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Kids Coogee Wide Brim Terry Bucket Hat- Navy Blue
or make 4 interest-free payments of $7.49 AUD fortnightly with More info
The Terry Australia offers a simple Return Procedure. We offer a 30 Day Return Policy from the Date of your Invoice. We strongly believe, every customer should be happy with their purchase.
Our Return Guidelines:
As long as:
- It is within 30 Days from the Date of your Invoice.
- The Original Tags MUST be attached to your item/s.
- Your Product is not Washed or Worn.
- Your Item is not a Sale Item, as they are NON-refundable
Please NB: If you Order is returned and it does not meet the above guidelines, we will NOT issue a Refund.
*Original Postage will NOT be refunded.
To Make a Return/Exchange simply:
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Print off a Return Form and send your Return/Exchange to us
YOU, the Customer, are responsible for the Return Postage, NOT The Terry Australia. Returns will NOT be accepted if you "Return to Sender" and you will be charged an additional Re-Postage Fee if this occurs.
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An Exchange Service is offered, but as you maybe left disappointed by not getting the Item(s) you wish for by the time your Return is sent and received, we therefore suggest you to secure your Item(s) that you wish to Exchange, by placing another order through our Website. If however, you are happy to wait after posting your Exchange, you will be sent an Invoice for $9.95 for your Exchange request to be sent.
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Please choose carefully, as Sale Items are non-refundable.
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Original Shipping Cost is non-refundable. Shipping Costs for your Return for Refund, is by you, the Customer and NOT The Terry Australia.
Refund Process
Once your Return has been received, you will be refunded by the Payment Method of the Original Order and notified by Email. All Refunds take 3-5 Business Days to be processed.
The Terry Australia delivers within Australia, using Standard Australia Post E-Parcel. Orders placed on a Weekend or Public Holiday will be processed the next Business Day. Business Days are Monday to Friday, excluding New South Wales Public Holidays.
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Australian Standard e-Parcel Delivery
- Australian Standard E-Parcel Delivery is a Flat Fee of $9.95 for all Australian Retail Internet Order under $100.00
|Delivery Cost
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|2-7 Business Days
All Orders received by 11am, will be dispatched that same day. This may vary due to high volume orders on any given day. All orders received after 11am, will dispatched the next business day.
**Deliveries to WA & NT, can sometimes take up to 6-12 days for delivery from when the order is dispatched. This is beyond our control.
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|UK, USA, Canada & New Zealand
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|7 - 14 Days
|Rest of the World
All Orders received by 11am, will be dispatched that same day. This may vary due to high volume orders on any given day. All orders received after 11am, will dispatched the next business day.
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A nice wide brim for essential sun protection and totally machine washable. Throw it into any beach bag or backpack for everyday use.
Colour Navy Blue
Logo Red "The Terry Australia"
Stitching Red
Brim Size 8cm wide brim for great sun protection
Inner Lining cotton
Material Luxury Terry Towelling 100% Cotton and rest assured all our hats are pre shrunk.


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It was a busy weekend, but lots of excitement. Thanks to everyone who came out to see Ester Drang play. They left from Philadelphia last night to drive straight through to Oklahoma. They're sadistic folks. My good friend Jeff Cloud (Starflyer 59, Velvet Blue Music) was also around this weekend for some general fun and rock goodness. It's always good to have some old friends around.
I glimpsed the beginnings of Yume Bitsu artwork for their one-sided LP. Adam promises that the music is being remixed and will arrive soon. I'm getting anxious for the next LP in the series to come out. Whichever is finished first.
I've been working on LP artwork for Unwed Sailor and cleaning up the cd artwork for them to repress in time for their October European tour. I'm also anxiously awaiting the arrival of Denison's cds from the manufacturing plant. I'm also hoping that there won't be a baseball strike, but somehow feel that it's inevitable. Very sad.

subset: commoncrawl


text: San Francisco de Campeche, also known as just "坎佩切" is located in the state of Campeche, 墨西哥, on the Bay of Campeche of the Gulf of 墨西哥. Campeche serves as the Capital of the state of Campeche and has a population of over 200,000 people. The city has earned the status of a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its preservation and the quality of the architecture. The city has retained most of the wall fortifications built to defend it from the pirates of the Carribbean.


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By: Garth Stapley; The Modesto Bee
Nut farmers and other Modesto Irrigation District customers can wait to water crops as late as Oct. 3. That's two weeks later than initially planned, giving trees a better chance of surviving the drought and being healthy enough to produce again next year.
The MID board also agreed Tuesday to accommodate another round of farmer-to-farmer water transfers with a Sept. 2 application deadline. And the district might offer to sell some extra water reserved in April by a few farmers who haven't asked or paid for it since then.
Faced with a third consecutive dry winter, district officials in February said the irrigation season would end Sept. 19, several weeks earlier than usual, and capped deliveries at 24 inches per acre, down from 36 in a normal year.
But farmers, especially those raising almonds, have been pressing for later deliveries.
Citing University of California research, Ron Fisher said trees that don't drink just after harvest can lose 74 percent of nuts the following year.
Some almond varieties, such as padre, mission, Monterey and Fritz, harvest later than Sept. 19, growers told the board.
"I've farmed almonds over 50 years and I've never got my harvest completed by Oct. 3," said Cecil Hensley, a former board member. "There is no use having (water) next year if we don't keep our trees alive."
Farmers won't get more than their fair share with the extension; Tuesday's unanimous vote simply allows them to apply their allotment later in the year, explained board member Jake Wenger, who farms.
Board Chairman Nick Blom, also a grower, reminded people that they can rent district wells and canals after the regular season ends, for late-season irrigating.
"It's not the purest snow water, but it's water," Blom said.
To augment deliveries, scores of farmers this year have taken advantage of new programs allowing them to buy or sell MID shares in fixed-price transfers managed by the district or open-market sales at any agreed-upon price.
The district has accommodated more than 100 open-market deals for farmers who submitted transfer requests by deadlines of June 1, July 1 and Friday. Tuesday's 4-1 vote, with Larry Byrd dissenting, adds a fourth deadline of Sept. 2.
"This gives everyone a little more time and flexibility," Modesto farmer Aaron Miller said.
Wenger initially suggested an Aug. 15 deadline. Attorneys Stacy Henderson and Bob Fores said their clients would appreciate more time and noted that MID General Manager Roger VanHoy had acknowledged that his staff has experienced no difficulty processing transfer requests.
In April, 26 farmers indicated interest in the district's allocation return program, meaning they might want to sell a portion or all of their MID water shares, or buy water given up by others. The cost was $200 per acre-foot on either end.
The district set aside enough water to cover those potential deals, but a handful of farmers – fewer than a dozen, said civil engineering manager John Davids – did not sign contracts and have not paid for the extra water they initially said they might buy.
Davids did not know how much water remains in that pot, but said it represents a potential $300,000 loss. Board member John Mensinger said that's "regrettable" and Wenger suggested selling the water to others in what VanHoy termed "something like a last call."
"Let's make it available. I think people would take us up on it," Wenger said.
VanHoy said he will suggest rules for such deals at a future meeting.
The board next meets at 9 a.m. Tuesday at 1231 11th St., Modesto.


text:
- Title
- Increasing the understanding and use of natural archives of ecosystem services, resilience and thresholds to improve policy, science and practice
- Creator
- Pearson, Stuart; Lynch, Jasmyn; Plant, Roel; Cork, Steve; Taffs, Kathryn; Dodson, John; Maynard, Simone; Gergis, Joelle; Gell, Peter; Thackway, Richard; Sealie, Lynne; Donaldson, Jim
- Date
- 2015
- Type
- Text; Journal article
- Identifier
- http://researchonline.federation.edu.au/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/76379
- Identifier
- vital:7551
- Identifier
- Identifier
- Abstract
- Despite the great potential of palaeo-environmental information to strengthen natural resource policy, science and practical outcomes naturally occurring archives of palaeo-environmental and ecosystem service information have not been fully recognised or utilised to inform the development of environmental policy. In this paper, we describe how Australian palaeo-environmental science is improving environmental understanding through local studies and regional syntheses that inform us about past conditions, extreme conditions and altered ecosystem states. Australian innovations in ecosystem services research and palaeo-environmental science contribute in five important contexts: discussions about environmental understanding and management objectives, improving access to information, improved knowledge about the dynamics of ecosystem services, increasing understanding of environmental processes and resource availability, and engaging interdisciplinary approaches to manage ecosystem services. Knowledge of the past is an important starting point for setting present and future resource management objectives, anticipating consequences of trade-offs, sharing risk and evaluating and monitoring the ongoing availability of ecosystem services. Palaeo-environmental information helps reframe discussions about desirable futures and collaborative efforts between scientists, planners, managers and communities. However, further steps are needed to translate the ecosystem services concept into ecosystem services policy and tangible management objectives and actions that are useful, feasible and encompass the range of benefits to people from ecosystems. We argue that increased incorporation of palaeo-environmental information into policy and decision-making is needed for evidence-based adaptive management to enhance sustainability of ecosystem functions and reduce long-term risks.
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications Ltd
- Relation
- Holocene Vol. 25, no. 2 (2015), p. 366-378
- Rights
- Copyright © The Author/s
- Subject
- 0403 Geology; 0406 Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience; Australia; Ecosystem services; Environmental history; Management; Natural resource management; Palaeo-environment; Adaptive management; Ecosystem function; Ecosystem management; Ecosystem resilience; Environmental policy; Interdisciplinary approach; Paleoenvironment; Policy making; Sustainability; Threshold
- Reviewed
- Hits: 1454
- Visitors: 1216
- Downloads: 1


