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Mariners may look to clarify GM Jack Zduriencik's situation soon
Seattle may clear up recent reports and rumors regarding Zduriencik in short order. Club president Chuck Armstrong already addressed a wild rumor involving Brian Cashman in an interview with CBSSports.com.
The status of Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik is expected to be updated if not entirely clarified within the next few days, and possibly as early as Wednesday, people familiar with the situation say.
These have been trying times in Seattle. And confusing, too.
An update might not be a bad idea following a round of reports and rumors only led to more speculation about the contract and job status of Zduriencik, whose team is in jeopardy of posting its fourth straight losing season after a surprisingly winning debut 2009 season in which the Mariners improved 24 games to 85 victories. One report Tuesday suggested Zduriencik was quietly given a one-year extension, meaning his contract would go through 2014, not 2013 as first believed, while a second report suggested that the secret extension was made way back before the season began.
Mariners president Chuck Armstrong, in a brief phone interview, cited club policy in declining to discuss the team's GM situation generally. When confronted specifically regarding a rumor circulating that there could be interest in Yankees GM Brian Cashman should there be a GM change in Seattle, Armstrong offered praise of Cashman but stopped well short of talking about Cashman in that context.
Armstrong, reached in Oakland late Tuesday afternoon there, responded to rumors circulating suggesting Zduriencik could be on the hot seat, telling CBSSports.com, "It's just not our policy -- I know some teams will talk about it -- we just don't talk about contractual situations. Except I can assure you we haven't had conversations with anybody about changing GMs. Jack's our GM, and it's a situation where we're finishing the season. Jack's our GM until he's not our GM."
Even if a change is made, ultimately Armstrong understands any warm personal feelings regarding Cashman very likely wouldn't matter, anyway, as Cashman is under contract for another year with the Yankees. Armstrong also revealed that a previous attempt to interview Cashman while he was under contract was declined by the Yankees, as was their right.
As for word that Armstrong likes Cashman, well, Armstrong confirmed that much by phone – not that it matters seeing how such a scenario would appear to be the longest of long shots.
"I'm a fan of Brian Cashman. We're both Kentucky guys. He's an astute baseball man, and I like him very much," Armstrong said, revealing that he'd asked permission to interview Cashman before he hired Zduriencik five years ago.
Cashman in any case is said by friends unwilling by his nature to try to break any current contract and wholly uninterested in leaving New York assuming the Yankees don't have any desire to release him a year early from his contract -- and they apparently do not. A Yankees-connected person called Cashman's job "secure" with the Yankees despite an atypically rocky 2013 season. Cashman declined comment abut the Mariners when reached by phone.
Should Zduriencik be kept only through 2014 to fulfill his current contract, Cashman's contract would be up then. However, he has important family reasons to want to remain in New York, beyond his obvious loyalty to the Yankees, where he started as a low-level office worker in the late 1980s.
While Cashman has differed with his bosses at a couple key junctures this season, with a couple of those differences becoming public, neither side seems anxious to sever an overwhelmingly positive longstanding relationship that's had its moments lately. The Yankees have averaged 97 wins while winning five World Series title the last 17 years, with Cashman as GM the last 15 of those years.
Zduriencik by phone declined comment on his status, though there was no evidence by mid afternoon Tuesday that he'd been made aware of any plans involving him one way or the other.
Seattle is 58-67 after a nice comeback victory at Oakland Tuesday night. Although the Mariners have gathered several talented young players via the draft in Zduriencik's years to give them a potentially bright future and the signing of superstar pitcher Felix Hernandez last winter to a $175-million, seven-year extension is understandably viewed favorably, progress on the field at the big-league level has been slow.
The Tacoma News-Tribune's Ryan Divish first reported Tuesday that Zduriencik is actually under contract through 2014 after being given a one-year extension, not 2013 as long believed. Shannon Drayer of ESPN-710 in Seattle then followed the first news item by reporting that Zduriencik was in fact awarded that extension before the season. That timing would seem to suggest the one extra year doesn't necessarily guarantee security.
Another interesting twist is that when Zduriencik was offered his extension before the year, sources indicate they believe no extension was given at the time to Mariners manager Eric Wedge, whose contract expires after this season. That could possibly explain why Zduriencik's extension wasn't revealed at the time.
Various Seattle-based writers have suggested Mariners management has been in meetings with Wedge lately, though it hasn't been revealed what was discussed, beyond Wedge's health. Wedge, 45, reportedly is expected to return to the field Friday after missing about a month following a major health scare, a stroke suffered July 22.
Pawol, woman ump, gets first MLB look
Pawol is expected to umpire in the minors again come the regular season
How to watch Long Beach State vs. TCU
No. 3 Texas Christian is looking to ruin Long Beach State's return home
Martinez Red Sox announcement delayed
Martinez's physical isn't taking much longer than usual
Relievers trying to make rotations
The Rangers have a lot riding on Mike Minor and Matt Bush
Court: Loria breached county contract
Though the process is far from complete, taxpayers got good news Thursday
Rays trade Dickerson to Pirates
Dickerson had been designated for assignment by the Rays last week


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SF Scavenger: Knoll Style Danish Credenza for $600/BO
The seller of this Knoll Style Danish Credenza stored a television, toy bins, books, and clothes in it. So many possibilities!
- Paul Thomas Aviary Melamine Plates for $25
- Screenprint of SF - local artist for $150
- 2 Vintage Office Chairs for $50
- Mid century accent chairs, bent wood, eames era for $189
- Modern Couch for $500
- Library Card File 60 Drawers Great For Storage for $120
- Awesome modern wooden dresser! for $150/BO
- Antique Train Luggage Rack for $100
Thanks, Craig!
Apartment Therapy Furniture Classifieds are open for your business in the Shopping Guide. List a particularly good thing, and we'll post you on the front page...

subset: commoncrawl


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A woman died Tuesday morning after her car crashed into a tree at 12th and Varnum streets in Northeast D.C., police said.
The car was traveling southbound on the 4400 block of 12th Street when it struck a tree, and officers responded to the scene at 7:58 a.m. The driver was transported to a hospital with serious injuries and later died.
Police spokeswoman Tisha Gant said police had identified the woman but would not release her information until her relatives were notified.
As of noon, the 4300 block of 12th Street NE remained closed at noon on Tuesday, and police requested that drivers use 13th Street instead.


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Notes on the Transformation of 'Dravidian' Ideology: Tamilnadu, c. 1900-1940
The existing scholarship on the Dravidian Movement traces its ideological genesis to 'a tiny group of highly educated and capable Vellalas'1 such as P. Sundaram Pillai, J.M. Nallaswami Pillai, V. Kanakasabhai and Maraimalai Adigal. Further, these intellectual protagonists of the 'Dravidian* ideology are characterised as follows:
They remained an elite with no popular base, with no desire to be involved with the masses. Their stress on the past glories, the suspicion of the outsider, their abstract commitment to the people, made them populists like the Russian Narodniks of the nineteenth century' (Srinivasan, 1987: 17, 21).2
While one would broadly agree with this reading of the Dravidian Movement's beginning, one run into problems in understanding the specific ways in which this ideology of the elite was appropriated and transformed for a socially radical agenda by the Self Respect Movement in the 1920s and the 1930s.3 Here one is left with either terse unexplained statements or meta-generalisation which are hardly illuminating. For instance, Srinivasan (1987:1), in accounting for the changes witnessed by the Dravidian Movement, merely states the following: 'The development was initially ideological which later transformed itself in to a mass movement. In the interregnum, an involved elite tried to transform part of the ideology into a programme of action but mainly in elite institutions like the University. The third stage is contemporary with the second interregnum stage where the newly formed Justice Party gives the institutional base that it lacked. Later the movement slipped from the elite and the initiative passed on to a new leadership in the person of E.V. R[amaswamy] which followed totally unprecedented styles and adopted a populist stance considerably different from the early ones to which the province was used.' In such sweeping generalisations, not only are expressions like 'unprecedented style' and 'populist stance' left unanalised, but their adequacy as explanations also needs further probing.
Against this background, the present paper analyses in broad out-
Madras Institute of Development Studies, Madras.
Social Scientist, Vol. 22, Nos. 5-6, May-June 1994


