text:
Third of girls in 42 countries forced into child marriages
JUBA, South Sudan The 17-year-old beaten to death for refusing to marry a man old enough to be her grandfather. The teen dragged by her family to be raped to force her into marrying an elderly man. They are among 39,000 girls forced into marriage every day around the world, sold like cattle to enrich their families.
More than one-third of all girls are married in 42 countries, according to the U.N. Population Fund, referring to females under the age of 18. The highest number of cases occurs in some of the poorest countries, the agency figures show, with the West African nation of Niger at the bottom of the list with 75 percent of girls married before they turn 18. In Bangladesh the figure is 66 percent and in Central African Republic and Chad it is 68 percent.
Most child marriages take place in South Asia and rural sub-Saharan Africa, according to the population fund. In terms of absolute numbers, India, because of its large population, has the most child marriages with child brides in 47 percent of all marriages.
Government statistics in South Sudan show half the girls there aged 15 to 19 are married, with some brides as young as 12 years old.
"The country's widespread child marriage exacerbates South Sudan's pronounced gender gaps in school enrollment, contributes to soaring maternal mortality rates, and violates the right of girls to be free from violence," says a Human Rights Watch report published Friday to mark International Women's Day.
The report blames child marriage in part for an appallingly low female school attendance, with girls making up only 39 percent of primary school students and 30 percent at secondary school.
A UNICEF report this month blamed child marriage in part for poor school attendance figures in Congo, where one in four children are not in school.
Child marriage is not common in South Africa, where prosecutors are investigating what charges can be brought in the case of a 13-year-old epileptic girl who was forced to leave school and marry a 57-year-old traditional healer in January.
Human Rights Watch said that in South Sudan there is a "near total lack of protection" for victims who try to resist marriage or to leave abusive marriages. It called for a coordinated government response including more training for police and prosecutors on girls' rights to protection.
Aguet N. of South Sudan, for example, was married to a 75-year-old man when she was 15 years old, according to testimony she gave to Human Rights Watch.
"This man went to my uncles and paid a dowry of 80 cows. I resisted the marriage. They threatened me," the report said. "They said, `If you want your siblings to be taken care of, you will marry this man.' I said he is too old for me. They said, `You will marry this old man whether you like it or not because he has given us something to eat.' They beat me so badly. They also beat my mother because she was against the marriage."
Reducing child marriages is key to achieving U.N. millennium goals to improve child mortality and reduce maternal deaths, according to Malawi's Health Minister Catherine Gotani Hara. She said teen pregnancies accounted for up to 30 percent of maternal deaths in that southern African country.
"By ending early marriages we can avert up to 30 percent of maternal deaths and also reduce the neonatal mortality rate," she said in a statement published by the World Health Organization.
Complications of pregnancy and childbirth are leading causes of death in young women aged 15 to 19 years in developing countries, according to Dr. Flavia Bustreo of the WHO.
Early marriages also will prevent South Sudan from achieving the goal of having women hold 25 percent of government jobs, said Lorna James Elia of the local Voices for Change advocacy group.
She said women activists grouped under a project "Girls, Not Brides," are trying to engage community leaders and traditional chiefs to end early and forced marriages.
Young brides also confront more violence, according to U.N. studies: Girls who marry before they are 18 are more likely to become victims of violence from their partner, with the risk increasing as the age gap between the couple gets larger.
Traditionally, poor families marry off young girls to reduce the family expenses on food, clothing and education. A big incentive can be the dowries older men will pay for a young bride, sometimes hundreds of cows.
Another South Sudan child bride, Ageer M., told Human Rights Watch, "The man I loved did not have cows and my uncles rejected him. My husband paid 120 cows. ... I refused him but they beat me badly and took me by force to him. The man forced me to have sex with him so I had to stay there."
In South Sudan, and some other countries, early marriage is seen as a way to protect girls from sexual violence and ensure that they do not bring dishonor on the family by getting pregnant out of wedlock.
Human Rights Watch called for South Sudan's government to clearly set 18 as the minimum age for marriage. But the country's minister for gender and child affairs, Agnes Kwaje Losuba, said the Child's Act already does that.
"We need to make sure this is implemented," she said.


text:
I'm Glad Trouble Don't Last Always - Vinyl
On I'm Glad Trouble Don't Last Always, his fifth album and third for Bloodshot Records, Luke Winslow-King draws from a deep, dark creative well, turning heartbreak and divorce into an inspired soundtrack for picking up the pieces.
Electric and sentimentally raw, the album is part sonic travelogue, part handbook on navigating the stages of grief. It pulses through LWK's geographical stomping grounds, starting with the pre-war jive of New Orleans, travelling the bloodlines that flow along the Mississippi River toward the Delta bottleneck-slide, and the funky meter of Memphis R&B. Further north, it takes a right for an infusion of greasy Chicago blues, and arrives at the headwaters of his birthplace in rural Michigan for some tell-'em-like-it-is confessionals.
The album was written and recorded while Luke and his newly formed band were on a 2015 summer tour in Italy (and later finished in New Orleans's Parlor Studios, mixed by Colin DuPuis, engineer for the Black Keys). The New Orleans-based polymath matches a technical wizardry with a thematic immediacy detailing a relationship in freefall. The songs unfold as diary entries put to his idiosyncratic blend of roots, pop and rock. It's a Luke Winslow-King record unlike any he's ever done; he's found the light in the darkness and he's plugging in and turning up to bare his soul.
Through nine songs LWK stylistically nods to a blend of contemporaries and influences like Gary Clark Jr., Bonnie Raitt, and Ry Cooder while maintaining a unique, coherent voice. He forges harmony between the modern - pull up a chair on the porch for the sinister rock & roll growl of "Louisiana Blues" - and the traditional - the cowboy country campfire ballad "Heartsick Blues", complete with jangly dusty acoustic and the forlorn fiddle of Matt Rhody. The latter draws on some damn fine lyrical reference points, too: "She's singing 'Please Release Me' [a reference to the Ray Price song], and 'I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry' [Hank Williams]/ It's thinking about her 'Cold, Cold Heart' [another Hank classic]/ That makes me want to die".
There are moments of suffering (the Petty-inflected "Change Your Mind"), desperate pleas (the brooding "Esther Please"), anger and indignation (the joyously bouncy, second-line ramble in "Act Like You Love Me"), and resignation (the soulful Muscle Shoals mosey of "Watch Me Go"). It all bottoms out with the shimmering heat of the Delta thrum in the title track. Through the slow & lo, voodoo chile attack of il maestro Italian guitarist Roberto Luti, drummer Benji Bohannon, electric bassist Brennan Andes, and keyboardist Mike Lynch, LWK rips open the Fender and howls at the moon, "When I had you/ I thought that you'd always be true/ Now look here, pretty baby/ Look what you made me do."
But there is light at the end of the tunnel. "On My Way" is a Sunday morning redemption spiritual, part farewell letter and part celebration; the score to the movie's ending credits, the hope in the sunrise ("I'm on my way/ Across the golden valley"). The final track, "No More Crying Today," reaches a place of forgiveness and strength, a gratitude that emotional pain can make you feel more alive.
Although you know he's been through some turbulent times, Luke Winslow-King fights for a sense of self, perhaps now different than it once was, and comes out the other side knowing of love and loss. Because trouble don't last always.
- On My Way
- I'm Glad Trouble Don't Last Always
- Change Your Mind
- Heartsick Blues
- Esther Please
- Watch Me Go
- Act Like You Love Me
- Louisiana Blues
- No More Crying Today

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Motorola Audio Accessories
Motorola Bluetooth® Audio Accessories
Wireless audio accessories can give more freedom in communications, they allow you to converse discreetly and even take the radio off your belt whenever the job requires it - all without the inconvenience of wires that can get caught or tangled.
Learn more about Motorola Operations Critical Wireless Bluetooth® Accessories
Motorola Earpieces
Transmit and receive discreetly with a variety of earpieces that feature a streamlined design and rugged cables that withstand tough conditions. With inline push-to-talk and microphones, they're easy to use on the go. Our flexible array of surveillance kits includes two-wire kits (one wire for receiving, one wire for transmitting) and more discreet three-wire kits (separate wires for transmitting, receiving and push-to-talk).
Learn more about Motorola Earpieces & Surveillance Accessories
Motorola Headsets
Motorola Headsets convey and receive critical commands while keeping your hands free for other tasks. Protect hearing and facilitate communications in noisy environments. Select from a wide range of comfortable, durable, light weight to heavy duty headsets with noise-cancelling boom microphones and in-line push-to-talk.
Learn more about Motorola Headsets
Motorola Mobile Radio Microphones
Choose microphones designed to keep workers safely connected on the move. Keypad microphones let you easily navigate menus on your radios, dial phone numbers and send text messages. The Long Range Wireless Remote Speaker Microphone (RSM) for mobile radios allow you to stay in touch even on remote job sites when you depend on your mobile radio but have to work outside your vehicle. It pairs instantly to the mobile microphone with Bluetooth gateway.
Learn more about Motorola Mobile Radio Microphones
Motorola Remote Speaker Microphones
Communicate clearly in loud workplaces. Motorola remote speaker microphones (RSM) have exclusive audio features for windy outdoor environments (Windporting) and noisy environments (noise-canceling). IMPRES audio ensures your voice is heard clearer and louder regardless of how you speak. The INC RSM suppresses extreme noise (high decibel equipment, heavy machinery) so you can be heard above all.
Learn more about Motorola Remote Speaker Microphones
- Accessories By Radio
- Antennas
- Audio Accessories
- - Bluetooth Audio
- - Earpieces
- - Headsets
- - Mobile Radio Mics
- - Remote Speaker Mics
- Batteries
- Bluetooth Accessories
- Call Boxes
- Carry Solutions
- Chargers
- Control Station Accessories
- Installation & Mounting
- Public Address & Speakers
- Featured Accessories
- Accessories Home
Sign up for updates
Subscribe to Our Newsletter and get the latest two-way radio news and advance notice on promotions.


