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Google Inc. cut its taxes by $3.1 billion in the last three years using a technique that moves most of its foreign profits through Ireland and the Netherlands to Bermuda.
Google's income shifting — involving strategies known to lawyers as the "Double Irish" and the "Dutch Sandwich" — helped reduce its overseas tax rate to 2.4 percent, the lowest of the top five U.S. technology companies by market capitalization, according to regulatory filings in six countries.
"It's remarkable that Google's effective rate is that low," said Martin A. Sullivan, a tax economist who formerly worked for the U.S. Treasury Department. "We know this company operates throughout the world mostly in high-tax countries where the average corporate rate is well over 20 percent."
The U.S. corporate income-tax rate is 35 percent. In the U.K., Google's second-biggest market by revenue, it's 28 percent.
Google, the owner of the world's most popular search engine, uses a strategy that has gained favor among such companies as Facebook Inc. and Microsoft Corp. The method takes advantage of Irish tax law to legally shuttle profits into and out of subsidiaries there, largely escaping the country's 12.5 percent income tax.
The earnins wind up in island havens that levy no corporate income taxes at all. Companies that use the Double Irish arrangement avoid taxes at home and abroad as the U.S. government struggles to close a projected $1.4 trillion budget gap and European Union countries face a collective projected deficit of 868 billion euros.
Countless Companies
Google, the third-largest U.S. technology company by market capitalization, hasn't been accused of breaking tax laws. "Google's practices are very similar to those at countless other global companies operating across a wide range of industries," said Jane Penner, a spokeswoman for the Mountain View, California-based company. Penner declined to address the particulars of its tax strategies.
Facebook, the world's biggest social network, is preparing a structure similar to Google's that will send earnings from Ireland to the Cayman Islands, according to the company's filings in Ireland and the Caymans and to a person familiar with its plans. A spokesman for the Palo Alto, California-based company declined to comment.
Transfer Pricing
The tactics of Google and Facebook depend on "transfer pricing," paper transactions among corporate subsidiaries that allow for allocating income to tax havens while attributing expenses to higher-tax countries. Such income shifting costs the U.S. government as much as $60 billion in annual revenue, according to Kimberly A. Clausing, an economics professor at Reed College in Portland, Oregon.
U.S. Representative Dave Camp of Michigan, the ranking Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, and other politicians say the 35 percent U.S. statutory rate is too high relative to foreign countries. International income-shifting, which helped cut Google's overall effective tax rate to 22.2 percent last year, shows one way that loopholes undermine that top U.S. rate.
Two thousand U.S. companies paid a median effective cash rate of 28.3 percent in federal, state and foreign income taxes in a 2005 study by academics at the University of Michigan and the University of North Carolina. The combined national-local statutory rate is 34.4 percent in France, 30.2 percent in Germany and 39.5 percent in Japan, according to the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The Double Irish
As a strategy for limiting taxes, the Double Irish method is "very common at the moment, particularly with companies with intellectual property," said Richard Murphy, director of U.K.- based Tax Research LLP. Murphy, who has worked on similar transactions, estimates that hundreds of multinationals use some version of the method.
The high corporate tax rate in the U.S. motivates companies to move activities and related income to lower-tax countries, said Irving H. Plotkin, a senior managing director at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP's national tax practice in Boston. He delivered a presentation in Washington, D.C. this year titled "Transfer Pricing is Not a Four Letter Word."
"A company's obligation to its shareholders is to try to minimize its taxes and all costs, but to do so legally," Plotkin said in an interview.
Boosting Earnings
Google's transfer pricing contributed to international tax benefits that boosted its earnings by 26 percent last year, company filings show. Based on a rough analysis, if the company paid taxes at the 35 percent rate on all its earnings, its share price might be reduced by about $100, said Clayton Moran, an analyst at Benchmark Co. in Boca Raton, Florida. He recommends buying Google stock, which closed yesterday at $607.98.
The company, which tells employees "don't be evil" in its code of conduct, has cut its effective tax rate abroad more than its peers in the technology sector: Apple Inc., the maker of the iPhone; Microsoft, the largest software company; International Business Machines Corp., the biggest computer-services provider; and Oracle Corp., the second-biggest software company. Those companies reported rates that ranged between 4.5 percent and 25.8 percent for 2007 through 2009.
Google is "flying a banner of doing no evil, and then they're perpetrating evil under our noses," said Abraham J. Briloff, a professor emeritus of accounting at Baruch College in New York who has examined Google's tax disclosures.
"Who is it that paid for the underlying concept on which they built these billions of dollars of revenues?" Briloff said. "It was paid for by the United States citizenry."
Taxpayer Funding
The U.S. National Science Foundation funded the mid-1990s research at Stanford University that helped lead to Google's creation. Taxpayers also paid for a scholarship for the company's cofounder, Sergey Brin, while he worked on that research. Google now has a stock market value of $194.2 billion.
Google's annual reports from 2007 to 2009 ascribe a cumulative $3.1 billion tax savings to the "foreign rate differential." Such entries typically describe how much tax U.S. companies save from profits earned overseas.
In February, the Obama administration proposed measures to curb shifting profits offshore, part of a package intended to raise $12 billion a year over the coming decade. While the key proposals largely haven't advanced in Congress, the IRS said in April it would devote additional agents and lawyers to focus on five large transfer pricing arrangements.
Arm's Length
Income shifting commonly begins when companies like Google sell or license the foreign rights to intellectual property developed in the U.S. to a subsidiary in a low-tax country. That means foreign profits based on the technology get attributed to the offshore unit, not the parent. Under U.S. tax rules, subsidiaries must pay "arm's length" prices for the rights — or the amount an unrelated company would.
Because the payments contribute to taxable income, the parent company has an incentive to set them as low as possible. Cutting the foreign subsidiary's expenses effectively shifts profits overseas.
After three years of negotiations, Google received approval from the IRS in 2006 for its transfer pricing arrangement, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The IRS gave its consent in a secret pact known as an advanced pricing agreement. Google wouldn't discuss the price set under the arrangement, which licensed the rights to its search and advertising technology and other intangible property for Europe, the Middle East and Africa to a unit called Google Ireland Holdings, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Dublin Office
That licensee in turn owns Google Ireland Limited, which employs almost 2,000 people in a silvery glass office building in central Dublin, a block from the city's Grand Canal. The Dublin subsidiary sells advertising globally and was credited by Google with 88 percent of its $12.5 billion in non-U.S. sales in 2009.
Allocating the revenue to Ireland helps Google avoid income taxes in the U.S., where most of its technology was developed. The arrangement also reduces the company's liabilities in relatively high-tax European countries where many of its customers are located.
The profits don't stay with the Dublin subsidiary, which reported pretax income of less than 1 percent of sales in 2008, according to Irish records. That's largely because it paid $5.4 billion in royalties to Google Ireland Holdings, which has its "effective centre of management" in Bermuda, according to company filings.
Law Firm Directors
This Bermuda-managed entity is owned by a pair of Google subsidiaries that list as their directors two attorneys and a manager at Conyers Dill & Pearman, a Hamilton, Bermuda law firm.
Tax planners call such an arrangement a Double Irish because it relies on two Irish companies. One pays royalties to use intellectual property, generating expenses that reduce Irish taxable income. The second collects the royalties in a tax haven like Bermuda, avoiding Irish taxes.
To steer clear of an Irish withholding tax, payments from Google's Dublin unit don't go directly to Bermuda. A brief detour to the Netherlands avoids that liability, because Irish tax law exempts certain royalties to companies in other EU- member nations. The fees first go to a Dutch unit, Google Netherlands Holdings B.V., which pays out about 99.8 percent of what it collects to the Bermuda entity, company filings show. The Amsterdam-based subsidiary lists no employees.
The Dutch Sandwich
Inserting the Netherlands stopover between two other units gives rise to the "Dutch Sandwich" nickname.
"The sandwich leaves no tax behind to taste," said Murphy of Tax Research LLP.
Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington, has also used a Double Irish structure, according to company filings overseas. Forest Laboratories Inc., maker of the antidepressant Lexapro, does as well, Bloomberg News reported in May. The New York-based drug manufacturer claims that most of its profits are earned overseas even though its sales are almost entirely in the U.S. Forest later disclosed that its transfer pricing was being audited by the IRS.
Since the 1960s, Ireland has pursued a strategy of offering tax incentives to attract multinationals. A lesser-appreciated aspect of Ireland's appeal is that it allows companies to shift income out of the country with minimal tax consequences, said Jim Stewart, a senior lecturer in finance at Trinity College's school of business in Dublin.
Getting Profits Out
"You accumulate profits within Ireland, but then you get them out of the country relatively easily," Stewart said. "And you do it by using Bermuda."
Eoin Dorgan, a spokesman for the Irish Department of Finance, declined to comment on Google's strategies specifically. "Ireland always seeks to ensure that the profits charged in Ireland fully reflect the functions, assets and risks located here by multinational groups," he said.
Once Google's non-U.S. profits hit Bermuda, they become difficult to track. The subsidiary managed there changed its legal form of organization in 2006 to become a so-called unlimited liability company. Under Irish rules, that means it's not required to disclose such financial information as income statements or balance sheets.
"Sticking an unlimited company in the group structure has become more common in Ireland, largely to prevent disclosure," Stewart said.
Deferred Indefinitely
Technically, multinationals that shift profits overseas are deferring U.S. income taxes, not avoiding them permanently. The deferral lasts until companies decide to bring the earnings back to the U.S. In practice, they rarely repatriate significant portions, thus avoiding the taxes indefinitely, said Michelle Hanlon, an accounting professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
U.S. policy makers, meanwhile, have taken halting steps to address concerns about transfer pricing. In 2009, the Treasury Department proposed levying taxes on certain payments between U.S. companies' foreign subsidiaries.
Treasury officials, who estimated the policy change would raise $86.5 billion in new revenue over the next decade, dropped it after Congress and Treasury were lobbied by companies, including manufacturing and media conglomerate General Electric Co., health-product makerJohnson & Johnson and coffee giant Starbucks Corp., according to federal disclosures compiled by the non-profit Center for Responsive Politics.
Administration Concerned
While the administration "remains concerned" about potential abuses, officials decided "to defer consideration of how to reform those rules until they can be studied more broadly," said Sandra Salstrom, a Treasury spokeswoman. The White House still proposes to tax excessive profits of offshore subsidiaries as a curb on income shifting, she said.
The rules for transfer pricing should be replaced with a system that allocates profits among countries the way most U.S. states with a corporate income tax do — based on such aspects as sales or number of employees in each jurisdiction, said Reuven S. Avi-Yonah, director of the international tax program at the University of Michigan Law School.
"The system is broken and I think it needs to be scrapped," said Avi-Yonah, also a special counsel at law firm Steptoe & Johnson LLP in Washington D.C. "Companies are getting away with murder."
The original source http://www.tomtop.com/blog/google-genius-crime/