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SPORT Minister Anil Roberts said yesterday the LifeSport programme is a "necessary initiative" which has already been successful in helping "young black men" in this country "put down the gun".
Roberts made the statements during his contribution to a motion moved by the Member of Parliament for Diego Martin North/East asking that the House censure the Minister of Sport for facilitating, through the LifeSport programme, the funding of criminals and criminal enterprise.
Roberts urged people to stop spreading untruths about the LifeSport programme.
One of the situations Roberts sought to clarify was the alleged involvement of a recent murder victim in the LifeSport programme.
Four days after it was disclosed in an article in the Sunday Express that he was the personal security guard of Ruth Marchan, deputy director of Physical Education and Sport at the Ministry of Sport, 42-year-old Curtis Gibson was shot dead at his Malabar home.
Roberts said there was "no link whatsoever" between Gibson and the LifeSport programme.
"Mr Curtis Gibson did not work for LifeSport in any form or fashion whatsoever at any point in time, previously, now, and definitely not in the future. He was not linked with the programme in any way whatsoever," Roberts said. "So every comment made by Diego Martin North/East (Colm Imbert) to make a case of criminality and murder is absolutely untrue," he said.
Roberts read a media release from the Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC), which stated Gibson had been employed at the corporation for 12 years.
"Mr Gibson, who was unfortunately murdered yesterday, was not ever associated with LifeSport in any form or fashion whatsoever. He is a member for 12 years at the PTSC, so God rest his soul. Please tell the truth, do not start to accuse and create a furore," he said.
Roberts also read a release from LifeSport, which stated links attributed to Gibson and the programme were "erroneous, inaccurate and absolutely misleading".
He also slammed Imbert for casting aspersions against people who may have had a checkered past for trying to change their life.
Roberts said if the People's National Movement is saying ex-convicts should not be given a chance to work, then former government minister Rennie Dumas must be fired from the Tobago House of Assembly (THA).
In 2013 Dumas, a former member of Parliament for Tobago East, was convicted of unlawfully and maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm against Roger Simon and committing an act of common assault against Simon, a security officer.
Roberts said Dumas is currently employed at the THA making a salary of $60,000 a month.
"The programme is a fantastic programme to give young, poor, black people an opportunity to survive in the mainstream and move forward," Roberts said.
Roberts said the Selwyn Ryan report spoke of the at-risk black male and the Life Sport programme was geared toward addressing this issue.
"It also speaks to sport being utilised to ensure that these young people are not thrown away, they are not killed, that they are not murdered, that they are not discarded by society, but that they are not thrown into boot camp," Roberts said.
Roberts said the PNM did not care about the "young black people" in this country.
The PNM stands for the "People Never Matter", Robert said.
"These criminals, as the PNM calls them, these criminals are being converted, brought into mainstream and that is a powerful programme. If they have any issues of accountability, of invoicing, of whatever, that will be dealt with. This is the fourth audit and we are proud of that. Why would you say having an audit is a bad thing?" he said.


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As with the
three-dimensional technique, the two-dimensional reconstruction is used when
unidentified skeletal remains are found. The two-dimensional reconstruction process is
initiated by utilizing the same data as used for the Three-dimensional clay
reconstruction. The process begins by gluing on the proper tissue markers in the proper
pre-determined locations. The skull is then placed on a stand in the Frankfort Horizontal
position. The skull is photographed; profile and frontal views, at a 1:1 scale, with a
ruler positioned aside of the skull. The photos are then enlarged to life size dimension.
The frontal and profile photos are then taped, in the Frankfort Horizontal position,
directly aside one another, to two separate flat wood boards. Upon completion of the above
process, transparent natural vellum sheets are taped directly over the printed
photographs. Sketching begins, where the artist follows the contours of the skull, along
with using the tissue markers as guidelines. Measurements for the mouth, nose, and eyes,
is the same for the Two-dimensional process as it is with the Three-dimensional process.
Hair type and style is determined by samples found on the scene by investigators, or by
estimation determined by victims race, gender, and/or ethnic background. Information
provided by the Forensic Anthropologist and other professionals is utilized. All
procedures are documented and working notes collected. This method has also been tried and
proved over the years. Benefits of this method over the clay reconstruction are cost, and
the time it takes to complete the reconstruction.
method of Two-dimensional identification is that of reconstructing a face from a
decomposing body. Utilizing the artists knowledge of the face, how the soft tissue
lies on the skull, and a general knowledge of how the human body reacts to decomposition,
the artist can make educated estimations on how an individual may have appeared prior to
death. All methods of facial reconstruction allow the investigators, and the media, the
opportunity to put a face with the victim, and a chance of a quick identification
saving man-hours, and allowing the victims family to put the element of the unknown
to rest.
Sorry, your browser doesn't support Java(tm).


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Today I saw a note that once high flier KANA was being sold for $49 million in cash to a private equity firm. Not because they have any real assets but because they have a $400 million operating loss. The company is essentially a publicly traded shell that might be used to roll a profitable or growing company who wants to go public into. This has many advantages I suppose for the shareholders of the new company but what about the customers?
Under the marquis with the big liquidation announcement is a link that states: Half of Fortune 100 companies rely on Kana including Dell, Intel and AT&T yet after the Tuesday sale of the company it seems to me that they are out of luck.
The reason Kana struck a chord with me is because when I was the Director of Technical Support at MindSpring back in the 1990s —we acquired a company in Seattle called SpryNet. They were an early Kana customer. I remember hearing how great the software was and how much promise it had. As we consolidated we went with another vendor, Right Now Technologies, one reason was if I recall correctly, was because it ran on Linux (It's been so long — in internet years— I can't recall all the details).
According to the 451 Group's Brenon Daly the software company has been dying a slow death for years:
"Exactly three years ago, we bluntly wrote that there was no reason for Kana Software (KANA.OB) to be a public company, at least in its current form. Kana's performance in the intervening 1,000 days since we published that report did nothing to change our view. If anything, as the red ink continued to gush at Kana, we became even more convinced of the need for a sale of the customer support software vendor. The sale finally happened Tuesday, with Accel-KKR agreeing to pay $49m in cash for most of Kana."
The reason I bring it up is because if the software was open source the companies that use open source would likely have some outs. In this case proprietary KANA according to some reports the CRM vendor went through billions in investment and other losses since being founded in 1996. As a open source business person my colleagues and I spend a lot of time talking about how open source is not risky and I am sure that this cautionary tale will make it into more than one of our counter-objection files. This is a great example of how proprietary software can be risky.
I have been waiting for our pundit-cum-software exec, Matt Asay, to publish his latest musing on the need for the open source savior we deserve. From the draft it looks like it will be yet another well written plea for our industry (software companies that build products and services on or around open source projects). However, it makes me think about one of my favorite movies, Martin Scorsese's Casino. At one point in the movie Joe Pesci asks Sharon Stone's character if she needs a sponsor, which she emphatically agrees to — if you saw the movie you can't get much more affirmative than that. The movie ends with Sharon Stone's character dead of a drug overdose and Joe Pesci's character beaten and buried alive in a corn field. In Matt's draft he suggests Google as the sponsor of OSS. Thanks but no thanks.
I don't think we need a sponsor or savior for that matter— we need some wins. I mean putting our nose to grindstone and making viable businesses around OSS. I think there are quite a few contenders – Alfresco, SugarCRM, Pentaho and Zenoss to name a few. While I am sure most of us who work in the industry are dying for a liquidation event I think the days of tech stock mega-millionaires are over so while I am happy for the MySQL's and Springsource's of the world, I would hope numerous ISVs will find ways to make self-sustainable businesses around OSS. The idea of being a disruptive technology is to be disruptive and challenge the status quo. Maybe the time for the mega software vendor who buildit once, sells it a million times and sits on its laurels is over. Right now the right vendor who has succeeded with a business that's symbiotic with open source software is Red Hat. They are not only profitable AND growing AND their customers seem to love them. No they aren't Redmond rich but they are growing their business, sponsoring a number of thriving communities and redefining the model for delivering enterprise software. I think the industry has to execute on the mantras we love to expound: make better software, save money, drive innovation reduce vendor lock-in, etc. So let's just take Red Hat for what they are —a role model for other open source companies, wish Google the best and leave the saviors for the tabernacle.
[Disclaimer: I don't use the term commercial open source software vendors simply because I personally feel that open source is a development method not a business model. This post is reflects only my own opinion and not necessarily that of my employer.]
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FINAL EXAMThe final exam will be held on Monday, March 13th at 10:30 to 12:20. You will be asked to write two essays. Each essay will be selected from two options.
The first essay will cover the concept of power as developed by Michel Foucault, and it's potential applications for research.
The second essay will be a more comprehensive essay that will ask you to trace themes from the course as a whole. In other words, this essay will ask you to draw on some theories and ideas from the first half of the course, but it will allow you some leeway in determining what theories and theorists will choose.
A key to this exam will be to identify themes and points of comparison between theorists--themes such as "freedom and power," "power over and power to" and so on.
Here are some sample questions from exams past. This should give you an idea of how I construct questions:
I will include questions on the final of similar content to these. 2/3 for you to answer.
1)What does Foucault seek to replace the juridico-discurvise theory of power with? Does his alternative better explain the relationship between power and human sexuality? Explain.
2)How does Young use the insights of power theorists to construct a theory of justice. Discuss at least on strength and one weakness to her use of these theories.
3)How does the power without a face contribute to our understanding of the dynamics of 4th grade classrooms?
4)In light of all the criticisms of his approach, how useful is Dahl's definition of power?
5) What is the best way to understand the relationship between power and freedom? Does Foucault help us better understand this relationship?


