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So pleased to announce this forthcoming anthology that I get to work on alongside the fabulous writers Keila V. Dawson and Lindsay H. Metcalf, with the amazing Karen Boss of Charlesbridge.
Epic Eighteen
Check out the 2018 picture book debut authors & illustrators at our new Epic Eighteen website!
Keep track of what we are up to, and see the latest book cover reveals by checking out our twitter hashtag #epic18. It's gonna be epic...
Happy World Penguin Day!
I'm celebrating my favorite flightless birds by sharing the cover for my upcoming picture book LOVE, MAMA!
When Mama goes on a trip, her baby penguin Kipling knows she'll return home soon—yet he still can't help but miss her. After all, Pillow Mama won't read, Picture Mama won't laugh, and Snow Mama is too cold to cuddle.
LOVE, MAMA is being published by Roaring Brook Press, and will be in bookstores in early 2018. I can't wait to share it with you.
To preorder, ask your favorite indie bookseller for ISBN 978-1-62672-949-0.
Roaring Brook Press, mackids.com
Picture Book Valentines
This is both a list of books that make great Valentine's Day gifts Valentine's Day love note to some of my favorite picture books, new and old. Warm fuzzies everywhere.
This year, I am sharing the love by giving books to my children's teachers and librarians on Valentine's Day.
Worm Loves Worm
by J. J. Austrian, Illustrated by Mike Curato
Jane Yolen called it "a word perfect (and picture perfect) picture book, and I couldn't agree more. Worm Loves Worm is a simple story, with simple text, about simple invertebrates, that boils down all the complexities that adults attach to words like marriage to the simple point that love is love.
In Mike Curato's own words:
"In Worm Loves Worm, no matter the opinions and criticisms of others, Worm and Worm hold fast to what is most important to them: each other… People will love who they love. This is what makes us human. This book is a celebration of love."
Valentine: Yes, Worm and Worm, it really is that simple. Love you both.
Be a Friend
by Salina Yoon
Be A Friend is a sweet story about a little boy named Dennis who only communicates through mime. He feels isolated and alone until a classmate, Joy, reaches out to him and they become friends. Salina Yoon's illustrations are charming and the simple text lets the visual storyline of acceptance and love shine through.
Valentine: [Gestures unwrapping a gift of Be A Friend] [Hugs self] [Smiles]
Stella Brings the Family
by Miriam B. Schiffer, illustrated by Holly Clifton-Brown
Stella Brings the Family is set on Mother's Day, but the message of a child's love for her family is perfect for Valentine's. Stella is a little girl with two dads, who is told to invite her mother to a school Mother's Day party. Unlike the adults in charge of party planning, Stella realizes that her family is really made up of all of the adults who love and support her every day.
Valentine: Happy Valentine's Day to all of you! Really, ALL of you!
I Love You, Stinky Face
by Lisa Mccourt, illustrated by Cyd Moore
An oldie-but-goodie, I Love You Stinky Face is one of my favorite bedtime read-aloud books. The text and illustrations work together to create a comforting, yet silly, reassurance of love and complete acceptance of the child by the mother. The child main character is dressed in gender-neutral clothing and is never identified with a gendered pronoun.
Valentine: I made you this Valentine out of bugs and slime. I love you, my little swamp monster.
Talking About Racism with Picture Books
Like the rest of the country, I grieve for the families and community of the nine people killed in Charleston, even though I do not know them. I am horrified by the violence and repelled by the hate. But I am not shocked or surprised. And that lack of shock or surprise also makes me grieve.
I have been struggling with how to talk to my kids about the news. A friend of mine who spent years working for peace in South Sudan, has put out a call to her American friends who are parents to talk frankly with their kids about racism. In her words:
"The reality is that we talk to our kids all the time about uncomfortable topics. We do this all the time. It's called parenting. But for some reason, race is a very uncomfortable topic for most of my white friends and many are unwilling to talk to their children openly and honestly about race."
As a white parent myself, I realize that most of the conversations about race I have had with my kids have fallen into the "diversity is good" category. The "everyone is different, but we all have unique talents to contribute to the world" conversation. Or the geek version: "Race is a social construct, what we construct as racial differences are a tiny percentage of genetic variation in the human population."
Race is a social construct. Racism and racial inequality are the social reality we all live within.
Talking about racism can be uncomfortable. But yeah, those uncomfortable conversations are called parenting. Or teaching.
As Maurice Sendak often pointed out, childhood is difficult and full of danger. Children know that terrible things exist in the world. We need to let kids know we are willing to talk.
"The children know. They have always known. But we choose to think otherwise: it hurts to know the children know. If we obfuscate, they will not see. Thus we conspire to keep them from knowing and seeing. And if we insist, then the children, to please us, will make believe they do not know, they do not see. They are remarkable–patient, loving, and all-forgiving. It is a sad comedy: the children knowing and pretending they don't know to protect us from knowing they know."
— Maurice Sendak
To get those conversations started, here is a list of amazing picture books that go beyond surface discussions of diversity to explore racism and discrimination head-on. Explore them with your kids. Use them to spark conversations.
Historical Fiction
New Shoes by Susan Meyer (illustrated by Eric Velasquez)
Ella Mae needs new shoes but is forbidden to try them on in the store. Humiliated by the shoe shop owner, she and cousin Charlotte collect old shoes, refurbish them, and open their own shoe store where everyone is welcome to try on the shoes. The emotional impact of Eric Velasquesz's incredible illustrations pairs with the spare, but gut-wrenching text.
The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson (illustrated by E.B. Lewis)
Two girls whose lives are divided by a fence that separates the black side of town from the white side strike up a friendship. The award-winning author and illustrator team pair perfectly in this lyrical story of kids circumventing adult rules of segregation. Segregation is a backdrop to the unfolding friendship, presented as "that's the way things are."
Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles (illustrated by Jerome Lagarrique)
"I didn't want to swim in this old pool anyway."
John Henry's eyes fill up with angry tears. "I did," he says.
John Henry and Joe are best friends, across racial lines in the Jim Crow South. When their town is forced to integrate, the boys are excited to swim together in the public pool. Unfortunately, rather than opening the pool to all, town leaders have it filled in and paved over.
You may have noticed that the above books are all historical. There are many more picture books about racism in the past than in a contemporary setting. Here are two discussion-sparking fiction books about discrimination that can be read as occurring in the imaginary present moment:
Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman (illustrated by Caroline Binch)
Grace wants to be Peter Pan in the school play, but her classmates tell her she can't play Peter because she is a girl and she is black. After her grandmother takes her to see a family friend perform as prima ballerina in Romeo and Juliet, Grace realizes she can play any role she puts her time, effort, and passion into learning. The actions of Grace's classmates ring true for a contemporary audience, although the book is now old enough to be considered a classic.
Something Else by Kathryn Cave (illustrated by Chris Riddell)
Something Else is excluded by his classmates for being different, told he can not play with them or sit with them at lunch. When another creature shows up at his door, Something Else in turn excludes her. He then realizes that he has hurt someone the way he was hurt, and sets out to repair the relationship. The creatures in this book are imaginary beings, which allows the reader to fill in any possible reason for Something Else's exclusion.
As Good as Anybody by Richard Michelson (illustrated by Raul Colon)
This book is a double biography of Abraham Joshua Heschel and Martin Luther King, Jr, which concludes with images of their march from Selma to Montgomery. The book paints parallel stories of the anti-Semitism that Herschel experienced growing up in Nazi Germany, and the racism King encounters in his American childhood.
When Marian Sang: The True Recital of Marian Anderson by Pam Munoz Ryan (illustrated by Brian Selznick)
The biography of Marian Anderson, whose life spanned a near-century of social change. Marian never gives up her commitment to her art, despite discrimination that dives her to leave America for Europe. The book concludes with a wordless spread of famous concert at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939. I cry every time I read it. Every. Time.
A recent story on NPR discussed four picture books that were banned when they were published that Americans would now see as innocuous. All four contained images of racial integration. Strangely, even though the illustrations of black and white children playing together were what so enraged Jim Crow–era community leaders, the article failed to mention the illustrators of these four books.
I decided to do a little research. I had to remind myself that miscegenation laws were not overturned by the Supreme Court until 1967, and some city swimming pools were not forced to integrate until the 1970s. These illustrators were all leaders of cultural change.
While we can't go back in time to ask them about their thoughts while illustrating these controversial books, I believe they were all making conscious decisions to visually integrate their books. They were probably highly sensitive to the fact that they risked being censored, and they chose to make these books because they believed in the power of illustration to change the hearts and minds of their readers (both children and adults).
Here is a little bit about the illustrators of the four books profiled by NPR, and a bonus new picture book about Loving v. Virginia.
Black and White, 1944
Charles G. Shaw was a renowned American abstract painter, and author/illustrator of the classic It Looked Like Spilt Milk. He collaborated with Margaret Wise Brown on The Nosy Bookseries. The text of the book specifies that the characters are a black man and a black woman. The man loves only black things until he sees snow, then it snows and leaves a white snow lady in his yard. They fall in love and get married.
Swimming Hole, 1950
Louis Darling, Jr. was an American illustrator, writer, and environmentalist, best known for illustrating the Henry Huggins series and other children's books written by Beverly Cleary. He and his wife Lois provided illustrations for the first edition of Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. The plot of this book involves a white boy moving into a new neighborhood where some of the neighbors are black. The boy realizes that "his sunburn is more of a problem" than integrated swimming.
First Book of Fishing, 1952
Edwin Herron was an illustrator of science books for kids and a political cartoonist under a pen name for a socialist journal that published from the 60s-late 80s. Since this was a nonfiction book, Edwin Herron's choice to visually integrate the children pictured in the book was most likely his own.
The Rabbits' Wedding, 1958
Garth Williams was the illustrator of Stuart Little, Charlotte's Web, and the Little House series. The text of The Rabbits' Wedding refers to the main characters as "the little white rabbit" and "the little black rabbit;" they are illustrated as fairly realistic wild rabbits who decide to put flowers behind their ears and get married so they can be together always.
Williams said about this book that he "was completely unaware that animals with white fur, such as white polar bears and white dogs and white rabbits, were considered blood relations of white beings. I was only aware that a white horse next to a black horse looks very picturesque," and that his story was not written for adults, who "will not understand it, because it is only about a soft furry love and has no hidden message of hate."
The Case for Loving, 2015
The Case for Loving is a narrative nonfiction picture book that tells the story of the real family who won the Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia. I'm not sure if it is the first picture book since Williams wrote about bunny love in 1958 to address interracial marriage, but it is definitely a landmark picture book.
The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage by Selina Alko (Author, Illustrator),and Sean Qualls (Illustrator) (The two are a husband/wife team, which is a warm and fuzzy as bunny love.)
A Garden of Picture Books
Spring is coming, at least theoretically. Here in the Northeast we are still shivering in our winter coats and looking longingly at the small patches of dead grass that have begun to appear. There is still about a foot of snow on top of my garden, but I am dreaming of green growing things.
Some of my favorite books about gardening, gardens, the cycle of seasons, and the cycle of life are (in no particular order):
The Curious Garden
by Peter Brown
The Curious Garden is magical and gorgeous and features acts of guerrilla urban gardening. Kids relate to Liam's mistakes as he learns to tend his accidental garden and his joy as it spreads. Knowing that the book was inspired by the true story of the High Line, an elevated garden built on reclaimed freight tracks in New York, just makes it more magical.
Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!
by Candace Fleming, illustrated by G. Brian Karas
Reading Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! aloud is a treat. Adult gardeners will relate to Mr. McGreely's escalating attempts to keep the bunnies out of his vegetables. Kids will root for the adorable (and persistent) bunnies. This book is just fun.
Sophie's Squash
(illustration excerpt above)
by Pat Zietlow Miller, illustrated by Anne Wilsdorf
Sophie's Squash is not a gardening book, though it does celebrate a love for vegetables. It is a warm and wonderful introduction for young children to the cycle of loss and rebirth with the seasons.
Linnea in Monet's Garden
by Christina Björk, illustrated by Lena Anderson
Linnea falls in love with Monet's waterlilies, and the reader falls in love with Monet's garden through her enthusiasm. Lyrical text and whimsical illustrations blend with reproductions of Monet's paintings. I love the movie made from the book even more than the book itself, which is a rarity. It is a quiet story, but it inspires and engages kids.
The Gardener
by Sarah Stewart, illustrated by David Small
Set during the Depression, a young girl brings seeds with her to the city, where she creates a secret rooftop garden in hopes of bringing joy to her uncle. Lydia, like Liam, is determined to transform her environment bit by bit.
Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt
by Kate Messner, illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal
The same duo that created Over and Under the Snow, one of my favorite nature picture books, now brings us a book timed perfectly for the spring thaw.
Ten years ago, when I was searching for books about different family structures, there were only a couple. Happily, there are more and more being published each year. Here are some of my favorites to read and to share.
Who's In My Family?: All About Our Families (Let's Talk about You and Me)
Written by Robie H. Harris, Illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott (2012)
This simple yet charming book presents a wide variety of families, in a matter of fact way that is accessible and appealing to preschoolers. For example: "Children are born into their families or adopted into their families." The book starts at the zoo with children pointing out different animal families, and then transitions to talking about human families. Families are illustrated with different family structures, race, and ethnicities. The text explains simply and directly that families may eat different foods for breakfast, but who all like to do fun things together.
All the World
Written by Liz Garton Scanlon, Illustrated by Marla Frazee (2009)
This is one of my favorite picture books. Period. I love reading this as a bedtime book. Scanlon's text is a lyrical celebration of the beauty of everyday life, and Frazee's illustrations tell a pictorial story that weaves together with the text to produce a whole that transcends each part. Why include this book in a list of books about family diversity? Because Frazee's joyful illustrations follow several families as they go about their day, going to the beach, the farmer's market, getting rained on, eating dinner, and going to bed. The families are diverse in age, race, family structure, and general quirky individuality, but all express warmth and love. There's a reason this book has a Caldecott Honor sticker on the cover. It's gorgeous.
Everywhere Babies
Written by Susan Meyers, Illustrated by Marla Frazee (2004)
This adorable board book was a favorite at my house. Frazee once again illustrates a diverse range of families living with and loving their babies. A favorite page is the exhausted new moms with their newborn.
The Family Book
by Todd Parr
This is the book I read to my eldest. It has the familiar Todd Parr structure and bright, primary colored illustrations. The refrain in this book is "Some families are…" Young children love this book, and the other Parr books (It's OK to be Different, The Feelings Book) but adults may tire of it after a few re-reads.
Noah's Mittens: A Boatload of Fun
Noah's Mittens
by Lise Lunge-Larsen. Illustrated by Matthew Trueman
Today we were searching the house for a toy, and from under the couch we unearthed a forgotten library book titled "Noah's Mittens." This turned out to be a fantastical tale of Noah discovering felt on the ark, when the animals get tossed around in the rain and the sheep felt themselves. Strange, but with appealing illustrations.
The last page of the book contained a historical blurb about felt. Who knew that archeologists have discovered 8,000 year old felt objects in Turkey or that the Chinese used to make armour out of felt thousands of years ago? Who knew there where sheep living in China thousands of years ago?
After reading the book twice, I was inspired to find the wool I'd ordered a couple months back and try to make felt. An hour and lot of hot soapy water later, we had two beads, a snake, and a bracelet. We discovered that making wool isn't as quick and easy as it sounded in the book, though it was a wonderful sensory experience. Very calming.
After trying out the wet woolmaking, we gave the dry felting technique a spin. We discovered it was easier to make flat designs with the felting needle, but that it really, really, really hurt when you accidentally stabbed yourself with it. The needle has tiny barbs and is three inches long, so you can imagine how it felt. (pun intended).
Jeanette Bradley loves penguins, art, and chocolate, though not all at once.