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Posts Tagged 'doorframe'
Deepest thanks, and best wishes for a fabulous 2012!
January 2, 2012
THANK YOU!! YOU MADE THIS HAPPEN!!! Dearest friends and supporters, Every New Years on the Iberian peninsula, as this clock you see pictured strikes twelve, Spaniards gulp one grape per clock strike and then promptly call their moms, if not already celebrating with them. I'd like to "call out" each one of you for helping […]

subset: commoncrawl


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The following interview originally appeared in the September 2013 issue of Tabletalk Magazine, a publication of Ligonier Ministries.
Tabletalk: How did you become a Christian, and how did you receive the call to ministry?
Randy Alcorn: I grew up without Christ and without the church. When I was in high school, I attended a church to see a girl I'd met. But God can use even our wrong motives for his right purposes. (In fact, that girl became my wife years later.) After a few months of attending, I was reading the Bible regularly. One day I realized I believed what it said about Jesus. I dropped to my knees, confessed my sins, and gave my life to Christ. I have never once regretted it.
By the time I'd known the Lord two years, I knew I wanted to go to Bible college and seminary to study God's Word. At first, I wanted to be a missionary, but then we started a church that I was asked to help pastor. I was a pastor until 1990, and I'm still part of the same church. I love it and I'm grateful.
TT: Please describe the events that led to your earning only minimum wage and giving away 100 percent of your book royalties.
RA: In 1990 I was a pastor of a large church. I was also on the board of a crisis pregnancy center, and we'd opened our home to a pregnant teenager and helped place her child for adoption. My burden for the unborn grew, and I participated in peaceful, nonviolent rescues at abortion clinics. For this I was arrested and sent to jail. An abortion clinic won a court judgment against a group of us, and I discovered that my church was about to receive a writ of garnishment for my wages. To prevent the church from either having to pay the clinic or defy a court order, I resigned.
I'd already divested myself of book royalties. Fortunately, our family had been living on only a portion of my church salary, and we'd just made our final house payment. Another court judgment followed, involving another abortion clinic. They were awarded the largest judgment ever against a group of peaceful protestors: $8.2 million.
By all appearances our lives had taken a devastating turn, but it was one of the best things that ever happened to us. What they intended for evil, God intended for good. We began a nonprofit organization, Eternal Perspective Ministries (EPM). The only way I could avoid garnishment was to make no more than minimum wage. (I was also given some modest benefits, and my wife made a part-time secretary's salary.) Royalties from my books go directly to EPM, which gives 100 percent of them to worthy Christian organizations as well as to help facilitate the giving away of my books to people all over the world. By God's grace, we've given away more than $6 million to date.
TT: Given your experience suffering the legal consequences for protesting abortion, can you give us some advice on dealing with a culture that is increasingly hostile to Christianity?
RA: Jesus said, "'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you" (John 15:20). Followers of Jesus should expect injustice and misrepresentation.
I'm grateful that there are organizations working to protect the rights of Christians. But I'm concerned that we shouldn't view ourselves as one more special interest group, clinging to entitlements and whining when people don't like us. God's people have a long history of not being liked.
The fact is, while the gospel is good news, it is also insulting. Many people don't like being called sinners and told they deserve to go to hell. Peter said, "Don't be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you" (1 Peter 4:12).
If our eyes are on anyone but Jesus, we're not going to have the stamina to put up with criticism or outright hostility. Paul said, "If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ" (Gal. 1:10). Jesus is the Audience of One. We will stand before his judgment seat, no one else's. We should long to hear him say, "Well done, good and faithful servant." What other people think won't matter.
TT: What are two or three simple, practical ways that Christians can combat abortion in the course of their "ordinary" day-to-day lives?
RA: First, pray regularly for pro-life ministries, churches, mothers, and babies. If the darkness of child-killing is to be overcome, it will require spiritual warfare, fought with humble and persistent prayer (Eph. 6:10–20).
Second, we can all give regular visibility to the issue of abortion in conversations and in places such as blogs and social media. Scripture says to speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves (Prov. 31:8–9). It's vitally important that we approach subjects such as abortion in a Christlike manner, full of grace and truth (see John 1:14).
Third, spearhead a pro-life ministry in your church, or find one in your area (visit www.care-net.org) and consider donating time, money, equipment, clothes, and professional skills.
If you'd like more ideas of ways to help the unborn and their mothers, I share a list on our site (www.epm.org/helpunborn).
TT: Aside from the lawsuit, has there been a defining moment in your ministry?
RA: As a young pastor, my mom was dying, and every day I would read to her the last two chapters of Revelation. Though I never heard it spoken about in my Bible college or seminary, I found compelling this picture of a resurrected world where people with real bodies will live in a redeemed culture forever centered on Christ. I began to look forward to seeing again in the new world my mother and my friends who had died. That was thirty years ago, and I have studied and written about heaven and the importance of an eternal perspective ever since.
TT: You write both fiction and non-fiction. What are the unique challenges in writing for each genre?
RA: Fiction and nonfiction are very different, of course, but certain things carry over—the need for painstaking research, engaging development, and clear language.
For me, the toughest part about being a writer is working on the big books, the ones that take a couple of years, such as Money, Possessions & Eternity and If God Is Good. In writing my book Heaven, I had some very discouraging times where I stayed up half the night working and asked, "Lord, is this going to make a difference?" It's something you have to accept by faith, trusting that a measurable result will come. Every time somebody writes to say their life was changed reading that book, I thank God for empowering me to persevere.
When it comes to writing fiction, there's a big debate about the degree to which explicitly spiritual content can be part of the story. Spiritual searching and matters of faith are a very real part of many people's lives, and when they're not, they should be. So, while sermons don't work in novels, spiritual realities can be artfully woven into a credible storyline. But you have to earn the right by doing it skillfully.
TT: What authors and works would you read and re-read if you had a six-month sabbatical dedicated to nothing but reading? Why?
RA: A.W. Tozer's The Knowledge of the Holy, C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity, Francis Schaeffer's He is There and He is Not Silent, John Piper's Desiring God, Jerry Bridges' The Joy of Fearing God, and Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology, plus the full set of Spurgeon's sermons. These are all books that have had a profound influence on my life.
TT: One focus of your ministry has been to encourage Christians to live with their hearts set on heaven. How can Christians develop this eternal perspective on their lives in the here and now?
RA: Many people imagine that we will remain disembodied spirits in the afterlife and that heaven won't be a tangible, earthly place. They mistake the intermediate heaven, where we go when we die, for the eternal heaven, where we'll live with Christ and each other as resurrected beings on a resurrected earth.
Often our ideas of heaven are based more on Platonism and Eastern mysticism than biblical Christianity, which is centered in the anticipation of God's ultimate redemptive purpose—resurrected people living on a resurrected earth with the resurrected Jesus. There are Christians who would die rather than deny the resurrection, but they don't understand what it means.
TT: Is it possible for Christians to be "so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good"? Why or why not?
RA: Many of us are so earthly minded we are of no heavenly or earthly good. As C.S. Lewis observed, "If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next…. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth 'thrown in': aim at earth and you will get neither."