text:
O young Lochinvar is come out of the west,
Through all the wide Border his steed was the best;
And save his good broadsword he weapons had none,
He rode all unarm'd, and he rode all alone.
So faithful in love, and so dauntless in war,
There never was knight like the young Lochinvar.
He staid not for brake, and he stopp'd not for stone,
He swam the Eske river where ford there was none;
But ere he alighted at Netherby gate,
The bride had consented, the gallant came late:
For a laggard in love, and a dastard in war,
Was to wed the fair Ellen of brave Lochinvar.
So boldly he enter'd the Netherby Hall,
Among bride's-men, and kinsmen, and brothers and all:
Then spoke the bride's father, his hand on his sword,
(For the poor craven bridegroom said never a word,)
"O come ye in peace here, or come ye in war,
Or to dance at our bridal, young Lord Lochinvar?"
"I long woo'd your daughter, my suit you denied;—
Love swells like the Solway, but ebbs like its tide—
And now I am come, with this lost love of mine,
To lead but one measure, drink one cup of wine.
There are maidens in Scotland more lovely by far,
That would gladly be bride to the young Lochinvar."
The bride kiss'd the goblet: the knight took it up,
He quaff'd off the wine, and he threw down the cup.
She look'd down to blush, and she look'd up to sigh,
With a smile on her lips and a tear in her eye.
He took her soft hand, ere her mother could bar,—
"Now tread we a measure!" said young Lochinvar.
So stately his form, and so lovely her face,
That never a hall such a galliard did grace;
While her mother did fret, and her father did fume,
And the bridegroom stood dangling his bonnet and plume;
And the bride-maidens whisper'd, "'twere better by far
To have match'd our fair cousin with young Lochinvar."
One touch to her hand, and one word in her ear,
When they reach'd the hall-door, and the charger stood near;
So light to the croupe the fair lady he swung,
So light to the saddle before her he sprung!
"She is won! we are gone, over bank, bush, and scaur;
They'll have fleet steeds that follow," quoth young Lochinvar.
There was mounting 'mong Graemes of the Netherby clan;
Forsters, Fenwicks, and Musgraves, they rode and they ran:
There was racing and chasing on Cannobie Lee,
But the lost bride of Netherby ne'er did they see.
So daring in love, and so dauntless in war,
Have ye e'er heard of gallant like young Lochinvar?
The Abbotsford House
Many years later, when Abbotsford House, the former home of Sir Walter Scott, underwent a major refurbishment programme, our high-efficiency boilers and water heaters were chosen – click here for more information.


text:
Stephen Thompson
Stephen Thompson is a writer, editor and reviewer for NPR Music, where he speaks into any microphone that will have him and appears as a frequent panelist on All Songs Considered. Since 2010, Thompson has been a fixture on the NPR roundtable podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour, which he created and developed with NPR correspondent Linda Holmes. In 2008, he and Bob Boilen created the NPR Music video series Tiny Desk Concerts, in which musicians perform at Boilen's desk. (To be more specific, Thompson had the idea, which took seconds, while Boilen created the series, which took years. Thompson will insist upon equal billing until the day he dies.)
In 1993, Thompson founded The Onion's entertainment section, The A.V. Club, which he edited until December 2004. In the years since, he has provided music-themed commentaries for NPR programs such as Weekend Edition, All Things Considered and Morning Edition, on which he earned the distinction of becoming the first member of the NPR Music staff ever to sing on an NPR newsmagazine. (Later, the magic of AutoTune transformed him from a 12th-rate David Archuleta into a fourth-rate Cher.) Thompson's entertainment writing has also run in Paste magazine, The Washington Post and The London Guardian.
During his tenure at The Onion, Thompson edited the 2002 book The Tenacity Of The Cockroach: Conversations With Entertainment's Most Enduring Outsiders (Crown) and copy-edited six best-selling comedy books. While there, he also coached The Onion's softball team to a sizzling 21-42 record, and was once outscored 72-0 in a span of 10 innings. Later in life, Thompson redeemed himself by teaming up with the small gaggle of fleet-footed twentysomethings who won the 2008 NPR Relay Race, a triumph he documents in a hard-hitting essay for the book This Is NPR: The First Forty Years (Chronicle).
A 1994 graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Thompson now lives in Silver Spring, Md., with his girlfriend, his daughter, their three cats and a room full of vintage arcade machines. (He also has a large adult son who has headed off to college but still calls once in a while.) Thompson's hobbies include watching reality television without shame, eating Pringles until his hand has involuntarily twisted itself into a gnarled claw, using the size of his Twitter following to assess his self-worth, touting the immutable moral superiority of the Green Bay Packers (who returned the favor by making a22-minute documentary about his life) and maintaining a fierce rivalry with all Midwestern states other than Wisconsin.
Every album the rapper has released since 2000 has hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grace) extends his streak. Also: Shaboozey returns to the top of the singles chart.
The singer-songwriter showcases new and old material in her long-awaited Tiny Desk debut.
NPR's Music team breaks down this week's new music, plus how the impact of movie soundtracks has changed.
The country music star says she intends to check herself into rehab.
NPR Music's Anamaria Sayre and Stephen Thompson round up the week's newest music, from artists like Megan Thee Stallion, Omar Apollo and more.
Former Disney Channel star Sabrina Carpenter is having quite a summer. Two of her songs are in the top three of Billboard's pop chart.
Sabrina Carpenter currently holds down both the No. 2 and No. 3 songs in the nation according to Billboard Magazine. That puts her in rare company.
One song has ruled the pop chart for over a month. One album has topped the album chart for two months. But there are signs this week that both could face serious challengers soon.
Nelly Furtado's Tiny Desk performance felt like a victory lap — a greatest-hits reel and a homecoming all at once.
From Billie Eilish to Bad Bunny, JT to J.Lo, boygenius to Ice Spice, here they are: the home-run performances, the solid base hits and the outright whiffs.


text:
For bodybuilders, all the muscle in the world means little if it is shrouded by layers of bodyfat. There comes a time when what has been built and hard-earned through the heaviest weights and most intense training sessions, must be displayed to the world. There's going to be some strict dieting on the horizon, some serious cardio in your future. But it might take something extra to deliver that grainy, striated look of etched musculature. That's when you add Animal Cuts.
More competitive bodybuilders whose careers depend on razor-sharp definition have turned to Animal Cuts than any other. The Animal Cuts formula is comprehensive. Think of it as everything you need, conveniently dosed in a single pack. You don't have to think about anything. Just pop a 'pack' twice a day for three weeks and you're set.
Cuts is complete from top to bottom. Animal Cuts targets many aspects of the cutting process. It includes eight complexes: (1) thermogenic complex; (2) metabolic complex; (3) thyroid complex; (4) diuretic complex; (5) nootropic complex; (6) cortisol-inhibiting complex; (7) appetite suppression complex; and (8) our special bioavailability complex.
As a thermogenic, Animal Cuts is extremely powerful. Thermogenesis is the 'burning' of calories from stored body fat. This in turn increases body temperature and provide a source of utilizable energy to the body. Animal Cuts includes potent thermogenics that can help boost the body's natural ability to burn stored body fat while sparing lean mass (muscle), the body's own fat-burning furnace.
From a metabolic point of view, Animal Cuts, is stacked with only the most potent compounds. From green tea extract to oolong tea extract to white tea extract to black tea extract, it's all covered here. A faster metabolism equates to more efficient fat burning and fewer calories being stored as bodyfat. Compounds designed to elevate metabolism then can mean the difference between success and failure.
When it comes to shedding excess water weight stored under the skin (the kind that gives you that "soft" look), Animal Cuts is extremely efficient. The problem with most diuretics is that they often deplete the body of key electrolytes, including potassium. When this happens, your muscles lose their pump and size. Unlike other products, Animal Cuts also contains potassium-sparing herbs which help preserve muscular fullness. Dieting is stressful. Dieting can cause the release of the 'stress' hormone cortisol. High levels of cortisol can wreak havoc on natural hormone production and actually eat away at lean muscles. This is precisely the opposite of what bodybuilders want, especially when the body is already in a depleted state from reduced caloric intake. Animal Cuts has a unique cortisol-inhibiting complex (including patented SerinAid) that is designed to help blunt cortisol production, allowing your body to stay in a more positive anabolic environment.
Finally, three additional components round out Animal Cuts' potent formula. The first of these is a nootropic complex which contains important brain 'boosting' ingredients designed to help maintain proper brain chemistry and also allow for better focus and increased alertness during the workout. Another benefit of nootropics is increased oxygen supply to the brain and the increase of neurotransmitter output and neuromuscular performance.
The second of Animal Cut's final components are CCK boosters (appetite 'suppressants'). Animal Cuts contains natural ingredients to help reduce sugar and carb cravings. If you are a bodybuilder, then you know how powerful these cravings can be, especially during prep time. So it goes without saying that it's far easier to keep a diet clean when the 'munchies' are held at bay.
Finally, we've included compounds designed to deliver the active ingredients (including patented Bioperine) in Animal Cuts more effectively. This is the bioavailability complex. Natural compounds like gingerols, shogaols, 6,7-dihydroxybergamottin, naringin, quercetin and the like are used for this purpose.There's no sense wasting a single milligram of the actives found in Animal Cuts.
Each conveniently dosed 'pack' of Animal Cuts delivers nearly 8,500 milligrams of pure, active shredding power. With a proper diet, exercise, and Animal Cuts, your cutting goal will be reached faster than ever before. Whether for a competition on stage, or simply for the competition with yourself—the most important of all, Animal Cuts has got your back.