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Bedouin tents with Arabian tapestries, sushi dinners and luxury showers is this the most luxurious desert camp in the world. A company in Oman has introduced an idea of heading deep into the desert to camp under the stars has been given the ultimate upgrade. Stop sleeping in cramped tents and eating food cooked on a gas stove. It is located about 5 hours south of Muscat, tourists often reach the spectacular remote area, where guests can explore sand dunes, meet local fisherman, and spend time with the flamingo's native to the area.
Therefore several tourists have visit the far-flung Arabian Peninsula just to experience the capital city of Muscat, offering an opportunity to sample a taste of rural Oman without sacrificing any of life's little luxuries. There's an options available to customize an already developed itinerary or design a completely bespoke holiday from start to finish, guides will tailor the days and nights of your safari precisely to match your interests. The Travelling Company name "Hud Hud" offers an adventure through northern Oman like no other, no matter if you like to shop in the souks, swim in a water filled ravine, (Called "Wadi") or like to visit an ancient village. The suggested schedule is five to seven days including one night stay in the Wahiba Desert and one in Hajar Mountains.
The Hud Hud spokeman said, we really love to develop very distinct itineraries that add in different modes of transport and different activities, as all of the camps are entirely private and mobile, and we can camp almost anywhere in Oman, literally making the entire country your playground. In past Hud Hud has organized so many different events, such as a village-wide Arabian horse show only for two guests and even a catered sushi dinner in the middle of the desert.
Moreover in the Wahiba Sands, visitors will sleep in reliable, handmade Bedouin tents complete with large beds and real mattresses, cotton bedding, Arabian rugs and throws and sophisticated furnishings. Nevertheless, there's no electric light as we emphasis on preserving the natural atmosphere using only candles, oil lamps and fires. Once enjoys the desert, the tourists can also take day trips within the Sharqiya Region and experience traditional villages, old forts, castles and tombs, 'wadis' and canyons in the area for swimming, but the real attraction is the region's famous camel racing.
There're all kind of activities and interest. The camps are set up at 1,000 m, with complete privacy and fabulous views of Oman's highest peak "Jebel Shams". The camp is also within tranquil reach of both Nizwa and Bahla, close to one of Oman's greatest off road drives, including accessible to date plantations and Nizwa's renowned souk. For those who love ocean can opt for a longer stay to experience the sandy beauty of Khalouf Beach and take dip in the Indian Ocean. Rates are very much depending on group size, duration, and location. Please find out more detail at HudHudTravels.com

subset: commoncrawl


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First screenshots appear for The Wolf Among Us
Following the recent success of Telltale Games' The Walking Dead game, screenshots have emerged for their project that will be out later this summer. The new game, The Wolf Among Us, will be out on PS3, Xbox360, PC and Mac, and will be based on the popular comic series from the DC Universe, Fables.
Fables is a long running comic series that imagines characters from our most beloved storybooks are real and living among us with all of the powers from their tales. The game synopsis is:
Set prior to the events seen in the first issue of the Fables comic book series, The Wolf Among Us puts players in the role of Bigby Wolf, a man once more infamously known as 'The Big Bad Wolf'. Now the sheriff of a hidden community in New York City, exiled from the land of fairy tales, Bigby is tasked by the bureaucrat Snow White to keep order within a society of mythical creatures and characters trying to remain undetected in the world of the mundane. From a chain-smoking member of 'The Three Little Pigs', to a car-stealing Mr. Toad itching for his next wild ride, The Wolf Among Us examines the lives of beings straight from the pages of myth and lore, now trying to survive on the meanest and most run-down streets of New York City.
They also have released 4 new screenshots for the game which grant us our first look at this new series.
Are you as interested by this game as you were by Telltales' The Walking Dead series?
The revenues from the ads below all go directly to this author.


