text:
TRECCAfrica II
The project will address one of the world's greatest environmental challenges: food security in the face of climate change, resource depletion and loss of forests, wildlife and environmental services.
Africa inherited inefficient and extractive resource regimes that led also to political exclusion and poverty.
Promoting new governance configurations that are inclusive and decentralised can, by contrast, lead to a virtuous cycle in which we can produce more wealth from less environmental resources for more people, and in ways that are much better adapted to achieve food security in the face of climate change.
Globally, the challenges of food insecurity within the context of climate change are inhibiting economic growth and human wellbeing, and these problems are expected to accelerate.
The food system is also changing as a result of complex and dynamic interactions of a range of socio-economic and environmental factors, including among others, urbanisation, concentration of production, vertical integration, deregulation and economic liberalisation.
As demand for food is expected to double in the next 25-50 years, food systems will be forced to adapt to mounting challenges that current research and global institutions, especially those in Africa are only starting to grasp.
This project intends to promote this adaptation by involving and educating young Africans proactively in the process of developing, understanding and scaling new approaches through 'transdisciplinary' research.
The project proposes to award 86 Masters and Doctoral scholarships and exchange opportunities to some of Africa's brightest young minds, and a further 14 staff exchange opportunities to consortium members to enhance learning and joint research on this theme. In total, 100 individual mobility opportunities are therefore foreseen.
Website: http://www.treccafrica.com/
Applications: http://treccafrica.up.pt/


text:
Valentino Rossi is some of the finest motorcycle racers the world has ever seen. He entered the official Grand Prix racing in 1996. Today, even after two decades, he's still racing and giving neck-to-neck competition to other racers. During all these years, Rossi never changed his helmet brand. He wore an AGV helmet in his GP debut in 1996 and even in the last 2017 MotoGP season. To celebrate this strong bond AGV has launched a new Pista GP-R Helmet, specially dedicated to Rossi.
The motive behind launching this new helmet isn't just because of the bond between AGV and Rossi, but also the fact that Rossi has successfully completed 20 years in this amazing sport! It was way back in 1996 when Rossi made his debut in GP racing at the 1996 Malaysian GP at Sepang. It was the 125cc class and he grasped the 6th position in his first race. In 1997, with 11 victories out of 15 races – a record still unbeaten in the smaller class – another 2 podium finishes and 4 pole positions, Rossi became World Champion for the first time. And so began the journey of one of the greatest motorcycle racers of all time, with no less than 9 titles under his belt.
In his first race, Valentino Rossi had used an AGV X-Vent helmet. It had the famous "Soleluna" ("Sun-and-Moon") motif, a feature that was bound to become a staple of Rossi's helmets throughout his whole career. It had a big red sun on a yellow background on the right side and a yellow crescent moon on a starry black background on the left side, both of which with captivating cartoon faces. The young Rossi chose this split design to reflect the two different sides of his personality, but there are other nice touches which made it simply unique such as his trademark number 46 placed in the middle, right above the visor, a cartoon condom on the top and the words "Go Rossifumi!" in Japanese, "Rossifumi" being one of his early nicknames inspired by childhood hero Norifumi Abe.
The new AGV Pista GP-R is reminiscent of the AGV X-Vent that Rossi used for his first race. It's the most protective helmet ever to be developed. Thanks to the introduction of Race 3 Max Pinlock, a Class 1 Optic visor with 100% Max Vision Pinlock (120), and the patented Visor Lock System (VLS) fastening, the full carbon AGV Pista GP R helmet offers an unbeatable field of vision. The new wind-tunnel-tested "Biplano" spoiler, guarantees optimum aerodynamic performance, while comfort levels benefit from a patented interior structure and an Integrated Ventilation System (IVS). The Pista GP R is the first helmet to offer a hydration system, composed of a series of ducts and a valve located on the inside of the chin piece.
The new helmet is going to be a limited edition model and only 2500 units will be made. It will be available for purchase starting in Feb 2018. It's going to have the same graphics as Valentino's helmet, with the exception of other sponsors' logos and the visor components and accessories.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies.
Turn to the nation's most objective and informative daily environmental news resource to learn how the United States and key players around the world are responding to the environmental...
By Rebecca Kern
Financial disclosure forms for two Energy Department undersecretary nominees show income from energy companies, including Southern Co. and TransCanada Corp., raising concerns from government watchdog groups of potential conflicts of interest.
Mark Menezes, nominated to the No. 3 position at the Energy Department, works in energy sector investment at Berkshire Hathaway Energy Co., while Paul Dabbar, nominated as the undersecretary for science, works in energy sector investment at J.P. Morgan. Both have personal investments in large energy companies. Menezes also previously lobbied for energy clients.
Menezes and Dabbar have said in agreements to the Office of Government Ethics that upon confirmation they will resign from their current jobs and divest from energy-related investments within 90 days. Both are awaiting a Senate floor vote on their nominations.
Government watchdog groups are concerned nonetheless with the potential for the nominees to be influenced by their past energy industry ties once they are confirmed.
"The financial or personal ties that a lobbyist or investor develops in the course of their previous employment may affect their ability to be impartial when making decisions as a representative of the public in the federal government," Brendan Fischer, director of federal and Federal Election Commission reform at the Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit organization focused on election law, told Bloomberg BNA.
Menezes is vice president of federal relations for Berkshire Hathaway Energy Co., and has received income exceeding $5,000 in the previous two calendar years from Southern Co. and Berkshire Hathaway Energy Co., which includes the businesses of PacifiCorp and MidAmerican Energy Co., according to his public financial disclosure form.
Menezes previously was a partner at the law firm Hunton & Williams LLP, heading its energy practice group, where he was a registered lobbyist for energy companies such as Southern Co., Duke Energy Corp., Xcel Energy Inc., and Entergy Corp., according to the Center for Responsive Politics. He also previously worked as vice president and associate general counsel for American Electric Power Co. Inc., one of the largest electric utilities in the U.S., and participates in its pension plan. He said in his disclosure that he would not participate "personally or substantially" in a matter that has a "direct or predictable effect" on AEP unless he first obtained a written waiver. He also said he would divest from Alphabet Inc. and other entities.Dabbar is the managing director for mergers and acquisitions at J.P. Morgan, overseeing energy investments, and has received income exceeding $5,000 in the previous two calendar years from TransCanada and Sempra Energy, along with 19 other large to mid-sized energy companies. He is invested in ConocoPhillips Co. Inc., Chevron Corp. and Phillips 66 Co., according to his public financial disclosure form. He said in his ethics agreement he would divest from these and other companies.Nick Loris, a fellow in environmental and energy policy at the conservative Heritage Foundation, said he's not too concerned about a perception of conflict of interest for the nominees.
"The federal government does robust checks and tries to have as much transparency as possible to ensure those types of activities don't happen whether it's a Democrat or Republican," Loris told Bloomberg BNA.
While the Office of Government Ethics is in charge of signing off on presidential nominees' ethics and financial disclosure forms, each federal agency has a designated ethics official who makes sure a new employee follows through on ethics agreements, an OGE staff member told Bloomberg BNA on background.
"It starts at the top, President Trump himself has an abundant number of conflicts of interest," Paul Seamus Ryan, vice president of policy and litigation at Common Cause, a nonpartisan good-government group, told Bloomberg BNA.
"President Trump ran on the promise of draining the swamp of corruption in Washington, but he instead only filled the swamp...and has brought a bunch of financially conflicted individuals into his administration," Ryan said.
While the president isn't subject to certain conflict of interest statutes, others in his administration must abide by them, he said.
In their ethics forms Menezes and Dabbar said they will exempt themselves from participating "personally or substantially" in any particular matter that would have a direct or predictable effect on their own financial interests, their families or former employers.
One way to avoid legal problems is to sell conflict-producing investment assets, which Menezes and Dabbar said they would do, he said.
The Campaign Legal Center's Fischer said his main concern is when representatives from the energy industry are taking on government posts "it suggests that the regulated are becoming the regulators." A concern is "that there will be an incentive to go on easier on their former friends and colleagues," he said.
The Trump administration has provided a number of waivers to political appointees in office. Walter Shaub, the former director of the Office of Government Ethics, resigned in July due to concerns that the Trump administration's ethics program was too weak.
Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, told Bloomberg BNA that she agreed that the oversight and enforcement of conflict of interest waivers isn't as strong as it should be. She said the OGE is a small agency that's responsible for the entire federal government, and that "it's an onerous task to attempt to hold all political appointees accountable."
To contact the reporter on this story: Rebecca Kern in Washington at firstname.lastname@example.com
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Rachael Daigle at email@example.com
The public financial disclosure for Paul Dabbar is available at http://src.bna.com/rNF
The public financial disclosure for Mark Menezes is available at http://src.bna.com/rNH
The ethics agreement for Menezes is available at http://src.bna.com/rNJ
The ethics agreement for Dabbar is available at http://src.bna.com/rNK
Copyright © 2017 The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
All Bloomberg BNA treatises are available on standing order, which ensures you will always receive the most current edition of the book or supplement of the title you have ordered from Bloomberg BNA's book division. As soon as a new supplement or edition is published (usually annually) for a title you've previously purchased and requested to be placed on standing order, we'll ship it to you to review for 30 days without any obligation. During this period, you can either (a) honor the invoice and receive a 5% discount (in addition to any other discounts you may qualify for) off the then-current price of the update, plus shipping and handling or (b) return the book(s), in which case, your invoice will be cancelled upon receipt of the book(s). Call us for a prepaid UPS label for your return. It's as simple and easy as that. Most importantly, standing orders mean you will never have to worry about the timeliness of the information you're relying on. And, you may discontinue standing orders at any time by contacting us at 1.800.960.1220 or by sending an email to email@example.com.
Put me on standing order at a 5% discount off list price of all future updates, in addition to any other discounts I may quality for. (Returnable within 30 days.)
Notify me when updates are available (No standing order will be created).
This Bloomberg BNA report is available on standing order, which ensures you will all receive the latest edition. This report is updated annually and we will send you the latest edition once it has been published. By signing up for standing order you will never have to worry about the timeliness of the information you need. And, you may discontinue standing orders at any time by contacting us at 1.800.372.1033, option 5, or by sending us an email to firstname.lastname@example.com.
Put me on standing order
Notify me when new releases are available (no standing order will be created)