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Boot Camps For Family♫ Tuesday, April 24th, 2012
The age-old struggle between a parent's desire for behavioral control and the teen's desire for individuation is not going to end with a stay in a boot camp. However, boot camps for teens and other similar institutions have been successful in restoring balance and health to many youth who otherwise would have gone on to struggle unsuccessfully on their own.
Generally, parents can experience extreme stress through the unrelenting behaviors of their misbehaving kids. Some parents just want the problem to go away by itself. If you are reading about boot camps for teens, then your teen's troubles will not just disappear by ignoring them. Some parents do not want their teen to have a record of attending a military school or a criminal one. Put that concern lower on your list of priorities. Instead, ask yourself what risks you will be allowing your child to take without intervention. What risks have there been and will there be to the individuals in the family?
Some parents are over-reacting to their teen's efforts to break away from parental control on the path to become an adult. If this is the case, residential confinement is not the answer. Some teens think that they are already adults. Now if this is part of the problem, it bares further examination. The parents may find themselves caught in the crossfire between the teen, family, spouse, home, school, community, fear of legal complications, and the future. Sending your child to one of the boot camps for teens should always be the last resort, but with time, it may become the only option.
Visualize the mobile that hung over your child's crib. If you or your child touched even only one of the pieces, the whole mobile was set swinging into motion. Now think about any group of people. If a radical change occurs, then many, if not all, of the people in that group are set into some type of motion. It is the same way with the family group. The incorrigible teen acts out, and the family-group responses are set into a very negative motion pattern. Choosing to avoid taking any action will not stop this movement within the family. The more time that passes, the family as a whole becomes more at risk. With this time passing away, the teen's behaviors worsen. No one is left unscathed by the effects of the behaviors of the teen. It is only a matter of degree.
With different knowledge and the increased likelihood of personal insight, the teen may come to understand the need for change. This does not mean the teen now wants to change, nor does it mean that understanding is all that is required for success. This is only the beginning. In many of these sad cases, the teen believes either that his behaviors are 'fine,' or likes his or her 'bad' image. Human beings change when the pain of their consequences gets too fierce, or the reward of their behaviors is pleasing beyond measure. Unfortunately, being 'bad' is the ultimate pleasure for some youth. Choosing one of these boot camps for teens can give you the peace of mind that dozens of professional staff will be watching and helping you teen. Contrary to popular belief, it does take a village to raise a child all the way to adulthood.
Teens can easily wear down the parents at which time the teen returns to previously negative behaviors. Joining parenting support groups to hear the problems of other families and to talk over solutions is greatly helpful during this time. Teen behaviors change over time with structure, insight, desire, and constant support. The teen generally considers his support community to be the teen culture, and continuing to 'hang' with the same crowd. His allegiances have swung to lay with this group. Parents having been worn down by constant chaos surrounding their teen, grow unwilling to make changes. This makes looking into boot camps for teens a desirable option for stress relief. Do not use these programs to relieve your stress; use them as a change facilitator for your teen. Often parents want the teen to make all the changes. Destructive behaviors and the 'bad boy' image are usually deeply ingrained. The teen is often not capable of turning himself around. These individuals require long term structured environments including home and school. These are only a few of the difficulties that can affect the positive outcomes of behavioral change for the teen.
The likelihood of a teen making long-term behavioral change without major changes within the family structure is slim. Success requires changes within the teen, the teen culture, and the family system. Remember that mobile. When the teen returns home from the boot camp for teens that you have chosen, support, treatment, rehabilitation, community services, and a changed familial system are required in full force for any positive change to be sustained over time.


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One of the rarest finds in paleontology history is housed at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis. The duck-billed dinosaur named Leonardo is the best-preserved remains of a dinosaur in the world, and it is almost completely intact – including it's stomach, and its contents.
Dave Trexler with the Great Plains Dinosaur Museum in Malta, Montana says having an intact dinosaur tests what we think we know about the creatures.
"This particular specimen is pretty much the test of a lot of hypothesis that we've had over the last 150 years," Trexler said.
Scales and tissue have been found on less than one-tenth of one-percent of all dinosaurs ever excavated. When Leonardo was discovered in Malta, Montana in 2001, about 90-percent of his body was still covered in fossilized soft tissue. That makes his discovery very important to test what we think we know about dinosaurs – whether or not that information might be correct.
Paleontologist Robert Bakken was a skeptic when he first heard that a dinosaur with skin had been found.
"Then I heard, it's got gut contents and I said 'no way, absolutely not,'" Bakken said. "How could a tiny group of volunteers in central Montana find something like that?"
Leonardo is now being studied by scientists who work with the Children's Museum's Dinosphere exhibit, and he will go on public display in March 2014.


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Myanmar farmers and villagers test newfound freedoms with protests
After decades of fear and persecution under rule of junta, villagers in rural Myanmar are testing the limits of their newfound freedoms
Farmers and villagers in Myanmar are risking the fury of the authorities by standing up to big business in a test of new rights unthinkable during decades of military rule.
Hundreds of people in the central town of Monywa, Sagaing division, have taken to the streets in recent months. They opposed the confiscation of their land to make way for a Chinese-backed copper mine and expressed their fears over pollution in the area.
"We have only dared to speak out about our suffering now because we heard that we can talk openly thanks to the change in government. We did not dare to complain... when they were soldiers," 38-year-old farmer Myat Thaung said.
For decades, public protest was the preserve of the brave or desperate. The junta did not flinch at meeting civilian demonstrations with army firepower.
But a new civilian regime, which came to power after the military loosened its grip on the country last year, has been keen to tout its reformist credentials.
It has freed veterans of past uprisings from jail and welcomed democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi into parliament.
President Thein Sein approved a bill allowing peaceful assembly in December last year.
But rights groups criticised rules that mean demonstrators risk a year in jail if they do not seek permission five days in advance.
Pockets of protest have erupted all over the country, from wage strikes at Yangon factories to land demonstrations in remote farmlands, as Myanmar's long-suppressed population tests the limits of its freedoms.
The Monywa copper mine, a joint venture between military-owned Myanmar Economic Holdings and China's Wanbao company, has led to 3,200 hectares of land being confiscated from local farmers without consultation and, in some cases, without compensation.
Myat Thaung said he received around US$4,000 for the loss of his farmland, but has since spent all the money on looking after his family. He is now unemployed. "We did not sell our land - why would we sell our children's birthrights? They are the ones who lied to us by confiscating our farmlands," said the father-of-four at his village near Monywa. A few kilometres away in the village of Kankone Gyi, residents are engaged in a separate fight against a sulphuric acid factory.
For five years the villagers bore the choking pollution in silence. Not any more.
"Because of the smoke coming out of that factory, we cannot breath. Whenever it operates, we suffer," said Khin San, 67, one of about a hundred villagers who protested recently.
The renowned Generation 88 movement, born during huge 1988 student-led demonstrations that were brutally crushed by the military, has become a key advocate for ordinary people in land and worker disputes.
"They kept their pain in their hearts for years. Now the first stage of transparency has arrived and they are starting to know how to defend their rights," said the group's Kyaw Min Yu, who travelled to Monywa to negotiate the release of detained protesters.
"Both sides have to be careful not to threaten each other. Those with power need to be particularly restrained," he said.
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Intuitives have been talking lately about the cleansing energy that has been blasting through our inner lives over the past weeks and months. Old stuff, ancient stuff is rising up and being blown about. The corners are being swept. That has certainly been true for me. I don't have a handle on this newest revelation yet, so my writing about it may feel jumbled, unclear, but I am coming to you live from inner space, and here is what it looks like at the moment.
I just returned home from a week-long trip down south, my birthplace. While there visiting with my family, I also looked at a piece of property that literally wept with nostalgia – thirteen acres of pasture, forest, private lake, barn (complete with a tractor and two horses), and a ramshackle house that was begging for love, my love…the kind of treasure completely out of reach here in California. This place got under my skin, as well as my husband's and daughter's…so much so that if the house hadn't needed quite so much attention, we would be ranch owners right now.
So my visit was thrown into a tailspin of pondering. Could we relocate back to my Mississippi roots, after almost forty years in the liberal, urban sprawl of Los Angeles? Could we embrace the idyllic geography, spend the next and final years looking at the stars, listening to the crickets, catching fish and growing vegetables, feeling the deep belonging of brothers and cousins, nieces and nephews, and old high school friends who knew me when? Could our wide-world mindset find its place in the old-world leanings of the south? Could we survive the heat and humidity? 😉
Oh, how I struggle when I go back there! My mom is in her latter years, and it hurts to witness her decline, experience the tenderness between us, then say goodbye each visit. It hurts to connect with my brothers and their children, feel that potent pull of belonging, then depart. But then I arrive back at LAX…and there is something in the air that feels good. Really good. It smells like jet fuel, it looks like concrete and cars and palm trees, but it feels like freedom. I can breathe deeply here in the City of Angels.
I've been reading another John O'Donohue book. This one is called Eternal Echoes: Celtic Reflections on our Yearning to Belong. The timing could not be more perfect. And the corners that are getting swept, the ancient stuff that is coming up for me to heal, is another piece of self-acceptance: accepting this throb in the center of my chest that pulses so intensely it hurts. This yearning heart, which often embarrasses me, is my life-force, my very best feature!
I'm also being asked to look at the continuum of belonging and freedom, and embrace the fluctuating position I find myself in along that continuum. Pure belonging is impossible without the sacrifice of individuality, the gift of freedom. Pure freedom is a lonely, lonely place. I had never thought about this before, about the dynamism of these twin calls in our lives, and our negotiation of those energies. Somehow, naming them helps me dance instead of wrestle between, even as the as-yet-unknown future unfurls.
Here is a lovely blessing by O'Donohue that I offer as prayer for myself and for you, as you, too, are blown about in your own winds of change:
May you listen to your longing to be free.
May the frames of your belonging be large enough for the dreams of your soul.
May you arise each day with a voice of blessing whispering in your heart that something good is going to happen to you.
May you find a harmony between your soul and your life.
May the mansion of your soul never become a haunted place.
May you know the eternal longing which lives at the heart of time.
May there be kindness in your gaze when you look within.
May you never place walls between the light and yourself.
May your angel free you from the prisons of guilt, fear, disappointment, and despair.
May you allow the wild beauty of the invisible world to gather you, mind you, and embrace you in belonging.
–John O'Donohue


