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Mysore SF Rates
6 days a week non-recurring payment – $220 per month (mat storage $10 additional fee per month)
6 days a week recurring payment – $200 per month (mat storage $10 additional fee per month). Recurring is not available with any other discounts
3 days a week – $180 per month (mat storage $10 additional fee per month). Recurring payments not offered for this pass
one week pass – 5 consecutive days $100 (mat storage not included)
$22 Drop-In
*Student Discount – subtract $30 from monthly fee recurring only w/student ID (does not apply towards non-recurring, week pass, guest teachers, special events or workshops/labs)
Drop-In Policy for Primary Series Led Classes
Drop ins are welcome with an established Mysore practice or led class practice from other studios. (please check schedule and moon day calendar).
Drop-In Policy for Mysore Classes
If you would like to drop in for Mysore classes Monday-Friday you must have an established Mysore practice.
*All passes are non-transferable, non-refundable, non-exchangeable
Mysore SF's Giving Back Program
This is a program for students that are committed to daily practice but are unable to pay the monthly rate. Mysore SF has teamed up with local non-profit organizations where students volunteer 4 hours a week of their time and resources, in exchange for daily classes. We've worked with
Glide Memorial Church
Creativity Explored
Rabbit Rescue Inc
Please contact Tonya for more info
Studio Policies
- We accept cash, check and credit cards
- Passes are non-transferable, non-refundable, non-exchangeable
- If you're new to the Mysore practice please read About Mysore under The Practice tab to learn more about the tradition
Questions? Please email Tonya.


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Leader of the Democratic Party Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka stated that he has received a letter from Minister Wijedasa Rajapaksa demanding 500 Million Rupees.
He expressed these views at the Party Convention at Borella Campbell Grounds yesterday.
Minister of Justice Wijedasa Rajapaksa had previously said that he would file a case demanding 500 Million Rupees for statements made by Field Marshal Fonseka regarding the Avant Garde case.
The Field Marshal later replied that he would file a counter case demanding 5000 Million Rupees.

subset: commoncrawl


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by Dena Thomas, Monitoring and Evaluations Intern
Shanti Uganda made a very wise and strategic move when they hired Project Director (Operations), Victoria Acen, in December last year. Victoria was born in Moshi, Tanzania, but moved to Lira, Uganda with her parents when she was about 2 years old. Her family is a polygamous one comprising of two mothers, 4 sisters and 5 brothers. They have a family home in Kampala where she has lived and finished her primary, secondary and university studies. Today I sat down with her to talk about her new position at Shanti and dreams for the future.
So Victoria, what's been your career path so far and how did you end up with this leadership position in Kasana?
I began working in community development shortly after graduating from university. The positions were primarily in northern Uganda – Lira, Kitgum, Gulu and Karamoja with organisations that included Child Fund International and International Rescue Committee. I've always enjoyed building capacity within communities primarily through leadership development, in areas such as sexual and reproductive health and gender based violence programming. I realized about 3 years ago that I needed to return back to school for my Master's Degree, which I am in my final stages of completing, so that I could become more effective and increase opportunities available to me.
It sounds like you came from a large family. What were your fondest memories growing up?
Memories given to me from my Dad. He has always been a leader and a real people person. He was involved in politics and cared about what happened to those around him. We always had a full house with lots of friends involved in helping him with projects. I learned how to be generous with everything I have because of him. He taught me to always give to those in need.
How did you hear about Shanti Uganda?
I was searching for new opportunities a couple of years ago when I saw the position of Project Coordinator posted online. I applied and went through the interview process, but at the time I was still too immersed in school to be able to commit to a full time position. Sadie St. Denis (current Executive Director) phoned me this past fall to see if I was still interested in Project Director position with Shanti. I underwent a formal interview process and was selected!
Shanti is still a young and growing NGO with lots of potential for growth. What dreams do you have for the organization?
I have lots of dreams for Shanti (big smile). I would love to see the Women's Income Generating Group (WIGG) prosper and each cohort eventually become self-sustaining and independent so that we can bring in another group of HIV ladies and build into them. The biggest barrier for many of these women is lack of self-confidence. I want to go visit each of these women at their homes, hear their stories and build a level of trust with them so that they can trust me, trust each other, support and grow stronger together. I would like to see projects like peanut butter and honey production take off.
I would also like to help local schools develop a sexual and reproductive health curriculum in addition to our teen workshops Shanti runs currently. We need to start having open discussions and education in these areas. I see an effective mentorship program working among peers, where 1 or 2 students are taught and developed and they can act as leaders amongst their peers groups. I'm currently conducting my MPHL (Master in Public Health Leadership) research in this area.
Finally, I see an increase in quality and services offered at the birthing center at Shanti. I want to keep improving standards and increase services like cervical screening for women and increase the number of continuing medical education opportunities for staff so we can bring new ideas, passion and training to support them. I am also looking forward to increasing our capacity for advocacy through mobile community health outreaches in surrounding villages. I would like to see a few people in the community taught and supported well, so that they can become effective health leaders within their own villages. I think that is the most effective way to benefit a community.
What do you see are the biggest challenges for Shanti at this time?
Well, we are still a young NGO so finding donors is always a challenge. I would love to secure a few large donors that will commit to us for a few years. With that resource behind us, we can surely grow.
Victoria, you are always smiling when I see you. What are you most thankful for?
I am most thankful for my daughter, Angelica, who will be 8 years old in April. I am also grateful to Shanti for this opportunity. I wake up every morning knowing that this is what I'm meant to do. The future is so bright. There is so much to do but not enough time to do it all!


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I'm taking a break from the pre-holiday festivities to get a little philosophical. If you don't identify as a Domme or a sub, you may want to skip this blog entry entirely.
I read a few things recently regarding D/s that I'd like to share with you.
The terms "Dominant" and "submissive" mean different things to a lot of people. And it seems to me that many are quick to label themselves and take on the behaviour they believe matches that label. But to others, it's quite easy to read as an obvious charade.
Submissives who "Top from the bottom" and Dominants who believe that rudeness and bitchiness should be respected are everywhere. And personally, I find both types to be offensive.
So this is why the following makes so much sense to me.
Submissive? An acquaintance "mutilato" believes the following, and I agree:
All submissives have at least one of these qualities:
- Are you lowly and must be degraded?
- Are you lost and must be owned?
- Are you docile and must serve?
- Are you free and must be bound?
- Are you bad and must be punished?
- Are you a whore and must be fucked?
- Are you everyone's and must be shared?
And "tami" pointed out the following words from J. Mikael Togneri as a way of defining a Dominant:
- A dominant is a ruler, but never a tyrant. But to rule requires understanding, and understanding requires humility.
- A dominant has pride, but never arrogance. But pride requires dignity, and dignity requires humility.
- A dominant commands respect, but never fear. But respect requires serenity, and serenity requires humility.
- A dominant employs strength, but never force. But strength requires knowledge, and knowledge requires humility.
- A dominant criticizes, but never derides. But criticism requires insight, and insight requires humility.
- A dominant receives, but never takes. But receiving requires giving, and giving requires humility.
- A dominant completes, but never tries to alter. But to complete one must be able to see what is there, not what is missing, and this most of all requires humility.
In short, to use an archaic phrase, noblesse oblige, if a dominant is the center of a Submissive's universe, it is because the submissive thinks so, not because the Dominant does. No one is respected, let alone obeyed, just coz.
The truth of the matter is that owning is at least as much work as being owned."
Seven pillars of life. Seven pillars of wisdom
Thanks for reading … I'm heading back into "bimbo mode" now. "Where's the eggnog?"