text:
NBC Renews 'Will and Grace' Revival for a Third (!) Season
Most revivals are one-and-done, so leave it to Will & Grace to break down another norm. Following NBC's pre-premiere renewal for a bonus tenth season, the network is already confirming a third revival run before the first has finished airing.
The assembled cast of Debra Messing, Eric McCormack, Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally announced as much from a Saturday PaleyFest panel, though an eleventh season wasn't the only good news. The already-ordered tenth season has been upped from 13 to 18 episodes, and Season 11 is expected to follow suit. For those keeping score, that means Will & Grace already has its fall 2019 season planned out, with the potential to expand even farther. Said NBC chairman Robert Greenblatt:
As far as I'm concerned, we can't get enough of Will & Grace and 23 more episodes is music to my ears. We're eternally grateful that Debra, Eric, Sean and Megan feel the same way and wanted to keep this good thing going. I'm overwhelmed by the euphoric response the new show has received from the press and the audience, and my hat is off to the unrivaled writing team of Max Mutchnick and David Kohan, as well as the brilliant directing of Jimmy Burrows, for consistently delivering one of the best shows on television.
The politically-inspired renewal debuted with a cool 10+ million viewers in September, and still ranks as NBC's top-rated sitcom at the current average of 4.7 million. NBC is also considering revivals of The Office and Mad About You, but can Will & Grace's success be replicated?
Gallery: The 20 Best TV Show Revivals, Ranked


text:
calcification™ is a concentrated (140,000 mg/L) optimized blend of ionic and bioavailable gluconate-complexed calcium designed to restore and maintain calcium to levels found in natural seawater, without affecting pH. These two forms of calcium are combined in calcification™ to provide the hobbyist with a convenient way to ensure peak coral growth and health.
Ionic calcium is readily available, while the gluconate-complexed calcium confers several benefits. The uncharged calcium in calcification™ is readily absorbed with less physiological work than is required for the absorption of ionic calcium. Using calcification™, it is not necessary to maintain the excessively high concentrations of calcium (about 450 mg/L or more) often recommended by others. In fact, excellent growth of corals and coraline algae is achieved with total calcium concentrations as low as 380 mg/L. Used up to four times recommended maintenance dose, the gluconate polymer will not accumulate or encourage the growth of undesirable algae. The polymer itself is beneficial as a food source not only to the corals and other invertebrates, but also to denitrifying bacteria, actually promoting the natural anaerobic denitrification process in live rock and other substrate. Furthermore, the use of this gluconate polymer allows calcium, strontium, and magnesium to be utilized more readily than they would otherwise and also helps to stabilize them in solution without depleting alkalinity.
Some prefer not to use complexed calcium because of concern about adding organics to the aquarium. This is not a valid concern. The amount of organics added with complexed calcium is insignificantly small when compared to the organics released by most reef creatures, even in a no feed, no nutrients approach. Since complexed calcium products employ lactate or gluconate, the naive misconception that these products contain sugars has arisen. While these components are related to sugars, they are oxidized aldehydes and do not react or behave as sugars. Polygluconate contains no nitrogen or phosphorous, thus it is biologically impossible for it to lead to algae growth in a properly maintained reef system.
Unlike competing products that require multi-day interval dosing when combined with carbonate supplements, calcification™ can be dosed daily and within minutes of our eight.four™ as well as the entire aquavitro reef line.
Beginner: Use 5 mL for every 70 L (18 US gallons) twice a week. Check calcium once a week and adjust amount or frequency accordingly.
Advanced: Check calcium level, then follow addition regimen above until calcium is adjusted to 380-400 mg/L. Each 5 mL/70 L (18 US gallons) will raise calcium by about 10 mg/L. Quantity or frequency can be adjusted, but do not exceed 15 mL/70 L (18 US gallons) per day. Thereafter, use as required to maintain calcium.


text:
Finished this week:
Swaps for TSS - stay tuned for the full reveal on Monday!
Still going:
My first pattern - Smooth sailing here so far, I'm about halfway through the quilt top, and I cannot wait to share this one with you all!
Pillow Talk Swap - I'm planning to do some more sketching on the plane, but I do have a nice stack of fabric that I plan to work with.
Farmer's Wife QAL - Once I get back from the Summit, I hope to get back in the swing of things with this one!
Catching up on Birdie Stitches - I'm bringing my three blocks for the Birdie Stitches BOM that I'm behind on for the plane ride to Salt Lake City. After that, there's only two more blocks to make before this BOM ends!
WiP Wednesday #46 Recap
Last week's total: 6
Finished: 3
New this week: 1
This week's total: 4
Hop on over to Freshly Pieced to find zillions of other project lists and boatloads of inspiration!


text:
So it's finally moving day! If those words fill you with dread and the days are racing by before your move, it's time to stop and take a deep breath. While the final destination may hold great excitement, emotions can be running high; saying goodbye to a home you once knew isn't always easy. The process of moving is an overwhelming and stressful task, especially without a plan, adding in the need for speedy packing, and the stress levels go through the roof.
Like a ship on rough seas follows the beacon of light from a lighthouse to safety, it is helpful to follow a checklist, so read on as we explore five hacks to help you pack up and move as quickly as possible in Dallas.
Gather Supplies
The first of our hacks to help you pack up and move as quickly as possible in Dallas is to gather the supplies you'll need to move so that once you get started, you won't face any delays because of extra shopping trips for packing tape, boxes or wrapping paper. Many sites offer general information on the subject and online calculators to estimate how many boxes you'll need by the size of your home. These sites can also help you determine what size moving truck you will need to hire. If you should have an excessive amount of small items that require special packing, such as a collection of glass pieces, you may want to add extra boxes to err on the side of caution.
Master Notebook
A large binder that you will keep with you at all times to help you keep track of is the next of our hacks to help you pack up and move as quickly as possible in Dallas. With a page for each room, you can number each box as you pack it and make notes with a general description of the contents, mentioning any particular items you may be looking for after the move. Place all paperwork from the movers in the binder so it is easy to locate any information you need quickly. Include a master checklist of essential things to keep with you during the move and any vital contact information you'll need at hand. You should keep the numbers of the utility companies and a calendar with appointments for getting your new home up and running, such as the cable installers.
One more of our five hacks to help you pack up and move as quickly as possible in Dallas is to sort your belongings as you pack. The less you have to move, the quicker the process will take, so be selective about what goes with you. You'll want to work on one room at a time to prevent feeling overwhelmed. Then, divide your belongings into three categories, keep, donate or toss. Once you've decided the item is a keeper, pack it. Using a color-coding system of inexpensive stickers on the outside of the box to identify which packages go in which room when you unpack, you don't need to direct where every item goes. Then, you can list the number of boxes for each room to quickly assess if everything has made it off of the truck.
Packing Order
The last of our five hacks to help you pack up and move as quickly as possible in Dallas is the order the moving truck is loaded. You'll want to be sure that you have access to anything you will need to have at hand the first night, such as clothing and necessities for your family for a few days. Your supplies for coffee should be the last thing placed on the truck.
Regrettably, not every moving company is equal, and you need to consider the possibility of theft during the move. Another hack to help you pack up and move as quickly as possible in Dallas is to photograph valuables. When you've sorted through all of your stuff and have decided something is a keeper, if it holds any value, you should photograph the item and document any serial numbers, placing the information in the master binder along with your other inventory of boxes. If possible, keep all electronic devices that contain sensitive information with you and ensure they are all password protected. The best protection is to work with trusted and established moving companies. Ask for recommendations from friends, family members, or a professional experienced with moving companies, and check online reviews.
At NOW Property Investments LLC, we know all of the hacks to help you pack up and move as quickly as possible in Dallas. With years of experience, our local direct buyers at NOW Property Investments LLC have helped hundreds of families just like yours make a fast move across town or the country to Dallas easy. Contact NOW Property Investments LLC at 2147443491.