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Here's your list for the week. Your mini kit should include ONLY the following:
- 5 papers (4 patterns, 1 solid)
- 1 ribbon/bow
- 1 flair/button/brad
- 2 frames
- 2 tags/word arts
- 4 flowers/leaves
- 3 misc elements
Here's your list for the week. Your mini kit should include ONLY the following:
Nice, thank you for another great challenge Marisa I can't wait to start! ♥
Fun, I'll have to start putting some ideas together!
Ok, here's mine...
Download link: [http://www.mediafire.com/download/l1nn1e0r6f46566/Hope+%26+Peace.zip]
I have mine here: (When I saw The Studio colors for this month's challenge.I had to give it a go!)
You can find download link in my BLOG
@Cintia: Oh! I love your mini kit
Thak you so much Jiovanna
Beautiful kit, Cintia!
Thank you Beverly!
Your kits are lovely ladies! @Elif - I love your pops of bright colors!
I saw this color palette online and it stuck with me. Hope y'all can find it useful. it's on my blog.
Blog Link: http://mandyslovabledesigns.blogspot.com/2014/01/mini-kit-freebie-ming-gardens.html
Here is mine...
I spotted this palette on design-seeds and couldn't resist it!
Blog Link: Click Here
Beautiful Jiovanna! Love the colors, the frames and your patterns.
@Amanda: Thank you, I really love the color palette
hi u can dl on my blog hope yall like it love all the kits great work everyone
Beautiful mini kits everyone...
All of them are awesome! Thanks!
I missed this soooo much! Life used to be a lot slower....
PS: Extras for this kit are available in the Freebies Forum on my thread
All the kits are gorgeous! Well done to all the ladies
Thank You Ladies you guys did amazing!
Awesome job! Thank you.
amazing brilliant kits from everyone!
Awesome job, ladies. Thanks so much.
I am so late with this, but thought I would go ahead and post it for anyone that is interested. My mini: Love Deeply
your can pick it up here:
Here is a layout I made with it:
Always interested in your designs, Chickie. Thanks for this lovely one. And I really like the layout you made with it.
I thought I'd do some of the older challenges. I am using this one for a blog train. It will be available on my blog starting November 20.


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This is Gale of Gale's Stamping Corner here to bring you Hostess Monday at Digital Delights.
I am one of the new designers having only been here a few short months. So, this is my first Hostess Monday. Since it is that time of year when all the kids are going back to school, I decided to use that as my theme for my card.
I started with an easel card base made with Stamping Up cardstock in Gumball Green. My designer cardstock is also Stamping Up from the Birthday Basics Designer set. The numbers paper made me think of school. My images and sentiment are all Digital Delights. I cut both images out with my Silhouette Cameo. On the front of my card I used the May Cupcake Set and the Back to School Sentiment.
On the inside I used Teachers Rule from the School Accessories Stamp Set.
All images are colored with my Copic Markers. The glitter is Stickles Crystal. I used Stamping Up Oval and Scallop Oval punches to cut out the Back to School sentiment and the Eyelet Border punch on the inside of the card. The buttons are from my stash.
Thanks for dropping by and have a fabulous Monday.