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Swiss singer & songwriter – Bastian Baker - heidi.com ADDICTED !!
Just one single, «Lucky» (was it a premonition?) played over and over by Swiss radio stations was all it needed for Bastian Baker's name to be on the tip of everyone's tongue, as well as his catchy ballads. Practically unknown in January 2011, in the space of just a few months he managed to conquer the public, the media and even Claude Nobs, head of the Montreux Jazz Festival. He has been a total success, since his first concert at the 2011 Caprices Festival in front of 3,000 enthusiastic spectators to his appearance on the Off stage at Montreux. Everyone recognised his charisma, his angelic looks and his talent. It was the start of the Bastian Baker phenomenon. However, this 20-year-old singer songwriter has not let success go to his head. On the contrary, he is realistic and says "I don't want to be just a fad!"
His first album «Tomorrow May Not Be Better», recorded in Paris with the very best English musicians and mixed at the Philippe Weiss studio, came out on 9 September 2011, was # 1 on Swiss iTunes sales from the first day and soared to the top of the charts (# 3 as soon as it came out in Switzerland). His songs are great mixture of pop-folk and sometimes rock sounds, and the album was so successful with the public and the critics, it became a Gold record in barely four months. After 2011 which finished on a high at Zurich's Hallenstadion, where the singer performed in front of 13,000 people as the opener for the Roxette concert, 2012 already promises to be a good year. With winning a Swiss Music Award, his album coming out in France this spring, a song recorded for the Swiss Davis Cup team and a song in the works with the producer of the rapper Stress…. There's no denying Bastian Baker, nominated their 3rd favourite celebrity by the Swiss, is here to stay!
Sometimes we have good luck and you see him with heidi.com clothes, maximum R.E.S.P.E.C.T to him and Raphael his manager!!
heidi.com Team
it's up to you !!


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Fly the airwaves with the ICOM A24 airband VHF transceiver! ICOM's great new handheld aircraft radios. See also panel mount airband radios listed on this page.
Features include a "flip-flop" recall feature just like larger panel mount radios. Keep one frequency in use and the other set in standby ready for immediate use with the push of one button. In addition to the radio functions the ICOM A24 is also supplied with a VOR navagitation/ATIS weather information service radio channels (receive only). Our ICOM's A24 radios come with an ICOM factory backed guarantee.
Although they cost a little more these radios are the best aircraft handheld radios you can buy ....
- Compact and rugged.
- Bigger control panel/screen
- Water resistant to JIS 4 specifications
- Full 5 Watt PEP output power (1.5 W carrier wave)
- Receive and transmit on all 760 channels, 25 kHz tuning steps
- ANL (Auto Noise Limiter) button for noise reduction
- 200 memory channels with "alpha" tag, real word 6 character names
- External DC power jack option in both radios.
- One touch access to 121.5 MHz (emergency)
- Ni-MH battery pack with low battery alert (no memory effect)
- Backlit display and keypad for night operation
- TOT (time out timer) function for ICOM A6 AUS only.
- Size (approx) : 2 1/8(W) X 5 1/8 (H) X 1 1/2(D) in
ICOM 24 - ONLY $645includes VOR function.
NOW with FREE carry case and FREE G.A. headset patch cable
ICOM "Push-to-Talk" button, with velcro attach button for joy stick/control column $39.00.
Note : Standard A24 Headset lead is required.
ICOM 24 volt/ 12 volt cig lighter lead + noise filter $89.00
ICOM Desktop, drop in, fast charger $199.00
Superb, high quality, rugged pilots aircraft radios. The ICOM A14/A15 is a superb hand held aircraft radio, small enough for your navigation bag or glove box.
ICOM's handheld is a rugged "keep it simple" low cost aircraft radio. Strong alloy chassis, water resistant design, equivalent to IPX4, large display is easy to read with 200 memory channels available. The ICOM A14/A15 keypad allows you to input the frequency easily and has a button for the 121.5MHz emergency channel. Our radios are Australian ICOM units and come with a full local repair/replace guarantee (not a grey import).
"V-SPEED" - Loud audio
Operating in a high-noise environment? The ICOM A15 amplifier doubles the audio output, offering loud and clear audio that cuts through cabin or airport noise.
The ICOM's aircraft handheld radio is truly portable with a size of only 53(W) x 120(H) x 37(D) mm. A BNC connector for external aerial connection makes use as a fixed radio easy. Can be connected to external headset. A solid, good looking, desktop, drop in, 240v, fast charger is available as an option. ICOM's Aviation Headset patch lead an extra $89.00. Delivered registered or express mail. Pilot radio qualifications required to transmit.
ICOM A15Aircraft radio ONLY $425.00
Includes large capacity 2000 mAh li-ion battery
ICOM A15+Aircraft radio -
Including an ICOM 240v desk top, intelligent, drop in, FAST charger…
Limited stock at this price so be quick!
Includes large capacity 2000 mAh li-ion battery
ICOM A15 headset patch cord $89.00 with a radio order
to enable quiet easy aircraft radio reception with a standard aviation headset.
An aircraft radio operators certificate is required to transmit on all aircraft band radios. This certificate can be obtained at most flying schools. We have an aircraft radio operato manual available for sale that will prepare you for the certificate written test.
New ICOM A220, innovative Air Band Radio
- Easy to Install and View
Innovative features in this next generation air band panel mount transceiver are why more pilots trust ICOM avionics.
White LED display and white key backlight
The IC-A220 has a bright organic light emitting diode (OLED) display with a wide 170-degree viewing angle. White characters on a black background give the viewer clear, easy to read operating information. The white key backlighting and white OLED display match a modern plane's instrument panel. In addition, the auto dimmer function adjusts the display for optimum brightness for either day or night.
Easy channel selection
It is fast and easy to select any of the memory channels in the IC-A220. The "flip-flop" arrow button switches between main and stand-by channels. The dual watch function allows you to monitor two channels simultaneously. Additionally, the improved auto stack memory stores the last 20 channels used and allows you to recall those channels easily.
Automatic squelch function
The new automatic squelch function detects the signal level and automatically adjusts the squelch level to maintain a received call. The manual squelch function allows you to instantly adjust the squelch level. The squelch test function manually opens the squelch for testing.
GPS memory function
When connected to comparable external GPS's equipped with an airport frequency database, the frequency data such as nearby airports can be transferred and made available.
12V/24V DC power source
The built-in DC-DC converter accepts a 12/24V DC power source. The IC-A220 is easily installed in most airplanes or vehicles.
Intercom functions
The IC-A220 has a built-in voice activated intercom function allowing the pilot to talk with the copilot via the headset. The IC-A220 has an adjustable audio level and squelch control functions.
Easy installation
The IC-A220 has a D-Sub 25-pin industry standard connector for easy installation. The slim case can be installed into a tight panel space. If your current radio has a card edge connector and you plan on installing your new A220 into the same housing, use the MBA-3 rear panel adapter for installation.
Other features
- 20 regular memory channels with a 6-character channel name
- 50 group memory channels (10 Ch x 5 groups) with a channel tag
- Automatic weather channel scanning and receive (USA version only)
- Dualwatch and priority watch functions
- One-touch access to 121.5 MHz emergency frequency
- Side tone function for monitoring your voice with headset
- ANL (Automatic Noise Limiter) function reduces pulse type noise
- Dial lock and panel lock
- Time-out timer
- D-Sub 25-pin industry standard connector for easy installation
- Slim 1.34 inch (34mm) height can be installed in a limited panel space
- Australian aircraft TSO approved.
- Two types of menu mode: settings menu and configuration menu
ICOM A220 - LIST PRICE $4180 AEROSHOP ONLY $3190Don't miss out, secure your order for a FIRST DELIVERY, full ICOM Australia factory guarantee.
Icom's A120 base station air band mobile introduces two new features: Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) and Bluetooth® capabilities. The newly added built-in ANC reduces background noise and is effective in extremely noisy airport environments. The automatic noise limiter (ANL) reduces pulse-type noise such as engine ignition. Insert the optional UT-133 Bluetooth® unit and connect a third-party wireless Bluetooth® headset.
This unit is great for any mobile application and it's available in a base station. To transmit you will need a radio operators certificate.Both are built to mil spec for superb reliability!
|Output Power:
|26W (PEP) - 12v and 24v capable
|8.33/25kHz - 118.000-136.992MHz
|200 with 12 character channel names
|LCD display:
|Dot-matrix with alphanumeric characters & icons
|Waterproof :
|IP54 dust protection & water resistant
|Mount option:
|Mounting bracket and mic included
The ON-Hook scan function automatically starts scanning when the hand microphone is hooked on the microphone hanger. When you take the microphone OFF hook, the scanning stops at the priority channel or displayed channel. The Dualwatch function checks the priority and operating channels alternatively.
Side tone function
When using a third-party headset with the optional OPC-871A headset adapter, the side tone function allows you to monitor your own transmitted voice via the connected headset. Even when using a hand microphone, your voice can be monitored from the headset.
ICOM R6Air Band, AM & FM Receiver - Listen to it All !
No need to transmit ? An aircraft frequency capable receiver is a great low cost option. Listen to all airband frequencies (and more) with this powerful, pocket sized receiver:
- Full frequency coverage (0.100 MHz to 1309.995 MHz)
- High Speed Scan (100 Ch per Second)
- FM WFM AM Receive Modes
- Internal bar-antenna (For superior AM reception)
- 1300 Memory Channels (22 Memory Banks)
- Louder, Clearer Audio Output (BTL Circuits)
- 15 Hours of Continuous Receive (With External Speaker)
- Multiple scan functions with Auto Digital Squelch
- Auto Memory Write Scan (Detects & Stores Frequencies)
- Required 2 x AA Alkaline or Ni-MH cells
- Size only 58(W) x 86(H) x 30(D) mm
- External DC input (for desktop use & Ni-MH charging)
- 2 Year ICOM "fix it in Australia" Warranty.


