text:
7.1 Brazil was founded in the early 16th century by the Portuguese originally as a commercial concern. In the early 19th century, the Portuguese crown sought protection in Brazil from war in Europe, although by 1822 Brazil had declared independence that was recognised by other nations soon after. In 1889, Brazil's emperor abdicated and in 1891 Brazil established a new republic and constitution.
7.2 Governor Getlio Vargas led a successful rebellion in 1930, and a new constitution in 1934 allowed him to remain influential for two decades. This concentration was undone when a new constitution in 1946 decentralised powers within Brazil. The early 1960s were a period of political turmoil in Brazil, and in 1964 a rebellion by the armed forces began two decades of military-dominated rule. In presidential elections in 1985 a civilian candidate took power, and introduced political and economic reforms.
7.3 In October 1998, during Brazil's most recent presidential elections, Fernando Cardoso of the Partido da Social Democracia Brasileira became President, and formed a coalition with several other political parties in Congress.
7.4 With a population of approximately 170 million people, Brazil's economy is the eighth largest in the world and accounts for 54 per cent of South America's total GDP. Brazil is one of the four members of Mercosur, although the largest portion of its imports and exports are traded with the European Union.2
7.5 The Brazilian economy used to be characterised by dependence on a few agricultural products such as Brazil wood, cotton, coffee, sugar and rubber. This resulted in a lack of economic stability - when prices for these commodities fell the economy as a whole suffered. More recently greater diversification has occurred and Brazil's economy now has a growing mining industry, a well developed manufacturing industry and has a strong services sector. Brazil is the only country in South America where ETMs3 lead the export mix.
7.6 DFAT points out that the introduction of a new currency, the real, in 1994 has lessened the burden of inflation and allowed the middle class to grow prompting a shift in consumption patterns.4
7.7 In late 1998, Brazil's economy suffered the effects of financial difficulties, and it appears that Brazil is recovering from the effects much faster than forecasted by the international community. President Cardoso's policies have centred on the privatisation of government assets, managing inflation and reducing Brazil's budget deficit. Figure 7.1 reflects the impact of the financial difficulties experienced by Brazil in 1998. These difficulties have been discussed in Chapter 3 of the report.
Figure 7.1 Real GDP Growth
1989-1998 (PDF Format)
7.8 GDP per capita has grown over the last ten years but fell slightly in 1998 to $4801 from $5037 in 1997 with the impact of the financial difficulties. Figure 7.2 shows GDP per capita for the 10 years 1989 to 1998.
Figure 7.2 GDP Per Capita
1989-1998 (PDF Format)
7.9 Regional integration is a core component of Brazil's economic and trade policy of which Mercosur is the primary component. As DFAT points out Brazil plays an influential role in Mercosur developments, being responsible for about 70 per cent of the grouping's GDP.5
7.10 In 1999, Brazil was ranked 33rd on the value of merchandise trade with Australia, making Brazil Australia's largest market in South America. In that year, Brazil purchased $392.340 million of Australia's merchandise exports, making Brazil the 30th largest market for these goods. These figures represent a decrease of 12.6 per cent over the previous year's exports. The trend for Australian exports to Brazil from 1994 to 1999 was an increase of 8.0 per cent.
7.11 Brazil ranked 35th in 1999 as a source of merchandise imports, selling some $344.154 million worth of goods to Australia. This is a rise of 5.0 per cent over the previous year, although the trend from 1994 to 1999 shows that the value of imports from Brazil fell by 5.0 per cent.
7.12 During 1999, major Australian imports from Brazil included fruit juices - $52.124 million; coffee and coffee substitutes - $23.270 million; pulp and waste paper - $21.807 million; and hydrocarbons and derivatives - $16.909 million. Australia's main exports to Brazil included coal - $264.875 million; passenger motor vehicles - $34.187 million; medicaments (including veterinary) - $9.699 million; and pigments, paints and varnishes - $8.864 million. Passenger motor vehicles are a new item of export to Brazil for Australia.
7.13 Australia's major investments to Brazil are in mining though there is now diversification in investments into sectors such as manufacturing and agriculture, services and entertainment. The major Australian investments in Brazil are shown in Table 7.1.
7.14 There are a number of mining equipment and service suppliers in Brazil such as Global Aero Survey, Mincom and Warman Pumps.
7.15 Nu-Lec's distributor, CDI Automation, is executing a turn-key project at LIGHT, energy supplier to Rio de Janeiro and one of the most important electrical utilities in Brazil.
7.16 Qantas now has a representative office in Brazil, located within the British Airways office in So Paulo. It is only since the beginning of 2000 that its has been allowed to advertise, hire staff and operate a bank account.
7.17 While in So Paulo the Trade Sub-Committee was able to meet with Australian businesses and there is a diverse range of SMEs in the Brazilian market.
7.18 Recent activities by Australian companies include the opening of offices in So Paulo by Total Tel, an Australian company providing pre-paid telephony software in Brazil's rapidly expanding mobile phone network. Milcom launched its professional qualification recognition services and IDP Education has launched a new fellowship program with particular emphasis on IT. The Albert Einstein Hospital in So Paulo has rolled out patient data management applications developed by the Australian software company Trak Systems.
7.19 The Trade Sub-Committee was at the signing in So Paulo of the partnership agreement between Macquarie Bank and Banco do Brasil to provide financial services to the agricultural and agribusiness sectors of Brazil. The agreement, the first deal of its kind in Brazil, is that Macquarie Bank will act as Banco do Brasil's partner in the provision of coffee and soy options to Brazilian primary producers. This will give local producers the opportunity to comprehensively manage market risk and secure prices through derivatives.6
7.20 The Trade Sub-Committee met with CVRD,7 one of Brazil's largest companies. It is an integrated complex, extracting and processing natural resources; and also operating in the transportation field. It is the world's largest producer and exporter of iron ore and pellets active in prospecting for and mining of gold, manganese, kaolin and potash. It is Brazil's largest holder of mineral rights.
7.21 The Sub-Committee was told that CVRD is the 3rd or 4th largest steel company in the world noting that BHP was the second largest. The Brazilian Ambassador profiled the cooperation between BHP and CVRD in evidence to the Committee:
7.22 CVRD buys equipment from all around the world but has not been looking at Australian sourced equipment. They told the Trade Sub-Committee that best price is their criterion and through Austrade they would welcome contact with Australian companies.
7.23 Brazil is a member of the Cairns Group along with Australia, has participated with Australia in the GATT negotiations and now the WTO negotiations. Australia and Brazil are part of the Valdivia Group, the coalition of Southern Hemisphere countries that meets to discuss a common approach to environmental issues.
7.24 Bilateral arrangements with Brazil are limited. Currently there are two arrangements a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Sanitary Matters and a Treaty of Extradition.
7.25 During the recent visit by Senator the Hon Richard Alston to Brazil discussions were reopened on the need for a bilateral science and technology (SANDT) agreement. Brazil is undertaking a review of its SANDT partnerships and moving away from its traditional partners in Europe and the US. Australia has been identified as a potential new partner due to the strength of the science and technology base. Key areas where Brazil is keen to institute a program of cooperation are biotechnology and information technology.
7.26 A double taxation agreement with Brazil is a priority. Currently there are withholding taxes on telecommunications 15 per cent, 25 per cent on services and 15 per cent on intellectual property. The corporate tax rate is 26 per cent but if a company sets up with a partner then it is only subject to state taxes of 5 per cent. However the repatriation of profits is difficult if a company sets up locally.
7.27 With the sheer size of Brazil's market and recent improvements in its economy there is a broad range of market opportunities for prospective Australian exporters, in mining, oil and gas, technology and communications and transport.9 A significant development was the National Congress in 1995 finally removing restrictions to foreign capital established in the Constitution.
7.28 As part of the Foreign Affairs and Trade Portfolio Action Agenda, as already mentioned, a series of papers for business will be produced highlighting opportunities for cooperation in sectors of substantial commercial interest for Australia.10 DFAT and Austrade have yet to finalise the sectors but under consideration are information technology, telecommunications, auto parts, mining equipment, agribusiness and consumer goods and services. The Committee has recommended that a sectoral paper be prepared on services per se.
7.29 It is expected that the first of the sectoral papers will be available towards the latter part of 2000. The papers will focus on recent developments in the sector, where to access further information, and case studies where appropriate.
7.30 Brazil continues to attract interest to its mining sector because of its good geological potential. It is the most important mineral producer in Latin America and plays an important role in the context of the mineral economy at an international level. For instance it is 1st in the world in the production of niobium and iron, 3rd in magnesite and kaolin, 4th in bauxite, vermiculite and graphite, 5th in asbestos, 6th in talc and chromite and 7th in lithium production.11
7.31 The Department of Industry, Science and Resources points out:
7.32 With the Brazilian government seeking to increase its ability to attract exploration companies through mechanisms such as simplifying the procedure for approvals for mining exploration and improving the current mining legislation, more opportunities will open up.
7.33 Since the 1995 change in the law some 50 foreign companies have set up operations in Brazil. The Brazilian government aims to increase exploration from the current US$120 million to US$400 million per year till 2003. Mining projects for 1999-2002 have been valued at US$3.9 billion.
7.34 The areas where, according to industry specialists, the mining industry will be investing include:
7.35 The 1995 law to allow foreigners to invest in this sector brought to an end the 45 year monopoly by Petrobras of Brazil's petroleum industry and saw the creation of a regulatory body, the Agencia Nacional de Petroleo (ANP). The changes in the sector has two phases, first the forming of joint ventures and partnerships with state companies and second with fully foreign-owned projects.14
7.36 Austrade began to focus on the sector in 1999 and in November of 1999 held a workshop in Brazil on the oil industry. It is anticipated that the oil and gas sector will receive investments of between US$50-60 billion over the next ten years and expenditure on equipment is forecast at US$8-10 billion for the same period. Moreover Brazilian companies or companies installed in Brazil will only be able to supply 50 per cent of the equipment and services.15 To date some US$80 billion has been invested in the sector.
7.37 In discussions with ANP, the Trade Sub-Committee was told that Brazil is now in a position to open up fresh new concessions (the 2nd round) from grass roots. Petrobras has gone into joint ventures with several large foreign companies but there are no Australian companies. In this current round There are two Australian companies involved in this current round.
7.38 By 2001 Brazil will have a fully open market. According to ANP, royalties are currently 10 per cent on the fields but could be lowered to the minimum of 5 per cent if Brazil wishes to provide incentives. ANP is fossil fuel focused and the agency works on transparent processes (they auction the bid rounds) and their website has details of Brazil 1 and Brazil 2 bid rounds. ANP does not play any role in environmental issues that is the responsibility of the Ministry of Environment and under that each state entity.
7.39 ANP said that there are opportunities coming up on the supply side for equipment with companies either coming to Brazil or joint venturing - and this represents an excellent opportunity for Australia.
7.40 Austrade, at its Latin America expand your horizons seminars held in April 2000, provided a list of areas from industry specialists where the Brazilian oil and gas industry will be investing and which Australian business needs to look at:
7.41 ANP noted that there are huge opportunities in Brazil as they have the population and this generates huge internal demand.
7.42 The Trade Sub-Committee was interested to learn in its discussions about some cultural differences that impact on the way business is done. It was noted that Australians as individuals have a stock market culture and this is lacking in Brazil. The stock exchange in Brazil operates at a different level mainly for the big companies. The focus of Australians on the stock market is excellent for SMEs something that would be invaluable in Brazil.
7.43 Along with mining and oil and gas, this sector is part of Austrade's Brazil strategy. A few statistics on Brazil's telecommunications market quickly shows that there are significant opportunities available in the sector. Brazil has 2.1 per cent of the global telecommunications market and is therefore the 7th largest telecoms market in the world attracting 6.5 per cent of global investments in the telecoms industry. It is the largest potential market in terms of opportunities in telecommunications products and services in Latin America.16 It is one of the world's five fastest users of the Internet and has the world's 4th largest TV broadcasting system.17
7.44 In July 1998 the auction of the Brazilian government's stake in Telebras Latin America's biggest telecommunications firm took place. The total selling price was US$19 billion and was the world's second largest privatisation after Japan's Nippon Telephone & Telegraph.18 Telebras was broken into 12 components and foreign firms from Spain, Portugal, Italy, Canada and the US purchased 70 per cent of the Telebras system.
7.45 There are 23 million fixed telephone lines, placing Brazil's telecom network in 15th place worldwide. There are however only 12 phones installed per 100 inhabitants, and only 12 per cent of rural properties, 20 per cent of residences and 54 per cent of business establishments have a phone.19
7.46 The number of fixed phones will nearly double by 2003 to 43 million and investment plans show there will be a total of 23 million mobile phones in the same time. ANP in its discussions with the Trade Sub-Committee pointed to the huge internal demand that is being generated in Brazil and cited the increase in mobile phone units. Market analysts estimate annual returns of US$2 billion for mobile cellular services with So Paulo representing more than 50 per cent of the total. Plans to install digital networks will provide opportunities for equipment suppliers.20
7.47 Brazil is heavily dependent on imported telecommunications and electronics equipment. According to Austrade practically all equipment for the booming cellular infrastructure and data communications markets is imported.21
7.48 On 21 June 2000 the Brazilian National Telecommunications Agency (ANATEL) decided to adopt the 1.8 gigahertz transmission frequency standard for its 'band C' mobile phone service. Australian companies have the skills, product and experience to take up opportunities resulting from this decision.
7.49 Australian companies are already operating in Brazil's financial sector. The Australian company Keycorp recognised the need for banking technology in Brazil and is winning substantial business. And of course the Macquarie Bank and Banco do Brasil's partnership agreement to provide price risk protection to Brazil's primary producers.
7.50 Austrade points out that Brazil is one of the largest financial markets in the world and the country wide banking system comprised as, of yearend 1999:
7.52 It is important to note Austrade advises, particularly for the telecommunications and banking sectors, that international firms find strong local partners to overcome market entry barriers. The greatest obstacles encountered in entering the Brazilian market are:
7.53 There are opportunities in the areas of marine, auto, airports and rail. BNDES23 has a budget of US$500 million for financing transport projects this year. As raised in Chapter 6 the lightweight commercial sector of the Australian shipbuilding industry is well placed to export to South America and the industry is recognised internationally as a world leader in fast ferry design and technology.24 Companies like Incat and Austral 'are pioneering the development of aluminium fast cargo ferries capable of carrying larger volumes of cargo and passengers at faster speeds.'25
7.54 While South America is not a significant market for Australian fast ferries Australia has 16 per cent of the market the Department of Industry, Science and Resources sees potential in the market:
7.55 The other marine engineering sector where there are possible opportunities is in the recreational and light commercial boating industry. The leading companies have formed the Australian Marine Industries Export Group (AIMEX), a consortium of boat building and related marine products and services companies established to promote the Australian boating industry in international markets.27 Austrade and DISR have been working on a study examining the prospects for fast ferries and other similar vessels.
7.56 Austrade in its submission mentions automotive components and airports. Austrade So Paulo told the Trade Sub-Committee that there are opportunities for Australia as a Tier 2 supplier of automotive components. For instance the Ford Motor Co sources its parts from Australia. The South American market is not a priority for Australian automobile manufacturers as they are still looking to Detroit and North Asia.
7.57 On the airport front Austrade says that the planned construction of the third terminal at So Paulo International Airport will present opportunities.
7.58 BNDES has examined urban transport systems and commissioned a feasibility study that took in ten towns and assessed their rail requirements or the upgrade needed.
7.59 In November 2000 the ARIC28 has a railway mission of twelve companies travelling to South America. The mission will be visiting So Paulo as well as travelling to Buenos Aires, Santiago and Lima.
7.60 Despite the potential of the demand for education services from Brazil, education is not among key opportunities listed by Austrade and is not on the list of possible sectoral papers. Furthermore it is not currently part of Austrade's marketing strategy in Latin America.
7.61 Professor Mott from La Trobe University made an important observation that goes to the heart of the importance of education exports for Australia and shows the lack of an all-of-government approach to marketing Australian education in South America:
7.62 The AEI in its market survey found that Brazil is the largest, most diverse market with a relatively young population and a wealthy middle class familiar with the concept of overseas study. In addition there are similarities of climate, lifestyle and general outlook between Australia and Brazil.30
7.63 The courses that are in most demand are English language programs and short courses. AEI points out that as university places in Brazil are insufficient to meet demand there is considerable potential for undergraduate studies in Australia, where prices are lower than in major competitor countries and in private universities in Brazil.
7.64 The demand for short English language courses can be very strong. The Sydney English Language Centre (SELC) told the Committee during the height of Brazil's financial difficulties August 1998 to January 1999 their business steadily increased.
7.65 Professor Mott sees the market for Australian language schools as a sound one but it is 'a long-term exercise in which good quality of education, price, perseverance and good agents on the spot are pre-requisites as the competition is tough.'31
7.66 The US is where most postgraduate students look but what is becoming increasingly popular is where students complete a portion of their Ph D study in Brazil and then travel overseas to complete their thesis. This can offer opportunities for Australian universities once formal linkages between participating institutions have been established.
7.67 On vocational education, which under Brazil's education reforms will be separated from general secondary training, there are opportunities for vocationally oriented short courses offered over the summer period. As AEI points out these should include site visits or attachments to Australian companies.32
7.68 The role of distance education is being boosted in Brazil. There are two projects in train. One is School TV, an education oriented channel that offers 3 hours of programs 3 times a day. The other project is the Program on Information Science and Technology in Education that aims to equip all schools that have over 250 students for primary grades 5-8, and all secondary schools. AEI says there is a market for Australian visual educational products for use in such cable television channels and there is the possibility of Australia offering teacher training/upgrading of skills in distance education.33
7.69 Brazil's travel market comprises 20 per cent business and 80 per cent leisure. It is the 2nd biggest leisure market in the world and Australia has not positioned itself to capture part of this market. Brazil has over one million passengers a year travelling to the US.
7.70 Australia is the only place that one cannot fly to from Brazil and Brazilians find it 'hard' that they have to fly to Australia from Argentina.
7.71 In evidence to the Committee the Ambassador of Brazil said:
7.72 As we have discussed Qantas has a representative office in So Paulo and out spends the ATC on tourist promotions in Brazil. Notwithstanding there is no air services agreement as yet, it is essential that the ATC put in place a strategy to market Australia as the ultimate tourist destination in such a lucrative market as Brazil.
7.73 The Brazilian Ambassador told the Committee that he believes there is a lot to do in tourism in Brazil. There is a diversity of tourist activities in Brazil from eco-tourism in the Amazon, to beach tourism in the north-east of Brazil, to historic tourism in the old towns, to exciting metropolitan stays in cities such as Rio de Janeiro and So Paulo. However the Ambassador noted that there is a problem in services and infrastructure and in developing the right culture to develop that. He thought there would be good opportunities for joint ventures.35
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text: >>>>> "Christos" == Christos Zoulas <email@example.com> writes: >> Please, could somebody figure out the following problem? Christos> Try the following patch and rebuild your kernel; please Christos> let me know if that fixes the problem for you so that I Christos> can commit the fix. No, it didn't help. Same behavior as before: After about 3-4 min 'routed' is very hungry: PID USERNAME PRI NICE SIZE RES STATE TIME WCPU CPU COMMAND 205 root 64 0 352K 304K run 2:23 87.01% 87.01% routed Any other hint? Markus.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Sorry, no definitions found. You may find more data at atoll.
Sorry, no etymologies found.
It covers about 750,000 square miles (1,900,000 km2) and includes rocket launch sites at the Kwajalein Atoll (on multiple islands), Wake Island, and Aur Atoll.
COTS Commercial Cargo Winners: Orbital and SpaceX - NASA Watch
The mission control center, along with most of the personnel and infrastructure, is located at the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands [1].
COTS Commercial Cargo Winners: Orbital and SpaceX - NASA Watch
"Leu-Leu Atoll is sunk, Mr. Snow," he said to the anxious-faced young mate.
As inevitable as McAllister of Oolong Atoll is John Saxtorph of "The Inevitable White Man" (Bristol [England] Observer, May, 1910).
The Reagan Test Site is under the command of the US Army Kwajalein Atoll, or USAKA.
COTS Commercial Cargo Winners: Orbital and SpaceX - NASA Watch
Falcon 1 launch facilities are situated on Omelek Island, part of the Reagan Test Site (RTS) at United States Army Kwajalein Atoll (USAKA) in the Central Pacific.
Lift-off of the vehicle will occur from SpaceX's Falcon 1 launch site at the Kwajalein Atoll, about 2500 miles southwest of Hawaii.
Lets help the 45th vibration harden the Range destruct transponder electronics and prove that it will work under launch conditions out of Vanderberg or Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at Kwajalein Atoll.
The Philippine government also accuses China's navy of firing on Filipino fisherman at Jackson Atoll, which is near the Philippines and claimed by that country, in late February.
Whatever the source, the Atoll was a reasonably effective heat-seeking missile.