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29 January 2007
I couldn't really sleep last night. Was awake until 5am.. So many thoughts running through my mind. I wish people could just stop and listen to what I have to say. I wish people could put themselves into my shoes before they start telling me what is right and what is wrong.
Anyway, I decided to skip ECAD today because I don't wanna attend a 2-hour tutorial and the tutor will be late for 30 mins. (On one occasion, she didn't even turn up.)
George and Keith called me at 11am after the lesson ended and asked me out to Geylang for dim sum. I would have loved to join them, but unfortunately, not today. I've a long list of things I need to do.
So I woke up and..
-paid my mechanic a visit
-changed my engine oil, battery and switched my license plate back to the original one
-went for my vehicle inspection
-passed and collected the inspection cert
-went to alexandra to renew my road tax, gave them my inspection cert
-went back home, grabbed a screwdriver and switch my license plate back to the customised one
-came online to blog
-go for my Class 2A practical
Actually I also don't know why I enrolled for my Class 2A. I don't have the money to change bikes, and besides, I just renewed insurance and road tax. It'll be a huge waste of money if I sell it off.
On a happier note, I spent $150 yesterday to get this stupid looking thing.
Well, actually it's the Shure E2c. My Sony earphones finally died after 3 years of loyal service. I saw the church BVs using the E2c and I read about the specs on the net, seems pretty good, so I decided to get it. 😛
Who on earth spends $150 for a pair of earphones? Definitely not worth it, but this is Shure-ly very good one!


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Georgian Gov't to Launch New Program - Young Entrepreneur
The Government of Georgia is starting a new project - Young Entrepreneur, which aims at supporting young people living in rural areas to find employment or develop their business.
The presentation of the project was opened by the Prime Minister of Georgia, Giorgi Kvirikashvili, who said the program involves incentives and assistance for startup entrepreneurs, including grants and consultative assistance which includes helping entrepreneurs find remaining financing.
The 10 million GEL grant funding will finance 40% of the project cost, with a maximum project cost GEL 60,000 and minimum 10,000 GEL.
"The engagement of youths in the builing of our country is extremely important," the PM said. "Our country needs bold ideas, daring decisions, and youth is the best age for it. We need unconventional ideas, and we welcome the creation of different platforms enabling youths to organize and deliver their opinions to the authorities to ensure their involvement in governance, which is extremely important to us."
He explained that the program targets 18-40-year-olds with active ideas, especially in the regions, noting that the Government of Denmark and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) had assisted the Georgia in the development of this program.
"Thus, a full circle is created, and its different components are designed to assist startups and small entrepreneurs in different ways. I strongly believe that this program will prove a tremendous success," Kvirikashvili added.
The PM also thanked the Ministry of Agriculture and personally Minister Levan Davitashvili along with the Projects Management Agency for their support.
By Thea Morrison


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I would like to know how I can be paying $60/month for cable internet that suddenly drops unexpectedly at night or at all. I usually unplug the modem anyway before I go to bed, but last night I lost my internet connection and could not get the modem to reset after multiple restarts. I had unusual blinking lights going on with the modem. Could not get online to complain either obviously. Dual-band 802 wifi. Downgraded to 25/mbps a few months ago. Never had that problem before, going on almost 2 yrs with this location and equipment. Now this morning it works again with no problem. I don't want a tech to come out and charge me $50+ again, just want to make you aware that something weird is going on with my service.
What do the modem's signal stats look like ? Try getting them here http://192.168.100.1 or here http://10.0.0.1
Please post the *Downstream Power Level*, the *Upstream Power Level*, and the *SNR* (Signal to Noise Ratio) numbers.


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Introducing Marketplace to Facebook
Rivalling Gumtree and eBay, Facebook introduces Marketplace where people can buy and sell with their local community via their mobile phones. In our very busy world, Facebook is known for connecting and keeping people updated with friends and family. However, Mary Ku (Facebook's director of product management) admitted that in recent years, people have been… more »
5 old-school web design tips making a comeback
Modern website design has its own set of rules – from mobile-responsive web design, to parallax pages where the background scrolls at a different speed to create a sense of the third dimension. But good web design is inescapably linked with the technology we use to view the web, and with our collective habits when… more »
It's a huge month in the big Apple
We are all excited in the office about the iPhone 7 with its glossy black finish and waterproof design. With iOS 10 we have been fully expressing ourselves, had fun handwriting notes, sending kisses and gone totally emoji mad! To be honest, there's so much to talk about, we hardly know where to start! But for me, it's… more »
Twitter Quality Filter reinforces need for 'natural' social media posts
The recently announced Twitter Quality Filter has raised concerns from some users that they might 'miss out' on posts from the accounts they follow, as the social network moves away from its hallmark chronological timeline. In a post on the Official Twitter Blog, the social network said: "Last year we began testing a Quality Filter… more »
When bad online reviews turn good
A five-star rating might not be all it's cracked up to be in the world of online reviews – in fact, a four-star rating could be better for product sales in the long run. If that sounds strange, think about what you are looking for when you read online reviews of a product with a… more »
Pay-By-Selfie? Amazon files patent for new payment system
The rise of the selfie appears unstoppable. The online retailer Amazon first patented one-click purchasing; now they have gone one step further by submitting a patent application for payments by selfies. The patent application shows that while many approaches rely on a password to be entered for user authentication, these passwords can be taken or… more »
Google Trends reveals the gold standard of Rio 2016 searches
Google Trends have been tweeting some of the latest search trends amid the ongoing sporting events of the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games. With Team GB scooping medals in the cycling and the rowing, related searches surged in popularity as viewers at home checked on all manner of topics. In cycling-related searches, most people wanted… more »
Premier League club's marketing appeal
The 2016/2017 Premier League football season is vastly approaching and many of our favourite teams have new commercial sponsors and partners. We decided to have a look at the colossal amount of money these global brands spend on such marketing activity. Just last week Richard Branson's Virgin Money teamed up with Manchester United as their… more »
To mark World Emoji Day, new emojis are released to break gender stereotypes!
July 17th was World Emoji Day, marking a global celebration of the emoticon-style icons that have become an online language in their own right. Emojis fly in the face of plain-text web design, turning entire words into a single icon, such as a national flag to represent a country name, or a tiny globe in… more »
Pokémon Go craze hits the UK!
After a delay due to unexpected demand, the wildly popular app Pokémon Go can now be downloaded in the UK. Over 15 million people have downloaded the app since its launch last weekend – such huge volumes caused the servers to crash – but you can now relax, it's finally here! If you're not familiar… more »
How to drive ROI from your digital marketing
Digital marketing is a world of three-letter acronyms – SEO and PPC are the first two that spring to mind – but in business the acronym ROI should rule your decision-making. It is only worth making an investment into your marketing if it will drive a positive return for you in the long run, either… more »
Oculus lifts headset DRM restrictions
Virtual reality company Oculus has removed DRM (Digital Content Management) that disallowed individuals to play games made for its Rift headset on an adversary gadget. When the locks were added, VR fans developed a small application called Revive that let individuals move or port Oculus protected software on to the HTC Vive made by HTC… more »
Brexit: The Story in Search
The nation went to the polling stations on June 23rd, but it was not until the morning of June 24th that the results began to come in – and Google Trends highlighted some of the immediate effects this had on people's search behaviour. First of all, at 3:44am, long before the Leave victory was confirmed,… more »
Your phone is getting locked up at Alica Keys' Gigs
Musicians are getting tired of mobile phones zapping the atmosphere of their shows, especially Alica Keys. Yondr thinks they've found the solution to 'free people' from their mobile phones. The small start-up company from San Francisco have created a lockable case, into which guests are required to place their mobile phones to create phone-free zones…. more »
Apple WWDC 16 Highlights
Apple's annual WWDC event was last night and some of us from the office eagerly watched to see what the tech giant has in store for us this year, as usual they haven't disappointed. We'll quickly run over some of our top highlights from this year's event. Apple Pay Since Apple Pay was released back… more »
France Launches Terror Attack APP Ahead of Euros 2016
The French government has launched an app ahead of the Euro 2016 Tournament that will alert users to a possible terror attack and provide them with useful information on how to stay safe. The app that was announced by the French Interior Ministry on Wednesday 8th 2016 is called SAIP (Système d'alerte et d'information des… more »
Twitter could be about to get noisy
Major changes to Twitter are often met with dismay from long-time users, who are typically quite resistant to change, and the latest announcements from the social network have continued that trend. Over the past few years, certain elements have gradually been moved outside of the standard 140-character limit, although the core functionality of the site… more »


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WATCH: Football hooligans tumble as escalator fails
A CROWD of football hooligans got their comeuppance when they crashed to the ground as an escalator broke on the metro.
In a video that has gone viral they can be seen falling over one another as they tumble down stairs.
The rowdy fans piled onto the escalator after a derby match between Djurgarden and AIK in Stockholm on Thursday.
But, they had climbed onto an escalator that normally goes up, according to SVT.
Normally, the break would stop any movement but it was too heavy and the stairs started moving at several times their normal speed.
It had been thought the police sped up the stairs deliberately to disperse the football fans.
But Transport Agency staff confirmed it is not possible to increase the speed of an escalator.
They have decided to turn off and lock all escalators during future football matches.