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In Praise of Purity
- Janice Shaw Crouse The Beverly LaHaye Institute
- Updated Feb 27, 2008
I've written several articles lately approving the new trends toward abstinence that have led to reductions in teen sexual activity, teen births and teen abortions. Expressing these views has brought howls of protest and filled my e-mail box to overflowing with verbal abuse from readers who hold the notion that uninhibited, promiscuous sexual activity is the key to the good life. They are happy to let me know, sometimes in the rudest possible terms, that I am unrealistic, prudish and sexually repressed.
The fact is that despite the wholesale repudiation of traditional Judeo-Christian moral values relating to sex and marriage by a large majority of the elites - as well as many of the general public - there are still some of us who think that chastity is a virtue and that virginity is one of the most priceless gifts a couple can give to each other in consummation of their nuptial vows.
The idea that valuing virginity equates to being sexually repressed is, of course, patent nonsense. One might as well try to make a logical argument that back in the 70s and 80s the avoidance of smoking meant that one was antisocial.
One recent correspondent was incensed when I reported a new study from the American Journal of Preventive Medicine that linked teen sex with depression. This person volunteered that he/she had been intent on getting rid of his/her virginity at the first opportunity. I wanted to ask how it was because magazines periodically run supposedly funny features recounting how various people "lost their virginity." Inevitably, such features make for sad reading; the writers recount embarrassment, frustration, awkwardness and disgust for themselves and their partner.
Logically, the benefits of going into marriage unencumbered by the emotional fallout and the health consequences that often go with sexual experimentation and promiscuity have not changed. But we know - and have known since the days of the Greek philosopher Aristotle - that persons are persuaded not just by logic (logos) but by emotions as well (pathos). Moreover, the strongest arguments come from persons with credibility and charisma (ethos) who combine the force of logical arguments with emotional appeals.
Those who defend traditional morality today, however, are at a distinct disadvantage in terms of persuading teens who are living in today's popular culture and not the logical, factually-based side of things. For teens willing to consider the evidence carefully and clearly, it is blindingly obvious that casual sexual experimentation (often fueled by drinking and drugs) is a terribly inferior proposition compared to the fantastic joys of experiencing sexual intimacy as the seal of a marriage commitment to the love of your life. However, this requires long-term thinking. It requires valuing an experience that you can only dimly imagine.
The persuasiveness of logic by itself is often insufficient in the face of the emotional counter forces with which young people have to deal. On the one hand, there is the strong temptation of the excitement associated with sexual experimentation, and on the other is the fear of group ridicule for sexual abstinence.
It would be bad enough if only peer group pressures drove teens in the wrong direction. However, far too many of today's leaders promote the idea that "sex is no big deal." These veterans of the sexual revolution of the 1960s, now aging Baby Boomers, have spent a long time telling themselves that their momentary sexual thrills were worth the bad stuff they've lived with ever since: the "complications" in their relationships with their spouses and children. The emotional wreckage littering the landscape for the last 30 to 40 years is like the elephant in the corner that everyone pretends not to see. Yet it doesn't take a psychologist to recognize that avoidance is ineffective in dealing with the relationship messes and destroyed dreams. The trends show that many teenagers are seeing that "elephant" and thus are valuing virginity.
In an earlier era, one counterbalance to the forces pushing for sexual experimentation by teens and young adults was the moral authority of traditional Judeo-Christian teaching regarding the sanctity of sexual activity and the imperative for limiting sexual intercourse to the marriage bed. Sadly, rather than face the ridicule from those in the educated elites, many religious leaders have abandoned the teachings regarding moral purity before marriage and fidelity within marriage.
We must do a better job of instilling in young people a healthy fear - born from an awe of God's Word as our human instruction book - of violating our God-given human dignity by ignoring the full realities involved in sexual intimacy, by truncating the multi-dimensional nature of sex, by robbing it of its significance and reducing it to merely a means of momentary physical pleasure rather than reserving intercourse to be the fantastic means of bonding a husband and wife into one flesh - making them both rapturous and whole - and providing a secure setting should the miracle of new life bless their union.
When we accept that human dignity is God-given, we have the logically persuasive reason to follow the moral law of the transcendent God, revealed by Him to us in Scripture, as it is the surest - and the only - safe path to happiness.
We also have the emotionally persuasive reason to be afraid of acting in violation of the boundaries laid down by the Creator of the Universe; in His universe we see the laws of cause and effect at work everywhere. Ignorance of, or indifference to, these boundaries brings consequences as surely, if not as swiftly, as jumping out the window of a 50-story building brings destruction. God's moral laws are built into our humanity and the world we live in.
Best of all, we are made in His image, and when His law is instilled within us, we have the capacity to love.
Dr. Janice Shaw Crouse is a Senior Fellow of Concerned Women for America's Beverly LaHaye Institute. She writes about contemporary issues that affect women, family, religion and culture in her regular column "Dot.Commentary."


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Opaque White Luster - 11c - 37071
Unit price
These glass beads are size 11 cut beads from the Czech Republic. There are approximately 2,000 beads in a size 11 cut bead hank or tube (cut bead hanks are half the size of non - cut bead hanks).
Cut beads have more sparkle in them due to the definitions created by the cut pattern. They can be used alongside non-cut seed beads of the same size.
Size 11 is smaller than size 10. The beads are approximately 2 x 2mm with a .7mm hole.


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devam divya-tanum suchanda-vadanam-balarka-celancitam
sandrananda-puram sad-eka-varanam vairagya-vidyambudhim
sri-siddhanta-nidhim subhakti-lasitam sarasvatanam varam
vande tam subhadam mad-eka-saranam nyasisvaram sridharam
I fall at the feet of Srila Sridhara-Deva, who with charming expression sings his songs of sweet nectar. Dressed with fine garments like sun newly-risen, he's the true saint the devotees have chosen. His detachment and knowledge are just like an ocean, the treasure-house of complete, perfect conclusion. Radiant in pastimes of loving devotion, the abode of pure ecstasy, bestower of good fortune; foremost true follower of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta, foremost great general of the whole renounced order, my lord and my master, my only shelter, I worship his feet, Srila Sridhara-Deva
His Divine Grace Sri Srila Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Deva Goswami Maharaja, the founder of the Sri Caitanya Sarasvata Matha, was born in India in 1895, in a respected Brahmana family of the Bhattacarya order, at Hapaniya, District Burdwan, West Bengal. He received his education at Baharamapur University.
Having taken his pious birth in Sri Gauda-mandala, the holy lands where Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu exhibited His divine pastimes on this earth, Srila Sridhara Maharaja, from his very childhood, had a natural affinity for the mission of Sri Caitanya Sankirtana...