text:
By Keith Idec
Devon Alexander is trying not to dwell on his fight against Amir Khan falling through.
Alexander and Khan were tentatively scheduled to square off Dec. 7, but the fight didn't materialize and Alexander (25-1, 14 KOs) instead will defend his IBF welterweight title against Shawn Porter (22-0-1, 14 KOs) that night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The St. Louis native declined to speculate on Khan's decision to go in a different direction on a conference call Tuesday, though he indicated Khan's handlers might've considered a fight against him too risky because England's Khan (28-3, 19 KOs) is a potential opponent for Floyd Mayweather Jr. (45-0, 26 KOs).
"You have to be a true champion and a true fighter," Alexander said. "I'm an old-school fighter and I'll fight anybody. … There's a lot of rumors out there about why Khan pulled out, why this, what that. But I can't speak on that. I wanted the fight because I know that fight would've given me the notoriety that I need, that I'm one of the best welterweights in the division. And, you know, it didn't happen.
"Who knows what he's thinking and what his team's doing? I don't know. I think that they thought I was a big risk, that I was too much right now for him or whatever. I don't know. But I was ready to fight him in December, but he pulled out, so it didn't happen that way."
The 26-year-old Alexander also was supposed to encounter another British boxer earlier this year, yet that fight was postponed three times, first due to undefeated Kell Brook's ankle injury, a second time due to Alexander's biceps injury and third time because Brook suffered a foot injury. Brook (31-0, 21 KOs) has won twice since his shot at Alexander was postponed a third time. The second of those wins, a fourth-round stoppage of Ukraine's Vyacheslav Senchenko (34-2, 23 KOs) on Oct. 26 in Sheffield, England, came in another IBF elimination match that enabled Brook to maintain his No. 1 spot in the IBF's 147-pound rankings.
If Alexander tops Porter, who's rated No. 6 by the IBF, an Alexander-Brook bout probably would be scheduled for the fourth time at some point within the first half of 2014.
"Kell Brook fell through and the Amir Khan fight fell through, which both would've been great wins for me," Alexander said. "But everything happens for a reason. If the fighters don't want it, if they don't want to get in the ring with me, what can I do? The only thing I can do is trust in my team to give me the best opponents, the best things that I need at the time."
Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.