text:
This charming video by sommelier Anne Strand (aka Wino Woman) pairs Botani with a fresh spring day. Of course I think that Botani goes great with anything all year round, but I like this video because it's not only a bit unusual but also very informative.
Cheers Anne!
Filed under: Botani, Video, Wine | Tagged: Botani, video, wino woman |


text:
Subsequent Reaction to Online Advertisement Disturbance
The objective of this study is to examine subsequent reaction to online advertisements in information searching prior to product purchase. Total valid samples were 283, out of 300 surveyed respondents. The mobile phone is used in this study as objects. The informativeness of online advertisements including dimensions of price/promotion, service, design, and function are what respondents intend to view. For respondents in the ad-neutral cluster, price/promotion and service are factors valued more importantly. On the contrary, for respondents in the ad-annoyed cluster, design and function are more important factors than price/promotion and service in terms of information upon seeing online advertisements. The results indicate internet users are aware of online advertisements and understand the disturbance caused by online advertisements is unavoidable. When internet users are disturbed and the annoyance can be tolerated, the information searching behavior goes on. When internet users are disturbed and the annoyance cannot be tolerated, the information searching behavior is terminated. The effort of designing online advertisements ended up with users' ignorance or termination can be wasted and useless. Marketers and advertisers not only try to attract attentions of online users with advertisements, but also need to restrict the annoyance or disturbance of online advertisements to an acceptable level to reduce the opportunities of being ignored or terminated.
Copyright & License
All Research Plus Journals (RPJ) publish open access articles under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY-SA 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ License which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited & ShareAlike terms followed.
Copyright on any research article in a journal published by a RPJ is retained by the author(s). Authors grant RPJ a license to publish the article and identify itself as the original publisher. Upon author(s) by giving permission to RPJ either via RPJ journal portal or other channel to publish their research work in RPJ agrees to all the terms and conditions of https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ License and terms & condition set by RPJ.
3rd party copyright
It is the responsibility of author(s) to secure all necessary copyright permissions for the use of 3rd-party materials in their manuscript.
Research Plus Journals Open Access articles posted to repositories or websites are without warranty from RPJ of any kind, either express or implied, including, but not limited to, warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. To the fullest extent permitted by law RPJ disclaims all liability for any loss or damage arising out of, or in connection, with the use of or inability to use the content.


text:
This ribbed high neck is an essential this season, especially this two - tone version. With its dainty ribbon tie sleeves and frilled hems, this grey version is the perfect alternative to your usual basic. Even when teamed with a khaki faux leather mini skirt and statement boots, this top still manages to standout. Worn with: Daphnea skirt and Miista boots.
Place your order before 4PM to receive UK Next Working Day Delivery! Any orders placed after this will be dispatched on the next working day. If ordering on a Saturday, any orders placed after 12pm will be dispatched on Monday.
Sale items are non-refundable.
For further information on our delivery rates and free returns service click here


text:
Management Tilburg School of Economics and Management
The Management Team (MT) is responsible for the organization and coordination of education, academic research and operations of the School.
The Heads of Departments are responsible for the organization and coordination of the education and research activities of the departments.
The Academic Directors take care of the policy, quality, programming and organization of the education programs.
The Education Committees advise the Academic Directors with regard to the organization and content of education programs.
The Examination Board is responsible for the organization and coordination of all the matters related to (preliminary) examinations.
The Assessment Committee (AC) advises the MT on tenure and promotion decisions of academic staff.
Faculty Council gives personnel and students - by way of their representatives - to have a say in the policy of the School.


text:
How To Write A Pitch EssayPaper
Sometimes a laugh could be the only weapon we've. Rabbit While I was publishing my book, The Bravery to Laugh: Laughter, Hope and Recovery inside the Experience of Demise and Dying, my dad died. New Year's Eve 1996, he was taken up to the hospital. Seven nights later, only hours after my mom named to share with me that he looked better, dad was no more living. After a frantic call to book a journey and only two hours of sleeping, I obtained over a plane that needed me from my Florida household to my mumis condominium in California also to the burial. I was able to hold my tears back till I was on the plane. There, nonetheless, amidst business-men applying phones as well as the press of laptops, I sat sobbing.
A number of these are belief-based.
So here I had been, I imagined, while my dad died, currently talking about death and wit. The universe was evaluating if I could find something humorous inside the situationand I had been declining me to determine. I discovered nothing to laugh about because the surprise of his demise washed over me. Nothing amusing that is, before the flight attendant required and pushed a-cup of fluid that is hot under my nose, "Here. Consume this. I guarantee it will aid. " "What's it? ," I expected. " Bailey and Caffeine is Irish Creme," he explained.
It is individual nature to need then and to cure the problem set it.
When my tears mingled with wit that's. To begin with, it was eight o'clock inside the morningnot just cocktail time. Next, I chuckled since I have am intolerant, I avoid dairy productsespecially product and, because I never drink caffeine. I refused the attendants despair-aid solution but there is something unique about this anyway. Its witty irony all made me laughnot fun big enough to totally stop the tears but an internal giggle that felt whispered and comfortable that anything would not be all amiss. Then I had another chuckle that is cosmic. I noticed that I had been merely approved the starting terms for my book.
(1988) parenting types and adolescent behaviours: lagos, spring editors.
Throughout the next couple of days, I cried a great deal. I had been incredibly susceptible and feeling alone. My mother kept saying to not cry but I allowed my tears to stream. I realized that notwithstanding the situation's sadness, incidents that were amusing occurred anyway. These made everything to a guffaw from a look and drew me far from my holes. Once we were having a telephone talk with the rabbi among the funniest incidents emerged. While in the Jewish religion, it's standard for that household that is quick to sit Shivah for 7 days following the memorial. Relatives, friends and neighbors visit to pay their condolences. Although informing the rabbi that my brother would be performing his Shivah where he lives, my mama had a slip of the tongue.
Spreadsheets are often found in accounting lessons, and math, science, computer science.
As opposed to declaring " Sitting Shivah ", she blurted out, "Shitting Sivah. " My cousin and I quickly convulsed with wit. My mother, acknowledging what she had claimed, pushed on the telephone in my hand. She was chuckling too hard to communicate. For the next few days, as I went right through this roller coaster journey of fun and holes, I discovered several things about sadness and wit. I realized that it might take time to locate laughter after a loss. I realized too that it may not necessarily be the fall-down-maintain-your-stomach kind of fun that we had experienced when my mother got tongue tied. Often its merely an interior giggle.
Above-all don???t clog yourself with researching.
But whatever form it is, it is there. It's there to provide a temporary respite from our despair. It's there to exhibit us that certainly living continues on despite our decline. It is there to offer trust to us. If you have dropped someone precious to you personally recently, I'll not tell as the attendant explained you to read this guide because, "I guarantee it'll aid. " No one could ensure an immediate treatment that is grief; Idonot feel there's one. What I – can state from my very own encounter, nevertheless, is the fact that wit might help. Probably it will offer you a necessary respite from your tears as well as desire to continue. It is traditional for condolence callers to create food in to the residence so that the surviving don't must prepare or preparing meals each time Shivah is sitting.
The current weather was warm and sunny.
Remembrances of the deceased are frequently mentioned while there. Usually it includes some jovial minutes inside the deceasedis lifestyle. Unesco is hoping the united states will help helpful link fuel its education for all initiative, which is pushing for universal basic education for all children in more than 150 participating nations by 2015. Such as the food the callers that are condolence deliver to supply nutrition for that physique, I believe the points they laugh about supply diet for your spirit.


text:
Today, I was hanging out with my old buddy and co-worker Mike W. for the first time in about half a year. I have to admit he was something of my archetypical ideal of a spendthrift. He earned at least 50% more money than a normal family of four, but he didn't save much. He ate out at expensive restaurants, and even ordered 400台幣 meals to wolf down between classes. I made occasional remarks in the office about the glories of living below one's means, but nobody really seemed to agree with me. He did have really cool tech toys…
And today? He showed up at our friend Martin's place and was all fired up about investing. He was talking about various funds he bought into last year, catching up on his IRA, and even whipped out an investment book in the middle of our conversation and started showing me data on the performance of stocks versus commodities and bonds over the last 200 years.
Martin countered that while investing nuts like myself and now Mike might make some money at it, we'll be spending our time on it, too. It was a good point. I started to talk about how I don't really spend that much time, but then Mike had the perfect answer:
Right now, the only thing making me money is my work. But in 20 years, my money will be making me money. Do you really want to have to rely on your work to make you money indefinitely? What if you're doing that 20 years down the road and you break your right arm? What will support you then? What about when you're just too old to work?
I absolutely love that line of reasoning. I agree that while your net worth is low, it doesn't make sense to spend too much time on investing. I'd probably have more time if I'd just bought an index fund and took all of the time I spent investing and spent it working instead. For me, it is something of a hobby. Still, once you have enough money, it really is worth a significant chunk of your time. Think of it this way: how much time do most people spend comparison shopping for things like computers or TVs? How much money will that save them? Then ask yourself how much their entire retirement savings is worth, and how much it's worth to plan it effectively.


