reason that we can endure a temporary evil for the sake of a later good. But at the Divine level the same divisions of time do not apply—injustice once is injustice for eternity. Therefore if God participates in evil it does not follow that evil is good, but rather that God is evil.
But the lie of ends and means continues. In the church it takes the form of a kind of unholy expediency. We place volunteers in positions of authority because we have a perception of their qualifications and choose to overlook the significant flaws in their character. We resolutely refuse to acknowledge the bodies under the bus by pointing at the successes of a ministry—people saved, ministry accomplished, churches planted. We spend our funds on unnecessary building projects while the church catholic struggles, suffers, and starves. And we excuse all of these with a perception and apprehension of power that, ironically, we lay at the feet of God Himself.
But the place where, perhaps, we sin against power most is the way that we militate one kind of justice against another, particularly when we pit morality against ethics. "How can you care about Driscoll when there are people suffering in Ferguson?" "The focus of the church shouldn't be on homosexuality, especially when there are suffering people overseas." Or, as Tony Campolo is famous for saying, "I have three things I'd like to say today. First, while you were sleeping last night, 30,000 kids died of starvation or diseases related to malnutrition. Second, most of you don't give a sh*t. What's worse is that you're more upset with the fact that I said sh*t than the fact that 30,000 kids died last night." Can we at the same time pursue God's character for Justice while repudiating His moral character? Can we pray "Thy will be done" while ignoring "make your name holy?" In each case we have missed an important reality—that a justice which compromises with injustice ceases to be justice. Or, theologically, a Christian justice that compromises on the character of God is no longer Christian. Morality and Ethics cannot be separated.
And yet the narrative of the world says something different. Our world's narrative tells a story that grants license to immorality because of injustices experienced, whether perceived or real. A person in poverty cannot be blamed for his moral indiscretions. A person suffering under an unjust regime cannot be blamed for her immoral behaviour. Riots are permissible because of the imbalance of power. Martin Luther King Jr.'s sexual indiscretions are overlooked because of the good he accomplished and what he stood for. The ironic twist remains, and both power and powerlessness are used as mitigating circumstances. In the process morality is rendered meaningless—but then again, so also is justice.
In the end, power does not diminish, but rather magnifies the need for morality. The book of James says that not many should presume to teach, because we ought to know we will be judged more severely. Each week I stand and speak before a group of gathered Christians. I will answer for the incautious, misleading words I have spoken. You also will answer for your own misleading and incautious words to your friends, family, children, parents, and people online. But the Scriptures teach that my judgment will be more severe for the simple reason, I suggest to you, that my power has amplified my influence. If you sin, it affects you. If I sin, it affects my whole church. And as with me, so also with every human on earth—as our power increases, as we gain more access, more influence, a bigger platform, then our need for absolute morality increases as well. Power in no way mitigates morality; it only enhances our need for it.
Lastly, we cannot defer the need for moral growth to people in power and authority—each and every person is endowed with incredible power, and each and every person will stand before the judgment seat of Christ and answer for his use of that power. And that means, from small to great alike, that it is essential for us to develop and grow our moral fiber. We must reject the myth of mitigating circumstances, resisting the urge to excuse our indiscretions through appeals to power in whatever form. This will create integrity, so that when we are presented with access to power, what is projected out to the people around us is an image of the Christlike moral core we have labored to build. Amazingly, from such a position even our failures become opportunities for leadership, because our confession and repentance are also projected by power to a wider audience. In this way the individual grace of God allotted to you can be magnified by the power of your position. In this way, Christ's power is made perfect even in our weaknesses.


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Globber Helmet Junior Lime GreenAED129.00 Jump to: Details - Specifications - Reviews
Brand: GLOBBER
(a) Deliveries are made between Saturday and Thursday and will be undertaken by a third party appointed by Virgin for and on behalf of Virgin. Virgin makes every effort to dispatch Products on time. If the ordered Products are not delivered within the time period Virgin specified in the confirmation email, please contact Virgin's Customer Services quoting the order reference contained in your order confirmation email.
(b) Delivery occurs when the ordered Products are delivered to the delivery address you specified when placing your order. At this point, responsibility for loss, breakage and damage passes to you. Ownership of Products purchased passes to you when payment is received by Virgin in full. You will be asked to sign for acceptance of the Products which will note that the Products are correct and have been received in good condition.
(c) If you are not at the delivery address, Virgin will assume that any adults that are present at the delivery address are authorized by you to take delivery of the Products that you have ordered. If above criteria are not met or if there is no one at the delivery address, Virgin will not leave the Products at the delivery address. Virgin will contact you to arrange an alternative delivery time.
(d) Please note that the delivery people will only deliver the Products to your front door.
Virgin does not deliver to any residence outside of the United Arab Emirates.
Pick a colour. Pick a style. Pick your favourite!
Globber helmets are available in 2 colours and 3 exclusive patterned designs
A safe ride
All our kids' helmets come with deeply padded, stitched foam pads in an ABS shell for maximum comfort and safety. With 11 air vent holes around the helmet, you are guaranteed the best cooling system while your child is out riding around!
• Australian Bike Standards Approved
• DFS (Dial Fit System) for a Perfect Fit
• Magnetic Catch Lock
Kids' Helmets Sizing:
XXS (48-51 cm)
XS (51-54 cm)
Small (54 cm and above.)


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Wedding Services
Ruth Myers is available to perform for wedding ceremonies and receptions. Typical wedding ceremony time is 1 hour and includes pre-service music, processional and recessional and incidental music if requested. Additional time can be added for reception either in the same location or in a second venue.
Musical selections are open to individual preferences as long as music is available. The harp can be a solo instrument or work with a vocalist, organist or other instruments such as flute, violin or cello. Charges are based on length of time and the number of performers.
Ms Myers has played for Protestant, Catholic, Jewish and non-denominal services. Weddings can be in the church, private homes, golf and country clubs and historic parks and villages, Services are available for outdoor events, weather and set-up conditions must be approved in advance.
A contract will be issued for each event and a non-refundable deposit must be received to confirm dates.