text: Wisdom Watch Search Engine Hello everyone on this newsgroup, I am a 6th grade teacher and know the need of good resources on the internet. I have started a new search engine specifically for people in education. The search engine is called Wisdom Watch and can be found at http://www.wisdomwatch.com All resources on the site are FREE. Please feel free to check out http://www.wisdomwatch.com and also add your favorite website to it. Also feel free to visit ALl About Education a free resource for teachers, parents and students to find pen pals over the internet. Thanks Ron Plogman admin at wisdomwatch.com http://www.wisdomwatch.com


text:
Wales' Best Kept Beauty Secret. Introducing Monamor a new luxurious bathing range
Following in the footsteps of such welsh wonders as Catherine Zeta Jones, Duffy, Julian MacDonald, Gavin & Stacey and Tom Jones we introduce Wales's latest must have export – new Monamor a luxurious bathing range.
Staying true to its welsh roots the name Monamor is translated directly from the welsh language literally meaning 'Anglesey and the sea'. It was created and developed by a local award winning salt producer, perfumery and enterprise agency. Together they were able to create a beauty brand which used local natural resources and kept a strong welsh identity.
Born in Anglesey, North Wales, this new range of beauty products uses unique ingredients like sea salt, tea rose, peony and meadowsweet, which have all been sourced locally from the island and its surrounding seas to create a beautifully fragrant and nourishing bathing range.
The range includes:
Monamor Pure White Halen Mon Salt Scrub £19.95
This natural exfoliating scrub contains the world famous 'Halen Mon' (Ha-len Morn) (Anglesey Sea Salt) as it's key ingredient to smooth and refresh dull, lifeless looking skin. The scrub also contains soothing grape seed oil to leave skin feeling soft, silky and glowing and has a combination of Tea Rose, Peony and extracts of hand-picked Anglesey Meadowsweet which gives a beautiful, soft fragrance.
Monamor Tea Rose and Peony Bath Soak £17.95
Relax and unwind in a bath of Monamor Tea Rose and Peony Bath Soak. The delicate de-stressing fragrance will help soothe the senses and leave you feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. The pearlescent foaming bath soak is also enriched with Anglesey Meadowsweet, a perennial wild flower renowned for its healing and soothing properties.
Monamor Tea Rose and Peony Body Cream £17.95
A deeply moisturising and nourishing body cream which has a combination of sunflower seed oil, sweet almond oil, olive oil, jojoba seed oil and cocoa seed butter. Lightly scented with Tea Rose and Peony the luxurious cream soaks into the skin for pure indulgence leaving it soft and silky.
Monamor Tea Rose and Peony Massaging Bar £8.95
A must have for getting smooth legs, bums and tums! The bar massages contours of the skin and cleverly fits into the palm or your hand to stimulate and give your circulation a boost in problematic areas which are prone to cellulite. Use in either the shower or bath to invigorate, cleanse and smooth the skin.
Monamor Hand Wash £9.95
A delicate blend of Tea Rose and Peony, the Monamor Hand Wash refreshes, cleanses and nourishes. The non drying formulation is also enriched with Anglesey Meadowsweet to heal and soothe hard-working hands.
Monamor Hand & Body Lotion £12.95
The perfect partner to the Monamor Hand Wash, the non greasy formulation is deeply moisturising and nourishing. Delicately scented with Monamor's Tea Rose and Peony fragrance the cream will leave skin soft, smooth and hydrated.
The Monamor Hand Wash and Monamor Hand & Body Lotion are also available in the Heavenly Hands Gift Set for £18
Monamor Fragrance Diffuser £19.95
Fill your home with the soft and uplifting Tea Rose and Peony fragrance. The environmentally friendly diffuser uses no power like other plug-in diffusers and won't be a fire hazard in the home. The scented oils work their way up the rattan sticks and diffuse the delicate fragrance. Turn the sticks once a week to refresh the scent.
Monamor Raspberry Lip Balm £4.95
A sweet tasting balm to soften and smooth lips. Contains natural extracts of raspberry, beeswax, coconut oil, olive oil and marigold flower. The light pink colour will add a sexy sheen on your lips to make them look and feel kissably soft!
Mini Monamor £9.95
A mini taster set of the Monamor products perfect for travel or to try a few of the range. The set includes – Monamor Hand & Body Cream, Monamor Conditioning Shampoo, Monamor Bath & Shower Soak and a mini Monamor Soap.
Monamor is available on-line from www.monamor.co.uk or call 01248 725747
What Girlie Gossip Thought…
After being lucky enough to test out some of the Monamor range recently, we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the products! The Monamor Tea Rose and Peony Massaging Bar in particular was a joy to use! The soap is actually shaped to massage your skin whilst you wash with it. The raised 'Bristle' shapes help to invigorate whilst the soap itself leaves you feeling moisturized and does not dry your skin like some soaps can. Pure luxury!