text:
VPN 360 – Unlimited VPN Proxy iOS版下載
VPN 360 – Unlimited VPN Proxy Android版下載
VPN 360 – Unlimited VPN Proxy介紹
VPN 360 is one of the best and easiest ways to access all your favorite online content for free. With super-fast VPN servers and other premium features, VPN 360 is the best choice for you.
You can be a premium user and get more features through auto-renewable subscription:
Title of service: VPN 360 Premium
• Length of subscription: 1 month, 1 year, access to Premium servers, and higher connection speed, and priority support, no ads
• Price of subscription, and price per unit: 1 month – $11.99, 1 year – $35.99;
• Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase
• Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period
• Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal
• Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase
• Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable
Terms of service:
Privacy policy:
Contact us:
[email protected]


text:
Somewhere out there is a five-year-old boy who doesn't know that right now plans are being made by a congregation he's never heard of to offer a neighborhood vacation Bible school that will change the direction of his life. The songs he will sing will stick in his mind, the stories of Jesus will enliven his imagination. The puppet show will make him laugh, the teacher will make him feel loved and welcomed, and the hospitality of those followers of Christ will
so touch his mom and dad that they will take a small, unexpected step toward faith.
Somewhere out there is an elderly woman who feels as if everyone has forgotten her. Her world has shrunk to her small apartment, the weekly trips to the grocery store, and the visits to the doctor's office. Her television has become her best friend. She doesn't know it,
but right now a nearby congregation has awakened to the calling of God to invite people like her to a weekly lunch and to a chance to serve others. Soon she'll use her long-neglected skills to knit baby blankets that will wrap medical supplies bound for Central America, and this taste of community will save her life and give her a rebirth she never imagined possible.
Somewhere out there in a rural Philippine village, a young couple strive to cope with the unexpected loss of their daughter in a flood that washed away their home. They don't realize it now, but even as they grieve neighbors are holding them in prayer and asking God for the best way to surround them with the love of Christ. They cannot imagine now how the stories of faith, the songs of worship, and the embrace of strangers will move them step by step toward a sense of life they thought they would never see again.
Somewhere out there is a teacher who thinks no one else cares about the children she has given her life to serving. Her schoolroom is rundown, and there's less money now than ever before to provide the resources she needs to do her job. She has no idea that a congregation is preparing for a new ministry that will change her circumstances. Six months from now she will weep with joy as strangers repaint and refurbish her classroom. She cannot imagine
that droves of people will step forward to volunteer to tutor, to read stories, and to coach basketball. She has no inkling of the effect this will have on her and on her students, and how this will open the door by which she rediscovers her own faith in Christ.
Somewhere out there is a young man whose inability to cope with the basic mechanisms of daily living has caused him to lose his job, to stop taking his medication, and to slip through the cracks of every social, community, and family network. He kept falling until now he sleeps on the streets, carries cardboard for bedding, and digs through trash for dinner. He has no idea that a congregation is gearing up to offer a soup kitchen, and that this ministry will change his life. He cannot imagine that as he is served a meal, someone will engage him in conversation, treat him as human, listen to his story, learn his name, and reconnect him to his family and to the social networks that will allow him to live again a basic life with dignity. He has no idea that God, working through people desiring to follow Christ, will restore him to a life he barely remembers.
Somewhere out there in an African village a young girl and her little sister read stories together in bed, both of them safely protected by a mosquito net bought by the youth of a rural church in the American Midwest. No one can see it now, but she will grow up to become a doctor, relieving the suffering of thousands. She will live a full life that never would have been possible without a simple net and many generous young hearts across the globe.
When United Methodists work toward starting congregations and strengthening congregations and leading congregations, these are not merely attempts at institutional survival. Learning to deepen our life in Christ through congregations and to extend the outreach of Christ through faith communities are not merely submitting to worldly, corporate models of growth and success. Forming congregations are a means by which we cooperate with the Holy Spirit in fulfilling the purposes of Christ. Through people changed by belonging to the body of Christ, God transforms the world. God uses congregations to fulfill the mission revealed to us in Christ; increasing the number of vital congregations deserves our best and highest insights, efforts, resources, and attention.
Somewhere out there, somewhere in Texas or California or New Jersey or Norway or Mozambique, somewhere in a town like yours or a neighborhood near you is a person who has no idea of the change that is coming his way or the grace that will transform her life, a person unknowingly prepared by the Spirit of God to receive the embrace of Christ that people will offer when they come alive with purpose and fulfill the mission of Christ.
Somewhere out there is a person God plans to use you to reach. Somewhere out there is a person God will use to change your life as you reach them. Somewhere out there is a person for whom Christ died, and for whom your church was built, and for whom God has uniquely prepared you to reach.
*Today's post is adapted from the devotional book The Balancing Act by Robert Schnase (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2009). Used by permission.
Who are the "somewhere out there" people you and your congregation are reaching?
Has your congregation ever helped start a congregation? How do you, your church, and your conference work to strengthen the ministry of Christ through congregations?
Who are you uniquely qualified and perfectly situated to touch with the grace and ministry of Christ whom no one else can possibly reach?
For further exploration, contemplate I John 3:17-19 from The Message.What does it mean to suggest that our inaction makes God's love disappear?
Read Bishop Schnase's series "Remember the Future: 30 Days of Preparation" here on the Five Practices website or at www.ministrymatters.com/30days


text:
Six months after John the Forerunner's conception, the Archangel Gabriel was sent by God to Nazareth, a town of Galilee, unto Mary the Virgin, who had come forth from the Temple a mature maiden (see Nov. 21).
According to the tradition handed down by the Fathers, she had been betrothed to Joseph four months. On coming to Joseph's house, the Archangel declared: "Rejoice, thou Full of Grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women." After some consideration, and turmoil of soul, and fear because of this greeting, the Virgin, when she had finally obtained full assurance concerning God's unsearchable condescension and the ineffable dispensation that was to take place through her, and believing that all things are possible to the Most High, answered in humility: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word."
And at this, the Holy Spirit came upon her, and the power of the Most High overshadowed her all-blameless womb, and the Son and Word of God, Who existed before the ages, was conceived past speech and understanding, and became flesh in her immaculate body (Luke 1:26-38).
Bearing in her womb the Uncontainable One, the blessed Virgin went with haste from Nazareth to the hill country of Judea, where Zacharias had his dwelling; for she desired to find Elizabeth her kinswoman and rejoice together with her, because, as she had learned from the Archangel, Elizabeth had conceived in her old age.
Furthermore, she wished to tell her of the great things that the Mighty One had been well-pleased to bring to pass in her, and she greeted Elizabeth and drew nigh to her. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, she felt her six-month-old babe, Saint John the Baptist, prophesied of the dawning of the spiritual Sun. Immediately, the aged Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and recognized her as the Mother of her Lord, and with a great voice blessed her and the Fruit that she held within herself.
The Virgin also, moved by a supernatural rejoicing in the spirit, glorified her God and Savior, saying: "My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour," and the rest, as the divine Luke hath recorded (1:39-55)
Apolytikion of Annunciation of the Theotokos
Fourth Tone
Today marks the crowning of our salvation and the revelation of the mystery before all ages. For the Son of God becomes the son of the Virgin, and Gabriel proclaims the grace. Wherefore, we also cry out with him, "Hail, O full of grace, the Lord is with you."
Kontakion of Annunciation of the Theotokos
Plagal of the Fourth Tone
To you, Theotokos, invincible Defender, having been delivered from peril, I, your city, dedicate the victory festival as a thank offering. In your irresistible might, keep me safe from all trials, that I may call out to you: "Hail, unwedded bride!"
~Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America (GOA), https://www.goarch.org/chapel/saints?contentid=471&PCode=3LENTF&D=F&DT=03/25/2022.


text:
With 55 days left until the October 16, 2017 municipal elections in Alberta, more candidates have put their names forward to run for public office. Here are some of the latest updates to the list of candidates running in Edmonton's municipal election for City Council, the Edmonton Catholic School District and the Edmonton Public School Board.:
- Mayor Don Iveson now faces at least nine challengers in this year's Mayoral election. Taz Bouchier, Carla Frost, Rick Krull, Charles Laing, Bob Ligertwood, Fahad Mughal, Gordon Nikolic, Atul Ranade, and Steve Shewchuk have announced their plans to stand as mayoral candidates.
- Karen Principe is running for Edmonton City Council in Ward 3. Her online biography lists her as a Dental Hygienist and community volunteer.
- Hakin Isse announced on Facebook last week that he is withdrawing from the City Council election in Ward 3.
- Keith Siva joins at least a dozen other candidates in the race to succeed Ed Gibbons in Ward 4. Siva is founder of One Stop HR Solutions.
Rob Aromin is running for City Council in Ward 11. He earned 228 votes as a candidate in this Ward in the 2013 election.
- Terry Harris is seeking election to the Edmonton Catholic School District in Ward 71.
- Tamie Perryment is running for the Edmonton Public School Board in Ward D. She is a volunteer with the Parkdale-Cromdale Community League and the Spruce Avenue School Parent Advisory Council.
- Tyler Duce is running for Edmonton Public School Board in Ward G. Duce was criticized by local LGBTQ groups this week for homophobic comments he has made on social media. Rather than admit that his comments were juvenile and wrong, he instead claimed they were sarcastic.
If you know any other candidates who have announced their intentions to stand for Mayor, Council, or School Board and are not on this list, please send me an email at firstname.lastname@example.com. I will add them. Thank you!