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Having trouble accessing the MyPay system to check your statements and make changes to your pay account? It seems to be a common problem lately, especially if you've had changes to your personal information and not updated them in MyPay.
There is one simple solution to such frustrations: call them! The Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) runs a customer service department to help you with your pay issues. There are two telephone numbers you may want to use. The main number is 888-332-7411...anyone can use this number. You will then be given a list of menu choices:
- Military Retired and Annuitant Pay
- Military Pay
- Travel Pay
- Military Debts, including waivers
- myPay and password resets
- Garnishments
While retirees and annuitants can call the regular number and press one, they also have their own telephone number: 800-321-1080. This number is staffed Monday through Friday, 7 am to 6 pm Eastern Time. They tend to be very busy on Mondays, so other days are better.
I can't actually find a listing for when the general number is staffed. I would suspect it to be the same, but it doesn't hurt to try during other times and see what happens.
I hope this helps - I know it can be frustrating when you can't get into your accounts to see what's what, and to make necessary changes. Keeping those accounts up-to-date will also help prevent log-in problems in the future.


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In this tutorial, we learn how to build your own prop shotgun. To make this, you will need: one 2x6 that is 2 feet long, one 1x3 eight inches long, two 8" diameter PVC piping 2 feet long, two one inch PVC end caps, picture hangers, assorted nuts, bolts, and crews. First, draw on the shape of your gun on the pieces of wood, then cut them up with a saw. Then, cut out a prong shape in the front and stain the gun to your desired color. Next, connect all the pieces together and attach the wall hanger to the gun. Once everything is attached together, add on the pipes to make the barrels and color them. When finished, you will have a prop gun, enjoy!
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"Unique Experiences to Improve your Golf Game"
GolfXperiences are Single and Multi-Day opportunities for players of all ages and skill levels at World Class Facilities to work alongside and learn from Sean Lanyi.
GolfXperiences are offered at the following World Class Locations:
Island of Maui
Kapalua Golf Resort
Kaanapali Golf Resort
Maui Nui Golf Club
Island of Oahu
Ko Olina Golf Resort
Island of Lana'i
The Challenge at Manele
Monarch Beach Golf Links, Dana Point
Journey at Pechanga, Temecula
Langdon Farms Golf Club, Aurora
The Club at SpurWing, Boise
Interested in attending a GolfXperience?
Pick a location, select dates that fit your travel schedule, contact Sean and his staff will set up the rest.


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Ben is a writer/actor/improviser who has been a part of the Upright Citizen's Brigade Los Angeles since moving to the city in 2006, where he is now an instructor.
As an improviser, after spending years on the UCB's house Harold teams, Ben now frequently performs with the groups "Small Town Sheriff" and "Fun Town," where he tends to play a lot of sassy women characters.
Other UCB performances include La, La, La, L.A.!: A Puppet Musical, Coming Clean, UCB All Stars, Freak Dance, and The Midnight Show. Ben has also appeared several times on Matt Besser's popular improv podcast show, "Improv4Humans."
Outside of UCB, Ben's credits also include the film version of Freak Dance, playing a killer chicken's wife in "Thankskilling 3," crudely impersonating celebrity voices in the MTV animated show "Popzilla", and writing for MadAtoms.com, where his articles have been featured by the Huffington Post and Andrew Sullivan.
Ben is also part of Jim Henson's improvisational puppet show "Puppet Up!" having performed all over Los Angeles.
Ben is proud to be director and performer for "Story Pirates", a non-profit group that encourages children to write creative stories, which they adapt in to sketches shows performed at elementary schools nationwide.


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AboutThus Autumn I ha
For two month to be part of the Lanificio Ricceri Family, one of the leaders fabric producer.
I learned all I could about the production of high quality fabrics. Its simply amazing what they create every single day and how much work and knowhow there is behind every single meter of fabric. Seeing fibers go through all these processes and treatments for becoming a precious wool, cashmere, silk or linen is impressive.
To production of a highquality fabric is like a good receipy for a special meal. It`s all about the ingredients and the handling which makes the result - and you need to give all your love. This is how Luigi Ricceri would explain it.
After all I`ve learned and seen I think that we should all know more about the material we are living in and surrounded by from the first day until our last.
I want to thank Luigi and Francesco Ricceri for their generosity and openness letting me part of their world.


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Myrtle Beach Manor
9547 Highway 17 North Myrtle Beach SC 29572
for a local advisor
Pricing at Myrtle Beach Manor
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*Prices quoted are monthly rental charges and are provided by the communities themselves. Actual prices may differ due to one-time fees, timing and care services required. Speak with your Senior Living Advisor to learn more.
Reviews of Myrtle Beach Manor
- Very nice
They have gone out of their way to meet all the needs of my father in law.
they were lovely and kind but another program is closer to our home.
- safe caring place
My sister is the one staying at Myrtle Beach Manor. I have not had a chance to make it there myself. My nephew got everything set up for her. Based on what I hear from him everything is going well. I talk...
- See all 16 community reviews
Community Details at Myrtle Beach Manor
Senior Housing Types Provided at Myrtle Beach Manor
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To conduct a complete investigation, seniors and their families should:
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If you become aware of any information that should be updated or noted, please contact A Place for Mom.