text:
Getting the Most Out Of Drop
Hello Drop Bakers!Many of you have now had a chance to get your shiny new Drop out of its box...Read more
Five Homemade Holiday Gifts
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Fall is in full swing and while we're perfecting our pumpkin and pecan pie recipes for you to bake, we're...Read more
Bloggers Make the Baking World Go Round
We have a confession to make. When we're not hard at work, perfecting the Drop iPad-connected kitchen scale and app...Read more


text:
How it works
- Know location of your vehicle is in real time
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This requires a minimum monthly compulsory Tracking Fee and offers; on top of that, it enables you to more effectively manage your tracking needs. For your convenience, we list the services available as follows, at the indicated pricing. Again, should you produce significant volumes; we are willing to discount the VAS in order to meet your cash flow requirements.
We offers the following key features:
- Advanced GPS chipsets and multi-band
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- The data resend from signal dead zone
- Speeding alarm;
- Geo-fence alarm;
- Cut off engine;
- Detect engine, ACC, doors, etc;
- Internal li-polymer battery;


text:
Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose (right) led a panel
discussion on racial profiling at CUA.
Policing the Act of Racial Profiling
The topic of racial profiling is an evolving and ever-changing subject, particularly since the days of Sept. 11, 2001. While some feel the situation has improved, others believe racial profiling has regained a measure of respectability since Sept. 11 and think the nation has a long way to go before individuals stop judging people based on their race, ethnicity and religion. As stated by Talib Karim, attorney and chairman of the Muslim Legal Defense and Education Fund, "Each and every person is profiled when he or she walks into a room. But why? Why in the year 2003 is this still happening?"
A five-person panel, including Kareem, tackled this question and others Feb. 26 at the Third Annual Racial Profiling Forum held in Byron Auditorium and presented by the Black Law Students Association. As each shared various views and perspectives, it was apparent that nowhere have the effects of racial profiling been more controversial than in the law enforcement community, particularly in regards to traffic stops.
Montgomery County Chief of Police Charles Moose, nationally known for his department's involvement in the Washington, D.C.-area sniper shootings, is a recognized lecturer on the philosophy and implementation of community policing and questioned, "Is the pain of racially profiling an individual worth the prize?" Although the goal of law enforcement is to make decisions based solely on the behavior of those involved, Moose acknowledged that those who racially profile rarely catch a criminal.
"When we look at racial profiling traffic data and search data, the one consistent thing is that the police don't have high rates of success when making search decisions based upon the race of the driver," Moose said.
Fighting for those people who claim they have been victims of racial profiling has been litigator William Mertens, who shared with the audience his findings of racial disparity along I-95 between Baltimore and the Delaware state line. Mertens, who is a representative of the Maryland NAACP, has been lead counsel with the Maryland ACLU in racial profiling cases against the Maryland State Police. He also was involved in traffic studies that occurred after 1995, which was when the Maryland State Police started releasing specific numbers on traffic stops. These studies examined the traffic composition of this corridor and found that while 98 percent of the motorists in this area were committing traffic violations that qualified them as stoppable traffic, there were large racial disparities among those who were actually being stopped and searched during a traffic stop. The findings showed that although minorities only accounted for 20 percent of drivers in that area, 80 percent of those being searched were minorities.
"As one nation, we still live entirely different experiences," Mertens said. Although he said the numbers have slightly improved over the years, the trends show there are people who will probably never be touched by racial profiling. However, there are others who have been directly affected by it and live in fear of police officers, as expressed by an African American woman in the audience.
Lieutenant Louis Cannon, president of the Fraternal Order of Police in Washington, D.C., made the case that profiling is a necessary tool for law enforcement but emphasized the fact that incorporating race into profiling is crossing the line. "Officers should be looking for specific actions, not race," he said. "There is good profiling and it is effective. It can get you what you need. But including race taints an image."
Cannon, who developed training for the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center on profiling and stops, suggested that racial profiling can be resolved with effective management and training. By identifying and correcting the problems at the source, Cannon believes law enforcement can make strides in setting parameters for officers, including restrictions on how much law enforcement is willing to infringe on civil liberties.
And while law enforcement can work internally to solve incidents of racial profiling, Chief Moose offered a call to action to all those on the outside. "If you are silent, you lose. You have the right to complain about the policing you receive and the police tend to do what the constituents want," he said. "It really is in the hands of the people in the community."