text:
Pages within the "support" section:
1. Introduction
National and European food policy, including regulations and advice to consumers, should take account of the risks and benefits of different foods, i.e. their positive and negative effects on human health. Information on risks and benefits should also be available to other interested parties including food producers, retailers and consumers.
Usually, information on risks and benefits is presented separately. This is unsatisfactory, because it leaves the recipient uncertain as to the balance of risk and benefit. Ideally, information on risk and benefit should be combined to provide an indication of the overall effect of particular dietary choices, i.e. the net health impact.
The central goal of QALIBRA is therefore to develop improved approaches for the assessment and communication of net health impacts of dietary choices. To maximise dissemination and uptake of the project outputs, they will be implemented as web-enabled software.
Uncertainties affecting risks and benefits cause uncertainty about the magnitude and even the direction of the net health impact. Therefore the approaches developed by QALIBRA aim to take account of uncertainties and communicate them effectively to both technical users and consumers.
The specific objectives of QALIBRA were therefore as follows:
1. Develop a generalised modular approach to risk-benefit assessment,
2. Implement the approaches in web-enabled software, with different components adapted to different user groups,
3. Develop targeted risk-benefit communication strategies for integrated risk-benefit analysis, adapted to the needs of different stakeholders,
4. Use the methods and software developed by QALIBRA to carry out detailed case studies on the risks and benefits of oily fish and functional foods,
5. Establish information-sharing and joint activities with BENERIS, another EU-funded project undertaking complementary research,
6. Project management.
This report presents the final version of the QALIBRA risk-benefit framework. It describes how the computations and integration of risks and benefits are performed in the Qalibra tool. It takes into account experience gained in the case studies conducted within Qalibra and comments received from EU-reviewers, the Qalibra Scientific Advisory Panel, and participants at 2 Qalibra workshops in 2009. In addition, it is designed to be compatible with the tiered approach developed by the BRAFO project (see below), another EU project on risk-benefit analysis with which Qalibra cooperated closely.


text:
by Taylor
I typically stick to cardmaking… it's what I love. Decor projects of any kind are a bit out of my comfort zone, but when my kids saw this cute wooden pumpkin basket at Michael's, they really wanted it! So I figured I'd have a go at making it pretty, and I have to say I adore how it turned out!
- Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko: Vertigo Taffeta, Memento: Rich Cocoa, Morocco, Dandelion, Bamboo Leaves; Sheer Shimmer Spritz Gold), Walnut Ink, Fireworks!: Rich Cocoa, Bamboo Leaves, Pear tart, Cottage Ivy; irRESISTible Texture Spray Pear Tart, InkBlushers, Sponge Dauber
- Spectrum Noir: Ultra Smooth White cardstock; alcohol markers
- Crafter's Companion UK: Ivy metal dies
- Stampendous: PenPattern Leaves + coordinating metal dies
- Misc: Darice foam adhesive; Collall All Purpose glue, wooden pumpkin basket (Michael's), eBrush (Craftwell)
1. Spray basket using eBrush. For this one, I've used Spectrum Noir markers OR2, OR3, and TN6.
2. Stamp leaves on white cardstock with Rich Cocoa ink.
3. Using Sponge Daubers, apply Bamboo Leaves, Dandelion, and Morocco ink as desired.
4. Die cut with coordinating leaf dies.
5. Spray Walnut Ink and Sheer Shimmer Spritz Gold on die cut leaves.
6. Die cut three more leaves with Vertigo (not pictured).
7. Die cut ivy pieces and spray as desired with Fireworks and irRESISTable sprays.
7. Adhere cardstock leaves and Vertigo leaves together with a liquid glue.
8. Trim ivy pieces to fit as desired in basket.
9. Attach all pieces to basket, using foam adhesive for dimension.


text:
Audi is adding Amazon Music to the liber veritatis of apps accessible through Audi MMI connect.
Amazon Music lets Amazon Prime members streamlet more than two million songs. There are more than 1,000 playlists and stations to pick out from. Customers with Amazon Music Unlimited get tens of millions of songs that they can access because of the Audi MMI connect app.
Subscribers who have purchased or stored tracks from Amazon Music can tributary those songs to their car as well.
New integrated
The update is for 2017 and 2018 A3, A4, Q7, R8, and TT models, with an increment of the 2018 Q5 and A5. Drivers of those cars will need to update their MMI fix app using in-vehicle Wi-Fi.
The Audi Connect app also supports remote vehicle unlocking, curfew, and valet alerts. It can use apps on your smartphone to access calls, issue messages, and even compose and send emails.
Instant Comments…