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A month after Sears Auto Center announced a deal with Amazon to provide full-service tire installation and balancing for customers, the company is bringing the offering to more of its locations. Sears Auto Center has added an additional 71 shops to the program — on top of the 47 centers originally announced, CNBC reported.
"Amazon customer reviews have been very positive and we are two months ahead of schedule," said Sears Automotive Vice President and General Manager Mike McCarthy in a statement. McCarthy added that customers are also "taking advantage" of services, such as oil changes.
The market greeted news of the expansion positively: Shares of Sears jumped as high as 12 percent following the news in pre-market trading. The stock was still up 7 percent later in the morning.
In a press release, Sears Auto had said it will be the first auto service center around the country to offer Amazon customers a Ship-to-Store option at Amazon checkout. Amazon customers choose their tires, Sears Auto location, and the date and time of the installation. An employee at Sears Auto Center will confirm the appointment. What's more, Sears had said it marks the first time DieHard all-season passenger tires will be sold on Amazon — and customers can purchase any tire brand and get the installation.
The Ship-to-Store feature was originally to be available in 47 Sears Auto Center stores in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Sears Auto Center plans on quickly expanding the service to more Amazon customers.
Tom Park, president of Kenmore, Craftsman and DieHard brands, had said in the press release, "Amazon.com customers can expect terrific performance and reliability from DieHard tires, and professional installation from Sears Auto Centers. We're thrilled to expand our assortment of this iconic brand to include passenger tires on Amazon.com."
In July of last year, Sears started selling Kenmore appliances on Amazon — and in December, DieHard products were added to the lineup.
Latest Insights:
Our data and analytics team has developed a number of creative methodologies and frameworks that measure and benchmark the innovation that's reshaping the payments and commerce ecosystem. The September 2019 Mobile Order-Ahead Tracker, serves as a monthly framework for the space. It provides coverage of the most recent news and trends as well as a provider directory that highlights key players across the mobile order-ahead ecosystem.


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LG X-Boom Handy Splash Bluetooth Speaker
LG has come up with a new device called LG X-Boom Handy Splash Speaker (LG Party Audio RK3). It is designed for your outdoor events and come with the price tag of ₹13,490/-. It is easy to carry and features a portable design. One can order it from official website, LGBrandStore.com. Here, we take a […]Continue Reading


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Fibroids have become a common problem among women nowadays which are affecting myriad lives. These are the most frequently seen tumors of the female reproductive system. Symptoms of fibroids include painful sex, cramping, heavy periods and an urge to urinate. Well, it is unclear that why fibroids develop. But some of the factors which influence their formation are imbalanced hormones and family history.
Sometimes, these tumors become quite large and cause severe abdominal pain. In other cases, they cause no symptoms or signs at all. When it comes to treat fibroids, there are numerous treatment options in front of you. The best way is to try some natural treatment options and castor oil is one of the effective treatment options for curing fibroids.
Castor oil pack for fibroids
You might have aware with the castor oil as it is one of the popular oils. It has been using for centuries for treating various health ailments. In the case of fibroid natural treatment, castor oil pack for fibroids considered as one of the best treatment options. Castro oil obtained from the castor bean. It is a triglyceride which is the most common fatty acids find in oils being ricinoleic acid.
Ricinoleic acid is one of the important reasons for the health benefits of castor oil. The question that arises is how castor oil pack for fibroids treatment can be effective? So, let me tell you guys that castor oil is the best remedy for menstrual cramps and to reduce the size of fibroids. Castor oil is thought to benefits the immune system through the oral and topical application of the oil. So, Regular and proper use of castor oil helps in strengthening the different components of immune system. A sound immune system plays a vital role in fighting off the illness and different kind of diseases.
How does Castor Oil Pack Work?
Since fibroids are improving the function of the immune system with the help of the castor oil packs and the ricinoleic acid in castor oil which has anti-inflammatory properties that shrink the tumors. Castro oil packs for fibroids are effective as they are excellent for lymphatic system and assist in improving circulation, stagnation and elimination of benign tumors in women, especially for those who are suffering from uterine fibroids. Using Castor oil will increase the lymphatic cells in the body which used to fight diseases and eliminate various toxins from the body which may be contributing to common side effects having fibroid tumors.
Castro oil has a special ability to penetrate the skin in order to relax smooth muscles. This unique ability also enables it to penetrate the blood and lymph vessels, the gall bladder, bowels, ovaries and liver in order to correct any issues and improve performance. Castor oil will also help in increase the efficiency of circulation of the pelvic region. Good circulation in this region will ensure that supportive nutrients are delivered promptly to the cells. The waste products and inflammatory factors are eliminated before they will cause damage. Castor oil packs for fibroids are the popular remedy because they allow the healing properties to be absorbed directly through the skin.
How to prepare Castor oil packs for fibroids?
You can apply castor oil pack directly on the skin by rubbing some of the oil over the affected areas. This will reduce the pain associated with fibroids and give you relief. Here we are going to tell you how to make castor oil packs for fibroids-:
- For making castor oil pack you need to soak a cotton flannel in enough castor oil but the flannel should not drip of oil.
- Lie down in a supine position with your feet elevated with a pillow underneath your knees and feet.
- Place the flannel over the affected area and cover with a plastic wrap.
- Place the heating pad or hot water bottle on the top of the plastic wrap. Leave it for 45- 60 minutes.
- Remove the pack and wash the oil off your skin with soap or water.
Regular use of this castor oil pack will give you desired results and give you relief from the pain as well as menstrual cramps. This natural remedy will give you good results in managing your fibroids problem.