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Gina Litherland
When I walked into the Haggerty to see this show, "Queens and Vagabonds," I wondered how on Earth it was that I'd never heard of Gina Litherland before.
Like fairy tales, which seem so simple during childhood, the narratives and lessons in her paintings are complex and open to multiple and deeply personal interpretations. Their is a rich visual field in her paintings, too, filled with little surprises.
If you are headed out for Gallery Night tonight, I can highly recommend this show.
As second show at the Haggerty is of two suites of prints by Louise Bourgeois, which have never been shown together before. The prints were created in recent years despite the fact that Louise is now well into her 90s.
Getting to the Haggerty Museum, 13th and Clybourn streets, may seem a little duanting with all of the construction, but I've got the skinny on how to maneuver the pylons and such. If you are downtown, take Wells St. (it is a two-way street west of 6th St.) to N. 12th St. Then, turn left onto N. 12th and travel a block to Wisconsin Ave., where you'll turn left. In about a half block, turn on 11th St. and then make a quick right into the Marquette lot.
You can also take Wisconsin west and make a U-turn at 12th St.
It's not as difficult as it sounds.
Also, remember, you can now subscribe to these Art City videos at iTunes.
- On Tap Today: Saving St. Josaphat
- Milwaukee galleries do well at Art Basel Miami
- Dirk Skreber's exhibit at Milwaukee Art Museum captivates with catastrophe
- Too much testosterone at the Business Journal?
- Finalists named for public art project on W. Wisconsin Ave.
- Ten art books for art lovers this holiday season
- Art-inspired alternatives to Black Friday
- Art City Radio: Nicolas Lampert and Black Friday
- Art City Radio: Tag Milwaukee
- Nohl exhibit a mismatch for some fellowship winners' art
Design Ideas is a weekly column exploring the many ways that design intersects our lives.
An ongoing series of interviews with creative people.
E-mail Newsletter
Keep up with the art scene and trends in urban design with art and architecture critic Mary Louise Schumacher. Every week, you'll get the latest reviews, musings on architecture and her picks for what to do on the weekends.
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Aweber Review
Submitted by Aaron on Tue, 01/13/2015 - 16:39
Complete Aweber Email Marketing Review
AWeber is our #1 choice for email marketing software for small to medium businesses and I will go into the details below, after sharing a little about my experience with Internet Marketing and Email Marketing. I will go over a lot of the features and the positive elements or "pros" and then will write about a few "cons" at the end, because no product or service is perfect, especially not software.
A bit about me:
Since 2004, I (Aaron Schulman) have consulted with many small to medium sized business owners in Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Florida, California, and many other states, as well as non-profits and entrepreneurs. In most cases, the client was not utilizing email marketing to its full potential, or was not using it at all. I have personally set up companies on all kinds of email marketing software, but I personally believe that AWeber is one of the very best companies / technologies to launch your email marketing and company. There may be a day to graduate to a fully automated CRM tool like Infusionsoft, but for about 95% of small businesses, AWeber is the best solution and is far more affordable starting at only a $1 first month trial.
I have worked with, and have set clients up on most of the popular email marketing solutions in the marketplace, and have had to recommend different platforms based on different needs, and through it all, Aweber has been, in my opinion, the best email marketing solution for 95% of business owners, for both novice and advanced users.
You can start an AWeber account for only $1 for the first month, and your continued service is tiered based on number of subscribers which includes:
- Unlimited auto responders and email marketing messages (or newsletters)
- 30 Day Money back guarantee
- No set up fees
- no hassle refund
- Full feature access for $1 (not a limited tool trial so you have access to all of the features of the full price option)
The current pricing tiers can be viewed here, and are as follows at the time of this review:
- $19 / monthly up to 500 subscribers - $49 if paid quarterly - $194 if paid annually
- $29 / monthly 501 to 2500 subscribers
- $49 / monthly 2501 to 5,000 subscribers
- $69 / monthly 5001 to 10,000 subscribers
- $149 / monthly 10,001 to 25,000 subscribers
- Custom pricing for more than 25,000 subscribers
AWeber has all the tools you need to carry out a simple or complex email marketing campaign, and look professional while doing it!
They have excellent, professional looking html templates, easy cut-and-paste java scripts for embedding opt-in forms (to collect subscriber info), multiple banner colors and designs, full array of colors, stock images, extra storage and graphics to give you a crisp, well-branded, professional email newsletter, including unlimited auto responders and branded opt-in forms to embed on any website or blog.
- They currently have over 700 professionally designed email marketing templates
- Over 6,000 stock photos and images you can use
- Matching opt-in forms for your template for brand consistency
- Endless color templates
- Drag and Drop editors (WYSIWYG editors) that are very easy to use for most users
- HTML customization and integration - Although their entire design system for email messages and opt-in forms are based on a WYSIWYG user interface, you can easily customize or change the HTML code behind any email template or message
- If you cannot find a template that suits (and that would be hard to do) their support staff will even help you make a custom template
You can also send both HTML and plain text messages, or a combination of both based on the email platforms and preferences of your subscribers.
You can send unlimited test emails as well to any email address of your choice so you can test and tweak your message before actually sending it to your subscriber list.
Aweber's Blog-to-email feature allows you to easily create an email newsletter blast or message automated from your blog posts. This feature is easily integrated with most major blogging platforms as well, and you can also use RSS to email feature to send an automated message to subscribers from your RSS feed.
Aweber follows strict CAN SPAM compliance so you can rest assured that the deliverability for your specific email campaigns will land in the subscriber's inbox with the highest percent of success.
This is why their reputation is the best in the industry. They have excellent tech support, customer service and an education department, including their spectacular blog, which will help any business owner learn how to excel with email marketing, or improve, regardless of email marketing experience.
Uploading owned list versus double opt-in process:
You can upload a list gathered outside of Aweber's opt-in process, and it used to be that you would have to have those subscribers opt in again -
However, Aweber has changed this as long as you can verify that your list was a confirmed opt-in list and not a purchased list, spam list or conglomerated list where people did not give permission to be sent an email newsletter. Aweber will simply not skimp on the opt-in process when it comes to their services, and for good reason. There are too many email spammers out there, and Aweber wants to protect the quality of their services and the reputation of their deliverability rates.
This is great news for you and the reputation of your business. . .
For starters, it protects Aweber's reputation with all of the major ISPs (Internet Service Providers) as well as keeps them CAN Spam compliant (CAN Spam Act of 2003). This also protects the reputation of their servers, and allows them to guarantee such high deliverability rate to the subscriber inboxes across over 120,000 Aweber customers (and growing). It also protects you and other Aweber customers from unscrupulous spammers who use purchased lists and degrade the reputation of sending servers. With email marketing, 1 bad apple on a server really can spoil the bunch, and therefore, you can always rest assured that your deliverability with Aweber will be among the top 1% in the email marketing industry because of how stringent they are on "canning spam" with their practices.
Because of their CAN SPAM compliance they have the best in terms of IP reputation protection and deliverability.
Although I have never had a perfect social media integration experience, where the software published seamlessly with all social media accounts involved, Aweber offers all the major SM icons and setup within their email template editor, and you can easily add html and images with links for any SM icons or buttons of your choice. It is completely customizable. They currently have solid Facebook and Twitter Integration, and you can easily add Pinterest, Google Plus, Instagram or other icons and links of your choice. If you ever run into a snag, their customer service is excellent and they can help you get set up and working seamlessly.
You can see an extensive list of their API integrations here.
Aweber also offers "Add This" integration as well as the standard Facebook and Twitter integration. If you are not familiar with "Add This" you should be. Essentially, "Add This" is a single button which gives the subscriber access to share your message with an active list of dozens of other social sites and share sites to fit your subscribers' share preferences.
However, sometimes "Add This" does not work perfectly because it does go through a 3rd party script, yet it is a solid solution for making it easier for your subscribers to share on more than just Facebook and Twitter.
Additionally, AWeber offers an online archive of all of your past email newsletters in a blog type format. This adds a little bit of SEO link juice for any links going out from these archives to your website or blog.
Along with Facebook and Twitter integration, they also have subscriber integration with WordPress, PayPal and Etsy (peer to peer marketplace for hand-made or vintage products). I have personally used the PayPal integration, and though it is a bit challenging to set up, it is not too difficult if you can follow directions and ask for help from their excellent tech support. They support at least 60 other popular application integrations, whereby users of these other platforms can seamlessly subscribe to your Aweber newsletters or subscriber list through these applications including SalesForce, Magento, Drupal, Shopify, Raven, WooCommerce, 2 Checkout and many, many more.
AWeber makes its API available as well for any custom application building or integration if you want to build a specific app integration or alter and integration with software that you currently use.
Aweber actually invented the concept of smart auto responders.
Smart Autoresponders are essentially a series of (or even just 1) follow up messages that are delivered to your subscriber based on specific timelines (days, hours, specific dates and times) that you specify, or based on certain actions they take and certain links they click on . This segmenting feature is not nearly as robust and customizable as it is in more expensive enterprise CRM software like InfusionSoft, but it is more than most small to medium business owners will need, unless you are selling a complex solution to a complex customer base, or are offering a very complex custom delivery of customer follow up, automated messages based on all kinds of future behaviors and clicks.
For unlimited smart auto-responders that carry a more linear follow up series with your subscribers, Aweber is very easy to understand and very easy to set up. You just have to decide on the content you are going to send and the time delay with which you will delay each message from the previous message. AWeber is an industry leader in smart auto responder technology because their smart auto-responders are top of the industry, easy to use and set up, and are very effective and flexible in terms of deliverability times, however, they are not as robust in terms of complexity for setting up very segmented follow up series based off all kinds of different subscriber clicks and response behaviors. GetResponse (starting at $199 per month) is more highly customizable in terms of segmenting based on subscriber behavior and InfusionSoft is in an entirely other category above AWeber, because it is a very complex sales and marketing CRM integration tool, with a much steeper learning curve and higher price entry point (at $199 per month plus $2,000 mandatory kick-start fee). For small to medium business owners, it would be best to start with Aweber and max out their capabilities and services before graduating to a complex CRM marketing tool like Infusionsoft. Most small business owners will not need to graduate and will not need the complexities of InfusionSoft, and therefore, AWeber's smart auto responders and email marketing is a sufficient tool to increase customer relationship development and drive up sales.
AWeber is fully built with analytic and tracking scripts that allow split test capabilities for opt-in forms and for email newsletter and auto responders. You can very easily track open rates across all messages, campaigns, auto responders, and track complete details per user. You can segment lists based on specific actions of the subscriber, and send targeted follow up messages to readers based on very specific demographics and behaviors. This will allow you to see at a glance, how your messages are accepted by your subscribers, and what you need to do in order to improve your relationship with them. The statistics are also available to you in your dashboard in easy-to-understand graphs and charts that help you understand the data so you can make intelligent decisions on sending out future messages to serve the wants and needs of your subscribers better. This way, your messages can be highly targeted for a more personal customer relationship experience. You can learn more about their analytics, graphs and list segmentation here.
Aweber is ideal for all kinds and sizes of businesses and organizations. From small, single operator business owner / entrepreneur to medium sized enterprise business with up to 25 employees, or large publishing organizations with a large base of readers, Aweber can handle just about any size list. Regardless of your subscriber database size, your monthly quota of outgoing messages is still unlimited, unlike other companies that charge you additional costs once you exceed a certain number of messages. You can read more about their different tiers and pricing structures here.
Aweber leads the industry with their compliance to CAN SPAM practices, and they go above and beyond international spam compliance, which guarantees you and all of their other customers the best, long-term deliverability for customers and subscribers. They protect this by requiring double opt-in procedures, whereby a person enters their email address, and then they must click on the automated confirmation link sent to their email inbox to confirm they actually were responsible for subscribing. Aweber customers cannot import paid email lists, or spam lists, without those subscribers confirming they want to opt-in, which protects the reputation of all of Aweber's servers as well as the reputation of all of their customers. They do allow importing lists from other services as long as your list you are transferring is a true opt-in list. Not only do they have one of the best ISP reputations, but there is also a great feature that gives your messages a "SPAM SCORE" before you send it out, and it tells you which parts of your messages might trigger a spam filter action by email programs. This allows you to edit the specific parts of your messages that might trigger being flagged as SPAM so that you ensure the highest deliverability of each message you send. Additionally, they automatically remove unsubscribes from your list and undeliverable address subscribers (dead or obsolete email addresses) using SPF and Domain Keys. (SPF = Sender Policy Framework)
Tim Carter from "Ask The Builder"- AWeber customer for over 9 years - "Today I sent out my first newsletter using AWeber and the results were outstanding. I used the click-tracking feature to see how many people went to the links I provided and was not disappointed."
Nikki McGonigal - 2 year user - I like how easy AWeber is to use. I like that you can quickly change things, but keep your list. If I wanted to change my pop up or change my follow up messages or change how I send my broadcasts, it's really easy to do that without having to start from scratch.
Ellen Yin - Co-Owner - Fork Restaurant - Since we've been using AWeber, one of the great things we've been able to do is monitor our response rate. With snail mail, you could send out 6,000 pieces of mail and you would never know if anyone opened or received your newsletter on time."
Their customer support is great, but they have limited hours. I like the fact that they call it "Customer Solutions" because they offer more than just technical support, but can actually give ideas and tips to help your campaign success improve. With every personal customer service issue I have ever had with Aweber, I have always had a great experience with Aweber's customer service, whether it was a billing issue or a technical support issue. They are superb! It probably has to do with their work environment in being one of the best places in Pittsburgh to work, as well as their continuing goal to strive for excellence in serving their clients and maintaining one of the best email marketing services available on the market today. Continuing education is offered through excellent webinars, for customers at all use levels.
Cons / Negatives
The only down-sides of AWeber's services that I have found are as follows:
- No free trial- but no big deal- the $1 first month fee is 100% refundable
- Segmenting lists does not automatically opt-in to segments, so you have to manually set up segmented follow ups and multiple segmentation (opt-ins by a simple click) cannot be done, but this is a lack in automation, not in capability
- HTML Editor hacking- sometimes the WYSIWYG editor does not show or align correctly when you hack the HTML a bit, and so you have to tweak it sometimes for custom alignment, although the tool does work great
- Customer Service has limited hours - Monday through Friday, 8 am - 8 pm ET and Saturday and Sunday, 9 am - 5 pm ET- but it is based in Pennsylvania, USA so no foreign accents
- Does not have an "out of the box" PayPal integration, but with a little technical assistance, you can set up PayPal / email opt in with payments. This is critical if you offer a subscription based educational service and do not want to pay someone to code automation between payment and private membership access for example. The PayPal API integration does work, just not ideal for membership type sites. This is a little bit tricky when you want to integrate opt-ins with payment for an event as well, but it can be done, just with some coding or technical work-around.
Other than these, it is easy to test drive and get a feel for yourself for only $1.
More about AWeber the company and their core values:
Tom Kulzer founded AWeber, still located in Chalfont, PA in 1998, to help make email marketing more profitable for small businesses. 15 years later, they are reaching that goal by helping over 120,000 small businesses, non-profits and entrepreneurs around the world reach more people with email newsletter campaigns. Started as 1 person, and have grown to over 100 people and growing. Their core values that they live by are: working together, learning together and helping thousands of small businesses grow and prosper.
In summary, Aweber is my personal first choice in email marketing platforms for any business I consult with, unless they have very specific needs and automation with complex CRM and a larger budget.
That being said, anyone can test drive AWeber for only $1, and even that is refundable if you are not 100% satisfied within the first 30-Days, guaranteed.
Aaron Schulman for Aim Advantage


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This year, I decided to get crafty for the nephew's Christmas presents. 5 nephews in 3 families meant making whatever I came up with in triplicate to avoid any melt downs… Thankfully, these A-frame tents (via Ana White) were simple enough that making three of them was pretty painless.
I pretty much followed Ana's plan, but instead of curtain panels, I bought a 9'x12′ canvas drop cloth from Lowe's (available in the paint section, the kind you put on the floor to keep it free from spills and drips) and cut it into thirds measuring 3'x12′. It turned out that the drop cloth wasn't exactly 9'x12'… the edges weren't straight, so I had some trimming and clean up work to do, but over all, it was like $10 for the material, which was definitely cheaper than 6 curtain panels or fabric by the yard.
Here's Emir helping to cut apart the huge drop cloth…
To get the fun and playful stripes, I mixed regular interior latex paint (Valspar, also from Lowe's in Orange Crush, Twist of Lime, Dive In, and Cherry on Top) 2 to 1 with a textile medium from the craft store. This thinned it out, making it appropriate for fabrics and keeping the canvas from becoming crusty and stiff once painted.
Since it was so crazy cold outside, I decided to work in the house instead of the garage… which meant a bit of furniture re-arranging…
Although I painted the stripes on the canvas roughly the same for each tent, I decided to paint the wooden frame for each tent a different color. One green, one blue, and one orange.
Then, Emir screwed the frame together and staple gunned the fabric on.
We delivered Haris and Eldin's tent, then unveiled Cole's, Dominic and Oscar's on Christmas Eve at the lake.
So fun! I'm already looking forward to the round of birthdays we have coming up this spring and summer… looks like there might be more sawdust in the forecast. :)