text:
Firmly anchored in your jaw and protected by an outer coating of tough enamel, your teeth are remarkably strong — yet it's still possible for them to chip, crack, or even break. In fact, there is some evidence that today, our teeth are developing cracks at a record rate. This may be due to the fact that people are living longer (giving teeth more time to accumulate damage), or that our stress levels are increasing (which may cause teeth clenching and grinding).
Biting on hard objects, receiving a blow to the mouth, or having large cavities (or old amalgam fillings) that weaken the tooth's structure are also common causes of tooth fractures. But no matter of the cause, there are a number of symptoms that indicate a tooth may be cracked, and several treatments we can offer, depending on the severity of the injury.
Small chips on the edges or cusps of teeth often cause no symptoms, and can be treated by cosmetic bonding or other methods. Deeply fractured teeth, on the other hand, may be a serious problem. The sooner they are treated, the more likely it is that the affected tooth can be saved. Let's take a look closer look at the types of fractures teeth can develop, and the symptoms they may produce.
Minor Cracks (craze lines)
These tiny fissures in the outer enamel of the tooth often cause few or no symptoms; in fact, most don't require treatment. If you are having tooth pain, however, these cracks will need to be evaluated and possibly treated. That's because without a careful examination, there is no way to know for sure whether these cracks go into only the enamel, or if they penetrate into the dentin (inner body) of the tooth. While the tiniest craze lines don't show up on X-rays, they can often be detected by feel (using a small instrument called an explorer), by having you close down on a "bite stick," or by using special dye stains or high-magnification instruments.
Vertical Cracks
This type of crack often starts at the chewing surface and extends toward the roots — but may it also begin in the root and continue toward the crown. Either way, it doesn't completely separate the tooth into two parts. Depending on the extent of the fracture, you may feel only minor discomfort that occurs in response to temperature changes (with hot or cold beverages, for example); or, it may produce sharp pain when you chew. In any case, you shouldn't ignore the symptoms, because cracked teeth require dental treatment quickly to keep them from progressing further. If the cracks continue to progress, tooth extraction may become necessary.
Deep Fractures or Split Teeth
When serious fractures occur, you'll know it: The distinct parts of the tooth can be separated from each other, and the tooth's pulp is often inflamed and painful. This condition requires immediate treatment, and it's rarely possible to save the affected tooth.
Treatment for Cracked Teeth
What treatment is best for a cracked tooth depends on the extent and the severity of the damage. If a small crack is detected early enough, it's often possible to seal the fissure with restorative materials. For larger cracks that involve the pulp of the tooth, root canal treatment is generally required. Afterward, the visible structure of the tooth may be restored with a crown or "cap." Sometimes, additional procedures may be recommended to try and save the tooth. In the most severe cases, however, the tooth will need to be extracted.
The preferred treatment for cracked teeth is — you guessed it — prevention! Wearing proper protective equipment (including a custom-fitted mouthguard) when playing sports, and staying alert to dangerous situations (like distracted or impaired driving) can help keep you safe. So can regular dental checkups, where your teeth are examined carefully for early signs of a problem. However, if you experience any symptoms that could indicate a cracked tooth, don't wait: The sooner it's treated, the better the chance that we can save it.


text:
Alberto Contador Cleared of Doping by Spanish Cycling Federation
Alberto Contador will retain his third Tour de France title and can participate in this year's Tour de France race.
Three time Tour de France Champion and Team Saxo Bank-SunGard rider Alberto Contador was cleared of doping Tuesday after the Spanish cycling federation reversed its proposal to ban him for one year, ruling he was not at fault for a positive test at the Tour de France which he blamed on eating contaminated meat.
Contador will retain his third Tour title and can participate in this year's race, but the International Cycling Union and the World Anti-Doping Agency can appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Contador tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol during last year's Tour.
"I'm relieved and obviously happy about this ruling," Contador said in a statement released by his Saxo Bank-Sunguard team. "It has been some very stressful months for me, but throughout the case I have been totally available for all inquiries in relation to my case, and all the way through I have spoken in accordance with the truth.
"To both the team and the authorities I have explained that I never cheated or deliberately took a banned substance."
The ruling came three weeks after the Spanish federation recommended a reduced one-year suspension rather than the standard two-year penalty. Contador's team then pushed for him to be cleared and face no punishment.
Disciplinary committee president Fernando Uruburu said the new evidence brought forward by Contador's defense team made the difference.
"We evaluated all of the information, including previous CAS decisions and judgments made by other national federations as much as the allegations brought forward by the cyclist himself," Uruburu said.
The UCI said it was waiting to receive the full dossier and would issue a decision on whether it would appeal within 30 days.
"The UCI reserves the right to conduct an in-depth study of the reasons behind the decision before expressing its opinion," the cycling body said while noting discrepancies in the initial proposal of a one-year ban and Tuesday's final verdict.
Contador is cleared to race pending any appeal rulings from CAS. The UCI has one month to appeal the federation's decision, while WADA has another 21 days after that. Any appeals process is expected to drag until at least June, with the Tour beginning on July 2.
Contador is expected to race for his new team at the 2011 Tour of the Algarve, a five-stage race through southern Portugal which begins on Wednesday. Contador, who is the two-time defending champion, is expected to give his first remarks on the decision later Tuesday in a television interview.
"If everything goes well, the rider will take the start, tomorrow, at the Tour of the Algarve," Contador spokesman Jacinto Vidarte said.
After learning of the proposed one-year suspension nearly three weeks ago, Contador vowed to fight any ban, calling himself a victim of antiquated, flawed anti-doping regulations.
"It's a question of honor, defending your pride and your innocence," the 28-year-old Spaniard said at the time.
Contador presented further evidence based along UCI and WADA anti-doping rules that allow the "elimination" of a sanction if the athlete can demonstrate "no fault or negligence" on their part after a minute trace of clenbuterol was discovered in his test.
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero added extra pressure on the committee last week by saying "there's no legal reason to justify sanctioning Contador."
The disciplinary committee strongly rejected "the many statements made by various arms of public life within this country" over the Contador case.
"They managed to create doubt in the independence and objectivity of this committee," the body said in a statement. "The resolution was the result of independent and deep legal analysis - to reduce the activity of this committee to a mere transcriber of the views of certain media outlets and politicians is simply unacceptable and false."
Contador says he ate meat contaminated with clenbuterol on a rest day during the tour in July. He avoided becoming only the second cyclist to lose his Tour title after Floyd Landis, who was stripped of his 2006 Tour victory after a positive test.
His case highlights a growing concern that clenbuterol can be consumed unwittingly by eating meat from animals who were fed the drug, which helps burn fat and build muscle. It is on WADA's zero-tolerance list.
In a separate case, WADA opted not to appeal to CAS after the German table tennis federation decided not to ban Dimitrij Ovtcharov, who tested positive for a minute trace of clenbuterol from meat eaten in China.
Contador - one of only five cyclists to win the Tour de France, the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a Espana - also won Tour de France titles in 2007 and 2009. He was unable to defend his first title in 2008 after his Astana team was banned for doping.


text:
Ukeobit: Bill Tapia
Bill Tapia, a ukulele player believed to be the oldest musician still performing, has died. He was 103; he toured last year and released a live album just six months ago.
He has been playing so long, one of his earliest influences was John Philip Sousa's band. Which makes Noel Gallagher seem like a modernist.


text:
All the tips and tricks needed to shape up for 2010. Each day brings new, expert advice on how to look your best and live life to the fullest, while having a little fun doing it.
Joanna Goddard, Glamour magazine's popular Smitten blogger, offers four essential first date pointers.
Take a shot before your date. Seriously. Just one. It calms the nerves.
When you meet up, smile and compliment anything (really, anything) that she's wearing. Flattery gets you everywhere.
Ask her how her day was. She'll be touched and you already seem suave and sweet.
Travel is a fun topic for everyone, so ask if she's going on any trips soon. You'll get a peek into what makes her tick.