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Australia captain Meg Lanning: "West Indies is good with bat and ball, we experienced that in India in the World Cup T20, it's a very dangerous side"
Four years on from its ICC Women's World Cup success in Mumbai, Australia meets the team it beat in the final, West Indies, as its begins the defence of its title in Taunton.
And these two high-quality teams know each other well, having also met in the ICC World T20 Final in Kolkata just last year with the West Indies coming out on top.
With recent successes fresh in their memory, both sides have hopes of lifting silverware at the Home of Cricket on 23 July, making this a key match to stamp their authority on the tournament.
The 2013 champion, Australia, enters the tournament in good form with two comfortable wins over South Africa and Pakistan by eight wickets and 103 runs respectively, in the warm-up matches.
Sarah Aley demonstrated her form by taking four for 16 to dismiss Pakistan for just 156 while Elyse Villani showed her prowess with the bat scoring 137 from just 112 balls against South Africa.
Captain Meg Lanning knows what it takes to win the ICC Women's World Cup but is aware her side will have to be much-improved if it is to retain it this year.
"The build-up is definitely bigger this time around, the women's game has moved on a lot since 2013 in India and the quality of cricket being played is really high," she said.
"West Indies is good with bat and ball, we experienced that in India in the World Cup T20, it's a very dangerous, side so we're looking forward to it.
"We know we're going to have to play really well to get the result we want and I think it's a great way to start the tournament."
In contrast to Australia, West Indies lost both its tournament warm-up games, being bowled out for just 63 by South Africa and then failing to defend 246 against Pakistan.
West Indies though is extremely familiar with many of the Australians due to their recent meeting and has had a number of its players, including Deandra Dottin and Hayley Matthews, competing in the Women's Big Bash this winter.
And captain Stafanie Taylor is determined to treat the opening game of the tournament the same as any other, despite the ongoing rivalry and familiarity between the two sides.
"I think preparations should be nothing out of the norm, we'll try and focus on our game," she said.
"We know Australia is a tough opponent, it's not an easy team to beat because it is the defending champion, which says it all.
"We have to go out there and play our cricket. We have a good squad, we've been together for over seven years so we know each other, I think we can definitely be competitive.
"I think we do have to find a balance, we have a fair amount of firepower in our team but we'll try not to get too ahead of ourselves and play the cricket as it comes."
In Australia, the match will be live on the online/digital channels of Channel Nine and Fox Sports, while ESPN Caribbean and ESPNPlay.com will broadcast this match in the West Indies. For further information, please contact your local listings.
Squads (to be selected from):
Australia: Meg Lanning (captain), Sarah Aley, Kristen Beams, Alex Blackwell, Nicole Bolton, Ashleigh Gardner, Rachael Haynes, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Belinda Vakarewa, Elyse Villani and Amanda-Jade Wellington.
West Indies: Stafanie Taylor (captain), Merissa Aguilleria, Reniece Boyce, Shamilia Connell, Shanel Daley, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Qiana Joseph, Kyshona Knight, Hayley Matthews, Anisa Mohammed, Chedean Nation, Akeira Peters, Shakera Selman and Felicia Walters
Umpires - Kathy Cross and Arian Holdstock
Match Referee - David Jukes


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Excellent harmonic imagination , diverse playing, most interesting compositions, and obvious knowledge of jazz history as well as a personal voice : Paul Lay has got everything it takes to go right to the top and make a lasting career. — Martial Solal
Paul Lay graduated from the Paris Conservatory (CNSM) where he studied at the Jazz and Improvised Music Department with Hervé Sellin, François Théberge, Glenn Ferris, Dre Pallemearts and Riccardo del Fra. He has won numerous prizes both in national and international competitions (soloist prize at the National Jazz Competition of La Defense, laureate of the International Piano Jazz Competition of Moscow, Martial Solal International Piano Jazz Competition, Montreux International Piano Jazz Competition). He also is a laureate of both the Meyer Foundation and the Mécénat Musical Société Générale. Invited to perform at the most prestigious venues in France and abroad, Paul Lay has played both as a soloist and leader of various ensembles including the Paul Lay Trio with Dré Pallemaerts and Clemens Ven der Feen and Alcazar Memories with Isabel Sörling, vocals and Simon Tailleu, bass.
"Paul Lay's style is a true joy for the listener.— Michel Contat, Télérama
Recent performances include the Mikado Quartet performing at the Duc des Lombards, Sunside, Jazz à la Villette Festival and the North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam as well as at the Radio France Montpellier Festival and the festivals of Annecy, Biarritz , Cologne , Midsummer Hardelot Festival, Festival del'Empéri and Piano aux Jacobins in Toulouse. Paul also plays as sideman with the Geraldine Laurent Quartet, Eric Le Lann Quartet, Riccardo Del Fra Quintet, Ping Machine, Shauli Einav Quintet. Plus he accompanied Barbara Hendricks for a medley of Spirituals and gospels on the International Day of Jazz at UNESCO. Regularly invited abroad, Paul Lay has played in various venues and for organizations in New York, Toronto and at the French Institute in Berlin. Paul Lay has also toured Russia and Central America (Peru, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago and the Dominican Republic).


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Grand Avenue from Orange to Ivy Streets, Escondido, CA 92025.
On Friday nights a time warp hits downtown Escondido! The streets are filled with strolling people of all ages, while a parade of pre-1970s vintage cars slowly cruise up and down Grand Avenue. All kinds of vintage cars—from American Hot Rods, Classics, Antiques, and Customs—help make seven blocks of Downtown Escondido the place to be on Friday nights! Bring the whole family for a night of fun.


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Retail: $289.75 CDNPrice $214.42 CDN
Designer: Francesco Pachi
Total length: 9.1 in
Blade thickness: 0.20 in
Weight: 6.1 oz
Blade length: 4.6 in
Blade material: N690
Sheath Color: Brown
Handle material: Olive Wood
The Persian Hunter based on the design by Francesco Pachi is exceedingly well suited for hunting use, both as a universal hunting knife and as a skinner. The pronounced index finger guard and the large riffled thumb ramp on the blade spine facilitate very secure handling. The full tang carries olive wood scales that are fastened with eight decorative rivets. The custom fit leather sheath is of course also included.
This product was added to our catalog on Thursday 13 July, 2017.
MSRP: $322.69 CDNPrice $229.99 CDN


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Social time 6:30 - 7:00 PM
Meeting 7:00 - 9:00 PM
Program: A slideshow of photography by Rod Kissinger "Autumn Colors in Northwest Arkansas." This will be a demonstration of possible photography opportunities for the "field trip" to the Cabin In The Woods in mid-October.
Club Critiques will also be conducted. You may bring one or two photos for the critique session. You will get feedback and suggestions.