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Khloe Kardashian tweets support for hubby's move away from Mavericks
April 10, 2012 - London
Khloe Kardashian has come out in support of her husband Lamar Odom after he announced his departure from the Dallas Mavericks.
The 27-year-old reality star took to her Twitter account after it was revealed that the 32-year-old basketball player had left the team.
"You deserve so much better," the Daily Mail quoted her as tweeting.
"Know your worth and know your skills that have been proven and earned! You showed your strength. I love you," she wrote.
Kardashian immediately took to the micro blogging site after the news broke, writing: "Never a dull moment."
Earlier, NBA star Odom released a statement saying he will immediately "step away from the team."
"The Mavericks and I have mutually agreed that it's in the best interest of both parties for me to step away from the team.
"I'm sorry that things didn't work out better for both of us, but I wish the Mavs' organisation, my team mates and Dallas fans nothing but continued success in the defence of their championship," he said.
Odom had spent just four troubled months with the team after his surprise transfer from the Los Angeles Lakers back in December.
According to ESPN, the team will list Odom as "inactive" for the remainder of the season, which means he could be traded to another team when the season ends.
Some commentators claimed that his involvement with the Kardashians, including starring in his own reality show 'Khloe and Lamar', has caused him to lose focus on the basketball court.
However, sources told Radar that the team "dumped him" because "he had too much drama and couldn't get past his issues."
"The Mavericks are parting ways with Lamar today. Too much drama, not enough focus on basketball," a source close to the situation told the website.
"He just couldn't get past all his issues, whatever they may be, and concentrate on playing basketball," the source added.
The insider added that his wife was not to blame.
"It's not anything with Khloe, in fact, she has been the smartest one in his group and has been pushing him hardest to stay focused on his job," the source said.


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Broadcom Bluetooth Driver 184.108.40.2068 56.1 MB Acer Aspire ES1-311 Windows 10 x64 (64-bit)
Broadcom Bluetooth Driver 220.127.116.118 56.1 MB Acer Aspire ES1-311 Windows 10 x64 (64-bit)
This package contains the driver installation package for the Broadcom Bluetooth in the supported notebook models running a supported operating system.
File name: Bluetooth_Broadcom_126.96.36.1998_W10x64_A.zip
Released: 2015/09/18
Version: 126.96.36.1998
A device driver is a small piece of software that tells the operating system and other software how to communicate with a piece of hardware. For example, all printers come accompanied with drivers to install that tell the operating system exactly how to print information on the page. Sound card drivers tell your software exactly how to translate data into audio signals that the card can output to a set of speakers. About.com - http://pcsupport.about.com/od/termsag/g/term_driver.htm


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Dancing With the Stars saw contestant Tamar Braxton hospitalized for pneumonia this week. She was taken to the hospital when she became too sick to continue rehearsing on Monday. Pro partner Val Chmerkovskiy confirmed her diagnosis.
Co-host Tom Bergeron announced at the beginning of the Dancing With the Stars broadcast that Tamar wasn't there, and admitted he didn't know if she would return in time to compete.
"Tamar is not here. You've noticed that. She was taken to the hospital earlier today midday through dress rehearsal," he said. "Now, I underscored at the top, this is very much a live show. We don't have all the information right now. She might return in time to dance live here. We'll keep you posted as we learn more."
Judges scored Tamar Braxton by viewing video footage of her dress rehearsal.
Despite missing most of the show, @TamarBraxtonHer was not eliminated from #DWTS https://t.co/8azSbu0syI pic.twitter.com/p3amMetTa1
— People magazine (@people) November 10, 2015
"You just saw a person that shouldn't have been here, but was here because she felt bad for her teacher and partner," Chmerkovskiy said after the footage aired. "She came on the lot 15 minutes before we danced, sick with pneumonia and exhausted."
Tamar returned to Dancing With the Stars shortly before her group dance with Nick Carter.
Take a sad song and make it better! @TamarBraxtonHer returns to join @nickcarter, @SharnaBurgess, and @iamValC for a Rumba! #DWTS
— Official DWTS (@DancingABC) November 10, 2015
"What the hell were you thinking? I'm amazed you are here," Tom Bergeron said to Braxton after her dance with Carter to "Hey Jude."
It sounds like exhaustion may have played a very strong role in Tamar Braxton leaving Dancing With the Stars for the hospital.
"Monday through Wednesday I was at The Real. Thursday I was in Vegas. Friday I came back to L.A. and had a concert with Kem," she explained in her video package. "Saturday I got on a plane and went to Orlando. Sunday I'm back here, doing my camera blocking."
Following her performance, Tom Bergeron informed Tamar Braxton--per network lawyers--that had she not shown up in time to dance, she would have automatically been eliminated from Dancing With the Stars.
So who was eliminated from Dancing With the Stars Monday night?
Still in shock over last night's #dwts elimination? See what Alexa & Mark have to say today on @gma & @TheView. pic.twitter.com/WdmuMMtxS8
— Official DWTS (@DancingABC) November 10, 2015


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Happy July friends!
Since it's been a bit (forever), how about some Life Lately??
The kids are growing like WEEDS! Seriously, how do we make this stop???
Baby Girl is 18 months now. Update coming soon! How is she 18 months, walking, and talking already?! Someone please tell me where the time is going and why it has to go so fast?!!
My little man is just that, a little man. I believe he has completely outgrown the title of "Baby Delight". I'm pretty sure he's a big boy now. His sissy calls him "Bubby" so that may have to be his new name. He will even tell you he is "Bubby". How precious is that?
We are soaking up summer. I am loving going to parks, on "field trips", and splash parks with the kids. I never want summer to end.. ever.
Bubby is starting school in the fall, and I'm not ready. He is ready, I am not. I want him to be my baby forever. However, I promised my husband I will not be a helicopter parent or coddle him. Dear Lord, help me.
This summer, we have had lots of home projects that we have been finishing up. I'm seriously going to do a home tour as soon as we get all of it done.
Also new, a group of ladies are meeting at my house for a Bible study/ book club/ prayer time. I haven't done this in a few years, and I forgot how much I need that time with other women!
We are reading Seasons of Waiting by Betsy Childs Howard, and I HIGHLY recommend it. It is amazing no matter what stage of life you are in!
Another new thing, I've been trying a new workout that Brittany and Julie got me interested in. I'm obsessed now!
Burn Bootcamp opened up here in Louisville, and I'm the newest addict! The head trainer, Cam, is awesome. He is going to share a workout with you all in the next couple weeks!
They even have mom/ kiddo workouts. Bubby loves going to bootcamp!
What's new with you?
What are you up to this summer?
Have you read any good books lately?


text: >Number: 606 >Category: kern >Synopsis: mount_ados allows anybody to mount an ados fs anywhere. >Confidential: no >Severity: serious >Priority: medium >Responsible: gnats-admin (Kernel Bug People) >State: open >Class: sw-bug >Submitter-Id: net >Arrival-Date: Sat Dec 3 15:50:04 1994 >Originator: Chris G. Demetriou >Organization: Kernel Hackers 'r' Us >Release: 1.0A >Environment: System: NetBSD sun-lamp.cs.berkeley.edu 1.0 NetBSD 1.0 (SUN_LAMP) #9: Sun Nov 20 22:47:57 PST 1994 email@example.com:/e/mycroft/sys/arch/i386/compile/SUN_LAMP i386 >Description: (reported by Matthias Scheler <email@example.com>.) mount_ados allows any user to mount any block device as an ados file system, on any directory, because it's set-uid and a set of important checks is ommitted from the adosfs mount code. also, adosfs code doesn't set user-mount flag, so user can unmount the file system. >How-To-Repeat: as a random user: mount_ados <block device> <dir> where you don't necessarily have appropriate permissions on the block device or the directory. (note that it works.) umount <dir> (note that it fails) >Fix: "quick fix": chmod 555 /sbin/mount_ados correct fix: clone the permissions checking code out of msdosfs, so that permissions are correctly checked for ados filee systems. also, properly set the user-mount flag, and make sure the adosfs unmount code does the right thing. I would do it myself, but i have absolutely no hope of testing it. >Audit-Trail: >Unformatted:


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I have been trying to determine how best to more completely cover regional weather in southeast Texas while still maintaining the core purpose of this blog as one which reports on science.
To that end I've come up with a few strategies using social media to ensure that I can both cover weather and science in a timely way without confusing readers.
So here's what's up.
1. I have created a SciGuy Facebook page. Click here. The sole purpose of this page is to cover weather in and around the greater Houston area. Every weather and hurricane blog entry I write here will be linked there. But I will also be adding shorter insights, such as highlighting temperature records and providing more real-time tidbits. In short, it's worth liking if you want to know what I'm hearing and thinking about Houston's weather.
2. "But I hate Facebook!" That's fine, nothing is going to change on this blog. I'll still write weather items of import here, including Monday Morning outlooks, previews of significant weather events and wall-to-wall hurricane coverage. Additionally, you don't need a Facebook account to read the SciGuy page.
3. "What if I only want to read weather content on this blog?" If you only want to read weather content on this page, i.e. climate change debates aren't your thing, all you have to do is bookmark the weather category. Do it right here.
4. "What if I'm only interested in science?" One way I've tried to increase the science content on this blog is by publishing a list of interesting science links (see Linkposts) I've found every morning before 7 a.m.
5. "Are you still going to tweet about the weather?" Yes, some. I tweet using my @chronsciguy account, and will put out some breaking weather news there. But from this point forward the focus on my Twitter account will be more science than weather, so if you're interested in more science content consider following me.
6. "What about those Katy jokes?" Looks like, with a few caveats, they're here to stay.
The purpose of this post is to be clear with readers about what my intents are with each medium. In short: Facebook, weather; Twitter, science and a little weather; SciGuy blog, best of both worlds.
Thanks, as always, for your readership of this blog and recommendations to friends and family. I'll do my best to keep quality and reliable content coming.


