text:
Time Warner Cable is nearing an agreement to be acquired by smaller peer Charter Communications for about US$55 billion (A$70 billion), in a deal that would combine the second and third largest US cable operators.
The acquisition would create a major rival to Comcast, the biggest operator in the US cable and broadband market, and marks a triumph for Charter, which was rejected by Time Warner Cable just last year.
News of a second potential merger comes as the traditional US pay television industry faces stagnating growth and new competition from over-the-web rivals offering individual services, like Netflix, or packages of channels, such as Sony. A larger company in this sector could achieve greater economies of scale, including in negotiations with programmers.
The cash-and-stock deal values Time Warner Cable at US$195 per share, according to sources, and comes just one month after Comcast dropped its US$45.2 billion merger agreement with Time Warner Cable, clinched in February 2014, over antitrust concerns.
Time Warner Cable shares closed at US$171.18 on Friday. That is up substantially from the day before the original Comcast deal was announced last year, when the shares closed at US$135.31.
A merger of Charter and Time Warner Cable, with other related deals, would eliminate one of the country's top internet providers and control more than 20 percent of the broadband market, according to data from MoffettNathanson.
The Comcast-Time Warner Cable deal rejected by regulators would have created a provider with roughly 40 percent of the US high-speed internet market.
Charter hopes its deal for Time Warner Cable will be viewed more favorably by regulators.
One of the chief areas of concern for regulators in a merging industry is competition in internet broadband.
The deal is expected to be announced on Wednesday.
Charter will also acquire Bright House Networks, the sixth-largest US cable operator, for US$10.4 billion, sources added. The combined companies could have as many as 23 million total customers, just behind Comcast's 27.2 million customers.
Charter and Bright House had extended their merger talks after Comcast's deal with Time Warner Cable fell through. Charter's previous agreement with Bright House was contingent on Comcast's completion of the buyout of Time Warner Cable.
Media mogul John Malone, whose Liberty Broadband is Charter's largest shareholder, has advocated strongly for the deal, and Liberty is supporting the deal by acquiring US$5 billion in new Charter stock, one source said.
Charter chief executive Tom Rutledge is expected to be CEO of the combined entity.
Charter was competing for Time Warner Cable against French telecommunications group Altice SA, which last week agreed to buy US regional cable company Suddenlink Communications for US$9.1 billion from private equity investors, making its first move across the Atlantic.
The sources asked not to be identified ahead of any official announcement. Time Warner Cable declined to comment, while Charter, Bright House and Altice did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Break-up fee
Time Warner Cable shareholders will have an option on the amount of the US$195 per share acquisition price to be paid in cash - able to take either US$100 or US$115 in cash and the balance in Charter stock, one source said.
Charter asked for deal negotiations with Time Warner Cable to be speeded up after Altice expressed interest, one source said. Altice did not have enough time to address all of Time Warner Cable's concerns over a merger between the two of them, they added.
Altice will not seek to outbid Charter for Time Warner Cable and may now consider other possibilities for acquisitions in the United States, two sources said.
Charter has agreed to pay Time Warner Cable a US$2 billion break-up fee should their deal fall through, according to one of the sources. Comcast did not have to pay a breakup fee when it ended its agreement to acquire Time Warner Cable last month.
Matthew Harrigan, an analyst with Wunderlich Securities, said he believes a Charter-Time Warner tie-up would have "a very high likelihood of passing muster with regulators" because the size of the combined company would not create the same anti-trust concerns regulators had about Comcast buying its smaller rival.
The questions, Harrigan said, were whether other bidders would emerge and how Charter shareholders will react to the offer price.
"You never know with these deals," he said. "This could morph into something different by (Wednesday) morning."


text:
Outer Rim Adventures
The Sa Nalaor
The Facts
The Sal Nalaor is a Munificent Class Star Frigate (better known as the Banking Clan frigate). The ship is named after Sa Nalaor, former president of the Hyperbank Conglomerate. He was notorious for using financial or legal finagling for military or tactical gain at the start of the Clone Wars. He was infamous for his tactics, such as repossessing the defence fleet of a remote mining station several weeks into the Clone Wars. A month later, the CIS used exactly the same fleet to invade and take control of the station.
The Rumours
The Sa Nalaor is a legendary treasure story told at cantinas and bars across the Outer Rim. A Munificent Class Star Frigate that went missing following the Clone Wars said to hold all sorts of secrets from valuable technology and thousands of credits, to long lost Seperatist fighters and technicians.
The Sa Nalaor was definitely real but how, why and if it really disappeared depend entirely on who you ask and how willing they are to share that information.
The Sa Nalaor? Well, now that's going back a bit. There was a time when every treasure hunter in the Outer Rim was out there looking for that long-lost Separatist flying vault. While the truth and the Sa Nalaor rarely seem to go together, one thing's for sure: the Sa Nalaor's infamous for disappearing.
Here's one version of the story, and it might even be true: at the end of the Clone Wars, a Seperatist captain loaded up his ship with every credit and ingot he could fit. When the Separatist movement collapsed, off he went. He made a mad dash up the Perlemian Trade Route and took along the best cybertechs in the galaxy.
Well, the Imperials wouldn't have any of that. Maybe they feared a new cyber war or Outer Rim warlord, but it's more likely they thought they were just hunting down yet another fleeing Seperatist commander. In any case, the Imperials chased them up the Perlemian Trade Route.
The Sa Nalaor must have had a jittery hyperdrive, because we've got tales of skirmishes all the way to the Outer Rim. Right when the Imperials were about to blow the ship to pieces — BAM! The ship disappeared in one last hyperspace jump. That was it. No one's seen it since.
Some the ship simply disappeared in a hyperspace mishap. Others report sightings out in deep space, believing the ship might be lost between the stars. Every so often, someone reports debris on a remote Outer Rim planet. Problem is, there were so many Seperatist ships fighting during the war – and scattering afterwards – that there's a lot of lost ships to find. So, you might find something if you want to look hard enough. Just no the Sa Nalaor. At least, not yet.
- Grinner

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The Role of Color in Branding
What Does Color Say About Your Brand?
How Does Color Affect Branding?
Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the making of a brand or logo? One of the most important factors that companies and marketers consider while deciding on their brand is the color. Yes, color is such a powerful tool in designing a company's brand name and logo. It can affect a brand in both positive and negative ways according to how you use it.
Colors have the power to influence customer's emotions and perception towards a product or brand. Data shows that 73% of purchase decisions are made in-store, and color and aesthetics play a major role.
The perception of colors can also differ according to gender, age, personality, income and various other factors. So how do companies choose a brand color to cater to their target market segment? For the most part, firms decide on their colors based on what they want their brand to be perceived as.
In the infographic, you can take a look at various brands and their colors. You can read about the significance of each color and how colors have a major role to play in marketing. A study shows that buying behavior and attraction towards a product or brand depends a lot on the visual elements.
The infographic made by Market Inspector has taken six colors and analyzed them. You can read about why brands use the following colors: red, blue, yellow, green, orange, and neutral. Brands that use neutral colors like black, gray, and white have a specific target group that they're interested in. Food brands tend to go for bright colors like red or yellow as they are known to stimulate appetite. Read on to understand more about the role of color in branding.
If you would like to use this infographic, use the embed code below:


text:
WDW After Dark STREAMS LIVE & UNCENSORED on our NEW NIGHT - TUESDAYS at 7:30 pm/central via Blab & Twitter - http://twitter.com/wdwafterdark.
Tuesday, August 9, 2016
Top 5 things we can't do often enough at Disney Parks - WDW After Dark: August 9, 2016
In this week's DISNEY DISCUSSION show Kristen, Jeff and Eric discuss their TOP 5 - Things we can't do often enough at Disney Parks. Leave us a THUMBS UP and subscribe to our show on YouTube and iTunes leaving us those 5-star reviews and comments! WDW After Dark is now on Patreon! Support our show and get rewarded at http://www.patreon.com/wdwafterdark.
FOLLOW US: wdwafterdark.com | twitter.com/wdwafterdark | facebook.com/WDWAfterDarkWebcast | youtube.com/user/WDWAfterDark | Voicemail (410) 98-WDWAD – (410) 989-3923 or e-mail us at firstname.lastname@example.com Your comment may be featured in an upcoming episode of WDW After Dark!
Aljon twitter.com/jedimouseketeer & twitter.com/wdwtikiroom | Kristen twitter.com/diningatdisney | Jeff twitter.com/dw_60 | Eric twitter.com/sorcomreview & twitter.com/uncleservo
SUPPORT THE SHOW: Book your next Disney Parks trip or cruise with Kristen's at MagicalJourneysVacations.com | DiningatDisney.com | Amazon amzn.to/1tbnKgJ | Disney Store bit.ly/1uOwCNM | Fandango bit.ly/1bYcZgr
LINKS: A proud part of the We Be Geeks Podcast Network - WeBeGeeks.net Check these other podcasts: wdwtikiroom.com | diningatdisney.com | prowrestlingcast.com
Posted by Aljon Go at 3:21 AM
Labels: Podcast, WDW After Dark, Webcast, YouTube
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
Yesterday, I received a 'LETTER FROM DR JONAS' (the capital lettering was his) – actually, it was an email, and not a very personal one at that. Therefore I feel it might be permissible to share some of it here (you do remember Jonas, don't you? I did mention him in a recent post: "Considering the prominence and experience of Wayne Jonas, the 1st author of this paper, such obvious transgression is more than a little disappointing – I would argue that is amounts to overt scientific misconduct.")