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How-To Videos
How Wide to Make Doorways for Wheelchair Access
By: Danny Lipford
When designing or remodeling a home for wheelchair access, be sure to make doorways 36" wide. While a 32" wide opening is the minimum for wheelchair access, as homebuilder Phil Garner discovered after he was disabled, wider openings provide much easier access.
Watch this video to find out more.
Further Information
- How to Widen a Bathroom Door for a Wheelchair (article)
- Home Without Limits: Accessible House Design (article)
- Aging in Place (article)
- Innovative Home Solutions for Aging in Place (video)
Video Transcript
Danny Lipford: I'm sure you never realized the things like the doorways. I noticed the doorway behind you there. That's a pretty narrow doorway for anybody.
Phil Garner: It is, and I can demonstrate. One of the things is I thought a doorway that's 32 inches wide should accommodate anyone, right? As you can see, it's almost wide enough.
Danny Lipford: Oh, man.
Phil Garner: You know, my chair, it kind of nicks it. It's little tight near my elbow.
Danny Lipford: Yeah.
Phil Garner: I'm a wide guy, I realize, but one of the things is a three-foot wide or 36-inch opening really is necessary.
Danny Lipford: Yeah.
Phil Garner: And I'd always thought about that in my head; but now as I'm in this condition, I really do realize it.
Danny Lipford: Phil has removed this door from its hinges to allow access. But a helpful solution for this situation might be the swing-away hinge, which allows the door to move out of the opening as it's opened.
Fortunately you had an open floor plan. I know that's a real important part of it. Big openings here, you've got like a five-foot case opening there, going into the kitchen and everything.
Phil Garner: We knew, for resale purposes that we wanted to have the most marketability. And we knew that we needed to have an open floor plan.
Danny Lipford: Boy, this is very important. It'd be rough if this was all carpet.
Phil Garner: The hard surfaces really do make a difference, Danny. I know if I did not have the tile and the hardwood, it would be impossible to navigate.
Videos You May Like
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CommentsPlease Leave a Comment
We want to hear from you! In addition to posting comments on articles and videos, you can also send your comments and questions to us on our contact page or at (800) 946-4420. While we can't answer them all, we may use your question on our Today's Homeowner radio or TV show, or online at todayshomeowner.com.


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R.V. camping up to 40 ft. rigs. 30 & 50 amp sites available full service hookup.
Wilderness camping Tent, or R.V. electric & water included. Dump station available on site.
Monthly Rentals
Full Service Lots with 7 month lease
$450.00 Tax Included plus metered electricity
Background check and drug test required with a $70.00 fee
**ALL Monthly Rentals require a
$200.00 Deposit (paid with separate check)
Metered Electric will be billed monthly according to your usage
*Senior Citizen 55 or older Military and First Responders 10% Discount with Proper Identification $405.00* =-10%Tax included
|Wilderness Area
(No sewer on site, Dump Station on property no charge)
Daily Rate $28.00 Tax and Electricity included $25.15*=-10%
Weekly Rate
|$168.00 Tax and Electricity included
Monthly Rate Policy (Additional Persons)
- 1- Basic Rate for a Family of Four (4). Two (2) Adults Two (2) Children. Additional children $20.00 each per month up to four (4) children and a maximum six (6) persons per site.
- - Family of two (2) adults standard rate, extra adults $45.00 each per month, up to a total of Four (4) adult's maximum per
- - Family of Three adults and One (1) child, $45 .00 extra for the adult, No extra charge for the child.
Daily, Weekly and Lease Purchase Rate Policy (Additional Persons)
- Daily $5.00 per day each additional person.
- Weekly $30.00 per week each additional person.
- Seven (7) month lease $45 .00 per month each additional person.
- Lease purchase no charge for an extra person.
Wilderness Area Rate Policy (Additional persons)
- Daily $4.00 per day each additional person.
- Weekly $24.00 per week each additional person.
- 30 AMP Adapter available with $15.00 deposit (separate receipt)
- Deeded Unit Owners $10.00 per day plus tax with valid identification


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Contact Us for more information
Color: Black
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Description: EPDM Cloth Inserted Rubber is made up of EPDM rubber with a fiberglass cloth insert added incrementally throughout the thickness of the material. This process gives the rubber added durability and a higher degree of strength under hot or cold loads. Fabric reinforced EPDM is primarily used in gasketing applications as a high strength diaphragm between high pressure or low pressure junctions.
Application: Conveyor belts, Gaskets, High strength diaphragm. The fiberglass inserted EPDM is also very durable for applications where stability in the gasket is important. The fiberglass cloth insert reduces gasket creep when very heavy pipe, joint or structure loading is present. This type of material composition is ideal for gaskets requiring mechanical fastening. Like other EPDM rubber, it is resistant to weather, sunlight and most industrial chemicals and petroleum.
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20 degrees in October
October It's October 25th. However the gauge in my van read 20 degrees this afternoon. Is this evidence of global warming or just the natural course now. I'm out with Stella after a long day driving. It's still Tee shirt weather although I do have my fleece on. The leaves that only a fortnight ago …Continue reading "20 degrees in October "