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Toronto might be a big ol' gray rainbucket right now, but even that can't get me down. The holidays are here! I actually had spare time today (a rare gem in a grad student's life) and stopped by the Annex Kind Exchange. These gorgeous J. Crew pumps were sitting on the shelf, just waiting for me to try them on and fall in love. Continue reading
Toronto Style & Fashion Calendar: December 17-30


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Andreas Becker, Gerhard Wotawa, Lars-Erik De Geer, Petra Seibert, Roland R. Draxler, Craig Sloan, Real D'Amours, Matthew Hort, Hubert Glaab, Philippe Heinrich, Yves Grillon, Vyacheslav Shershakov, Keiichi Katayama, Yuetang Zhang, Paul Stewart, Marcus Hirtl, Michel Jean, Peter Chen
Atmospheric Environment, 2007, Volume 41, Pages 4520-4534, doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2006.12.048
Abstract - In this paper, we introduce a methodology for quality assessment of backtracking models. We present results illustrating the level of agreement between the backtracking models, and the accuracy of each model and the ensemble model in resolving the geo-temporal reference of a single point source. Both assessments are based on an ensemble of 12 different Lagrangian partic le d ispersion modelling (LPDM) systems utilized in receptor oriented (adjoint) mode during two joint numerical experiments dedicated to source region estimation. A major result of this effort is confirmation of the findings of Galmarini et al. (2004b) and Delle Monache and Stull (2003), with regard to the superiority of the ensemble dispersion forecast over any single model forecast, do also apply to LPDM when utilized for backtracking purposes if no or only vague a priori knowledge of the source time is available. In this case, a certain temporal tolerance needs to be added to the source hypothesis tested during the inversion modelling. This is exactly the situation likely to be encountered by the global radionculide monitoring system currently being developed by the Provisional Technical Secretariat (PTS) of the Comprehensive Nuc lear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), where quick but reliable source location identification needs to be performed. Here, we will therefore introduce a simple methodology as a template for an electronic emergency response system in the field of dispersion modelling.
Email me the full report


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I'm excited that the VOR Committee has started releasing ports. I really am.
However, I feel disappointed in a way. Cape Town is not a new port at all, in fact, just last year it was the first stopover as well. So far, the 2011-2012 race is tracking just like the 2008-2009.
I know that Africa is plagued with poverty, disease, and, of course, pirates, so I am very happy that at least the Africa stopover will run smoothly because it's not a new event to the Volvo organizers or the South African ones.
So this is a very minor disappointment, one that will go away as soon as the race begins. However, if the rest of the ports are revealed, and they're almost exactly the same, I WILL be disappointed. Yes, Boston was great. Yes, Galway was one of the most popular ports on the race. Yes, the action in Singapore was breathtaking. But part of the mystique and challenge of the Volvo Ocean Race is exploring new lands; like a modern day Christopher Columbus on a Volvo Open 70 with RADAR and navigation.
If you can even imagine that.


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Remote Access Using PuTTY and FileZilla
This document provides details on how to access on-site facilities from a remote Windows machine. For more detailed information on the underlying SSH (secure shell) technology upon which this is based, and for solutions for other platforms, see CUN/14.
Step One - Requirements
- A PC with a working installation of Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000 or XP
- A working Dial-up or broadband connection to your preferred ISP.
- A valid username and password on the ROE unix domain.
Step Two - Installing/Configuring Software
Two main packages are used to facilitate remote access:
PuTTY is a Windows based SSH client which can be used to create secure encrypted tunnels through the ROE firewall. These tunnels can be used to allow access to a number of services - we will focus here principally on e-mail and intranet access.
FileZilla is a Windows based file transfer client which can also use the SSH protocol to access files through the firewall.
Both programs have been repackaged with an installation/configuration interface specific to the ROE. In all cases, the packages can be run by simply downloading and launching the executable. Few, if any, choices will be given during the installation (this is by design - to simplify the process and help ensure consistency).
If you are using a machine managed by the IT Support Group, it should already have PuTTY and FileZilla installed. In that case, you only need to run the relevant configuration programs from the following links:
- PuTTY configuration (33 KB) - this creates a configuration for two alternative SSH servers and sets up tunnels for e-mail* and intranet access.
- FileZilla configuration (34 KB) - this creates configurations for two alternative SSH servers and two possible file locations (the Windows home directories and the project volume)
*Note that this configuration assumes that your e-mail inbox resides on the new Exchange server Hermes. Users with mailboxes still on Mercury (the old Exchange server) can continue to use their existing remote access setup (probably using Mindterm) in the meantime or use this alternative configuration program. Users with mailboxes on the Linux mail server should be able to run Pine or Mutt in the PuTTY console without the need for tunnels being configured.
If you are using a machine which is not managed by the IT Support Group and does not have PuTTY or FileZilla installed, the following installers can be used to carry out both the installation and configuration (assumes you have the necessary rights to install software).
Step Three - Configuring client software
E-mail access
To send and receive e-mail, you can simply configure your software to use localhost as both IMAP and SMTP server. Consult the documentation for your software on how to achieve this. If you have previously been accessing your e-mail using Mindterm/Outlook Express, there should be no need to change the configuration - just run PuTTY instead of Mindterm before running Outlook Express.
Intranet web access
Configure your web browser to use the automatic proxy configuration file: http://www.roe.ac.uk/atc/computing/sshcache.pac
This will cause your browser to use the ROE web cache to access internal web servers (e.g. intra, helpdesk, saturn) but go directly to any other pages. The location for changing this setting varies from browser to browser, here are locations for some of the more common browsers.
|Internet Explorer 4
View | Internet Options | Connection | Automatic Configuration | Configure...
|Internet Explorer 5+
Tools | Internet Options | Connection | Dial-up settings | Settings....
Tools | Internet Options | Connection | LAN Settings....
(Note that you can define different settings for different dial-up and/or LAN configurations)
|Mozilla FireFox 1.5
|Tools | Options | General | Connection Settings
|Netscape 4/6
Edit | Preferences... | Advanced | Proxies | Automatic Proxy Configuration
Step 4 - Using the Software
Once your software is installed and configured, using it is fairly straightforward. We will now describe some common tasks and how to achieve them.
Accessing e-mail
First, run up PuTTY if it is not running already. The simplest way is to use one of the shortcuts in your start menu (e.g. Start | All Programs | Putty | ROE-ssh0). Note that ssh0 and ssh1 are aliases and will always point to externally available SSH servers. When prompted, enter your Unix username and password. Once the login is complete, the PuTTY window can be minimised. Your Outlook Express (or alternate e-mail program) should now work as normal.
Accessing an intranet web server
If PuTTY is not already running, start it as described above under "Accessing e-mail". You should now be able to connect to any intranet sites which are configured in the autoconfig.pac file (e.g. intra, helpdesk, saturn). Note that you need to specify the full name of the server when entering the URL (e.g. http://intra.roe.ac.uk rather than just http://intra).
Some commonly used URLs which you might wish to access remotely include:
- Timesheet (http://saturn.roe.ac.uk/timesheet)
- MIS/Outturns (http://saturn.roe.ac.uk/projectsdb)
- Helpdesk (http://helpdesk.roe.ac.uk/helpdesk)
Downloading a file from the project volume
Run up FileZilla. Open up the site manager (using the left hand toolbar icon or via File | Site Manager...). Double click on the relevant site definition - in this case "ssh0 (/net/vulcan/Projects)" or "ssh1 (/net/vulcan/Projects)". Enter your unix password when prompted (this may seem counterintuitive as you are accessing a Windows server but the initial connection is to the unix ssh server). You should then be presented with a typical two-pane view - local filesystems on the left, the remote filesystem on the left. You can navigate both of these panes in the usual way (double clicking on folders to drill down). Note however that double clicking on a file in either pane will initiate a transfer of that file to the directory currently displayed in the other pane. Multiple files/folders can be transfered (in either direction) by selecting them then right clicking to choose either upload or download. Transfers can also be initiated using "drag and drop" from one pane to another. All of this should be fairly intuitive to anyone familiar with managing files using Windows Explorer. Note however that over slow connections there may be a significant delay (in particular when browsing folders containing lots of files).
Downloading a file from a different volume
Note that Site Manager defines sites for Windows home directories and Project volumes. These are there as a convenience - in practice, any network share which is visible from the unix network can be accessed in this way. Use one of the predefined sites to connect as above, then enter the path to the files you want in the "Remote Site" box and press enter. Note that the unix path to the filesystem must be used, not the more familiar Windows path (e.g. to access F:\temp use /net/jupiter/sys/temp). Once this is done, you may wish to save that configuration for future use using File | Copy connection to Site Manager.
Looking up the staff list
While there may be several other ways of accessing this information, if you happen to have PuTTY running already it is quick and simple to look up ROE staff information by typing "staff [search string]" in the PuTTY console.
Running X applications
Assuming you are running X-server software (e.g. eXceed) on your local PC, simply run the X application from the PuTTY terminal window. Note that you should not attempt to configure the DISPLAY setting (e.g. using setenv or xdisplay) as ssh handles this automatically.


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While the majority of people living under ISIS rule line up for food, a select few in the Islamic State live a much more luxurious lifestyle.
To add a reality TV spin, the ones showing off their alleged wealth happen to be the wives of ISIS militants:
Here are the "Real Housewives" of ISIS. These 12 images show off the lifestyles of the rich and jihadist:
1. Making sure there is a handgun instead of a stuffed animal for nap time:
2. Teaching their little girls to carry AK-47s with their shopping bags:
3. Using a pop culture reference from a Kanye West song to get their point across:
4. Dressing up their little girl for a terrorist selfie:
5. Posing for photos on a BMW. (Also, notice the use of slang in the tweet):
6. Bragging about how kidnapped Yazidi children are being turned into aspiring jihadis:
7. They hate the West so badly, but on the weekends they be chillin':
8. When the BMW isn't good enough, there's the Ferrari…
9. Taking women for some light shopping:
10. Showing off their assortment of desserts:
11. Proudly displaying their brainwashed boys, ready to give their lives for terrorism:
12. Making sure newborns receive their version of 'tender loving care:'
As evidenced by the pictures, these women are proud to be raising the next generation of terrorists. While other people starve in ISIS-controlled lands, they are the ones truly profiting from this multi-million dollar terrorist enterprise.