Here we go:
As part of my book tour, I spent last month visiting hospitals and medical schools, talking to the doctors, nurses and students. I tell them to think of a chronically ill patient, and I ask:
"What matters most for this patient? What is the person's lifestyle like – their nutrition, movement and sleep? How does that patient manage their stress? Does that patient have a good support system at home? What supplements does that patient take? Has your patient seen any CAM practitioners to cope with their condition? Why do they want to get well?"
Most can't answer these questions. Providers may know the diagnosis and treatments a patient gets, but few know their primary determinants of health. They know 'what's the matter', but not 'what matters.' …
Let's have a closer look at those items of which Jonas thinks they matter:
- What is the person's lifestyle like – their nutrition, movement and sleep? Depending on the condition of the patient, these issues might indeed matter. And if they do, any good doctor will consider them. There is nothing new about this; it is stuff I learnt in medical school all those years ago.
- How does that patient manage their stress? The question supposes that all patients suffer from stress. I know it is fashionable to 'have stress', but not every patient suffers from it. If the patient does suffer, it goes without saying that a good doctor would consider it.
- Does that patient have a good support system at home? Elementary, my dear Watson! If a doctor does not know about this, (s)he has slept through medical school (where did you go to medical school Wayne, and what did you do during these 6 years?).
- What supplements does that patient take? That's a good one. I suppose Jonas would ask it to see what further nonsense he might recommend. Most rational doctors would ask this question to see what (s)he must advise the patient to discontinue.
- Has your patient seen any CAM practitioners to cope with their condition? As above.
- Why do they want to get well? Most patients would assume we are pulling their leg, if we really asked this. Instead of a response, they might return a question: Why do you ask, do you think being ill is fun?
So, doctor Jonas' questions might do well during lectures to a self-selected audience, but in reality they turn out to be a mixture of embarrassing re-discoveries from conventional medicine, platitudes and outright nonsense. "My goal is for integrative healthcare to become the standard of care…" says Jonas towards the end of his 'LETTER'. I suppose, this explains it!
Thus Jonas' 'LETTER' turns out to be yet another indication to suggest that the reality of 'integrative medicine' consists of little more than re-discoveries from conventional medicine, platitudes and outright nonsense.
During Voltaire's time, this famous quote was largely correct. But today, things are very different, and I often think this 'bon mot' ought to be re-phrased into 'The art of alternative medicine consists in amusing the patient, while medics cure the disease'.
To illustrate this point, I shall schematically outline the story of a patient seeking care from a range of clinicians. The story is invented but nevertheless based on many real experiences of a similar nature.
Tom is in his mid 50s, happily married, mildly over-weight and under plenty of stress. In addition to holding a demanding job, he has recently moved home and, as a consequence of lots of heavy lifting, his whole body aches. He had previous episodes of back trouble and re-starts the exercises a physio once taught him. A few days later, the back-pain has improved and most other pains have subsided as well. Yet a dull and nagging pain around his left shoulder and arm persists.
He is tempted to see his GP, but his wife is fiercely alternative. She was also the one who dissuaded Tom from taking Statins for his high cholesterol and put him on Garlic pills instead. Now she gives Tom a bottle of her Rescue Remedy, but after a week of taking it Tom's condition is unchanged. His wife therefore persuades him to consult alternative practitioners for his 'shoulder problem'. Thus he sees a succession of her favourite clinicians.
THE CHIROPRACTOR examines Tom's spine and diagnoses subluxations to be the root cause of his problem. Tom thus receives a series of spinal manipulations and feels a little improved each time. But he is disappointed that the pain in the left shoulder and arm returns. His wife therefore makes another appointment for him.
THE ENERGY HEALER diagnoses a problem with Tom's vital energy as the root cause of his persistent pain. Tom thus receives a series of healing sessions and feels a little improved each time. But he is disappointed that the pain in the left shoulder and arm returns. His wife therefore makes another appointment for him.
THE REFLEXOLOGIST examines Tom's foot and diagnoses knots on the sole of his foot to cause energy blockages which are the root cause of his problem. Tom thus receives a series of most agreeable foot massages and feels a little improved each time. But he is disappointed that the pain in the left shoulder and arm returns. His wife therefore makes another appointment for him.
THE ACUPUNCTURIST examines Tom's pulse and tongue and diagnoses a chi deficiency to be the root cause of his problem. Tom thus receives a series of acupuncture treatments and feels a little improved each time. But he is disappointed that the pain in the left shoulder and arm returns. His wife therefore makes another appointment for him.
THE NATUROPATH examines Tom and diagnoses some form of auto-intoxication as the root cause of his problem. Tom thus receives a full program of detox and feels a little improved each time. But he is disappointed that the pain in the left shoulder and arm returns. His wife therefore makes another appointment for him.
THE HOMEOPATH takes a long and detailed history and diagnoses a problem with Tom's vital force to be the root cause of his pain. Tom thus receives a homeopathic remedy tailor-made for his needs and feels a little improved after taking it for a few days. But he is disappointed that the pain in the left shoulder and arm returns. His wife therefore tries to make another appointment for him.
But this time, Tom had enough. His pain has not really improved and he is increasingly feeling unwell.
At the risk of a marital dispute, he consults his GP. The doctor looks up Tom's history, asks a few questions, conducts a brief physical examination, and arranges for Tom to see a specialist. A cardiologist diagnoses Tom to suffer from coronary heart disease due to a stenosis in one of his coronary arteries. She explains that Tom's dull pain in the left shoulder and arm is a rather typical symptom of this condition.
Tom has to have a stent put into the affected coronary artery, receives several medications to lower his cholesterol and blood pressure, and is told to take up regular exercise, lose weight and make several other changes to his stressful life-style. Tom's wife is told in no uncertain terms to stop dissuading her husband from taking his prescribed medicines, and the couple are both sent to see a dietician who offers advice and recommends a course on healthy cooking. Nobody leaves any doubt that not following this complex (holistic!) package of treatments and advice would be a serious risk to Tom's life.
It has taken a while, but finally Tom is pain-free. More importantly, his prognosis has dramatically improved. The team who now look after him have no doubt that a major heart attack had been imminent, and Tom could easily have died had he continued to listen to the advice of multiple non-medically trained clinicians.
The root cause of his condition was misdiagnosed by all of them. In fact, the root cause was the atherosclerotic degeneration in his arteries. This may not be fully reversible, but even if the atherosclerotic process cannot be halted completely, it can be significantly slowed down such that he can live a full life.
My advice based on this invented and many real stories of a very similar nature is this:
- alternative practitioners are often good at pampering their patients;
- this may contribute to some perceived clinical improvements;
- in turn, this perceived benefit can motivate patients to continue their treatment despite residual symptoms;
- alternative practitioner's claims about 'root causes' and holistic care are usually pure nonsense;
- their pampering may be agreeable, but it can undoubtedly cost lives.
How Jackfruit Kills Cancer… This title hardly left any doubt that jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam) is effective in curing cancer. The website [url disabled by admin because of suspected phishing site] continued in this vein:
"Jackfruit contains phytonutrients like lignans, saponins, and isoflavones, which have anticancer, antihypertensive, anti-ulcer, antioxidant, and anti-aging properties (2).
Isoflavones are also beneficial phytoestrogens that have been proven to reduce the risk of breast, endometrial, and prostate cancers (4,5).
Saponins, on the other hand, kill cancer cells by directly binding to cells as well as boosting white blood cell activity and preventing cell differentiation and proliferation (6,7).
Lastly, the cancer-preventing abilities of the fruit are due in part to dietary TF-binding lectins (8). The pulp has the ability to reduce the mutagenicity of carcinogens and combat the proliferation of cancer cells (9).
In addition, the fruit contains carotenoids, flavonoids, and polyphenols that lower blood pressure, fight stomach ulcers, boost metabolism, support nerve function, and play a role in hormone synthesis. They also contain polysaccharides that boost immunity by interacting with white blood cells, including T cells, monocytes, macrophages, and polymorphonuclear lymphocytes (10).
Each part of the fruit and tree can be used: the flowers help stop bleeding in open wounds, prevent ringworm infestations, and heal cracks in dry feet while the root is used to treat skin diseases, asthma, and diarrhea. Additionally, the wood has a sedative and abortifacient effect…"
To many desperate cancer patients, this would sound convincing, not least because the references provided by the author look sophisticated and seem to back up most of the claims made.
But where are the references to clinical trials showing that jackfruit does cure this or that type of cancer? Where is the evidence that it does "lower blood pressure, fight stomach ulcers, boost metabolism, support nerve function, and play a role in hormone synthesis"? Where are the data to prove that it does "boost immunity"?
I did conduct a 'rough and ready' Medline search and found precisely nothing; not a single clinical trial that would confirm the multiple claims made above.