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Journalists in Malaysia, soon to be bereft of a prime minister who makes news almost every time he opens his mouth, were apparently disappointed by Mahathir Mohamad's last parliamentary appearance.
At a news conference afterwards, he was asked why his performance had been so "quiet". Always willing to oblige, Dr Mahathir replied: "You can make it loud. I can go out with a bang if you want, I can say nasty things. "Ask me a nasty question, I will give you a nasty answer." Nobody did, presumably having had enough of the international uproar over his recent criticism of Jews.
Instead, the man who has ruled Malaysia for the past 22 years was asked what advice he had for reporters ahead of his retirement tomorrow.
"Report the truth even if it is bad. Don't be a spin doctor, don't distort news, don't have your own agenda," he said.Dr Mahathir has claimed repeatedly that his remark at an Islamic summit in mid-October that Jews rule the world was taken out of context.
By Smoking Gun 30 October 03
After a war waged by the U.S. military against Vietnam which took the lives of more than 3 million Vietnamese people and more than 58,000 GIs, the U.S. finally withdrew in 1975. It had suffered its first official major military defeat by a united people struggle led by the Vietnamese, along with a mass U.S. anti-war movement.
US to keep military ties with Indonesia
But America, East Timor, Bali, and Australian complicity have something in common with the 'Indonesian armed forces' and the fallout was the TNI's East Timor's massacre in 1999 and the CIA's false flag, call to arms Bali bombing in 2002, believe it or not.
The Daily Propaganda: Bali bombings could have been worse?
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner, Mick Keelty, says the bombs that killed 88 Australians in Bali could have done a lot more damage if they had been built differently.
JI propaganda expert earns $200,000 a year: GI Joe
Chain of command goes something like this: George Bush, CIA, FBI, Megawati Sukarnoputri, TNI, John Howard, Alexanda Downer, ASIO, Australian army, war, spending, vote Liberal? No Support Groups, No Organisations, No Hospitals, No Education, Excommunication, Lies, Propaganda, and Postcards from Prison, if you don't agree. Oh! Without a lawyer of course.
Signs of the Times: Aggressive Scepticism
If anyone has known a schizophrenic then you may also know that it is because of some sound or picture that invaded their thoughts which sent them mad. So possibly, any invasion of my time with self, a time to integrate past experiences could send someone mad. However if there is no interference with our own thoughts and ideas we sometimes choose to write down our conclusions and share our ideas with others socially.
Pilger said White House knew Saddam was no threat
Australian investigative journalist John Pilger says he has evidence the war against Iraq was based on a lie which could cost George W Bush and Tony Blair their jobs and bring Prime Minister John Howard down with them.
Civil Liabilities: Howard's diversity? I had a dream?
The war criminal, Prime Minister, John Howard, who only yesterday was claiming he was showing diversity has stepped up pressure on the states to support plans to increase the war criminal, Federal Attorney-General's powers to ban terrorist organisations, [scapegoats and patsies for the Coalition of the Killing's illegal and degrading resource wars in the Middle East.]
Megawati has made no effort to explain state terror
While Indonesia has actively allegedly cooperated in the war on terror [the Coalition of the Killing's resource wars in the Middle East], since last October's [CIA, call to arms, false flag], Bali bombings, sceptic propaganda experts have said it needed to go further and tackle the problem of military teachings in Government departments.
Three jailed for robbing jewellery shop! To fund Bali bombings?
Three men who robbed an Indonesian gold shop to help fund last year's Bali bombings have been sentenced to lengthy jail terms. Separate Indonesian courts have found Abdul Rauf, Andi Hidayat and Junaedi guilty of conducting last year's heist, along with two other accomplices.
Infidels! God is great!:Abu Bakar Bashir
[Patsy for the CIA, false flag, call to arms, Bali Bombings, to bolster support and to quell dissent for the Coalition of the Killing's resource wars in the Middle East.]
GI, CIA, TNI, MI6, MOSSAD, AFP, ASIO, Howard, divided: Australian experts GI, CIA, TNI, MI6, MOSSAD, AFP, ASIO, has descended into a disparate collection of cells working at cross-purposes, with deep divisions on strategy and no clear leader except to say the Indonesian Military could be involved, senior Australian counter-propaganda police believe.
False flag Bali bombings: An eye for an eye or blind toothless people?
Terrorists ALLEGED by the Daily Terror, 7 August 03, have claimed responsibility for the Jakarta bombing and are alleged to have sent a chilling warning that they will kill more Westerners if Bali bomber Amrozi is sentenced to death today.
Evidence emerges of proposed Four Corners base in Bali
Parody: More evidence has emerged that the ABC terrorist network believed to have been behind the propaganda in Australia has tried to set up a long-term base in Bali.
Australian Terror cell here long before Bali
The Australian terrorist Captain Cook infiltrated Australia years before the Bali bombings in which 202 people perished. Aboriginal people attempted to remember Captain Cook not as a founding father but as a harbinger of dispossession and death, a sign of white amnesia. Another anniversary year-used to mark two hundred years since Cook had journeyed along the east coast of Australia and, for some people, discovered a continent.
NSW police confirm don't use the phone to talk about terrorism!
The New South Wales Police Service has confirmed it is using phone taps and other forms of electronic surveillance to monitor suspected terrorist activity [ ? To monitor potential scapegoats for the Coalition of the Killing's illegal and degrading resource wars in the Middle East.]
Australia: Terrorising you in secret
Suspected terrorists [scapegoats and patsies for the Coalition of the Killing's resource wars in the Middle East] will be tried in secret under new laws to be introduced by the Federal Government.
NSW Police Force may get 'special powers'
Civil libertarians are questioning the need for further anti-terrorism laws, which will be announced in the New South Wales Parliament on Tuesday.
Evidence that Howard was complicit in CIA, false flag, call to arms, Bali bombings War criminal John Howard was complicit in the call to arms - false flag operation - Bali bombings - instigated by the CIA - and the Coalition of the Killing - to bolster support - and quell dissent for their illegal and degrading resource wars in the Middle East.
War criminal Howard high-jacks HRCA to 'legitimise killing'
The Human Rights Council of Australia (HRCA) says it fears Prime Minister John Howard's comments in support of the execution of [CIA operative] Osama bin Laden show his eagerness to overturn three decades of national opposition to the death penalty.
State terror units caused the terror!
The level of suspicion and surveillance created by the [US false flag operation and call to arms] Bali bombings, created by [ the Coalition of the Killing and Australian's complicity to go to war on Iraq] means that all Australian's suffer the loss of their human rights, civil rights and their democratic rights, as well as those Australian's who lost their life in Bali.
Al-Qa'ida or poor people without hope?
Anyone contemplating war without a UN sanction is nothing more than a common criminal and not acting in accordance with the law. Isn't Richardson the head of ASIO? A law enforcement agency? Al-Qa'ida is a Coalition of the Killing demon made up by the CIA. These people are just scapegoats, patsies, and peasants."
Red paper classes Australia as terrorist suspects
Australia's old foreign policy red paper says Australians have become targets because their own government is being run by war criminals that are complicit in state terror, torture, murder, occupation and genocide.
Australia backs CIA Reichstag, Downer's propaganda
The Foreign Affairs Minister says the latest message from Osama bin Laden is worrying. [Just plain rubbish!]
UK Reid, Blair and the reichstag London threat!
The nature of the [alleged] terrorist threat to London is on the scale of the [USA false flag] September 11 attacks in the United States, the chairman of Britain's governing Labour Party said.
Bin Laden calls? CIA blind man's bluff!
A [US propaganda, fear-mongering] taped message purportedly from Osama bin Laden has warned Arab nations against supporting a war against Iraq but has branded Saddam Hussein an infidel.
Middle Eastern: Specific Legislation
"If there is a target person the police would have powers in relation to that type of person," Mr Costa said. Asked what he meant by "type of person", Mr Costa said: "The example that's been given is if there's a description of somebody, an identikit photograph released by Interpol or other agencies ... these powers may well be exercised on that type of person."
Howard defends terror alert
Prime Minister John Howard says the Federal Government would not have issued a terror alert if it had not come from a credible source. (America?) Speaking for the first time since the Government revealed the warning, Mr Howard says he wants people to be more careful, but not to stop living. [As long as they don't go dancing in Bali? And sure we'll all be depressed for as long as John Howard and Bob Carr say so.]
Carr backs Fed Govt's terror alert
New South Wales Premier Bob Carr has defended the Federal Government's decision to issue a warning to Australians about a possible terrorist attack in Australia.
NSW Police Force may get 'special powers'
Civil libertarians are questioning the need for further anti-terrorism laws, which will be announced in the New South Wales Parliament on Tuesday.
When Johnny comes marching home again: 'hoorah hoorah'
Posted on the Resistance web page Bronwyn Powell, an organiser of the youth-led mobilisation told Green Left weekly that "in the face of attacks on civil liberties, it is unfortunate that some union officials have felt they need to submit. It could set a negative precedent for upholding the hard-won right to demonstrate in the street."
Give peace a chance
PIERS AKERMAN DT 28 Nov 02: JUSTICE John Dowd should be removed from the bench. His crime? Stupidity. In a breath-taking display of hand-wringing sanctimonious morality, Dowd has condemned the State and Federal Governments' anti-terrorism measures, claiming they erode rights and give encouragement to oppressive regimes.
The scavengers of terror
The NSW Government is to introduce increased police powers bill. Legislation giving New South Wales police special powers to deal with an emergency terrorist situation [emergency scapegoat situation] will be introduced into the New South Wales Parliament today.
Govt, police 'let off the hook' Haneef inquiry
10 years ago


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I was pumped to actually get to exercise. But I was also a little sad. Thanks to crazy postpartum hormones I got irrationally sad at the thought that I would have to exercise for the rest of my life in order to maintain the weight I wanted and just feel good. So for some unexplained reason I decided I didn't want to exercise. I just didn't like the idea of having to do it pretty much every day for the rest of my life. It was a horrifying thought.
It's been a couple weeks and I wasn't feeling better. Exercise wasn't about losing the baby weight because honestly I'm only a few pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight. This was just about being healthy and feeling good. Weight wasn't a concern for me. But I was tired of feeling crummy. I was tired of feeling tired and just not comfortable in my own skin.
So I decided I was going to start exercising again but I wasn't going to start with the beginner stuff I tried doing before. I wanted something that was going to make me sweat and really feel the burn. I wanted something that felt like it was making a difference. So I talked Rob into started Jillian Michaels' Body Revolution with me. I had done the workout before and I loved it so I wanted to start with it. (Read about it here, here and here.)
I can't go into a ton of details about how it's going because we just started but so far it is going well. I made it through the workout more than I thought I would be able to. And even better I felt really good after. I felt excited to start exercising and not the doom I felt before. I'm truly excited to really get back into this and start feeling better. Losing a little more weight would just be a bonus but I just want to be healthy and have the energy to keep up with my kids.
Comment below: What workouts are you doing? What helps keep you motivated?
xo, B


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I started in high spirits, had no knee trouble, enjoyed the first 14 miles and felt okay for the next 4, though I knew I was not going to be under 4 1/2 hours. Then cramp in a thigh at Mile 18 made me stop. After that I had to stop, massage, stretch and sometimes walk several times.
I did enjoy all the sympathy, encouragement and cheers from the crowd. And I did manage to smile at them. But 5.22 was a big disappointment.
Yet no regrets; I don't think I would have done anything different. I'm hugely grateful to Men's Running for including me on the Big Marathon Challenge and everyone involved in helping me.
These things happen and I crossed the finish line I still felt fortunate to be part of such a great event. And I enjoyed a couple of Guinesses.
I also think I'll hit my other target – to raise £1,000 for Richard House Children's Hospice.