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What does cabg mean?
Definitions for cabg
Here are all the possible meanings and translations of the word cabg.
Princeton's WordNet
coronary bypass, coronary bypass surgery, coronary artery bypass graft, CABG(noun)
open-heart surgery in which the rib cage is opened and a section of a blood vessel is grafted from the aorta to the coronary artery to bypass the blocked section of the coronary artery and improve the blood supply to the heart
Suggested Resources
What does CABG stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the CABG acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of cabg in Chaldean Numerology is: 9
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of cabg in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4
Images & Illustrations of cabg
Translations for cabg
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
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"cabg." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2018. Web. 24 Feb. 2018. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/cabg>.


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The YMCA of Greater San Antonio is holding an open house May 16-May 18 to allow the community to try out its 10 facilities in San Antonio, New Braunfels and Boerne for free.
Visitors will have access to fitness classes, exercise equipment and swimming pools at the health and wellness facilities.
The YMCA will waive the $49 joining fee for new members during the open house and offer special pricing on other programs, such as swim lessons.


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Hello everyone!
I've lately came accross this "confusion" as I was solving a cauchy-euler equation that required a subtitution of for . It followed that Then or simply . But what about ? Is it or . I'm very confused about this because whenever we have a 1st order ODE let's say we change it to and then multiply the RHS by follows that as if the latter were a denominator!
If someone clears that out for me I would be very greatful!


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By Abby Hassler
Dreamcar just released the official music video for "Kill For Candy," the lead single from their upcoming debut self-titled album, set to release May 12th.
Related: AFI Get Uncomfortably Close in New Video for 'Aurelia'
Directed by Frank Borin, the video is shot using a dynamic, wearable POV camera, which allows viewers to experience a day in the life of Dreamcar members through their eyes.
Dreamcar features Tony Kanal, Adrian Young and Tom Dumont from the band No Doubt, along with Davey Havok, the frontman from AFI, XTRMST and Blaqk Audio. The band also announced additional tour dates and a release week performance on The Late Late Show with James Corden May 11.
Watch the music video and see the band's full tour itinerary below.
4/5 – Santa Ana, CA – Constellation Room @ The Observatory
4/6 – Santa Ana, CA – Constellation Room @ The Observatory
4/9 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
4/11 – Los Angeles, CA @ Roxy Theatre
4/12 – Los Angeles, CA @ Roxy Theatre
4/15 – Indio, CA @ Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
4/19 – San Diego, CA @ Music Box
4/20 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
4/22 – Indio, CA @ Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
5/18 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
5/19 – New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
5/22 – Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre Of Living Arts
5/23 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
5/25 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre
5/26 – Detroit, MI @ St. Andrews Hall
5/27 – Chicago, IL @ The Vic


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TEXAS LEAGUE: Gallo taking hype in stride since move to Frisco
Published 4:34 pm, Monday, June 16, 2014
Joey Gallo couldn't believe it and neither could anybody else watching the Frisco RoughRiders take on the Midland RockHounds on the evening of June 9 at Frisco's Dr Pepper Ballpark.
With the game tied at 4 in the bottom of the ninth, Gallo — who was making his Double-A debut that night — made an unmemorable night up to that point into a memorable one with a single big swing of his bat.
The 6-foot-5, 235-pound left-handed hitter belted a towering, two-out, three-run homer to left-center to lift the RoughRiders to a 7-4 victory over Midland. It was safe to say that his 0-for-4 showing at the plate before that at-bat was long forgotten.
"It was kind of a slow start to the game for me, and then at the end of the game the walk-off home run was pretty special for me, especially just joining the team and contributing like that," Gallo said before Monday night's game against the RockHounds at Security Bank Ballpark, "I was like, I couldn't believe it. It was the craziest way I could have possibly thought that game would end. It was special."
Frisco manager Jason Wood was pleased, especially since it came in a win against a team they were in a pennant race with in Midland. Frisco clinched the first half Texas League South Division crown on Friday.
"It was nice, especially from a team standpoint, and for a kid coming from the Carolina League to here and making an impression like that," Wood said. "He did have three strikeouts, but he hit the ball hard and had (four) RBI on the night."
That blast was an example of the power everyone has been raving about. Gallo, the former 39th overall pick in the supplemental round of the Texas Rangers in the 2012 draft out of Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Nevada, is considered the best power hitting Rangers prospect since Mark Teixeira.
Going into Monday's game, Gallo was hitting .308 with four home runs, a double and 10 RBI in seven games played with Frisco. This comes on the heels of an outstanding start to the season at Advanced-A Myrtle Beach of the Carolina League, where he batted .323 with 21 home runs, nine doubles and three triples.
"(I'm) just kind of going out there and taking every at-bat as its own at-bat," Gallo said. "I'm just going out there and trying to help the team win, do whatever it takes, and things have started to fall in place for me so far. I didn't expect to put up quite the power so fast, especially in High-A, it was more of a pitcher's park. I'm not surprised, but I also wasn't really counting on doing this well."
Wood said he's seen good power to the opposite field and Gallo's had a good approach during batting practices. He added that if Gallo sticks with that approach, it will help the young player out in his development.
Not surprisingly, the tall lefty could have been a really good pitching prospect had he pursued that route. He said that when he was a senior at Bishop Gorman, the then-power pitcher hit as high as 100 mph on his fastball.
"But that was two years ago," he gushed. "I don't know if I could go out there and do that right now."
Gallo admitted he didn't have the desire to be a pitcher. He wanted to be a hitter instead.
At only 20 years old, the third baseman has been given time to develop as that premier power hitter. The Rangers don't seem in a hurry to rush up the player, ranked as the No. 4 prospect in the organization by both Baseball America and MLB.com.
Throughout the hype and the recent attention, Gallo tries to stay humble. He says playing the game of baseball can make any person humble.
"I really don't try to get too high or too low in this game," he said. "You're going to fail a lot and you're going to do well a lot. It's kind of hard to get high in this game and then you go out the next day and go 0-for-4. It's pretty easy to stay grounded."
Gallo is also working hard on his game. Last offseason, he worked out with major leaguers Jason Giambi, Nick Hundley and Troy Tulowitzki. He said he learned a lot more from those guys than just playing the game.
"Off the field it has helped me mentally for the game and the other off the field stuff that happens," Gallo said.
It also says a lot about the player about whom he admires. The one player Gallo has always looked up to, even though they're not the same kind of player, is New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, a consummate professional on and off the field.
With Gallo's approach to the game, who he surrounds himself with and what kind of players he admires, Ranger fans might have a reason to be excited about this young player and his potential.
Gallo just wants to keep working hard to live up to that potential and be a solid pro baseball player.
"I want to make more contact, put up good at-bats, work on my defense and continue to get better as a player,' Gallo said, "and hopefully things keep working out."
Follow Oscar on Twitter: @OLeRoy_MRT