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This page can be viewed at http://www.historycommons.org/context.jsp?item=torture,_rendition,_and_other_abuses_against_captives_in_iraq,_afghanistan,_and_elsewhere_2569
This is a scalable context timeline. It contains events related to the event May 4, 2004: Gen. Miller Downplays His Own Role in Prison Abuses. You can narrow or broaden the context of this timeline by adjusting the zoom level. The lower the scale, the more relevant the items on average will be, while the higher the scale, the less relevant the items, on average, will be.
Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller assumes command of the new Joint Task Force (JTF) GTMO, which is the product of the merger of the military intelligence and military police units at Guantanamo (see October 9, 2002). (Amnesty International 10/27/2004) Although he is reported not to have had any formal training in the operation of prisons or in intelligence, Miller comes to be seen at the Pentagon as largely successful in extracting information from the prisoners. "[H]e oversaw," according to the Washington Post, "a transformation of the… detention center at Guantanamo Bay from a disorganized bundle of tents into an efficient prison that routinely produced what officials have called 'moderately valuable' intelligence for the war on terrorism." (Smith 5/16/2004) The "Tipton Three,"—Rhuhel Ahmed, Asif Iqbal, and Shafiq Rasul—also notice the difference. "We had the impression," Rasul recalls, "that at the beginning things were not carefully planned but a point came at which you could notice things changing. That appeared to be after [the arrival of] Gen. Miller around the end of 2002." Thus, according to the Tipton Three, it is under Miller that the practice of so called "short-shackling" begins, which is the chaining of prisoners into squatting or fetal positions. Miller's arrival also heralds, according to the three Britons, the start of sexual humiliation, "loud music playing in interrogation, shaving beards and hair,… taking away people's 'comfort' items, the introduction of levels, moving some people every two hours depriving them of sleep, [and] the use of A/C air." Also, isolation periods are stepped up considerably. "Before, when people would be put into blocks for isolation, they would seem to stay for not more than a month. After he came, people would be kept there for months and months and months," the three allege. "Isolation was always there." Additionally, the occasional call for prayers is ended under Miller. (Rasul, Iqbal, and Ahmed 7/26/2004 )
In a memo to General Counsel William J. Haynes, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, without an explanation, rescinds his authorization for the majority of the interrogation methods he approved in December (see December 2, 2002). The remaining methods can only be used with his express approval and on an individual basis. (Jehl 8/25/2004) He also forms a panel of top Defense Department officials, known as the General Counsel Interrogation Working Group, "to assess the legal, policy, and operational issues relating to the interrogations of detainees held by the US Armed Forces in the war on terrorism." This should ultimately result in the development of proper interrogation techniques. (MSNBC 6/23/2004) The working group will consist of people working in the offices of Haynes, Douglas Feith, the military departments, and the Joint Staff. Haynes will be the panel's chairman. (US Department of Defense 8/23/2004 )
According to journalist Seymour Hersh, by the summer of 2003, US-led forces have conquered Iraq but it becomes increasingly obvious that there is a growing insurgency movement. However, the US knows very little about the insurgency. A secret military report from the time states, "Human intelligence is poor or lacking… due to the dearth of competence and expertise." Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his close assistant Under-Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Steven Cambone try to solve this problem by authorizing increasingly aggressive interrogation of detainees in Iraq prisons. Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, commander of the Guantanamo (or "Gitmo") prison in Cuba, comes to Iraq with a plan to "Gitmoize" the prisons in Iraq to make them more geared towards interrogation (see August 31, 2003-September 9, 2003). A former intelligence official will later tell Hersh, "They weren't getting anything substantive from the detainees in Iraq. No names. Nothing that they could hang their hat on. Cambone says, I've got to crack this thing and I'm tired of working through the normal chain of command. I've got this apparatus set up—the black special-access program—and I'm going in hot." The program mentioned is Operation Copper Green, which allows secret task forces to capture and interrogate wanted figures with very little oversight, and which is expanded to Iraq around this time. This official continues, "And it's working. We're getting a picture of the insurgency in Iraq and the intelligence is flowing into the white world. We're getting good stuff. But we've got more targets" - meaning Iraqi detainees -"than people who can handle them." As a result, Cambone decides to include some of the military intelligence officers working in the Iraqi prisons in the special access programs that are a part of Operation Copper Green. "So here are fundamentally good soldiers—military-intelligence guys—being told that no rules apply. And, as far as they're concerned, this is a covert operation, and its' to be kept within Defense Department channels." As a result, more and more people, including the MPs (military police) pictured in the later Abu Ghraib abuse photographs, get involved in these covert programs that have almost no accountability and the stage is set for abuses to occur. The official says, "as soon as you enlarge the secret program beyond the oversight capability of experienced people, you lose control." By the end of 2003, this official claims that senior CIA officials were complaining. "They said, 'No way. We signed up for the core program in Afghanistan—pre-approved for operations against high-value terrorist targets—and now you want to use it for cabdrivers, brothers-in-law, and people pulled off the streets.'" The CIA supposedly ends its involvement with the covert programs in Iraqi prisons, although exactly when this happens is not clear. (Hersh 5/24/2004)
There is a growing realization within the Department of Defense that the militant resistance in Iraq against the US and British occupation has been underestimated. An internal Pentagon document notes: "Their ability to attack convoys, other vulnerable targets and particular individuals has been the result of painstaking surveillance and reconnaissance. Inside information has been passed on to insurgent cells about convoy/troop movements and daily habits of Iraqis working with coalition from within the Iraqi security services, primarily the Iraqi Police force which is rife with sympathy for the insurgents, Iraqi ministries and from within pro-insurgent individuals working with the CPA's so-called Green Zone…. Politically, the US has failed to date. Insurgencies can be fixed or ameliorated by dealing with what caused them in the first place. The disaster that is the reconstruction of Iraq has been the key cause of the insurgency. There is no legitimate government, and it behooves the Coalition Provisional Authority to absorb the sad but unvarnished fact that most Iraqis do not see the Governing Council as the legitimate authority. Indeed, they know that the true power is the CPA." The report emphasizes that intelligence on the people involved in Iraq's domestic uprising is insufficient. "Human intelligence is poor or lacking… due to the dearth of competence and expertise…. The intelligence effort is not coordinated since either too many groups are involved in gathering intelligence or the final product does not get to the troops in the field in a timely manner." (Hersh 5/24/2004) The study is a contributing factor in the decision by the civilian leadership of the Pentagon to seek "actionable intelligence" from detainees being held in Iraq's detention facilities (see August 31, 2003-September 9, 2003). (Hersh 5/24/2004)
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld directs his undersecretary of defense for intelligence, Stephen Cambone, to send Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller to Iraq to review the US military prison system in Iraq and make suggestions on how the prisons can be used to obtain "actionable intelligence" from detainees. Cambone passes the order on to his deputy Lt. Gen. William Boykin who meets with Miller to plan the trip. (Higham and Stephens 5/21/2004; Barry, Hirsh, and Isikoff 5/24/2004)
Major General Geoffrey Miller, who oversees the prison at Guantanamo (see November 4, 2002), flies to Iraq for a 10-day consulting trip (see August 18, 2003). He is part of a team "experienced in strategic interrogation… to review current Iraqi theater ability to rapidly exploit internees for actionable intelligence" and to review the arrangements at the US military prisons in Iraq. (Higham, White, and Davenport 5/9/2004; Hersh 5/17/2004; Shadid and Williams 8/24/2004; Savage 2007, pp. 190) The team consists of 17 interrogation experts from Guantanamo Bay, and includes officials from the CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). (Smith and White 6/12/2004)
Attempt to Increase Flow of 'Actionable Intelligence' - The Pentagon's decision to dispatch the team on this mission was influenced by the military's growing concern that the failure of coalition forces to quell resistance against the occupation was linked to a dearth in "actionable intelligence" (see August 2003). (Hersh 5/24/2004) Miller has therefore come to help Brigadier General Barabara Fast improve the results of her interrogation operations. More to the point, he is supposed to introduce her to the techniques being used at Guantanamo. (Hersh 6/21/2004; Worden 7/4/2004) Officials are hoping detainees will provide intelligence on weapons of mass destruction and Saddam Hussein, who is still on the loose. (Smith 5/16/2004)
'Gitmoizing' Abu Ghraib - "[Miller] came up there and told me he was going to 'Gitmoize' the detention operation," Brigadier General Janis L. Karpinski, later recalls. (Higham, White, and Davenport 5/9/2004) Miller will later deny he used the word "Gitmoize." (Smith and White 5/12/2004) During Miller's visit, a Joint Interrogation and Debriefing Center (JIDC) is established in order to centralize the intelligence operations at the prison. Captain Carolyn A. Wood is made officer in charge (OIC) of the Interrogation Coordination Element (ICE), within the JIDC. (US Department of Defense 8/23/2004 ) Before returning to Washington, Miller leaves a list of acceptable interrogation techniques—based on what has been used in Guatanamo—posted on a wall in Abu Ghraib, which says that long term isolation, sleep disruption, "environmental manipulation," and "stress positions" can be used to facilitate interrogations, but only with the approval of Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez on a case-by-case basis. (Smith 5/21/2004) The use of dogs is also included, even though the technique was banned at Guantanamo eight months before by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld (see January 15, 2003). (Diehl 7/19/2004; US Department of Defense 8/23/2004 ) Karpinski later recalls, "He said they are like dogs and if you allow them to believe at any point that they are more than a dog then you've lost control of them." (BBC 6/15/2004) Miller's visit to Iraq heralds some significant changes, which include, first, the introduction of more coercive interrogation tactics; second, the taking control of parts of the Abu Ghraib facility by military intelligence; and third, the use of MPs in the intelligence collection process. During his visit, Miller discusses interrogation techniques with military intelligence chief Colonel Thomas M. Pappas. (Golden and Schmitt 5/13/2004)
'Snowballing' Effect of Chaos, Brutality - "The operation was snowballing," Samuel Provance, a US military intelligence officer, will later recall, describing the situation at Abu Ghraib after Miller's visit. "There were more and more interrogations. The chain of command was putting a lot of resources into the facility." And Karpinski will later say that she was being shut out of the process at about this time. "They continued to move me farther and farther away from it." (White and Higham 5/20/2004) Major General Anthony Taguba (see March 9, 2004) will later determine that Miller's visit helped bring about the complete breakdown of discipline at the prison: "Interrogators actively requested," at Miller's behest, "that MP guards set physical and mental conditions for favorable interrogations of witnesses." In essence, Miller tells guards to "soften up" prisoners so they will not be able to resist their inquisitors. Miller will later deny any responsibility for the Abu Ghraib torture program (see May 4, 2004). (Savage 2007, pp. 190)
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld visits the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. He is guided by Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski. It is not known otherwise who he visits, how long he stays there, or what is discussed. (Shanker 5/14/2004) However, his visit comes exactly at the time (late August-early September 2003) that Rumsfeld expands Operation Copper Green to Iraq, allowing interrogators to use more aggressive techniques, such as sexual humiliation (see (Late August 2003 or September 2003)). Rumsfeld's visit also comes in the middle of a week-long visit to Abu Ghraib by Maj. Gen. Geoffrey D. Miller, who is there with a team pushing for more aggressive interrogation techniques in order to get more actionable intelligence out of the detainees (see August 31, 2003-September 9, 2003).
Shortly after Major General Geoffrey Miller's visit (see August 31, 2003-September 9, 2003) to Iraq, three "Tiger Teams," consisting of six personnel, arrive at the Abu Ghraib prison facility. Each team consists of an interrogator, analyst, and linguist, who work together as a team. The use of Tiger Teams is an approach that has been successfully used at the Guantanamo detention facility. Gen. George R. Fay, in his later report (see August 25, 2004), will say he believes the Tiger Team concept was not appropriate for Abu Ghraib, because the "method was designed to develop strategic level information," instead of tactical intelligence. (US Department of Defense 8/23/2004 )
Maj. Michael D. Thompson arrives at Abu Ghraib at the request of Col. Thomas M. Pappas to develop the Joint Interrogation and Debriefing Center (JIDC), formally established during Major General Geoffrey Miller's 10-day visit (see August 31, 2003-September 9, 2003). By December 2003, the JIDC will have a total of approximately 160 personnel including 45 interrogators and 18 translators. (US Department of Defense 8/23/2004 )
Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba submits the final version of his report (see February 26, 2004) on the investigation into prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib by MPs. He concludes that military intelligence personnel played a part in the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib. But due to the fact that his investigation was limited to the conduct of MPs (see January 19, 2004), he did not investigate military intelligence conduct. Another investigation (see August 25, 2004), however, is launched that will examine military intelligence's role in the abuses. It will be conducted by Maj. Gen. George R. Fay, the Army's deputy chief of staff for intelligence. But the scope of this investigation is also limited from the outset, for two reasons. First, as a two-star general, he cannot hold any officer of his own rank or higher accountable. Second, Fay is appointed by Lt. Col. Ricardo S. Sanchez and therfore the scope of investigation is limited to the people under Sanchez's command. (Hirsh and Barry 6/7/2004) Additionally, Fay may be less inclined to report negatively on military intelligence personnel, since his superior, Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander, head of Army Intelligence, has already stated that the abuse at Abu Ghraib was committed by "a group of undisciplined military police" who were acting on their own, and not upon instructions from military intelligence officers. (Weissman 5/14/2004)
Maj. Gen. Geoffrey D. Miller plays down the significance of his role in the Abu Ghraib abuse, saying his team recommended in September 2003 "having the guard force passively involved in the ability to interrogate rapidly and effectively." (Chan 5/9/2004)
Attempting to stem the flow of bad publicity and world-wide criticism surrounding the revelations of torture at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad and similar reports from Guantanamo Bay, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Pentagon general counsel William J. Haynes, accompanied by Pentagon lawyer Daniel Dell'Orto, give a lengthy press conference to discuss the US's position on interrogation and torture. Gonzales and Haynes provide reporters with a thick folder of documents, being made public for the first time. Those documents include the so-called "Haynes Memo" (see November 27, 2002), and the list of 18 interrogation techniques approved for use against detainees (see December 2, 2002 and April 16, 2003). Gonzales and Haynes make carefully prepared points: the war against terrorism, and al-Qaeda in particular, is a different kind of war, they say. Terrorism targets civilians and is not limited to battlefield engagements, nor do terrorists observe the restrictions of the Geneva Conventions or any other international rules. The administration has always acted judiciously in its attempt to counter terrorism, even as it moved from a strictly law-enforcement paradigm to one that marshaled "all elements of national power." Their arguments are as follows:
Always Within the Law - First, the Bush administration has always acted within reason, care, and deliberation, and has always followed the law. In February 2002, President Bush had determined that none of the detainees at Guantanamo should be covered under the Geneva Conventions (see February 7, 2002). That presidential order is included in the document packet. According to Gonzales and Haynes, that order merely reflected a clear-eyed reading of the actual provision of the conventions, and does not circumvent the law. Another document is the so-called "torture memo" written by the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel (see August 1, 2002). Although such legal opinions carry great weight, and though the administration used the "torture memo" for months to guide actions by military and CIA interrogators, Gonzales says that the memo has nothing to do with the actions at Guantanamo. The memo was intended to do little more than explore "the limits of the legal landscape." Gonzales says that the memo included "irrelevant and unnecessary" material, and was never given to Bush or distributed to soldiers in the field. The memo did not, Gonzales asserts, "reflect the policies that the administration ultimately adopted." Unfortunately for their story, the facts are quite different. According to several people involved in the Geneva decision, it was never about following the letter of the law, but was designed to give legal cover to a prior decision to use harsh, coercive interrogation. Author and law professor Phillippe Sands will write, "it deliberately created a legal black hole into which the detainees were meant to fall." Sands interviewed former Defense Department official Douglas Feith about the Geneva issue, and Feith proudly acknowledged that the entire point of the legal machinations was to strip away detainees' rights under Geneva (see Early 2006).
Harsh Techniques Suggested from Below - Gonzales and Haynes move to the question of where, exactly, the new interrogation techniques came from. Their answer: the former military commander at Guantanamo, Michael E. Dunlavey. Haynes later describes Dunlavey to the Senate Judiciary Committee as "an aggressive major general." None of the ideas originated in Washington, and anything signed off or approved by White House or Pentagon officials were merely responses to requests from the field. Those requests were prompted by a recalcitrant detainee at Guantanamo, Mohamed al-Khatani (see August 8, 2002-January 15, 2003), who had proven resistant to normal interrogation techniques. As the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks approached, and fears of a second attack mounted, Dell'Orto says that Guantanamo field commanders decided "that it may be time to inquire as to whether there may be more flexibility in the type of techniques we use on him." Thusly, a request was processed from Guantanamo through military channels, through Haynes, and ultimately to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who approved 15 of the 18 requested techniques to be used against al-Khatani and, later, against other terror suspects (see September 25, 2002 and December 2, 2002). According to Gonzales, Haynes, and Dell'Orto, Haynes and Rumsfeld were just processing a request from military officers. Again, the evidence contradicts their story. The torture memo came as a result of intense pressure from the offices of Rumsfeld and Vice President Cheney. It was never some theoretical document or some exercise in hypothesizing, but, Sands will write, "played a crucial role in giving those at the top the confidence to put pressure on those at the bottom. And the practices employed at Guantanamo led to abuses at Abu Ghraib." Gonzales and Haynes were, with Cheney chief of staff David Addington and Justice Department lawyers John Yoo and Jay Bybee (the authors of the torture memo), "a torture team of lawyers, freeing the administration from the constraints of all international rules prohibiting abuse," in Sands's words. Dunlavey was Rumsfeld's personal choice to head the interrogations at Guantanamo; he liked the fact that Dunlavey was a "tyrant," in the words of a former Judge Advocate General official, and had no problem with the decision to ignore the Geneva Conventions. Rumsfeld had Dunlavey ignore the chain of command and report directly to him, though Dunlavey reported most often to Feith. Additionally, the Yoo/Bybee torture memo was in response to the CIA's desire to aggressively interrogate another terror suspect not held at Guantanamo, Abu Zubaida (see March 28, 2002). Sands will write, "Gonzales would later contend that this policy memo did 'not reflect the policies the administration ultimately adopted,' but in fact it gave carte blanche to all the interrogation techniques later recommended by Haynes and approved by Rumsfeld." He also cites another Justice Department memo, requested by the CIA and never made public, that spells out the specific techniques in detail. No one at Guantanamo ever saw either of the memos. Sands concludes, "The lawyers in Washington were playing a double game. They wanted maximum pressure applied during interrogations, but didn't want to be seen as the ones applying it—they wanted distance and deniability. They also wanted legal cover for themselves. A key question is whether Haynes and Rumsfeld had knowledge of the content of these memos before they approved the new interrogation techniques for al-Khatani. If they did, then the administration's official narrative—that the pressure for new techniques, and the legal support for them, originated on the ground at Guantanamo, from the 'aggressive major general' and his staff lawyer—becomes difficult to sustain. More crucially, that knowledge is a link in the causal chain that connects the keyboards of Feith and Yoo to the interrogations of Guantanamo."
Legal Justifications Also From Below - The legal justification for the new interrogation techniques also originated at Guantanamo, the three assert, and not by anyone in the White House and certainly not by anyone in the Justice Department. The document stack includes a legal analysis by the staff judge advocate at Guantanamo, Lieutenant Colonel Diane Beaver (see October 11, 2002), which gives legal justifications for all the interrogation techniques. The responsibility lies ultimately with Beaver, the three imply, and not with anyone higher up the chain. Again, the story is severely flawed. Beaver will give extensive interviews to Sands, and paint a very different picture (see Fall 2006). One Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) psychologist, Mike Gelles (see December 17-18, 2002), will dispute Gonzales's contention that the techniques trickled up the chain from lower-level officials at Guantanamo such as Beaver. "That's not accurate," he will say. "This was not done by a bunch of people down in Gitmo—no way." That view is supported by a visit to Guantanamo by several top-ranking administration lawyers, in which Guantanamo personnel are given the "green light" to conduct harsh interrogations of detainees (see September 25, 2002).
No Connection between Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib - Finally, the decisions regarding interrogations at Guantanamo have never had any impact on the interrogations at Abu Ghraib. Gonzales wants to "set the record straight" on that question. The administration has never authorized nor countenanced torture of any kind. The abuses at Abu Ghraib were unauthorized and had nothing to do with administration policies. Much evidence exists to counter this assertion (see December 17-18, 2002). In August 2003, the head of the Guantanamo facility, Major General Geoffrey Miller, visited Abu Ghraib in Baghdad, accompanied by, among others, Diane Beaver (see August 31, 2003-September 9, 2003). They were shocked at the near-lawlessness of the facility, and Miller recommended to Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, the supreme US commander in Iraq, that many of the same techniques used at Guantanamo be used in Abu Ghraib. Sanchez soon authorized the use of those techniques (see September 14-17, 2003). The serious abuses reported at Abu Ghraib began a month later. Gelles worried, with justification, that the techniques approved for use against al-Khatani would spread to other US detention facilities. Gelles's "migration theory" was controversial and dangerous, because if found to be accurate, it would tend to implicate those who authorized the Guantanamo interrogation techniques in the abuses at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere. "Torture memo" author John Yoo called the theory "an exercise in hyperbole and partisan smear." But Gelles's theory is supported, not only by the Abu Ghraib abuses, but by an August 2006 Pentagon report that will find that techniques from Guantanamo did indeed migrate into Abu Ghraib, and a report from an investigation by former defense secretary James Schlesinger (see August 24, 2004) that will find "augmented techniques for Guantanamo migrated to Afghanistan and Iraq where they were neither limited nor safeguarded." (White House 7/22/2004; Sands 5/2008)
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When Paul and Ieva Johnson moved from Minnesota to Florida, they were looking forward to warm weather and plenty of bargain-priced homes. But when the couple made their first offer earlier this year, they quickly discovered that they'd have to settle for the sunshine.
Not only didn't they get the house, says Paul, but "we didn't even get a callback." Over the next two months they put in seven offers — most at or above asking price — before finally making a successful $365,000 bid on a Sarasota three-bedroom.
To their surprise, buyers in some housing markets are finding that they're no longer in the power position. The reason is simple: too many bidders and not enough homes.
A growing number of shoppers are on the hunt, confident that the market has hit bottom, say brokers. Yet many would-be sellers are staying on the sidelines, either because they're underwater or because prices are still painfully low.
Related: Best home deals in the Best Places to Live
In June the number of houses listed for sale nationwide dropped 24% compared with the year prior, sending the supply of homes relative to buying activity down to levels not seen since 2006.
That's led to some stiff competition among buyers, says Sin-Yi Chao Lambertson, a broker in Glendora, Calif.: "I've had listings get 45 offers."
As the economy improves, the supply of homes should bounce back. If you're in the market now, though, and want to ensure yours is the winning bid, take these steps:
Size up your town. First you'll need to determine whether you could be in for a bidding war. Rising price tags are a sign that sellers are gaining ground, but prices often lag the market.
Related: Buy or rent? 10 major cities
Two other stats, available on real estate site Zillow, can mean an area's heating up: a drop in the percentage of homes with list price cuts, and an increasing ratio of sales to asking prices.
Don't skimp on credit. With many sellers worried about deals falling through, you'll need the bank's blessing right away. Don't waste time on prequalification, which is an estimate of how much you might be able to borrow.
"When multiple offers come in, I'll toss out anything that's just prequalified," says Teri Herrera, a broker in Redmond, Wash. Pre-approval based on your credit, income, and assets is better, and full credit approval, which goes through the bank's underwriting department, is best.
Get a veteran on your side. Finding an experienced agent is even more important in a competitive market; you'll want a pro who specializes in working with buyers and who knows the local players and pricing trends.
"One of your first questions should be whether the agent has experience in multiple-offer situations," says Herrera, adding that it's also important to get details on the deals she's closed recently. A good agent can help you determine whether a home is fairly priced, advise you on how much to offer — and back up her counsel with data and examples.
Make a clean offer. When you take the leap, remember that "the best offer isn't always the one with the best price," says George Miller, the Johnsons' Sarasota agent. "It's the one with the fewest hassles and outs for the buyer."
Make yours as straightforward as possible. If it's contingent on selling an existing home, for example, you're unlikely to win a bidding war. Set on a certain closing date? Consider whether it's worth blowing the deal. In this market, the answer is probably no.