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Cosan Offers to Buy Brazilian Railway ALL for $3 Billion
Cosan SA Industria & Comercio (CSAN3), which operates the world's biggest sugar-cane processor, offered to buy railroad operator ALL-America Latina Logistica SA (ALLL3) for 6.96 billion reais ($3 billion) in an all-stock deal. ALL rallied.
Cosan is proposing that its Rumo logistics unit swap shares with ALL in a transaction that values each ALL share at 10.184 reais, a 56 percent premium over the Feb. 21 closing price, according to regulatory filings today. Rumo, which is closely held, is valued at 4 billion reais in the offer.
Cosan, which has an ethanol production and fuel distribution joint venture with Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA), is seeking to streamline the transportation of its sugar to ports as Brazil produces record crops. This marks the Sao Paulo-based company's second attempt to gain control of ALL.
"We see huge value in the combination of assets," Cosan Chief Executive Officer Marcos Lutz told investors on a conference call. "We measured huge synergies between the entities."
ALL jumped as much as 17 percent to 7.66 reais today in Sao Paulo trading before closing at 7.10 reais and bringing its total gain since Feb. 13 to 31 percent. Cosan rose 3.5 percent to 36.60 reais.
Gains of scale and cost reduction resulting from synergies will add as much as 450 million reais to the value of the new company, said Bruno Di Giacomo, an equity analyst at brokerage Fator Corretora in Sao Paulo.
"ALL stands to gain with the entrance of Cosan in the controlling group," Di Giacomo said. "The market sees the entrance of strong shareholders as positive."
Cosan's Split
Under terms of today's offer, Cosan will merge its Rumo unit with ALL and later split into an energy unit and a logistics company, both of which will be publicly traded. Cosan Ltd. (CZZ) will be the parent of both.
Shareholders of Rumo will hold a 36.5 percent stake in the new company and name most board members, while ALL's shareholders will own 63.5 percent.
The offer needs to be approved by ALL's board, which includes pension funds that had rejected Cosan's previous attempt to buy a stake.
So far Cosan has support from two of six investors in ALL's controlling group, Riccardo Arduini and family and Wilson de Lara. Representatives from the other four investors -- Brazil's state-owned development bank, Previ, Funcef and BRZ Investimentos -- declined to comment on the offer. Three votes are enough to block the deal.
ALL's press office said the company won't make comments beyond what's said in the statements.
Slow Expansion
The railroad company has failed to pick up the slack from jammed, pot-holed roads through which most of Brazil's crops are still moved as some expansion plans are pending environmental approval and hinge on more port capacity. Cosan has accused ALL of not hauling its sugar fast enough, while ALL claimed its expansion is tied up to the expansion of ports and that it has made good on delivery contracts with Rumo.
In 2012, Cosan offered about $385 million for 5.67 percent of ALL to join its controlling group. The deal later fell through, prompting Cosan to demand better service from ALL through arbitration.
The end of the dispute will be another benefit of the deal, Di Giacomo said. Fator estimated ALL would have to pay as much as 500 million reais of penalty to Rumo.
Rail Network
ALL operates about 13,000 kilometers (8,000 miles) of rail lines, or almost half of the country's 29,000 kilometers. Its network is crucial for Brazil's booming farm industry as it connects the largest soybean producing state of Mato Grosso to Brazil's two largest ports of Santos and Paranagua through Sao Paulo state, where most of global sugar exports are produced.
Cosan will discuss with lawyers ways to split its debt obligations into the two units, Chief Financial Officer Marcelo Eduardo Martins said today. While no decision has been made, it's considering transferring bond obligations to Cosan Energia and Rumo's debt obligation to Cosan Logistica, he said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Gerson Freitas Jr. in São Paulo at email@example.com
To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Attwood at email@example.com