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EMW Camp 2008 News
Costas Rigas at the camp!
Again this year we are very pleased to guest the Director of the Euroleague referee's – Cotas Rigas, who confirmed his presence directly from Final Four in Madrid.
Mr. Rigas will be with us all days during the camp and will have lectures. He is a great person and has a lot of knowledge to give to our campers. We are very happy that he can come this year too.
Among the 23 big finals officiated we have to mention the Los Angeles Olympic Games Men's Final in 1984 and Barcelona Olympics Women's Final in 1992.
He also officiated World Championships Final in 1996. European Championships Finals in 1985 and 1991. Club's Champions finals "Korac Cup" four times and Intercontinental Final, America's Final twice and the first MacDonald final in Milwaukee and other Zones Championships Finals.
He decided to finish 2 years earlier than the limit says, becoming the first General Director of the Professional League in Greece while at the same time he was FIBA commissioner and National Instructor.
With the unanimous decision of the clubs Costas Rigas became Director of the Euroleague referees on 2000 when the new organization was established.


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Grants & Funding
The City University has received a host of important grants and gifts recently, including more than $4 million to encourage Hispanic and low-income students to enter the science-related fields. Among other awards are grants for research on breast cancer and safeguarding the economy from financial fraud. Grants totaling nearly $21 million were reported recently to the CUNY Board of Trustees.
Encouraging Hispanics in the Science-Related Fields
LaGuardia Community College received two U. S. Department of Education grants totaling about $4 million for programs to encourage Hispanic and low-income students to pursue degrees in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. The grants were secured with the help of Sen. Charles Schumer, former Sen. (now Secretary of State) Hillary Rodham Clinton and Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-Queens, Manhattan). Under a $2.25 million Department of Education grant, LaGuardia will partner with Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology on a program that encourages high school students to pursue an associate degree in engineering at LaGuardia and a bachelor's degree in mechatronics from Vaughn. Mechatronics is an emerging field that combines mechanical engineering, electronic engineering and computer engineering. The program will recruit high school students for the LaGuardia Youth Center for Engineering Excellence (LYCEE), which will offer summer and after-school programs in robotics. The grant will also support construction of two state-of-the-art engineering labs at LaGuardia. The second Department of Education grant provides $1.8 million for Project "Promesa" (Promoting Math Excellence and Science Access) to expand LaGuardia's math and science programs and prepare students for careers in biology and environmental science.
Safeguarding the Economy From Fraud
At a time when the financial world is being rocked by news of Ponzi schemes and fraud, York College has received $500,000 from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) to provide an endowment for anti-fraud education. The gift establishes the ACFE Endowed Professor of Fraud Examination, the college's first endowed faculty position. It is the first such gift by the ACFE to any college or university and reflects the association's commitment to encourage anti-fraud education and research at leading higher education institutions around the world. ACFE Founder and Chairman Joseph T. Wells (CFE, CPA) said the endowment will lay the foundation for generations of students to learn the skills needed to fight fraud effectively and "help safeguard the economy from the ever-present threat of fraud."
Fighting Breast Cancer on Staten Island
Researchers at the College of Staten Island's Staten Island Breast Cancer Research Initiative (SIBCRI) are working to discover why Staten Island has one of the highest breast cancer death rates in the state and the highest in New York City. The SIBCRI recently received $80,000 in funding for the project, which is attacking breast cancer on three fronts, according to Donna Gerstle, professor of environmental science and a co-principal CSI researcher in the SIBCRI. "The first is an epidemiological study that looks at individuals on Staten Island from 1980 to 2006 and compares their lifestyles and risk factors to a control set of individuals. The second is to evaluate how environmental factors actually influence breast tissue development; and the third is a breast cancer-prevention educational program in cooperation with health care providers, community-based organizations, elected officials, and schools." CSI students will join some 20 scientists, attorneys, sociologists, health department representatives, and three physicians who are taking part in the project.
Following are some other recent noteworthy grants to CUNY:
John Jay College of Criminal Justice $830,066 from the National Institutes of Health for a study on the intergenerational transmission of neglect and abuse.
Queens College $442,071 from the U.S. Department of Education for the Upward Bound Program, which offers support for high school students from low-income families in preparation for college entrance.
Brooklyn College $375,106 from the New York State Department of Education for a 21st Century community learning program at I.S. 291.
The Graduate School and University Center $328,970 from the National Institutes of Health/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute for research on image processing in biological 3-D electron microscopy.
New York City College of Technology $311,055 from the New York State Department of Education for a project concerning career and academic readiness pathways for economic development and increased educational mobility.
Kingsborough Community College $219,000 from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for petrologic-geochemical studies of reduced mineral assemblages in primitive meteorites.
Hunter College $186,279 from the University of California-Berkeley for research on longevity and mortality in industrialized societies.


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Big Game Slider One
Our privately owned 85.000 acre (35.000 hectares) ranches are located in Patagonia, Argentina and we offer the best free range hunting experience and also fair chase hunting on our exclusive properties.VIEW MORE
Big Game
Big game hunting season
Our privately owned 85.000 acre (35.000 hectares) ranches are located in Patagonia, Argentina and we offer the best free range hunting experience and also fair chase hunting on our exclusive properties.
The scenic and hilly terrain is surrounded by rivers and furrowed by streams. The breathtaking views make this area the perfect habitat for the several species we offer including the majestic Red Stag, Fallow Deer, Axis Deer, Blackbuck antelope, Russian Boar, Pere David's Deer, European Mouflon, Black Jacob's Ram, Patagonian Dall, Patagonian Ram, Multi-horned Sheep, Wild Goat, Balearean Boc and Puma. Hunters will find this country vast and open, making it easy to spot game from high vantage points. The captivating surroundings and the wilderness of the country provide the most demanding and experienced hunters with a once-in-a-lifetime hunting experience.
We are proud to hold the world's third largest population of Pere David's deer and Algar is the only place in the world where Pere David's deer can be hunted free range.
In addition, you will find awesome Red Stag trophies in the hunting environment and this is the result of more than 20 years of hard work and strictness in the selection we have made.
We encourage bow hunters to hunt at our ranches; great trophies can also be taken with bow & arrow!
The hunts may be conducted on 4WD trucks making the stalk on foot or on horseback for those who like riding.
** NOTICE: As October 23rd, 2008, the inter-jurisdictional transportation and export of puma trophies is prohibited due to resolution 1624/2008 enacted by the Argentine national wildlife authority (Dirección de Fauna de la Nación). Notwithstanding the above, this prohibition in no way affects the continued hunting of puma in the Province of Neuquén, where our ranch is located. Therefore, hunting licenses (as well as permits), may be issued at a maximum amount of 1 (one) puma trophy per hunter per year and oficial SCI scoring and pictures will be offered to the hunter upon completion of the hunt. Hence, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO APPLY FOR AWARDS AND REGISTER YOUR TROPHY IN THE RECORD BOOK. You will not, however, be able to transport the puma outside the Province of Neuquén or export it from Argentina. Moreover, Algar will hold your trophy in storage, at no additional cost, for a period of five years, in case that the national wildlife authority reviews its current policy and authorizes the export of puma trophies in the future. Algar apologizes for the inconveniences that may arise from this matter.