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The Faux Fur Coat – Cosy!
I love being cosy and this cold weather isn't helping so I've been wearing one of my favourite faux fur coats by designer Karen Brost. You can look nice and keep warm at the same time – fashion is more pratical than we think it is! If you go to any vintage shop they haveContinue reading


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I'm hoping Chad Billingsley can come back next year and pitch the way I think he can. I've been following his career since he came up as a 21 year old in 2006.
Here's a card that I was able to obtain for less than $5 bucks. I love me some bargains. Especially when it's autographs.
It's a 2012 Topps Golden Moments card.
Click pix for bigger view.
Front & back -
Bring the heat next year Chad!
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Chad Billingsley: 2012 Topps Golden Moments Autograph Card
2 comments:
- bleedingbluegums said...
From where?
- December 18, 2012 at 9:53 PM
- Roberto Baly said...
I got this one at my local card shop.
- December 19, 2012 at 6:51 AM
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


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According to Eurogamer, Xbox Live will get a system-wide audio quality upgrade in concert with the release of Kinect this fall. That means the 13-year-old on the receiving end of your profanities will hear you with crystal clarity.
At the Edinburgh Interactive Festival, Xbox Live Europe GM Jerry Johnson said "it's time for us to move on" from the original 64k audio connection. "A crackly headset on the top of your head – not what people think of when they talk about popular entertainment." So true! Eurogamer via Joystiq]


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Linda's work as an Intuitive Life Path Healer is known internationally for accuracy, clarity and direct guidance. Through Linda's connection with your angels and spirit guides, she is able to enlighten you to your purpose for this lifetime.
My books are channeled from Spirit and a collective consciousness that refer to themselves as Abraham. These books bring healing words of wisdom to touch your heart and provide tools to empower your life, as well as confirm your own spiritual path.


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PATH Emergency Service Unit
P.O. Shield #1038
A Port Authority officer for 16 years, Maurice "Moe" Barry, 48, was assigned to the PATH commuter train system. The resident of Rutherford, NJ, upon hearing the reports of the terrorist attacks, was one of the first on scene when he rushed from Jersey City to Lower Manhattan and then into the North Tower to help in the rescue efforts. As thousands fled the searing flames and smoke of the Towers, Officer Barry was attempting to reach trapped and frightened workers on the upper floors. The last time he was seen, he was on his way to the higher floors to get people out.