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This project is no longer listed on FindAPhD.com and may not be available.Click here to search FindAPhD.com for PhD studentship opportunities
Our main deadline for applications for funded places has now passed. Supervisors may still be able to consider applications from students who have alternative means of funding (for example, charitable funding, clinical fellows or applicants with funding from a foreign government or equivalent). Prospective applicants are strongly advised to contact their prospective supervisor in advance of making an application.
Please note that any applications received after the main funding deadline will not be assessed until all applications that were received by the deadline have been processed. This may affect supervisor availability.
Thomsen et al Nature Genetics 2018
Mahajan et al Nature Genetics in press bioRxiv 245506; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/245506
Thurner et al ELife 2018
Thomsen et al Diabetes 2016
Manning et al Diabetes 2017
Van de Bunt PLoS Genetics 2015
FTE Category A staff submitted: 238.51
Research output data provided by the Research Excellence Framework (REF)Click here to see the results for all UK universities


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The Tirreno Gazing Ball Pedestal is a beautiful rendition of old Roman architecture. This polystone (resin) crafted pedestal is not only heavy duty but also versatile. With its neutral coloring and graceful design, it'll complement any gazing globe gloriously.
- 6.38" x 6.38" x 11.75"
- For use with 10" & 12" gazing globes


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Congratulations to the Seattle Seahawks on their Superbowl win and to the United Methodist Churches of Denver on their food drive challenge win! Thank you to all who participated in helping to fill the food banks of Seattle and Denver.
Worship this Sunday, Feb. 9 is canceled due to the Winter Storm. All church activities are canceled Sunday, Feb.9. We are taking every precaution due to slippery roads and icy conditions. Your safety is our primary concern.


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Most teachers live and breathe teaching. We wake up thinking about our classes, go to bed thinking and dreaming about our classes and the children that we have worked with that day. We talk about teaching endlessly. So, with this in mind, just how do we look after and sustain our close relationships?
Schools can be all consuming places. The patterns of the school year are strongly held by teachers, the regular schedule of events across school terms and the emotional rise and fall of the teaching week all drum out a familiar and regular beat to those who work within a school. Late summer typically marks the beginning of the new school year and we start with good intentions and high hopes. By the time early winter arrives many of us, a little jaded from trying to teach during the high winds of a Thursday afternoons and the endless wet breaks, have had moments during which we've considered leaving our jobs. Exam pressure ramps up through the Spring and Summer terms and then the final moments of the school year bring a chance for reflection, celebration and letting go.
Against the intensity of that backdrop and the pull of the school tides I have needed to work very hard at sustaining healthy relationships. During my teacher training the course was demanding and my placement far away from my hometown. My partner at the time knew nothing about the teaching profession and to be honest neither did I. I had no idea how much work would be involved in training to be a secondary school teacher. More importantly I had no idea of my capacity for hard work and my enjoyment of intense periods of work was just rearing its head. My old self had gone and with it our fancy-free, time rich relationship.
It was during my first proper teaching job that I started a relationship with another teacher and in many ways this seemed to have the makings of a successful relationship. It was marginally difficult to manage the privacy element at first and to keep boundaries robust given that the children and parents knew we that we lived together but over time that subsided.
What seemed great was that there was a shorthand to communicating about work. Thus without preamble we knew the context of each other's day or situation. Although our paths rarely crossed in school we both knew when something major had happened that day. We knew what it meant to have had a gutful of talking about a work situation but also knew when the other needed to talk through to the wee small hours and to dream on what it would take to make our school outstanding.
Of course what our relationship didn't require of us was necessity to ever think about what we bought home with us. It didn't push me to consider what 'stuff' was the schools and belonged squarely in the school and what baggage was mine and of our relationship. Stress frequently spilled over into the relationship and it was easy to assume that it was the relationship that was at fault and not the porous boundaries between our work and our personal life.
Encompassing a relationship within the realm of work enabled my workaholism. Indeed, the desire to ensure that my workaholic status remained unchallenged becomes evident when I look back on that period and examine my wider world. My best friends worked at the school, our drinking spots and eating out joints were local to the school. Because of the nature of our connection our topics of conversation revolved around school. Our vision was to change the world one pupil at a time and hours spent working on the vision were unhampered by anyone who wanted or needed me to show up as anyone other than a teacher.
I hope I learned that…
Relationships are all about the efforts you make to bridge the gaps. While a shorthand might feel comfortable and easy it can lead to laziness. If you want to talk about your work you should recognise that this is what you need and delineate the space to have the conversation.
Relationships should never be appendages to work. Relationships with friends, family and partners are everything. They help you sustain your ability to work and they deserve the lion's share of your time, investment and effort.
The moral conviction you hold about your work should find its true expression in the microcosm of your close relationships. If you believe, as I do, that every child deserves the attention and engagement of caring adult, that every child's voice deserves to be heard, that every child should be seen for who they really are then this belief must be manifest every day and show itself within your close relationships.
You can't make it up to people during your school holidays. Being present does not serve at the pleasure of the school cycle. Being present is a daily task. Your partners, friends and family should not have to wait until the summer holidays to get the version of you they recognise. A moment of you every day will do very nicely!