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Wieliczka Salt Mine
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- Summary
10 km (6 miles) southeast of Krakow lies the small town of Wieliczka, the unsuspecting home to an incredible European attraction you likely haven't heard of yet. Let's change that. The Wieliczka Salt Mine, one of the oldest operating salt mines in the world, dates back to the 13th century and has drawn comparisons to some of Earth's most awe-inspiring man made creations, including the Great Pyramids at Giza (seriously). Don't believe us? Read on.
Pay a visit and you'll discover over 200 km (124 miles) of passages, underground lakes, chambers, and salt sculptures at your disposal. The most notable among these is St. Kinga's Chapel, a massive chamber constructed over the course of 63 years and equipped with chandeliers, statues and even a recreation of da Vinci's "The Last Supper" carved entirely out of salt. Explorations of this gargantuan subterranean complex range from easy (Tourist Route) to physically challenging (Mysteries of the Mine Route), and you can probably guess which we recommend. However you do it, though, just make sure you get to Wieliczka during your stay in Krakow. Check out our link for tour and ticket information.
Location:Wieliczka, 10 km (6 miles) southeast of Krakow, Poland
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The following is a chapter from, "The Governor of Goat Hill"
"We hear talk of kickbacks at the Capital."
-- Secretary of State Don Siegelman, during 1984 press conference in which he cited "hints and rumors of corruption and kickbacks" involving the operations at Emelle, the huge hazardous waste landfills owned by Waste Management.
"He (Siegelman) said, 'We'll get that revenue ruling you want but those bastards are going to pay for it."
-- Testimony of Lanny Young, who was paid $500,000 by Waste Management after the Department of Revenue issued a secret ruling slashing the taxes paid at Emelle.
When old-timers talk about the member of George Wallace's family who tried hardest to cash in on Wallace's power, it's always brother Gerald. Though colorful Gerald gets the attention, two quieter kin -- Wallace's daughter Bobbie Jo and her husband James Parsons – made the loudest noise at the bank. The Parsons almost certainly made more money from what my father calls "relative ability" than any gubernatorial relatives in Alabama history.
The Parsons owe their bounty to hazardous waste.
In 1974, the Environmental Protection Agency identified the area around the tiny Sumter County town of Emelle as among the most suitable sites in the country for a hazardous waste landfills. Emelle, with a population of maybe 100, is in central Alabama, near the Mississippi border. The EPA was drawn to the area for geological reasons. A chalky layer hundreds of feet thick provides what is said to be an impermeable barrier protecting groundwater from waste seepage.
Clients for hazardous waste landfills include plastics manufacturers, paint makers, chemical companies and other industries that generate waste too toxic for ordinary landfills. As might be expected, such waste poses a graver threat to the
environment, is more heavily regulated, and disposal costs are substantially greater.
Three years after the EPA report a group of Tennessee businessmen decided to make a go at Emelle. Among their first moves: Recruiting some home-grown relative ability.
The men invited James Parsons to become a partner and awarded Alabama's First Son-In-Law a 28-percent share -- more than anyone else in the company. The group incorporated Resource Industries of Alabama, bought a 300-acre tract near Emelle, and applied for the various permits needed before they could build
such a facility.
Agencies like the Alabama Department of Public Health parted like the Red Sea, delivering the permits for the state's first and still only hazardous waste landfills. The company never built a landfills. Instead, it sold the land and permits to Chemical Waste Management. The company, a subsidiary of Waste Management (for clarity's sake that's how the company will be identified) agreed
to pay Resource Industries 12 percent of the landfill's revenues for 20 years, then one percent a year until the landfill's closure. The Houston-based garbage giant bought an additional 2,400 acres and built the site.
Emelle generated more money than anyone could have imagined. In its heyday it accepted waste trucked in from more than 40 states, and was the most profitable hazardous waste landfills in the country.
The value of Parsons' relative ability was revealed in the 1990s when he and his partners sued Waste Management for fraud. From 1981 through 1995, Emelle generated some $1 billion in revenues. Of that, Waste Management paid Resource Industries $87 million. Based on his 28 percent share, Parsons banked about $24.3 million.
In the early 1990s, Parsons and his partners discovered that Waste Management had devised a scheme to hide revenues for the purpose of limiting the royalty payments. In 1996, a federal judge ordered the company to pay Resource Industries $91 million. Naturally, this further enriched George Wallace's daughter
and son-in-law, by another $20 million plus.
To slightly restate a previously expressed truism, garbage isn't garbage, it's money, and the more toxic, the better.
In the 1980s, Alabama's secretary of state sought to boost his name recognition and advance his reputation as an ass-kicking man of the people by blasting away at Emelle. It didn't seem to matter that as the state's top elections officer, Siegelman had no role whatsoever in the regulation of landfills. He accused Waste
Management of violating environmental laws and bribing lawmakers. Typically, he declined to identify the culprits, allowing him to appear to be going out on a limb without actually doing so.
During his 1986 campaign for attorney general he upped the ante.
"The first thing I will do is close that landfills," he pledged.
"The first thing I will do is close that landfills," he pledged.
Siegelman was elected, Emelle stayed open.
Meanwhile, Gov. Guy Hunt developed an antipathy to the landfills he believed was taking too much toxic waste from other states. In 1992 the legislature passed a Hunt-backed bill that dramatically increased the per-ton taxes for such waste, up to $103 per ton for the most toxic substances.
In 1996 and 1997 Waste Management made a push to lower the taxes. In a series of letters, Montgomery lawyer Tom DeBray argued that since waste brought to the site was treated and rendered less toxic, it should be taxed at the post-treatment toxicity levels. The company wanted the state to slash the levy on the most common classification from $41.60 a ton to $11.60, the rate for its post-treatment toxicity.
DeBray made his case to Wade Hope, a Revenue Department lawyer responsible for overseeing the hazardous waste tax. In a letter, Hope told DeBray the department didn't have the authority to make the change. The legislature had passed the law defining the tax classifications, and "only the Legislature can alter
the rate through a change in the statute," he wrote.
The company, despite donating generously to lawmakers and employing top lobbyist Johnny Crawford, hadn't been able to get it done in the legislature.
After Siegelman's inauguration, Waste Management dropped Crawford. He was replaced by Austin-Young, the Lanny pairing with Claire Austin. Out as well was DeBray, the company's long-time Alabama lawyer. He was replaced by the ever-present Ellis Brazeal, attorney for Lanny and Paul Hamrick's brother-in-law.
After Siegelman's inauguration, Waste Management dropped Crawford. He was replaced by Austin-Young, the Lanny pairing with Claire Austin. Out as well was DeBray, the company's long-time Alabama lawyer. He was replaced by the ever-present Ellis Brazeal, attorney for Lanny and Paul Hamrick's brother-in-law.
Could the new team, with its near familial bonds with the Siegelman administration, accomplish what the old could not?
During my Lanny studies the previous spring I talked to an old source in the garbage business who I will call – because it's what he laughingly named himself – Deep Dump. He knew the industry upside down and backwards. He'd given me tips in the past and helped me understand the business.
Deep Dump didn't care for Lanny. Among other things, he said he had it from impeccable sources that Waste Management paid Lanny some extraordinary sum to win a huge tax break at Emelle. The company had been seeking the tax cut for years, with no luck. It hired Lanny and, boom, the Siegelman administration
made it happen. Crooked as hell, he said.
Criminal or not, the deal satisfied the criteria for a story, but first I had to prove it.
One of Lanny's UCC loan records had seemed to confirm the tip. It showed that Waste Management had loaned Lanny $1 million in May 2000. The loan was collateralized by proceeds from what the loan record called a "consultant arrangement with Chemical Waste Management Inc."
Chemical Waste's only business in Alabama was at Emelle.
I'd reported the ChemWaste UCC in my June feature on Lanny. The story noted that the UCC didn't identify the purpose or financial terms of Young's consulting agreement; and that Waste Management refused to clarify. A spokesman acknowledged Young's services as a business development consultant
for the company, but beyond that, nothing.
I called the Revenue Department and was handed off to the agency's lawyer, Susan Kennedy. I knew nothing of Kennedy at the time. In the coming year I was to learn considerably more about the politically connected attorney who prosecutors later designated an "unindicted co-conspirator" for her part in the tax change.
Kennedy confirmed that Waste Management won changes in state regulations affecting the Emelle landfills. The department, though, never heard from Young, she said. Lanny, who surprisingly took my call, told readers his work for Waste Management didn't involve hazardous waste issues. He said he'd had nothing to
do with the tax cut.
After the feature on Lanny I asked the Revenue Department to let me review the "complete file with regard to regulatory changes made in the summer of 1999 that affected the Emelle landfills." I sought all correspondence pertaining to the change; "any financial impact analysis performed in relation to the changes (and) any indication that the governor's office was or was not consulted in relation to the changes."
Taxpayer records, whether for individuals or corporations, are, with few exceptions, private. My position was that the tax cut represented a change in the methods used by the state to tax hazardous waste, whether it applied to one company or 50. Such was the basis for my argument that the records should be public.
The department did not agree.
Several factors -- Deep Dump's reliability, the UCC connecting Lanny to Emelle and the fact that there had been a tax cut -- convinced me there was a story. But I'd hit a bunch of dead ends, was busy on other fronts, and, at least for the time being, closed the Emelle file.
By late December 2001, I'd been covering the administration for almost a year, not full-time but overtime. There was the amount and complexity of the stories, the competition from the News, and the emotionally draining battle following my verbal bombardment of Rip. I was whipped, with no strong stories in the hopper. Such was my frame of mind when I decided to make one final push on the Emelle story.
I hoped to determine Lanny's fee, but short of that, to confirm that Waste Management had hired him for the tax change. If I couldn't do that there was no story.
In late December and early January I traded phone calls and e-mails with Sarah Voss, the company's Houston-based spokesperson. She didn't take my questions as a personal affront – there was no, "How can you even ask such a thing of a company/politician as fine as (fill in the blank)?" The both of us realized that information decisions were made above her level. It was agreed that I would e-mail my questions, she would pass them up the ladder, then deliver the responses.
The Lanny-Chemical Waste UCC cited a role in the transaction by Ellis Brazeal's law firm, which confused me. Voss said Waste Management had retained Walston Wells to work on the tax change and that the firm, with the company's blessing, had engaged Lanny as "an outside consultant."
With that, I had a story. The piece, which ran in early January, began:
In June 1999, a law firm for the company that operates Alabama's only hazardous waste landfills hired a friend and major supporter of Gov. Don Siegelman to help win a significant change in the way the state taxes such waste.
A Mobile Register review shows the change that Clayton L. "Lanny" Young was hired to help bring about has saved the company about $1 million in less than two years.
"It was for consulting on getting tax relief for this site, and it was contingent upon the success of the issue they had hired him to help with," Sarah Voss, a spokeswoman for Houston-based Waste Management Inc., said of the arrangement involving Young…
Voss said Young received one payment from the law firm "that was based on his achievement of the goals set when he was retained."
Readers were told that Waste Management declined to provide "copies of the contracts involving the company, the law firm and Young; identify the amount of the payment to him; or say whether Young had been due further payments."
By this stage Lanny was radioactive, and the relationship was not one Waste Management was keen on discussing.
By this stage Lanny was radioactive, and the relationship was not one Waste Management was keen on discussing.
The piece summarized previous reporting on Lanny, and reported two relevant contributions in 1999 to the lottery foundation – $10,000 from Brazeal's firm and the other, for $50,000, from Waste Management. That latter was to figure
years later in the case against Siegelman.
Lanny wasn't to be found, but I had his old statement denying involvement in the tax change, and used it.