text:
The Protagonists
Campaign Journal
Campaign Rules
The Players
Back to Spunkybass
K-50490 is an abondoned world orbiting the star T-50490, which lies just off the Sentinel Worlds in Segmentum Obscurus. Records are sketchy, but it is believed that the world was once a promising mining colony in times before the great Heresy. Little is now known as to the fate of the original Imperial colonists or why they have chosen to abondon the myriad complexes, installations and cities that they have built on the planet, but it is suspected that this is somehow related to the Fall of the Eldar and the birth of the Eye of Terror.
K-50490 is itself an arid world, almost totally desert and with a shrinking ocean (which looks like a lake compared to the land mass). The only habitable region lies half-way to the northern pole (not surprisingly, where the Sea of Plenty - the only large water mass on the planet - lies) and is only about 15,000 square miles, the rest of the world habitiable only by the various indigenous beasts that somehow survive the scorching heat and arid desert environment.
Perhaps the only remarkable thing about K-50490 is the abundance of all kinds of ore and mineral deposits, a fact which prompted its colonization in the first place thousands of years ago. It is this potential wealth of the mines, and the mysterious arrival of the Tau, that made the ensuing conflict inevitable.
The Coming of the Tau
In M41, a large Tau colony fleet was caught in a freak warp storm and literally sucked into the Immaterium. Foreign as the warp is to this young race, a full 80% of the fleet and its crew were destroyed in the initial maelstrom. Of the survivors, a further 95% were either turned insane or suffered debilitating mutations. For an unknown time (some say centuries, others say minutes), the fleet drifted helplessly in the warp until another storm threw it back into real space. The hapless Tau survivors emerged battered and bruised near T-50490. Their ships were damaged beyond repair and they were in a region of space totally alien to them - the star was not even on their charts! With their ships failing, the Tau survivors made for K-50490 (which they named K'ola), where they hastily made planetfall and set up base. There they hoped to wait and be rescued by other Tau, although the likelihood of any Tau ship passing within even a thousand light years was almost zero.
On the Coat Tails of
Unfortunately for the Tau, the space around the Sentinel Worlds was far from deserted. In the wake of the Thirteenth Black Crusade, at least 3 Chaos battle fleets were in the vicinity of K-50490. It was a trivial matter for the Chaos fleets to detect the Tau fleet being flung from the Warp, and all 3 fleets dispatched patrol boats to investigate. When the augurs from the patrol boats reported the rich deposits on K-50490, the Chaos fleets turned and headed for the planet, aiming to garner easy pickings.
Cat and Mouse
This turn of events set the stage for the campaign, as unbeknownst to the Chaos forces, 2 Inquisitorial armies with a supporting Imperial Guard Armored Battleforce had been shadowing their movements, waiting for the right time to strike. When it became clear that the Chaos forces were headed for the undefended K-50490, all prior strategums to cut off the fleets piecemeal were thrown out. It was decided that the Chaos forces were to be denied the planet, with the resources diverted to the Imperium instead.
A fiercely fought space battle between the Imperium and Chaos ensued around K-50490, with neither side gaining the upper hand. Ground forces were landed and established on K-50490, thus starting the campaign to follow.
THE TAU - were led by
the esteemed Ethereal Ang'She. Although they
had no naval assets and were only a shadow of the original force, the
on K-50490 still had extensive ground forces. Fire Warriors were
by Kroot mercenaries, Battlesuits and Hammerheads. The Tau's fortress
hastily thrown up as soon as they detected the approach of the other
MALLEUS - The identity of the Inquisitor leading the Ordo Malleus
is as yet unknown. Its Grey Knights detachment was commanded by Brother
Captain Aernull. Not much is known of this Brother Captain, save that
was once a Librarian with the mysterious Nemesis Legion. The
army is further beefed up by Grey Knights armor, Inqiusitorial
as well as hordes of inducted Imperial Guardsmen.
OF BATTLE OF THE ORDER OF PROMETHIUS - Led by their Canoness
almost the entire fighting force of the Order of Promethius was present
on K-50490. Supporting the battle-hardened battle sisters are scores of
specialized vehicles, such as the Immolator and Exorcists. It is
that the Sisters also brought with them hordes of arco-flagellants as
as penitent engines.
- Under the command of Colonel Gary Lee, this veteran armored
was fresh from a 2-year rest and refit after fighting non-stop in the
wars. These battle-hardened tank-men are equipped with the very best of
Imperial Armor: Vanquishers, Destroyers, Basilisks, Manticores,
Exterminators and of course, the ubiquitous Leman Russ battle tank. The
452nd was also equipped with the experimental Bakuu War-Walker.
SYMPHONY OF SLAANESH - The roots of this Slaanesh army cannot be traced with any confidence at this time, although there is a rumour that they are almost entirely made up of Fallen Dark Angels (of course, don't say that to a Dark Angel marine, or risk painful death). It is known that the army is led by a Prince of Slaanesh, Lord Raziel. He is known to employ daemons of many shapes and sizes in support of his noise marines, along with Defilers and Predators.
CHILDREN, FORCE OF THE HERALD - This particular traitor detachment
is led by Lucidius, Herald of Slaanesh. Not much is known of Lucidius,
save for unconfirmed reports of prior sightings on the battlefields of
GC shortly after the Thirteenth Crusade. Lucidius is known to favor a
force of noise marines, daemonettes and heavy armored spearhead attacks.
- Not much is known of Amun Seth, Prince of Tzeentch. Some say that he
too was a fallen Dark Angel Librarian, while others claim that he was
human to start with, and was really an Eldar Seer from Ulthwe who got
into the clutches of Tzeentch by the promise of unheard-of psyker
This Thousand Sons detachment relies heavily on Thousand Sons space
OF ALAITOC - After a severe mauling by Alaitoc punitive forces led
by Farseer Lahnn, rebel Farseer Dh'anee led
his revolutionary forces far away from Alaitoc to escape the wrath of
Seer Council. It is most unfortunate that the planet they chose to seek
refuge on became the center of attention for so many opposing armies.
Turn 1:
The campaign kicked off to a rousing start as the 3 forces in the center clashed with each other. A Sovetskii mechanized grenadier raiding force attacked the Emperor's Children base and were severely punished - the noise marines were prepared and Sovetskii APCs were destroyed as soon as they came into range. Recon Forces of the Emperor's Children and the Eldar set off to raid the Sovestkii Armored Battleforce fortress. Unfortunately for the Eldar, their Recon Force of anti-armor Vypers were hit by a Force 21 sandstorm - all the Vypers crashed with no survivors. Unsupported, the light raiding force of the Emperor's Children only managed to destroy a single Griffon before they were wiped out.
Meanwhile, the Sovetskii's main Conquest Force headed east towards the Eldar base, and were intercepted by the main Eldar army. In a fiercely fought battle, the outnumbered tankers managed to withdraw back to their base in an orderly manner, leaving 2 of their tanks.
The Emperor's Children's main force moved towards the Daemonhunter's fortress, and was intercepted by a larger Daemonhunters army. Although outnumbered, the Chaos forces fought the Ordo Malleus to a standstill, inflicting heavy casualties. All the Grey Knights, including Brother Captain Aernull himself, were seriously wounded in this encounter, and all the Inquisitorial stormtroopers were cut down.
The Sisters of Battle surveyed the abandoned base they annexed, and decided that time needs to be spent to purify and sanctify the site so as to be fit for habitation of the noble battle sisters.
The Thousand Sons, Slaanesh and Tau consolidated their positions, seeking resources and any valuable aritfacts they can find.
Turn 2:
The battles in the center continued. With virtually all their recon forces disabled, there were no raids this time. The Sovetskii were to find themselves in the unenviable position of being trapped between 2 opposing forces. Their severely depleted Conquest Force sallied out to recover an abondoned Chemical Plant, only to be met by a superior Emperor's Children invasion army. Outnumbered 2:1, the brave tank-men had no choice but to bottle out, but not before the loss of the detachment commander, Captain Paulus, and his Vanquisher and a Bakuu Walker. This Conquest Force has thus been rendered unoperational and retired to their fortress' workshops for refit.
The renegade Eldar capitalized on their earlier victory and made a full-scale assault on the Sovetskii fortress. After a fierce battle that saw the IG lose even more tanks, Sovetskii forces managed to hold on and drive the Eldar invaders back.
The Thousand Sons, Slaanesh and Tau further consolidated their positions, while the Daemonhunters decided to avoid battles in order to recover from their previous mauling. The Sisters of Battle, having satisfied that their base is now clean and fit for the holy order, moved to capture resources.
Turn 3: Martyrs
the Imperium!
In two apparently unrelated battles, the forces of the Daemonhunters and the Sovetskii Armored Battlegroup were driven off K-50490.
The renegade Eldar, now reinforced by vile creations such as Vyper-mounted D-cannons, struck again at the Sovetskii fortress. This time, the beleagured and outnumbered defenders fell to the renewed offensive, the brave tankers fighting to the last battle-cannon shell and to the last man. The desperation of the battle was reflected in actions such as the unidentified tank commander who used his Leman Russ as a gigantic steel-hammer to destroy a Wraithlord by ramming it. But even such valor is futile as by day's end, the proud colours of Armored Battlegroup 452, Sovetskii Imperial Guard were unceremoniously burnt off its mast by heretic fusion guns.
To the north, Brother Captain Aernull rushed his main force back to the Daemonhunters' fortress upon learning that it was about to be assaulted by a large Emperor's Children force. In a one-sided battle, the veteran Emperor's Children crushed the Daemonhunters' army, inflicting 67% casualties on the brave soldiers of the Imperium. The traitor marines then pressed on to their objective, where the small garrison was easily overwhelmed. By day's end, the once sanctified Daemonhunter fortress was defiled with all manner of hideous sigils and icons, not least of which was the Emperor's Children banner flying aloft the fortress keep. Much later, the following note was found on the broken body of an unidentified Inquisitor at the battlefield:
Lessons from a
stint in a campaign:
1] Try to use an army you're familiar with. Helps with longevity.
2] But if you only play & see an average of one game every 2 weeks [vs some ppl's ave 3-6 games/wk] and ITCHing to try out a new army
[hey, 40k is abt having fun too], try to keep it to ONE codex, instead of 2. That just confuses you and tests the DM's patience.
3] Try not to start at the edge of the map, surrounded by 2-3 hostiles. Other ppl can randomly roll good positions away from others, why can't you.
4] If you're surrounded by 2-3 hostiles who can reach you in a turn, try to use armies that doesn't give away so many XP to them [bad for
your allies who have to face vet units after you], and takes lots of RP for you to recuperate.
5] When grabbing land, try to stay out of lines of fire - esp from armies who, fluff wise, WILL clash on or near said piece of land. Getting in the way when you're weak gives XP away [bad for your allies etc], and costs you a lot.
6] When making casualty rolls & invul saves, always stick with 5s and 6s. Others can do it why can't you. Leave the roll of 1s to A&A.
Seeking to even things up for the Imperium, the Sisters of Battle sallied forth towards the Eldar fortress, intending to cripple it in a devastating raid. Unfortunately for the good Sororitas, their punitive force was hit by yet another sandstorm rated at Force 19. All communications with the raiding force was lost, and it is feared that this force has been scattered, lost or destroyed by the storm.
Meanwhile, in orbit around K-50490 the indentured Strike Cruiser St Nickolas engaged its newly-fitted cloaking device in order to manouver discreetly into position to lend fire support for the Order of Prometheus. The Emperor was not on the good ship's side as the cruiser strayed into a fierce space battle. A Thousands Sons cruiser flotilla had ambushed an Eldar destroyer flotilla dispatched to seek & destroy the St Nickolas. The outgunned Eldar were utterly destroyed in the battle, and as the last Eldar destroyer exploded, huge chunks of debris hit the cloaked St Nickolas, setting off a fusion reaction that tore her apart from stem to stern.
The other factions continued to consolidate their holdings, with the exception of the traitor marines of the Symphony of Slaanesh, who threw a week-long orgy to celebrate the birthday of Feefee, Lord Raziel's pet hound.
Turn 4: The
Strikes Back?
With banners proclaiming their faith to the Emperor, and chants and choirs filling the air with hatred for the heretic, the Sisters of Battle of the Order of Prometheus struck at the Eldar main fortress with the zeal only such as they could muster.
The Eldar committed both their operational armies in the defence of the fortress, but to no avail. A lesser Seer led the first line of defense, and while succeeding to destroy most of the Sisters' transports and Immolator, the Eldar were utterly destroyed. The Seer himself barely escaped the battle alive, thanking his gods and his rune armor for deflecting no less than 9 direct hits on his person. Rolling forward, the battle Sisters came upon the Eldar's second and main defense line, and despite a hail of heretical firepower and the good Canoness narrowly missing being mashed by a Wraithlord, the alien fortress fell to the victorious forces of the Imperium. Although closely fought, the fall of the Eldar fortress was a serious blow to the Eldar, who practically lost 2 armies in the battle.
Meanwhile, the other factions continued to consolidate their positions. Most notably, the Tau appear to be cherry-picking the territories they invest in, no doubt due to the trickery and wizardry of the upstart's technology. The Symphony of Slaanesh, party over, moved north, continuing their erratic pattern.
Turn 5: Invasion
the West! (and a dream too far)
Hordes of armored female mon-keigh pour onto the battlefield with burning hatred in their eyes, supported by two hideously crude machines spewing smoke. As they advanced, their leader and a few of their number were flung into the air as their clumsy footfalls set off the hidden mines in glorious bursts of fire. Pinned to the ground, the mon-keigh infantry halted while their two machines rushed forward towards the objective. Where K'at, with his aeons of wisdom, and the farseer, with his nine lives, stood waiting. With unerring ease, K'at dispatched the two machines one at a time, and thus 140pts defeated 1523pts.
And then Farseer Dh'anee woke up with sadness in his alien eyes. Finally, too late, the vision of what could have been were revealed to him. Alas, he had chosen not to fight that day. Ah, well.
Meanwhile in the West, the frosty peace between Lord Raziel and Lord Amun Seth was broken as Raziel's armies poured into Thousand Sons territory. The following was intercepted coming from the Thousand Son's comm-link:
The vile so-called Symphony of Slaanesh under their puppet prince Raziel and his gay pooch shall learn the error of their ways.
We of the Tzeentch have respectfully, and with great effort, avoided any conflict with Raziel by carefully circumnavigating their territories. However, last Saturday's invasion of of Holy Tzeentch Territory has proven that the dog Raziel is not to be trusted.
We shall reclaim what is rightfully ours! The armies of the Thousand Sons will march and liberate the lands fallen to Raziel, and the war will persecuted with extreme prejudice.
K-50490 is now truly ablaze.
Turn 6: A World
It seems like the whole world was ablaze, as throughout the habitable regions of K-50490, war raged in full earnest. The Emperor's Children moved deep against the Sisters of Battle. In two large battles, scores of brave Sororitas were sent to meet their Emperor. Hideously beautiful she-daemons set upon the armed female guardians of the Imperium, with the daemons slaughtering their human counterparts on every occassion. It was only by the skin of their teeth and a miscommunicated order on the Slaaneshi warriors' part that one of the invaded territories was spared.
To the south, the Tau finally took to battle. Intending to exploit the Eldar's apparent weaknesses, they sent forth a mighty conquest force into Eldar territory - only to be beaten back with appaling losses - even their ethereal leader was severely wounded. Tau raiding forces hit upon an Emperor's Children facility. The veteran defenders were fully-prepared and utterly wiped out the Tau raiders, down to the last alien warrior.
A Symphony of Slaanesh detachment ordered to seize territory unwittingly put themselves in the path of a vengeful invading Thousand Sons army. Amidst the gun-flashes that lit up the night sky, only a single Slaaneshi squad survived the massacre.
Korne was truly pleased.
Turn 7: The Fall
the Pretenders
The betrayed Thousand Sons pushed forth their wrath in a devastating two-pronged assault on Lord Raziel's fortress. The Thousand Son High Sorcerer Lord Charybdiis led his fresh detachment in the first wave of attacks, going head-to-head with Lord Raziel himself, along with his host of maddened Symphony warriors. In a bloody 2-hour battle, Raziel's force was wiped out to the man, the disgraced Lord himself lying in a pool of his own blood on the battlefield, his armor and his self punctured by countless bolter craters. Lord Amun Seth himself led the final onslaught into the traitor stronghold, wiping out all resistance in the doomed fortress.
Meanwhile, a Tau battle force invading an Eldar resource station was driven back with appalling losses, including the force Shas'el himself. The Tau fared better in their invasion of the Eldar fortress. The ill-led and ill-equipped Eldar were brushed aside by the superior Tau forces and by day's end, all Eldar had fled the stricken world.
The Emperor's Children suffered some minor setbacks in two separate battlefields. Their invasion of the Sister's of Battle forward fortress was thwarted, as intrepid Arbites fought off hedious daemons and held on doggedly to their fortress. Even so, many Battle Sisters were slain on the field. The Slaanesh attack on the Tau suffered a similar setback as the numerically superior Tau held on stubbornly to the objective.
The war has boiled down
4 surviving factions, all with their own unique strengths and
Who will emerge truimphant?
a decisive manouver, veteran Emperor's Children armies pummel the Tau
in their newly-won fortress. Hard-fought as it were, the battle for the
former Imperial Guard fortress was largely one-sided as droves of Tau
Warriors, Battle Suits and allied Kroot were mercilessly cut down by
Slaanesh warriors. While the Emperor's Children suffered neglible
the fresh Tau garrison was practically destroyed, its survivors
in a pell-mell route.
Battle Sisters of the Order of Prometheus capitalized on the confusion brought by the Tau offensive, and advanced deep into Emperor's Children territory. Indeed, the vanguard of the Sisters of Battle reached as far west as the forward pickets guarding the Emperor's Children northern fortress.
But the most ground was gained by the Thousand Sons. Advancing rapidly over a broad front, Thousand Sons detachments quickly over ran Tau pickets in no man's land. While the lightning-fast invasion captured some Tau territory, the most damage was done well away from the front lines. Thousand Sons special forces infiltrated deep into Tau territory, and using sorcerous trickery and devices, the Tzeentch elite warriors easily subdued rear-echelon Tau warriors and captured substantial resources, which will no doubt be diverted to cause of the Sorcerers.
It has finally come to this. War has been joined by the two largest factions on K-50490. The end is nigh. Or is it?
Turn 9: The
Beginning of the End
The Thousand Sons offensive drove straight East, meeting Tau resistance all along the line. Lord Amun Seth, Prince of Tzeentch, himself led the northenmost tip of the advance. Near a Tau Large Ore Mine (3-6), Amun Seth and a fresh Thousand Sons army under Lord Toriamos clashed with 2 Tau forces. Toriamos went in first in a bunker assault, but were held to a standstill by much smaller Tau forces. Amun Seth led his personal army in the second assault, and wiped out the Tau first line of defence for zero losses. Pressing on towards the Ore Mine, Amun Seth's force came head-to-head with a full-strength Tau battlegroup. In a fierce battle, the Thousands not only seized the objective, but also destroyed 75% of the Tau battleforce for the loss of squad Jembalangus and their Rhino. In this particular battle, the veterans in Amun Seth's force came to shine as they effortlessly brushed aside Tau resistance.
On Amun Seth's southern flank, CF2 under Lord Charybdiis assaulted a forward Tau fortress. The Tau manned their first line of defenses with smaller occupation forces and Charybdiis' veterans wiped out 2 of these forces for the loss of one Rhino. With the crippling and loss of so many battleforces, the Tau high command ordered a reinforcing full-strength Tau battleforce to disengange and retreat to better defensive positions. By day's end Lord Charybdiis' personal banner was aloft at the Tau fortress.
On the southern tip of the Thousand Sons advance, Ahriman himself led the assault on another large Tau Ore Mine. Boasting the Thousand Sons' only Land Raider dispatched to K-50490, the high sorcerer's army encountered no resistance as the installation had been hastily abandoned by the Tau. The Tau battleforce sent to stop him was also ordered to disengange at the very last minute.
Thousand Sons special forces infiltrated deeper into enemy territory and discovered an operational Tau airstrip. However, confused orders led to the special forces rading a different installation, sparing the airstrip from sabotage.
Meanwhile, to the north, the Emperor's Children renewed their offensive. Their attack was met by a refreshed and rearmed Sisters of Battle force. The battle was closely fought at first, but when the Emperor's Children broke through the line, all hell broke loose, and the Battle Sisters were either routed off the field or destroyed.
As the week ended, it looks like Chaos may just truimph again.
During the following week, Tau High Command decided that the situation was untenable. As their leader Ang-She puts it in his own tongue, "Ta' boe lei tah hunn lo" (which loosely translates into, "in light of the prevailing circumstances and the Thousand Sons' mastery of the battlefield and seemingly endless reserves, and with veteran Emperor's Children bringing up the flank, there appears to be no choice but to give up the fight"). Thousand Sons' battlefield losses had been neglible, and were immediately replaced, while Tau armies lost major chunks of their forces (indeed, entire detachments were wiped out). Likewise, the Emperor's Children's small battle losses were also being replaced immediately, while the Sisters of Battle struggle to maintain a respectable force.
The Tau issued a general
withdrawal order, and what forces available were to make their way to
the home fortress for immediate evacuation. Given that only a handful
of Tau starships were operational, there really wasn't much hope for
the hapless aliens. At any rate, most of the advanced Tau forces were
cut-off by advancing Thousand Sons armies. In particular, two large Tau
detachments were left stranded in their mined defensive positions as
every avenue of retreat was shut by both the Emperor's Children and
Thousand Sons. A third full-strength Tau army was intercepted by lead
elements of Amun Seth himself. The fourth major surviving Tau army
managed to return to the home fortress, fighting a running battle with
Ahriman's personal detachment which led the pursuit. A heroic rearguard
action by the Tau ensured that all serviceable starships were loaded up
and left the planet. Unfortunately, space constraints meant that the
Tau only managed to lift-off with around 540 warriors. Of this, a
further 325 were killed when their ship was destroyed in the dash
through the Chaos blockade. Of those that remained on-planet, most
surrendered after a token show of opposition, the greater number
preferring to surrender to the Thousand Sons rather than risk the
depravations of Slaanesh.
Left to themselves, the
Sisters of Battle vowed to fight to the last woman. Which they did.
While Thousand Sons detachments cut-off any possible lines of retreat,
rerinforced and re-armed Emperor's Children stormed the warrior women's
fortresses, cutting all in their path. It is rumoured that one of these
detachments was led by Lucius himself.
Mopping up operations
continued for the next few months, during which isolated small pockets
of resistance by die-hard warriors were blasted to oblivion by massed
ordnance and lance strikes. The Emperor's Children gave recognition of
the Thousand Sons' suzereignity of the planet K-50490, in return for
significant holdings on the planet. Immediately after the Tau
evacuation, the
Thousand Sons' planetary headquarters on K-50490 broadcasted the
following communique:
Saleem (left) and Dhany before an important battle that decided the fate of the Eldar's original fortress. Dhany's Eldar fought bravely but tended to have the wrong detachment at the wrong place at the wrong time :)
Saleem's Sisters of Battle
were severely disadvantaged when he had to skip Turn 1 for various
personal reasons. Also, the loss of Gary's IG and Ainul's Daemonhunters
early in the campaign denied him of true Imperium allies.
We are still looking for pics
of the other generals: Gary, Ainul, Ang
and Azlan, as well as the DM himself, the great overlord farseer
warmaster Kai.
Jon before his first battle against the Thousand Sons. The Thousand Sons had always intended to leave his Slaanesh forces alone. Jon had to break the peace by moving into Thousand Sons' territory. The resulting wave of Rubric marines destroyed all of Jon's opposition in 2 campaign turns. Here, the Thousand Sons and Jon's Slaanesh meet in a one-sided night-fight.
Rizal (standing) and Saleem before a devasting bunker assault. Rizal's EC were by far the most experienced armies, having fought in every single campaign turn. The scariest units in the EC armies were in fact their daemonettes, who at their height gained so much veteran skills that none could opposed them in close combat.