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I've been a bit under the weather this week. Didn't I ask for it making a post about going lower? Well, I was pretty low.
Not wanting to get nasty with details, I will tell you there was a point in the wee hours of Tuesday morning that my bathroom tile looked cool and inviting to my face. That was really a low point. It's hard coming back from this sickness for some reason, but I did vow to my beloved husband to get a flu shot next year.
When Mom gets sick, everyone is compassionate for a bit and then a little grouchy. I'm beat again at 9pm, so I'll leave you with some advice and a little prayer…
To feel better: Put your hair in pig tails, make chocolate cupcakes, hot glue 100 goldfish onto a hat that your 1st grader patiently counted out for her Hundredth Day Parade, read Everywhere Babies
as a bedtime story, read a bit of A Town Like Alice (Vintage International), say prayers, and go to bed when you should.
And a Thursday prayer:
Now as we come to the setting of the sun
and our eyes behold the evening light,
we sing you praises, O God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of life,
your glory fills the whole world.
–from Thursday Evening Prayers in Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals


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Warm Me Up
Throwing back to this outfit I planned a few weeks ago, just before the weather started to turn really chilly and it was perfect then. Now, I would definitely need to add some more layers to keep warm. But it would still work just fine because the collar easily drapes over just about everything. I realised I hadn't worn my beautiful collar from my friend's label, Accessories Room in ages. So I was actually quite looking forward to winter again for the chance to bust it out. It's such an easy and effortless way to add style and chicness to any outfit. A must for this colder season!
Another item I believe every girl should have in their wardrobe is a good suit. If nothing else, I am so proud of this beauty and love the rare opportunities I get to wear it. It fits like a glove and makes me feel so good when I wear it, like I'm ready to take on the world. I originally planned this look for Fashion Week with the focus of comfort e.g. trainers but still looking styled and fashionably (last year, my feet were on fire after a few hours in heels). Voila. However, looking back my hair was a little too long then and I'm so glad I got it chopped and now look a little less ghetto fabulous haha. So, are you feeling this look? xo
Reiss Suit
Topshop T-shirt
Accessories Room Collar
*Title from "Breathe Me" by Sia


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Dear Spain,
I know we've only just met, but I think I may already love you.
From the moment the airplane touched down in Málaga, I felt myself grinning from ear to ear.
When we stepped outside of the plane, the air had a distinct aroma, reminiscent of campfires and the beach.
The drive from Málaga to Marbella was gorgeous. The tapas lunch on the beach (quite literally) was breathtaking.
The waitstaff was incredibly friendly. My favorite part was when one waiter handed three-year-old Luca the check and said "Paga, Luca."
While I realize I am in a very touristy (not to mention wealthy) part of the country, and my experience isn't indicative of typical Spanish life, I feel myself yearning for more. I want to see more of you, Spain.
I had already planned to return in September to take the Camino de Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage; and I am now convinced, more than ever, of the brilliance of that plan.
I can see this infatuation developing into a lifelong romance. I promise to become fluent in Spanish, just for you. (Okay, so I've actually had that goal for some time. But you are the reason for it finally coming to fruition.)
Oh, dear Spain, let me further count the ways I love thee.
You provided warmth and sunshine when I had almost forgotten about their existence.
It is so lovely to see palm trees and mountains again.
I love your winding, colorful streets.
Spain, I'll be back for you.
Your biggest admirer,