You are not surprised?
Neither am I!
But what about the desperate cancer patients?
How many fell for the scam? How many gave up their conventional cancer treatments and used jackfruit instead? How many consumers know that it is not unusual for plants to contain lignans, saponins, isoflavones and many other ingredients that have amazing effects in vitro? How many know that this rarely translates into meaningful health effects in human patients?
We will never know.
One thing we do know, however, is that articles like this one can cost lives, and that alternative cancer cures are and always will be a myth.
In the realm of alternative medicine, the Internet is a double-edged sword. It can be most useful to many, particularly to those who are able to think critically. To those who do not have this ability, it can be outright dangerous. We have researched this area in several way and always arrived at this very conclusion. For instance, we evaluated websites providing advice for cancer patients and concluded that "the most popular websites on complementary and alternative medicine for cancer offer information of extremely variable quality. Many endorse unproven therapies and some are outright dangerous."
This makes it abundantly clear that, for some, the Internet can become a danger to their health and life. Recently I was reminded of this fact when I saw this website entitled 'Foods that will naturally cleanse your arteries'. Its message is instantly clear, particularly as it provides this impressive drawing.
The implication here is that we can all clear our arteries of atherosclerotic plaques by eating the right foods. The site also lists the exact foods. Here they are:
Salmon is one of the best heart foods as it is packed with healthy fats which reduce cholesterol, triglycerides, and inflammation. However you must make sure that the fish is organic.
Orange juice
Orange juice is rich in antioxidants which strengthens the blood vessels and lowers blood pressure. Simply drink 2 glasses of fresh orange juice a day and you're good to go.
According to numerous studies 2-4 cups of coffee a day can significantly reduce the risk of stroke and heart attack by 20%. However don't drink excessively as it may cause problems with your digestion.
Nuts are packed with omega-3 fatty acids, healthy properties and unsaturated fats which regulate your memory, cholesterol and prevent joint pain.
Persimmon fruit
The persimmon fruit is packed with fiber and sterols which help lower cholesterol. It makes a great addition to salads and cereals
Curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric provides a large variety of health benefits. It helps reduce tissue inflammation and prevents overactive fat accumulation. Feel free to add it to your meals or to your tasty cup of tea.
Green tea
Aside from having a soothing effect, green tea helps energize the whole body, boost the metabolism and lower the absorption of cholesterol. Just drink 1-2 cups of green tea a day and you have nothing to worry about.
Cheese can also help lower blood pressure and cholesterol.
Watermelon is the most delicious summer fruit. But aside from its amazing taste, it also improves the production of nitric oxide which enhances the function of the blood vessels.
Whole grain
Whole grains are rich in fiber content which helps lower cholesterol and cholesterol accumulation in the arteries. Consume more whole grain bread, brown rice and oats.
Cranberries have been long known to be the richest source of potassium. Due to this, they can easily lower bad cholesterol and increase the good one. 2 glasses of cranberry juice a day can lower the risk of heart attack by 40%.
Seaweeds are packed with vitamins, proteins, minerals and carotenoids which easily regulate your blood pressure.
Cinnamon prevents buildups in the arteries and lower cholesterol.
It is an exotic fruit that provides a healthy portion of phytochemicals. These improve the production of nitric oxide, and boost circulation. Add pomegranate seeds to your salads.
It is high in folic acid and potassium. You need this to lower your blood pressure, strengthen muscles, and prevent heart attack.
Broccoli is rich in vitamin K, which help lower blood pressure and cholesterol when eaten steam-cooked or raw.
Olive oil
Olive oil helps maintain your health at its peak. Be sure to use cold-pressed oil as it is rich in healthy fats which lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart attack by 40%.
Asparagus prevents inflammation, clogging and lowers cholesterols. Implement it to dishes, noodles, soups or potatoes.
Blueberries are high in potassium and as we mentioned above, potassium is the key to reducing bad cholesterol and increasing the good one. Drink 2 glasses of blueberry juice a day.
Avocadoes are without a doubt – one of the healthiest fruits known to man. They're rich in healthy fat and improve the balance of bad and good cholesterol.
As far as I know, there is no good evidence for the claim that any of these 20 foods will clear arteriosclerotic arteries. There is some evidence for fish oil and some for green tea to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. But surely, this is quite a different matter than reversing atherosclerotic plaques.
What's the harm? I believe the potential for harm is obvious: people at high risk of suffering a major cardiovascular event who read such nonsense and believe it might think they can abandon the treatments, drugs and life-styles they have been advised to follow and take. Instead they might eat a bit more of the 20 ingredients listed above. If they did that, many would die.
I think many of us who know better have become far too tolerant of dangerous nonsense of such nature. We tend to think that either nobody is as stupid as to follow such silly advice, or we assume that taking a bit of daft advice will not do much harm. I fear we are wrong on both accounts.
First she promoted vaginal steam baths and now Gwyneth Paltrow claims that putting a ball of jade (which you can order from her online-business, if you happen to have the cash) in their vaginas is good for women.
Yes, I kid you not; this is what she states on her website:
The strictly guarded secret of Chinese royalty in antiquity—queens and concubines used them to stay in shape for emperors—jade eggs harness the power of energy work, crystal healing, and a Kegel-like physical practice. Fans say regular use increases chi, orgasms, vaginal muscle tone, hormonal balance, and feminine energy in general. Shiva Rose has been practicing with them for about seven years, and raves about the results; we tried them, too, and were so convinced we put them into the goop shop. Jade eggs' power to cleanse and clear make them ideal for detox…
But if you think that Gwyneth is somehow fixated on her feminine parts, you are probably mistaken. She is much more versatile than that and seems to employ her vagina merely for drumming up publicity for her business. If you browse her site, you find no end of baffling, vagina-unrelated wonders and purchasable products from the world of alternative medicine.
Here are just two further examples.
Flower remedies
A flower essence is a bioenergetic preparation. Through the use of sunlight and water, we are able to capture the energy of a flower and use it for healing purposes: A freshly harvested flower is placed on the surface of water for a specific length of time and exposed to sunlight, resulting in the vibrational imprint of the flower in water. The flower essence is then used as an energetic remedy, with each flower having its own range of unique therapeutic benefits.
Vibrational imprint?
Unique therapeutic benefit?
Pull the other one! The truth about (Bach) flower remedies is much simpler: they are expensive placebos.
A method for getting rid of the parasites we allegedly all suffer from
…an eight-day, mono-diet goat-milk cleanse—accompanied by a specific vermifuge made of anti-parasitic herbs—is the most successful treatment. Parasites primarily live in the mucus lining of the gut system, where they feed on nutrients before they enter the body. Think of the goat milk as bait—parasites come out of the gut lining to drink the milk, which they love, but they also consume the vermifuge, which will eventually eradicate them. On top of being highly effective, this method is a much more gentle medicine than bombarding them—and your body—with a harsh drug.
Are they for real?
This is pure and potentially very dangerous, unethical nonsense!
Oh sorry – I forgot: we now must call it differently now: we are obviously dealing with Gwyeneth's 'alternative facts'.
The Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) write and maintain the UK Advertising Codes, which are administered by the Advertising Standards Authority. On their website, the CAP recently published an updated advertising code for naturopathy. As we have regularly discussed the fact that the public is being frequently misled in this area, I consider the code important in the context of this blog. I therefore take the liberty of repeating it here – not least in the hope that this helps preventing misinformation in the future [the numbers in square brackets refer to me footnotes below].
What is Naturopathy?
Naturopathy is a holistic [1] approach to healthcare that uses a combination of one or more different disciplines (for example herbal medicine or hydrotherapy) and a healthy lifestyle [2] in order to gain and maintain a healthy body [3].
What claims are likely to be acceptable?
The promotion of a healthy [4] lifestyle is likely to acceptable as are claims that go no further than those commonly accepted for healthy [4] eating, sleeping well, taking exercise and the like.
What claims are likely to be problematic?
The ASA and CAP have not yet been provided with evidence which demonstrates that Naturopathy can be used to treat medical conditions (Rule 12.1). Therefore, any claims that go beyond accepted claims for a healthy [4] lifestyle are likely to be problematic [5] unless they are supported by a robust body of evidence. In 2013, the ASA ruled against claims on a marketer's website which said that Naturopathy could be used to treat acute and chronic illness and disease because the marketer had not provided any evidence in support of their claims (CNM The College of Naturopathic Medicine Ltd, 13 March 2013).
What about serious medical conditions?
Claims to offer treatment on conditions for which medical supervision should be sought [6] are likely to be considered to discourage essential treatment unless that treatment is carried out under the supervision of a suitably qualified health professional (Rule 12.2).
Naturopathy has been the subject of my posts before – see for instance here, here, here, here and here. Naturopathy can be dangerous to the point where it can kill the patient – see for instance here and here. Therefore it is important that advertising gets regulated. To make it very clear: the above statement by the CAP is, in my view, a step in the right direction, and I encourage alternative practitioners to look up the equivalent CAP documents for their specific therapy.