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All right, here's a confession. Yes. I've become a very bad blogger. Whereas for two years I posted twice a week, Mondays and Thursdays, with regular aplumb, I now find myself posting every other week at least once, two if I'm lucky. So I apologize. Amazingly, the audience for the blog remains steady, even when I don't post. Some of my posts continue gaining new views regardless, so it's encouraging that my content matters. But still, my drain creatively from being so busy with editing and writing has hurt my blogging. I am just not thinking up ideas or having creative energy for it like I used. I've failed to do some interviews too and had to back off on others. Sincere apologies for that. But I also do not want to be one of those people who posts boring blog posts just to post. You don't care if I bought new socks, changed shoe sizes, or what I ate. This blog is about writers and editors and helping the same. So I need content that's appropriate with substance.
So, I hope this will be a worthwhile post. Those who follow me on Twitter and Facebook know I have been working on my first fantasy novel, Duneman, since January2010. Well, it's finally done, four drafts later, and four agents are considering it for representation. In the meantime, I have started work on book 2 of that cycle, called The Dawning Age, which I expect to be 4-5 books total. Yeah, that's right, I'm not sure. I'm a discovery writer, a pantser. The only reason I have an idea I can't do it in three is because the agents asked for synopses of the next two books, so I had to throw something together. I did a pretty good job with Book 2, I believe, but I was totally lost on book 3…because book 2 isn't done yet.
So meanwhile, here's a sneak peek at my first fantasy novel. I hope you enjoy it. It took a while to write but I enjoyed every minute.
(Dawning Age Book 1)
CHAPTER ONE, Scene 1
He gained consciousness sweaty and hot, lying on his back. It took a moment for the black spots to fade, replaced by the blinding sunlight and white sand stretching as far as the eye could see. Where am I?
The sandy landscape reflected sunlight and heat back at him as he sat up, shaking off the sleep. Scattered belongings—clothes, canteens, a shattered barrel and trunk, torn saddlebags—
stretched off into the distance toward the remains of a wagon. Footsteps led toward him, smeared and uneven as if perhaps he'd stumbled to where he lay. Sunlight glinted off flesh atop a nearby dune. Was someone else alive? Scattered severed limbs—an arm severed at the elbow, the hand still attached, fingers stiffened like claws, a leg severed mid-thigh, another cut off mid-calf—provided the answer.
His back ached as he examined himself. Tattered brown pants stretched down to just below his knees where threads of scattered lengths were all that remained. He had no shirt or shoes or socks. The skin of his feet was sunburned cherry red. No wonder his body felt aflame. How long had he been there?
And then it hit him like a stone from a slingshot: Who am I? He searched his memory but no name would come. His mind was like an unpainted canvas or a new fence awaiting its first coat of color.
His left shoulder cried out with every movement of his arm, so he reached back to examine it with his right and found a long, scabby cut running in an arc down his back. Had he been in a fight? Who did this to him? He checked himself again for cuts and abrasions. His forehead hurt, and dried flakes of blood came away on his palm and fingers. He had a large bruise on his abdomen and small ones on his chest and stomach. Pain flared as he moved his right ankle, but he couldn't tell if it came from sunburned skin or a jagged cut, scabbed over now from the heat and sun.
He stood and his feet cried out in protest. He wobbled, losing his balance and forcing him back down to his knees. He buried the pain in the back of his mind and turned slowly in a circle, looking around him. Scattered, thin cumulus clouds filled the clear blue sky overhead. Thick sandstone walls and clay-tiled roofs topping white stone buildings rose in the distance, a few spires and towers looming in their midst. A trail of smoke curled into the sky from behind them. A city!
Wait! Why didn't he hear anything? A few sheep bleated from the west, their cries mixed with scattered insect chirps and bird calls, but there were no sounds of people, wagons, horses, tools. Maybe when he got closer. Ignoring his feet's protests, he stood again and stumbled across the curved white dunes toward the sandstone walls.
Ahead, beside the city walls, a boy herding sheep stopped a moment to use the untucked tails of his loose-fitting light blue shirt to wipe sweat from his darkly tanned forehead. His boots stretched up over his brown pants well past his ankles, and he held a tall, curved wooden staff in his right hand as he watched the desert grassland and the herd around him.
Drawing near, the man called out to the shephard. "Ho, neighbor! A fine day for herding." His chapped lips and parched throat hurt from the effort, reminding him how much he longed for water.
The boy nodded, staring at him with caution, his left hand wrapping firmly around the staff just below his right.
"What city is this?" The man smiled, not blaming the boy for his wariness. I must look a fright.
"Chyllos, stranger." The boy's voice cracked in the way that occurs when one transitions from a boy to a man.
He must be older than I thought. "What day is it?"
"Third day." The boy spoke with a gentle, plain accent, his words slow and deliberate.
Orean Midlands? The question popped into his head along with images of the Lands, his home. Multiple states, the Elbian pass and mountains, the mighty Esos River, source of water for much of the inlands. Then: I remember seven day. Could I have been unconscious that long? "Do you know where I might get water?" He hocked, trying to call up enough saliva to wet his cracked, painful lips and throat, but none came. The boy carried no canteen, and there was no sign of a well.
"There's a well in the square." The boy nodded toward the city walls.
The man limped past the first of the sheep, the boy shrinking away as soon as he moved. "Thank you kindly."
The boy turned his body to keep the stranger at his front, and the man continued feeling the shephard's gaze on him as he waded through the grazing herd and on toward the city. A wide, wooden gate stood open to one side with no one standing guard.
The stranger entered through the high stone walls, moving along a sandy street past shabby, rundown houses packed in side-by-side. Their second floors projected out over the boardwalk and into the street where crude signs dangled from creaking rusted hooks. The city appeared to be on the verge of collapse. What city would be this deserted at mid-day?
He hurried up the street, garnering surprised stares from a couple shopkeepers sweeping the wooden boardwalk in front of their stores. Ignoring them, he continued toward a sign labeled "tavern" at the far end, then stumbled up onto the wooden boardwalk. The tavern stood along yet another sandy street which wound off into the distance in both directions. A quick search revealed no currency in his ragged pockets. For a moment, he considered passing by to look for the public well, but the sun continued its baking blare and surely a tavern had water. He grabbed the door handle and swung it open, assaulted immediately by the smell of sawdust and smoke. Stepping inside, the scent of stale ale filled his nose as he waited while the door shut behind him and the sunlight faded away.
The tavern seemed typical for a small city, dimly lit with torches spread evenly around the room on hooks attached to the white plaster walls. The bottom half of each wall consisted of wooden slats hung side-by-side, the floor of matching dark wood with a thin layer of sawdust. As his eyes adjusted, he spotted a bar across the room beyond scattered round wooden tables and chairs. A bartender eyed him from behind the worn, polished surface with the same wary look as the shepherd boy.
"Good afternoon, neighbor," the man said. "Can you spare a cup of water for a stranger?" For a moment, he wished he could ask for clothes, too.
The bartender was large and muscular, his skin dark like the shepherd's, a brown leather apron tied over the top of a loose fitting white shirt and brown trousers.He scowled as the stranger approached. "How did you get here?" he demanded in a scratchy baritone, as the stranger sat on a tall stool in front of the bar.
"I don't really know. I'm told this place is Chyllos, but I've never been here before." He shrugged.
"What happened to your clothes?" The Bartender said, staying put at the far end of the bar.
The man shook his head. "I awoke on the dunes. The sun is brutal today. Can you please spare some water?"
The bartender grunted and turned to a large wooden barrel in the corner, reaching into it with a long metal ladle and pouring water into a wooden cup. Setting the cup on the bar, he slid it down to the stranger, watching as water splashed out onto the scarred surface.
The stranger drank eagerly. The fresh water cooled his mouth and throat. Even as he finished, he longed for more. He held out the glass to the bartender and croaked: "More please?"
The bartender grunted again, approaching with the metal scoop and pouring its contents over the wooden cup on the bar until he'd filled it once more. The man noticed the bartender held the scoop as far from the cup as he could manage so they didn't touch. He drank again, smiling. Water had never tasted so good. He sighed, wiping his dry, cracked lips on his sleeve. "Thank you very much, neighbor." His voice was louder and warmer now as the water lubricated his throat and the pain faded.
The bartender glared at him. "Okay, now be on your way."
The man nodded. The bartender must not care much for nonpaying customers. "Can you direct me to an inn?"
"There are no inns available here for the likes of you," the bartender said, ending the conversation.
"If I have offended you somehow—"
"You offended me the day you were born—you and all your kind." The bartender's eyes narrowed, cold and flat. The stranger finished drinking and set the wooden cup back on the counter. What have I done to deserve his wrath? The bartender motioned to the cup. "Keep it. It's worthless to me now."
The stranger nodded and grabbed the cup off the counter, stumbling toward the door.
Sunlight blinded him again as he stepped back out onto the street. He looked around for an inn, searching the creaking wooden signs hanging from the buildings but seeing none in sight. He had to find some clothes and shelter. He limped west along the street past startled citizens sweeping storefronts or moving along the boardwalk with parcels. They hurried out of his path as he passed, scowling at him much as the bartender had. What have I done? He couldn't remember ever being in Chyllos before, and, the further he went, the more the silence bothered him. Where were the people who patronized these establishments?
At the end of the boardwalk, he turned into a dirt alleyway between buildings and bumped into a well-dressed woman in a lacy, silk dress who'd just emerged there. "Excuse me," he said, stepping away from her.
Her brown eyes went wide and she stared at him in horror. "Get away from me!"
The stranger turned, confused, as she ran away down the street, startled by her fear and hostility. How could someone who'd never been here before be so disliked? What was it about his kind that made them react with fear?
The bartender stood on a boardwalk, chatting with neighboring store owners and pointing at him. All three frowned, squinting angrily. Down the street, dust flew from wagon wheels as a large, dark-bearded man steered his team up the street in the stranger's direction.
The stranger ducked into the alleyway, hearing the braying of donkeys and whinnying of horses ahead. At the end, he passed a stack of hay bales and moved onto another sandy street beside a large wooden stable. Maybe he could at least get shelter from the sun there.
As he turned right, onto the street, he saw the bartender and several others appear from an alley further down and hurry toward him up the street. Why are they chasing me?
Ducking back into the alley, he turned right again at the main street. Chattering voices came from behind and he glanced back over his shoulder as the frightened well-dressed woman pointed at him, jabbering to several men.
Quickening his pace, he looked for another alley or a good place to turn. He heard shouting and looked back to see the men following him now. The bartender and shopkeepers swooping in from the same alley the stranger had just used to join them.
Turning onto a narrower side street, the man hurried on past storefronts with faded paint fronts and a rotting boardwalk of crumbling wood. Where could he go? Then he heard whinnying and felt the dirt street vibrate as the dark-bearded man in the wagon turned onto the street, following him.
The stranger started running, his burned feet aching from the effort, but then the wagon was passing him. The driver looked down, whistling and motioned toward the wagon. "Get in, stranger!"
The man shot a questioning look. "I didn't do anything to anyone, sir, I promise."
"Get in unless you want to explain that to them," the driver said, slowing his team to a crawl. "Trust me."
The man could never outrun them. He sighed and jumped onto the back of the wagon.
"Cover yourself quickly!" the driver instructed as he spurred his team forward again.
The man slid down into a bed of straw and pulled the old blanket the driver had indicated over himself. The wagon increased its speed, bouncing harshly up onto cobblestones now as it turned sharply around another corner. What am I doing here?
He stretched out his arms, bracing himself against the slat sides of the wagon as best he could and ignored the outcries of his aching body as the wagon continued racing along, then slowed. Shadows fell over them as he heard the crunch of straw or hay and felt the wagon lurch forward and then stop again, suddenly.
It wobbled as the driver hopped down and the man heard creaks of hinges and the sound of wooden doors sliding together and a bolt snapping into place.
He slid the blanket back, his eyes struggling to see through the darkness. Whinnying and braying came from animals other than the team somewhere as the smell of smoke, hay and manure made him wince, then he realized he probably didn't smell much better himself.
As his eyes adjusted, he focused on a metal stand nearby containing rows of horseshoes, expertly crafted. Then sat up, blinking.
"You plan to stay there all day or come out a greet a man properly?" the driver's baritone voice asked.
The stranger brushed hay from his worn clothes and crawled toward the back of the wagon, spotting the driver waiting there with a pensive look. "Who are you and why are you wandering the streets scaring women?"
The stranger sat on the back of the wagon, gathering himself to hop down and fumbled for words. "I didn't mean—"
"Come now, I'm only jesting," the driver said with a laugh, wiping his hands on the dark apron covering his brown cotton pants and loose fitting tan shirt. Even his boots resembled those of the shepherd boy. The driver reached out a thick, muscular arm, extending his hand.
The stranger clasped it and slid down, his feet thumping onto the dirt floor as the driver stepped closer and got a closer look at the man, his face a mix of wariness and concern. "Why are they after you? Did you give them a reason?"
Fire raging in a nearby stove cast dancing orange and yellow flames across the walls around them. "What is this place? A smithy?"
The driver laughed. "That's what they call me around here." In the light of the fire, the blacksmith's skin appeared lighter than the other residents the stranger had encountered. His eyes narrowed, locked on the stranger's face.
"I just asked for water. That's all. The woman bumped into me by accident."
"What happened to you?" The smith looked him over, examining his clothes and face.
"I don't really know." The stranger leaned against a wooden pillar beside the open fire. "Is it a crime to be a stranger here?"
The blacksmith nodded. "Only if you're a wizard."
"Wizard?" the man asked. Is that what I am?
The blacksmith nodded. "You're from the east, aren't you? People around here don't have such light skin. From what's left of your clothes and your accent, I'd guess one of the cities along the coast."
The man shrugged. "I can't remember."
The blacksmith seemed puzzled. "You must have come here for a reason, although I'd dare say it appears you've had a rough time of it."
The stranger sighed, nodding. "I awoke on the dunes under the brutal sun."
The blacksmith nodded again. "The summer sun is harsh in the desert. You look exhausted. What's your name, stranger?"
The stranger searched his mind, but still had no idea what his name was. "I can't remember that either."
The blacksmith raised his eyebrows. "How did you come to be here, then?"
The stranger shook his head. "I don't know. I think I was attacked in a caravan. The town's not friendly, is it?"
The smithy shrugged. "After what we've been through, some are a bit fearful around strangers, especially those from the east. I prefer to judge men on their actions rather than assume they mean ill. You don't look like a wizard or a bandit to me."
The stranger groaned, putting his face in his hands as if he could wipe the frustration away. "I don't remember anything."
"Well, if you try anything, you'll wind up on the wrong end of a hammer, my friend," the smithy's eyes narrowed with warning, then he smiled. "Perhaps some rest might help you remember. I can't offer you much, but you're welcome to rest for a while in one of the empty stalls. This late in the afternoon, I have few customers. We can talk more later about who you are and how you got here."
The stranger closed his eyes, sighing. "Thank you so much, Smithy, for your kindness."
Smithy motioned toward the row of stalls down a corridor to the right. "There's one or two empty down there. Help yourself."
The stranger stood and moved down the corridor, forcing his aching feet and legs to take the steps one at a time. It felt like he'd forgotten how to walk. He found an open gate three stalls down on the left and braced himself on the gate post as he stumbed inside. The stall floor lay covered in clean hay. He found a large pile in the corner under the shadows and sank quickly down to his knees. His back cried out as if it were on fire. He lowered himself slowly onto his stomach, the smell of fresh hay filling his nostrils and soon fell asleep.
Editor Bryan Thomas Schmidt is an author and editor of adult and children's speculative fiction including the novels The Worker Prince and The Returning, and the children's books 102 More Hilarious Dinosaur Jokes For Kids (ebook only) and Abraham Lincoln: Dinosaur Hunter- Land Of Legends. His debut novel, The Worker Prince (2011) received Honorable Mention on Barnes & Noble Book Club's Year's Best Science Fiction Releases for 2011. His short stories have appeared in magazines, anthologies and online. He edited the anthology Space Battles: Full Throttle Space Tales #6 (Flying Pen Press, 2012) and is working on Beyond The Sun (Fairwood, July 2013), Raygun Chronicles: Space Opera For a New Age (Every Day Publishing, November 2013) and Shattered Shields with co-editor Jennifer Brozek (Baen, 2014). He hosts #sffwrtcht (Science Fiction & Fantasy Writer's Chat) Wednesdays at 9 pm ET on Twitter and can be found via Twitter as @BryanThomasS, on his website at www.bryanthomasschmidt.net or Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/bryanthomass?ref=hl.