text:
10 Gift Ideas For The Gardening Mom
This listicle is full of lots of cool ideas and items to help you celebrate Mom. If there's something here you decide you just have to have, we've provided links to the product websites. If you click on the link and make a purchase, Beasley Media Group may earn a commission. Have an idea for a fun theme for a gift idea list you'd like us to create? Drop us a line at [email protected].
If your mom loves tending to her garden as much as she loved tending to you while you were growing up, one (or two or three) of these 11 gift ideas will surely make for a great Mother's Day gift ideas for your gardening mom.
Garden Tool Set
If mom could use some new tools and loves a little flair, this garden tool set is as thoughtful as it is practical. Included in this set is a big shape shovel, three tine rake, hedge shears, big round shovel, weeding knife, spray bottle, pruning shears, small rake, small sharp shovel and a small round shovel. Best of all, all of those tools are housed in a convenient carrying case.
Get it now from AMAZON.
Leather Thorn Proof Rose Gardening Gloves
Whether mom grows roses or not, these thorn-proof gloves will help protect her hands from dirt or minor abrasions while working hard in her garden. The long sleeve design will also protect her forearms from the elements, too.
Order them on AMAZON.
Wide Brim Sun Hat
When working in a garden, a wide brim sun hat will provide both heat and UPF protection. Not only does this hat from Furtalk do that, but it also comes in eight different colors!
Grab yours from AMAZON.
Flower Pots
Whether used indoors or outdoors, these flower pots from SQOWL will both house the plants of mom's choosing and provide a fun pop of color to its surroundings.
Order them now from AMAZON.
Half Gallon Copper Colored Metal Watering Can
This beautiful copper-colored metal watering can from Homarden is perfect for quenching a plant's thirst and also making it look like art in the process.
Buy it now from AMAZON.
Expandable Trellis
It's only up from here with this expandable trellis from Sumery. Made from natural wicker, this trellis measures 11" x 47" closed and 22" x 120" fully expanded.
Snag this for Mom here.
Collapsible Silicone Tote
If mom loves growing her own fruits and vegetables, eventually she'll need a basket for harvesting time. Consider this Southern Homewares Collapsible Silicone Tote. It has a 2.4 gallon capacity, and thanks to its collapsible design, it can be easily tucked away when not in use without taking up a lot of space.
Grab this one for Mom here.
Waterproof Plant Markers
If mom plants a lot of herbs, these Waterproof Plant Markers from Amazon will help keep her garden organized. Their durable design will also allow for multiple uses year after year.
Order it now from AMAZON.
"Plant Lady" Tumbler
Sometimes, you are what you drink, or drink out of, in this case. This fun "Plant Lady" tumbler has a 20-ounce capacity, a spill-proof lid, and comes with two eco-friendly metal straws and a straw cleaner.
Check it out here.
"What The Fucculent" Tumbler
If you have a "gardening mom" who's also more than a little edgy, she'll definitely appreciate this "What the Fucculent" tumbler. It's dishwasher-safe and perfect for her "gardening wine," because you just know she has a special stash for when she's working outside.
Order it now from AMAZON.
Finding a gift for mom doesn't have to be difficult. These Mother's Day gift ideas are perfect for moms who love spending their days in the garden. We hope these gardening-themed items inspire your gift-giving for your Mother's Day celebrations.


text:
Margaret Leinen, PhD
Research Board Vice Chair
Director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego
Margaret Leinen, a highly distinguished national leader and oceanographer, was appointed the eleventh director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego in July 2013. She also serves as UC San Diego's vice chancellor for marine sciences and dean of the School of Marine Sciences. She joined UC San Diego in October 2013.
Leinen is an award-winning oceanographer and an accomplished executive with extensive national and international experience in ocean science, global climate and environmental issues, federal research administration, and non-profit startups. She is a researcher in paleo-oceanography and paleo-climatology. Her work focuses on ocean sediments and their relationship to global biogeochemical cycles and the history of Earth's ocean and climate.
Leinen leads UC San Diego's ocean, earth, and atmospheric sciences research and education programs at Scripps Oceanography, the foremost environmental research institution that addresses the most pressing environmental problems facing our planet, provides the knowledge necessary to address these challenges, and teaches the next generation of science leaders.
Leinen enhances Scripps and UC San Diego through her impressive academic and administrative career. Prior to joining Scripps, she served as Vice Provost for Marine and Environmental Initiatives and Executive Director of Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, a unit of Florida Atlantic University. Prior to that she served for seven years at the National Science Foundation (NSF) as Assistant Director for Geosciences and Coordinator of Environmental Research and Education. She oversaw a budget of $700 million, led government-wide planning for climate research, and co-led government planning for ocean research. While at NSF, she presided over and directly influenced some of the most consequential programs in marine, atmospheric, and earth science.
She is the founder and served as president of the Climate Response Fund, a non-profit organization that works to foster discussion of climate engineering research and to decrease the risk that these techniques might be called on or deployed before they are adequately understood and regulated. Previously, she spent two years as the chief science officer of Climos, Inc., a startup focused on green technology for climate mitigation.
Leinen has also served in other academic leadership positions. At the University of Rhode Island, she was Vice Provost for Marine and Environmental Programs and Dean of the Graduate School of Oceanography.
She is President-Elect of the American Geophysical Union, past chair of the Atmospheric and Hydrospheric Science Section of the American Academy for the Advancement of Science, and past president of The Oceanography Society. She serves on the board of the National Council for Science and the Environment and previously served on the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON). She also served as vice chair of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme and on the board on Global Change of the National Research Council/National Academy of Sciences. She is vice chair of the Research Board of the $500 million Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative.
She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a Fellow of the Geological Society of America, and has been awarded Distinguished Alumni Awards from all three universities she attended as a student, University of Illinois, Oregon State University, and University of Rhode Island.
She received her doctorate in oceanography from the University of Rhode Island (1980), her master's degree in geological oceanography from Oregon State University (1975), and her bachelor's degree in geology from the University of Illinois (1969).


text:
Chamberlain 940CB 390 MHz Compatible Wireless Keyless Entry Keypad
This LiftMaster 877MAX Wireless Digital Keyless Entry Keypad is directly compatible and will replace the Chamberlain 940CB wireless keypad. This unit will work with any Chamberlain, LiftMaster, or Sears Craftsman garage door opener or automatic gate openers that use a Security+ 390 MHz radio receiver.
The Chamberlain 940CB / LiftMaster 877MAX wireless digital keyless entry keypad works on all LiftMaster, Chamberlain and Sears Craftsman garage door opener and radio receivers that use security+ versions of remotes on 390Mhz frequency manufactured between 1997 and 2005 that have the RED or ORANGE learn button. The LiftMaster 877MAX wireless keypad can control multiple garage door openers within its signal transmission range by setting different 4 digit PIN code for each door. This wireless keypad also allows the user to set a temporary PIN number that can easily be deleted directly from the keypad
Product Features:
-Compatible with LiftMaster, Chamberlain and Sears Craftsman Garage Door Openers and Radio Control Receivers that use Security+ remotes on 390MHz
-Illuminated keys for easy nighttime use
-Flip up cover protects keypad when not in use
-Temporary password option
-Program code directly from keypad
-Includes 9V Alkaline battery
-Codes: 4 digit PIN code programmable sends rolling code signal
-Unit Dimensions: 6.25 x 2.4 x 0.9 inches
- Brand: Chamberlain
- Product Code: 940CB
- Availability: In Stock
US Shipping - FREE
Canada Shipping - US $11.50
(Quantity shipping discount applied at checkout)


text:
So remember that great "Serie A vs. EPL" section on La Gazzetta which I promised I'd partially translate?
Here's the first batch of pink-goodness: a look at ALL THE PLAYERS from tonight's Inter Milan vs. Manchester United UEFA Champions League match.
Boy I can't wait for game-time. Meanwhile, feast your eyes on this. (oh, and credit goes where credit is due of course: the original)


text:
OS X: Macs still don't have the ability to cut and paste folders and files in the Finder, but Cut with Drag & Drop brings an easy way to move your files without copying them first.
While you could always open up both folders and then drag the files yourself, Cut with Drag & Drop makes it easy to do so from whatever folder you're in right now. Just open it up, drag your files to its dock icon to cut them, and then drag the destination folder to the dock icon to paste the files. It's not as easy as just pressing Cmd+X (which the $8 MoveAddict will let you do), but Cut with Drag & Drop is free and will do the trick in a pinch if you don't want to open multiple Finder windows.
Cut with Drag & Drop is a free download for OS X, available in the Mac App Store.
Update: It seems OS X Lion does have a cut and paste function built-in, it just does things a little differently: Press Cmd+C to copy as normal, then Cmd+Option+V to paste. That's it! Snow Leopard holdouts can still give this app a shot, though.
Cut with Drag *& Drop | Mac App Store