text:
In today's digital age, technology is developing at a break-neck pace and fleet management is often the recipient and early adopter of many of the new options available.
One of the more newsworthy pieces of modern technology has been the "drone." A drone is defined by Webster's as an unmanned aircraft or ship that can navigate autonomously, without human control or beyond the line of the operator's sight.
Package delivery fleets are finding ways to utilize drones for delivering lightweight packages short distances from moving vehicles. But, beyond delivery fleets, I got to thinking about a few other ways truck fleet managers may find some benefits from having a drone in their vehicle fleet.
A utility fleet in Kansas has recently replaced the use of some bucket trucks with drones to "improve the way it conducts inspections." Other fleets may be able to utilize drones for inspections, such as gas and oil fleets that operate in more remote areas.
One possible use for a drone in fleet management would be for quick site flyovers, versus the need to walk or drive around a facility. Want to check in on your maintenance facility? Check over your facility grounds for any maintenance or clean up needs? Just about anything that can be accomplished by a quick walk around can be handled by drones. They can also be used for security purposes allowing security personnel to cover more ground.
Another possible use would be photography and videography. Need to get a photo of your fleet vehicles or facility? Want to make a promo video for your fleet? (Check out what Stertil-Koni Lifts recently did with a drone at a fleet facility in Long Beach, Calif., here).
Furthermore, light package delivery isn't off the table for fleets – perhaps delivering interoffice mail, light parts to a maintenance bay, or other small items.
The possibilities are endless. What are some ways your fleet is currently using drone technology? Or if you aren't currently using it, what other ways do you see it being a possible benefit for fleets? Or, do you see them as a distraction and unneeded in fleet?
May 5, 2017 | by Lauren Fletcher
Source: Work Truck
About NewStream Enterprises (NSE) | NSE, a subsidiary of SRC Holdings Corporation, was formed in 1990 to provide customized supply chain management, such as kitting, packaging, light assembly, warehousing, distribution, and fulfillment, to the world's leading On and Off Highway original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). It is an employee owned company which truly believes in the power of a workforce when each has a stake in outcome. NSE can manage all or any segment of your supply chain process. Our services are customized to fit your requirements. From materials management, to direct order fulfillment, NSE becomes a seamless extension of your business.