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The Quebec government has committed $23 million over five years to counter sexual violence in post-secondary institutions.
Quebec to invest $23 million to fight sexual violence on campuses
The Quebec government has committed $23 million over five years to counter sexual violence in post-secondary institutions.
Higher Education Minister Hélène David made the announcement on Monday at Université de Montréal. David was flanked by representatives from various universities and CEGEPs.
"This is an important day for women and men who are victims of sexual violence. For the first time in Quebec, … a specific strategy to anticipate and respond to sexual violence is in place for all of Quebec," David said.
She also announced that "in the coming weeks," a bill will be introduced that will provide more specific guidance and limits, a form of accountability on the part of institutions. She did not want to elaborate too much on the content of this future bill.
Already, several institutions have adopted policies for student conduct, especially after recent controversies during student initiations.
The Université de Montréal has already taken steps in this area, said rector Guy Breton.
"The last awareness campaign we launched, on the initiative of our student association, called 'Without yes, it's no,' was so well received that it was adopted last year by 16 others universities and 29 CEGEPs," Breton said.
Richard Filion, of the Regroupement des collèges de Montréal and the director of Dawson College, also recalled the importance of such a strategy at the CEGEP level.
"It is an important aspect of the educational mission of the CEGEPs to ensure that, at the heart of our educational project, beyond the development of competencies, is education to something absolutely fundamental: the respect that is due to every human being."
The strategy announced Monday and the coming bill will affect all institutions, whether or not they already have a policy in place.
The strategy to prevent and counter sexual violence in higher education institutions is structured around six areas of intervention: prevention, handling complaints, support for victims, the security of places and persons, support and consultation.
Among other things, it seeks to establish a "one-stop shop" in each institution to receive victims of sexual violence, accompany them and refer them to resource persons, where appropriate.
The strategy also states that psychosocial support for victims should be provided.
The issue of "academic accompaniment" is also addressed, in a context where there is also the presumption of innocence. The strategy specifies that the institution must "limit the impact of the disclosure or complaint by the victim on his or her academic activities, for example, by revising the bylaws relating to the possibility of dropping out of a course" without receiving a failing grade, and the ability to terminate the lease in a student residence.
Similarly, the institutions must ensure that a victim is provided support and referred to the appropriate resources "or that the victim and the person alleged to have committed an assault on him/her are separated promptly after an adequate disclosure."
Institutions will also have to enhance the security of their facilities, such as lighting, the installation of emergency telephones or the addition of surveillance cameras.


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'An evil': Pope Francis takes aim at 'fake news', social media abuse
The only end result of untruth is the spread of arrogance and hatred, he said.Jan 24, 2018, 19:30 PM IST
After 60 years, priest jailed for life for murdering Texas beauty queen who came to him for confession
John Feit, a visiting priest in McAllen, Texas, was convicted on Thursday of premeditated murder in the death of Irene Garza, then 25 in 1960.Dec 09, 2017, 10:16 AM IST
Pope Francis tells web companies: use profits to protect children
A commission Francis set up in 2014 to advise him on how to root out sexual abuse has been hit by defections by two key members who lamented lack of progress and cooperation from Vatican officials.Oct 06, 2017, 20:00 PM IST
Philippine Church head urges end to drug killings
More than 2,000 other people have been killed in drug-related crimes and thousands more murdered in unexplained circumstances.Aug 20, 2017, 23:12 PM IST
547 boys were abused at German Catholic choir school: Lawyer
The Regensburger Domspatzen ("Cathedral Sparrows"), a 1,000-year-old cathedral choir in Bavaria, was in 2010 dragged into the massive sexual abuse scandal plaguing the Catholic Church in recent years.Jul 18, 2017, 19:38 PM IST
Cardinal George Pell 'totally rejects' sex abuse charges
"I am looking forward finally to having my day in court. I am innocent of these charges," Pell said in a statement.Jun 29, 2017, 13:13 PM IST
Indonesia police fire tear gas on Muslims protesting church
Indonesian police fired tear gas to disperse hard-line Muslims protesting against the construction of a Catholic church in a satellite city of the capital Jakarta.Mar 24, 2017, 14:40 PM IST
Australia's Catholic Church paid $213 million in abuse compensation, costs
A Royal Commission is Australia`s most powerful type of inquiry that is able to compel people to testify and recommend legislative changes and criminal charges.Feb 16, 2017, 08:46 AM IST
4,500 pederasty cases reported against Australia's Catholic Church
Almost 4,500 people reported cases of pederasty or child sexual abuse perpetrated by members of the Catholic Church in Australia between 1980 and 2015.Feb 06, 2017, 11:37 AM IST
Pope creates 17 cardinals, `Princes of the Church`
The cardinal electors come from Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Central African Republic, Italy, Mauritius, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Spain, the United States and Venezuela.Nov 19, 2016, 14:48 PM IST
Missing Mexican priest found alive, tortured
A priest whose disappearance sparked protests in an eastern Mexican town was found alive but with injuries consistent with torture, the Catholic church said.Nov 14, 2016, 11:08 AM IST
Vatican wishes Donald Trump well in US presidency, prays for "enlightenment"
The Catholic Church`s highest-ranking diplomat wished US President-elect Donald Trump well on Wednesday, saying he would pray for the new incumbent to be "enlightened".Nov 09, 2016, 17:47 PM IST
Pope says he believes ban on female priests is forever
The Church barred women from becoming deacons centuries ago.
Pope Francis calls for 'immediate ceasefire' in Syria
Pope Francis, in his strongest appeal to date on the conflict in Syria, on Wednesday called for an "immediate ceasefire" to allow for the evacuation of civilians.Oct 12, 2016, 16:03 PM IST
French church where priest slain to reopen
Two months after its priest was murdered by teenage jihadists, parishioners of a Catholic church in northern France will gather Sunday for a solemn re-opening ceremony to seek solace and solidarity.Oct 02, 2016, 07:11 AM IST
Catholic churches in Kerala remember Mother Teresa
Hours before Mother Teresa is elevated to sainthood, the Catholic churches in Kerala held special prayer sessions and meetings to remind the people of her great work for the underprivileged.Sep 04, 2016, 13:22 PM IST
Mother Teresa's canonization – Know who all from India will attend event
In March, Pope Francis had announced that Mother Teresa will be elevated to sainthood after the Church recognised two miracles attributed to her after her death.Sep 03, 2016, 13:10 PM IST
Mother Teresa`s legacy under cloud as sainthood nears
Pope Francis approved the canonisation of the widely beloved Roman Catholic nun Mother Teresa last December, nearly two decades after she died in Kolkata.Sep 03, 2016, 08:49 AM IST
Sonia Gandhi writes to Pope Francis before Mother Teresa's canonisation
Congress president Sonia Gandhi said that Mother Teresa was one of the most revered, loved and admired figures in India.Aug 30, 2016, 14:32 PM IST