text:
By: Christine Goffredo
WFP Nicaragua Team Member
Small chile farmers like Don Orlando (left), Don Roger (center) and Don Roger's son (right) are those that have benefited from USAID funded programs in Nicaragua like Chiles de Nicaragua, S.A. |
Many people in the U.S. know about Nicaragua from the Sandinista revolution in the 1980's, or they may have heard about the Iran-Contra affair. But there is a 150 year history of tension between the United States and Nicaragua, and this history has continued to the present day.
Currently at issue in U.S.-Nicaraguan relations is the renewal of two separate "waivers", without which Nicaragua would not receive any foreign aid from the United States in the upcoming fiscal year. Last week Washington announced that Nicaragua would not receive one of the waivers, and the prospects of receiving the second so-called "property waiver" are not looking positive either. The new U.S. Ambassador to Nicaragua Phyllis Powers' comments at a May 11 American Chamber of Commerce luncheon signaled as much:
"I must be honest with you, the persistent failure in fiscal transparency, the incapacity of the government of Nicaragua to make concrete decisions in resolving the property invasions of U.S. citizens, and especially the grave irregularities in the electoral process of last year; and the absence of means that indicate that the conditions are improving for this year, make the decision for the disbursement of funds very difficult."
The first waiver deals with transparency in budgeting, and its denial will cost the Nicaraguan people $3 million in aid for the next fiscal year. The approval of the property waiver still remains uncertain and could mean a cut of over $13 million in education, health, and small business development funding.
The property waiver comes from Section 527 of a U.S. law called the Foreign Relations Authorization Act that gives the Executive Branch authority to cancel all aid to a country if cases concerning land confiscated or appropriated from U.S. citizens by that country's government are not resolved in a satisfactory manner. In addition, the U.S. government would have to veto any decisions by international financial institution, such as the IMF where the U.S. holds veto power, to disburse funds.
While such a law may seem logical on its face—a way to protect U.S. citizens' property—such laws have almost exclusively been used to punish government's that disagree with U.S. policymakers.
And this legislation is particularly problematic for Nicaragua. In the first place, due to the Hickenlooper Amendment that dates back to 1962 but was resurrected by Senator Jesse Helms and Representative Henry Gonzalez when they authored Section 527, the definition of U.S. citizen can be applied retroactively. This means that Nicaraguans whose land was confiscated before they became U.S. citizens are applicable under this law. One of the main motivations for this amendment is the Nicaraguan Agrarian Land Reform, passed after the Revolution in1979 that put an end to a 40-year long dictatorship by the U.S.-supported Somoza family. The Reform confiscated land primarily from Somoza family members, soldiers in Somoza's army that had committed war crimes, and those that had taken out hefty mortgages for their properties and then left the country for the United States, taking all of their wealth with them, and leaving the burden of the unpaid-for properties with the Nicaraguan government. Following the U.S.-funded Contra War in Nicaragua, the democratically elected president of 1990, Violeta Chamorro, formalized the land turnovers, an act lauded by many as a great aid in the war reconstruction effort of the country. The Agrarian Reform benefited over 60% of Nicaragua's rural population by providing them with land after over a decade of war and destruction.
In 1994, however, the U.S. passed Section 527 and even advertised it in stateside newspapers, urging new U.S. citizens from Nicaragua to file claims. According to César Zamora, the vice president of the American Association of the Chambers of Commerce of Latin American and the Caribbean (Aaccla), these property claims have cost Nicaragua over $1.4 billion in 15 years, and that the resources that the country has utilized to return and compensate these confiscated properties makes up around 45% of the internal debt of the country. This is on top of a $4.12 billion external debt that represents 52.6% of the country's GDP, thanks to U.S. supported neoliberal policies that pushed borrowing from the IMF and World Bank.
Today the Attorney General of Nicaragua, Hernán Estrada, has reported that in this year alone, 50 cases have been resolved, leaving 193 claims, representing 366 properties, still unresolved. This shows a real effort to escalate the pace of case resolution, as there were 48 in 2009, 61 in 2010, and 62 in 2011. Of the 193 claimants still remaining, only 6 are U.S.-born citizens, the rest are Nicaraguan who became citizens during the 80's and 90's, according to the Attorney General's Office. Estrada has also noted that some of the difficulty in resolving the remaining cases has to do with poorly filed claims, or lack of documentation for claims.
Nevertheless, the decision that the Executive Branch will make is still uncertain. In the case of the negation of the first waiver, the major reason cited was lack of transparency in the Nicaraguan budget. The other issue mentioned was inconsistencies in the 2011 Nicaraguan Presidential election. This, despite that fact that the first waiver is based on the Department of State's Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriations Act, which evaluates only fiscal spending (specifically, making the national budget public). In regards to the elections, there have been several documented instances of issues with that election, while the Nicaraguan government and its supporters maintain that the election was free and fair.
Clearly these waivers are powerful diplomatic tools that raise very serious questions not only about national sovereignty, in terms of producing a national budget or electing a leader, but also about what the goal of foreign aid really is. Should U.S. assistance be used to ensure that a country obeys the will of the United States? Or to aid the millions of Nicaraguans that could benefit from financial assistance in health, education, and environmental programs?
Sociologist Cirilo Otero told Witness for Peace in a recent interview, "I think that the two waivers are necessary for Nicaragua, in relation to the country's interests with multilateral institutions and the commitments of the country to multilateral lending institutions." But he left an important reminder concerning these international lending institutions, their programs, and the majority of Nicaraguans:
"With or without the waiver, poverty will continue to be a difficult and denigrating situation for a large percentage of Nicaraguans, for many Nicaraguan families - I am speaking about roughly 3.5 million people, principally young people. Up until now, the projects that have been executed with these loans have not succeeded in benefiting the poor of Nicaragua."
Nevertheless, loss of United States development aid would seriously damage and possibly eliminate programs currently operating in Nicaragua that assist Nicaraguans around the country.
The decision will be made by July 30, so there is still time to act. Call John Ballard at the State Department's Nicaragua Desk (202-647-1510) and tell him that you support extending both of these waivers to Nicaragua this year.


text:
We work hard to keep clients' up-to-date of the cost of any ongoing legal work we are doing for you.
In some cases we are able to provide either fixed fees or more clarity with a range of pricing.
The links below will take you to a page where we outline the price (fixed fee or a range) along with more certainty around the key stages of your matter and as importantly any things that are NOT included in our fee e.g. Stamp Duty if you are buying a property.
If you have any immediate questions on this topic please do not hesitate to email us at email@example.com


text:
Choose your grip style
The default controls and tutorials have you hold the device with one hand and swipe with the other. But you can also play by holding the device in two hands, like a portable console, and swipe with both thumbs. (Your fingers can rest on both sides of the screen when you double swipe for triggering combos.) There's an option in the settings to choose the control scheme you prefer. It's a matter of style really; there is no absolute best here.
Don't get hit, keep your streak alive!
At the risk of stating the obvious, getting hit will break your Combo Streak. The Combo Streak is essential for achieving high scores — the base score of each hit is multiplied by the Streak value, so keeping your streak alive is your top priority. The simplest way to do that is to counter every enemy attack by tapping the screen as soon as you see an exclamation point. Beware: don't trigger a combo until you've blocked and countered, or you might cancel your counter before it starts and get hit while performing the new combo attack!
Learn to counter
The counter controls are quite simple, once you get a hang of the game flow : « one tap » anywhere on the screen when an enemy attacks you, and your character will block and counter-attack automatically. However, we have observed that sometimes new players button-mash the screen and start a new combo instead of countering. In that event, the character is triggering his next attack, and you can't cancel it anymore! Therefore, when you see an enemy with an exclamation mark over his head, tap once (or multiple times like a maniac, if you want to be 1000% safe), but do never trigger a new combo! At the beginning, the safest way to avoid getting hit is to tap to counter once after each combo. However, countering all the time will not make your reach high scores, you'll have to find your ways around the arena to stay on the offense for that. But learn the defense mechanics well first, is our advice to you. Take your time, breath, and everything will be fine !
Optimize your SUPER meter
Two players who manage to beat a round with a perfect Combo Streak can have a big discrepancy in their scores based on how well they use their SUPER meter. Each damage point inflicted by a SUPER is worth 40 points, where one inflicted for a combo is worth only 20. Furthermore, the score of a SUPER hit is then multiplied by the SUPER multiplier, on top of the combo Streak multiplier. No need to be a math genius to know that BIG x BIG x BIG = BIGGER. Therefore, optimizing your SUPER is the key to truly mastering Combo Crew. Here are a few tips for that:
- Use two fingers to tag enemies during the SUPER move. Both inputs are recorded, and you can score twice as many points using two fingers instead of one.
- Try to get the biggest possible multiplier. If you fill the SUPER meter several times, the score you'll get for each hit during the SUPER will be multiplied. Triggering the SUPER every time the gauge is enabled will help you get rid of enemies faster, but you'll most likely score higher if you wait for SUPER meter to triple fill before unleashing mayhem upon them all. Also, it is way more effective to trigger your SUPER when your streak is as high as possible, because each hit will be multiplied by the Streak value as well.
- Trigger the SUPER when there are a lot of enemies on screen. It's better to tag 2 x 5 enemies than 10 x 1 enemy, simply because in the second scenario the enemy might die before taking all 10 hits, so some of your hits will be wasted.
Vary your moves
Style is rewarded. Using varied moves will fill your SUPER meter faster, which is key for reaching higher scores. There are eight types of attacks: the basic attack, the counter, the charged attack, the air attack, and the four Combos. Using one of them for the first time will fill 1/8 of the SUPER meter, and this will happen again each time you fill the meter completely. So, theoretically, you can fill the SUPER meter every 8 hits.
Use air attacks when enemies attack from behind
Using a combo that Juggles the enemy and then doing an air attack without getting hit is tricky, but it's worth mastering it since more points are awarded for this than for Combos. The big risk with air attacks is that you'll get hit by another enemy while jumping. Although you can sometimes jump over an enemy if the timing is right, the safest way to use the air attack is when the enemy is attacking from behind. When jumping, your character will move forward and naturally avoid the attack. If the enemy is coming frontward, don't take the risk — counter or move away.
Moving away beats countering – Risk vs Reward
When an enemy targets you, you have two options: counter or attack (this enemy or another one). Countering gives you less points than any other attacks — even normal ones — so it's better for scoring to move away from the attacker by attacking an enemy who's far away, instead of countering. It's way riskier though!
Always counter bombs
The previous tip works for physical attacks from regular enemies but bombs are the exception to that rule. Bombs might damage enemies when exploding (stealing away potential hits from you) or they might explode on their own (in which case nothing changes). So by countering bombs, you basically score « free points » that you couldn't have scored otherwise — it's always better to counter bombs.
Tagging enemies
When no enemy is attacking, you can switch the target enemy (enemy with the red circle below him) by tapping on the desired target. This will only « tag » him without doing any attacks on him. Then you can execute a combo on him or any other attack.
Tap and hold
If you just tap and hold, this will enact a charge attack on the currently selected enemy. If no enemy is selected, an enemy will be automatically chosen for you. *** Here comes a new challenger! Well, now that you have all the pro tips, the Bakers are throwing down the gauntlet. If you feel like losing all your crowns, you can add « combocrew (at) thegamebakers (dot) com » to your crew and face the true challenge of beating our scores.