text:
I love crafts (crochet, knit, dressmaking, macrame, papermache..)
Mostly, I make crochet toys - amigurumi.
Amigurumi is the Japanese craft of making stuffed crochet or knit toys.
I opened facebook account at the end of September 2011.
I was really surpriced how many lovely pages are there.
My facebook page is: katkas creations - you can see more creations of mine there...
I would love to show people that no matter how old they are, crocheting is not only for grandmothers..
Really, it is quite easy, just try it !!!
I learnt to knit and crochet when I was about 8 to 10 years old. My grandmother showed me bacis.
When I was at school, I was knitting jumpers (without patterns) for myself, sewing dresses, shirts, trousers, even made one underlined skirt suit.
For few years, mostly I was crocheting doilies and crochet angels for Christmas tree..
I knew people were knitting toys, but never know people were making crochet toys...
About 8 years back, I saw first ami ever in our Slovak magazine, it was little Easter bunny, there was written pattern, but also picture pattern (used in German magazines to make doilies). So I tried picture pattern to make bunny, I couldn't do anything from written pattern before.
It was really hard, I used embroidery cotton, I made one bunny, I said to myself "no more"...
I tried it and that was enough for me. I went back to making crochet angels, doilies..
I had a very hard & busy job, I did all the accounts for a big company, making doilies made me more relaxed.
2007, I saw big crochet ami doll in magazine. But I couldn't follow English written pattern. So I made my first crochet doll. I made my first dolls from crochet yarn - there are quite small.
I didn't write down my pattern, so I tried again and I made even smaller dolls (see picture below).
Autumn 2010, I made lovely square crochet blanket for my 2nd baby boy. I didn't have any pattern, so I just design it as I was making it. I was afraid how it would turn out, but it is quite lovely. I kept my notes, so I made the same blanket for my mum, because she saw it... (see picture below)
January 2011 - I made bigger crochet dolls, I used the same pattern, but made dolls from wool (see picture below).
November 2011 - I made pink tiny bunny from English written pattern.
Pattern was from: Stephanie - All About Ami.
Hooray, made my first amigurumi from written pattern... (see picture below).
I will share my patterns soon. I will type and post them here.
Bye for now, Katka


text:
Shinryaku!? Ika Musume - Dropped (5/10)
It's already the second season and they're still elementary in terms of comedy execution. To put it nicely, they need to stop translating so literally from manga frames to anime scenes. To put it bluntly, they need to redo film school.
C³ - Dropped (3/10)
Well, at least we have something that is plainly going to suck right off the first episode. At least I'm thankful that I don't have to wait till the middle of the season to judge, because it is very unlikely to get any better. This is somewhat similar to KoreZombie, but didn't even manage to impress anyone with the series introduction. And KoreZombie isn't even that good. I do like the ED though.
Working'!! - Watching (7/10)
See this.
Maji de Watashi ni Koi Shinasai!! - Dropped (2/10)
I see what their powers do - stir up a whole lot of dust. For an anime that wants to bring in the action right off the bat, the animation quality is unimpressive; and the first episode was suppose to secure your target audience in the first place. It would have been a lot better if the battles aren't full of chipmunks getting pwned by anyone with a name and voice. The rest of it is just people talking tactics LIKE A BOSS. And finally, the characters are soooo one-dimentional.
Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon - On 3 episodes test (6/10)
I'm not so concerned with all that incomprehensible jargon compared to the unorthodox mix of themes and genres. I know the appeal and potential of mixing things up, but this is getting uncomfortably close to that of Asura Cryin' which... wasn't exactly great. I think it's too early to judge this show on its potential, but I'm not getting my hopes up.
Phi Brain - Dropped (4/10)
Wow, you took a day to solve the puzzle? Because you're a f.cking idiot. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the show is really just all about solving common puzzles. The only real twist is that the puzzles are brought into real life situations but WE KNOW all that life-and-death shit is just crappy drama they added to put a little spin into things. Sure we are doing this shounen-style with a lot of GAR and coolness and unlocked powers and secret lineages but how would all these actually make the show interesting or unique? I have no idea.
Tamayura - Watching (8/10)
Whew. This is practically the only show so far that gave me what I wanted. The tranquil, soothing atmosphere didn't quite match to Aria's, YET, but at least the show is right on track to present what it intends to.
Maken-Ki! - Dropped (2/10)
I counted 30 panty shots in the first episode alone and I wasn't even paying attention. I sure I could have got to 40 if I really wanted to but hey... If I really needed so much panty shots, I'd watch hentai instead. I mentioned that the story have an interesting shounen side to it as well, but the interesting part comes after a long, boring stretch of character introductions and fanservice. Not to mention that the girls have paper-thin personalities and the male lead is simply too painful to look at.
Mashiro-iro Symphony - On 3 episodes test (6/10)
Ok, despite what I've said about the show, Manglobe's excellent production values changed my mind... and the character concepts as well. That's a world apart from Akane-iro's crappy animation and shelf stock girls. Never mind that the premises are about as unique as the other nine thousand and one VN adaptation out there. A well-directed show, no matter how formulaic, does deserves some attention.
Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai - Still trying to figure this out (?/10)
I've previewed the manga and did not understand why people liked this. I watched the preview episode and still did not understand. Now that I've watch the first episode, I just had to feel dumb for saying the same thing three times over. Ok, not really, but surprisingly the "story" is told way better in anime format, and I've began to see, if only a little, to where the appeal's at. Simply put, it's a bit like K-On, where the whole point is to watch the characters do mundane stuff... The only difference is that this show doesn't runs on a comedic and cheerful atmosphere. I still have pretty low expectations of this, and I'm still trying to figure this anime out to see if it's something actually worth watching.
Shakugan no Shana Final - Watching (6/10)
Now, I don't know how the light novels planned it out, but the "Yuji turning over to the dark side" thing feels like something pulled out of someone's ass for the sake of the third season. It would be unwise for me to blast the storyline right away, but I thought at least they could give some hints or reasons for how that could have happened in relation of the previous incidents... The good thing is how the episode manage damp this sudden change effectively, and did an excellent job of transiting the events from the last season. I'm really watching this just to finish up on the franchise though, not much more.
I'm surprised. The artwork suggested a pretty decent budget, and I really wonder how that could have happened for a series with such ridiculous premises. I don't think I would actually come to appreciate the concept of the show, but I really liked the style of the director to give it a real shot. The character designs and animation quality are surprisingly good. I hope to see more to Ben-To other than the concept of the fights, and if I'm lucky there would be a good story underlying it.
|And for Relena, Lacus and Ismail
I can totally see why the Gundam series doesn't want to reinvent itself. After all, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. But it gets to the point where the show becomes completely formulaic... and that takes the value out of the show. The similarities between the different Gundam series boils right down to the setting, the back story, the origin of the gundam, reason for fighting, protagonist archetype and even supporting character reactions. We just have to wait for the mask guy to appear and we can call it "Gundam: the 86th remake". The animation is more kiddy than I thought too... and no, this does not make it unique whatsoever.
The show is a full-on thriller, and the first episode showed me that knowing the story would almost completely bring the fun out of it. I do like what I'm seeing and I though the story made an excellent transition into anime, but I feel that there really aren't any point for people who has already read through the manga... so it's off my watch list. Anyway, a lot of people complained about Murata Tomosa voicing Yuno. I don't know what kind of favors she did to keep landing on lead roles with any prior experience, but her version of Yuno isn't all that bad... It didn't quite fit the image I had of the girl though.
This is a lousy season for me... there are only 3 shows that would definitely make it to my watch list. I would say that only 2 out of the 4 pending would make it, which brings it to the total of 5... and only just one met my expectations. Well, at least there's still Guilty Crown (which premieres today) and Last Exile to look forward to...