Having said that, I still feel the need to make a few comments:
- It is misleading to call naturopathy 'holistic'. This is often factually incorrect and also gives the impression that conventional medicine is not holistic – see also here.
- Are we sure that all lifestyles promoted by naturopaths are, in fact, healthy?
- Maintaining a healthy body is naturopathy speak for DISEASE PREVENTION. Who decides what is effective prevention? On what evidence? How come many naturopaths are against the most effective means of prevention of all times – vaccination?
- Who decides what is 'healthy'? On what evidence?
- Why 'problematic'? Are they not wrong or bogus or false or fraudulent or criminal?
- Are there conditions for which medical supervision should not be sought? Which are they?
The WDDTY is not my favourite journal – far from it. The reason for my dislike is simple: far too many of its articles are utterly misleading and a danger to public health. Take this recent one entitled 'Paleo-type diet reversing Crohn's and ulcerative colitis', for instance:
Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are being reversed solely by diet—essentially a Paleo diet. The non-drug approach has been successful in 80 per cent of children who've been put on the special diet.
The diet—called the specific carbohydrate diet (SCD)—has been pioneered by Dr David Suskind, a gastroenterologist at Seattle Children's Hospital. The diet excludes grains, dairy, processed foods and sugars, other than honey, and promotes natural, nutrient-rich foods, including vegetables, fruits, meats and nuts.
Children are going into complete remission after just 12 weeks on the diet, a new study has discovered. Ten children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)—an umbrella term for Crohn's and ulcerative colitis—were put on the diet, and eight were completely symptom-free by the end of the study. Suskind started exploring a dietary approach to IBD because he became convinced that the standard medical treatment of steroids or other medication was inadequate. "For decades, medicine has said diet doesn't matter, that it doesn't impact disease. Now we know that diet does have an impact, a strong impact. It works, and now there's evidence," he said.
"For decades, medicine has said diet doesn't matter, that it doesn't impact disease".
In this case, I must have studied an entirely different subject all these years ago at university – I had been told it was medicine but perhaps…???…!!!
It took me some time to find the original paper – they cited a wrong reference (2017 instead of 2016). But eventually I located it. Here is its abstract:
To determine the effect of the specific carbohydrate diet (SCD) on active inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
IBD is a chronic idiopathic inflammatory intestinal disorder associated with fecal dysbiosis. Diet is a potential therapeutic option for IBD based on the hypothesis that changing the fecal dysbiosis could decrease intestinal inflammation.
Pediatric patients with mild to moderate IBD defined by pediatric Crohn's disease activity index (PCDAI 10-45) or pediatric ulcerative colitis activity index (PUCAI 10-65) were enrolled into a prospective study of the SCD. Patients started SCD with follow-up evaluations at 2, 4, 8, and 12 weeks. PCDAI/PUCAI, laboratory studies were assessed.
Twelve patients, ages 10 to 17 years, were enrolled. Mean PCDAI decreased from 28.1±8.8 to 4.6±10.3 at 12 weeks. Mean PUCAI decreased from 28.3±23.1 to 6.7±11.6 at 12 weeks. Dietary therapy was ineffective for 2 patients while 2 individuals were unable to maintain the diet. Mean C-reactive protein decreased from 24.1±22.3 to 7.1±0.4 mg/L at 12 weeks in Seattle Cohort (nL<8.0 mg/L) and decreased from 20.7±10.9 to 4.8±4.5 mg/L at 12 weeks in Atlanta Cohort (nL<4.9 mg/L). Stool microbiome analysis showed a distinctive dysbiosis for each individual in most prediet microbiomes with significant changes in microbial composition after dietary change.
SCD therapy in IBD is associated with clinical and laboratory improvements as well as concomitant changes in the fecal microbiome. Further prospective studies are required to fully assess the safety and efficacy of dietary therapy in patients with IBD.
What does this mean?
The WDDTY report bears very little resemblance to the journal article (let alone with the title of their article or any other published research by David Suskind).
How come?
I cannot be sure, but I would not be surprised to hear that the latter was 'egged up' to make the former appear more interesting.
If that is so, WDDTY are (once again) guilty of misleading the public to the point of endangering lives of vulnerable patients.
SHAME ON EVERY OUTLET THAT SELLS WDDTY, I'd say.
Yes, the festive season is upon us and therefore it is high time to discuss detox (yet again). As many of us are filling their fridges to the brim, most of us prepare for some serious over-indulgence. Following alt med logic, this must prompt some counter-measures, called detox.
The range of treatments advocated by detox-fans is weird and wide (see also below):
- various alternative diets,
- herbal, vitamins, minerals and other 'natural' supplements,
- various forms of chelation therapy,
- electromagnetic devices,
- colonic irrigation and enemas,
- various forms of skin bruising,
- cupping,
- sauna and other means of inducing extensive sweating,
- homeopathy,
- ear candles,
- foot-baths,
- etc., etc.
I suppose it was to be expected that detox often goes with other crazy beliefs. This website, for instance, shows that it is even associated with anti-vaxx:
Whether you believe vaccines to be harmful or not, one has to admit that all the ingredients added to vaccines cannot be good for anyone, especially children.
As David Wolfe has discussed, vaccines contain the following: sucrose, fructose, dextrose, potassium phosphate, aluminum potassium sulfate, peptone, bovine extract, formaldehyde, FD&C Yellow #6, aluminum lake dye, fetal bovine serum, sodium bicarbonate, monosodium glutamate, aluminum hydroxide, benzethonium chloride, lactose thimerosal, ammonium sulfate, formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, bovine extract), calf serum, aluminum phosphate, aluminum hydroxyphosphate sulfate, and ethanol.
That is a long scary list and many of these things will not leave the body naturally. Thus, a gentle detox is necessary.
Detoxification Bath
Living Traditionally suggests a detoxification bath with both Zendocrine and epsom salt. Zendocrine is an essential oil mixture made up of tangerine, rosemary, geranium, juniper berry, and cilantro. Rosemary, juniper berry, and cilantro are good choices for detoxification and tangerine and geranium are purifiers.
Garlic has been scientifically proven to treat heavy metal poisoning. Organic Lifestyle Magazine suggests consuming three cloves a day to help remove toxins.
Silica is also good for a heavy metal detox. Natural News states, "Aluminum (Al) is passed out through the urine when one supplements silica. It seems there's little danger of taking too much, as long as adequate water is consumed and vitamin B1 and potassium levels are maintained."
One of the best ways to get silica in your system is with the horsetail herb, rye, barley, oats, wheat, and alfalfa sprouts nuts.
Chlorella is one of the best detoxifying substances available. According to Dr. Mercola, "Chlorella is uniquely designed to not bind to the minerals your body naturally needs to function optimally. It does not bind to beneficial minerals like calcium, magnesium, or zinc. It's almost as if chlorella knows which metals belong in your body and which chemicals need to be removed. Supplementing with chlorella is like unleashing a tiny army inside your body to fight the battle of removing toxins from your tissues and ushering them back outside your body where they belong."
You can take it in supplement form or add a powdered version to your smoothie.
Probiotics are what is needed to put good bacteria system to rights when it has been thrown off by toxins. "They can provide assistance by decreasing the number of bad bacteria while helping to restore balance between good and bad bacteria in the gut and to keep your body functioning properly." (LiveStrong)
Some probiotic foods include: organic yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kombucha, and fermented vegetables.
Omega 3 oils are especially good for cell repair and keeping your brain healthy. This is because of their high fat content is similar to the fats that are naturally part of cell and brain systems. (Daily Mail)
A teaspoon daily should be enough or you could take a supplement.
According to Natural Society, cilantro is a very gentle detoxification tool. It is also effective for removing heavy metals from the brain.
For 2-3 weeks, add a teaspoon of cilantro to your food, smoothie, or just eat it up. You can also substitute with 6-7 drops of cilantro essential oil by adding it to your bath.
Don't you just adore the sources quoted by the author as evidence for his/her statements?
As I said, the therapies recommended for detox are diverse. Yet, they have one important feature in co<span style="color: #668a1d;">mmon: they are not based on anything remotely resembling good evidence. As I stressed in my article of 2012:
The common characteristics of all of these approaches are that they are unproved. Even experts who are sympathetic to alternative medicine and AD admit: 'while there are hundreds of randomized controlled trials on drug and alcohol detox, there are no such trials of detox programs focusing on environmental toxins … at present, "detox" is certainly more of a sales pitch than a science'. The 'studies' of AD that have been published are of such poor methodological quality that no conclusions can be drawn from them.
While there is a total absence of sound evidence for benefit, some of these treatments have been associated with risks which depend on the nature of the treatment and can be particularly serious with diets (malnutrition), supplements (hepatoxicity), chelation (electrolyte depletion) and colonic irrigation (perforation of the colon).
Yet detox is big business'. A recent survey, for instance, suggested that 92% of US naturopaths use some form of detox. To lay people, its principles seem to make sense and, in many of us, the desire to 'purify' ourselves is deep rooted. Thus detox-entrepreneurs (including Prince Charles who, several years ago, launched a 'Detox-Tincture' via his firm Duchy Originals) are able to exploit a gullible public.