text:
Holding aloft a half-metre long horse penis, chef Xiao Shan confidently declares it "the most delicious" of the ingredients in a Chinese hotpot of male genitalia, one of many supposed Asian remedies to boost the libido.
Penises and testicles from donkey, goat, dog, bull and deer, the other contributors to the $US200 ($A212) feast, are laid out on a kitchen table, like a sorry-looking row of odd-sized sausages and veiny, oval vegetables, all waiting to be sliced up by his looming, intimidating cleaver.
"The (horse) texture and the flavour are both very good. It is also good for one's health," says Xiao, who has been preparing male organs since he was 13, using skills handed down in his family for several generations.
Sourced from some of Asia's wildest and most rugged terrains, the organs are chopped up before being arranged on a bed of lettuce around an elaborate glass stand, more akin to something that might display fairy cakes or scones in a high-class cake shop.
The unique dishes at Guolizhuang, China's only penis speciality restaurant chain, are popular among business parties and government officials, says Li Yanzhi, manager of the Chaoyang branch.
The vast majority of customers are male, she says, many of them searching for increased potency and sexual prowess at the restaurant, which also serves organs from ram, yak, seal and snake - which have two penises each.
"Chinese people believe we can replenish different parts of our bodies by using the same ingredients, which means whatever you eat is nutritious for that part of your body," says Li.
"Eating penises and testicles can make a man stronger and enjoy a wonderful sex life."
There is no orthodox scientific evidence for such claims, but across Asia there are various versions that come with similar boasts.
In Pakistan's business capital Lahore, Takatak - a dish whose name is derived from the sound of the clanging knives used to make it - consists of chopped goat and sheep hearts, brains, kidneys and testes.
"Basically men eat it so that they can be potent in bed," says Faher Hayat, a chef whose roadside restaurant serves the specialty with onions, tomatoes, ginger, pepper and coriander.
"The brains give energy to the head, while the testicles have a power of their own."
On the side of traffic-clogged roads in Jakarta's old town, men looking to improve their sexual performance flock to stalls to drink snake blood.
Customers pick out a snake, which go for 70,000 rupiah ($A6.40)) each, before a vendor carefully hauls out the selected serpent, hacks off the head with a meat cleaver and grips the snake's headless body vertically to allow its blood to drip into a teacup or glass.
A spoonful of honey is added to sweeten the bitter mixture, seen not only as a virility booster but also as a remedy for diabetes, high blood pressure and other ailments.
At the Beijing penis restaurant, customer Wei Jingsheng, 47, is a devoted believer.
"It does work very well," says the 47-year-old construction businessman.
"After I took it, my hair stopped falling out, and now I feel very energetic the whole day. Before, I needed to sleep at noon to not get tired, now I don't need to. Every aspect of my life has become fantastic."
The restaurant's nutritionist says its most popular dish is deer, seen as particularly effective due to each breeding male having scores of sexual partners.
"One deer penis has the same potency as three bull penises," says Du Yuemei, who goes to each table to enlighten guests on the supposed health benefits of the dishes and regale them with tales of the animal's vigour in the wild.
With a hint of a smile, she admits to being asked embarrassing questions by some customers, but is immune to attempts to make her feel uncomfortable.
"I know my job is kind of unusual, but it makes me feel good though, that I am involved in dietary therapy for men. It's very unique," she adds, before curtseying and leaving the room, a signal for the waitress to begin placing the ingredients into the boiling soup, made up of deer heart, duck stock and Chinese medicine.
The first to emerge - steaming hot and the slices slightly shrivelled compared with their earlier appearance - are the goat and bull penises.
The bull, having curled into a squid-like ring from the heat, has a familiarly beefy flavour, but with a firm texture not easy to swallow.
The goat is tendon-like, rubbery and slightly stringy, like a flavourless, flaccid stick of liquorice.
Both donkey and horse penis were presented in bacon-like strips, but the neutrally flavoured donkey was dark, while the intense, meaty horse was easily the most distinctive ingredient of the meal.
In contrast, the testicles had lighter textures, varying from flaky to somewhere between tofu and pate, and often delicate tastes.
The deer penis is slightly frayed and another rubbery offering, while the wild Russian dog has a spicy, almost zesty flavour, despite looking like slices of undercooked pig-skin.
It's the only imported dish on the menu and the only animal to have a penis bone, ceremonially presented in a red gift box at the end of the meal for good fortune - albeit not the original owner's.
Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletter
Get exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now.


text:
Last modified: 2023-06-03 by zachary harden
Keywords: federated malay states | malay union | malay federation | tiger | oval (white) | quartered: saltire |
Links: FOTW homepage |
search |
disclaimer and copyright |
write us |
See also:
In 1895 a first Malay federation under a British protectorate was founded (including the four sultanates Peraq, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, and Pahang). In 1905 a flag was introduced: horizontally white-red-yellow-black (each colour stands for one state, in the order listed here); in the center a lying oval in white with a running tiger. Source: National Geographic 1917. In 1946 other sultanates joined, and the Malay Union was founded, and two years later (1948) it was renamed the Malay Federation. In 1950 a new flag was introduced.
Jan Oskar Engene, 24 June 1996
In 1946 the British decided to do away with the pretence of protectorates and constitute the whole of Malaya / Singapore as a Crown Colony called the Union of Malaya. Very bad move, since face is all in the East. The Malayan Federation in 1948 restored the sultanates as protectorates within a federation with a High Commissioner. Penang, Malacca and Singapore were of course still sovereign British territory but were Settlements within the federation, with Resident Commissioners.
Andrew Yong, 13 November 1999
Flaggenbuch 1939 labels this flag Flagge der Bundesregierungfahrzeuge i.e. federal government vessels ensign.
Santiago Dotor, 28 December 2000
According to Flaggenbuch 1939, the Federated Malay States used for jack a 1:2 divided per saltire flag, with white, red, black and yellow quarters (the four colours of the national flag).
Ivan Sache, 12 January 2000
I have read that the Federated Malay States' Chief Secretary, was entitled to a defaced Union Jack. Usual white disc surrounded by a green laurel-leaf garland, but no indication of the form of the badge on the disc.
David Prothero, 3 December 1998
From Nick Weekes who was in charge of the display of flags in the Merchant Adventurers' Hall in York in 2001:
When the RCS Library was still in London, I found there a photocopy of an extract from an article The Flags of the Malay Peninsula published in Jour. Straits Branch R. A. Soc., No. 75, 1917 (I think this may be Royal Asian Society). The relevant text said "The Chief Secretary of the Federated Malay States has a Jack corresponding to the Governor's [ie. the Governor of the Straits Settlements as described earlier in the article] in which a kris is the emblem".Image scan here.Perhaps the reason that I can find no other evidence of this defacement is that the Chief Secretary was getting above himself and was instructed by someone to stop using the defacement. The Chief Secretary was subordinate to the Governor of the Straits Settlements (also High Commissioner for the Malay States and British Agent for British North Borneo and Sarawak).
Perhaps the use of the Federated Malay
States Arms (below) in whole or simply the quartered shield may provide an
alternative possibility?
Herman Felani M.Y., 18 December 2003
I have since seen an alternative, but can't remember where. It was an
old-fashioned looking black and white drawing of a kris (Malayan dagger) on a
white disc surrounded by a garland in the centre of a Union Jack. There was no
explanation, but I surmised a Malayan connection from the style of dagger.
David Prothero, 19 December 2003
image provided by Herman Felani M.Y., 18 December 2003
I managed to get an image of the Coat of Arms of the Federated Malay States from
the cover of the book "An Illustrated Guide to the Federated Malay States 1923"
by Cuthbert Woodville Harrison. I could also find at least one use of the Coat
of Arms, used in part as the badge of one
of the volunteer forces of Malaya, 'the Malayan Volunteer Infantry', dated 1915,
in "A History of the Singapore Volunteer Corps 1854 – 1937" by Captain T. M.
Winsley of the Singapore Volunteer Corps.
Herman Felani M.Y., 18 December 2003
The fourth quarter should be golden-yellow.
David Prothero, 19 December 2003