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You are buying an unlock key for the software
Return your unlock key within 60 days and you get your money back
Buy FAQs
Box shot for illustrative purposes
Videos of Bounce Metronome
Bounce Metronome is for Windows 2K, Windows XP, Vista , Windows 7 and Windows 8
Beginners find the bounce wonderfully relaxing, and easy to use. Professional musicians are amazed by its advanced rhythm capabilities and range of tempo features. It "feels like having your own conductor to help you keep in time..." Martin Walker, review in Sound On Sound Magazine Runs on Win 2K, XP, Vista, Windows 7, 8 or 10. Also runs on Linux using Wine, with the same unlock key.
It doesn't run on Windows RT, or Windows 10 S because it needs the Windows desktop. No longer available for Mac since High Sierra. For details see: Bounce for Mac Beta page. Not available for iPad, iPhone, or Android. See the Multi Platform FAQ
Licensed for all the computers you use and all updates are free. You get your unlock key on screen as soon as you complete the checkout and then a copy of it via email. There's a no quibbles money back guarantee. If you decide it's not for you, for any reason, return your key within 60 days to get a full refund.
You may be eligible for a discount. Click here for: 25% up to 95% discounts if you are in education, retired, under 18, on a low income or in a country with low incomes in USD]. This is "Trust the Shopper" - choose your discount level and get it right away at that price. Most musicians select Bounce Metronome Pro. However, Bounce Metronome Lite is also an amazingly powerful metronome by ordinary standards, and some musicians find it has all that they need (you can always upgrade to the Pro version later on). For a feature comparison of the basic, pro and complete versions: Features Overview for Bounce Metronome After you select the version, be sure to scroll down the page and click on "Order Now".