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Our Dryer Repair Services in the Gardena area
Gardena appliance repair and service all brands and models of Dryers and Clothes Drying Machines in the Gardena Area. Because Dryer Repair machines do so many things, they may be harder to diagnose than they are to repair. Attempting to repair a dryer without proper training and safety standards is dangerous. Clothes Drying machine should only be repaired by skilled professionals who have the knowledge and experience to safely bring them out of disrepair. Repairs performed by unqualified people risk serious injury or even death. Don't try to fix something unless you are an expert. Call Gardena Appliance Repair Company for the lowest price guaranteed for Gardena Dryer Repair Service.
Below are some tips and frequently asked questions for your drying machine and by following in the future could save you a lot of money and prevent you from having to call our company which is the best Gardena Dryer Repair company in the Gardena area.
The MOST important maintenance for any dryer is a clear exhaust. Many dryer failures usually result from an improperly maintained vent system. This causes premature failure of the bearings, elements, ignitors and other critical parts. Try this before calling Gardena Dryer Repair company for best pricing.
-For best drying results, clean the lint filter before each load. This will save you money over the long haul and less dryer repair services from Appliance Repair service company of Gardena.
-When drying only one or two items, toss in a few items of varying size to promote good tumbling action and improve drying results. Gardena Dryers with an Auto-Dry cycle will not dry properly with a very small load in the tumbler. You will be thanking us in the long-term because of the money saved in having to call our company for Gardena Dryer Repair Services.
-A drying rack accessory sits stationary on the front and rear bulkheads to speed the drying process of items like: caps, sneakers, sweaters, stuffed toys and pillows. Ask your dealer for details or call us for Dryer Repair tips.
-Raising the dryer 6-12 inches with a storage drawer below puts the door opening near level with the Dryer opening and reduces bending.
-Never use white plastic exhaust duct on any dryer!! The stuff is not only flammable, but it increases drying time tremendously! Do not use the foil-looking stuff, either! Use only flexible metal duct or rigid duct. The new periscope vent kits also work well for dryers in tight spaces and will eliminate any chance of hose kinking. But don't kill yourself...pick up the phone and call our trained staff of trained Dryer Repair experts.
Improper venting or a clogged vent will give the following results: Should I call Gardena Appliance Repair Service yet?
Long drying times
- Clothes are hot at end of cycle...bad for Perma-Press items
- Dryer is noisier than usual
- Clothes still hot and damp after cycle ends
- Automatic sensors fail to shut off
- Premature failure of heating element, motor or bearings
-If your vent runs vertically, such as thru a wall to the roof, expect extended drying times (not to mention premature failure of the motor, drum rollers and heater).
Why don\'t clothes dryers have Energy Guide labels on them? Should I call Gardena Appliance Repair Service yet?
Because the efficiency of comparable clothes dryer models is more or less the same, EnergyGuide labels are not required. However, you may want to compare the power consumption for the different models you are considering. This will not only save you money but also less repair call to Gardena Dryer Repair companies.
On the average, how much more will it cost to use an electric clothes dryer over a gas dryer? Should I call Gardena Appliance Repair Service yet?
Generally speaking, gas dryers are less expensive to operate than electric dryers. The cost of drying a typical load of laundry in an electric dryer is 30-40 cents compared to 15-20 cents in a gas dryer. You may visit a local appliance store and check the operating costs of the model you are considering and find out the operating costs for both gas and electricity. Or contact Gardena Appliance Repair Services for our expert opinions.
Is it OK to vent a clothes dryer into a basement? Should I call Gardena Appliance Repair Service yet?
No. It is not recommended to vent dryers to an indoor space. The combination of moisture and heat can produce harmful mold, damage to walls and ceilings, and is generally unhealthy. Indoor vent kits should only be considered as a last resort, and only used in a well-ventilated area. Or contact Gardena Appliance Repair Services for our expert opinions.
Is there a code on dryer vent lines, how long, how many bends? Should I call Gardena Appliance Repair Service yet?
The International Mechanical Code article 504.6 stipulates the requirements for Domestic clothes dryer ducts. In brief, the maximum length of duct permitted is 25 ft. This maximum length should be reduced by 2.5 ft for each 45-degree bend and 5 ft. for each 90-degree bend. The duct should be a minimum nominal size of 4 inches in diameter and shall have a smooth interior finish. Or contact Gardena Dryer Repair Services for our expert opinions.
Why isn\'t my dryer drying my clothes? Should I call Gardena Appliance Repair Service yet?
The dryer vent may be blocked, lint screen may be fully covered, or the heating element is malfunctioning. Review our tips on drying venting to be sure you unit complies. If your dryer vent is blocked, it is a fire hazard and it would be better for you not to run the dryer for an extended period. Or contact Gardena Dryer Repair Services for our expert opinions.
Clothes dryer brands pricing to see if Dryer Repairs are a better option than purchasing
The top four brands—GE, Kenmore (Sears), Maytag, and Whirlpool—account for the majority of dryer sales, although there are some new players in the market. Use this information to compare clothes dryers by brand in the Gardena Area.
Frigidaire Repair | GE Repair | LG Repair Maytag Repair Samsung Repair Whirlpool Repair
Frigidaire dryers are known for their generally good value for the price. The company makes electric and gas products and also sells models that are stackable with the Dryer. Frigidaire dryers range in price from $300 to $900 in the Gardena Area.
This century-old brand offers dryers under both the GE and GE Profile lines. GE is an industry leader in laundry centers. GE\'s latest models provide an exterior drying rack, allowing you to hang clothes to dry, a permanent rack within the dryer, and reverse tumble. Prices range from $320 to $1,000 in the Gardena Area.
This brand, sold at Sears, is known for its reliability and offers a wide choice of models. The Kenmore brand also offers a number of different dryer lines that match its washing machines: Kenmore, Elite, HE5, HE5 Steam, Oasis, and HE2. Some Kenmore dryers use steam to freshen up clothing or remove wrinkles. Prices for the dryers range from $350 with sensor to $1,300 in the Gardena Area.
This company is known for its TrueSteam dryers and the designer colors available for its models. Some models have a steam generator intended to eliminate wrinkles. Prices for LG dryers range from $700 to $1,200 in the Gardena Area.
This Whirlpool-owned brand is positioned as a durable brand but priced a bit lower than Whirlpool-branded products. The company makes electric and gas products and also sells models that are stackable with the Dryer. Prices for Maytag dryers range from $350 to $900 in the Gardena Area.
Over the past three years Samsung has introduced a full line of laundry products, with prices ranging from $750 to $1,350. The company has been broadening its dryer line in the Gardena Area.
This brand, known for innovation, markets itself as the brand that cares about the family and the environment. It offers a wide range of choices in lines that include Whirlpool, Duet, Duet Sport, Duet Steam, Cabrio, Cabrio Steam. Some Whirlpool dryers use steam to freshen up clothing or remove wrinkles. Prices for Whirlpool dryers range from $350 to $1,300 in the Gardena Area.
Repair Services
- Coin Operated Dryer Repair & Dryer Repair
- DishDryer Repair
- Freezer Repair
- Ice maker Repair
- Range / Stove Repair
- Regular Dryer & Dryer Repair
- Refrigerator / Fridge Repair
- Garbage Disposal Repair
- Oven Repair
- Washing Machine Repair
Whirlpool Dryer Repair Gardena / Kenmore Repair Gardena / Gardena Inglis Repair, GE Gardena Repair, Maytag Dryer Repair Gardena, Hotpoint Repair Gardena, JC Penney, Amana Repair Gardena, Norge, Speed Queen, Westinghouse, Kelvinator Dryer Repair Gardena, Frigidaire Dryer Repair Gardena, Gibson Repair Gardena, Montgomery Ward, Signature and many others.