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Sudan Defence Force
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The Sudan Defence Force (SDF) was a British Army unit formed in 1925, as its name indicates, to maintain the borders of the Sudan under the British administration. During the Second World War, it also served beyond the Sudan in the East African Campaign and in the Western Desert Campaign.
Between 1898 and 1925 Sudanese soldiers served in separate infantry battalions of the Egyptian Army, under British and Egyptian officers. These were designated as either "Sudanese Battalions" or "Arab Battalions" according to their region of recruitment within the Sudan. By contrast to the bulk of the Egyptian Army, who were recruited through annual conscription, the Sudanese units enlisted only long-serving volunteers.[1]
Following a mutiny of Sudanese troops in 1924, and at a time of unrest in Egypt itself, the garrisoning of the Sudan was put on a new basis. Egyptian military units and Egyptian officers of Sudanese battalions were transferred back to Egypt itself. The Sudanese troops remaining were incorporated into the newly created Sudan Defence Force. The junior commissioned officer and NCO positions previously held by Egyptian personnel, were now open to "Sudanisation". A military academy was opened in Omdurman to train the new Sudanese officer corps, most of whom were Muslims from the north. By 1939 the SDF numbered 5,000 officers and men.[2]
The Sudan Defence Force consisted of a number of battalions, misleadingly styled 'Corps', each of which had a set area of operations:
- the Shendi Horse
- the Sudan Camel Corps ('the Hajana')
- the Western Arab Corps
- the Eastern Arab Corps
- the Equatoria Corps
In peacetime, the SDF comprised approximately 4,500 regular Sudanese soldiers.[3] During the Second World War, the SDF expanded greatly to counter the threat from the four neighbouring Italian territories: to the north-west, Libya, to the east Eritrea, Italian Somalia; and the recently (1936) occupied Abyssinia (Ethiopia). To accommodate the extra numbers, a new war-service battalion was formed, the Sudanese Frontier Force. In wartime, the SDF grew to as many as 20,000 men.
There were also two regiments of irregular special forces:
- the Gideon Force (under Orde Wingate)
- the Gazelle Force [4]
The British did not garrison their Empire exclusively with British troops; almost every territory had a local militia or an indigenous regular force. Prior to 1925, the garrison of the Sudan comprised a British battalion near the capital, and battalions of the Egyptian Army, both Egyptian and Sudanese, in the regional capitals.
British military involvement in the Sudan goes back to the days of General Herbert Kitchener and General Gordon who were sent by London to defend British interests in the country. In 1895 Kitchener led the march to Khartoum in command of the Anglo-Egyptian Expeditionary Force composed of British, Egyptian and Sudanese troops. As a young Army officer Winston Churchill saw military service in the Sudan.
The Sudan had been a territory loosely administered by Egypt, but in the 1880s it had fallen to the forces of the Mahdi. From 1885 to 1898 it was ruled, de facto, by the Mahdi and his successor the Khalifa (literally 'Successor'). Following the defeat of the Mahdists at the Battle of Omdurman, the Sudan was reorganised as an Anglo-Egyptian Condominium. The Head of the Egyptian Army was the Governor-General and there was still a large garrison, as the territory was huge and the remoter parts, such as Darfur, were not pacified until 1916.
In 1925, the Governor-General Sir Lee Stack was assassinated by a group of Egyptian nationalists, while being driven through Cairo. Sudanese soldiers in Khartoum mutinied,[5] the Egyptian Army garrison of the Sudan was deemed unreliable and the Egyptian battalions were sent home, while the Sudanese battalions were disbanded. One hundred and forty British officers were transferred from the Egyptian army and a new Sudanese force was formed under the first Kaid Lewa Huddleston who had previously been acting Sirdar (Commander-in-Chief) of the Egyptian Army.[5] The structure of the new force of about 6,000 troops was slightly different: a little looser and more territorial, to give a better esprit de corps and sense of responsibility in each 'Corps' for its own territory. Unlike the old battalions, with anonymous numbers, the names of the four main corps were Camel Corps, Eastern Arab Corps, Western Arab Corps and Equatoria Corps. These were intended to give a distinct, and regional, identity, like English county regiments. Recruitment in each Corps reflected the local ethnicities. These corps were supported by artillery, engineer, armoured car and machine-gun units; plus medical, signals and transport services.[5]
However, some continuity was maintained. The Egypt ruler, the Khedive, or Viceroy, had been, nominally, a subject of the Ottoman Sultan and so the SDF continued to use Egyptian ranks, which in turn were derived from former Ottoman titles. The result was that British officers in the Sudan were called Bimbashi not Major, or an Arabic equivalent, and Kaimakam. The use of Turkish military terms extended beyond the rank structure.
Inter-war years[edit]
The main duties of the SDF were internal security: assisting the police in the event of unrest or natural disaster. In such a vast country, companies could be detached on garrison duties far from the actual Corps headquarters.
In the mid to late 1930s, the SDF was used to counter the aggressive actions of Italian military forces under Marshal Italo Balbo based in Italian North Africa (Africa Settentrionale Italiana, or ASI) Libya. In December 1933, the Italians probed various positions in the Jebel Uweinat area along the poorly defined border between the Kingdom of Egypt, the Sudan, and ASI. Responding to the Italian probes in the area, the SDF was ordered to occupy the Merga oasis and then the area around the Karkur Marr spring.[6] The Italian conquest of Ethiopia led to a reorganisation and an increase in scope of the force. By June 1940 the SDF comprised twenty-one companies — including five (later six) Motor Machine Gun Companies — totalling 4,500 men.[7]
Second World War[edit]
As part of the Anglo-Egyptian "Condominium," the Sudan was at war with the Axis from the time Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939 and the United Kingdom declared war on Germany. Initially the war was limited to Europe and so the Sudan Defence Force had little to do other than preparation work should the land war reach Africa.
From 10 June 1940, when Fascist Italy declared war on Britain and France, the SDF was involved in the East African Campaign. At first, the SDF went on the defensive against attacks into the Sudan by forces of the Italian Royal Army (Regio Esercito) and the Italian Royal Air Force (Regia Aeronautica) based in Italian East Africa (Africa Orientale Italiana, or AOI). The Italians occupied the railway junction at Kassala, the small fort at Gallabat, and the villages of Ghezzan, Kurmuk, and Dumbode on the Blue Nile. In the first days of August, an Italian force of irregular Eritreans raided as far north as Port Sudan.[8]
The Sudan Defence Force fought during the East African Campaign on the "Northern Front" under the command of Lieutenant-General William Platt. In October 1940, three motor machine-gun companies from the SDF were part of Gazelle Force, a mobile reconnaissance and fighting force commanded by Colonel Frank Messervy.[9] The Frontier battalion from the SDF was part of Gideon Force commanded by Major Orde Wingate. In January 1941, during the British and Commonwealth offensive into the AOI, the SDF took part in the successful invasion of Eritrea. During this invasion, the SDF contributed machine gun companies, howitzer batteries, and other forces (including some homemade armoured cars).
The SDF also played an active role during the Western Desert Campaign along the Sudanese border with ASI in North Africa. The SDF was used to supply the Free French and then the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) garrisons of the former Italian Fort Taj at the Kufra oasis in southeastern Libya. In March 1941, French and LRDG forces had wrested control of the fort from the Italians during the Battle of Kufra.[10]
SDF convoys of 3-ton trucks had to make a round trip of about 1,300 miles to keep the garrisons at Kufra supplied with petrol, food, and other vital supplies. The overall scarcity of petrol meant that LRDG patrols could do little more than guard Kufra against attacks from the north. They were unable to raid northwards from Kufra. In February 1941, the situation was somewhat improved when twenty 10-ton trucks were added to the convoys. Ultimately the SDF took over the garrison duties at the oasis from the LRDG.[10]
The SDF provided the garrison for Jalo Oasis. British Military Intelligence in Cairo worked very closely with the SDF and used them in numerous operations during the North African campaign in World War II. In 1942 on instructions from London, British Military Intelligence, Cairo and elements of the Sudan Defence Force were involved with countering Operation Salaam, the infiltration of German Brandenburger commandos into Egypt.[4] Together with British intelligence agents, members of the SDF were ordered to intercept and capture the German intelligence (Abwehr) commandos and their Hungarian guide, desert explorer László Almásy.[11]
Even after the Tunisian Campaign had ended in Allied victory, SDF patrols were busy thwarting German efforts to land agents behind the lines. The Germans continued attempts to make contact with Arab rebels. On 15 May 1943, a four-engine aircraft with German markings attempted to land at El Mukaram only to be engaged and shot up by a SDF patrol. The aircraft was able to take off and make good its escape, but it did so with casualties and flying on two engines.[12]
By the end of the war, the SDF was an experienced military force with about 70 Sudanese officers, almost all of them Muslim northerners. Gradually Sudanese officers were appointed to replace British officers in the years that preceded independence.[13]
In March 1954 British Troops in the Sudan consisted of one battalion stationed in Khartoum, reporting ultimately to the Governor-General.[14] The Governor-General's military commander was the Major-General Commanding British Troops in the Sudan, who was also Commandant of the Sudan Defence Force. In this post from 1950 onward was Major General Reginald 'Cully' Scoons.[15] The last British troops, 1st Battalion Royal Leicestershire Regiment, left the country on 16 August 1955.[16] Ibrahim Abboud was Commander of the SDF in 1949 and Assistant Commander in Chief in 1954. He was appointed Commander in Chief of the Sudanese armed forces at independence. Aboud later served as Prime Minister of Sudan from 1958-1964 and as President in 1964.[17]
One source wrote that Sudan was "the one African Country south of the Sahara to emerge from the colonial period with a military establishment possessing the attributes of an independent national army."[18] However internal religious and racial divisions led to the mutiny and disbandment of the Equatoria Corps (recruited from southern black Africans) in 1955 and the commencement of a 17-year civil war.[2]
British officers[edit]
Most of the officers of the SDF were British Army officers on secondment for a few years. The attraction was independence of command, sporting (game-hunting) opportunities in leisure hours and local promotion (1 rank). On the outbreak of war, many young men of the Sudan Political Service, the administrative service for the Condominium, were allowed to join up. These men included:
- Wilfred Thesiger, desert explorer
- Hilary Hook
- Maurice Stanley Lush, chief political officer
See also[edit]
- History of the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium
- East African Campaign
- Order of Battle, East African Campaign
- Auto-Saharan Company (La Compania Auto-Avio-Sahariana)
- Bikaner Camel Corps
- Somaliland Camel Corps
- King's African Rifles
- ^ page 169 "Military Report on Egypt", War Office 1906
- ^ a b Keegan, John. World Armies. p. 652. ISBN 0-333-17236-1.
- ^ Keegan 2005, p. 852.
- ^ a b "citation pending".
- ^ a b c (2012) The Sudan Defence Force The Melik Society, Retrieved 20 April 2013
- ^ Kelly 2002, p. 106.
- ^ Playfair 2004, p. 169.
- ^ Cernuschi, Enrico. La resistenza sconosciuta in Africa Orientale
- ^ Mackenzie 1951, p. 32.
- ^ a b Kelly 2002, p. 156.
- ^ Kelly 2002, p. 193.
- ^ Kelly 2002, p. 247.
- ^ Abdel-Rahim, Muddathir "Imperialism & Nationalism in the Sudan: A Study in Constitutional & Political Development, 1899-1956" Ithaca (1987), ISBN 978-0863720758
- ^ British Parliament House of Lords Debate, 10 March 1954
- ^ Sir Reginald-Cully-Scoones
- ^ British Troops in the Sudan
- ^ Ibrahim Aboud Rediff, Retrieved 20 April 2013
- ^ Coleman, James and Bruce, Belmont Jr. "The Military in Sub-Saharan Africa" in Johnson, John, J. (ed): "The Role of the Military in Underdeveloped Countries", Rand Corporation Study, Princeton University Press, 1962 p. 336. Toronto, Saunders, ISBN 978-0-691-01851-5
- John Orlebar: 'The Tales of the Sudan Defence Force' & 'The Story of the Sudan Defence Force' 2 volumes 1981 & 1986 (Newport, Isle of Wight, England: Crossprint)
- Keegan, John (2005). Dear, I.C.B.; Foot, M.R.D, eds. Oxford Companion to World War II. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-280670-3.
- Kelly, Saul (2002). The Lost Oasis: The Desert War and the Hunt for Zerzura. Westview Press. ISBN 0-7195-6162-0.
- Mackenzie, Compton (1951). Eastern Epic: September 1939 – March 1943 Defence. I. London: Chatto & Windus. OCLC 59637091.
- Playfair, Major-General I.S.O.; Stitt, Commander G.M.S.; Molony, Brigadier C.J.C.; Toomer, Air Vice-Marshal S.E. (2004) [1954 HMSO]. Butler, J.R.M, ed. Mediterranean and Middle East Volume I: The Early Successes Against Italy (to May 1941). History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series. Uckfield, East Sussex: Naval & Military Press. ISBN 1-84574-065-3.


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The Calls, Leeds, LS2 7EF
£ 925
Fees apply
2 bed
A two bedroom riverside apartment with secure parking included
Available from: 12/3/17. Langtons Wharf is one of the original riverside developments in leeds and is only a few minutes walk to the city centre. The development has south facing communal gardens giving direct access to the river. close to the corn exchange it's within minutes of the train station, bus station and the shopping and nightlife the city has to offer.
- Balcony overlooking the river
- Secure underground parking space
- Modernised kitchen & bathroom
- Close to the amenities of Brewery Wharf
on the doorstep
- The Calls Landing Stew and Oyster Bar
- Brasserie Forty 4 Restaurant
- Azucar Bar
- Oracle Bar
- 10 minute walk from the train station
We aim to provide pictures and text which accurately reflect the property we are representing. We do not use wide angle or distorted camera lenses and aim to provide simple, factual summaries. We may occasionally use a photograph of a representative apartment if the layout is identical to the apartment we are marketing.