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Hassel BMW of Freeport
Freeport, NYConsumerAffairs Unaccredited Brand
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18 Hassel BMW of Freeport Consumer Reviews and Complaints
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First of, I am a mechanical engineer that has disassembled, painted anew and blended paint on high end aircraft in my career. So the tiny job that was supposed to be done by these clowns (no offence to hard working clowns) was a 4 day job without any complications. They are however the saddest, most corrupt and most expensive dog and pony show you might be tricked into letting your car be snatched in, in your life. 4.1 stars... with only 13 reviews for one of the biggest collision centers in LI? Hmmmm something smells fishy.
This sad, Teflon band of thieves will take your car and the moment they have it they will disassemble it, promise a reasonable schedule and price, and then you are done. My 2013 Mercedes Benz had a light scrape in the front left fender, as seen in the picture, completely superficial and they gave a corrupt estimate to Geico of more than $5000. I was in a bind with other work that period, I had to leave the car in even though I knew these people were revoltingly corrupt.
The result: For a superficial front left fender scratch, they disassembled the car all the way to the REAR fender and painted and "blended" parts all the way there, and even though I expressly told them that in a month I would be leaving for Europe they managed not to have the car ready, and I am now facing the possibility of having to leave my car in storage for a month. Not to mention the rental expenses I had to go through.
The major complaints: Bait and switch, charging double time for same items on the insurance quote, something that will be reviewed with them. Unnecessary work, extraordinary overcharge to the point of comical, very possible corruption and insurance fraud that I will investigate with Geico as a matter of principle, simple incompetence in keeping at least a time promise after the extraordinary charge, immediately disassembling your car even though the damage is completely superficial, and if you don't like the price they hold it hostage with ridiculous charges to put it back together to give it back to you, so that you are stuck doing the job with them. Some people can be reasoned with ethics, not them. At this point it will be personal litigation and law exposure. Why the two stars and not one? They said that at least the car works... We will see either tomorrow Saturday or in a month. I will update accordingly.
I have my first BMW - it's an X5. I have had it for over 2 years. The good: the car drives terrifically while it runs. Roomy, smooth, has good acceleration and easily fits a family of 5. The bad: Unfortunately, in the 29 months that I have owned the car, I have had to tow it to the dealership twice, abandon it in a parking lot once, and had it in the shop at least 4 additional times. It is not technically a lemon because every time there has been a problem, it's been a different issue. This has been especially frustrating for me because I need the car for work, and I often don't seem to have it when it's most needed.
The dealership: Despite the enormous frustration of leasing such an expensive vehicle just to have it continuously in the shop getting serviced, the BMW of Freeport service representative that was trying to "help" me, actually ended the conversation by hanging up on me. Although they might represent this as an anomaly, I can assure you that despite my frustration and repeated attempts to appeal directly to the general manager, Gregg **, he has never once made any attempt to call me back or to respond to my emails. In the end from management to account representative BMW of Freeport remained unsympathetic to my ongoing problems. The takeaway: Although it's a great driving car, BMW is not worth the risk of the never ending repairs. And purchasing from Freeport BMW or reviewing the responses by general manager Gregg ** should be viewed with great suspicion.
I took my vehicle in for service (oil change and a flush) on 06/14/2017. The service provider (Kevin **) was very unprofessional. I was the very first car in line (6:48 am). After meeting my advisor I told him that I start work at noon. At the time It was 7 am and he said that the service techs start at 7:30 so like others I got coffee and watched the big TV set. I notice people who came after me we leaving before me. The clock then read 8:30 am and so I decided to go locate my service advisor and after locating him he said to give him a minute he will go in the back and speak to the tech. He then approaches me (5 min later) and states that I will need a new radiator hose and battery. I agreed to the hose but declined on the battery. He then adds that the job would take 2 hours so I decided to go for lunch at a local diner to kill time.
However he calls me 30 min later and says that the part (hose) needed is not in stock and that the earliest he would receive it is by 5 pm which was 9 hours later and went on to say that because of this the vehicle wouldn't be ready until the next (06/15/17) day. Now I started to panic only because I had to be at work by noon and he knew this so he said that he would work on getting me a loaner and to give him 2 hours and that by 10 am he would give me a call. So I sat at this diner and 10 am arrived but no call and so by 10:45 I decided to call him but was told he wasn't at his desk. I called 4 more times and got the same response from the receptionist and so I decided to head back there.
When I got there he was at his desk and on the phone so I patiently waited and once he was done I asked what happened to the 10 am call? He never answered that question but ask a co-worker who happened to walk pass if she can help in getting me a loaner and she said she'll see what she can do and within 5 minutes she got me that loaner. So moving forward Mr ** tells me that he will call me the next morning by 10 am and that my car would be ready by then. So the next morning I head to work in my 3 series loaner and once again 10 am comes and goes no call. I decided to wait a little longer because I couldn't pick the car up until 3 pm anyway since I had to stay at work till 2. But at 11:48 am I received an email from BMW stating that my car was ready for pick up. So I called Mr ** to verify this and he said "Yes car is ready".
I then asked him what the total cost would be he said "Hold on" then said in 2 min he would send me a text of the final cost of the repairs. Well 15 minutes passed and no text so I called and once again was told that he's not at his desk so I ask the receptionist to please look up the cost for my repairs because I had to move funds from my savings to checking and within 15 seconds she told me the ($652.84) amount owed. So I got there a few minutes before 3 pm and car was ready. I paid for it, shook Mr **'s hand (didn't think I'd ever see him again) and drove off. However I didn't make it far. After about a mile a message read "Engine extremely hot. Drive slowly to your nearest dealership". Maybe not in those exact words but the car was on the verge of overheating.
So I pulled the car over turned it off and once again called BMW and this time Mr ** answered the phone and after telling him what happened he said "This is weird. We tested it and it was fine". He then tells me to schedule another appointment and transferred me to the receptionist. Now being that I will need a loaner I was told (by the receptionist) that the earliest service appointment is July 3rd which is more than two weeks away. What troubles me other than the bad service I got from my service advisor is that I paid $652.84 of my hard earned money and my car is in a worst state then it was when I drove in.
So now keep in mind I'm still pulled over to the side of this road. So I called AAA and had the vehicle towed to my home where it sits today. I took the very next day off but for the following weeks I will be using mass transit to get to work (no car) and back. In closing I will say that I was treated unfairly by my service provider who should have gotten me BMW road side assistant and given me back the loaner that I had just returned. I will add that I have been to this service center twice before but was treated much differently by a different service advisor whose name escapes me but he was both professional and kind.
I'm the original owner of a BMW vehicle (2012 X5) which I bought from Hassel BMW, Freeport, New York, in 2012. My car has 30,700 miles as of today. I did all scheduled maintenance up to date since I bought this vehicle at Hassel BMW dealer service center. In August, 2016, while I was driving the vehicle with my family, in my home town, the vehicle displayed a warning sign the engine temperature is very high. The sign turned red and I had pull over the vehicle and shut off the engine. We returned home and I have checked the coolant tank and it was totally dry. I took the vehicle to the dealer service center (Hassel BMW, Freeport) and they said the vehicle need to replace the water pump, coolant tank and electrical system. I had done all the scheduled maintenance at the same place. They billed me close to $2000 for changing the water pump, coolant tank, including labor. (Copy of their bill is attached.)
I asked them how come the coolant tank is dried out while they did all the scheduled maintenance on time. Aren't they supposed to check all fluid levels? The service agent reply was it might have been leaking. Then I told him that I never saw anything leaking or dripping in my garage where I keep the car parked all the time. His reply was that, "You don't see anything leaking because there is a tray below the engine, that can hold gallons of leaking fluid." I don't know if it's true or not.
Hassel BMW do not perform the service they supposed to for scheduled maintenance and bill BMW while the vehicle is under warranty and they make the vehicle go bad and run in to heavy repairs while the warranty is out. My situation is perfect example. If they had checked all the fluid levels and coolant tank will never go dry. I'm writing to BMW with all the proof and going to file a complaint with State Attorney General and District Attorney. All BMW owners who got ripped off by Hassel BMW should do the same, so the state will start investigation. They are cheating BMW Corporation and all BMW owners in the area. This need to stop.
Very unsatisfied with the service. I came for an oil change and brake pad change 9 and wanted to wait. My car is not ready even at 2:15 PM after 5 hours and still waiting.
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I had a 10:20 am appointment and I arrived at 10:00 am. At 12:30 I was still not serviced even after approaching the main desk about my appointment. When I approached ** he took a customer who had come after me. When I approached him he still managed to service the woman.
Back when this BMW dealership was Hassel BMW they tried to swindle me out of $1,200.00 when all I wanted them to do was to fix the "check engine light" which my friend, the previous owner of my 325I, paid $2,357.00 for. They insisted it was something else and actually charged me for a diagnostic test, which was $350.00, that they said would be credited toward the $1,200.00 work they wanted to do. So my first impression -- BAD/ CHEATERS/ SCAM ARTISTS.
Now I just brought my car in for airbag recall. They "found" 5 other issues. Sound like a pattern here? I said, "No, just the airbag," and 3 days later never returned my calls when it would be ready. Just now find out it's been ready for 2 days!!! I went without my car because they wanted me to have 5 other issues taken care of for approx. $1,400.00 more. Then they LIED and said the sales advisor told me it was ready 2 days ago. I WAS LIED TO AGAIN!!! Obviously the "NEW" BMW is still as crooked as the first Hassel. Unbelieveable!!!
Don't ever buy a BMW from Sales Representative Savitri **. She will treat you totally different before and after you purchase the car. And be aware of Sales Director Danielle **, she cares about nothing but the commission. She won't solve your problem in a timely manner. If you want to have a pleasure experience, stay away from BMW of Freeport.
On 2/19/14, I bought my car (BMW X3 2005) into your dealership. The car was to be service for the engine light which came on and wouldn't go out. This supposedly was fixed and I was charged 886.00 and the car was returned to me the following day, 2/20/14. On 2/24/14, I called and explained that the engine light was on again. I was told to bring in the car on 2/25/14 and I was told that the air filter needed to be replace. I was charge 170.00 for this. This should have been done with the original work. Now on 3/9/2014, the engine light came on again!!! The car was returned to the dealer on 3/17/14 and wasn't returned to me until 3/22/14. Once again, I was charge 576.00 - something that should have been discovered on the original visit. This is a total rip-off.
I own a 2014 BMW 535i and a 2002 BMW Z3. Neither vehicle purchased at Hassel. I made an appointment to use the night drop off at Hassel BMW for my Z3. I requested the service department diagnose a new oil leak. I discovered to evaluate repair. I also requested they install a replacement convertible rear window which I had already purchased (OEM) and placed in the vehicle prior to dropping it off. When I arrived at the service department, I discovered they had no night drop off, even though I was told they did. I was able to leave my key with a worker who happened to be there late cleaning up. The next morning at 6AM, I get a call from the service department, they can't open up my car door. I had to drive to the dealership just to discover the lock had frozen overnight. No sorry, no thank you.
About 2PM, I received a call from a service writer Alex **, who informed me that my oil filter housing gasket was leaking. He quoted me a price of $799.00 plus tax. He then went on to explain that the Vanos line was leaking, another $298. Next, he informed me that they could install the window for $450.00. He also explained that they could repair, not replace the loose interior door handle on the driver's side for a fee of $451.00. (They discovered this on their own). I'm not a BMW service tech but I'm not an idiot either. The oil filter housing gasket, dealer cost is $12.00, the book labor rate time is 3 hours. (It actually takes 1 to 1 hours to replace the gasket). The vanos line crush washers, which are replaced as part of the oil filter housing gasket job are 6 cents a piece (2 needed). The labor time is included in the oil filter housing job. I've already replaced the rear window once myself but as I don't have a garage and the temp must be 75 degrees or warmer, I thought Id try the dealer.
It took me 45 minutes as a first timer to replace the window. Alex ** explained they wanted to charge me for 4 hours labor. I politely declined service and went to get my vehicle back. I spoke to the service manager Stephen ** about the night drop off mix up and he blew me off. (I wasn't the only one there complaining about that). It then took Alex ** over an hour to return my vehicle. When I inspected the packaging for the replacement window I had left in the car, I noticed the zipper replacement kit was missing and the window was no longer in the plastic sleeve it came in. When I pointed this out to Alex ** and the manager Stephen **, they claimed to have no knowledge of where the zipper kit could have disappeared to. I know it was included in the package because I checked before placing it in the vehicle.
So because I didn't let them ** me in the repairs, they stole my zipper kit making the replacement window worthless. Needless to say, I am taking them to small claims court to recover the cost of a new replacement window. Do yourselves a favor and stay away from the individuals in this Stealer ship. Hassel just wants to rip you off. They are appropriately named. If you want a hassle go to Hassel.
I have been bringing in my Mini to Hassel MINI of Freeport since 2009. After this last experience, I will be going elsewhere!! First off, they have a new loaner car policy that you cannot get them on the weekends. I work in Manhattan so this is very difficult since our weekends are very busy with the kids and we need two cars to get around.
So we dropped off my car on Wednesday night on June 5th which means I need to work from home, and luckily, my company is pretty good about this. The Mini advisor was not in so Steve **, a BMW advisor, helped me. I mentioned several things that I needed evaluated like a loud noise when I first start up the car which I thought may be the muffler, brakes squeaking, passenger window squeaking, and two parts rattling on the inside (odometer and other part near the garage door opener unit).
By 3 pm the following day, I had still not heard anything so I called Steve. I called back twice more before finally getting through to him. He said that he was being moved all around and that's why he didn't get my call. He said that I needed new tires and gave me a price. He also mentioned that the noise I was hearing was a timing chain and that it would need to be replaced. I told him that I wanted to know if it was covered and if not, how much it would cost and he said he would call me back.
It was now 6 pm and I had still not heard back from him and they close at 7 pm so I called him back only to find out he had gone home. Now due to not having a loaner, this meant another day of working from home (needless to say work was not happy). Steve called me in the morning and told me it would cost $1600 to fix the timing chain. I told him I wanted a second opinion and that I would pick up the car. He asked what time and I said around 6 pm because I had to wait for my wife to get off work. As luck would have it, there was a bad storm and the roads were flooded so I could not pick up my car on Friday night.
I went to pick up my car on Saturday morning and Steve was busy with another customer. Someone else assisted me and mentioned the timing belt. As I was looking over my paperwork at home, I notice it mentioned my oil was at a excessively low level. I was astounded that neither Steve nor the person I picked the car up from mentioned this. I was even more astounded that they had written that I refused getting the oil change done when I would never have done this. I called back and Steve was busy so I asked the receptionist to give him my cell to call me back as soon as he was done. Of course, he never called back!
I called back to speak with the Mini representative, Johnathan **, and he was not available so I left my name with the receptionist. There was no call back so I called again 2 hours later and asked to speak with the service manager. All of a sudden, now the Mini advisor could speak with me. We discussed everything and I mentioned how I could not believe that a car that has 28K miles and is a 2009 is having a timing chain issue. I also mentioned the low oil and that I could not believe they would let me drive the car off the lot with excessively low oil. I, also at this time, had done research online to see that it is all over the internet chat rooms if you type in "Mini Clubman timing chain issue". He said that he was going to check on this and agreed that it should not be happening and that he was going to speak with the technician to see just how stretched the timing belt was. It is Monday at 1 pm and I have still not heard back.
I originally bought my first BMW in 2006, a 330ci. It was my dream car. At that time, I was definitely taken advantage of because of my age (I was 22 and didn't know any better). Now 8 years later, I am looking to buy a newer car and went back thinking that I would get some kind of customer loyalty benefits. NOT AT ALL!!! They were rude and tried to pressure me into something that I could not afford, despite telling them over and over again that I had had financial difficulty. I went in to extend my warranty and they advised that I shouldn't do that and should buy a car instead. They convinced me that this was the best option. I will preface this by saying that my credit leaves a lot to be desired for; however, they approved me at a rate of 13.24%!!!
I thought this was high and went to Rallye BMW a few towns over. They were able to get an exception to get a tier bump and lower the rate, but did not have the car that I wanted. When I went back to Hassel and advised them of this, they said that that was impossible and it couldn't have happened, BASICALLY CALLING ME A LIAR!!! They also initially were going to give me $7k for my trade in. Then when I advised them that the KBB was $14k, they all of a sudden jumped 4 grand to $11k. There is definitely some kind of age/gender discrimination going on there. The sad part is that they have the car that I want. Hassel gives BMW a bad name.
I took my 2008 x3 SUV in because it was leaking coolant out. They tech quoted me a new water tank, thermostat, coolant houses, and valve cover for $4000. I brought it home and had a few other people look at the van. There is a major problem which they did not tell me about. The 4 bolts that is mounted to the bracket holding up the engine is completely broken. And the engine is resting on top of the water pump, which caused a crack and that is why there is a leak. I cannot understand how a trained BMW tech did not see the root of the problem. I'm more worried that this is a factory defect and they don't want to tell me about it. How is it possible for 4 bolts to be broken on this vehicle when it was never in an accident?
I purchased my 2004 BMW X3 from Hassel BMW in Freeport back in 04. From the day I drove that car off the lot it has been nothing but trouble. Of course i had a warranty so everything was fixed but always a temp fix. Now my warranty expired and all the same problems all over again. Hassel BMW should be put out of business. The turn around at the dealer ship is horrendous. When is someone with authority going to step forward and shut that hell hole down? They are rip offs and lie right to your face.
Hassell BMW does not conduct themselves in a fair manner when they lease cars. At no time did they disclose that I would be liable for a disposition fee should I not buy or lease a new vehicle from them. BMW did nothing to resolve the matter.
Bought a certified pre-owned 335xi 2006 BMW with 23,000 miles from Hassel BMW Freeport in July 2009. I noticed transmission oil leaks on the garage floor on November 8, 2009 and took car into the Dealer on November 10, 2009.
I had my 2007 Mini Cooper S brought here on June 2, 2008 by Roadside Assistance because it was running poorly (rough idle, a miss and it would almost stall if revved out of gear). I was told by my Advisor Jason Barach on June 3rd they would not work on my car because of the aftermarket items I had under the hood. I told him I was sure the items were not the cause as they had been on for a while. As a good faith gesture I offered to pay for whatever repairs were necessary if it was found that my items were the cause. Over the next week I was forved to remove the items (luckily I knew how) and the car was now back in stock configuration. Jason now promised the vehicle would be fixed after I signed an agreement the dealer would prepare. During this time I tried to speak with John Choe (Service Manager) but he never bothered to return my calls. After waiting 5 days for this agreement to be written and approved it was rejected by Robert Portesy the facility General Manager. I tried to speak with Robert Portesy but he also would not return my calls. I also tried to speak with John Choe again but he was now away on vacation so I was forwarded to Jim Delveccio who told me Robert Portesy had decided that in order for any work to proceed on my vehciel I would have to pay for diagnosis up front. I unwillingly agreed as I had no other choice as a tow to the next MINI dealer would have been prohibitively expensive. Over the next week and a half I was told they were waiting for special tools, since the car was so new. I was lied to by Mr. Delveccio who told me they were waiting for a compression check tool because the MINI used different plugs than any other car including the previous MINI and the BMW's they service. This was a complete lie as the new MINI uses the same plugs as most BMW's and the older MINI. They finally said they checked the compression and reflashed my computer but the car still ran the same. I was then told the crankshaft oil seal was leaking and it looked like the crank pulley was tampered with and they would have replace the seal and re-time the engine. None of this would be covered under the warranty. I told them nobody else had ever touched those parts but they would not relent. After a few days of being told by Jason they were waiting for the oil seal fix the car. I went in to speak with John Choe and try to clear up the situation and make them realize that maybe debris had done the damage. John was rude and unprofessional, he told me he had never received my messages although they were left on his voice mail. He would not relent and accused me of tampoering with the vehicle. I told him after 3+ weeks it was obvious they were concocting damage and if I was forced to pay I would see them in court. He told me I would have to pay by certified check if I wanted the work done. I spoke with Jason Barach that afternoon and was told they were still waiting for the seal and the repair should be done shortly. Two days later nothing was done and I was called by John Choe and told they would not repair my vehicle and I should come and pick it up. I recommend you think twice about using this Dealership for anything but sales. Their reputation is quite poor and if you search the web thoroughly you will find that I'm not the only person to have serious trouble with them. They are notorious for damaging customer vehicles, not completing services paid for and for most importantly double dipping customers by saying that repairs are not covered under warranty, charging the customer and then collecting again under warranty. MINI Customer Service is involved and only after 28 days of being jerked around by one of their authorized dealers/service facilities is MINI having my car taken to MINI of Manhatten. NYS DMV is involved and will be investigating the situation. I will be pressing for revocation of Hassel's DMV repair license. I've filed a formal complaint with the FTC. I've filed a complaint with the NYS DA's office. I plan to file with the Better Business Bureau. If the repair is not covered under warranty due to the tampering Hassel obviously did to cover itself I will still take them to court.
My 2000 BMW 323 suddenly stopped going in reverse. Hassel said I need an entire new transmision for $5200. When I searched teh net, I see HUNDEREDS of teh exact same failure. I will continue arguing with HASSEL, as this has class action written all over it
Hassel BMW of Freeport Company Information
- Company Name:
- Hassel BMW of Freeport
- Website:
- www.bmwoffreeport.com