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Scarlett Johansson MeToo Movement Scandal
Scarlett Johansson MeToo says she's standing by Woody Allen because "I believe him." Much of Hollywood has distanced itself from the filmmaker since the MeToo movement prompted a re-examination of child sexual abuse allegations from his now-grown daughter, Dylan. Michael Caine, Timothee Chalamet and Greta Gerwig are among the actors who have publicly expressed regret over working with him.
"I love Woody," Johansson told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview released on Wednesday. "I believe him, and I would work with him anytime."
Allen helped boost Johansson to the A-list. He directed her in "Match Point," "Scoop" and "Vicky Cristina Barcelona." She said she has spoken to Allen about the accusations and he maintains his innocence. He has never been criminally charged.
Johansson is active in women's issues and was among the early supporters of Time's Up.
"It's hard because it's a time where people are very fired up, and understandably," she said. "Things needed to be stirred up, and so people have a lot of passion and a lot of strong feelings and are angry, and rightfully so. It's an intense time."
Johansson said she has had numerous conversations with Allen about his past.
"I have been very direct with him, and he's very direct with me," she said.
Allen has yet to find a U.S. distributor for his films since Amazon pulled his deal last year. Allen has filed a $68 million lawsuit against Amazon.
At the Women's March in Washington last year, Johansson spoke about the importance of Planned Parenthood and women's health. She criticized James Franco for wearing a Time's Up pin to the Golden Globes just before the Los Angeles Times reported that five women accused him of sexual misconduct. Franco denies the allegations.
A spokesman for Johansson did not immediately respond Wednesday to an email seeking additional comment.


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Live Well • Work Well Promoting a healthier lifestyle through total wellness.
The following navigation utilizes arrow, enter, escape, and space bar key commands. Left and right arrows move through main tier links and expand / close menus in sub tiers. Up and Down arrows will open main tier menus and toggle through sub tier links. Enter and space open menus and escape closes them as well. Tab will move on to the next part of the site rather than go through menu items.
Service description: See schedule for full details.
Spans of service below show when first bus departs terminal of origin through last bus departs terminal of origin. First and last buses reach mid-route stops later than these times-see schedule or use trip planner for specific times when service works for you.
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The NB #54A and WB #97 bus stop on the NE corner at Bronx/Dempster (north sidewalk of Dempster at Bronx) will be eliminated.
RSS Feed: #54A North Cicero/Skokie Blvd. Alerts
Note that Sunday schedules apply on the following holidays: New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas (and/or on their dates of observance).


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National Blood Clot Alliance
National Blood Clot Alliance
Blood clots do not discriminate. They can affect anyone, regardless of age, ethnicity, or race. The National Blood Clot Alliance (NBCA) is the leading nonprofit organization in the United States focused singularly on building awareness and building community among people who are affected by blood clots or at increased risk for blood clots, including people with clotting disorders, atrial fibrillation, cancer, traumatic injury, and risks related to hospitalization and surgery, lengthy immobility, childbirth, and hormonal birth control.
NBCA's leadership and staff combine the unique perspectives of healthcare providers, individuals who are personally affected by clotting disorders, and health education and policy experts who are passionate about this crucial public health challenge. Each member of our clotting disorders community is essential to the work that we do, makes us stronger as a group, and brings us one step closer to the realization of NBCA's vision of a future in which the number of people suffering and dying from blood clots in the United States is reduced significantly.


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Gold August Birthstone Peridot CZ Pavé Huggies
Recycled 925 Sterling Silver & Recycled 18ct Gold Plating
Upgrade your ear stack with our sparkling huggies, set with pavé Peridot cubic zirconia. Perfect stacked, or worn alone for a minimal, everyday look.
Choose your Birthstone Huggies based on meaning, or your favourite colour. These perfectly formed earrings make the perfect gift.
Crafted from 100% Recycled Sterling Silver and 100% Recycled 18ct Gold Plating.
Materials and Dimensions
Delivery and Returns
Please note all earrings (except ear cuffs) are not eligible for returns for hygiene reasons.
UK Delivery Options
Choose from any of the below options for a speedy delivery:
- 3-5 Working Days Royal Mail Tracked: £2.95 - FREE on orders over £50
- 1-2 Working Days Royal Mail Tracked (order before 12pm working day): £4.95 - FREE on orders over £100
- Next Working Day Royal Mail Tracked (order before 12pm working day): £7.95
US Deliveries
5 - 10 Days Royal Mail International Tracked Delivery (order before 12pm BST/GMT working day): $6 - FREE on orders over $100
For the US, generally any orders under $800 will not lead to any customs duties and taxes fees.
EU Deliveries
We are currently working on enabling deliveries of Milly Grace to the EU. Watch this space! Sign up to our email newsletter to be notified when we can ship to you.
Dispatch times
We will always endeavour to dispatch all orders placed before 12pm on the same working day. However, during very busy times we will prioritise Next Working Day orders.
Pre orders
Orders containing a pre-order item will be shipped with the pre-order.
We're proud to make products that are thoughtfully designed, responsibly sourced, ethically made, lovingly delivered. But if for any reason you don't absolutely love your order we accept returns within 14 days of delivery of original order.
Please note that for us to be able to accept your return, the items must be unworn and in good condition, and come wrapped in their original packaging. Don't forget to include your name and order number in your package so that we can process your return. Please contact us on email@example.com if you have experienced a rare fault with your jewellery prior to returning.
Please post your package using Tracked and Signed For delivery to ensure it arrives safely with us:
Milly Grace Ltd3rd Floor 35A The Grove Ilkley LS29 9NJ
We aim to refund all returns within 10 working days, however this timeframe may vary during busy periods of the year. Unfortunately we cannot be responsible for returns which do not arrive safely with us.
Returning a faulty item
We're sorry to hear your Milly Grace was less than perfect. Please contact us within 30 days of receipt, and we'll help you replace it. We offer free return shipping for faulty items only.
Please shop responsibly
Whilst your happiness is our top priority, the environmental impact associated with free returns is too damaging for us to ignore. Fast fashion and the recent e-commerce boom have seriously added to global carbon emissions, caused by the incineration of unwanted goods and the added transportation back to the warehouse.
We thank you for understanding our decision to only offer free returns on faulty items. Please note that shipping fees are non-refundable.
As active participants of the Circular Economy, we've put in place a recycling scheme that guarantees no Milly Grace stock ever ends up in landfill. You can read up on how you can join the movement here!
International Duties and Taxes
International orders may be subject to customs duties and taxes once they reach their country of destination outside of the UK. For the US, generally any orders under $800 will not lead to any customs duties and taxes fees. Currently any fees are payable by the customer and we do not cover this cost including on orders sent with free shipping. Any duties and taxes are not refundable.
Any fees incurred on the return of the order are the responsibility of the customer unless the return is due to a product fault.
If for whatever reason the postal service or courier returns the order to us as they could not complete the delivery, the customer will be responsible for repeat delivery charges.
If you have any questions, please get in touch with us at email@example.com where we will be delighted to assist.
We are more than happy to help you with an exchange within 14 days of purchase. To proceed with your exchange, please:
- Email us at email@example.com with your order number, and what piece you would like to exchange for so we may confirm that we have stock of the new exchange item.
- If the new exchange item is lower in price, we will refund the difference. If the new exchange item more expensive, we will send an email to notify you of the additional payment.
- Please return the original item following our return instructions above. Please include your name and order number in your return. Once we receive it, we will send the new exchange item to you.
Set and Tiered/Spend and Save Discount Refund Policy
If you wish to return one item from a set, the product(s) within the set which are kept will then be full price. Your refund will be processed in accordance with this.
Similarly, if you return a piece which was purchased with a tiered/spend and save discount and this brings your total order cost beneath the minimum spend, then the terms of the code are no longer applicable. This means the amount refunded will be adjusted to reflect the new tier of discount.
Promotional Items Refund Policy
If a complimentary gift is received with your purchase, then your purchased item must be returned alongside your complimentary gift in order to receive a full refund.
Sample Sale
All sample sale purchases are final and non-refundable. If a product fault occurs, a gift voucher will be given for the total purchase price of the product.
Care Advice
How to look after your Milly Grace jewellery
We want you to enjoy wearing your Milly Grace jewellery for a very long time. Following these simple steps will prevent scratching, tarnishing and dulling of your favourite pieces.
- Store your jewellery individually in its original packaging or an airtight container. Keep away from extreme heat, humidity or direct sunlight.
- Don't expose your jewellery to harsh chemicals, make-up or soaps. Remember to remove your jewellery before showering, swimming, exercising or applying hand sanitiser.
- Keep your jewellery looking its shiny best by occasionally polishing it with a soft cloth.
Please see our full care advice page for more details.
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Testimonials CBE School
Last Updated - June 2019
Young Children settled and Focussed
It is something different that our children were crying while working settled and observed when we gave UNI5 lessons. While working with a material it does not communicate in a verbal language. The child is more focused with UNI5 concept peaching tools as we talk and show the models etc and they perform an activity which is kindling their curiosity. This is a great observation and research in the early education given by CBE staff.
28th June 2019
Child-3 is able to accept her mistakes. She advises us not to waste water at kitchen.She likes to assist others at home also.
Below is Jan 2013
''My child attended the Uni5 School and then joined kindergarden in another school. There is definetely a huge difference from rest of the children in the new school. She is grasping every concept quickly and her eating - toilet habits are excellent. She is very particular in winding up all her things at home and she wants to be very clean. She is very independent. She shares her things with all other children'' – father of 3.75 years old child.
''My son is very happy in coming to the center and he never likes to come back home. The care given by the staff and helpers makes us happy'' – 1.5 year old child's mother.
''My daughter's language has developed a lot. She is very clear in actions and thoughts. She is working with her mother in all domestic activities at home also. She teaches us more'' – mother of 2 years old girl.
''My son is very good in communication and his eating manners has evolved. He is very good in telling stories with lot of his own imagination'' – father of 3 years old child.
''My twin daughters are very independent in their thoughts and actions. Their confidence level is very high. They have developed good motor skills and language.'' - Parents of a twin sisters.
''My son is respecting all at home and very particular in doing his work by himself'' – mother of 1.75 year old child.
''My daughter can point out and name many things around her related (connecting) them to her experience'' – father of 3.5 years old boy.
''There is no stress for me in making him to get ready for the center. His inner self order has evolved lot'' – 1.2 months old child's mother.
''we are very happy about the simple fees structure for a Montessori school. I am happy that the center has given me a chance to give a Montessori – Uni5 education to my child'' – father of a poor child.
''The center is transparent to the parents and the center is also following all ethics of a Montessori education'' – parent of a 3 year old boy.
''Implementing 3 languages is very useful for my child. She talks much and her behavior is good and acceptable.'' – Mother of a 2 year old child.
Testimonial of staff members, helpers and coordinators: [January 28th, 2013]
1. Ms.Srikala [child assistant]
'' Montessori equipment is coordinating the eye-muscles to integrate and makes the body to function well. The center's atmosphere is very calm and makes me very happy to work here. Children are very confident and secured about us. The system is very much focusing upon the child's self-discipline without threating the child. This center' children are able to connect the concepts with their own life and that makes them to remember forever.
Land forms given to them more exposure to nature and we are seeing children very much fond of nature also. This also kindles their imagination. Children enjoy the equality among themself apart from caste religion money in our center. Development of language, sharing mentality and self-order has been well evolved.''
2. Ms.Chandra [child assistant]
'' Parents are very much secured in leaving the infants with us. Montessori's materials have its own power to attract the infants and it is making many magical changes. Center is pollution free and calm to work. Children are fearless and approaching us for any assistance. I am also very happy with all children. Syllabus is very advanced but that will make them to imbibe the concepts with imagination. Nature walk makes lot of sense in making them to involve in science learning and social skills.''
3. Ms. Sumathy [correspondent]
''I am very happy to choose this center and assist the children after doing my MBA. I have learned a lot through the children. This uni5 syllabus has given me the confidence about child's learning abilities. This education is meaningful and sensible. It adds beauty to child's development and we never force. The self-motivation and self-learning is very important in Uni5 pattern and it is there among all our children. My life is very useful and meaningful. Uni5 concepts make them to see, observe and imbibe the concepts very deeply. I have learned to observe the child and helping my own child to evolve. BMIAC - UNI5 concept of personality development helps me personally and in center to guide the children and parents. The education pattern has brought out the inner order naturally without any stress. I can observe that children continue to exercise the same pattern of work at home environment. Any type of concept can be given to young children in simple way. That will be taken by them. I must have studied like this.The efforts taken to celebrate all functions are making the children to be aware about life skills, values and traditions.''
4. Miss.Viji [educational coordinator]
'' I am able to see the obvious development of the children in all 5 levels [BMIAC]. Children differ in their character but all are one. Their self-order is very natural. This makes me to assist them individually and understand more about human tendency. This system has taught me to calm down my emotions and I have learned to handle any issues even in my personal life with awareness and calmness. Children are very independent. I have learned lot from the children. I am able to understand why a child is restless and assist the child. Work given to man at age level makes his mind settled. Children in this school are very particular about pattern of work, orderliness in work and thinking. This Uni5 system gives perfect platform for the complete development of 1-6 years. Freedom is the most important aspect of this education. Social responsibility and service is the ultimate end of this education. We are united and happy.''
The fees structure is very cheap and it is easy for lower class people and middle class people to afford to this education. Working in the center and making a nature walk makes lot of difference in learning. The system gives opportunity to all five level of learning. Child's needs and interest differ and we need to understand. Prayer session makes the inner strength and universal acceptance. Child is not excluded in the social activities through this Uni5 education. Punishment is not there but we make the child to realize the mistake and self-correct himself.
5. Ms.Valsa [helper]
''I am happy in handling all these infants and feel as a great mother. I can much more understand the needs of each child at different age level. I am not educated but I am able to present few materials and language cards. I am meaningful in my life.''
6. Ms.Mariammal [helper, 65 years old]
''I see all these children as my grandchildren and this center has broken the communal difference. In this age I am happy in serving these children. I have become much aware about my body personality after coming to the center.''


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KeolisAmey Docklands
Keolis is the world 's largest tram operator and a leader in light rail in the UK. KeolisAmey Docklands, a joint venture formed between Keolis and Amey, was awarded the light rail franchise to operate and maintain the DLR until 2021. This contract has since been extended by four years. In 2017, KeolisAmey Docklands won the contract to operate Greater Manchester's Metrolink tram network. With 103km of track and eight lines serving 99 stations, Metrolink is currently the largest tram system in the UK.
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Last updated on September 11th, 2012 at 01:29 am
President Obama marks the eleventh anniversary of the September 11th attacks by remembering the innocent lives lost, and honoring the first responders and men and women in uniform who have served and sacrificed to keep our country safe.
The President's remarks:
This week, we mark the eleventh anniversary of the September 11th attacks. It's a time to remember the nearly 3,000 innocent men, women and children we lost, and the families they left behind. It's a chance to honor the courage of the first responders who risked their lives – on that day, and every day since. And it's an opportunity to give thanks for our men and women in uniform who have served and sacrificed, sometimes far from home, to keep our country safe.
This anniversary is about them. It's also a time to reflect on just how far we've come as a nation these past eleven years.
On that clear September morning, as America watched the towers fall, and the Pentagon burn, and the wreckage smoldering in a Pennsylvania field, we were filled with questions. Where had the attacks come from, and how would America respond? Would they fundamentally weaken the country we love? Would they change who we are?
The last decade has been a difficult one, but together, we have answered those questions and come back stronger as a nation.
We took the fight to al Qaeda, decimated their leadership, and put them on a path to defeat. And thanks to the courage and skill of our intelligence personnel and armed forces, Osama bin Laden will never threaten America again.
Instead of pulling back from the world, we've strengthened our alliances while improving our security here at home. As Americans, we refuse to live in fear. Today, a new tower rises above the New York skyline. And our country is stronger, safer and more respected in the world.
Instead of turning on each other, we've resisted the temptation to give in to mistrust and suspicion. I have always said that America is at war with al Qaeda and its affiliates – and we will never be at war with Islam or any other religion. We are the United States of America. Our freedom and diversity make us unique, and they will always be central to who we are as a nation.
Instead of changing who we are, the attacks have brought out the best in the American people. More than 5 million members of the 9/11 Generation have worn America's uniform over the past decade, and we've seen an outpouring of goodwill towards our military, veterans, and their families. Together, they've done everything we've asked of them. We've ended the war in Iraq and brought our troops home. We brought an end to the Taliban regime. We've trained Afghan Security Forces, and forged a partnership with a new Afghan Government. And by the end 2014, the transition in Afghanistan will be complete and our war there will be over.
And finally, instead of turning inward with grief, we've honored the memory of those we lost by giving back to our communities, serving those in need, and reaffirming the values at the heart of who we are as a people. That's why we mark September 11th as a National Day of Service and Remembrance. Because we are one American family. And we look out for each other – not just on the difficult days, but every day.
Eleven years later, that's the legacy of 9/11 – the ability to say with confidence that no adversary and no act of terrorism can change who we are. We are Americans, and we will protect and preserve this country we love. On this solemn anniversary, let's remember those we lost, let us reaffirm the values they stood for, and let us keep moving forward as one nation and one people.
In the difficult years following the attacks, the United States has come back stronger as a nation, decimated the leadership of al-Qaeda, ensured that Osama bin Laden will never attack America again, and strengthened our alliances across the world.
The President has signed a proclamation making Friday, September 7 through Sunday, September 9, 2012 National Days of Prayer and Remembrance.
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Agribusinesses and African smallholders seize $1 trillion food market as meals replace minerals to restart African economic growth
The power of entrepreneurs and the free market is driving Africa's economic growth from food production, as business wakes up to opportunities of a rapidly growing food market in Africa, that may be worth more than $1 trillion each year by 2030 to substitute imports with high value food made in Africa.
This is the main conclusion from the Africa Agriculture Status Report 2017 (AASR), launched on Tuesday at this year's African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) in Cote d'Ivoire.
According to the report, agriculture will be Africa's quiet revolution, with a focus on SMEs and smallholder farmers creating the high productivity jobs and sustainable economic growth that failed to materialise from mineral deposits and increased urbanisation. Despite 37 percent of the population now living in urban centres, most jobs have been created in lower paid, less productive services rather than in industry, with this service sector accounting for more than half of the continent's GDP. Smart investments in the food system can change this picture dramatically if planned correctly.
Commenting on this year's report findings, Dr. Agnes Kalibata, President of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) which commissioned the study said: "Africa has the latent natural resources, skills, human and land capacity to tip the balance of payments and move from importer to exporter by eating food made in Africa. This report shows us that agriculture involving an inclusive transformation that goes beyond the farm to agri-businesses will be Africa's surest and fastest path to that new level of prosperity."
To succeed, Africa's agricultural revolution needs to be very different to those seen in the rest of world. It requires an inclusive approach that links millions of small farms to agribusinesses, creating extended food supply chains and employment opportunities for millions including those that will transition from farming. This is in contrast to the model often seen elsewhere in the world of moving to large scale commercial farming and food processing, which employs relatively few people and requires high levels of capital.
The report highlights the opportunity for Africa to feed the continent with food made in Africa that meets the growing demand of affluent, fast growing urban populations on the continent looking for high value processed and pre-cooked foods. Furthermore, it advocates that this opportunity should be met by many of the continent's existing smallholder farmers. Currently part of this growing demand for Africa's food is met by imports. These amount to $35bn p.a. and are expected to cost $110bn by 2025 unless Africa improves the productivity and global competiveness of its agribusiness and agriculture sectors.
The report acknowledges that the private sector holds the key to the transformation of the food system so far. "Impressive value addition and employment is being created by SMEs along value chains in the form of increased agricultural trade, farm servicing, agro processing, urban retailing and food services. Large agribusinesses like seed companies, agro processors and supermarkets are also playing an increasing role in the food value chain in many regions," said Peter Hazell (IFPRI), the technical director of the report.
However, the study is clear that left to the private sector alone, growth in the agrifood system will not be as fast as it could, nor will it benefit as many smallholder farmers and SMEs as it could. Government support is needed to both stimulate and guide the transition. As a high priority, governments need to create an enabling business environment and in particular, meet targets to invest ten percent of GDP in agriculture, agreed at the 2003 African Union (AU) Summit as part of The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP).
The report also urges governments to nurture a globally competitive food production sector through measures such as increasing infrastructure investment in secondary cities and towns, improving the reliability of energy and water supplies, building more wholesale market spaces, promoting open regional trade, identifying and investing in first mover crops and introducing stricter standards for food safety and quality.
The authors also call on governments to stimulate new private public partnerships for more innovative financing and insurance provision which can lead to increased resilience for farmers and their households. While globally agricultural insurance is a $2 billion business, Africa accounts for less than two percent of the market. Other fiscal stimulus measures suggested include improving financial regulations, developing better credit-reporting processes, opening up special economic zones, supporting digital warehouse receipt systems and sharing risk with lenders through credit guarantees and matching funds.
The report points out other new opportunities to target support presented by digital technology such as satellite tracking and big data. These can help locate new high value agri-economic zones and smarter financing and food security polices, especially in the face of climate change.
"Smart support is just as important as scale of support for Africa's highly diverse group of famers and agribusinesses. To step up their game, businesses needs assistance tailored to distinct groups of viable small farms and agribusinesses at different development stages, rather than blanket support for all," added AGRA President, Dr. Kalibata.
The report's authors conclude that although progress is being made, Africa needs to pick up the pace if it is to compete globally and turn itself from importer to exporter by feeding its people with food made in Africa. "Hopefully the prize of a rapidly growing and valuable market for food made in Africa will spark widespread political will and attract the best business talent to build a high value food sector," said Peter Hazell. "This private public partnership will be essential to provide the trinity of high productivity employment, sustainable economic growth and food made in Africa for Africa and the world."
Top five recommendations from 2017's AARS report:
Governments need to increase their investments in agriculture and rural infrastructure in line with their 10 per cent CAADP commitment
Governments should take a holistic approach to improving the business environment for the entire agrifood system, from farm to fork
Smallholder farmers need to be better organised to link to modern value chains
Governments need to support the financial sector to meet the unserved financial needs of commercially oriented small farms and food producing SMEs
Legislation and regulations that boost regional trade in agricultural products will make a significant contribution to the growth of Africa's food production sector and have a tangible impact on reducing poverty