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- Munich Travel Guide
- Hotel Search
- Flight Search
- Map
- Climate
- Sights
- Eating Out
- History
- Practical Information
- Getting Around
- Getting There
- Museums
- Day Trips
- Events
- Books
- Shopping
- Nightlife and Entertainment
- Internet Cafes
- Bars and Cafes
- Festivals
- Things to do
- 7 Day Itinerary
- Family Travel Ideas
- Budget Travel Ideas
- Senior Travel
- When to Go
- Top 5 Must Do's
- Photo Gallery
- Cheap Flights to Munich - Opodo provide cheap flights to Frankfurt with online booking
Munich Travel GuideEdit This The best resource for sights, hotels, restaurants, bars, what to do and see
Munich is an important cultural center with special opera, theatre, ballet and concert seasons. It also has museums and galleries on every imaginable subject (including one about unusual museums). Some interesting ones are the German Theater Museum, Museum of Mankind and Nature, the Residenz (Egyptian Art and the crown jewels) and the Valentine Museum. The Deutsches Museum is the largest science and industry museum in Europe. The Alte Pinakothek and Neue Pinakothek (art museums) house extensive collections of medieval to modern European painting. The Lenbachhaus Gallery also has an exceptional collection of expressionist paintings (Kandinsky Klee Macke Marc).
The Englischer Garten is a nice place to relax and watch the citizens of Munich take their walks or tan in the sun (often topless sometimes wearing even less). In the midst of the gardens are the Kleinhesseloher See, a small lake with a cafe that serves refreshments, and a Chinese Tower and Monopterus (a Greek temple).
The town itself is easy to get around thanks to an excellent transportation system. Visit the Nymphenburg Castle, a large baroque 17th-century palace that doubles as the Bavarian China Factory, the botanical gardens and the Olympic Center north of Munich, built for the 1972 Olympics. Be sure to see Kaufingerstrasse (great shopping street stretching from Stachus to the Marienplatz) and the Schwabing District with its arty atmosphere smart boutiques antique shops lively nightlife and a stellar selection of restaurants bars and discos. Continue shopping at Viktualienmarkt an open-air marketplace where everything from gingerbread cookies to fresh fish is available. Near to the Viktualienmarkt is the Gartnerplatz where are a lot of great little bars. You can also just sit at the Gartnerplatz and having a beer in the sun. Other attractions are the Hellabrunn Zoo, the beer gardens and the Rathaus a 19th-century Gothic city hall with a glockenspiel (performances daily at 11 am noon and during May-October 5 pm).
One of Munich's most recognizable structures is the twin-onion-domed Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady). The old exterior provides quite a contrast to the stark white interior rebuilt after war damage gutted the church. BMW aficionados may want to make a pilgrimage to the BMW museum for some history of the company (after all the B in BMW stands for Bavaria and the corporate headquarters are in Munich).
Do spend a day driving around the countryside. Munich also has the airport closest to the German Alps (skiing and quaint Bavarian towns). The town of Dachau is the site of the first Nazi concentration camp. Another day trip relating to that era can be taken to Berchtesgaden. Plan at least two or three days in Munich.
Part or or all of this text stems from the original article at: bias
July 24, 2007 change by aligathor
January 28, 2005 new by travellingmap


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Assessor's Maps - Cadastral Drafting
The Assessor's responsibilities include locating, inventorying, and appraising all property within the county. To achieve this, the Assessor's Office needs a complete set of maps which shows each parcel of property within the county that is separately owned and used.
The function of the cadastral drafting section is to maintain the accuracy of the Assessor's Map books on a continuous basis. Parcel splits, parcel combinations, and lot line adjustments all have mapping implications. The assessment cycle involves parcel mapping activities brought about by subdividing or other lot splitting or lot combining actions. The cadastral drafting section is responsible for preparing all map changes related to such activity. As the number of parcels increases through division, map pages are drawn and redrawn, until entire new map books must be created.
The extent of properties within each county is such that the assessor's office cannot be efficiently systemized and procedures simplified without a basic system of maps. The basic system of maps must be a coordinated system prepared in accordance with certain standards for the entire county. The Assessor's Office could not perform its functions efficiently without a coordinated map system because the legal assessment of real property presumes a legal description of the real estate. Faced with the problems of determining good legal descriptions from poorly written deeds, of describing the remainder of parcel(s) when a portion is deeded out, and abbreviating long metes and bounds descriptions, the Assessor's Office relies on the Assessor's Maps for fulfillment of the office's responsibilities.
In addition to the mapping, duties, the cadastral drafting section is also the Assessor's Office representative to the County's Development Review Committee. The departments of Engineering, Planning, Environmental Health, Roads, Assessor, and Fire comprise this body whose purpose it is to evaluate large-scale proposed projects.
Click Here to download the AO-093 Parcel change Information Request form. This form is a requirement prior to recordation of Subdivision or Parcel Map or Lot-line Adjustment deeds. NOTE: This form is turned in to the Planning Department as part of the review process. The information provided will be used by the Assessor's Office as part of the determination of property values. Incomplete or late filing may delay the processing of your parcel change request.
Assessor's Maps
The Assessor's Office maintains its own Assessor parcel maps for all property located within Madera County. These maps are the basis for the assessment of real property, and are continuously being updated to reflect parcel additions, deletions and changes to existing parcel boundaries. These maps are available for review by following this link.
For additional information about Assessors Maps contact the Madera County Assessor's Office.
Geographic Information System
The Cadastral Drafting department is now making GIS (Geographic Information System) layers available for purchase. All information will be provided in ESRI shape file format and requires additional software to view the base map data. This software is NOT available at the Assessor's Office but can be obtained from the ESRI website at www.esri.com. Please see our Fee Schedule page for pricing information. A partial list of data layers available are:
• GIS Base Map – Current parcel configuration and APN #'s.
• Ownership Layer – Current ownership and mailing addresses.
• Tax Rate Area Layer – Current tax roll's Tax Rate boundaries.
• Assessor's Office Use Code – Current Property Use Codes assigned by the Assessors office. NOTE: These Use Codes are NOT zoning designations; contact the applicable Planning Department for zoning information.
• Situs Layer – shows the physical address(es) of all parcels.
• Other Layers may be available upon request.
Please contact the Assessor's Office and ask for the Drafting department for further information and ordering. Please note that all information provided will be current as of the date the information is published, and pricing does not include updates. Additionally the information is provided only on the condition that it is to be used solely by the purchaser and cannot be sold, distributed (including published on the internet), leased, loaned or allowed to be copied by others. All maps and attributes are copyrighted by the Madera County Assessor.
Access To Other Public Records
For information about other sources of public records:
- Recorded maps (but not Assessor's maps), visit the County Road Department.
- Recorded deeds, visit the County Recorder's Office.
- Assessor's Office Records, visit the Assessor's Office.


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Rajkumar Yadav (21) was arrested after the baby's mother was found to be a minor
Two days after MiD DAY reported about a nine-day-old girl found in a trash can in Santacruz, the Vakola police arrested the baby's father on Saturday.
Rajkumar Yadav, 21, was held on charges of rape after the baby's mother was found to be a minor following a medical check up and verification of her documents.
The 17-year-old, who was also charged in the case since she had dumped the baby in the trash can and was sent to Dongri remand home, is now in a critical condition. She was shifted to a local hospital at Santacruz on Saturday morning since she was bleeding from her private parts and was in an unconscious state. Meanwhile, the child, who was admitted in a critical condition, is now out of danger.
Yadav and the minor were in a relationship following which the baby was born at a civic-run hospital in Santacruz. The couple had given a fake address and identity at the hospital. Police said that since Yadav didn't want to kill the baby, the minor dumped her. Later, he went to the cops to inform them so that the child could be taken care of. But he was detained and based on his information the minor was arrested on Friday.
PSI Nilesh Bhujbal of Vakola police station said, "Yadav has been booked under section 376 (Rape) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for having sexual relationship with a minor. He was produced in the court and remanded to police custody. Further investigations are on."


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BANGOR — U.S. District Court Judge George Singal had hoped never to see Todd Denson again when the federal jurist in June 2007 sentenced the Stockton Springs man to 18 months in prison for mail and wire fraud.
Denson, 50, was back before Singal on Friday to be sentenced for again soliciting money to send overseas in an international scam.
A jury convicted him in September of 13 counts of wire fraud — the second time in four years that he was implicated in such a scheme. Denson spent 14 months in federal prison in 2007 and 2008 after he pleaded guilty to seven counts of mail and wire fraud in U.S. District Court in Portland.
Singal on Friday sentenced Denson to 45 months — 30 months for the new wire fraud charges and 15 months for violating his supervised release on the previous case, which adds up to nearly four years in federal prison.
"I'm not sure the defendant today understands the harm he has done to other individuals," the judge said Friday. "Mr. Denson, you are a person totally committed to your benefit."
The judge again sentenced Denson to serve three years of supervised release with strict conditions after he completes his prison term. One condition would prevent Denson from sending money out of the country.
In addition, the judge ordered Denson to pay more than $26,000 in restitution on the current case and the $54,000 still owed from the earlier case. So far, Singal said, Denson has paid none of the restitution owed to the four victims he admitted scamming in 2006.
Assistant U.S. Attorney James McCarthy urged Singal to sentence Denson to a total of five years in prison. Denson, through his attorney, federal Public Defender Virginia Villa, sought to serve a much shorter home-confinement sentence.
Denson appeared to be a victim of a well-known Internet monetary fraud as well as someone who has tried to swindle money from people in Hancock, Waldo and Knox counties since he was released from prison in May 2008, according to court documents.
The premise of the well-known e-mail scam is simple: The recipient is instructed to send a certain amount of money overseas, usually to an African country, to gain access to a much larger pool of money, usually millions of dollars. Similar scams were operated through mailed letters and fax machines for decades before they moved to the Internet in the 1990s.
Denson evidently became convinced the scam was real. In 2006, he claimed he sent $60,000 of his own money overseas with the promise that more than $9 million had his name on it. When Denson learned that he needed to send more money, he began asking individuals to "invest," but was untruthful about what the investment was.
Villa said Friday that her client honestly believes "that the money is out there."
"This is his sincerely held belief," she said. "Whether it is reasonable or not, it is a sincerely held belief."
Clutching a manila envelope stuffed with paper, Denson told Singal that he had $120,000 in a bank in England but could not have access to it without leaving the country. He said that his efforts last year to borrow money was in an effort to access those funds and pay restitution to victims in the first case because he has been held without bail since his arrest last year on the new charges.
Denson also indicated that his latest conviction has had an impact.
"I got the hint, I got it," he told Singal. "Don't send more money overseas."
It was not clear Friday whether there actually is money in a bank in England that belongs to Denson.
The U.S. Secret Service first began investigating Denson in 2006. The man later confessed he misappropriated nearly $80,000 from several residents of Cumberland County, where Denson used to live and own a window-washing business based in Westbrook.
In order to attract investors, Denson fabricated stories about how he had made millions designing window-washing equipment or how he stood to inherit millions from his long-lost father.
In most instances, Denson was able to document his alleged wealth. In one case, he played a phone message to a potential investor from an overseas bank that confirmed his wealth, witness testimony revealed. In another, Denson told Secret Service agents that he traveled overseas and physically saw the money.
Three victims testified at his trial last year that Denson persuaded them to give him money with the promise that he would pay them back more than what they gave.
Camillia Arelia of Ellsworth was the only one who attended Friday's sentencing. Arelia said she met Denson 18 months ago at the Emmaus Shelter in Ellsworth. She told Singal she later gave Denson $6,000 that has not been repaid.
"He is not a good person," Arelia said. "I don't think there's anything he won't do to get money from people."