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Maurice Kidd joined ICF in early 2017 as a Project Coordinator supporting the energy efficiency sector. His career path thus far has been a broad mixture ranging from Accounting, Quality Engineering, to here recently becoming a co-founder of a freight transportation company. One of his areas of expertise include Six Sigma which is a disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects in any process – from manufacturing to transactional and from product to service. When Maurice isn't working on project processes or transportation operations, you may find him learning about up and coming technologies such as Blockchain or catching the latest movie out in theaters.
Mr. Kidd received his B.A. in Finance from Radford University in 2013.


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BlackRock is launching a frontier markets investment trust that will target markets including Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia.
The trust will target the 140 countries currently classified as frontier markets, which BlackRock says have some of the fastest rates of economic growth in the world.
In October, Money Marketing revealed BlackRock was looking to boost its focus on investment trusts, including a nationwide investment trust tour.
The company stresses that the trust will be for sophisticated private investors and institutional players only and the shares it places will be sold through intermediaries and institutions and not directly.
It will be managed by Sam Vecht, who also heads the company's open-ended emerging markets fund.
Whitechurch Securities senior analyst Ben Seager-Scott says: "This is a very interesting fund, it really represents the next generation of up-and-coming markets now that the old school Brazil, Russia, India and China emerging markets are becoming more of a mainstream investment. There is a lot of potential in frontier markets, but they are very risky, so should not be entered into lightly."


text: My name is Margot Wiseman. I'm an aspiring writer and editor. Here you will find my thoughts on books and movies and so much more. Grab yourself a cup of tea, relax, and enjoy some fun reviews on my blog, or if you need a writer or editor feel free to email me here.


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EURO 2016 semi-final - Germany Vs FranceCreated by:
8 Jul 2016 - General
The much anticiapated EURO 2016 semi-final of Germany Vs France will be live in the next hour !!! It should be an interesting semi-final match, and the winner will face the lucky Portugal team in the final !!! France team is in the semi-final of EURO since 2000, can they grab the advantages of being a host to go through it. Germany had knocked off France in the World Cup 2014, and eventually become world champion. Can history repeat again tonight, by beating France and then Portugal???? From previous head to head record, France has won six out of their nine matches again Germany. Who will be your favourite to go through tonigh EURO 2016 semi-final ??? I am going for France !!!!


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In the past few years the Japanese idol industry has been going through an "idol boom" where idol groups are popping up all over the country. Every city, district and neighborhood seems to have an idol group. You can't walk too far down any street without bumping into an idol or idol wannabe. This, unfortunately, has caused an oversaturation of the industry that has many fans having a hard time keeping up with all of these groups, as well as finding ways to support them through purchasing merchandise and attending concerts. 2014 saw many new idol groups debut, only to have some of them break up or have lineup changes. Sometimes an idol would join a group only to leave a few weeks later, or even join a another group shortly thereafter. Some groups reorganized into new groups and there were even some "microwave" idol groups that came and went in the blink of an eye!
One trend I noticed this year is that older idols were being "phased out". Shortly after I wrote the first English language article about Links on July 24, Saito Mitsue, currently 21-years-old, left the group. The idol group BiS, whose members were in their 20s, broke up. Michishige Sayumi, age 25, graduated from Hello! Project's Morning Musume, and H!P even announced the disbanding (excuse me, "hiatus") of the group Berry Kobo, whose members range in age from 20 to 23, during Spring 2015. While there are still older idols for those who like them, I feel that this may mean that some new, younger girls will soon debut and hopefully take the place of the departed older idols. The only way for the idol industry to survive is to keep things fresh and exciting, and to give younger girls the chance they want to show the world how much they love to sing and dance.
Any end of the year review wouldn't be complete without a list. Yes, I have one! Actually, I have a list of my favorite idols songs of 2014, as well as much shorter lists of favorite albums and new groups. Instead of ranking my favorites, which I can't really do as I love a lot of these songs, albums and groups equally, I am grouping my favorite songs from each idol group that I like, and adding a list of albums and groups that I recommend if you haven't already heard them. (Select songs on my list have music videos.)
Favorite Songs of 2014:
Sakura Gakuin & Subunits -
"Jump Up ~Chiisana Yuki~"
"Mikansei Silhouette"
"Daydream Believer" (cover of The Monkees) by Marina, Raura, Nene & Hinata
"Ningentte Iina" by sleepiece
"Heart no Hoshi"
Caramel ☆ Ribbon -
"Nana Iro no Niji no Muko ni"
"Sparkling Daydream" (cover)
"Zankoku na Tenshi no Thesis" ("A Cruel Angel's Thesis") (cover)
"Fu Fu"
Aither -
"Fantasy combo"
"1 carat star"
"Pure myth"
Prizmmy☆ -
Prism☆Mates -
"Pojikaru World" by Natsu & Yuka
"Chocolate Paradise" by Momona
"Glory Days" by Hina & Runa
Prism☆Box -
Sakuran Bom Bom -
"My Hero"
"Bom Bom World☆"
"Ne~e! Sakuranbo"
Candy Kiss -
Michinoku Sendai ORI☆HIMETAI -
"Kimi ni Todoku Kaze ni Nare"
"Takara Mono"
Himekko 5 -
Candy Zoo -
"Go Go ☆ Dinosaur"
loop -
Pink Babies -
CoCo DeCoRu -
Onigokko -
"Hare nochi Hare"
"Dream Angel"
Haru ☆ Kana -
"Sense Revolution"
Peekaboo -
Millennium Girls -
Pocchimo -
Hypericum -
"Sweet Box"
Miniature Garden -
"Happy Happy"
Kokepiyo -
Idol Renaissance -
"17 Sai"
Shiritsu Ebisu Chuugaku -
mImi -
"lucky star"
"lucky star"
"Girls' Revolution"
"Fujicco QQQ no Theme"
Minichia ☆ Bears -
"Minichia ☆ Ouenka"
Cute☆Pit -
Maboroshi Love -
"Merry Go World"
"Kinenbi Noto"
Party Rockets -
Favorite Albums / Mini Albums of 2014:
Sakura Gakuin -
"Sakura Gakuin 2013 ~Kizuna~"
Onigokko -
"Toy Box"
Prizmmy☆ & Prism☆Mates -
"Music Goes On"
Sakuran Bom Bom -
"Bom Bom World☆"
Favorite New Groups of 2014:
Millennium Girls
Idol Renaissance
So there you go! Fifty-six songs, four albums and five new groups. Yes, I know that Q♥T broke up last month, but they were a new group in 2014.