text:
Toronto International Film Festival 2015 - UPDATE #7
The Family Fang
Directed by Jason Bateman
Jason Bateman's second directorial effort, after 2013's Bad Words, The Family Fang follows siblings Baxter (Bateman) and Annie (Nicole Kidman) as they're forced to deal with their estranged parents (Christopher Walken's Caleb and Maryann Plunkett's Camille) - with the rift between the characters stemming from a childhood in which Caleb and Camille forced their kids to participate in a series of experimental, Punk'd-like scenarios. The Family Fang is, unfortunately, a picture-perfect example of the sophomore slump, as the movie, which is more drama than comedy, trudges along at an often unbearably deliberate pace - with the film's admittedly agreeable performances unable to compensate for a narrative that is, for the most part, hopelessly tedious (ie there's just no hook here to initially grab the viewer). Bateman's strong abilities behind the camera are, it would seem, a poor fit for David Lindsay-Abaire's screenplay, as the material virtually demands a much lighter touch than Bateman is willing to deliver (ie the director wants this to be a Franzen-like look at a fractured family, but Lindsay-Abaire's script just isn't going for that kind of depth). It's disappointing to note, too, that The Family Fang takes a notable turn for the worse as it passes the one hour mark, with the narrative subsequently focused on the "mystery" surrounding Caleb and Camille's sudden disappearance - with the tedious investigation that ensues ensuring that the movie peters out to an almost incredible degree. Bateman's stumble here is hopefully a temporary thing, as it's impossible to write the filmmaker off completely given the strength of his comparatively stellar debut feature.
out of
Set within an unspecified future, Equals transpires within a society that has inexplicably eliminated emotions from its citizens - with the narrative detailing the problems that ensue for two such citizens (Nicholas Hoult's Silas and Kristen
Stewart's Nia) as they begin experiencing emotions and, eventually, fall for one another. It's an almost absurdly familiar storyline that's employed to pervasively lackluster effect by director Drake Doremus, as the filmmaker, working from a script by Nathan Parker, proves reluctant to offer up even the most minimal exposition regarding how this society works (ie why have people chosen to live this way? when did it happen? etc, etc). The viewer is, as such, required to demonstrate a tremendous amount of patience, which, given the admittedly impressive set design, one is willing to provide in the movie's early stages. There reaches a point, of course, wherein it becomes impossible not to wish that Doremus would just get on with it already, with the less-than-engrossing atmosphere compounded by a shocking absence of narrative momentum (ie there is absolutely nothing propelling any of this forward). Compounding the tedious vibe is the palpable lack of chemistry between Hoult and Stewart's respective characters, and it's clear, too, that Doremus' head-scratching decision to drown out large chunks of dialogue with Dustin O'Halloran and Sascha Ring's aggressive score contributes heavily to the movie's arms-length vibe. And while the script does contain a handful of interesting ideas and moments, Equals is, by and large, an absolutely disastrous young-adult knockoff that builds to an action-packed yet wholly uninvolving finish - thus confirming its place as a seriously misguided trainwreck.
Inspired by true events, The Clan details the 1970s-set exploits of the Puccio family - with the patriarch Arquimedes (Guillermo Francella) and his brood earning their living (and notoriety) by kidnapping (and murdering) wealthy individuals for ransom. The Clan, for the most part, comes off as a deliberately-paced domestic drama with a smattering of tense, thriller-like sequences, which ultimately does ensure that the movie, though consistently watchable, rarely manages to enthrall. Filmmaker Pablo Trapero devotes the lion's share of the picture's first half to less-than-engrossing sequences involving the various family members' activities (eg the eldest son plays soccer), and it's not until a stretch detailing the kidnapping of one of the kids' friends that The Clan begins to wholeheartedly improve (ie this sequence infuses the proceedings with a much-needed jolt of energy). It's in its dealings with the aforementioned eldest son (Peter Lanzani's Alejandro) that the film generally fares best, with the narrative benefiting from a minor yet engaging love story between Alejandro and Stefanía Koessl's Mónica (ie this subplot helps alleviate the increasingly repetitive nature of Trapero's screenplay). The biggest issue here is, for the most part, the lack of backstory contained within the script, as it's impossible not to wonder why Arquimedes' wife and children have gone along with the murderous scheme for so long without complaint. The rather electrifying conclusion ensures that, at least, The Clan ends on a positive note, and yet there's no denying that the movie could (and should) have been so much better.
Mr. Right details the whirlwind romance that forms between two almost uncomfortably off-kilter individuals, Anna Kendrick's Martha and Sam Rockwell's Francis, with problems ensuing as Martha discovers that Francis is actually a stone-cold, untouchable hitman (a revelation that's compounded by the increasingly bloody battle between Francis and a series of aggressive pursuers). It's clear immediately that scripter Max Landis isn't going for an atmosphere of grounded reality here, as Mr. Right's narrative is chockablock with less-than-subtle and outrageously quirky elements that are, for the most part, the cinematic equivalent of nails on a chalkboard - with the two central performances, charming as they sporadically are, veering more towards obnoxiously broad than comedically endearing. (This is especially true of Kendrick's larger-than-life, over-the-top turn as the eye-rollingly nutty Martha.) Far more problematic, however, is Landis' relentless emphasis on the oddball antics of even the most minor of periphery figures, with the pervasively cartoonish vibe drowning out the few positive attributes contained within. (There is, for example, an impressive sense of chemistry between Kendrick and Rockwell's respective characters, and it's not too difficult to envision a storyline revolving around two socially-awkward misfits taking on the world.) The action-packed closing stretch fares just about as poorly as one might've feared, and it's finally clear that Landis' decision to completely eschew instances of recognizable reality firmly sinks Mr. Right.


text:
August/September 2005
Apple Harvest Cider-Can Chicken
Don't want to use beer? Try flavoring the chicken with the warm flavors of apple cider, cinnamon, and cloves instead.
Why This Recipe Works
Based on a classic of the barbecue circuit, Apple Harbest Cider-Can Chicken involves resting a whole chicken upright on a can of beer and grill-roasting it. We lanced the chicken's skin with a skewer to make holes from which rendering fat could escape, and rubbed the chicken liberally with a spice rub on top of and underneath the skin. We opened the top of the beer can wide open with a church key to allow the greatest amount of steam to escape—the normal hole is far too small. We banked the coals in the grill on either side of a disposable aluminum pan. The coals cooked the chicken evenly and the pan caught dripping fat from the chicken. Finally, we coated the chicken with a sweet-tart glaze toward the end of cooking to improve the chicken's flavor and color.


text:
Namibia Overnightoffered by supplier M21030 (read about supplier)
Key Information:
Tour Duration: 2 day(s)
Group Size: 2 - 5 people
Destination(s): Namibia
Specialty Categories: Wildlife Viewing
Season: January - December
Airfare Included: No
Tour Customizable: No
Minimum Per Person Price: 100 US Dollar (USD)
Maximum Per Person Price: 200 US Dollar (USD)
- Aircraft: 1 x C210 - 5 passenger capacity, high winged single engine
- Luggage: 10 kg per person in soft bags only.
Tour Itinerary:
Day 1: Your pilot will meet you at the lodge. Direct flight to Sossusvlei Lodge. Excursion with 4x4 vehicle to the Sossuvlei. Lunch at the Lodge. Late afternoon scenic flight over Sossusvlei and the dunes to the coast. Further along the coast over shipwrecks and seals to Swakopmund. Transfer to the Hansa Hotel. Dinner on own account. Overnight Hansa Hotel.
Day 2: Dolphin cruise on the lagoon in Walvis Bay. Lunch on own account. Flight back to our lodge.
- This quotation is linked to the N$/US$/Euro/GBP exchange rate and an escalation may influence the quoted price.
- ISOS Cover - Passengers will be covered for the duration of the entire flight. The cover only includes medical emergencies arising from direct trauma (e.g. an accident), and passengers will not be covered for pre-existing medical conditions.
- Cancellation must be received in writing and are valid from the
date of receipt at the office. The following charges are
* 30-16 days before date of departure 50% of the total amount due
* 15-11 days before date of departure 75% of the total amount due
* 10 or less days before date of departure 100% of the total amount due
* Non arrivals 100% of the total amount due.
We accept no responsibility for any delays caused by unforeseen circumstances, mechanical breakdowns, diversions or cancellations due to adverse weather or circumstances beyond our control. Confirmation is subject to availability of accommodation, aircraft and pilot(s). The prices are firm for the indicated date only. We do reserve the right to alter these prices with any new, unforeseen increases in fuel prices, new government taxes, etc.
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
Price on request. contact supplier for prices.
Prices Includes:
- Accommodation and breakfast for guests + pilot, activities as mentioned
- Aircraft
- Fuel
- Pilot fees, landing fees & parking fees, and refreshments on board
- Insurance, and VAT, passenger tax, ISOS Cover per passenger.
Transfers: From Swakopmund to/from the airfield are free of charge!
Price Excludes:
- Other meals, drinks
- Personal expenditures
- Telephone
- Gratuities
- Costs which may occur as a result of having to divert to an alternate airfield, due to adverse weather, or reasons which may affect the safety and comfort of our guests.
- Conditions: The Company accepts no responsibility for any delays caused by unforeseen circumstances, mechanical breakdowns, diversions or cancellations due to adverse weather or circumstances beyond our control.
Click here to email this vacation offer to a friend.
Joined InfoHub: Aug 2011
M21030 is situated in the central plateau of Namibia, at 70 km from the capital Windhoek, and 50 km from the Hosea Kutako International Airport, extends over 13000 ha, and offers wide open views of woodland savannah, broken hills and rocky terrain. Feel the space and peace around you. Listen to the sounds of nature and...