text: The pathway to Bariatric surgery is NOT a linear process. Which means, your staff is going to be spending time with potential patients before they actually become patients or any revenue is realized. Managing patient pipeline shouldn't be this hard, but it is for many programs. PatientFlow was created out of our client's painpoint in tracking patients in the journey towards surgery and beyond with ongoing monitoring. PatientFlow is all about eliminating manual processes and allowing your staff to become more efficient. Believe it, or not, some programs still work off of excel spreadsheets and some don't even track. PatientFlow streamlines the entire process from initial prospect procurement all the way through surgery and beyond with enhanced reporting, optimal grip on patient acquisition spending, and better budgeting for your entire organization.


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What Contractors Should Do In The Wake Of Navy Shooting
Law360, New York (September 27, 2013, 11:47 AM ET) -- The high-profile leaks by Edward Snowden and the tragic shootings at the Navy Yard by Aaron Alexis — both of whom were federal contractors who held security clearances at the time of their actions — have triggered renewed scrutiny on the security-clearance process as well as the hiring practices of federal contractors. While the U.S. government makes the ultimate call on granting or denying a security clearance, companies that perform classified work for the government have important requirements in the security-clearance process.
Contractors have significant responsibilities relating to new hires — whether those hires have an existing clearance or are applying for a new clearance — and ongoing responsibilities regarding the cleared personnel they employ. Above and beyond these requirements, contractors should implement certain "best practices" in the vetting, hiring and training of cleared employees. Contractors that not only meet their legally imposed duties in connection with security clearances but also implement additional safeguards can greatly reduce their potential liability, even under the microscope of the post-Snowden era, as well as improve national security.
Securing Cleared Employees
Contractor employees obtain security clearances through a simple yet rigid process from which the government never deviates.
Those employees have been identified, of course, by their contractor employers, which typically look to fill positions requiring a security clearance from the pool of people who already have a clearance. The increase in classified programs, however, makes that difficult. The alternative is to find a technically qualified candidate, and send the candidate through the clearance process.
Legally, contractors have little obligation to screen candidates before submitting them for a clearance. But in the wake of incidents involving Edward Snowden and Aaron Alexis, the scrutiny placed on contractors in connection with their hiring practices for national security-related positions will increase. Most contractors have a limited questionnaire they provide to candidates, asking basic questions that could affect their eligibility for a security clearance. The flaw is that the contractor relies on the self-reporting of the candidates, who are sometimes less than entirely honest on employment applications.
Once a candidate is identified and screened, the contractor's facility security officer submits an investigation request through the Joint Personnel Adjudication System. The contractor then ensures that the candidate completes a clearance application (Standard Form 86) in the Electronic Questionnaires for Investigations Processing. The FSO reviews the application, approves it as complete, and then submits it for investigation and adjudication. After this, the contractor has no active role in the clearance process.
The application is submitted electronically to the agency responsible for the classified contract. Once the agency has reviewed the application, it is submitted to the Office of Personnel Management. The OPM, usually through one of its contractors, conducts an investigation and sends the results of the investigation to the agency. The agency then either grants a clearance or issues a letter of intent to deny clearance. The U.S. Department of Defense is responsible for issuing over 80 percent of all clearances issued to government employees and contractors.
Ongoing Contractor Responsibilities Regarding Cleared Employees
Contractors that employ cleared personnel also have several ongoing responsibilities, as set forth in the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (NISPOM) and specific agency guidance. (Note: This article doesn't discuss the process by which contractor entities receive a facility clearance, nor do we discuss the many important requirements that attach to a facility eligible for access to classified information.)
The National Industrial Security Program (NISP) applies to all agencies and prescribes how, when, and under what conditions classified information can be disclosed by the government to contractors. Each contractor with access to classified information must appoint an employee (who must be a U.S. citizen) to serve as the facility security officer who implements the NISP through a standard practices procedures tailored to the particular contractor.
First, contractors must ensure that each cleared employee with a continuing need for a security clearance[1] completes required periodic re-investigations of their security clearance in a timely manner. Failure to do so will result in the employee's clearance lapsing. How often and how a reinvestigation is completed varies depending on the agency, the position, and level of clearance, but reinvestigations are generally conducted every 5-10 years for top secret and secret clearances and require submission of an updated security questionnaire, a new background check, and a security interview.
Second, contractors must educate cleared employees on their self-reporting obligations. Cleared employees are required to report to their facility security officers certain events and activities that may affect their clearances. These include changes in personal status (marriage, change of name, cohabitation), foreign travel, foreign contacts, loss or compromise of information, financial problems, arrests, and psychological counsel unless it is for family, marriage, grief, or combat-related issues.[2] The failure to report an incident can be grounds for the loss of a clearance, even if the underlying change or incident itself would not have resulted in the loss of a clearance.
Third, contractors must meet reporting requirements regarding information they learn that may affect personnel clearances. The NISPOM states "Contractors shall report adverse information coming to their attention concerning any of their cleared employees." The most likely source of information would be a self-report by the employee, but the contractor is required to report adverse information regardless of the source, although the NISPOM states "Reports based on rumor or innuendo should not be made."[3]