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Venetian Bronze 5-Piece Fireplace Tool Set with Ball Handles
Browse all deals at Home Depot
See more in Garden Tools
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* This offer may contain time-sensitive information and offers. Please check with Home Depot to confirm actual price & availability.
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6900 Pines Rd
Shreveport, LA 71129
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Congress web site updated: 13 March 2015
Agroforestry began to
attain prominence in the late 1970s, when the international scientific
community realized its potentials in the tropics and recognized it as a
practice in search of science. During the 1990s, the relevance of
agroforestry for solving problems related to deterioration of family
farms, increased soil erosion, surface and ground water pollution, and
decreased biodiversity was recognized in the industrialized nations too.
Thus, agroforestry is now receiving increasing attention as a sustainable
land-management option the world over because of its ecological, economic,
and social attributes.
Planned publications include a
state-of-the-art compendium of about 30 chapters, a book of abstracts of
all presentations, and a Congress Declaration. Selected
presentations will be published as peer-reviewed journal articles after
the congress. The Congress Declaration that will capture the
discussions and deliberations during the congress will be developed for
use as a policy document for further promotion of agroforestry.
The official language of the Congress shall be English. Congress deliberations and communications will be handled in English only. All monetary figures mentioned are in US dollars.
The overall congress theme "Working Together for Sustainable Land-use Systems", will be developed throughout the congress in plenary, sub-plenary, concurrent, and poster sessions. World leaders in research and development of natural resources will speak on different aspects of this theme during the inaugural, plenary, and sub-plenary functions.
Plenary Sessions - The congress deliberations will focus on five major topics.
Sub-plenary Symposia - There will be eight symposia, two simultaneously each day, on the following topics.
Oral (Concurrent) and Poster Sessions - Invited and voluntary contributions will be presented in more than 20 oral sessions, up to six of them concurrently, and two poster sessions, under the following themes.
All individuals who wish to present their work in any aspect of agroforestry are invited and encouraged to submit an abstract for consideration as an oral or poster presentation at the congress. Oral presentations of accepted submissions will be scheduled for one of the concurrent sessions. Suggested themes for different sessions are listed under the section "oral (concurrent) and poster sessions." Authors may indicate their session preference in which they wish to present their work. All abstracts, both oral and poster, will be published in the book of abstracts to be distributed at the congress and posted on the web site following the congress. Special issues of relevant international scientific journals will feature selected presentations from the congress. Following the congress, authors of such presentations will be invited to develop and submit full manuscripts for consideration as peer-reviewed journal papers.
The abstract deadline has been extended until 15 October 2003. Abstracts are to be submitted electronically. Hard copies of abstracts may be considered only under exceptional circumstances such as the authors having no access to electronic-submission facilities. Detailed instructions on how to submit an abstract are provided below. Please follow the instructions carefully to ensure that your submission is received and recorded.
All foreign nationals who wish to attend the congress and need a visa for entry into the USA are strongly encouraged to start their visa application process as soon as possible as the application process could take up to six months. Travel reservations should also be made sufficiently in advance as more than 40 million people visit Orlando's world-renowned attractions annually.
Wednesday, 30 June
Congress participants have the opportunity to select one of the three half-day field trips described below to visit agroforestry practices in the region, at no additional cost, on Wednesday, 30 June 2004. The congress registration form provides a place for indicating your field trip preference. These field trips are available for registered congress participants only (not for accompanying persons).
Note: The field trips are within 50
miles (80 km) from Orlando. All field trips will involve walking through
forests/tree stands; field attire is recommended; approximate duration:
1:30 to 6:30 pm.
Agroforestry in an Urbanizing Landscape
Land management practices that are being used to increase income from agricultural and natural-resource activities in central Florida include: growing high value floral and herbal crops under trees; integrating livestock, timber production, hunting and ecotourism; alley cropping with vegetables; and more intensive management of riparian zones. Tour stops will look at these options to maintain rural landscapes north and east of Orlando, and will include discussions on the role of non-timber forest products, silvopasture, and streamside management zones in the southeastern U.S.
Non-Timber Forest Products and Public Land Management
The field trip will visit a forest farming (lucrative fern production) area northeast of Orlando and travel back through the Ocala National Forest to see how collection permits for 'crooked wood' and other special forest products (NTFPs) fit in timber and public land management plans.
Short Rotation Woody Crops (SRWC) (Co-hosted by The Common Purpose Institute)
Fuelwood could be used advantageously for co-firing in the electric utilities that are concentrated in central Florida region and reclaimed phosphate mined lands in the region constitute a significant land base on which SRWCs may be cultivated as fuelwood. This field trip will visit a 50-hectare SRWC plantation approximately one hour southwest of Orlando. Cottonwood (Populus deltoides), eucalypts (Eucalyptus amplifolia and E. grandis), and other species were established, beginning in 2000, on a clay settling area formerly dominated by cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica). Additional information pertinent to this field trip is available at: http://www.treepower.org
The congress will feature an excellent opportunity for organizations to display educational and informative materials to a broad range of international participants.
To register for a Display Space, click here to reserve exhibit space; a credit card will be needed. (via our Secured Server)
OR, click here to print a display-space reservation form, then return the form by fax or mail with payment to the Office of Conferences and Institutes. (You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open and print the PDF form file.)
Thanks to the support of various organizations, agencies and companies, a limited amount of financial aid may be available to selected individuals to help them attend the congress. Preference will be given to young scientists and researchers from developing countries. Assistance may include partial or full coverage of the following congress-related expenses: accommodation (shared), airfare, congress registration, or meals. Our funding situation is, however, still uncertain. We strongly recommend that individuals seeking travel support may also approach local and regional offices of foreign assistance agencies including: USAID (USA), GTZ (Germany), DfID (UK), JICA (Japan), SIDA (Sweden), NORAD (Norway), IDRC and CIDA (Canada), DANIDA (Denmark), Rockefeller Foundation, and Ford Foundation. Regional/Local offices of international agencies such as FAO, UNDP, other UN Agencies, and the World Bank (and Regional Development Banks such as Asian Development Bank, African Development Bank, and Inter-American Development Bank) also are recommended. Although submission of an abstract (for a congress presentation) is not a requirement for funding assistance, applicants should state how their participation will benefit them and contribute to the success of the congress.
Financial assistance applications will be accepted until 30 September 2003 and are to be submitted electronically. Hard copies of the application may be considered only under exceptional circumstances such as having no access to electronic-submission facilities. Detailed instructions for the financial assistance application are provided below. Please follow the instructions carefully to ensure that your submission is received and recorded.
Once again, all foreign nationals who wish to attend the congress and need a visa for entry into the USA are encouraged to start their visa application process as soon as possible.
PRE-CONGRESS WORKSHOPS – 27 June 2004
Two concurrent workshops both focusing on temperate-zone agroforestry will be organized from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon Sunday, 27 June 2004. The workshops will be held at the congress site, the Hilton in the Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando, Florida. The Society of American Foresters will offer 2.5 hours of continuing forestry education credits (CFE). Interested individuals may register for one of the workshops at a nominal fee. Please refer to the congress registration form located under the registration section to enroll in a workshop. Early registration is recommended, as space is limited for both workshops and each will be closed upon filling.
Workshop A - Silvopastoral Practices: Design considerations, establishment, management challenges, and ecological and economic sustainability.
Workshop B - Decision Support Systems in Agroforestry: A hands-on training on "SEADSS," the Southeastern Agroforestry Decision Support System, an online application developed at the Center for Subtropical Agroforestry, University of Florida, for tree and shrub selection and agroforestry decision making.
Pre-Congress Tour:
The tour, sponsored by the University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry, the USDA National Agroforestry Center, and the Iowa State University Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management will leave from and return to Columbia, Missouri. The tour will follow an itinerary that showcases both research demonstrations and on-farm applications of temperate agroforestry practices including windbreaks, riparian forest buffers, forest farming, alley cropping, and silvopasture in Missouri and Iowa. The tour information, the coordinators contact information, registration form and secure online payment are available on the University of Missouri website location http://agebb.missouri.edu/umca/events/mototour.asp
Columbia is located in central Missouri and is approximately 100 miles (160 km) from the Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. It is recommended that participants fly into that airport on 22 June 2004 and fly out of the airport on 26 or 27 June to Orlando. The tour itinerary and registration information will be available under "Upcoming Events" on the University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry website located at www.centerforagroforestry.org. The tour coordinator is Julie Rhoads, Center for Agroforestry, 203 ABNR Bldg., University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA; Phone 1-573-882-3234; Fax 1-573-882-1977; firstname.lastname@example.com.
"SeaWorld" EXCURSION - Thursday, 1 July 2004
special evening is planned at SeaWorld® Orlando for Thursday night, 01
July 2004, 5:30-11:00pm. SeaWorld is the world's premiere adventure park,
with world-class shows, thrilling rides and unforgettable animal
encounters. Upon group arrival by motor coach to SeaWorld, guests will
have over two hours to experience and enjoy the park's shows and exhibits.
Toward the end of the evening, guests will meet to enjoy a late reception
celebration with tropical hors d'oeuvres and entertainment before
returning to the hotel. (The SeaWorld excursion is included with congress
registration; accompanying persons may register separately for the event:
see details under "Registration Information.")
If you require a visa to enter the United States, we urge you to begin the visa application process now to secure an approved travel visa. Visa application forms are available from the US Embassy in your country.
Registration Fee
The registration fee also includes hors d'oeuvres and refreshments at the Sunday evening welcome reception, boxed lunch on Monday, and a morning coffee and an afternoon non-alcoholic beverage daily. All monetary figures are in US dollars.
*Student registration space is limited and will be on a first-come, first-served basis.
Pre-congress Workshop Fee
The pre-congress registration fee will allow each registrant full participation to one workshop. Early registration is recommended, as there is limited availability for each workshop.
Accompanying Persons
For participants arriving with small children: The congress organizers appreciate the importance of Orlando tourist attractions, especially to young children, but regrettably cannot make any arrangements for children. Since the Wednesday half-day field trip is part of the congress participant registration, accompanying persons are not allowed to participate, unless registering for the entire congress.
Refund Policy: Requests for refunds will be honored if a written notification of cancellation is received at the congress secretariat (the Office of Conferences & Institutes, IFAS, University of Florida) by 07 May 2004. A processing fee of $ 50.00 will be deducted from all congress registration refunds. A $10.00 fee will be deducted from all workshop refunds. A $15.00 fee will be deducted from all accompanying persons registration refunds. No refunds will be honored for cancellations after 07 May 2004.
Special Needs: Special needs (such as visual, hearing or walking impairments) of registered participants can be reasonably accommodated if they contact the congress secretariat (the Office of Conferences & Institutes), no later than 10 June 2004. We can be reached by phone at 1-352-392-5930, by fax at 1-352-392-4044, by email at firstname.lastname@example.com. If calling from within the State of Florida, the office can be reached at 1-800-955-8771 (TDD).
Hilton in the Walt Disney World Resort®
1751 Hotel Plaza Blvd.
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830, USA
Telephone: 1-407-827-4000
Fax: 1-407-827-3890
The congress will be held at the Hilton. As an official Walt Disney World hotel, the Hilton is located approximately 18 miles (29 km) from Orlando International Airport. Ideal for incorporating a family vacation, the Hilton is within walking distance of Downtown Disney featuring the Downtown Disney Marketplace, Downtown Disney Pleasure Island, and Downtown Disney West Side. The Hilton also offers complimentary transportation to the four Disney World® theme parks: Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and MGM Studios.
Congress Room Rate
Sleeping rooms have been set aside at the Hilton for congress attendees at a reduced congress rate. The rooms and reduced rate are limited so we encourage participants to begin travel preparations now and reserve accommodations as soon as possible. The special room rate is as follows:
As this is a discounted group rate, it is non-commissionable to travel agents, and Frequent Traveler Points do not apply.
Optional Resort Fee: Hotel guests have the option of purchasing a $6.00 per room per day resort fee (plus sales tax, currently at 6.5%) upon check-in at the Hilton. The optional resort fee includes:
- Admission to the Health Club (currently $6.00 per day).
- Complimentary local and 800 number telephone calls up to a total of 60 minutes (currently $1.10 per minute).
- Late check-out up to 1:00pm. Subject to availability (currently $35.00).
U.S. Government Per Diem Rate: A very limited number of the sleeping rooms are available on a first-come, first-served basis at the 2004 government per diem rate for U.S. Government congress attendees. To receive the special rate, U.S. government officials must present proper identification upon check-in and payment must be made in the form of a government issued check, credit card or purchase order.
All the above group
rates will be honored from 24 June 2004 through 04 July 2004 (based upon
Reservation Deadline and Deposit Guarantee
All hotel reservations must be made by Monday, 17 May 2004. After this date, the discounted group rate (which is considerably lower than the regular rate) will not be applicable even if rooms are available. Please be aware that the rooms will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, and the block of guest rooms may fill before the deadline; therefore we urge you to make your reservation at your earliest convenience. To guarantee the reservation, the hotel will require a first night's deposit, refundable up to five (5) days before your arrival date. All credit cards used to guarantee a reservation will be charged immediately for one night's lodging.
How to Make a Reservation
Sleeping room reservations can be made in one of the following ways. Be certain to state that you are attending the 1st World Congress of Agroforestry (WCA) to receive the special reduced congress rates.
Early Departure Fee
Be certain to advise the Hilton at or before check-in of any change in your planned length of stay to avoid an early checkout fee. The hotel will add an early checkout fee of $50.00 to your account if they are not notified in advance.
Individuals Participating in Pre- or Post-Congress Events
If you plan to participate in events prior to, or after the congress, be certain to incorporate them when finalizing travel plans and reserving sleeping accommodations. NOTE: Post-Congress Tour has been canceled.
Check-In/Check-Out Times
Check-in time is 3:00pm and check-out is by 11:00am. All guests arriving before 3:00pm will be accommodated as rooms become available. The Hilton bell desk can arrange to check baggage for those arriving early and for guests attending functions on their departure day.
The Congress is being organized as a collaborative effort by a diverse group of institutions worldwide. Current sponsors are recognized below. If you are interested in becoming involved in this effort or providing financial assistance in support of the Congress, please contact P. K. Nair.
Current Sponsors
• P. K. Nair, University of Florida/IFAS, Gainesville, FL, USA
• Dennis Garrity, World Agroforestry Centre/ICRAF, Nairobi, Kenya
• Gregory Ruark, USDA/FS, National Agroforestry Center, Lincoln, NE, USA
• Howard-Yana Shapiro, Mars, Incorporated, Hackettstown, NJ, USA
• Michael Bannister, University of Florida/ IFAS, Gainesville, FL, USA
• Catalino Blanche, USDA-CSREES, Washington, DC, USA
• Craig Elevitch, Permanent Agriculture Resources, Holualoa, HI, USA
• Pedro Ferreira, CATIE, Turrialba, Costa Rica
• H. E."Gene" Garrett, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO, USA
• Andrew Gordon, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
• Russell Haines, RIRD Corp., Kingston, ACT, Australia
• Reinhard Hüttl, Technical University of Cottbus, Cottbus, Germany
• James Lassoie, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
• Bjorn Lundgren, International Consultant, Stockholm, Sweden
• Felipe Manteiga, IICA, Washington, DC, USA
• Eric Rosenquist, USDA-ARS, Beltsville, MD, USA
• Syaka Sadio, FAO of the United Nations, Rome, Italy
• Panjab Singh, ICAR, New Delhi, India
• Wayne Smith, University of Florida/IFAS, Gainesville, FL, USA
• Neal Van Alfen, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA, USA
• Hiroyuki Watanabe, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
• Janaki Alavalapati, Shibu Jose, Alan Long, Vimala Nair, Mandy Padgett, Sarah Workman
• Dr. Shibu Jose, University of Florida/IFAS, Milton, FL, USA
Pre-Congress Field Tour Organizer
• Mrs. Julie Rhoads, University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry, Columbia, MO, USA
Wednesday Field Trip Organizers
• Dr. Alan Long, University of Florida/IFAS, Gainesville, FL, USA
• Dr. Don Rockwood, University of Florida/IFAS, Gainesville, FL, USA
• Dr. Sarah Workman and Dr. Michael Bannister, University of Florida/IFAS, Gainesville, FL, USA
Post-Congress Field Tour Organizer
• Dr. Shibu Jose, University of Florida/ IFAS, Milton, FL, USA
NOTE: Post-Congress Tour has been canceled.
Return to Index
Return to Index
Return to Index