Proponents of detox are keen to point out that 'a modern science of 'detoxicology' seems to be emerging'. If there is such a thing, it should address the following, fundamental questions:
- What are the toxins and toxicants?
- What evidence exists that they damage our health?
- How do we quantify them?
- How do we diagnose that a patient requires detox?
- Which treatments are effective in eliminating which toxins?
Currently, there is insufficient evidence to answer any of these questions. Until this situation changes, I do not think a 'science of detox' exists at all.
Prince Charles' views on health have repeatedly taken centre stage on this blog. And rightly so; they are often weird and wonderful. In 2013, for instance, I quoted them extensively:
Charles stands for…"the kind of care that integrates the best of new technology and current knowledge with ancient wisdom. More specifically, perhaps, it is an approach to care of the patient which includes mind, body and spirit and which maximizes the potential of conventional, lifestyle and complementary approaches in the process of healing". Charles believes that conventional medicine aims "to treat the symptoms of disease" his vision of a post-modern medicine therefore is "actively to create health and to put the patient at the heart of this process by incorporating those core human elements of mind, body and spirit…This whole area of work – what I can only describe as an 'integrated approach' in the UK, or 'integrative' in the USA – takes what we know about appropriate conventional, lifestyle and complementary approaches and applies them to patients. I cannot help feeling that we need to be prepared to offer the patient the 'best of all worlds' according to a patient's wishes, beliefs and needs". Charles also points out that "health inequalities have lowered life-expectancy" in parts of the UK and suggests, if we "tackle some of these admittedly deep-seated problems, not only do you begin to witness improvements in health and other inequalities, but this can lead to improvements in the overall cost-efficiency and effectiveness of local services."
Sounds alright? Well – at least it is touching to see how he is concerned about inequalities in the UK!
But the royal and no doubt well-intended views need to be followed by royal actions. If not, such words might degenerate into royal BS. If Charles is so keen on giving us all THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS, he should stop promoting outright quackery such as homeopathic remedies. They contain nothing but sugar! But that is one substance Charles seems to be rather fond of, regardless of the harm it can do in high doses to public health.
Recently, Prince Charles has been criticised by health campaigners for the high sugar content of his Duchy Organic ice cream. The Duchy Organic vanilla ice cream contains 14.5g of sugar per 100g, almost double the amount of Asda's 'smart price' vanilla ice cream which has 7.9g sugar per 100g. If that wasn't enough of a blow to the Prince's brand, the Asda ice cream is also much more affordable at 85p for two litres – compared with £3.49 for every 750ml tub of the Duchy Organic product. Charles' Dutchy Originals products are sold by Waitrose, and a spokesman of the retailer said: "Waitrose Duchy Organic vanilla ice cream is an indulgent product which is not aimed at children."
Indulgent like in 'expensive'? So much for inequalities, Charles.
But let's not go there; let's be constructive; after all, the man is full of good will, isn't he?
I recommend the R&D department of Dutchy Originals put their profits and Charles convictions to good use. Specifically, I suggest they start a research programme on the homeopathic cure for sugar-induced obesity. If Charles is correct, and LIKE CURES LIKE, the obesity epidemic in the UK should be treatable with the very cause of excess body weight. It follows that potentised sugar ought to be a cure for obesity.
I can see it now: DUTCHY ORIGINALS – 'SUGAR C30', £15.99 per 10g.
Yes, I know, lately I have been neglecting my 'ALT MED HALL OF FAME'. This is entirely my fault; there are so many candidates waiting to be admitted that, I have been hesitant as to who should be next. Today, I came across an article about Deepak Chopra and his latest book, Super Genes. It tells "how lifestyle shifts can help you reboot your health at a genetic level." If it were just for this single sentence, he would deserve to be admitted – no, not into what you just thought, into the 'ALT MED HALL OF FAME', of course'.
I will save you the expense of buying his book (don't worry, Deepak is already a multi-millionaire) by repeating what the article said about his '6 pillars of wellbeing' (another cracker!!!):
• A typical modern diet is very likely to cause inflammation, which research has linked to many chronic diseases and obesity.
• To reduce inflammation, add prebiotics – substances that buffer the body from inflammation – such as oatmeal, pulpy orange juice, bran cereal and bananas to your breakfast.
• Consume probiotics – foods that contain active bacteria – once a day for gut health. These foods include active yoghurt, pickles and sauerkraut.
• Eat mindfully – eat only when you're genuinely hungry and stop when you are full.
• Reduce snacking by eating only one measured portion in a bowl; never eat straight from a bag or packet.
• Three factors generally lie behind the problem of chronic stress: repetition, unpredictability and a lack of control. Think of a dog barking outside your window; you don't know when it will end and you have no way of stopping it.
• Decrease background noise and distractions at work. Also, avoid multitasking by dealing with one thing at a time.
• Leave work on time at least three times a week and don't bring work home. Leave the office at the office.
• Avoid people who are sources of pressure and conflict. Even normal office behaviour, such as forming cliques and gossiping, is a source of stress that has the potential to be emotionally devastating.
• If you struggle to deal with negative emotions, ask your doctor about cognitive behaviour therapy.
• The secret to exercise is this: keep going and don't stop. It's better to be active all your life at a lower level, rather than to be at a near professional-level in high school, say, and then stop completely.
• At work get up and move around once an hour and devote half your lunch break to movement, even if it's walking around the block.
• Be in nature more: go outside for five to 10 minutes three times a day.
• Acquire more active friends and join them in their activities. Plan a shared exercise activity with your spouse or friends twice a week.
• Make leisure time more creative – think beyond TV or internet.
• Volunteer to help the needy with housecleaning, painting and repairs.
This will serve as both exercise and a morale boost.
• Meditate every day for 10 minutes.
Sit with your eyes closed in a quiet place, put your attention on the tip of your nose and focus on the sensation of your breath coming in and out of your nostrils.
• Don't look at meditation as an aid for the bad days you experience ("I'm feeling good today, so I don't need to meditate"). It should be a lifelong practice.
• Take 10 minutes out of your lunch break to sit alone with eyes closed, preferably outside in nature.
• Notice what a relief it is to take big deep breaths when you are upset or nervous, and how ragged your breath becomes when you are anxious or stressed.
• Join an organised meditation course in your area. Search for meetup.com to find local groups that meet all around the country.
• Make your bedroom as dark as possible. If total darkness is impossible, wear a sleep mask.
• Drink a glass of warm almond milk, which is rich in calcium and promotes melatonin, a hormone that helps to regulate the sleep-wake cycle.
• Experiment with herbal teas associated with good sleep such as chamomile, valerian, passionflower, lavender and kava kava.
• Explore abhyanga, a self-massage technique that uses warmed sesame oil, lightly massaged into arms, legs, neck and torso (go to YouTube to see tutorials).
• Don't ignore insomnia. In some studies sleep disorders have been associated with triggering Alzheimer's disease and are also associated with high blood pressure.
• Take responsibility for your feelings. Wellbeing depends upon happiness, yet most people don't really make that connection.
• Write down five specific things that make you happy and, on a daily basis, do at least one of them.
• Set a "good news policy" at meal times, whether it's the radio station you choose to listen to or the topic of conversation around the table.
• Explore a time in your past when you were happy and learn from it, whether that means re-embracing an old hobby or getting in touch with an old friend.
• Become comfortable with delayed gratification – consider how your choices will make you feel in the future as well as today.
My favourite website about Deepak Chopra is the one by Tom Williamson. It states that "it has been said by some that the thoughts and tweets of Deepak Chopra are indistinguishable from a set of profound sounding words put together in a random order, particularly the tweets tagged with "#cosmisconciousness". This site aims to test that claim! Each "quote" is generated from a list of words that can be found in Deepak Chopra's Twitter stream randomly stuck together in a sentence." It seems to me that Deepak himself might have made ample use of this site for writing his latest book, and if you should ever run out of platitudes or empty phrases, this site will serve you well.
Deepak has published plenty of best-sellers, but he has as good as nothing to show for himself in the peer-reviewed medical literature. (When you are that famous, you obviously don't need to bother anymore with trivia such as evidence, science and all that jazz.) This means that I had to deviate from my usual admission criteria for the "prophet of alternative medicine", as Deepak likes to be called. But he is well worth making an exception, I am sure you agree, he is the absolute super-star!
Super-star of what?
I let you decide!


text:
No products
Prices are tax excluded
Cosmotec, Inc. (Cosmotec) recognizes that sustaining good Quality and Environmental practice is essential to the success of the business and that the protection of products, services and the environment is a key business consideration.
Cosmotec believes that this objective is promoted by requiring that all persons at all levels of the organization understand the Company's policies, objectives and procedures. The CEO and Directors recognize that effective quality and environmental management contributes to the success of the business in all its operating activities.
The company is committed to the continual improvement of its Quality and Environmental performance and development of its policies and culture.
The responsibility for quality and environmental management lies with all personnel in Cosmotec and its Headquarters in Japan, Cosmotec Corporation. It is the duty of all Cosmotec employees while at work for the quality of the work they perform and their environmental impacts.