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Torino and Italy defender Angelo Ogbonna underwent hernia surgery today and will stay in hospital overnight.
"Doctor Sansonetti performed surgery on Ogbonna today in Milan, aided by Torino FC chief medic Renato Misischi, to correct the hernia the defender was affected by," read a statement.
"The operation was a complete success. Ogbonna will be released from hospital tomorrow morning, save for complications."
It is not clear how long the 24-year-old will be out for.
See the latest Serie A predictions and betting tips with Eurotips.co.uk


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Chapter 1 : Harry's journal
|Rating: Mature
|Chapter Reviews: 18
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The moment I saw Sirius� body fall gracefully through that horrid veil, I thought the world had come to an end, as I knew it. His eyes were wide with alert, but I could clearly see the shock plastered on his face; it was awful. I kept trying to tell myself that he had just fallen, though deep down I knew other wise. This is why I got you. I couldn�t pour every feeling into Hermione and Ron as they have their own things to deal with and having people telling me �it will be ok� or �he�s gone to a better place� isn�t what I need at the moment. Of course I still intend to fill them in as usual, no difference there. I think your as god as a pensive for me though. I�ll fill you in on every peculiar happening and many daily events. I�ll do this because some times I feel guilty about not looking at things thoroughly and what had happened in their result every year. For example, you may have been able to help me put together the clues of Mr. Crouch�s disappearance in 4th year, or help me see who Quirrell really was in my 1st. Now, in my 6th year, I cannot let anything else happen without notice; not after what happened this past year. I�m sorry, but I�ll have to continue this after supper. Damn Aunt Petunia is screaming for me now and if I don�t get down there soon, Dudley is likely to eat my dinner as well as his own. Figuring as I have only been surviving off of the food Mrs. Weasley has sent me, I must go quickly. I do hope I can get down to the burrow ASAP!!!
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With their 14th round draft pick of the 2012 MLB First-Year Player draft, the Yankees selected Andrew Benak, a 6-foot-5, 225-pound right handed pitcher out of Rice.
A 22-year-old Junior, Benak underwent Tommy John Surgery his senior year of high school and then was plagued with injuries throughout most of his career at Rice. His sophomore year he needed surgery to remove bone spurs from his elbow. He finally got healthy this season and put together an impressive season. In 66.2 innings he had a 2.70 ERA, 72 strikeouts, and 18 walks.
His college coach explained that his "devastating" changeup is what made him so effective this year.


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Yannick Barthe Films
We enjoyed a beautiful spring evening to film some firedance footage (more than 3 hours of shooting). It was also the opportunity to test new elements of fire with sparkles, a new playground in our city and most importantly my new lenses for my Sony NEX-VG10. Namely, the Sony 50mm F1.8 (A-mount) and the Sony 16mm F2.8 (E-mount). Some sequences were also filmed with my new Kessler Crane Philip Bloom Signature Series Pocket Dolly. The lens 50mm 1.8 is awesome, just need +3dB of gain and I've got a beautiful light without noise. By cons I don't have set enough gain with the 16mm F2,8 and some scenes are a bit dark. By the way, this new lenses are my favorites and they are adopted ! One word about the Kessler Crane Pocket Dolly : Stunning ! I love these night shoots and now I am interested by a 35mm F1.4.
What a happiness to share my passion with my partner. Many thanks Franziska for your creativity, your beauty and your art ! You give me so much...New amazing projects will come ! 2011, what a year... and it's just the begining !
Dance performed by Franziska Neuhaus, firedancing.ch. Music by XX - Intro. Filmed and edited by Yannick Barthe, yannickbarthe.ch.
Shot with a Sony NEX-VG10 and 50mm F1.8, 16mm F2.8. Edited on Final Cut Pro. Color correction on some scenes with Magic Bullet Colorista II from Red Giant Software. Many thanks to Aharon ! Slided scenes with Kessler Crane Philip Bloom Pocket Dolly.


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- The venue -Jenny Ha's was a great place to play. At first glance one wondered, but once the staff jumped in to help and the performers arrived it converted to a very good little venue. It is at the bottom of the hill. Start advertising early and flyer like crazy. The food and beer were good. The Bog was boggy and smelled like a bog. I never tried the ladies bog though. The veterans could be a bit trying at first. Some of them are crazy. Dusty was particularly obnoxious.
- The performance area - Turned into quite a nice little room once it had some work.
- The team of staff at the venue - Were literally just the best. They were supportive and professional and I can't say a bad word about any of them. It would though in the future be a good idea if any venue is going to change the name, if the performers knew about it.
- How you advertised your show - We did the standard. We were registered for the fringe, and mentioned in the Free Fringe brochure and we flyered. Rain or shine. We did quite bit of painting anything we could find. We went up and down the hill with the things we painted. We stayed upbeat when flyering. We passed out the Free Fringe Brochure with everything we gave out. I think that helped alot. People really do want the brochure more than individual flyers, so we would hit them with the question "Brochure and map for the free festival?" and then once we had the foot in the door we would try and sell our shows. It was important for us to try to help sell all the shows in our venue. Not only for solidarity purposes, but the more people we brought to the venue the better it worked for everyone and for us. When we did manage to do stage advertising shows at the top of the hill, we had many more guests.
- How your show went in terms of audience numbers - The numbers we good the first two nights and the last 3 nights and in the middle were a bit disappointing. But it was a show during the first week.
- Your show itself - The show was good. The piano player was disgruntled. He doesn't understand the English speaking theater world and has decided to go back to Finland. It's a shame but better that than he knifes someone first, eh?
- Buckets - The bucket was good. It's hard to make a good pitch when you are trying to get cleaned up for the next show. We could have used a little more coordination here.
- Technical set-up at the venue -Our set up was very fast, but the technical requirements were not that high. We could have used one spot light so we could have dampened the lights a little and done some focusing, but really, it was a free room, and an excellent one at that.
Overall, we really enjoyed the festival and venue. Next time, I will flyer even more, and do more painting and poetry outside the venue. I think that you get what you put into it, and I had a great time. Most of the performers were great about working together and I really enjoyed that aspect very much.