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Who Will Win Club 24's 'Get Fit Challenge'?
Starting today through mid October KORD's Greg Delange, 97 Rock's Stacy Lee and 97.5 KOOL FM's Lon Martin to see who can lose the most body fat with the help of Club 24! Each week YOU vote on who you think will win the weekly weigh in and if you're right you'll be entered to win a year's membership at the Club 24 nearest you. At the end of the 18 weeks the DJ who loses the most body fat will receive the grand prize!
You must be a VIP member to play. Becoming one only takes 30 seconds and grants you access to special contests for cool prizes like gear, concert tickets and gift certificates.


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Coffee Blast HELLO Stick 24-pc Case (33.6 oz)
Irresistibly smooth milk chocolate enrobes a creamy, aromatic coffee filling. Each case contains 24 sticks (1.4 oz each) .
More details
Nutrition Information
Lindt chocolate embodies the passion and expert craftsmanship of its Lindt Master Swiss Chocolatiers. Lindt delivers a unique chocolate experience offering a distinctly smooth and rich, gourmet taste.
- Flavor: Coffee
- Piece count: 24
- Chocolate type: Milk Chocolate
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- Net weight: 33.6 oz (953 g)
- Packaging: Wrapper
- Country: Germany
- Gluten free: Yes


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Kate Healy touted the success of TD Ameritrade Institutional's next-gen and female advisor initiatives recently in an interview with ThinkAdvisor at FPA Experience 2013, noting that the two issues are intertwined and one could potentially solve for the other.
While at the conference, the managing director of institutional marketing with the Omaha-based custodian said she had run into a number of students awarded scholarships by the firm in August.
"Last year, we announced the establishment of the program to award 10 scholarships of $5,000 each as well as a grant of $50,000 to a school that offers a financial planning major," Healy said. "I've seen the recipients here, and they come up to me and are so thankful. They are great ambassadors for the program."
The grant was awarded to William Paterson University, in part "because they teach the softer skills with financial planning, in addition to the numbers, which can be tough. But the way they do it is something that can be replicated in other programs," she noted.
It's part of a plan by TDAI to provide $1 million over the next decade to expand the number of college students pursuing a career in the financial services industry. It joins a number of other firms and groups that are actively seeking to replace retiring advisors in the aging advisor industry with a fresh group of new recruits.
She described a day at the stock exchange the company recently hosted with the scholarship winners and their parents, one that also included a visit to the Museum of American Finance before heading back to the exchange to stand on the podium and ring the closing bell.
"The privilege was all ours to host these students. [TD Ameritrade President and CEO] Fred Tomczyk and [TD Ameritrade Institutional president] Tom Nally both spent the day getting to know the students and learning about ways we can help encourage and inspire more students to enter the field. It was a great opportunity for Fred and Tom to spend the day with the next generation of advisors."
As to the issue of attracting more female professionals to financial planning, something with which Healy is heavily involved, she noted the flexibility of the profession is appealing to many women, "as is the opportunity for them to earn high salaries."
"We find that when the financial planning program is offered in the business schools, it attracts fewer women," she concluded. "More schools are beginning to offer it, believe it or not, through their agriculture or home economics schools. The reason is twofold; they're able to grant women more scholarships and the ratio of women to men is higher than 30% to 70% currently seen in traditional programs."
Check out Not Enough Women in the Industry: Raymond James Execs on ThinkAdvisor.


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Keynote Speaker: Julie Cruikshank
Julie Cruikshank's research focuses on practical and theoretical developments in oral tradition studies, specifically how competing form of knowledge become enmeshed in struggles for legitimacy. Her ethnographic experience is rooted in the Yukon Territory, where she lived and worked for many years recording life stories with Athapaskan and Tlingit elders. She has also carried out comparative research in Alaska and Siberia. Her current work draws on theoretical trends linking the anthropology of memory with environmental anthropology. She is presently investigating historical and contemporary encounters among environmental earth sciences and indigenous oral traditions within the recently designated World Heritage Site that spans the borderlands of Yukon, northwest British Columbia and Alaska. Her most recent book is Do Glaciers Listen? Local Knowledge, Colonial Encounters, and Social Imagination (UBC Press, 2005).
Plenary Speakers
Ellen Frankenstein is an organizer and educator for community arts and school-based media projects from Los Angeles to Kake, Alaska and has exhibited her still photography nationally and internationally. Before becoming a full-time filmmaker and photographer, Frankenstein worked with the developmentally disabled, migrant farm workers, and the elderly. These experiences inspired her to take photographs and make documentaries to encourage people to tell their stories and participate in sharing their voice by using the technology themselves. Frankenstein lives in Sitka, Alaska and has helped her spouse sail a 30-foot wooden gaff-rigged ketch sail boat from Mexico to New Zealand. Ellen Frankenstein will screen her film called, Eating Alaska, a wry odyssey into sustainable food choices through the eyes of a former vegetarian on a quest to find the "right" thing to eat on the last frontier.
Ernestine Hayes lived with her grandmother, while her tubercular mother went in and out of the Public Health Hospital across the creek from their old house in Juneau. It was from her grandmother that Hayes received the knowledge of her identity and birthright as a Tlingit woman: "I am Eagle. I am of the Burnt House People Clan. I belong to Wolf House. I am a grandchild of the Gunaxteidi. I am a Kaagwaantann woman. My clan springs from the Sitka." After a long and varied life, Ms. Hayes articulates a sensibility and a way of apprehending the world that is truly indigenous. Therein lies the book's greater wisdom and strength. Blonde Indian is truly a memoir like no other.
Nancy Lord writes from her home base in Homer, Alaska. As a commercial salmon fisherman for twenty-five years (now retired)and later as a naturalist and historian on adventure cruise ships, she takes a particular interest in coastal Alaska and the sustainability of its resources and communities. Ms. Lord will do a reading from her latest book (released in January 2011 by Counterpoint Press) Early Warming: Crisis and Response in the Climate-Changed North. In this new work, she weaves stories of her own experiences in communities of Alaska and Northwest Canada, where the effects of climate change are most immediate, with reports of warming salmon streams, village relocation plans, and "polar bear tourism."