The Company actively promotes responsible recycling, re-use, and energy efficiency. It makes every effort to reduce pollution and reduce environmental impacts. All employees must also co-operate with the Company in fulfilling its statutory duties and aims of this policy. This policy and the way that it is implemented will be reviewed on a constant basis to meet new legislative and business requirements and to identify and correct deficiencies.
This policy will be brought to the attention of all employees at all locations with whom relevant discussion and consultation will take place concerning quality and environmental issues.
Taku Sekiguchi
Chief Executive Officer,
Cosmotec, Inc.


text:
Premieres \
Hear Queens of the Stone Age Debut 'If I Had a Tail' and 'I Sat by the Ocean' Live
Belgium gig breathes life into '...Like Clockwork' tracks
It's a big week for Queens of the Stone Age reveals. First, that creepy robocall scheme and Adult Swim commercial resulted in the grisly "I Appear Missing" video. And now, without all of the usual build-up, we suddenly have two new songs to consider from the desert rock OGs' forthcoming sixth album and Matador Records debut …Like Clockwork. Josh Homme and the gang played Belgian venue Club 69 on Wednesday night (May 8) and performed the previously unheard pair "If I Had a Tail" and "I Sat by the Ocean." The former is a dark but mellow, featuring wobbly keys, grinding guitars, and disco drums. The latter is more forward, with Homme flirting with falsetto and an ear-worming melody. The tracks were broadcast via radio program Studio Brussel, who also conducted an interview with Homme on the subject of his June 4 release.
…Like Clockwork is QOTSA's first album in five years and features collaborations with Elton John, Trent Reznor, Mark Lanegan, Brody Dalle ,and Alex Turner. Though recent SPIN cover star Dave Grohl isn't on the road with the gang, he drums all over the new long-player.
Stream and download "If I Had a Tail":
Stream and download "I Sat by the Ocean":


text:
BERNARDS TWP., NJ - Starting this week, the first of two summer concerts at the Ross Farm in Basking Ridge will heat up the local live music scene. The End of America, performing rock and Americana, is scheduled to perform this Thursday evening, June 29.
JD Eicher is also scheduled to take the stage at Ross Farm on Sunday afternoon, July 16. These are the final concerts until the music series resumes in October.
The End of America has played two opening sets at the Farm: first in 2015 with Matt Hires as part of the Autumn Acoustic Afternoon series, and then with Christian Lopez for last year's Celebrate Summer concert. RSVPs are already being taken in at www.rossfarm.org/event/teoa-2017/ for their headlining show later at the end of June.
The Philadelphia-based trio is a band of friends, singers and travelers who blend three-part harmony with rock and Americana. They master a style that resonates with fans of Ryan Adams, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, and Dawes.
All frontmen of previous bands, Brendon Thomas, James Downes and Trevor Leonard met on tour in 2005. They went on to form a trio that highlights their vocal chemistry and captures the raw honesty of their performances. They recently released their self-titled debut LP The End of America, a follow-up to their previous EPs, Shakey and Steep Bay.
With the album released, the band geared up for a full year of touring. Anyone who has seen TEOA can attest to their powerful harmonies and stage presence. They became a Ross Farm favorite after their first show in the Music Room of the historic home and they helped fill the Barn with an enthusiastic audience on a stormy summer night last year.
The End of America has performed at SXSW, Savannah Stopover and the Baltimore Folk Fest. They have shared the stage with Larry Campbell, David Bromberg, Gary Louris (The Jayhawks), Simone Felice (The Felice Brothers) and joined Beck in Los Angeles to perform for his Song Reader sheet music release show. The trio's appearance at the show aired live on KCRW and received praise from Spin, Filter and The Hollywood Reporter.
Ross Farm Music Series at historic estate off North Maple Avenue
The Ross Farm Music Series is hosted by the Friends of the Boudinot-Southard-Ross Estate, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, at the historic estate located at 135 N. Maple Avenue in Basking Ridge. A suggested donation of $20 for adults and $10 for students for each concert can either be submitted via PayPal when RSVPs are entered or at the door for the concerts. As these shows are expected to be staged outside weather permitting, guests are encouraged to bring blankets or lawn chairs although some seating will be available if needed.
JD Eicher also to return to Ross Farm
RSVPs are also being accepted for the July 16 concert with JD Eicher and Mike Mains at www.rossfarm.org/event/eicher-mains/. Eicher returns to the Ross Farm following a big year personally and professionally. He and his wife welcomed a baby daughter in the fall, and JD also delivered a soundtrack of his original songs to accompany best-selling author Nicholas Sparks' latest book, Two by Two. Pairing a soundtrack to a novel was a unique concept, and Eicher was invited to accompany Sparks on his book tour, singing to the crowds while they waited for Sparks to sign their novels.
"The music that I'm writing and releasing is really mirroring who I am and where I am at that time in my life. It's easy to perform songs when they're very true," said Eicher in his online bio. The Youngstown, OH-born and bred musician added, "I'm really glad that my career has taken the longer, 'scenic' route, because the music I'm writing now has a certain truth to it that I'm not sure I would have found otherwise."
Eicher's Rust Belt upbringing seeps into, or serves as, the foundation of his songwriting. "I think it definitely affects the music," he affirms, "even in the way I approach touring and my overall work ethic with songwriting and recording. There's a world-wariness that comes out of this area that gets into the songs. I think there's a realism that comes out of this part of the country, too, and I think that gets in there as well." It's no wonder that Pittsburgh, PA, not far from his Ohio hometown of Youngstown, has embraced the performer and his music as their own, too.
With his band, The Goodnights, Eicher's soaring and graceful pop-rock songcraft garnered favorable comparisons to Coldplay, Keane, The Script, The Killers, and Death Cab for Cutie. Alternative Addiction named the group one of the top 10 unsigned bands. Virgin Atlantic airlines used one of the band's songs in the teaser for the airline's movie, Departure Date. Live, JD Eicher and the Goodnights shared the stage with such diverse and respected artists as the Dave Matthews Band, Coldplay, Train, Maroon 5, Bryan Adams, Kelly Clarkson, Sister Hazel, and Matt Nathanson, among many others.
Eicher will be accompanied by bandmates drummer Dylan Kollat and bass player Jim Merhaut. Opening this show is Mike Mains. According to the Detroit-based musician's bio, he loves rock and roll and the creative craft of large hooks and lyrical sensibility. "His earnest honesty is evident in his music, his shows, and his life. Mains approaches his musical passion with lunch pail in hand, hammering out meaningful, well-crafted songs like a skilled tradesman," the document reads.
Performing over 300 shows the last three years, Mains has built a committed fan base. His shows have proven to be high energy, interactive and exciting. Mains is recording his third full-length LP this year, and it is expected to be an expansion of his already-established foundation: exciting rock and roll.
Local business scholarships help support music series
Sponsorships from local businesses for the first time this year have helped support the Ross Farm Music Series. The FoBSR invites fans of its live music to consider patronizing the sponsors' businesses or services and thanking them for their support! 2017 Music Series sponsors are: Atelier Salon, Back to Nature Home & Garden, Bobi Commer – Coldwell Banker, The Café @ Liberty Cycle, Concert Audio, Couch Braunsdorf Insurance, Country Mile Gardens, Crawford Academics, Minuteman Restaurant, Mockingbird Café, Safety & Aquatic Solutions, TAPinto Basking Ridge, TrueLeaf Kitchens, and Tull's Foreign Auto Body.


text:
- Stores >
- Travel & Events >
- Transportation >
- Airport Parking >
- Flying Scot Promo Codes
Flying Scot's activity feed
@morelba researched Flying Scot deals and reactivated 1 coupon
@miriam218 researched Flying Scot deals and found no new coupons
@miriam218 researched Flying Scot deals and found no new coupons
About Flying Scot
Flying Scot is a small airport parking retailer which operates the website flyingscotparkingglasgow.co.uk. As of today, we have no active coupons. The Dealspotr community last updated this page on July 13, 2017. Flying Scot has an average discount of 10% off and an average time to expiration of 38 days.
Have you shopped at Flying Scot?
No ratings yet
How to use Flying Scot promo codes
- Go to flyingscotparkingglasgow.co.uk then select the items you wish to purchase and add them to your shopping cart.
- Find a promo code on this page. Click to open the code, then click "copy" to copy the coupon code to your clipboard.
- Go back to flyingscotparkingglasgow.co.uk and proceed to checkout. Look for the box labeled "Enter promo code" and paste your promo code in that box.
- Once you apply the promo code, your savings should be applied, and you can complete checkout.
Promo code didn't work? Read these expert tips.
- Flying Scot rarely offers promo codes. On average, Flying Scot offers 0 codes or coupons per month. Check this page often, or follow Flying Scot (hit the follow button up top) to keep updated on their latest discount codes.
- Check for Flying Scot's promo code exclusions. Flying Scot promo codes sometimes have exceptions on certain categories or brands.
- Look for the blue "site-wide" label for site-wide Flying Scot promo codes. Site-wide codes can be applied to any item on Flying Scot's website, and therefore are the most useful codes.
- Read our expert guide to finding promo codes for stores that rarely offer them.