Siegelman's old friend Jim Hayes was Revenue Commissioner when the change was made and had signed off on it. Hayes, who had since departed the administration, provided a second level of confirmation of Lanny's efforts on the tax change.
He said he had never heard of Lanny Young until Nick Bailey called to see if he had met with Young. Brazeal joined Young and did most of the talking, Hayes recalled.
"They laid out a case that the fees at Emelle were so high that the taxes for the state were dropping precipitously," said Hayes.
Brazeal and Young said that if the taxes were lowered, the site would do more business and that would generate increased collections for the state. Hayes agreed to consider the matter, and assigned a department lawyer to the situation.
Over the next couple of weeks Hayes received periodic calls from Young. He said he had no idea that Lanny was being paid on a contingency basis to get the change made, and was embarrassed and not a little disgusted to learn so when I told him.
If anything our story presented Waste Management's request -- that waste brought to Emelle should be taxed at post-treatment toxicity levels – as reasonable. But there's no shortage of companies, industries and interest groups with compelling arguments for new or altered laws, including tax changes. Generally
they must present their case to the legislature, as difficult, unwieldy and polluted a process as that may be.
I wanted to show readers that it was different – and worse – for lobbyists to ply their trade at the Revenue Department, as opposed, say, to the highway department. Taxpayers, individual and corporate, often hire lawyers to engage the department in tax disputes, and there's nothing wrong with that. But lobbyists?
I called Jim Sizemore, a respected former revenue commissioner, who told readers that during his five years at the agency, lawyers routinely represented clients with tax disputes, accountants did as well, but never once could he recall
a lobbyist doing so.
Subsequent records dispelled one of the primary justifications for the change: the prediction that lower taxes would make Emelle more competitive, generate more business, and produce greater revenues for the state. In the first four years
after the change, the state took in more than $1 million less in revenues from Emelle than from the prior period.
Six months after the story, in late July 2002, the Dansby lawsuit – one of the two Lowndes County cases against Lanny and Waste Management brought by Susan Copeland and Doyle Fuller -- produced public records gold. Copeland, God bless her, had filed a portion of a transcript from a court hearing during which Lanny's fee for the Emelle change was divulged.
It was $500,000.
How many years, dear reader, did it or will it take you to make $500,000?
How many hours might you put in before hitting the half-million dollar mark?
The fee was grotesquely excessive and decidedly story-worthy. The money originated in Houston, at Waste Management; was transferred to Walston Wells' account in Birmingham; and from there to Goat Hill, Ala., and into Lanny Young's bank account.
Walston Wells, while not a large firm, is prominent, very Republican respectable. The firm, it seemed clear, had acted as accessory, as launderer of Waste Management's dirty money. I suppose the firm looked the other way so it wouldn't have to see it that way. I felt this was serious enough to go above Brazeal to one of the name partners, Vernon Wells. He said I needed to talk to Ellis, since Waste Management was his client. I called Brazeal. He was polite but nervous. He declined comment, citing attorney-client concerns.
I called his client, or rather, Sarah Voss. I told her what I'd learned, and that I expected to shortly be in possession of the 1997 correspondence between Tom DeBray and the Revenue Department back in 1997. I e-mailed questions. The main parts are as follows:
That (1997) letter, I'm told, will state that the department determined that only the Legislature could make the change being sought by Chemical Waste. It appears that Chemical Waste then hired Ellis Brazeal and, along with him, Lanny Young, and they
succeeded where DeBray had failed.
My questions:
To the ordinary reader, $500,000 will obviously seem like a very considerable sum. Could the company provide, with some degree of specificity, an explanation of what Lanny Young did to assist in this matter?
Were Young's personal and political connections with Gov. Don Siegelman and members of his administration, including former Chief of Staff Paul Hamrick, a factor in the decision to hire him?
Were administration officials involved in the decision, or was it handled completely within the Revenue Department?
Did anyone recommend to the company that it should hire Young and/or Ellis Brazeal?
How much has the company saved as a result of the change?
This story may or may not contain information from a transcript of a separate hearing in the Dansby case, in which it's stated that Young would have been paid $2 million by Waste Management if he succeeded in negotiating a lower tipping fee at the proposed Lowndes County landfills.
It may be, though, that this arrangement will be reported in a later story. In the event I include it in this story, I want to go ahead and ask my questions:
Does Waste Management regularly use consultants and/or companies to handle the permitting and political processes required for new landfills in a way that hides the company's role in such plans?
Does Waste Management consider it ethical to off er sums as high as $1 million or $2 million to such companies/consultants in return for their success in lowering tipping fees that Waste Management will later pay to host governments?
Has Waste Management or its subsidiaries been contacted by law enforcement authorities in connection with the investigation into Lanny Young and members or former members of the Siegelman administration? Has the company been served with subpoenas relating to this investigation?
Sarah, I guess I'm not giving away any secrets when I say I ask questions that I don't necessarily expect will be answered. However, as a general practice, I do like to let our readers know that we have asked questions, even when we have not received responses.
The company declined comment, beyond what it provided back in January. The story reported Lanny's fee, Waste Management's failed 1997 attempt to win the change, and summarized the salient points from the first story.
The AP picked it up and the Birmingham News published an editorial declaring that the "way the change came about, greased by Young's half-million dollar efforts, smells as bad as any landfills."
I'd taken it as far as I could. I couldn't compel people to talk to me or produce records, but was proud of my efforts and hopeful that, in time, more would come out.
That time came in 2006, at Siegelman's trial.
Claire Austin testified that in spring 1999, Young rented a private room at the Vintage Year, an upscale Montgomery restaurant. The purpose was for Lanny and Claire to introduce their Waste Management clients to Alabama's new governor. Company officials Chuck Campagna and Tom Herrington came to Montgomery to dine with Siegelman, Hamrick and Bailey.
"In our business, it's all about who you know and what access you have. That's a pretty impressive dinner, when you have the governor come by for dinner," Austin told jurors.
Hardly a shocking revelation, but it's through such details that the curtain gets pulled back for ordinary folk.
Young testified that Waste Management first broached Emelle with him in late 1998 or early 1999, after which he discussed the matter with Bailey, Hamrick and Siegelman. Then, in late June 1999, the company put all its eggs in one basket
and went for it.
On June 24, Brazeal filed a petition with the Revenue Department. He demanded a refund of more than $4 million in taxes he claimed his client should not have been compelled to pay. His client would sue if the state didn't return the money; or, a second option, cut the taxes on the most common classification of
waste from $41.60 per ton to $11.60. I believe the petition was filed to alarm Hayes, the commissioner, who was not a tax professional; and to provide political cover to the administration should this
drastic cut in hazardous waste taxes be discovered. The administration could claim –as it subsequently did -- that Waste Management had the state against a wall.
Maybe the company would have sued, but there's a big difference between filing a lawsuit and winning one. If the case was so strong, the company should have sued for the refund and the tax cut.
Four days after threatening to sue, Waste Management entered into its secret arrangement with Lanny.
Trial exhibits and Young's testimony cleared up a few things.
For example: It hadn't made sense for a paid up contract to serve as collateral for the $1 million loan identified by the UCC. It only made sense if Lanny was due more money. And he was. He was to receive as much as $1.5 million more – or $2 million total – with the sum depending on the amount Waste Management
saved as a result of the tax change.
Most interesting was another condition of the contract: From the day of its signing, Lanny had 30 days to get the tax reduced. If he couldn't deliver in a month, he didn't get paid.
Before our first story, Waste Management said it hired Walston Wells to seek the tax change; that the firm hired Lanny; and the company blessed it. The actual contract, dated June 29, 1999, showed otherwise, that the arrangement was between the company and Lanny, though, "all payments to Young shall be made
through the trust account of Walston, Wells, Anderson & Bains." The firm was just the conduit for paying Lanny.
With 30 days to get the job done, Lanny moved fast.
The day after signing the contract he asked Bailey to set up the meeting with Jim Hayes, and Nick did as asked.
There was, however, a problem. Wade Hope, the department attorney who oversaw hazardous waste taxes, wasn't budging from his long-held position that only the legislature could alter the tax, and he said as much to Hayes. "I told him,
'Commissioner, this is the same thing that's come up before. We can't do that,'" Hope testified at trial.
The administration solved the Hope problem on July 5. That day Siegelman appointed Susan Kennedy, a friend of Hamrick's and Lanny's, as the department's new general counsel. She thus became the first political appointee to serve as the tax agency's top lawyer in state history. Longtime general counsel Ron Bowden,
who supported Hope on the Emelle matter, was demoted.
(After the first Emelle story I wrote several pieces on the circumstances of Kennedy's departure from the Revenue Department. Prior to leaving in June 2001 she arranged millions of dollars in legal contracts for a law school friend, Pam Slate. While still with the department Kennedy formed a two-person law
firm with Slate. The day after she left the tax agency she began billing on the contracts she'd helped direct to Slate. The firm Slate Kennedy LLC was paid $4.6 million by the Revenue Department from those contracts.)
In mid-July 1999, Hope, the department lawyer, was summoned to the commissioner's office for a meeting with Hayes and Kennedy. He restated his position on Emelle. Kennedy told Hope the matter was no longer his to decide. The ruling was going to be made at the commissioner's office level. She subsequently directed Hope to draft a cover letter to Brazeal informing him that
the department had agreed to cut the taxes.
At trial, Bailey testified that Siegelman called Hayes and told him that the tax change was important to the administration. The day before the ruling, Lanny met Siegelman at the governor's office.
"He said we'll get that revenue ruling you want but those bastards are going to pay for it," Lanny testified at trial.
On that day the lottery vote was less than three months away. Siegelman was obsessed with its passage and was hitting up donors as never before. He told Lanny to tell the folks at Waste Management that he expected the company to donate $50,000 to the lottery foundation.
Soon after the meeting with Hope and Kennedy, Hayes, the Revenue chief, authorized the tax cut at Emelle.
Eleven days later, Waste Management wired $500,000 from Houston to the Walston Wells firm in Birmingham. That same day, Ellis Brazeal signed a Walston Wells check made out to Lanny Young for $500,000.
Three days later, Young gave some of it back, paying $50,000 to the firm. At trial, prosecutor Steve Feaga asked Young why "Paul Hamrick's brother-in-law's law firm" paid him, and not the company.
"That is the method that Waste Management chose to use to get the money to me," Lanny answered.
Shortly after the tax change, Miller Matthews, an Atlanta-based Waste Management executive, asked Young to get him a copy of Siegelman's resume. Matthews wanted to familiarize himself with Siegelman before calling the governor. Lanny procured a resume from Siegelman and faxed it to Matthews.
On Sept. 7, Lanny escorted Chuck Campagna and another Waste Management official to the lottery foundation headquarters, a home near the mansion that was co-owned by Nick Bailey.
One of the Waste Management guys handed Siegelman a $50,000 check made out to the foundation. The politician who had years before railed at Waste Management for Emelle-related kickbacks accepted it.
On July 15, 1999, Siegelman presented Young with a framed picture of himself. On it was a handwritten note. The picture was introduced into evidence at trial. Lanny was asked to read the note to the jury, and did so.
It read: "Lanny, You are something. I really appreciate your friendship and look forward to us spending more time together. You are special, Don."
One supposes that Siegelman routinely gave friends and supporters autographed pictures of himself with nice notes. What made this keepsake an effective piece of evidence is that July 15 was the same day the Revenue Department issued the ruling slashing the taxes at Emelle.