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On January 17 a blogger who calls himself "Nick Grabowszki" told his readers that Sorin Grindeanu, the new Romanian social democratic prime minister, and Liviu Dragnea, chairman of the Romanian Social Democratic Party (PSD), will attend Donald Trump's inauguration in Washington. Our blogger's story was muddled on the details of the invitation. He misleadingly came to the conclusion that while the Romanians will be two of the 120 invited guests, Orbán, who went all out to receive an invitation, came up empty handed. Grabowszki gleefully remarked that it looks as if the government propaganda about the beginning of a beautiful friendship was merely a pipe dream.
Anyone who knows anything about the protocol of U.S. presidential inaugurations is aware that, with the possible exception of the prime ministers of Mexico and Canada, all foreign countries are represented by their ambassadors. The 120 guests Nick Grabowski was talking about were American dignitaries like former presidents and their wives and other important political personages.
If Grabowski had read the Romanian press either in the original or in English translation, he could have found out how Grindeanu and Dragnea ended up at the inauguration. The invitation came from Elliott Broidy, a venture capitalist, Republican fundraiser, and philanthropist. He was a successful fundraiser for George W. Bush's campaign and currently serves as vice-chairman of the Trump Victory Fund. The invitation covered three days of events, including a private breakfast with foreign officials at the Trump Hotel in Washington, the candlelight dinner the evening before the inauguration which both Donald Trump and Mike Pence attended, the inauguration itself, and a ball.
And indeed, the two Romanian politicians got the royal treatment. On the first day they met Michael Flynn, future national security adviser in the Trump administration, and Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Dragnea and Flynn apparently "discussed the excellent perspectives of the strategic partnership between Romania and the United States, and the fact that national security and stability are two key factors for the development and prosperity of a nation." Naturally, the Romanian politicians stressed their country's determination to spend at least 2% of GDP on defense. In turn, Flynn confirmed the United States' special interest in Romania. The conversation with Royce was also described as pleasant, during which Dragnea assured the American politician that "Romania will continue to be a reliable pillar for transatlantic relations."
During the candlelight dinner Dragnea had a chance to exchange a few words with Donald Trump, informing Trump that he "wanted to take the strategic partnership between Romania and the United States to a new level," to which Trump's answer was: "We will make it happen! Romania is important for us!"
The Romanian politicians obviously started off on the right foot with the Trump administration, which is especially remarkable because they had been anything but enthusiastic about Donald Trump during the presidential campaign and had favored Hillary Clinton. Yet it seems that, unlike Viktor Orbán, they didn't put all their eggs in one basket. Through Broidy they had a "friend" in the Trump camp, who, when it was important, lent a helping hand to Romania.
Orbán, on the other hand, publicly committed himself to Trump at the time when the Republican nominee's chances were close to nil. So why didn't Orbán receive a similar invitation from some Trump insider, especially since the Orbán government has a highly-paid lobbyist, Connie Mack, a former Republican congressman?
To that question there might be an easy answer. Mack is one of those old-fashioned Republicans who found Trump an unacceptable candidate for the presidency. He made no secret of his feelings. In a June interview with Larry King he expressed his low opinion in fairly strong words and admitted that he had no idea what he was going to do when confronted with the ballot on November 8. His disapproving description of Trump was "translated" by 444.hu as "a coward, a shame, a hypocritical fool, and a violent bastard." Surely, Mack was not the man to curry favor with the Trump crowd.
It took a while for Mack to recover from the shock of the election, but by mid-December Magyar Idők triumphantly reported that, while in Budapest, he had announced that the Trump-Orbán telephone conversation was a very promising beginning, which will be followed by good U.S.-Hungarian relations. He added that "in Trump's eyes, Viktor Orbán is an important leader not just in Hungary but also in Europe." As if he has any idea about what Trump thinks. He added that "Donald Trump will bring a new kind of leadership mentality" to American politics. I'm sure Mack is right about that.
It is almost a cliché in Hungary that the Romanians are much better diplomats than the Hungarians. The proof? Their successes during the two world wars. Unlike Hungary, they managed to end up on the winning side. However, these successes are attributed to the slippery nature of Romanian politicians. They are untrustworthy allies who always manage to end up on top. Therefore, it shouldn't surprise anyone that the Hungarian right-wing press finds the two Romanians' visit to Washington proof of Romanian duplicity.
Magyar Idők simply refuses to talk about the invitations because that would call attention to Viktor Orbán's absence from events that Dragnea and Grindeanu attended. On the other hand, 888.hu in its typical fashion published a short article on the subject straight from Bucharest. The invitations are described as "purchased goods" to bolster Liviu Dragnea's role in domestic politics. The reporter ignores all the information available on the source of the invitation and the description of what events the invitations covered. He describes Dragnea's appearance at the candlelight dinner as accidental, as if he crashed the party, and intimates that he paid someone off to get in. The whole thing is a "seftelős" Romanian story. The Hungarian word "seftelő" comes from the Austrian-Bavarian "gescheft" and means somebody who is known to be a shady businessman. It is true that tickets cost between $25,000 and $1 million depending on the "package," but my reading is that a certain number of tickets were assigned to important people on the team who could then dispose of them as they saw fit.
Attila Ara-Kovács, DK's foreign policy spokesman, wrote an opinion piece on the Romanian politicians' visit to Washington. Ara-Kovács, no friend of Trump, says that it is quite possible that in the future Dragnea and Grindeanu will be sorry that they were congratulating Trump on January 20, but the fact is that their appearance was in the interest of Romania. They don't share Trump's optimistic assessment of Putin, but Romania's national interest dictates good relations with the incoming president. In contrast, there is Orbán, who unabashedly courted Trump for months and yet wasn't able to secure an invitation.
Indeed, it is very possible that the two Romanian social democrats might not be so happy about their invitations if they find out that Heinz-Christian Strache, chairman of the Austrian Freedom party, also received an invitation. Trump's national security adviser, the same Mike Flynn that Grindeanu and Dragnea encountered in Washington, had met Strache in December in New York. Considering Strache's reputation as a neo-Nazi, the Trump team wanted to keep the meeting quiet, but Strache bragged about it on Facebook. According to Occupy Democracy, Strache also attended the inauguration. His invitation came from Representative Steve King of Iowa, who according to this anti-Tea Party site "is one of the worst congressmen to ever sit in the House of Representatives." Strache's invitation "speaks mountains to [Trump's] willingness to welcome such hateful individuals [as Strache] with open arms."
Another strange guest at the inauguration was Pauline Hanson of One Nation, a nationalist, right-wing populist party in Australia often accused of racism. The story is confused, but the ticket came from Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger, who claims he didn't know the ticket would end up in the hands of One Nation because apparently it had been requested by the Australian Embassy. Whatever the case, Pauline Hanson tweeted a few days ago: "Would you believe it? I have been gifted tickets to the Presidential Inauguration Ceremony."
Viktor Orbán, I'm afraid, will have to wait for a while to shake hands with President Trump, whom he so admires.


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Kim Zimmer Loks Ahead on Guiding LightMatt Richenthal at . Comments
In her typical forward fashion, Guiding Light heroine Reva proposes to Jeffrey next week.
"They have this great day moving into The Beacon, and Reva decides they need their own song," Kim Zimmer said to The New York Daily News. "They have these cute romantic scenes figuring out what their love song is."
For example, Jeffrey pulls out his guitar and they make up a song. One thing leads to another, and the duo makes love. Jeffrey wakes up to find Reva making something at the table.
"Jeffrey has never mentioned having a problem with the heart in the mantel at Cross Creek that says 'Reva and Josh Always,'" said Zimmer. "But Reva makes Jeffrey this glitter heart that says 'R.S. Loves J.O.' and on the side it says 'W.T.H.?'"
That stands for "What the hell?," which is the couple's mantra.
Read the complete article now.
Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.


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Next week, one of the most popular actress ever to appear on All My Children, Alicia Minshew finally makes an appearance on the revival of the iconic soap as Kendall Hart Slater.
According to Access Hollywood.com, who earlier posted this first look photo of Kendall with her on-screen sister, Eden Riegel (Bianca), the gals will be discussing Kendall's health issues. "Bianca thinks Kendall should "reveal the truth," according to The OnLine Network, "but fans will have to tune in for the July 8 episodes of All My Children to see what happens," Access Hollywood reports.
Eden Riegel earlier this year shared her excitement at working with her on-screen sis again played by Minshew relating, "She is coming back for a cameo… and I got to work with her… which was just amazing. Staring into her big brown eyes everything came flooding back, like our old relationship and we shared so many intimate scenes together and also we're very, very close friends so it was a lovely reunion between Bianca and Kendall!"
So AMC fans, what is wrong with Kendall? Are you excited to see Alicia again on the series? Let us know!


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Busy executives have no time for house chores. After work, all that is on their minds is a meal, a shower, and good rest. The demand for home cleaning services has therefore been on the rise, as more people need help cleaning their homes.
Handy, a home cleaning service connects individuals looking for household services with top-quality professionals. Umang Dia and Oisin Hanrahan founded this company in 2012. Their aim was to bridge the gap in the market for effective and trustworthy professionals to do household chores.
By 2014, Handy was grossing $1 million a week in bookings. These bookings come both from new and existing customers. Handy has hired 50 employees, and over 10,000 freelancers. Every employee goes through a thorough vetting process and has a background check. Handy makes sure that the professionals who they send to homes are experienced and friendly.
To expand its reach on the West Coast., Handy purchased Exec, a West Coast cleaning company, in January 2014. In December 2015, Handy secured $50 million from Fidelity Investments, and previous investors TPG Growth, Highland Capital, General Catalyst, and Resolution Growth. This capital was to fund an aggressive expansion plan that involved doubling the number of cities where Handy is in operation.
Handy.com, being a market leader in household cleaning services, has made communication with the customer much easier. The introduction of the Handy app gives customers the liberty of booking cleaners, handymen, plumbers and other service providers from their mobile phone. This booking service, which takes only 60 seconds, guarantees next-day availability. If one is not happy with the services provided, Handy gives a 100% money-back guarantee.
Diversification is the key to business growth. Handy has recently diversified into furniture delivery and assembly, under the brand name Handy Delivery. This furniture is available on the Handy website. Customers can make their orders, have the furniture delivered and assembled for a flat fee starting from $49.
Handy's services are currently available in 28 cities in the United States (https://www.handy.com/cleaning-services/new-york), two cities in Canada and London. This company generates 85% of its revenue from cleaning services, proving that this industry has potential. Handy's method of connecting the consumer and the service professional through their mobile app turned out to be a success.
For busy executives and young professionals who have no time for household chores, Handy has the solutions. Download the app and make the booking. Handy does the rest.