Flying Scot Promo Codes & Coupons
Dealspotr has 4x More Working Promo Codes than RetailMeNot or Honey
Tired of expired coupons? Dealspotr is crowdsourced. We have 10 million coupons, verified by real people. Every code on Dealspotr is backed up by a screenshot so you know how it works. Join our community and earn points for sharing deals.
Get up to 75% Off Getaways at Groupon
0 Verified Promo Codes for Flying Scot
We checked , and Flying Scot does not appear to be running any promo codes.
Here are the best available codes we have for Flying Scot:


text:
What happens on Facebook stays on Facebook. Forever. And it's searchable. Bwahahaha! Just wait until we torch the skies!
Ok, maybe I'm being a little melodramatic, but Facebook is changing its privacy settings (again), and this time it's removing the feature that allowed you to stay hidden when people searched for your name.
Facebook said today that the setting "made Facebook's search feature feel broken at times. For example, people told us that they found it confusing when they tried looking for someone who they knew personally and couldn't find them in search results, or when two people were in a Facebook Group and then couldn't find each other through search."
Whatever, Facebook. We know you're really just trying to take over our souls and use us as naked human batteries with zero privacy.
Don't worry though, you can still use the privacy settings to keep your boss from seeing the pics of you doing shots at the bar during happy hour last week.
Under the privacy settings, you can control who sees what posts. You can block people from seeing anything but your public updates. Create a Restricted list and put people like your boss and your elderly neighbor on it. This is perfect for stealth unfriending the frenemies too.
Another good option is to create a list of super close friends and post only to them when you want to complain about your epic hangover.
If you're still uncomfortable with the privacy settings, you know what they say: Abstinence is the only way to be 100 percent effective. No one is forcing you to be on Facebook.
Do you use lists to control who sees your Facebook posts?
Image via Thierry Roge/Corbis


text:
Voici que se termine la publication en trois parties de notre interview d'Henry Jackman, compositeur de musique additionnelle pour les Simpson Le Film.
Can you tell me about some specific scenes you were in charge of?
The differences between Pirates of the Caribbean and the actual movie is that, instead of having continuous long cues that last, say, six minutes, here you've got twenty seconds of music and then Homer Simpson can burst into the door and say something ridiculous. So, it's a very challenging process, not to get fragmented because you have to get out of the way for comic moments. So, often, cues are 20-22-second long and gap! It's very broken up. But actually, there is one cue that became very clear it would be quite a long cue. Half way through the movie, when it becomes clear that it's Homer Simpson who is responsible for the ecological disaster, the whole of Springfield gather together in a violent mob to come and get him. The cue begins quite early on with the mob arriving at home, and it's a long sequence where they get chased and they jump across from one house to the next, to Flander's house, and they jump in a car, and the car gets lifted up by the mob. Then they're gonna get hanged and then they hide in a tree house, and the mob is putting it down. It's a big five-minute thing, and I got put onto that one quite early. That kind of cue was very, very well temped. The music editor, Dan Pinder, did a fantastic job of getting a good shape, a good idea of where things should be moving, where the feeling of action should start, the feeling of suspense. He spent a long time on that cue getting a good structural shape, even if the actual little beats of music they used weren't necessary right. It's a bit like sending a scout out over the hill before you actually invade with the army.
As you said it, the orchestration is very elaborate whereas the design of the Simpsons has always been very simple. How did you deal with that difference?
There are a couple of ways to answer your question. The first is : just experimenting. For instance, when Hans started talking about this idea to raise the bar and use a little of Prokofiev and Gershwin, he said : "you just have to try. Let's go and see what happens." So, when I wrote the suite, we went and see if that worked with the picture. And it did! It didn't make the film pompous. It didn't feel like we were trying to impose some inappropriate concert-hall values on the American simple cartoon. It somehow worked. And the second answer is : you really have to disappear in a way that you never did on Pirates of the Caribbean. And the jokes really have to dictate that. There is some elaborate orchestration, but at the same time, at key jokes and key moments, when there's slapstick humor, things that are quintessentially "Simpsons", it's all about the characters and you quite literally just have to get out of the way. There is often no musical solution to Homer's ridiculous behavior. And some of the jokes appear so suddenly that they would be too overproduced if you would have continued the cue. That would have become too invasive. So I think part of the trick of reconciling something as visually simple with some symphony orchestra is actually be how discrete you are. If you listen carefully, there isn't that many cues that last a long time continuously. It's a combination of good judgment and discretion and getting out of the way. You're not going to impose yourself on these four animated characters in a way that is irritating or distracts from the Simpsons we all know and love.
You seem very enthusiastic about this production…
Was it different, working on the Simpsons, from any other movie you did?
Be it on Da Vinci Code or Pirates of the Caribbean, the powerhouse is the director. Both Ron Howard and Gore Verbinski know what they're doing and the film is their responsibility. On the Simpsons, that was a little unusual. It was much more a collective work. These guys have been doing the Simpsons for quite a long time and they know what they like and they know what they do (which they've been doing for years). So, during the meetings we had, you'd got Matt Groening, Mike Scully, Al Jean, etc. They have an idea and one of the guys would write something down on a pad, then one other would do a quick sketch and someone else would give another idea, etc. It's a like a film tank. They don't stop bouncing ideas to each others. I didn't do a million movies, but it's quite unusual.
Can you tell me about your projects?
The next thing may be the Nixon/Frost movie, based on the famous play. There is also The Darknight. It would be another James Newton Howard/ Hans Zimmer collaboration because it was very successful the last time and it worked out really well. That is a ferocious combination of talents, to be honest. If you're a director, you'd be lucky to have one of those guys doing your score. To have both of them at the same time, that's incredible! I remember the first opus when I was doing Da Vinci Code. At the end of the film, just after Gary Oldman says he had never had a chance to say thank you, and Batman goes : "and you never need to", there is a massive widescreen shot of Batman standing on top of some building. It's an incredibly inspiring shot and they got an amazing music then. And then, I discovered in the end credit that that was Hans and James Newton Howard's collaboration, two of the greatest Hollywood composers! No doubt the next movie will be done the same way!
If you could choose a film to do, and a director…
I've always loved Ridley Scott movies. I really like patient movies, without a lot of dialogues, developing slowly, visually and poetically, which is often not very fashionable. Not that many blockbusters can take that risk : they need action and all that. Take Maximus in Gladiator. Instead of wasting dialogue scenes to set up how much he loves his wife, it's all done poetically. It's a very important piece of the emotional information, explained without dialogues. So it leaves more room for beautiful cinematography and beautiful music! Another film I totally loved (not the critics!) was The New World by Terence Malick. That's my kind of movies. Nobody says a word during the first ten minutes! And the first cue is 11 minutes of Wagner before anything happens. It's a beautiful shot of Virginia. I love that movie. By the way, Hans worked once with him, on The Thin Red Line. I love that sort of movies. In brief, if there's a film I would have loved to do, it would have been The Mission. It would have been an honor, because it's a beautiful movie with an incredibly serious theological and cultural content. I'd love to have this kind of opportunity to inspire the audience just with beautiful music, without having to get out of the way because of dialogues or sound effects.
My last question is crucial… do you like donuts?
That's a very good question! Fairly enough! In fact, I've never eaten donuts in England. But when I moved to LA – I think I was working with Seal at the time- and he asked me : "do you want a donut? –No, I don't eat donuts!" And he goes: "No, no, no. You have never tried crispy cream donuts, trust me! Let's got in the car and get some. You're gonna love them!" And I have to say, I think I had about ten of them! God knows what they put in that, certainly really, really bad things. But what an experience!
Merci à J. NOYER pour la transcription!


text:
Privacy Policy
Updated 31/07/07
The British Horseracing Authority Limited ("we", "us", "our") is the data controller for all personal information collected from users of the website. We take the privacy and security of our customer information seriously and we are committed to safeguarding your privacy online. The following provides you with details of our Privacy Policy. Please take a moment to read this so you know what choices you have about the information we may ask you for.
Any personal data relating to you will only be used by us in accordance with current data protection legislation. Such personal data will be collected, processed and used by us or our agents for the purpose of registering you on-line, providing the Website to you and facilitating any transactions which you may enter into with us through your use of the Website. We may also make use of such data for administration purposes and future enhancing of the Website to meet your needs as well as our marketing, advertising and promotional purposes. You are able to state your preference on Registration, and for details on how to unsubscribe read on and see end of Privacy section.
Upon registering your details with us you can consent to us collecting and using personal information about you as per your choices within the registration process, including email and SMS communication and sharing data with third party companies.
What does this Privacy Policy not cover?
Please note that this Privacy Policy only refers to this website, and not to the collection and use of personal information by any companies, individuals or organisations to which we provide links via our services. We are not responsible for the privacy policies of other websites, and encourage you to be aware when you leave our site, and to read all applicable terms and conditions and privacy policies when using other websites.
What information do we collect?
Information about your use of our services:
We may gather data about your visit to our site; for example how long you stayed on a page, to analyse site trends and to gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. The way in which this information is gathered is not linked to any personal information that can identify any individual person. We may from time to time share aggregated demographic information with our partners and advertisers to provide general information, for example '20,000 visited our home page yesterday' or '50% of our customers are female'.