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Learn your way! Get started
Commercial Photography, Part 1: Planning and Gear
with expert John Wiley & Sons
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Course at a glance
|Release date
|1h 14m
|Closed captioning
|eBooks / courseware
|Hands-on labs
|Sample code
Enterprise Solutions
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Course description
So you have the camera and you are looking to work has a photographer, in this 3 part learning series Kevin Kubota will give you the low down on what it takes for Commercial Photography. First you will see the planning involved, with items like locations and gear. Then you work with different lighting sources, and locations. Then Kevin will show you what you need to know for Pre-Editing, and Choosing Photos. You'll next see how lighting can be changed in editing, how to use Photoshop for retouches and then to close the course Kevin will show you how to build an inexpensive Scrim.
This course assumes some familiarity with the workings of a DSLR and an understanding of camera terms. There are 3 courses in this learning series, Commercial Photography: Planning, Gear and Lighting; Commercial Photography: Lights, Location & Photos; and Commercial Photography: Photoshop, Retouch & Scrim. Please take the courses in the listed order if you are new to the material.
Meet the expert
Our Creative Design courses are presented by experts from Wiley Publishing. Wiley is a global provider of knowledge and knowledge-enabled services that improve outcomes in areas of research, professional practice, and education. They are the publisher of award-winning journals, encyclopedias, books, and online products and services.
Course outline
Planning, Gear and Lighting
Planning (24:09)
- Introduction (00:10)
- Introduction (02:24)
- Ideation (03:59)
- Planning (04:09)
- Location Scouting (04:31)
- Getting Models (01:20)
- Assistants (01:35)
- Gear Preparation (05:47)
- Summary (00:10)
Gear (24:45)
- