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Last Sunday I uploaded a philosophy post on Leo Tolstoy's quote 'If you want to be happy, be'. I thought I would continue with the happy theme and share a few things that I appreciate having and that make me happy in return…
As I mentioned in my previous post, I love to watch old home movies and look through photographs. I'm so grateful that I can have all those lovely memories. When I am sad or annoyed or feel like the world is unfair, it's comforting to reminisce on good times and realise I am blessed to have those. It's also uplifting to see how far I have come from not even being able to walk, to writing blog posts for a small audience (ps. thank you for reading!).
Similarly, I also love fiction. Whether in the form of Netflix, a book or simply a conversation with a friend, I love getting lost in a good story! It's perfect for when you need to disconnect from stressors, or just pretend you're someone/somewhere else for a while. This is also how I like to get to know any character I create for my own stories – by spending "time with them".
Coffee is what makes the world turn. It's aromatic. It's sexy. It's good at the beginning, middle and end of the day. It goes with all things good: Cake, chocolate, sandwich, after a meal, cold weather, hot weather, snow and rain, happiness, sadness, watching Netflix, writing a blog post… and I really could go on! The spark in my step is fuelled by caffeine.
Baths and candles and all that smells good. I generally take baths rather than showers just because they're so relaxing. Plus they make me feel cleaner because I have longer choosing all my products and scents. My favourite is Soap and Glory, and their fabulous packaging gives me something good to look at too. Candles just freshen the air and make me feel warm and cosy. For some reason they also make me feel really fancy like I just have time and money to have them. Does anyone else feel like that with candles?!
Being fabulous. OK, call me vain or something similar, but I love to dress up and wear my heels and strut about like everyone should know me. I genuinely believe this is something we should all do time to time. Personally, I hate failing and am really quite hard on myself sometimes and I wouldn't be surprised if most people are. But honestly, the thing that gets me back up on my feet is just dressing up and going out (even just for a strut around town to get coffee – ooo and doughnuts that's another good thing!). I lift my head, tell myself I'm fabulous and move on. Instant self confidence boost.
There's so much more to be grateful for, but I just thought I'd share my timeless, at-hand sources of happiness. I'd also love to know what makes you all happy? You may make someone' s day by sharing!


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Cable car, Kelburn, Wellington, 1 March 1918
Reference Number: 1/4-023280-G
View of the cable car at the top of the tramline at Kelburn, Wellington. The Kiosk is seen in the background. Photograph by George L. Adkin.
Key terms:
1 image, related to Kelburn Tea Kiosk, Kelburn and Karori Tramway, Kelburn, Restaurants - New Zealand - Wellington Region, Trams - New Zealand - Wellington Region, Tramways - New Zealand - Wellington Region, Railways, Cable - New Zealand - Wellington Region and Kelburn Cable Car.
Part of:
Adkin, George Leslie :Photographs of New Zealand geology, geography, and the Maori history of Horowhenua, Reference Number PAColl-0844 (165 digitised items)
Extent: 1 b&w original negative(s)Various Material Types
Conditions governing access to original: Not restricted
Other copies available: File print available in Pictorial Reference Service41. Wellington. Kelburn. Cable Car. 1918(PFP-005469)
Usage: You can search, browse, print and download items from this website for research and personal study. You are welcome to reproduce the above image(s) on your blog or another website, but please maintain the integrity of the image (i.e. don't crop, recolour or overprint it), reproduce the image's caption information and link back to here (http://mp.natlib.govt.nz/detail/?id=19638). If you would like to use the above image(s) in a different way (e.g. in a print publication), or use the transcription or translation, permission must be obtained. More information about copyright and usage can be found on the Copyright and Usage page of the NLNZ web site.
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subset: commoncrawl


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1 Samuel 27 Expanded Bible (EXB)
David Lives with the Philistines
27 But David ·thought to himself [L said in his heart], "·Saul will catch me someday [L Eventually I will die/perish at Saul's hands]. The best thing I can do is escape to the land of the Philistines. Then he will give up looking for me in Israel, and I can ·get away from him [L escape from his hand]."
2 So David and his six hundred men ·left Israel and went [L crossed over] to Achish son of Maoch, king of Gath. 3 David, his men, and their ·families [households] made their home in Gath with Achish. David had his two wives with him—Ahinoam of Jezreel [25:43] and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of Nabal [25:1–42]. 4 When Saul heard that David had run away to Gath, he stopped ·looking [searching; hunting] for him.
5 Then David said to Achish, "If ·you are pleased with me [L I have found favor in your eyes/sight], give me a place in one of the country towns where I can live. ·I don't need to [L Why should your servant…?] live in the royal city with you."
6 That day Achish gave David the town of Ziklag, and Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah ·ever since [to this day]. 7 David lived in the Philistine land a year and four months.
8 David and his men raided the people of Geshur, Girzi, and Amalek. (These people had lived ·for a long time [since ancient times] in the land ·that reached to [near] Shur ·in the direction of [or as far as] Egypt.) 9 When David ·fought [attacked; L struck] them, he ·killed [L did not let live] all the men and women and took their sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, and clothes. Then he returned to Achish.
10 Achish would ask David, "Where did you go raiding today?" And David would tell him ·that he had gone to the southern part [against the Negev] of Judah, or [against the Negev of] Jerahmeel, or ·to the land [against the Negev] of the Kenites. 11 David never brought a man or woman alive to Gath. He thought, "If we bring people alive, they may tell Achish, 'This is what David really did.'" David did this all the time he lived in the Philistine land. 12 So Achish trusted David and said to himself, "·David's own people, the Israelites, now hate him very much [L He has made himself detested/abhorrent/odious to his people Israel]. He will ·serve me [L be my servant] forever."
Expanded Bible (EXB)
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This lovely bright apartment has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms has a build of 113m3 with an american style kitchen. There is also a communal swimming pool and a large private terrace with panoramic sea and mountain views. The furniture is negotiable. This apartment is a must see and for more information please get in contact with us.
Additional Features
Communal Pool
Double Glazed Windows
Mediterranean Style
Panoramic Views
Sea Views


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She is averaging nearly 14 points per game for the Dreher Blue Devils and senior forward/guard Haliyah Sumter is making quite an impact since transferring two years ago from the Lowcountry.
Sumter has been the catalyst for the Dreher team and she will be latest player from that program to play at the next level. Sumter will play at Coker College where she will major in physical therapy. Haliyah says she wants to be a coach once her playing days are over.
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In the classroom, Haliyah is maintaining a 3.85 grade point average while taking on some challenging subjects. She says being honored as a News19 Player of the Week is "a blessing".


text: Looks like our friendly cube at: http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=1738 is opening up soon... supposedly 24 hour service. That's awesome. Now you can get tips at 3 am in the morning... for a powerbook? I can't wait to get back to NYC this fall to check it out. Ought to be a masterpiece of architecture.


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Charles R. Smith's 28 Days: Moments in Black History That Changed the World documents various accomplishments made in black history by people past and present. As he describes each day, Smith uses poetry and prose to highlight a specific event or person and their contributions to black history. The book includes features on big names like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Harriet Tubman, as well as some unfamiliar names with great stories and achievements.
Product information
28 Days: Moments in Black History That Changed the World
Charles R. Smith (Author), Shane W. Evans (Illustrator)
Roaring Brook Press, January 13, 2015
Product type: Books
Age groups: Children, Children, ages 4-8, Children, ages 9-12
Categories: Black History Month, Martin Luther King Jr.


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Report in Dreamweaver.
Is or will be available in the future an extension for print a report in PDF (for print e.g a tabular data grid)??
Your friends over here at WebAssist! These Dreamweaver extensions will assist you in building unlimited, custom websites.
These out-of-the-box solutions provide you proven, tested applications that can be up and running now. Build a store, a gallery, or a web-based email solution.


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Japan-Inspired CupcakesJuly 11th, 2010 by Gilly
I made these cupcakes this weekend for the Autumn issue of UK Handmade magazine. I don't get time to do baking at the moment, other than when I've committed myself to something, so it was really nice to have to make them for the deadline next week. The theme is Japonism, so I've topped green tea cakes (made with matcha) with fondant circles and fondant decorations – sushi, chopsticks and cherry blossom. I think they look really cute, although I think they looked a bit nicer in real life – a little set of Japanese-inspired cakes for a special occasion :)
They're not difficult to make, and the instructions will be in the magazine when it comes out in September. I quite liked the green tea, although it was a bit grassy for my taste, despite being a big lover of green or herbal tasting things! I made an almond cake base and added the matcha powder to it, so it had quite a nice almond flavour and then the hint of grass… I think I'd describe them as like eating sugared almonds whilst lying on a freshly mown lawn ;)


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Hartlepool United got Craig Harrison's reign off to the perfect start, cruising to a routine win at Northern League outfit Billingham Town.
A first-half double from Josh Hawkes and another from Rhys Oates got Pools off to a flyer, before substitute Padraig Amond added another brace in the second period.
Pools showed early promise with Oates starting the new season like he left off last, bursting down the right to find Michael Woods, but the midfielder screwed wide from 10 yards with the goal at his mercy.
But the scores of travelling Pools, who lined all four sides of the ground, didn't have to wait too long for the opener as trialist Junior Mondal, formerly of Middlesbrough, intercepted a stray pass in the middle, then played in Hawkes, who made no mistake, rolling the ball across the keeper and into the home net.
It was 2-0 within minutes - this time Woods rolled into Oates in the area, the lively frontman netting with a strike on the turn.
The Town goal led a charmed life thereafter with Scott Harrison denied and then Carl Magnay, playing centre-half, having a smart strike palmed clear.
But the home side's luck was only to last so long as Hawkes bagged his second on the half hour.
The youngster then turned provider as he floated a perfectly weighted pass for Oates, who looped a header over the top of the home goalie for 4-0.
After a rampant opening 45, Harrison made 10 changes at the break, taking off every outfield player - with debutant Scott Loach the only player who remained from the starting XI.
Bright spark from the opening 45 Oates was replaced by new boy Jake Cassidy, and the former Guiseley man almost got himself on the scoresheet, seeing a flashing drive sail just inches over the bar.
The fifth came from a set-piece. A curling corner from the right was nodded on by Amond from eight yards with just 20 minutes left on the clock.
And he rounded things off late on with his second and Pools sixth as he again rose highest in a crowded area to finish.
HUFC first-half: Scott Loach, Kenton Richardson (Curtis Obeng 46), Josh Baynes (Blair Adams 46), Carl Magnay (Liam Donnelly 46), Scott Harrison (Josh Nearney 46), Luke George (Martin Smith 46), Josh Hawkes (Ryan Donaldson 46), Lewis Hawkins (Nicky Deverdics 46), Rhys Oates (Jake Cassidy 46), Michael Woods (Padraig Amond 46), Junior Mondal (Jack Munns 46).


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Things you "should" be doing
Does it come from how they were brought up or simply they are not fit to be around other people?
I see it doing interviews at Amato Painting, pre-qualifying potential employees, estimates, at the store
Here are my top ten pet peeves
1) Not holding the door for someone when leaving or entering a store, this is common courtesy, hold the door even if yu have to wait
2) Not moving to the left lane when cars are merging from a ramp on the right.
3) Bringing your cell phone into an interview and answering it? Now this is an automatic disqualifier for us
4) Wearing sunglasses through your whole interview
5) Not saying thank you in any instance
6) Not looking me in the eye when I speak to you, are you hiding something?
7) Scheduling an estimate, confirming it and then not being home
8) Confirming an interview and not showing up and then begging for another one
9) Not treating others in a respectful manner or as you would like to be treated
10) Knowing the rules but expecting to be treated differently
These are just a few of the things I come across each day and things we look for in our job interviews, my job interviews are generally very quick and short as I am looking for character more so than your experience, degree etc.
Check your Social Media pages too, if you're applying for job interviews and your profile pic is you at a party drinking and other things with profanities and slang throughout your profile. Where is the first place you think employers look?
I am not saying I am the perfect person and sometimes break my own rules but workhard each day to become a better person and offer something to the community


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I'm an East Coast Canadian gal from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. My husband Michael and I are living the expat life in Doha, Qatar.
We both love to travel and blogging is a way to keep track of our adventures, share them with family and friends back home in Canada and perhaps be informative to other travelers researching their own adventures!!
Lots of joy and laughter to you,
Stephanie xo


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Atlantis docks with ISS
Posted: Fri, Feb 9, 2001, 1:17 PM ET (1817 GMT)
The space shuttle Atlantis successfully docked with the International Space Station Friday, setting the stage for the installation of a critical station module tomorrow. The shuttle docked at 11:51 am EST (1651 GMT) after a problem-free approach to the orbiting facility. Hatches separating the two spacecraft will be opened later today for a welcoming ceremony and planning meetings between the two crews. The shuttle crew will also prepare for an EVA tomorrow to attach the Destiny lab module to ISS, the first of three EVAs planned during the mission. Atlantis will remain docked to the station until Friday, February 16.
about spacetoday.net · email@example.com · mailing list


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Pest Control – Our Customers Testimonials
Natural Pest Control Company
We love to hear from our customers. Here are just a few comments our customers have placed on our comment cards. We hope you are the next one to make our pest control testimonials page. Share with us what a great job we're doing for you. We strive to be the very best Natural Pest Control Company!
Our goal is to make each and every customer a happy customer! Guaranteed!
Bill and Cindy – Lago Mar – Miami, Florida
"We recently purchased our first home in the Miami area. After a week or so moving in, we noticed that we had a huge ant problem. Our driveway was covered with trails of ants as well as our counters in the kitchen and bathrooms. We tried everything and nothing would make them go away. We sampled everything from Raid to ant traps and nothing seemed to work. That's when a friend of ours suggested that we call Monty at New Era Pest Control. He used his ant baits, and soon we had no sign of ants. at all! We use their Miami Go Green program and we have been ant free for almost two years now, not to mention any other bug that thought our home was a good place to take up residence."
Marge Simpleton – Tiffany – Miami, Florida
"It's really important in today's world, that a service person keep their word, are on time, courteous and knowledgeable. Our home is the biggest investment we have, and we trust New Era Pest Control with our home, children, pets and bugs. Good Luck in The Future!"
Roger Maxfield – Speedy Sign-A-Rama – North Miami Beach, Florida
"Our technician was great and really took the time to explain the exact application procedure and what I could expect in the days and weeks to follow. Our Ants were completely gone in no time!"
Willie Barter – Miami, Florida
"Our technician treats us all like family, always very pleasant and does a very thorough job! He is very sensitive to my daughter's fear of bugs"
Dean Parker – Miami, Florida
"I found it very enjoyable to work with New Era. You guys were very straightforward on price and willing to work within my budget and schedule"
Linda Forker – Miami, Florida
"New Era Pest Control came as a referral, and we are very pleased with the professional service we received. We will be telling all of our friends in the Miami area about your company. Thanks, and great job Guys!"
Barbara Judy – Miami, Florida
"Your company is one in a million. You came when you said you were going to and your tech was great. He secured all the openings in our garage and we have not seen any more rodent droppings since."
Dan Stalwart – Miami, Florida
"Monty – thanks for your help last week. I haven't seen one of those creepy centipedes since!!"
Bill Witherton – Miami, Florida
"They do my monthly pest control. Wonderful service! I always appreciate having the same service person."


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Twenty year old Johannes Zlatkov from Germany has been in the Philippines for the past nine months, as a Gawad Kalinga (GK) volunteer.
He worked as pre-school teacher assistant at Sibol School, GK Village Pasil, Barangay Kauswagan, Cagayan de Oro City, but since 30 of his pupils already graduated, last March 22, he is on the look-out for more open-air and out-door exercise.
Read more HERE.


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2018-01-05 — cnbc.com
Visa ended its relationship with a large cryptocurrency card provider on Friday, causing thousands of people's transactions to be declined and scrambling to figure out how to access their money.
Wavecrest provided its services to a number of crypto-card companies, including Bitwala, Cryptopay, Wirex and TenX. These companies convert people's cryptocurrencies into cash that is loaded on to a prepaid card, allowing people to use the currency for everyday transactions. Now these cards are invalid.
Why help the competition, apparently! This is a big gambit by Visa, though -- the next step is for people to simple deprecate cards entirely and start using smartphone-based payment at retail locations (which already has a toehold)...
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Madison — Governor-elect Scott Walker's spokesman, Cullen Werwie, released the following statement today regarding public employee union contracts:
"Governor-elect Scott Walker is opposed to the lame duck Legislature approving public employee union contracts. If approved, the contracts will tie the hands of the Governor and the newly elected Legislature as they work to balance the state budget."
A portion of Oshkosh Northwestern's recent editorial can be viewed below:
Oshkosh Northwestern Editorial: Walker deserves maximum flexibility to balance budget
Democratic leaders in the legislature should honor Republican Gov.-elect Scott Walker's request Monday to not convene a special session of the Wisconsin Legislature this month to approve public employee union contracts.
There is some merit to the argument that terms of office have defined beginning and end dates along with an expectation that state government is at work providing services and making decisions at all times. However, there is also a transition period between elections and inaugurations to hammer out the detailed work needed for an orderly transfer of power. And save for extraordinary circumstances and emergencies, lawmakers are not normally in session for that reason.
No case has been made that the contracts represent an extraordinary or emergency matter that require immediate action. To the contrary, the state's deepening financial situation is a legitimate crisis that could be dramatically worsened by approving contracts in a lame duck session decoupled from the need to rebalance the current and prepare the new state budget next year.
In short, Walker's request for "maximum flexibility" is reasonable and appropriate given the current $150 million shortfall and the impending $3.3 billion structural deficit forecasted for the 2010-2013 biennium budget. There are other factors that make approving the contracts with nine of 19 state labor unions troublesome. Gov. Jim Doyle's administration announced the tentative agreements Nov. 19, but the contracts have not been released to the public…


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Liven And Brighten Up Your House With These Cheerful Sitting Rooms Yellow Splashes For Interior Color Schemes
Highly comfy sitting rooms yellow splashes will be eye-catching right from the start we look at. Yellow is generally considered as amazing and attractive color. Just imagine the color of the sun that shines brightly, or the color lemons that refreshes. Indeed, by this particular interior color scheme you can bring the summer into your house, liven and brighten up your interiors and boost your moods. This tone can be applicable to the most contemporary as well as classic interior styles.


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- This event has passed.
Bio-Europe (Spring Meeting)
4th April 2016 - 6th April 2016
Randox Biosciences are looking forward to returning to Bio-Europe Spring which annually attracts an international "who's who" from biotech, pharma and finance for three days of high caliber networking. Rachel and Claire will be attending from April 4th-6th to represent Randox Biosciences.


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CFO: Better Loss Model May Have Prevented Bank Failures
CFO reported that the accounting model banks use to set reserves for loan losses contributed to the large number of community bank failures during the financial crisis, citing a new report from the Government Accountability Office.
CFO said weak loan underwriting and risky funding sources resulting from aggressive growth strategies caused the bulk of community bank failures from 2008 to 2011, according to the GAO report. But the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles model banks use for recognizing credit losses, which was based on historical loss rates that were unusually low pre-crisis, was also partly to blame.
To read the full CFO article click here.
To read the GAO's report click here.


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New industry cooperative research center at MechSE awarded NSF funding
The Center for Novel High Voltage/Temperature Materials and Structures (HV/TMS), proposed by MechSE professors Iwona Jasiuk and Martin Ostoja-Starzewski, has received an Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) award from the National Science Foundation. This award makes HV/TMS an official NSF I/UCRC center. The other two universities participating in this center are the University of Denver and Michigan Technological University.
The principal goal of the center, a cooperative center between companies in industry and researchers in academia, is to conduct precompetitive research in materials and methods that can improve the efficiency of the United States' system of electrical power lines.
"Electricity is transported by wires because nobody has a better idea right now," Ostoja-Starzewski said. "Sometimes it has to be transported very long distances. Over those long distances and in all different kinds of weather, a large amount of it is wasted as heat."
"There is definitely a need for research in this area," Jasiuk said, "because if we can transfer more energy more effectively, more efficiently, there will be huge energy savings. And if we can make the wires more conductive, stronger, and with minimal thermal expansion, we can also prevent outages due to ice or wind or other external factors."
The Center will utilize the most advanced aerospace technologies to design novel materials and structures for the next generation electrical grid. The aggressive environment of the high voltage grid will drive innovations that will benefit other industries such as aerospace, oil, manufacturing, transportation, and others.
The center will work directly with partners in the power, aerospace, and other industries to address these problems. As members of the center, companies will gain full access to its research and will be able to help decide which research projects should be pursued; and the center is actively seeking companies to join their effort.
"Having more companies will make the center much more diverse," Jasiuk said. "The whole idea of the center is to bring companies, university professors, and different universities together to work on problems important to this industry. We all have a lot to gain from working together."
The center will have two meetings every year to go over findings and evaluate new project proposals. The first of these will be in late May or early June of this year in Denver; potential new members of the center are invited as well, so they can gain an idea of what the center is and what direction it will go in for the first year.
"Our vision five years from now is to become a focal research point," Ostoja-Starzewski said, "where the electrical power industry comes with its problems to academia, and we all work together to solve them."
Interested companies, faculty, and students may contact Iwona Jasiuk at ijasiukillinois [dot] edu or Martin Ostoja-Starzewski at martinosillinois [dot] edu for more information.


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Archived 08/25/05
Tuition Assistance (HR 6.8.6)
ContentsPolicy (HR 184.108.40.206)
Authorization (HR 22.214.171.124)
Eligibility (HR 188.8.131.52)
Financial Arrangements (HR 220.127.116.11)
Policy (HR 126.96.36.199)
The University encourages employees to continue to pursue educational goals and interests. To facilitate learning opportunities, the University offers tuition assistance to regular full-time and regular part-time employees and to their spouses and dependent children by birth or by adoption. The amount of tuition assistance offered to part-time employees and their spouses and dependent children is pro-rated based on the number of hours the employee works. Temporary employees are not eligible for tuition assistance. Tuition assistance benefits are for enrollment in courses offered by The Catholic University of America and the other member institutions of the Consortium of Universities of Washington, D.C. (when the courses are certified by the cognizant dean/department chair as required for the student's program and are not available at CUA). Employees, their spouses and dependent children will be subject to the same enrollment limitations as all other students.
A number of educational programs can be enriched by participation in overseas study programs sponsored or approved by CUA. As of the 1999-2000 academic year, employees' spouses and dependent children by birth or adoption who are eligible for tuition assistance and who have the opportunity to participate in a CA sponsored or approved overseas study program will be granted tuition assistance for the CUA portion of their tuition. All expenses billed to CUA including the tuition, fees, room and board for the overseas study program will be the responsibility of the student. The University reserves the right to charge an administrative fee for overseas study if, in the discretion of the University, it is necessary. The CUA tuition is the only part of the cost of the overseas study program that is included in the tuition assistance benefit. The semesters spent in an overseas study program will count toward the nine-semester maximum for undergraduate tuition assistance benefits.
Recipients of tuition assistance must fulfill the usual conditions for admission to the University, its degree programs and/or courses. Spouses and dependent children may receive tuition assistance only while enrolled in degree programs.
Tuition assistance will not ordinarily be granted to employees for courses offered during the employee's normal working hours. Occasionally exceptions are made when the course is directly related to the employee's current job. When, therefore, registration for and attendance in such a course is necessary, the employee must have the prior approvals of both the immediate supervisor and the cognizant Vice President. Time taken from the normal working hours to attend such a course must be made up with a schedule subject to the same approvals.
Authorization (HR 220.127.116.11)
Eligible employees who enroll in any of the schools of the University may receive full tuition assistance for four courses per year; however, employees are not permitted to take more than two courses per semester. This benefit is pro-rated for regular part-time employees.
The University will pay the full tuition for spouses and dependent children by birth or adoption of eligible employees provided that the spouses or dependent children are enrolled in undergraduate degree programs. The University will pay half of the tuition of spouses and dependent children enrolled in graduate degree programs if the employee is an eligible full-time employee who has been employed by the University since before July 1, 1980.
The Provost makes the determination of which degrees are graduate. The Bachelor of Sacred Theology (S.T.B.) is a graduate degree.
Tuition assistance benefits for graduate education for employees, spouses, and dependent children are subject to Federal and State income tax and FICA. Tuition assistance benefits for graduate courses will be treated as taxable income as required by Federal law.
A CUA employee's spouse or dependent child who is also a regular employee of CUA is not eligible for tuition assistance as a dependent. That person will have eligibility for tuition assistance by virtue of their employment at CUA and are subject to the policy limitations for employees.
Retirees (as defined in HR 6.9.1) may continue to receive tuition assistance benefits for spouses and dependent children by birth or adoption with the limitation that the benefit will be extended only if the spouse and dependent children were eligible at the time the employee retired and only for undergraduate programs. Retirees and their spouses may audit courses without charge, subject to the permission of the instructor of each course.
Surviving spouses and dependent children by birth or adoption of deceased employees with ten or more years of service will retain their eligibility for enrollment in undergraduate programs only. This eligibility applies for surviving spouses and dependent children even if they were not enrolled at the time of the employee's death. Tuition assistance will be extended to a surviving spouse and dependent children of a deceased employee with fewer than ten years of service at the time of death only for undergraduate programs in which they are already enrolled at the time of the employee's death. To be eligible for this benefit, dependent children by birth or adoption must retain their dependent status with the surviving parent or guardian.
Eligibility (HR 126.96.36.199)
Regular full-time and regular part-time employees become eligible for tuition assistance benefits for themselves upon successful completion of their initial evaluation period (normally the first three month of employment), and for their spouses and dependent children by birth or adoption after one year of employment. The three-month or one-year waiting period begins on the first day of regular employment and must be completed by the last day of regular registration. Administrative level employees and faculty members are eligible for tuition assistance benefits for themselves, spouses and dependent children by birth or adoption immediately upon hire.
Receipt of tuition assistance benefits is contingent upon continued employment for the entire semester or summer session for which tuition assistance was approved. In the event that an employee retires, terminates as a result of a reduction in force, or is approved for long-term disability during a semester or summer session for which tuition assistance was approved, his/her tuition assistance benefits will be continued through the end of the semester or summer session.
Approval of tuition assistance for a dependent child by birth or adoption is contingent upon proof of dependent status. CUA reserves the right to request appropriate proof before approving any application for tuition assistance for a dependent. Employees are required to provide proof of birth or adoption with the first application for tuition assistance for a dependent child.
Dependents or spouses who transfer into The Catholic University of America and receive tuition assistance are subject to the nine-semester limit less the equivalent number of whole semesters accepted for transfer by the cognizant School of the University. (For semester is calculated as 15 semester hours. For example, if the student transfers one completed semester plus additional credits that altogether total less than two semesters, the student has eight semesters of eligibility left.) Summer session credits should be calculated as fifteen credits being equivalent to one semester. Dependents may not pursue a second undergraduate degree in order to use the remaining semesters of eligibility.
Upon completion of an undergraduate program at CUA or any other college or university, no additional tuition assistance will be granted for undergraduate study.
Staff members may not study in a department or, in Schools without departments, the School where they work.
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Pedestrian struck, killed on I-93 in Boston identified
Pedestrian struck, killed on I-93 in Boston identified
A pedestrian who was struck and killed early Wednesday on Interstate 93 in Boston has been identified.
State police received several calls from motorists about a man who was staggering across Interstate 93 southbound near exit 16.
Troopers found Claudio Correia, 26 of Boston, lying in the road on the northbound side, and determined that he had suffered serious injuries from being struck by a vehicle.
Correia, who was struck by a 2014 Subaru Forester driven by a 40-year-old Norton man, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the Forester was not injured.


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Please come take a look at this listing, so close to everything that Murrells Inlet has to offer. A short distance to many of the area finest golf courses, the Murrells Inlet Marshwalk, shopping, and minutes away from the beautiful Atlantic Ocean. This unit features a master bedroom and bathroom on the 1st floor with a spacious walk-in closet. There is seating/activity area on the 2nd floor loft next to 2 additional bedrooms plus a large climate controlled storage area.
Listing courtesy of Century 21 Hawkeye Realty , Rick Gibbins. Selling Office: Fnis Blac Knight MLS Solutions , AGENT .NON-MLS.
Provided courtesy of The Coastal Carolinas Association of REALTORS®. Information Deemed Reliable but Not Guaranteed. Copyright 2018 of the Coastal Carolinas Association of REALTORS® MLS. All rights reserved. Information is provided exclusively for consumers' personal, non-commercial use, that it may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers may be interested in purchasing.


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There are two motivational forces and associated social movements that dominate discourse in US social media, and, despite this overwhelming dominance, they are little understood. A convergence of anthropology and documentary film could help to improve popular understanding of this aspect of communication, consciousness and social engineering, but until this happens, nothing will change. Consequently, both Christian Identity and Pagan Socialism continue to generate misguided protagonists in the ongoing saga of the centuries.
Tag: social engineering
Breaking Free: The Corruption of Alternative Media
Breaking Free
The Corruption of Alternative Media
By Jay Taber
Break Free, the 350 'clean energy' Ponzi scheme–funded by Warren Buffett–relies on three sociological aspects to succeed:
The 350 'clean energy' campaigns count on these aspects, as well as widespread ignorance promoted by corrupt alternative media. Social engineering through social media is accomplished through hush money, distributed to popular non-profits, in order to create a fixed mentality.
This, in turn, creates a world of make believe, in support of architects of the final solution. On-the-take of handouts from the financial elite, the collaborators with the axis of evil make it all possible. Greenwashing Wall Street is a big part of that.
Corruption of alternative media such as Democracy Now!, Grist and The Real News Network (TRNN) is achieved through foundation grants distributed by the financial elite, such as Warren Buffett's NOVO Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, TIDES Foundation, and Ford Foundation. Ford funds Democracy Now!, Grist and TRNN, and is a promoter of REDD and other Wall Street-backed carbon market schemes–now part of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, that include nuclear power development.
350–funded by Buffett via NOVO and TIDES, as well as by Rockefeller Bros.–has enabled Buffett and the financial elite, i.e. Bill Gates, to profit handsomely from these 350 'clean energy' campaigns (Break Free is just getting started):
- Divestment
- Break Free
Break Free, promoting a transition to fossil free living, is the groundwork being laid to bolster such scams as the Solutionary Rail plan–a boondoggle to harvest enormous public monies through an electrified rail corridor project from Chicago to Seattle. This boondoggle would benefit not only Buffett, but the nuclear power industry–promoted heavily by Bill Gates at COP21 under the guise of the New Economy, and evangelized by Bill McKibben of 350.
350, and its affiliate Rising Tide, are noted extensively in the Break Free campaign news at outlets like Democracy Now! (funded by TIDES). The Cascadia Weekly (CW), which covers the Pacific Northwest region incorporating the March Point Shell and Tesoro oil refineries at Anacortes, Washington State–location of a 350 Break Free disobedience camp out on BNSF Railway tracks–in its May 25 issue, reprinted Democracy Now! hype of Break Free propaganda posing as news.
In the May 25 issue, CW editor Tim Johnson took the opportunity to insert an editor's reply, dissing a letter to the editor (see pg. 5) writer for calling out the Break Free hypocrisy. In March 2014, after taking advertising PR money from Gateway Pacific Terminal (GPT)–a proposed coal export development of SSA Marine and BNSF Railway–Mr. Johnson attacked Citizen Journalist Sandra Robson for exposing anti-Indian racism funded by the coal export consortium that included BNSF, owned by Warren Buffett. Her expose resulted in a libel threat by GPT spokesman Craig Cole.
As I noted in Hijacking the Environmental Movement: Just Say No to 350, '350 began its dark career betraying the G77 at COP15 in 2009, and continued its shady dealings by sabotaging the 2010 Indigenous peoples' climate conference in Bolivia'. Now, 350 is promoting ineffective 'civil disobedience' as a means of diverting environmental activists from reality-based social change, and as a means of laying the groundwork for yet another Buffet-Gates empire, like they did with the KXL campaign and the designer protests and vanity arrests that made oil train magnates Buffett and Gates a bundle.
The corruption of alternative media and the non-profit industrial complex by Wall Street is one of the most insidious examples of Netwar (networked psychological warfare) in history. Indeed, the creation of discursive monoculture portends the death of democracy. Editors and publishers who choose to sell their souls to Wall Street deserve to be publicly humiliated.
[Jay Thomas Taber is an associate scholar of the Center for World Indigenous Studies and a contributing editor of Fourth World Journal. Since 1994, he has served as communications director at Public Good Project, a volunteer network of researchers, analysts and journalists defending democracy. As a consultant, he has assisted Indigenous peoples in the European Court of Human Rights and at the United Nations.]
Group Wisdom
Democracy is a discursive process, where citizens discuss public issues and social challenges. Whether they gather in their local church, school, or online, it is the discussion of ideas and events that enables them to arrive at group wisdom–something we see in the jury system.
Through letters to the editor, and comments on news stories and editorials, this exchange of ideas and perspectives facilitates the examination of beliefs and values, leading to clearer understanding. Sometimes, by reexamining what we think we know to be true, we discover that we were mistaken.
In today's media of recycled press releases posing as news, there is a lot of propaganda, but little journalism. This creates a lot of heat, but little light.
Habitual opinions in this social environment–created by public relations (PR) marketing firms–are thus commodities, acquired in the same manner as other consumer goods. These competing commodified narratives are consequently similar to rival cheer-leading squads, espousing slogans for their team.
In The Creation of Discursive Monoculture, I discussed how the power elite (Wall Street) controls public consciousness through their ownership of the PR firms serving government, media, and the non-profit industrial complex. As a result, all narratives, including those on social media, serve Wall Street.
To break free from the narratives of privatized mass communication, that now dominates public opinion, we have to break free from financial and psychological dependence on handouts from Wall Street–whether in the form of foundation grants from the power elite, or in the form of paid advertising and PR.
Otherwise, Wall Street will continue to set the civil society agenda, and consolidate social engineering through social media, leading to an environment where nothing of importance is ever discussed in public. What I have described as 'a world of make believe'.
The Creation of Discursive Monoculture
The Creation of Discursive Monoculture
By Jay Taber
The creation of discursive monoculture—intended to dominate all discussion of vital issues—is the result of a strategy by the power elite to prevent counter-power narratives from entering mainstream consciousness. Through hostile takeovers of government, media, and the non-profit industrial complex, the financial sector in the last decade has accomplished what official censorship and political repression could not: totalitarian control of social media, and the mobilization of progressives in support of neoliberal fascism.
As I noted in Preventing Discursive Monoculture, the financial sector capture of media, academia, and civil society indicates a future of diminishing consciousness—a future where fantasies about political power enable the murder of Indigenous activists and unembedded journalists with impunity. More recently, in A World of Make Believe, I elaborated on the fact that privatized mass communication now dominates public opinion to such a degree that all public discussion of vital issues is choreographed by PR firms.
In Controlling Consciousness, I observed that the donor elites that set the civil society agenda benefit from Wall Street's vertical integration of controlling consciousness, allowing them to fabricate news, as well as to integrate advertising with government propaganda. In order to maintain credibility, the non-profit PR firms subservient to the power elite, i.e. Avaaz, need to first establish a noble reputation, often using the tried-and-true method of poverty pimping—an effective and largely undetected tool in the art of social engineering.
As I remarked in R2P: The Theatre of Catastrophe, under the neoliberal model of global conquest, social media marketing agencies like Avaaz, Purpose, and Amnesty International function as stage managers for the power elite in choreographed productions where neoliberal heroism can be enacted. These constructed events–that urge neoliberal military interventions in countries like Mali, Burundi, Libya and Syria—then draw in civil society as participants of moral catastrophe, where they actually become complicit in crimes against humanity.
The ulterior strategy of Avaaz as the 'Great White Hope' in other venues, subsequently allowed this social media marketing agency to easily herd so-called progressives to line up behind the neoliberal imperial campaigns in Libya & Syria–where Avaaz literally designed and managed the PR campaign for NATO and the US–in order to present the Al Qaeda affiliate Al Nusra as the good guys in 'white helmets'. Networked psychological warfare (Netwar) is not hard to grasp; it just isn't discussed anywhere, making Communication: The Invisible Environment.
Jay Thomas Taber is a contributing editor of Fourth World Journal, INSiGHT Journal, and Public Good Project. Email: tbarj [at] yahoo.com
Just Say No to 350
Hijacking the environmental movement is a strategic long-term investment by the fossil fuel industry to cash in on the gullibility of young, impressionable climate change activists.
A World of Make Believe
By Jay Taber
There are a number of threats to the future of humankind. The big bugaboo climate change doesn't even make my top five. If I had to rank them, I'd say these would be it:
- Advertising
- Corruption
- Privatization
- Plague
- Religion
Climate changed can't be stopped. All we can do is adapt to new and changing circumstances.
Corruption in government institutions and economic markets that determine climate change initiatives, however, pretty much guarantees that public policies and plans will produce profitable but not effective adaptation. An example of this is the Breakthrough Energy Coalition plan to reduce fossil fuel burning by building more nuclear power plants, a plan supported by the United Nations and promoted by Bill Gates.
Another global initiative promoted by Gates and supported by the UN is the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs), now rebranded as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), that plan to use the power of UN agencies like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund to convert the world's remaining forests to plantations for growing such food products as GMO soybeans and palm oil. A key part of the SDGs, which is well underway, is building mega-dams in the Amazon River Basin and elsewhere to generate electrical power for the industrial development that is currently displacing Indigenous peoples and annihilating biodiversity.
Privatization of all things public – land, water, nature, government – is the ultimate sustainable development goal. These fall under the much-hyped 'New Economy' that Gates and the UN rolled out at COP 21 in Paris. Major promoters of the New Economy include Naomi Klein and Bill McKibben, public relations puppets funded by fossil fuel magnates Warren Buffett and the Rockefeller Brothers to lead divestment campaigns that are working to privatize all aspects of ownership of the fossil fuel industry, including control of fossil fuel reserves on public lands.
Plague that results from the deforestation of Africa, Asia, and South America have already become a concern to the World Health Organization, and epidemics are forecast to increase exponentially as poverty resulting from ethnic cleansing of Indigenous peoples and the privatization of public wealth skyrockets, creating mega-slums in which public health programs are replaced by black market pharmaceuticals that are routinely misused, creating a globalized human petri dish for untreatable diseases, such as the 'Nightmare Bacteria' that forced the Center for Disease Control to quarantine an entire floor of a public hospital in Maryland—after three patients and a nurse succumbed.
Religion under these horrifying circumstances — that are worsening by the day — poses another serious problem. Religious hysteria, end-of-the-world stuff, generates all kinds of unreasonable behaviors. Religious panic — particularly in fundamentalist, evangelical, and Pentecostal faiths — produces widespread aggression toward scapegoats. Religious terrorism, i.e. Christian Identity, ISIS, and Zionism, leads to murder, massacres, and genocide.
Advertising – in the form of privatized mass communication and education – now dominates public opinion, to the point that controlling consciousness on a global scale is a prescribed art that integrates government propaganda with the news and social media, creating what has been described as a "discursive monoculture". No matter what vital issue, crisis, or concern arises, public discussion is now choreographed by public relations firms, i.e. Purpose, that work in tandem with NGOs, e.g. Avaaz, and coordinate with government agencies.
Private equity media — that now controls all broadcast, print, and digital news in the United States – has created a fixed mentality behind the 'clean energy' chimera, in which all public control of climate responses using public monies will be determined by elite private interests, i.e. Wall Street. Architects of the final solution, e.g. MDGs/SDGs, by pimping poverty and all other social ills that befall humankind, promote the false hope of privatization and the termination of collective ownership in exchange for totalitarian corporate control of the planet.
Global civil society – thanks to Wall Street controlled institutions, markets, and NGOs – is now "paralyzed in a collective hypnosis" that rejects universal social interests and "systematically favours corporate interests". The art of social engineering in which Avaaz works with elites such as Rockefeller, Gates and Soros in shaping global society, by building upon strategic psychological marketing, relies on the non-profit industrial complex, i.e. 350.org, as the "foundation of imperial domination".
The mystique of mass hypnosis that made Naomi Klein and Bill McKibben celebrities of the climate change movement could never have happened without the backing of Wall Street. With the advent of social media and the reign of the Internet, controlling consciousness is now child's play. New world order—same old crimes.
In Pathways to Spectacle: Consumerism as "Activism", I noted that the cult of consumerism — through which international NGOs like 350, Avaaz and Purpose adherents identify with their brand — is similar to religion, in that becoming a follower is an act of faith. By unquestioningly accepting NGO propaganda as truth, these followers form beliefs that comprise the doctrine supporting this ideology of false hope.
Social engineering in the digital age is amazingly simple for those who have the money and the media at their disposal. Wall Street's Mad Men can easily herd millions of progressives via social media to support catastrophic environmental policy, war, and crimes against humanity. Sold as conservation, "humanitarian intervention", or development, globalization can then be marketed as a progressive choice, albeit leading to totalitarian corporate control of all life.
The driving force behind privatization through social engineering is the non-profit industrial complex, funded by Wall Street derivatives, and disbursed through tax-exempt foundation grants. Hundreds of millions have been invested by these foundations in the last decade to convince progressives that war is peace, conformity is unity, and capitulation is resistance.
YouTopia: A Documentary About Social Engineering in the Digital Age — a SIRIUS VIDEO project — needs public support to begin production. If you would like to be a part of providing seed money to take this vital message from the storyboard to the screen, please contact us.


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Gray Mountain by John Grisham (Book Review)
What A Conundrum!
Samantha Kofer is a rising star at Big Law in the glamorous city of Manhattan in 2008. She works in the real estate section along with a multitude of attorneys. Her job entails reviewing contracts and corporate paperwork for clients who seek to build sumptuous skyscrapers. She has yet to see the inside of a courtroom but that is how she prefers it-a life without conflict and ugliness. Her work is boring but she doggedly pursues 80+ hour weeks to earn her high salary and for the privilege of living in Manhattan. Her ultimate goal is to become partner and be rewarded for her years of hard work with multiple paralegals, secretaries, huge bonuses and maybe even a well deserved vacation. For it is for the the prestige of Big Law is why she attended Ivy League colleges. She is following the script of disciplined work ethic which should always have as its just reward that being commensurate to the measure of her dedication. Her mother is a high ranking attorney general at the DOJ and her father made his fortune in aviation plaintiffs' work and she aspires to the same success they enjoy.
Unfortunately, for Samantha, the 2008 Great Recession hits her law firm hard. Every day there are lay offs and truthful rumors of more lay offs to come. Samantha hunkers down at her desk, working even longer hours in the hopes that the partners will consider her too indispensable for termination. But privilege never lasts for many, including for Ms. Kofer and she receives the bad news from her boss, Andy, along with a number of other associates. Samantha glances with irony at Andy's desk collection of replicas of skyscrapers which the firm had helped their clients build. Skyscrapers which have been emptied of workers now pounding the streets, jobless, stunned by the recession.
However, Samantha, along with the other terminated associates, receives an unusual offer. If they agree to intern, without pay, at a non-profit law firm for one year, then they will be allowed to keep their health benefits for that year and they will be able to return to their former jobs, if the economy improves. Samantha cannot conceive of such a drop in her lifestyle but knowing full well of the plethora of lawyers and financiers now working as waiters or selling shoes, the offer does have promise especially if she can retain her health benefits. Her father does offer her a job as legal consultant in his line of business which involves financing promising litigation cases. She wisely turns down that offer remembering her father's prior imprisonment and disbarrment. Thus, she only has two choices: remain in glamorous Manhattan, hoping to somehow avoid the fates of her under-employed city mates or accept the internship with a slim hope of a return to Big Law within the year.
Figuring she has time to review her options because, after all, she would be working as an unpaid intern, she reviews the list of non-profits sent to her by human resources. They all look dreadful to her eyes, all located in cities which in her mind are likely just making the turn around from the Dark Ages. To her shock, the internships she applies to have already been filled. She is further advised by human resources that she needs to move fast as the pro-bono law firms are being inundated with candidates and spots are filling fast. She half-heartedly applies at a legal aid clinic in Brady, Virginia. She is advised by Mattie, an attorney who runs the clinic, that another lawyer has already inquired about the position and that she will hire whoever gets to her office first. Samantha gets her affairs in order and high tails it to Brady, Virginia.
Coal Strip Mining of Mountain
Samantha Gets a Quick Taste of the Gritty Life
Samantha's first drive to Brady is not a pleasant one. On her way to the interview, she is stopped by a deputy who accuses her of all sorts of nefarious traffic violations and doesn't cotton to the fact that she's a Yankee. Romey, the so called deputy, takes her to the local precinct where charges are promptly dismissed against poor Samantha because of Romey's mental illness. Romey is just one of the town's characters who is allowed to pretend at being deputy because his uncle is a sheriff and Romey is considered harmless despite his penchant of shooting his pistol into the air.
Donovan is the name of the lawyer who with chivalry rescues Samantha from Romey's clutches and happens to be Mattie's nephew, the head honco of the legal aid clinic. Donovan is one intense lawyer whose sole obsession is retaliating against the damages the coal companies have enacted upon Brady and the surrounding areas. There are plenty of cases to keep the Brady lawyers busy, including black lung cases, contaminated water, destruction of property, etc. No one drinks from the local tap water. Soda is their favorite drink. Donovan's history is a particularly tragic one. His father sold Gray Mountain, a family property, to a coal company who promised grand compensation. Little of that came the family's way and the mountain was utterly destroyed through the strip mining for coal. The destruction of the mountain segued into further tragic events for the family which influenced Donovan's desire to go after the coal companies. It's a dangerous business for him so he's an observant man who travels with a pistol. Additionally, he plays just as dirty legally as the coal companies do. A good portion of the book deals with documentation which Donovan may have obtained illegally proving that one of the coal companies knew that it would be contaminating the town creeks but figured that the profits would outweight the costs of future litigation.
The Hard Luck Residents of Brady
Samantha is initiated into a quick introduction of a multitude of new clients, all in desperate help of legal counsel. Some of these clients find themselves in precarious situations through their own choices but Grisham ably points out, through their circumstances, how much life is about opportunity as it is about choices. For if all one knows is one set of opportunities such as poverty and the mendacities of a small town, then choices are irrelevant without any further frame of reference.
Samantha's first client is a desperate woman married to an abusive man who sells meth. The woman shows at the clinic with bruises on her face and terrified of her abusive husband. He has been placed in jail but will soon be bonded out but she wants out of her marriage immediately. Naïve Samantha does all she can for the lady, drafts divorce documents, a temporary restraining order and manages to convince the judge to keep the husband a few more days in jail so that his scared wife can have the chance to leave town before he is relesed. A few days later, Samantha is shocked to discover that her work was for naught. The wife exhibits a complete change of heart toward her abusive husband and asks that divorce proceedings be terminated as well as the restraining order as they have resolved their differences. A few days later, Samantha encounters them looking sallow and thin. She correctly assumes that their co-dependency is based on their mutual addiction and sale of meth.
Another client, Francine Crump, is more well off financially and rational and asks Samantha to draft what Samantha considers to be a simple will in which Ms. Crump decides to leave her land to her neighbor, rather than to her five children who she believes will sell the land to the coal companies who will destroy it. She bequeaths her property to her neighbor, believing the neighbor will ensure that the land will remain outside the clutches of the coal companies. The drafting of this will returns to haunt Samantha throughout the novel.
She also represents a very sickly black lung client whose employer, a coal company, has been challenging his request for disabilty for years. There are other clients she represents, with the help of Donovan, who have cancer due to the contamination of the water supply by the coal companies. The sludge is easily visible by the residents and the regulatory companies are useless in forcing the coal companies to comply with safety standards. The contamination of the creeks is closely related to the secretive documents obtained by Donovan and successful litigation depends on convincing other prestigious lawyers with deep pockets to help Donovan sue the companies and for Samantha's father's firm to finance the litigatation required to sue the coal companies. This potential litigation has unanticipated twists and turns which will keep the reader riveted to the novel. The lives and travails of the clients also turn this novel into a very absorbing one and it reads almost like a documentary more than like a book of fiction.
The Lure of Manhattan and Big Law
Samantha Makes Her Decision
Samantha has had quite a year in Brady, Virginia. Not only was she given the opportunity to help needy, impoverished people but she also learned to overcome her fears, such as that of litigation, and just jump into the fray, not worrying about failure. She gained friendships with people who had no ulterior motives, who were merely interested in her as a person and wished to see her succeed. Most importantly, her time in Brady resulted in a sea change in her values. The work she did in Brady resulted in her re-assessing her priorities and taking a closer look at her purpose in life, at what kind of spot she needs to fill in her little part of the world. She does have choices to make at the end of the novel. However, the novel is not a simplistic story about a Big Law intern doing good. The value in this novel and the reason for my unabashed recommendation is because it causes the reader to take stock of their own values, to prioritize what they consider to be important to them when they wake up each morning, and to consider the kind of contribution they want to make in their world. Ultimately, this novel is not about Samantha Kofer, Big Law and Big Coal but how the choices we make in our lives and the courage in how we live our lives can cause a positive leap to our self-esteem and how we can create the best lives for ourselves and for others.


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India women suffered a batting collapse and were bowled out for 133. South Africa chased down the target with five wickets in hand and and an over to spare.
India women's cricket team was denied a famous series win as South Africa women won the the third Twenty20 International by five wickets at the New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg on Sunday. After losing the first two T20s, it was a do-or-die match for the hosts and Shabnim Ismail starred with the ball, taking five for 30 to help her team bowl out India for 133 following a stunning batting collapse. Sune Luus (41) top scored for the South Africans in the chase while the powerful Chloe Tyron (34) played yet another cameo to get the hosts over the line. India still lead the five-match series 2-1.
Put into bat, India had the worst possible, losing star player Mithali Raj in the very first over for a duck. Mithali had not been dismissed in the series going into the third match after notching up scores of 54 not out and 76 not out in the first two T20s, however, Marizanne Kapp got her on the fifth ball of the match.
Smriti Mandhana and captain Harmanpreet Kaur not only steadied the ship but also counterattacked brilliantly to lead India's fightback. But after a quickfire 37 off 24 balls, Mandhana fell victim to South Africa skipper Dane van Niekerk.
Harmanpreet took over the responsibility of scoring the runs and smashed six fours and two sixes en route to a masterful 48 off 30 balls. When Harmanpreet got out, India were 93 for three off 11.2 overs and on course of a good score.
However, things quickly went sour for India as the remaining batswoman fell like nine pins.
Jemimah Rodrigues (6) and Anuja Patil (7) fell without making much of a contribution, leaving India on shaky ground at 108 for five in 13.5 overs. Veda Krishnamurthy (24) smashed four boundaries to stop free fall but it was only brief respite for the visitors.
India lost their last five wickets for just nine runs in a stunning collapse to be bowled out for 133.
Pooja Vastrakar gave India some early hope by dismissing Lizelle Lee (5) in the third over. Dane van Niekerk (26) hit a few boundaries to give South Africa some momentum in the chase but she was sent packing by Rajeshwari Gayakwad with South Africa 34 for 2 in 5.5 overs.
India managed to stop the run flow but Sune Luus and Mignon du Preez batted cautiously to take the hosts closer to the target without losing anymore wickets. Despite making slow progress, South Africa chipped away at the target courtesy the 50-run stand for the third wicket between Luus and Du Preez.
Du Preez fell, trying to up the ante, in the 14th over with the score on 84/3. India had a sniff with South Africa needing 43 off the last five overs but Tyron dismissed any doubts of a South Africa victory by smashing 34 off 15 balls, including four boundaries and two sixes, to get the hosts to the finishing line.
Tyron fell in the 19th over but by that time the damage had been done and a South Africa win was a mere formality with the hosts needing three off nine balls.
The crucial fourth match will be played at the SuperSport Park in Centurion on February 21 and India will be hoping to wrap up the series win there.


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2003, 2004, 2005 & 2006: Named one
of the 101 best Web sites for writers by Writers Digest Magazine.
Write From Home
Kim Wilson
P.O. Box 4145
Hamilton, NJ 08610
E-mail: kim @ writefromhome.com
Interview with....
Daniel Glick is the
author of
Powder Burn: Arson, Money and Mystery on Vail Mountain and
Dancing: A Father, Two Kids, and a Journey to the Ends of the Earth. He is also
a journalist whose work has appeared in magazines such as The New York Times
Magazine, Rolling Stone, Outside, Esquire and Men's Journal. He was a Washington
correspondent for Newsweek from 1989-94 then a Newsweek special correspondent
based in Colorado from 1994 to late 2000. He is the single father to two
children, ages 11 and 15, and he lives in Lafayette, Colorado.
Dana Mitchells is the online pen name of the writer, poet and book reviewer Dawn Colclasure. She's been published both on- and offline, having work appeared in magazines such as HiP and The Desert Woman, and Web sites such as Griper, The Writer Within, e-fido, Writing Etc. and Just About Write. Her latest article on Absolute Write can be found here. Her book reviews have been published in Crescent Blues E'Magazine under her real name. (Read her latest review). Her Web site is http://dmcwriter.tripod.com/. She lives with her husband and daughter in California, where she is currently rewriting one of her novels.
New to freelance writing?
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Off stage and off camera, it was immediately apparent that Robin Williams was an intelligent, articulate and compassionate human being, an acute mind.
But sometimes, when an incessantly manic comedic character finds itself the object of admiration, fame and sometimes fortune, it's not surprising when the demands of that character take a huge toll on the real person.
Nevertheless I find claims that Robin committed "suicide by asphyxiation" as the tabloids (the bulk of so called "journalism" these days) are reporting, regardless of their "official sources", questionable at best.
Favorite performances include Terry Gilliam's "The Fisher King" and "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen", and Mike Nichols' "The Birdcage". RIP Robin.


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Project Description
Inspired by the nickname "Riverboat Ron" and the Carolina Panthers' recent success during the 2013-2014 NFL season, I used Adobe Photoshop to create this image of Panthers head coach, Ron Rivera, dressed as a riverboat gambler.
Rivera was given the nickname "Riverboat Ron" after showing the instincts of a riverboat gambler when he successfully went for it on fourth-and-1 twice on the first series of a 35-10 victory at Minnesota on Oct. 13.
I originally posted this picture to a Panthers' fan page, reddit.com/r/panthers/. It exploded on the Internet in the following days after Rivera's daughter, Courtney, posted it on Instagram and it later turned into a Twitter post.
The image was featured in articles on ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and The Charlotte Observer. Monday Night Football requested permission to show Riverboat Ron during the 11/18/2013 Panthers vs. Patriots game.
Bold Prediction
I have 100% faith that this image will help propel the Panthers into the Super Bowl.
Thank You!


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Pine Barrens invites you to live life on your own terms. Our community offers many advantages over the competition. Pine Barrens provides one of the most desirable and affordable communities in Jacksonville. Our spacious studio, one, and two bedroom apartments provide the quality and comfort you deserve for a premier lifestyle.
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Call or visit our professional team at Pine Barrens for a personal tour of our community. We look forward to welcoming you to your new home!
Variable, 12-Month


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All employers have a duty to ensure that they provide workers with their rights in employment law laid out plainly. If you believe that you have a dispute over unpaid wages, benefits or holidays and have had no success trying to satisfactorily resolve the matter with your employer, the employment solicitors at George Ide can help ensure your case is resolved to your best advantage, whether through an Employment Tribunal or through other dispute resolution means.
In calculating entitlement to holiday pay nearly all UK workers are subject to the 5.6 week employment law rule. This means that if you work a normal full-time five day week you will be entitled to holiday based on the following formula:
5 days x 5.6 weeks = 28 days.
Similarly, if you are a part-time worker and work three days a week, entitlement will be calculated in the following way:
3 days x 5.6 weeks = 16.8 days
However, if you are someone who works more than a normal five day week, it is important to bear in mind that the right to holiday leave is capped at a maximum of 28 days and, as such, entitlement is calculated using the 5 x 5.6 formula.
Furthermore, depending on the policy of your employer and the particular terms of your contract, bank and public holidays may be included as part of your entitlement – if you have any uncertainty regarding this matter, you should contact your employer or manager for clarity.
Contrary to the actions and attitudes of some employers and employment agencies, agency workers are entitled to the statutory 5.6 weeks and agencies are required by law to allow workers to take their paid holidays.
Things become rather more complex with casual workers and it is best to keep a track of hours worked in order to be able to calculate a precise entitlement.
Wherever you are in the UK, and whatever your trade, position, or profession, if you have an employment law dispute, George Ide can help you resolve it.
For more details about George Ide LLP's private client employment law services please call or email using the details contained in the staff profiles on this page. George Ide also provides employment law services to businesses. For more information visit the Business Services section of this website.


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This is my first Outfit of the day post. Read out more to find out what I'm wearing today.
|The border
|Thread emroidery
|Side panel and pleated middle
|I carried Yellow bag with it
Today I'm wearing a ready-made lawn suit which I bought from Saddar Rawalpindi. The shirt has got off white middle with turquoise thread embroidery. It has got turquoise side panels with yellow colour at the bottom with printed paisleys (I'm a huge paisley fan by the way). The off white section in the middle has got horizontal pleats at the bottom which is very unique I think. I have never seen much of horizontal pleats.
The shirt came with a pair of off white loose trousers and a turquoise plain dupatta. The sleeves are plain off white with black border.
Should I do more OOTD's in future? Do let me know in your comments below.
Take Care :)


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Over the past month I have been thinking what will be my first experiment to get my teeth into. I explored a lot of different ideas but came back thinking that I just love data. When browsing, I came across a little italian company called Embrace. Not only do they specialise in wearables with emotion detecting sensors, but partner with MIT and Rosalind Picard, the mother of affective computing.
In short, the work of Rosalind Picard uses computers to understand our body's physiological state so we can design better devices and better interactions. When studying my masters, I gravitated toward the world of affective computers with the lecturer Nadia Berthouze; focussing my thesis on trying to design for positive and productive interfaces by understanding the emotional state. So it was a no brainer to use this as my first experiment when coming across Embrace. With two products on the market, I was less interested in the daily wearable wrist band which tracks the usual activities. The embrace E4 was the professional, researchers device which could provide a real time feed of heart rate, galvanic skin response, temperature and movement. Not intended for general use, the device came in a little pricey but I was already thinking of amazing ways to use real time emotional feed.
I spent the 3 days with the device, constantly tracking my movements and inner state. The realtime output was visible through an app as well as a data dump on a dashboard however the amount of data available was unwieldy. Not only was I able to see when I was in a REM cycle, but I could see the effect of dreams on my heart rate and movement. During the day, the data was pretty constant and hard to identify whether I was in a meeting or at my desk when analysing the data. The tool was powerful and I dabbled in ways I could use the API to take the data and translate it in different, more creative forms. I toyed with abstracting the self and using colours and shapes to portray happiness, sadness or anger depending on the data.


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Zero no Tsukaima Novels Discussion Thread
View Single Post
2006-08-14, 20:43
Join Date: Apr 2006
Originally Posted by
Srin Tuar
Let me answer that with my take on it as of 75% way through volume 6
Siesta: She knows about it and doesnt like it one bit. She is jealous of Ruiz being a noble, being rich, and thinks those things are what has Saito mesmerized and nothing else. Siesta's feelings for Saito seem 100% genuine to me: she wants him. She is ruthless about taking maximum advantage of her assets. And she is really lacking in inhibitions, unlike Ruizu.
Anrietta: She is a pile of confusion, sometimes liking him for genuine reasons, sometimes cold and uncaring. AFAIK, she has no idea that ruizu has fallen for saito. She recognizes that she could never keep saito permanently, because of her 身分.
Kyuruke: She understand both of them, and has largely given up on taking saito for her own, except in an opportunistic sense. I dont think she is the type to stay fixed on any one man for too long anyway.
Exactly where do you read the novels? Or wait you just bought the japaneese copies and read it?
Also what is AFAIK? or is that a char O_O?
View Public Profile
Find More Posts by garra113


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I'm actually not that much of a telly addict. All the exercise and blogging gets in the way! I'm much more of a blog addict than a TV addict, but I suppose having the Olympics in the background for the last two weeks has become so much the norm that I'm starting to wonder what on earth I did before!
This weekend has been quite busy - not filled with anything particularly exciting, per se, just normal stuff that never gets done. On Saturday morning, for example, I proceeded to clean the stove with all those special stainless steel and glass cleaners you buy but never use! It was sparkling. My mom would have been proud. Then I decided to organise my jewellry. It had all been chucked into a bowl and necklaces were tangled, etc. I have these lovely necklace and earring stands that were literally gathering dust in my bedroom - well, now dusted off and voila - organised bliss!
|Clearly, dusting behind the organised necklaces was not part of the plan!
I did my 5k training on Friday evening and Sunday evening. Friday was a 28 minute run, and Sunday was a 22 minute run. Both were quite hard work. I'm not sure why, but I felt quite sluggish during both runs. I did have relatively big meals before both runs, but left sufficient time between eating and exercising. It may have been the heat - this weekend has been a real scorcher for England. Either way, I just didn't feel my best. My pace wasn't bad though - it's gradually improving and that's what counts.
I got a little bit freaked out because I have a 5k race coming up on 31st August - my first 'proper' 5k race! Anyway, I looked online at the finishing times for previous races and they are ridiculously fast - seriously, the slowest person to finish was like a 70 year old women who finished in 35 minutes! I'm actually starting to worry that I may have bitten off more than I can chew! Part of my says "Go on - do it! It doesn't matter if you finish last, the point is that you finished!". But another part of me is saying "Are you crazy?! Do you want to finish behind a 70 year old woman?!". I'm seriously torn, but I'm not making any decisions right now.
So, speaking of TV. Melinda over at Does this scale make me look fat has a blog hop and the question this week is:
What is your TV guilty pleasure?
Hmmmm.... having just said earlier that I don't watch that much TV, I guess I should probably clarify that! I do watch a lot of TV shows on DVD. This is mainly because I like to watch something just before I go to bed and - confession time - I do like to watch the same episodes and series quite a lot. A friend of mine recently introduced me to Big Bang Theory and I have to say that I absolutely love it. In a weird way, it sort of reminds me of high school. I was always friends with the science geeks, and not being particularly intellectual myself, I always felt a bit like the Penny in the group - the eye candy! Ha! Anyway - I love Big Bang Theory. Sheldon is without doubt my favourite. For those of you who watch it, I love 'Soft Kitty' and I love the fact that Sheldon calls his grandma 'memaw' (I called my grandma 'mamaw' - so I relate!).
OK, that's my confession - now it's your turn! Join in the blog hop - it's a great way to get new readers for your blog!


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The second game in the Modern Warfare series, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, was released on November 10th, 2009 to great financial and critical success just like it's predecessor, although certain fans had mixed feelings due to the game's departure from grounded-realism to scenes inspired by Hollywood action films such as a Russian invasion from Red Dawn. The game's story begins roughly five years after Call of Duty 4, set in 2015 where (Despite the death of Imran Zakhaev) the Ultranationalists have managed to gain public support and Boris Vorshevsky, the official leader of the Ultranationalist Party has been elected president of the Russian Federation.
That the Ultranationalists somehow managed to gain the support of the Russian people is very unlikely, as in Call of Duty 4 it's shown that the Ultranationalists use rocket attacks against civilians, show little disregard to even the elderly and will massacre entire villages. However, in Modern Warfare 2 Boris Vorshevsky has made the Ultranationalists more political, while a psychotic new villain, Vladimir Makarov, has taken over Zakhaev's place. Supposedly, Zakhaev kept Makarov in line, and with his death Makarov has taken over part of the Ultranationalists and split with Vorshevsky. Makarov himself is incredibly violent and bloodthirsty, to whom death means nothing and hates the West more than anyone in the Ultranationalists.
In reality, there was a group known as the National Bolshevik Party that was registered as a terrorist organization by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security which advocated the return of the USSR and was roughly 10,000 strong. However, eventually the NBP dissolved when the leader, Eduard Limonov, pursued a more political approach and founded The Other Russia party. This move caused some members to splinter into other groups such as the National Bolshevik Front, whose ideals are more radicalized than the main NBP as some found Limonov to be collaborating with Western influences.
Also, a real-life terrorist group al-Qaeda was led by a radical named Osama bin Laden (As most people obviously know). The attacks by al-Qaeda on the World Trade Centers on September 11th, 2001 began the War on Terror. Three years ago in 2011, Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. Navy SEALs and was subsequently replaced by Ayman al-Zawahiri who is considered by some to be more dangerous than Osama bin Laden, who in the later years of his life was becoming less active in the leadership of al-Qaeda.
The game's main protagonists are a group of special forces drawn from the U.S., United Kingdom, and Canada (Although it's never specified outside of shoulder patches) called Task Force 141 under the command of an American named General Sheperd. The purpose of TF-141 is to kill or capture Vladimir Makarov, who uses his influence in the Ultranationalists to threaten the West. In Afghanistan, there is a unit of special forces soldiers called Task Force 373, who operates based on a list known as the Joint Prioritized Effects List, a list of Taliban and al-Qaeda members as well as other individuals who assist the war effort against ISAF forces. The operations conducted by TF-373 are kept top-secret, so much so that other ISAF forces are not aware of them and all orders are received directly from officials within the Pentagon.
The plot of MW2 really picks up with a (Controversial) mission named "No Russian" where Makarov, three other Ultranationalists and the player (A U.S. Army Ranger named Joseph Allen, picked by Sheperd to infiltrate the Ultranationalists) attack an airport in Moscow named "Zakhaev International Airport." The attack consists of gunning down huge numbers of unarmed civilians, airport security and FSB (Federal Security Service) forces before Makarov shoots Allen and leaves him to be found by the FSB. The FSB for some reason have "MVD-RF" in Cyrillic on their shoulder patches, meaning Ministry of Internal Affairs – Russian Federation, which is an entirely separate organization. They also utilize more NATO weapons, such as the MP5k, FN F2000, M9 pistol, SPAS-12, and the Israeli TAR-21 instead of locally manufactured Russian weapons. The level is named "No Russian" because Makarov's group only speak English, and also use M240B light machine guns (Used by the U.S. military for example) and leave Allen, an American to be found so that it will cause a war between the United States and the Russian Federation.
While such an event would be extremely detrimental to Russian foreign relations, there would have to be steps taken prior to a full war. For example, not only would the FSB be investigating the incident, but also the SVR (Foreign Intelligence Service) as well as the American FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation), CIA (Central Intelligence Agency), and the NSA (National Security Agency) to determine the cause behind the attack. There is also security footage clearly showing Makarov was the one leading the attack, so why would the man who hates the West more than anyone in the Ultranationalist Party ally with an American soldier, then subsequently kill him? Especially when the Russian authorities know that Makarov thinks of President Vorshevsky as a traitor and has committed previous acts of terrorism against Russia in the past?
Regardless, the Russians use a captured U.S. ACS satellite (Containing security codes or something to that effect) to hack the U.S. early warning network and make it appear that an airborne invasion force is inbound to the West Coast, while the actual force invades the East Coast in an effort to capture Washington D.C. The Russian paratroopers, VDV (Air-Landing Forces) use more NATO weapons such as the Vector, the Striker, the FN FAL, with the only Russian-made weapons being the AK-47, the RPD, and the SVD. This is odd as the Russian military would have to supply the VDV with NATO ammunition while only using very outdated Russian weaponry.
The AK-47 used is also particularly strange as it has synthetic furniture, uses plastic magazines and has an AR-15-style stock. This is strange as this is obviously not an AK-47, but more likely a more modern version such as the AK-74, while the stock is not even an AK-style stock. The only way it could have a different stock is if it was modified by the owner, and there's no reason the Russian military would modify their own rifles with an American stock. Also, if it were being used by the VDV then odds are it would have a folding stock to make it more compact while troops are being transported by airplane.
The Russian forces mostly use BTR-80 infantry fighting vehicles, even though the BMD-3 is developed specifically for the VDV. Very few Russian tanks are ever encountered, although radio chatter sometimes mentions the (Again, outdated) T-72 being used, as well as the T-80 tank. While the T-72 is very lightweight compared to NATO tanks, it is very old and would be at a bad disadvantage to the modern M1 Abrams, as illustrated by Iraqi tanks during the Gulf War and the War in Iraq. Oddly the only aircraft used by the Russians are the MiG-29 "Fulcrum" fighter, the Mi-28 "Havoc" attack helicopter, and the An-124 transport aircraft. The Russian air force only has twenty An-124's, while the MiG-29 is also becoming outdated and would not have the fuel capacity to fly from Russia to the U.S., dogfight then return to Russia without aerial refueling. Unless they were MiG-29K's operating from the Admiral Kuznetsov, Russia's only aircraft carrier although other aircraft such as the Su-27 "Flanker" or the Su-35 "Super Flanker" would have a much better survival rate against U.S. aircraft.
Despite the Russians managing to get the upper hand, an EMP blast disables all electronics and allows the American forces to recapture Washington D.C., while it turns out General Sheperd was a traitor who helped Makarov start World War III so that "There would be no shortage of patriots." The game ends with two protagonists from TF-141 (Whom Sheperd had killed with his own group of special forces called "Shadow Company" to tie up loose ends) killing Sheperd, and subsequently going into hiding with an ally from Call of Duty 4, a Russian named Nikolai who had been a Loyalist and is now himself in hiding too, while World War III rages and Makarov is still in hiding.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is more similar to an action movie than the headlines-inspired story of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and as such the realism begins to decline. As such, this is where visuals take priority over plausibility, and issues both with equipment and politics become more apparent. If you liked the article, comment or suggest another game or topic you'd like to see in the future, and stay tuned for the final article in this three-part series; as always, thanks for reading.


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NBA finalists normally don't rebuild just weeks after reaching the title round -- win or lose. And yet, Orlando Magic General Manager Otis Smith acquired five new players this summer.
Smith's moves probably can't be fully judged until after the playoffs. So far, it's hard to argue with the results. The Magic are 22-8, and four of those players have had an impact.