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LibreOffice 24.2 Help
When you insert a rectangle or a callout box using the drawing functions and activate the Points icon on the Drawing toolbar, you see a small frame at the upper left corner of the object. The frame indicates the amount by which the corners are rounded. When the frame is positioned at the top left corner, no rounding occurs. When the frame is positioned on the handle centered at the top of the object, the corners are rounded as much as possible. You adjust the degree of rounding by moving the frame between these two positions.
If you place the cursor on the box it changes to a hand symbol. You can now drag the box to change the amount of rounding. An outline shows a preview of the result.


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Chris Young Adds New Town Ain't Big Enough Tour Dates
Chris Young has beefed up his 2020 tour. The "Drowning" singer's Town Ain't Big Enough World Tour 2020 was slated for late May, with amphitheater and pavilion dates scheduled through September, but he's now added five shows, starting with an April date in Ohio.
Scotty McCreery and newcomer Payton Smith will open Young's 2020 summer tour when it begins on April 30 in Columbus, Ohio. Additionally, several hand-chosen Next from Nashville artists will join Young on the road. New dates in Ohio and Missouri go on sale Feb. 14 while tickets for a date in Iowa go sale Feb. 28. The on-sale dates for his May 7 and May 9 concerts are still TBD.
See all 35 Town Ain't Big Enough World Tour dates below. As with recently announced tours from Tim McGraw and Brooks & Dunn, fans were fist able to purchase tickets when the Country Megaticket went on sale in January.
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The tour takes its name from Young's duet with Lauren Alaina, "Town Ain't Big Enough." It's one of several songs the Nashville native has released prior to his upcoming eighth studio album, Raised on Country. "Drowning" is the second official radio single after the Top 5 title cut. There is no date announced for the release of the new album.
In 2019, Young headlined the Raised on Country Tour with Jimmie Allen and Chris Janson.
*Update: This story has been updated to reflect five additional tour dates announced on Feb. 10.
Chris Young's 2020 Town Ain't Big Enough World Tour Dates:
April 30 — Columbus, Ohio @ The Schottenstein Center
May 1 — Cape Girardeau @ Show Me Center
May 2 — Des Moines, Iowa @ Wells Fargo Arena
May 7 — Spokane, Wash. @ Spokane Arena
May 9 — Boise, Idaho @ CenturyLink Arena
May 28 — Detroit, Mich. @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
May 29 — Indianapolis, Ind. @ Ruoff Music Center
May 30 — Chicago, Ill. @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
June 10 — Salt Lake City, Utah @ USANA Amphitheatre
June 12 — Portland, Ore. @ Sunlight Supply Amphitheater
June 13 — Seattle, Wash. @ White River Amphitheater
June 20 — Irvine, Calif. @ FivePoint Amphitheatre
June 27 — Albuquerque, N.M. @ Isleta Amphitheater
June 28 — Phoenix, Ariz. @ Ak-Chin Pavilion
July 9 — Cleveland, Ohio @ Blossom Music Center
July 10 — Bristow, Va. @ Jiffy Lube Live
July 11 — Darien Center, N.Y. @ Darien Lake Amphitheater
July 24 — Mansfield, Mass. @ Xfinity Center
July 25 — Gilford, N.H. @ Bank of NH Pavilion
July 30 — Brandon, Miss. @ Brandon Amphitheater
July 31 — Tuscaloosa, Ala. @ The Tuscaloosa Amphitheater
Aug. 1 — Orange Beach, Ala. @ The Wharf Amptheater
Aug. 13 — Virginia Beach, Va. @ Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach
Aug. 14 — Raleigh, N.C. @ Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
Aug. 15 — Charlotte, N.C. @ PNC Music Pavilion
Aug. 20 — St. Louis, Mo. @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Aug. 21 — Rogers, Ark. @ Walmart AMP
Aug. 22 — Dallas, Texas @ Dos Equis Pavilion
Aug. 28 — Saratoga Springs, N.Y. @ Saratoga Springs Performing Arts Center
Aug. 29 — Holmdel, N.J. @ PNC Bank Arts Center
Sept. 11 — Wantagh, N.Y. @ Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
Sept. 12 — Pittsburgh, Pa. @ S&T Bank Music Park
Sept. 25 — Atlanta, Ga. @ Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
Sept. 26 — Cincinnati, Ohio @ Riverbend Music Center
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