Personal Details:
To provide you with a range of services and to help us build a customer profile, we may collect personal information from this website for example, when you register, from telephone responses, from written information sent to us and from other communications. We may, for example collect personal details including name, mailing address, e-mail address, gender and preferences. We always aim to improve the services we offer. As a result we occasionally canvass our customers using market research surveys, competitions, sweepstakes or promotions. Participation is voluntary, and you are under no obligation to reply to any survey, competition, sweepstakes or promotion you might receive from us. Should you choose to do so, we will treat the information you provide with the same high standard of care as all other customer information.
Purchase History:
We may collect information about your online purchases to assist us in suggesting other products and services that may be of interest to you.
Like many other online services, when you first visit our website, on entering your name and address, we may send you a cookie. Usage of cookies is in no way linked to any personally identifiable information while on our website. A cookie is a small file that can be placed on your computer's hard drive for record keeping purposes, and we may use them to do a number of things. For example: Cookies help us to recognise you when you next visit one of our websites and note the advertisements displayed to you. This allows us to tailor the service we provide to your preferences; Cookies may be used to compile anonymous statistics related to the take up or use of services, or to patterns of browsing. When used in this manner, you are not individually identified, and information collected in this manner is only used in aggregate. Some of our online partners (for example, advertisers) may use cookies on our website or their own sites. We have no access to, or control over these cookies. You are not obliged to accept a cookie from us, or any other website, and you may modify your browser so that it will not accept cookies. How to adjust your browser to stop it accepting cookies or to notify you of them, will depend on the type of internet browser programme your computer uses. If your computer uses Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator, you will need to follow these instructions after clicking onto this link www.allaboutcookies.org. Go to the heading "Manage Cookies." Click onto the option you prefer, either stopping cookies being installed, or notifying you of them. From the list provided, click onto the programme which your computer uses. If this is not shown on the list, click on the "help" heading on the bar at the top of this page. If this is not shown on the list. Click on the "help" heading on the bar at the top of this page, search for information on "cookies" – an explanation of how to delete cookies will appear, then follow these instructions.
Recommend a friend:
We may from time to time operate a "Recommend a Friend" service. This is a referral service, designed to make it easy for customers to recommend our websites or offers to a friend, and is a two-step process. First, you send us a friend's name and email address, and secondly, we contact the friend, telling them who we are, and inviting them to take advantage of a particular offer, or to visit our Website. When we contact a customer's friend, we always advise them of the name and email address of the customer who made the original referral. In recommending a friend you consent to disclosing your details in communication with the recommended friend. Your friend will have the opportunity to request the removal of his or her personal information from our database. Until the Friend has had an opportunity to register we will not use your friend's details for any other purpose.
How do we use your information?
We will use any personal information relating to you only in accordance with current data protection legislation and this Privacy Policy.
We may use your personal information to communicate with you by email, fax or telephone, for record keeping purposes, to personalise your visits to the website, for the purpose of providing any services you request or register for, fraud prevention and detection purposes, and for any other purposes we may notify to you and the relevant data protection authority from time to time.
We may use your personal information to inform you by email, fax or telephone, about products and services in which you might be interested. From time to time we may want to share your information with other reputable companies both within and outside the European Economic Area who may use the information for similar purposes.
We may also disclose your personal information to any entity who may take over the running of this website or who may purchase any or all of our assets including your personal information. We reserve the right to disclose your personal information to any law enforcement agencies requesting it in connection with the committing of any offence, once we are reasonably satisfied as to the circumstances surrounding the request. We also reserve the right to access and disclose your personal information to comply with applicable laws and lawful government requests, to operate our systems properly or to protect our users and ourselves.
How do we protect your Information?
We take every precaution to protect your personal information. When we ask you to submit sensitive personal financial information, such as your credit card number, we use industry standard Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption technology, making these pages secure. In addition, we have strict security protocols in place to protect our customer database, and only allow access to it when absolutely necessary for the purposes outlined in the privacy policy, and then under strict guidelines as to what use may be made of such details. We may ask you for proof of identity before disclosing any personal information to you.
Safeguarding Children's Privacy
Children should always ask a parent for permission before sending personal information to anyone online. When registering on the Britishhorseracing website it is mandatory for the user to provide his or her age date of birth. Where offers apply to users who are 18 or over, we will not send direct e-mail offers to users who indicate they are under 18. No information should be submitted to, or posted on the Website by visitors under the age of 18 without the consent of their parents.
What if you no longer wish us to hold your personal information?
We hope that you will enjoy using this website and the services we offer. However, you may request that your personal information is not used in the ways outlined above. This is called unsubscribing, and may be achieved by any of the following methods:
By Email to email@example.com
Or write to us at: Britishhorseracing, PO Box 4013, London W1A 6NG
Please note: we may send you website and service announcements or updates. As a registered user of the Website, you cannot unsubscribe from service announcements, as they will contain important information about the services provided on the website.
Changes to our Privacy Policy
We may occasionally modify our Privacy Policy as indicated on the 'update' date on the top. Please visit this Privacy Policy page regularly to check for updates. It is recommended that the prevailing terms and conditions, and privacy policy are printed and kept for future reference


text:
I have temporarily hooked up the hard disk from my old (dead) computer to a new computer.
I have installed the same version of xampp on the new computer.
Is there a simple way of getting my database and website files across? ie can I just copy htdocs/ and mysql/ across or are there other configuration changes that have to be made?


text:
State Sen. Dave Robertson comments on State of the State address
LANSING—State Sen. Dave Robertson, R-Grand Blanc Township, offered the following statement Thursday on Gov. Rick Snyder's State of the State address:
"Governor Snyder touched on a number of issues, but the overall tone of the speech was clear–progress has been made but there is much more work to be done.
"Just over two years ago, Governor Snyder delivered his first State of the State address. In that speech, the governor charted a bold course to reinvent Michigan. That same message resonated again tonight.
"When the Senate took office in January of 2011, the state was facing a $1.5 billion budget deficit. Now, in January of 2013, the state budget is balanced and there is more than $500 million in the state's rainy day fund. That's a $2 billion turnaround in just under two years.
"The foundation for our economic success was laid in 2011 with substantial reforms putting the building blocks in place to create a diversified and healthy state economy. We are not there yet but we are moving forward. Michigan was knocked down but we are building our way back to recover the jobs lost over the last decade.
"In just two short years the Legislature has reduced unfunded liabilities by $21 billion, created one of the fairest tax structures in the nation and eliminated one rule for every ten that were created. In total, more than 1,000 outdated and cumbersome rules were rescinded.
"The proof that these steps the Legislature has taken are working can be seen across the state. Unemployment is down, home sales have increased by 11 percent, and for the first time since 2004, Michigan's population is growing.
"I want to reiterate that while progress has been made there is still much more work to be done. I look forward to working with Governor Snyder and the House to pass laws that will encourage economic opportunity and deliver real results for real people."


text:
Group B streptococcus, or strep, is found in the lower genital tract or intestines. It is a common bacterium that causes no harm to most adults, but in infants can cause an illness called group B strep disease, which can sometimes be quite serious, according to Mayo Clinic. Group B streptococcus can be very dangerous to adults with liver disease, diabetes and other chronic conditions.
If infants are infected with group B strep, serious illness can occur. This illness, group B strep disease, takes two forms: early and late onset. The symptoms of early onset group B strep disease appear about a week after the baby is born, and include difficulty with feeding, fever and lethargy. Late onset group B strep disease's symptoms appear from 1 week to some months after the baby is born, and include fever, lethargy, feeding difficulty, having trouble breathing and irritability.
Many adults carry the group B streptococcus bacteria in their bodies and show no symptoms but, sometimes, it may cause an infection of the blood or urinary tract. Group B streptococcus can also cause pneumonia in adults. Elderly adults, especially those living in nursing homes, are at higher risk of an infection, in addition to those with chronic conditions.
The main treatment for group B streptococcus infections is antibiotics. In certain cases, especially in the case of infants, other medications, fluids and oxygen may be necessary.


text:
Eat Santa Fe – photography by Gabriella Marks
- cafe bon appétit at iaia April 13, 2016Beneath the soaring mural of a flying frito pie, the students of IAIA – the Institute of American Indian Arts – dig into a lunch of beef pho soup with diced roasted poblano peppers, lime wedges and basil chifonnade , crab cakes with side roasted pepper and mango relish, lemon grass rice pilaf with ginger […]gabriella
- Growing Opportunities February 18, 2016It's the beginning of February – by most measures, the heart of winter – and Steve Martin is wearing shorts. Partially perhaps because we're enjoying some marvelously warm midwinter weather, but specifically because the weather in the carefully climate controlled greenhouses in which Steve farms hovers around a warm and lightly humid low seventies. […]gabriella
- Radish and Rye February 3, 2016"Making good food for your body." It's a philosophy at once so simple, and yet one that sets a remarkably high standard, and one that Chef David Gaspar de Alba strives for daily through the menu at Radish and Rye. The essence of this approach is faithful adherence to and celebration of the quality of […]gabriella