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With snow still everywhere, we aren't selling a thing yet at the nursery. However, that allows me the time to promote. We had a lot of extra catalogs printed and I spent the day distributing 1,100 of them to 62 stops. I started in Winger, went to Erskine, McIntosh, Fosston, Bagley, then Bemidji. I stopped at banks, convenience stores, all medical establishments, dentists, and a couple of manufacturing plants. People are very friendly, even if they haven't heard of the nursery. They like to get a full-color gardening catalog.
The younger the person who greets me, the more suspicious. The older, the more eager they are to get a catalog themselves. Ended up visiting with the cleaning lady at one hospital and she said she would put 20 catalogs in the employee lunchroom, which is really what you want. Another lady in Bemidji asked for 40 catalogs to distribute to everybody she knew. You don't get much better PR than that!
Last weekend, we distributed about 1,000 catalogs at the Grand Forks Home show. The week before that, I distributed about 800 in the Crookston-Grand Forks area.
I try to concentrate upon places who have employees who are well paid, as you might expect.


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Pitfalls of panda pregnancy: Why 14 cubs in China are so remarkable
What's cuter than a panda cub? Fourteen cubs sharing an oversized crib at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China.
Researchers wearing blue surgical gowns, hairnets and face masks presented the furry cubs to the world Tuesday as they gave an update on the recent panda baby boom. A total of 20 cubs were born to pandas from the research base between July 10 and Aug. 30, according to Huang Xiangming, chief of the animal management division there.
Seventeen of those cubs are still alive, Huang told the China Daily newspaper. Two of those cubs are twins born at Zoo Atlanta on July 15 and are doing well (you can follow their progress on the zoo's blog, which includes a webcam). Another cub was born in Spain.
The remaining 14 cubs are at the research base in Chengdu, capital of China's Sichuan province. The biggest weighs nearly 9 pounds and the smallest is only 1.5 pounds, according to the BBC.
The sight of 14 cubs in one place is striking not just for its overwhelming cuteness but because pandas are notoriously difficult to breed in captivity. (It's not so easy for them to breed in their natural habitat either -- only about 1,600 are left in the wild, according to the most recent estimate from the World Wildlife Foundation.)
PHOTOS: Panda cubs meet the press
Among the difficulties is the fact that "pandas are generally solitary as adults," according to the San Diego Zoo, which has a breeding program for giant pandas. If a female is getting ready to go into heat, she leaves scent marks to alert any males who happen to be passing by. But those males had better be in the right place at the right time -- female pandas are "receptive to breeding" for only two or three days a year, the San Diego Zoo says.
In captivity, it's a simple matter for keepers to get males and females together when the time is right. The panda pair in San Diego has conceived five cubs the old-fashioned way. But sometimes the pandas don't know what to do next.
At the Chiang Mai Zoo in Thailand, pandas Chuang Chuang and Lin Hui seemed to be at a loss, so handlers showed Chuang Chuang (the male) some panda porn, according to a 2006 report from National Geographic. The zoo's Prasertsak Buntrakoonpoontawee explained to Reuters that "they don't know how to mate, so we need to show the male how through videos," the NatGeo story says.
In zoos, breeders often resort to artificial insemination to speed along a birth. A male giant panda is given a drug like propofol, ketamine or another anesthetic during the collection process. (This website from the University of Wisconsin's Department of Animal Sciences explains the procedure in great detail.) Then the female is sedated for the insemination procedure. All five cubs born in Atlanta -- including the new twins -- are products of artificial insemination, according to National Geographic.
It can take about two months to know whether the the procedure worked. A panda may look like she's pregnant, act like she's pregnant, and have hormone levels consistent with pregnancy -- but it may all turn out to be a false alarm. Veterinarians call this a pseudopregnancy, and it also happens to other mammals, including mice, dogs and sometimes people, according to Suzanne Hall of the San Diego Zoo's Institute for Conservation Research.
If the pregnancy is real, there can be a delay of as much 100 days as the embryo waits for the right time to implant itself in the uterus, Hall wrote. This period, known as embryonic diapause, begins after the fertilized egg goes through just a few rounds of cell division, Hall wrote. Scientists don't know why pandas (and about 100 other mammals) experience embryonic diapause or what causes it to end. The length of the delay can vary from pregnancy to pregnancy, keeping breeders in the dark about the success of their efforts.
But sometimes everything comes together. More than 100 panda cubs have been born at the Chengdu Research Base.
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The story of the blood miracle of Walldürn dates back to around 1330. This tale has lost none of its fascination; as testified by the numbers of worshippers who go on the pilgrimage during the four-week period to honour the Holy Blood in the minor basilica. And they often travel with great hope for solace in their backpack.
For 375 years, Christians looking for hope have sought out an image of the Mother of God: the Madonna in the small Baroque chapel on Kapellenplatz (Chapel Square) at the heart of Kevelaer. This has transformed the tiny town in the Lower Rhine region into one of the most important Marian shrines in Germany, and made it a meeting place for prayer and silent conversation with God.
As the saying goes: "in vino veritas". If you believe this, then the Wine Route is the ideal pilgrimage for exploring your inner self. This indulgent trail from Koblenz to Konstanz boasts ever-changing scenery and exciting cultural history. The entire route is accessible, so it is perfect for hikers and wheelchair users who like to hike.
Pilgrims on the route between Erfurt, Arnstadt and Paulinzella are not just following in the footsteps of three important strong women, they also get to experience the local and religious history.
The hiking trails and pilgrimage routes that snake through the region of St. Wendel are thought to offer "moments to take pause". They connect Saarland's long-established pilgrimage sites, including St. Wendel, Tholey and Marpingen. They also reflect deep faith and are a source of strength for those who have set out on their journey.
Three routes in Hesse are dedicated to St. Elizabeth, who, in acts of exemplary selflessness, cared for those whose lives had taken a cruel turn: the poor, the sick and the needy. The Elizabeth Paths start in three different places – Frankfurt, Eisenach and Cologne – yet all roads lead to St. Elizabeth's Church in Marburg.
St. Anne: the patron saint of guilds, women, mothers and laymen. Legend has it that the church in Alt Krüssow, Brandenburg with St. Anne's robe was a major pilgrimage destination in the Middle Ages. Pilgrims can now retrace the saint's steps on the St. Anne's Path pilgrimage trail.
If you drop in to the "Pilgerherberge im Alltag" pilgrim hostel in Berlin, you will generally meet like-minded people and experienced pilgrims, as well as many people who would love to give it a go and are looking for tips on how to get started. After all, there are opportunities to go on a pilgrimage just a stone's throw away, on the St. James' Way route through Brandenburg.
Did the European project begin on the St. James' Way pilgrimage? In any case, the Council of Europe certainly ascribes symbolic importance to it for the creation of Europe. The Commission for Westphalian Antiquities used this as an opportunity to research five medieval routes and prepare them to be opened to pilgrims travelling within the St. James' Way network, as well as anybody interested in cultural history.
Embarking on a journey of self-discovery: these days pilgrimages are about more than just "praying with your feet". They make you apply the brakes and rediscover a slow yet soothing pace, while readjusting to the tranquil setting and exploring new things. The St. James' Way route across Lüneburg Heath is a prime example of this.
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Amber and Patrick
Crazy concept: Bollywood meets barbeque: Groom is from Texas and bride is from Los Angeles. She has this vision that she is from a past life of royalty and is obsessed with Indian culture; I didn't quite understand that because to me you're either Indian…or you're not–and she's not. BUT, she really wanted to wear a sari, she really wanted to have the styles and colors of India, including an elephant for her to arrive on, even though in the Indian culture it is the groom that arrives on an elephant. It's called a Baraat, and that's the arrival of the groom by the village to meet the bride for the ceremony.
So I had to weigh in and decide what was appropriate for this wedding. Do I go Texan, country? Indian culture? Do I combine them both? It really wasn't clear to me what to do so I ended up mostly picking the Indian side, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't insulting or offending the Indian culture because the bride isn't Indian. First of all, an Indian bride doesn't arrive on an elephant so I cut that out. Bindi is a piece of jewelry that is worn on the forehead of an Indian bride and she wanted to do that too but I refused to allow this because she's not Indian. However, I did give her the opportunity to wear a sari AFTER walking down the aisle in one of my gorgeous David Tutera for Mon Cheri bridal gowns. All of her bridesmaids did get to wear colorful saris as they walked down the aisle. What was interesting was that I realized that the bride and groom both deserved to have their ideas represented and I made it work. I had an outdoor, country setting for ceremony and it seemed like we were in the middle of Texas while having an Indian style wedding. I also had an Indian celebration in the middle of the country setting and then a country-western dessert dance party. It was all over the place but it all made sense.
For the record, I received the nicest gift I've ever received from a bride from Amber. She got me a star certified with my name which to me was one of the most touching things I've ever gotten from anybody, so this was a great experience for me. It was all around very complicated, right down to the past life readings we got from an oracle I brought in. Supposedly, my bride Amber was from royalty–she was an elephant during royal times in India in a past life. So, I guess she did deserve an Indian wedding.


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