text:
In 2015, a human-wildlife conflict mitigation project was set up in collaboration with Coventry University in the UK, in response to ongoing conflict between communities in Zimbabwe's Matetsi Conservancy and predators, which were attacking their livestock. The predators were mainly lions, which were being killed by homesteaders in retaliation.
Using a flashing lighting system to deter lions and other predators from approaching livestock bomas at night, 15 homesteads are currently being monitored to assess the ongoing effectiveness of this conflict mitigation method. The lights, marketed in the USA as 'predator lights' to deter wolves, comprise of a small LED infrared flashing light with a light sensor. These units are cheaper and last longer than traditional 'white lights', with a lifespan of up to four years. Coventry University funded installation of the systems. Camera traps with motion sensors were also fitted at each of the lit homesteads to identify predators approaching the bomas, as well as their behaviour on seeing the lights.
Throughout June, ALERT's research team has continued to visit homesteads every Wednesday to collect data and speak to the owners. They are all still very enthusiastic about the project and wish for it to expand to other homesteads also. This is something we will endeavour to do when we can obtain sufficient funding to cover a wider area within the conservancy.
Throughout the month, predator visits were recorded once each at the Mkwananzi and Ndhlovu homesteads, and twice at the Chitope homestead; a total of four visits across all the homesteads included in the project. No attacks were reported, indicating that the lights are still effective in deterring wild predators. These four visits were made by lions each time. Some were captured on camera, including the image below of an adult female taken in the early hours of the morning towards the beginning of the month.
The Chitope homestead is unfortunately without a camera at the moment, since the one that had been installed was stolen and has not been recovered. At another homestead, the camera also captured a civet (pictured below); a different predator to those known to be causing problems within the community. Although predators are in close proximity to the bomas that hold livestock at night, the lights have ensured they do not attempt to enter them.
As usual, this project is in urgent need of extra batteries for the camera-traps, as they have to be changed at two to three week intervals. Also recently, the wind has been triggering some of the cameras; resulting in thousands of unnecessary images which have taken an even heavier toll on the batteries, thus shortening their lifespan. Attempts to clear the grass have been made and the sensor level of the cameras adjusted to try to prevent this from happening again.
With your help we can protect local farmers from losing their livelihoods to lions, and we can protect lions from losing their lives in a conflict battle they can never win. Please show your support by making a donation here.
About the human / lion conflict mitigation project
Coventry University, in partnership with ALERT and the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, have funded an initiative to help rural farmers in the Matetsi Environmental Conservation Area (ECA) of Zimbabwe protect their livestock against attacks by wild lions and other large predators. This Matetsi ECA is an area being managed under the Community Based Natural Resources Management programme, which encourages communities to sustainably manage wildlife resources found within their areas. ALERT has been working with Dr. James Bennett, an expert in livestock husbandry practices from Coventry University, the Zimbabwe Parks & Wildlife Management Authority, and affected communities to install flashing lights on kraals located within conflict hotspot areas, alongside camera traps to assess the effectiveness of the lights. This exercise builds upon the original idea by Richard Turere, who invented the flashing light system to guard against lion raids on livestock in Kenya.
If you are interested in joining the research team you can do so as a volunteer, or as a conservation research intern.


text:
The Ca Giada da Franco restaurant is an elegant and refined venue situated in the picturesque surroundings of the magnificent Ponte di Piave in the province of Treviso, a stone's throw away from the historical Piave river.
The establishment boasts of 110 spacious covers, a bar area and a large hall on the upper floor ideal for organising events and meetings.
At our clients' disposal is an excellent wine cellar with a wide selection of carefully-chosen wines, among which are the Venetian brands that have made us famous worldwide!


text:
If you're a woman working in a business environment—from retail to law, HR to finance, charity, or any other sector—you're in a great position to be an inspirational role model to other women. Whether you already are or aspire to become a leader, a senior manager, or a CEO, you can inspire others by learning from most inspirational women in business.
Here are five female CEOs that might inspire you, and their keys to success…
Lauren Bush Lauren, FEED
Lauren Bush Lauren started fashion brand FEED in 2007—with little money and little business knowledge. But she didn't let that stop her. Since then, her ethical brand has provided 87 million meals to starving children around the world! More than just creating a fashion brand or a business, Lauren's aim was to make a difference to her cause.
The key to business success for Lauren is finding a motivating cause. Being motivated by a desire to help others—and using your business to make change happen—can be the key to your success.
Would you like to read the rest of the article? Go Premium to get access to exclusive content. Become a member of the top luxury businesswoman's fashion site.
Jinnie Femme is Europe's top luxury fashion and lifestyle site for businesswomen. Get a unique approach to fashion, culture, lifestyle, and beauty all in one place. As a premium member, you'll get access to an exclusive network of styling tips, inspiration, top products, and tailored advice.


text:
Advised Aristocrat Leisure Limited (Aristocrat) on its A$1.37bn acquisition of Tennessee based Video Gaming Technologies, Inc. (VGT).
Advised on the $1 billion sale of Wesfarmers insurance broking business, one of the largest trade sales of the 2013/14 financial year.
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank
Advised Bendigo and Adelaide Bank on the first wholesale Tier 2 subordinated note issuance by an Australian domestic bank since the Basel III rules in relation to regulatory capital came into effect.
Alinta Energy
Advised the lenders on a US$1.14 billion Term Loan B and an A$240 million revolving credit facility to Alinta Energy.
Vodafone refinance
Advised Vodafone Hutchison Australia and Vodafone Hutchison Finance on the US$3.5 billion refinancing of Vodafone.
Rio Tinto $7.5 billion refinancing
Allens and Linklaters advised Rio Tinto on its US$7.5 billion dollar refinancing.
Advised iconic Australian company Billabong International Limited on a recapitalisation proposal with a consortium led by US private investment firms Oaktree and Centerbridge.
Vietnam oil refinery project
Advised Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Company Limited and sponsors on the US$5 billion project financing of the US$9 billion Nghi Son oil and petrochemical refinery in northern Vietnam. This deal was awarded PFI Asia Pacific Petrochemical Deal of the Year 2013.
Advised ANZ on its commitment to provide a $16.5 million senior secured loan to Eureka Funds Management Limited, as trustee of The Australian Environmental Upgrade Fund No. 2. The EUA is Australia's largest ever, and will enable the installation of a 2 MW trigeneration plant at the $2 billion Central Park project in Sydney.
Sydney Airport
Acted in connection with the $1.1 billion refinancing for Sydney Airport's maturing senior debt, including acting for a syndicate of 10 major domestic and international lenders on a $300 million new senior facility.
Origin Energy
- Advised on one of Australia's largest-ever corporate refinancings, of $7.4 billion. It is one of the largest individual corporate refinancings – if not the largest – to have occurred in the Australian market.
- Advised on a $2.4 billion syndicated facility. The facility, which was provided by 38, predominantly international, financiers, will be directed towards refinancing the company's short-term debt. This deal won the 2012 KangaNews Awards Syndicated Loan Deal of the Year.
- Acted on the execution of new bank debt facilities of $2.6 billion, involving a syndicated bank loan for A$2.3 billion and US$200 million, together with an A$100 million bilateral bank guarantee facility.
Financiers to the SecureFuture consortium
Advised the financiers to the successful SecureFuture consortium on the Wiri Men's Prison Project, which is New Zealand's first major PPP.
Advised FOXTEL, Australia's largest subscription television provider, on the A$2.1 billion financing of its acquisition of regional subscription television provider AUSTAR United Communications Limited and the A$900 million refinancing of its existing facilities.
Sydney Desalination Plant
Advised a consortium including the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board, Hastings Managed Infrastructure Funds Utilities Trust of Australia and The Infrastructure Fund (together, the Consortium) on a binding offer to refinance the Sydney Desalination Plant for $2.3 billion. This deal was awarded the PFI Asia Pacific Infrastructure Deal of the Year for 2012.
Advised ACCIONA, the world's largest independent (non-utility) renewable energy developer and owner, on all aspects of the development of the $147 million Gunning Wind Farm, including the project's financing arrangements, which were completed in 2012.
Archer Capital
Advised Archer Capital on the establishment of Australian Hospital Partners Pty Limited and its acquisition of 100 per cent of Healthe Care Australia Pty Limited from CHAMP Ventures, Healthe Holdings, ING Investment Management and BOS International (Australia) Limited.
Babcock & Brown Infrastructure recapitalisation
Acting for the syndicate of 11 banks on the A$1.8 billion recapitalisation of Babcock & Brown Infrastructure. This deal was significant in ensuring the ongoing viability of Babcock & Brown Infrastructure Group.
Centro Property Group restructure
Acting for the Australian financiers to the Centro Property Group on its restructuring and workout. This is the most significant workout to have occurred in Australia for some time.
Commonwealth of Australia
Advised on the establishment of a Special Purpose Vehicle to provide funding of up to A$1.3 billion to financiers of Australian car dealerships following the announcement of the withdrawal of major financiers to that sector.
Billabong International
Advised Billabong International on the US$700 million restructuring of their debt facilities. The deal team was able to work with a large bank group located in various jurisdictions while managing the release of the security and the entry into the new facility documents.
Archer Capital and Habourvest
Acting for Archer Capital and Habourvest on all the leveraged financing aspects of its acquisition of MYOB Limited, including procuring A$250 million of senior facilities.
Coles Group
Acted for Wesfarmers Ltd in its $A20 billion cash and share offer for Coles Group Limited via a scheme of arrangement. The takeover represents the largest financing transaction in Australian corporate history and has resulted in Wesfarmers becoming Australia's largest retailer and private sector employer.
Babcock & Brown Limited
Advised the mandated lead arrangers and underwriters of an A$2.7 billion multi-currency term and revolving syndicated facility extended to BBP Finance Australia Pty Limited.
Wesfarmers Limited
Advising on the establishment of its $3 billion Euro Medium Term Note Programme listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange and on US$650 million in notes issued to the US debt capital markets in compliance with US Securities Laws Rule 144A.
Advised on its issue of US$350 million 2.0 per cent guaranteed convertible bonds, due 2013, to international investors. The bonds were listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange and are convertible into ordinary shares of Alumina. Our office was responsible for drafting all transaction documentation and the listing of the bonds on the SGX.
ANZ Royal Bank
Advised on the preparation of its entire suite of standard lending, security and trade financing documentation under Cambodian law; assisted ANZ Royal with the simplification of its Letter of Offer and General Terms and Conditions for lending facilities; and advising ANZ Royal on its legal ability to vary the base.
Goodman Group
Acted on a series of transferable loan facilities arranged by Citibank and then HSBC, providing a total of HK$1.9 billion in property acquisition financing and the HK$6.2 billion senior and subordinated facilities to refinance the earlier facilities on the establishment of the Goodman Hong Kong Logistics Fund.
Macquarie Global Property Advisors (MGPA)
Represented Foxhill Investments Limited and Millennium (BVI) No. 2 Limited in the borrowing of HK$1.8 billion and HK$2 billion respectively for the refinancing of existing facilities in relation to real property developments transactions and other general corporate purposes.
PT Perusaahan Gas Negara (Persero)
Acted as English law counsel for PGN (PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (Persero) Tbk) in the US$350 million financing of the South Sumatra West Java Gas Transmission Pipeline. The financing involved a US$100 million bridge facility from ING, a US$50 million facility from International Finance Corporation and a US$225 million long-term facility from the Asian Development Bank.