Nor does terminating an employee relieve the contractor of their reporting obligations. Adverse information is normally reported to the agency that provided the contractor's facility clearance. If the cleared employee works on a federal installation, the report must also be provided to the commander or head of the installation. If the information concerns "actual, probable or possible espionage, sabotage, terrorism, or subversive activities" then the report must be made in writing to the nearest FBI field office.
Lastly, contractors are responsible for providing cleared employees with regular security training and briefings. FSOs must be properly trained. New employees, consultants, and contractors must receive initial security briefings that cover threat awareness, defensive security, reporting obligations and requirements, and applicable security procedures and duties. Nondisclosure agreements (SF 312's) must be signed. At least annually, contractors must conduct refresher security training with all cleared employees. Upon termination, suspension, or revocation of the employee's clearance or discharge, resignation, or retirement of the employees, contractors must conduct a debriefing.
Hiring Best Practices
Separate from their responsibilities regarding security clearances, contractors should also take great care in creating and implementing hiring practices that minimize risk to the company and ensure that only the right employees are being brought on board.
In performing work critical to national security, contractors should make every effort to confirm the qualifications and experience of potential employees. Hiring procedures should provide companies the authority to conduct basic background investigations and verification of education. Additionally, the company should interview references and maintain detailed internal memoranda outlining those conversations. By confirming authorization from potential employees and keeping accurate records of all pre-employment activities, contractors can hire employees more likely to deliver as promised to the company's customers.
When the time comes to extend a formal offer of employment, contractors should provide a written document that both informs the potential employee and protects the company. Offer letters and accompanying employment agreements (if applicable) should:
- Outline basic terms of employment, such as compensation, paid time off, and a detailed job description;
- Specify if the contractor is located in a state where "at-will" employment applies;
- Require that employees acknowledge and agree to any applicable covenants, such as noncompete, nonsolicitation, and confidentiality agreements; and
- Perhaps most importantly if the company's hiring practices are ever scrutinized, the agreements should reference the company's employee handbook and/or code of conduct.
When signed, these documents may be used to prove the employee's agreement to important company rights and employee obligations.
Proper hiring procedures also can provide liability protection for contractors. Most companies find themselves subject to investigation based on the acts of one or two individual employees. Whether under investigation by a federal law enforcement agency or by a suspension and debarment official at the DOD, contractors must be able to demonstrate that they have put forth appropriate effort to preventing illegal or unethical behavior by their employees.
The Federal Acquisition Regulation outlines requirements for an ethics program for all government contractors with contracts worth at least $5 million and lasting at least 120 days. Similarly, the United States Sentencing Guidelines provide a list of corporate actions that prosecutors and judges will consider to mitigate the sentence of a company under criminal investigation.
Each military contractor must carefully analyze its individual business and legal circumstances prior to deciding on the proper hiring procedure. For example, both the FAR and the sentencing guidelines allow for scalability within ethics program requirements based on the size of the company. Likewise, state laws and courts differ drastically with respect to employment covenants — meaning that the same noncompete covenant may be enforceable in one state, but unenforceable in another. As a result, it is critically important that contractors confer with legal counsel in setting forth the proper hiring practices.
There has not been significant fallout for contractors from the Snowden or Alexis breaches — yet. With Snowden, it was reported that there was an investigation into the contractor, responsible for conducting the investigation on behalf of the OPM, USIS, had commenced. Subsequently it was reported that USIS was also responsible for vetting Alexis. After the Navy Yard shooting, President Obama announced that there would be a review of the clearance granting process, but that investigation is not going to single out contractors.
Additional impact on the security clearance process for contractors may flow from lawsuits, no matter whether they are meritorious, by the survivors and families of victims of the Navy Yard shooting. It will be argued by The Experts, Aaron Alexis' employer, that after submitting the SF86 to the government, its duty ended. If the courts find that the contractor had an additional duty in light of the employee's national security position it could have widespread impact on what contractors are required to do not only to protect national security but to also limit their civil liability.
Taking the steps outlined above can help contractors reduce their potential liability and help protect national security.
--By Francis Q. Hoang and Christian B. Nagel, Fluet Huber & Hoang PLLC
The opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm, its clients, or Portfolio Media Inc., or any of its or their respective affiliates. This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.
[1] If the individual no longer requires a clearance or will not require a clearance after their current clearance expires, employers should terminate or downgrade the employee's clearance.
[2] See "Roles and Responsibilities for Personnel Security, a Guide for Supervisors", published by the Defense Security Service.
[3] NISPOM Section 1-302(a).


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Contact Us
From a small biorefinery in Portland, Maine we create a line of commercial and industrial cleaning products. Maine Standard Biofuels was established in 2006, and now collects and recycles used cooking oil from over 1,000 restaurants across New England for biofuel production. A portion of this production creates a byproduct that is perfect for cleaning. As we close in on zero-waste in our facility, Wicked Strong is a sustainable option.
This line of non-toxic, waste-reducing cleaners is made from recycled materials, and is tough on grime, easy on the environment.


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This class is perfect for moms who are home or retirees who like to get out during the day. You choose the board size and we will have plenty of stencils and 3d pieces for you to choose from the day of the class to create a one of a kind fall/halloween themed board.
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Earlier Event: September 23Potluck and Painting
Later Event: September 27Fall themed Board Art