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Recently added
White Rose Ensnared
12:00 am 15 February 2013
yes, well. Where to start. Black Lace is a now defunct imprint that sold erotic fiction for women. And it does what it says on the tin. It even has a smidgeon of a story behind it to back up the wide ranging, rather inventive and extensively detailed sex. Set in the mid 15th century, during the Wars of the Roses, Rosamund is married to an elderly gentleman and has little experience or enjoyment in their marital bed. But he's killed in battle, and her manor is attacked by her villainous neighbour, Sir Ralph. She's captured and is put to Sir Ralph's pleasure (guess what that might be...). Once he has what he wants from her (actually her lands, not just her body) he throws her out on the street and, by circuitous means, she finds herself in a brothel in Southwark. I'm no expert, but I'm 300 percent certain that brothels were unlikely to have been anything like as nice, civilised or clean as this one is made out to be. But hey ho, why let a fact get in the way of a good story. There is some romance in amidst the panting & probing, in that she's had one night of passion with a Squire called Geoffrey. Built like a god (aren't they all) they each believe the other to be dead, due to Sir Ralph's nefarious ways. They find each other, and there are a few rather sweet plot twists towards the end that lighten the mood somewhat.I like it, nothing too outlandish in the sex department, while sufficient variety to not get repetitive, and there's even a love story hidden in there to hold the thing together. And I will now depart and find a bucket of cold water to tip over me...
Powered by BookLikes © 2015


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Hunt for survival!
Pakistan s national animal s trophy hunted for conservation and income to the poor
Pakistan s national animal s trophy hunted for conservation and income to the poor
Markhor is a wild goat from the Caprinae family. It has six sub-species. The flare horn markhor is Pakistan's national animal. NWFP is the only place in the world with four markhor sub-species. Markhors are also found in Afghanistan, Kashmir, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
Nepali environmentalists are elated over the comeback of rhinos in Chitwan national park, located 140 km south-west of Kathmandu. Almost wiped out by poachers a decade ago, the 1994 official census
Nepal's practical approach to biodiversity conservation
Sri Lanka's National Parks have got seven new water bowsers courtesy the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWLC). Each bowser has a carrying capacity of 3,000 litres. They will help fill up drying
Post tsunami relief work in Sri Lanka is bogged down by corruption, inefficiency and political machinations
Eight SAARC countries have agreed to work jointly to tackle the region's illegal wildlife trade that has assumed alarming proportions. The countries have come under the banner of the South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme (SACEP), an inter-governmental organisation, to tackle the illegal trade. The South Asian region is a storehouse of biological diversity and rich terrestrial, freshwater and marine resources. As a result, illegal trade and over-exploitation of wild animals and plants pose a major challenge to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in the region. In a first regional workshop held in Kathmandu, the group agreed to a series of joint action as part of a South Asia Wildlife Trade Initiative (SAWTI). This includes the setting up of a South Asia Experts Group on Wildlife Trade and development of a South Asia Regional Strategic Plan on Wildlife Trade (2008-2013). The SACEP was established in 1982 for promoting regional co-operation in South Asia in the field of environment. The group includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The workshop was organised by the Nepal Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, SACEP, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Nepal and TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade-monitoring network. Senior wildlife officials from these countries have called upon the international community to support action in South Asia by providing financial and technical assistance in the implementation of the regional plan, an official statement of TRAFFIC said here. The Kathmandu workshop has agreed to focus on a number of key areas of work. These include co-operation and co-ordination, effective legislation policies and law enforcement, sharing knowledge and effective dissemination of information, sustainability of legal trade and livelihoods security, intelligence networks and early warning systems and capacity building. IANS
Speakers at a discussion meeting here yesterday urged the government to protect forests and the ecology to save the wildlife in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). They called for creating awareness and strict enforcement of environment laws. The meeting, held at the Zilla Shilpakala Academy hall room in the hill town, was organised by scouts. Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Mohammad Khalilur Rahman was present as chief guest while Pankhaiya Para High School Headmaster and District Scouts Coordinator Omar Faruk presided over the function. They also urged local environmental activists and NGO officials to work united to save the environment and the ecology for the sake of humans. Once the ecology is destroyed, it creates a chain affect, which will bing disaster for all, the speakers said. Officials, teachers, journalists, NGO representatives and civil society members and enrironmentalists attended the meeting. After the meeting, a colorful rally, joined by hundreds of people, was brought out in the town to create awareness about the need for protecting the environment.
Four deer, out of 14 that were released in the eco park near Jamuna Bridge in Sirajganj, have died within four days of the park's inception.


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ETN came out with a new series on their live network. We got in on the sesh with Active Pro Chris Gregson along with a bunch of other heavies that rolled through for the ramp jam contest show. Cody Lockwood won the overall contest. Peep below to see photos from that night!
Tag Archives: ETN
ETN: Kamikazes Ep 01
We went behind the scenes of a new live hill bombing series on ETN called "Kamikazes". The time trial contenders were Active Pro's Don "Nuge" Nguyen and Brian "Slash" Hansen along with Raven Tershy and Tom Remillard. Frank Gerwer was on speed radar duty and commentary. Raven won and got down the hill in 43 mph! Check out some photos from that day and after sign up on ETN Live to watch it!


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Book Review: Convicted
Yesterday, Jameel McGee and Andrew Collins book Convicted was released. It is a story about forgiveness and unlikely friendship. It is a story of a crooked cop and an innocent man.
When I picked up this book, I didn't expect reading this story of forgiveness would be so hard for me. It wasn't an easy read because it was hard to see both sides of the story and how each others' decisions impact each life. It is tough to read, but it is a rewarding read. It is nice to see how redemption comes into the picture, how God's love wins out, and how the miracle of friendship occurs in spite of past circumstances.
Jameel and Andrew tell their story which presents the power of forgiveness, the act of keeping extending grace, being aware of the wrong done but not holding it against the person. The forgiveness opens the door to a friendship that both men grow from, and eventually writing this book, Convicted. God's grace is amazing, and it is neat to watch it in action in the lives of many.
If you're looking for an interesting and compelling true story to read, definitely pick up a copy of Convicted by Jameel McGee and Andrew Collins. Thanks to Waterbrook and Multnomah for sending me a copy of Convicted to review, I enjoyed reading it.
Happy Reading!
Felecia Efriann


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Invisible and odorless, carbon monoxide poisoning has proven to be a dangerous threat to American families with 400 people killed and 21,000 sent to emergency rooms due to unintentional poisonings every year. Young kids are at even greater risk, with a quarter of all CO-related calls to poison control centers in 2015 being for children.
To raise awareness about this issue and encourage families to be prepared, Safe Kids Allegheny County will join Safe Kids Worldwide, Kidde, the National Association of State Fire Marshalls and other experts for National CO Awareness Week from November 5-12, 2017.
"There's a reason carbon monoxide is called the 'invisible killer,' and we want to make sure parents understand the risks," said Kristen Urso, Coalition Coordinator, Safe Kids Allegheny County. "With the winter months approaching, now's the perfect time to make sure your alarms are all working so you can sleep peacefully at night."
Review these simple tips and tools to keep everyone safe:
• Make sure there's a working CO alarm on every level of your house and near every bedroom. Test them every month to make sure they're working correctly, and replace them according to the manufacturer's instructions.
• If you need to turn on your vehicle to warm it up, make sure to take it out of the garage right away. Even if the door is open, don't leave it sitting in the garage while the engine's running.
• Check the vents for the dryer, furnace, stove and fireplace outside your home to make sure they're clear of any snow or other debris.
• If the CO alarm sounds, leave the house immediately. Call 911 or the fire department after you are in a location with fresh air. Remain outside or by an open window until emergency personnel arrive.
For more tips on how to help kids safe, visit www.chp.edu/injury-prevention.