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The Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: "Truly there is a morsel of flesh in the body which if sound, the whole body is sound; and if unsound, the whole body is unsound. Truly it is the heart" (Bukhari [17], I.20: 52. S).
Month: January 2013
The Nail Polish That's Suitable for Muslim Women – The Cut
The Nail Polish That's Suitable for Muslim Women – The Cut.
From: http://nymag.com/thecut/2013/01/nail-polish-thats-suitable-for-muslim-women.html
Polish cosmetics company Inglot claims to have manufactured the world's first-known nail polish that's suitable for daily prayer, the "halal certified" 02M Breathable. Some Muslim women avoid nail polish because it creates a waterproof barrier over nails, making it impossible to sufficiently perform the pre-prayer washing ritual without repainting five times a day.
As a result, many women restrict manicures to period days when they don't need to pray, according to Muslim blogger and scholar Mustafa Umar. "Yet many sisters will admit that they wish it would be somehow possible to wear nail polish at any time of the month," he writes. "First, it is highly fashionable nowadays. Second, wearing nail polish usually indicates to another person that a sister is undergoing her period, which can be very embarrassing for others to know."
The sheikh's delightfully rigorous coffee-filter test suggests Inglot's claims of water permeability are sound, making the 02M breathable line no more haram than body lotion or henna. Whether a manicure meets the Muslim standards for modesty — or is worth the risk of being chased through a shopping mall by religious police — remains to be seen.
Is Breathable Nail Polish Sufficient for Wuḍū'? [The Evolution of Ideas]
Beware of Zombies. Or Are You One?
By: Moutasem Atiya
A few months ago, I was sitting with Shaykh Mohsen Al'Najjar in the Mosque of our Messenger Muhammad ﷺ (peace be upon him and his family), preparing to make the blessed ziyara (visitation). As we sat, I could not help but marvel at the amazing Ottoman calligraphy decorating the mosque. My eyes and spirit quickly fixated on an ornate inscription from the Messenger ﷺ:
"My Intercession is for the Major Sinners of my Nation." (Sunan Tirmidhi)
I contemplated this for a while. Why was the Messenger ﷺ pointing this out? We know his intercession is for his whole nation. Why then say it is for the major sinners?
I quickly turned to Shaykh Mohsen, posing this question to him. He reminded me how some, sitting on their high horses, look down upon their brothers and sisters in spiritual need. We box them into a category and quickly disassociate ourselves from them. We say, "He is a thief, she is a liar, they go clubbing," and the list goes on and on.
While we run away from them, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is running to them on the day of Judgment. While we treat them as some band of zombies, the Messenger ﷺ treats them as his followers in need of aid. Being sent as a mercy to all the worlds does not preclude any of his followers from his intercession before Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala (exalted is He).
His concern during his lifetime was to reconnect people with Allah (swt), no matter how bad the spiritual times they had fallen on. His objective was not to just condemn, but to rectify. He once described himself by saying, "I am to you like a parent is to a child. I teach you," (Ibn Majah). And taught us you have, O Messenger of Allah!
Unfortunately, many of us have forgotten that model. We often act on our perceived religiosity by quickly condemning others, as if it somehow comes with the territory. The length of my beard, the perfect placement of my hands in prayer and my impeccable recitation somehow puts me on the higher rank of the spiritual totem pole and I become the judge, jury and executioner of your spiritual life. Allah (swt) warns us of this attitude in the Qur'an when He says:
"So do not claim yourselves to be pure; He is most knowing of who fears Him." (53:32)
It was narrated that during the time of Prophet Moses alayhi as-salaam (peace be upon him) two men had passed away. One was considered to be righteous, the other to be a sinner. Allah (swt) revealed to Moses that the perceived righteous man was in damnation while the sinner had been forgiven. Moses decided to investigate the matter, visiting the widows of the men to see what they were like at home.
The widow of the "righteous" man said he was just as good inside the house as he was outside, except he would sometimes strangely say, "We will be successful if Moses is really telling the truth." The widow of the "sinner" said he was just as bad inside the house as he was outside, except every so often he would cry himself to sleep saying, "Oh Allah, what level of punishment will you place me in?"
One man showed sincerity in his belief even though he fell short in action, earning him Allah's mercy, while the other man showed doubt in his belief even though his acts were many. The realm of spirituality belongs to Allah (swt). Our goal is to call people to Him in the most beautiful of ways while taking ourselves into account first. So the next time you plan on judging your Muslim brother and sister, don't, because that zombie you see just might be your own self.
Moutasem Atiya has been actively involved in the Metropolitan DC communities through classes, speaking engagements, and Friday khutbahs on a regular basis for the past 10 years. He has studied the Islamic sciences from three of the luminaries of our time, Shaykh Mohsen An-Najjar, Shaykh Mokhtar Maghraoui, and Shaykh Muhammad bin Yahya Al-Ninowy. He is a teacher at the Al-Madina Institute.
Muslim-Americans give back to the community by opening free health clinic on South Side | syracuse.com
Muslim-Americans give back to the community by opening free health clinic on South Side | syracuse.com.
The Rahma Health Clinic, which recently opened its doors at 3100 S. Salina St., is open 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays and 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesdays. Rahma is an Islamic word that means mercy.
The Muslim religion places a strong emphasis on giving back to the community's less fortunate, said Dr. Mustafa Awayda, the clinic's volunteer medical director. That belief was the catalyst behind starting the clinic.
"We're so fortunate because we have wonderful lives in the area, great jobs and we wanted to give back," said Awayda, who works at the Syracuse VA Medical Center.
He and other Muslim Americans formed a nonprofit, the Muslim American Care and Compassion Alliance, which purchased a vacant former doctor's office at 3100 S. Salina St. in 2009.
It took much longer than expected to open because the clinic applied for and received certification from the state under Article 28 of the state public heath law. Even though the clinic is operated entirely by volunteers and funded by donations, it had to comply with the same regulations that apply to hospitals and other major health facilities.
"Our policy on infection control alone is 59 pages," Awayda said.
But he believes the extra work involved in becoming certified was worth it.
"It's great to be able to say we passed all the scrutiny and regulations of the state," he said.
The certification also means doctors who volunteer at the clinic will receive free medical malpractice insurance coverage under the Federal Tort Claims Act, he said. The certification also will make it easier for the clinic to apply for grants.
So far the clinic has four doctors, two nurse practitioners, a social worker and an administrator – all volunteers.
Rahma is not a walk-in clinic like Syracuse's two other free health clinics, Amaus Health Services in downtown Syracuse and the Poverello Health Center on the North Side. Patients must call 565-5667 to make appointments.
Eventually Awayda said the clinic's goal is to operate every weekday and for a few hours on Saturdays.
The group decided to locate the clinic on the South Side after doing research that showed a disproportionate number of people who live in that part of the city are admitted to hospitals for preventable illnesses such as high blood pressure, uncontrolled diabetes, asthma and pneumonia.
Awayda sees patient education as one of the clinic's most important roles.
"We tell people, 'Come get your sugar checked. Come get your blood pressure checked. Do something before you end up in the hospital,'" he said.
Last summer the clinic and people from the neighborhood planted a fruit and vegetable garden. The aim of the garden is to teach people on the South Side the importance of healthy eating. The clinic is in a neighborhood where there are plenty of fast food restaurants, but few places to buy fresh produce, Awayda said.
The clinic's social worker helps people find out if they are eligible for Medicaid or other health insurance programs. The clinic also helps patients who need prescription medications find low-cost generic drugs.
Mohamed Khater, who is president of the Islamic Society of Central New York, serves as chair of the clinic's board.
"We as Muslims want to give back to our community," he said.
While most of the Muslim-Americans who started the clinic are members of the Islamic Society, the clinic in not a religious organization and is separate from the Islamic Society, he said. The clinic is open to everyone and seeks volunteers of all faiths, he said.
Magda Bayoumi, Khater's wife, said the clinic hopes to eventually expand to include dentistry and other services.
"We're hoping for the moon, but we've started out taking small steps," she said. "Failure is not an option."
For appointments
Call 565-5667 or email the clinic at firstname.lastname@example.com
How you can help
Call 565-5667 to learn about volunteer opportunities. To make a donation, send checks made out to Muslim American Care and Compassion Alliance, 3100 S. Salina St., Syracuse.


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Mario Balotelli has assured Cesare Prandelli he'll keep himself "under control" at Euro 2012 and is committed to Manchester City despite a new approach to the tabloids.
The striker has become more famous for his red cards, scuffles and off the field antics than goals, earning him a warning ahead of the Euros.
"I've dreamed of playing at the Euros since I was a child," he told the Corriere dello Sport.
"Wearing the Italy jersey has always been my dream and now it has become reality. Now the Euros are coming up, which are the biggest competition along with the World Cup. I'm so fired up I can't wait to get started.
"I will give my all to do well. The whole team and I want the Nazionale to play a great Euros so we can give some satisfaction to the Italian people.
"Don't worry, there will be no problems at the Euros. I will keep myself under control. Prandelli and Roberto Mancini are the greatest Coaches I've worked with in my career, as they are also great people. I must thank them so much."
Balotelli can also learn from the former 'bad boy' of Italian football, Antonio Cassano.
"Before being teammates on the field, we are friends off of it. I mean we are really, really good friends. We often talk and joke around. Antonio is a lovely lad," continued Super Mario.
"When he was released from hospital after the heart surgery, I went to visit him at home. I said: 'If you don't go to the Euros, then neither will I.'
"He replied that it was 'unlikely' he'd made it, but I had no doubts, because I know what he's like. I wasn't wrong.
"Spain are the strongest side in the world, but nobody is unbeatable. Italy will be the revelations of the tournament."
Balo was also asked about the repeated transfer links with a return to Serie A, above all his favourite team Milan, after netting 13 goals in 23 games.
"I do miss Italy, but playing in the Premier League is great fun. I really think I will stay at City. On a personal level, I could've done better this season. I can and must always do better.
"You know me by now, I always want to improve. The important thing is that City won. I hope to lift more trophies next year, hopefully even the Champions League...
"If I could wipe out one moment from my campaign, it'd be the double booking against Arsenal. I was too eager to make an impact and in a bid to press the opponents I went in too hard. They weren't nasty fouls, but were punished with the yellow card. I have to be better at keeping myself under control. I must give my all without making certain mistakes.
"Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the best in the world. I need to be more consistent. That also means being on the pitch more consistently, because this year I missed far too many games. In that sense, it's necessary for me to improve too."
There is one thing Balotelli cannot stand about living in England, as he continues his running battle with the tabloid newspapers.
The latest headline splash involved his messy break-up with girlfriend Raffaella Fico.
"We split up at the start of April. I have no idea why she continues to say certain things to the papers and not to me.
"The tabloids are not really newspapers. They follow me night and day, while often there is someone who just camps out in front of my house, writing what time I go in and out.
"I have started collecting press cuttings to make an album... Out of 100 things that are written about me, at most five are true."
See the latest Serie A predictions and betting tips with Eurotips.co.uk [12]


text: The photograph was then shipped to America to be enhanced by computer, and analyzed. Dr. Bruce Maccabee, optical physicist with the United States Navy gave his expert conclusion:"I had great hopes that this case would prove definitive. Sadly circumstances prevent it from being so."Spencer made no money from his photograph, and relinquished all rights to the photograph to UFO investigators.


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This quick news updates includes police handcuffing an elementary school student, a step forward in LGBTQIQ rights, a fire bomb and two court cases.
Columbia Theological Seminary graduate Katie Ricks was the first out lesbian to be ordained by the Presbyterian Church USA this weekend when the University Presbyterian Church in Chapel Hill, NC ordained her this weekend. (Huffington Post)
Raquel Nelson, the mother convicted on vehicular homicide after her son died in a hit and run while they were jaywalking in April of 2010, will be challenging the charges against her. (AJC)
Milledgeville school police officers hand-cuffed a student after she threw a temper-tantrum. (CBS Atlanta)
The fire that burned 16 units of the Kensington Apartment complex in DeKalb County today may have been started by a Molotov cocktail. (AJC)
Cameron Christian Maddox has been indicted for the March shooting of an Atlanta Police Officer in Little Five Points. (11alive)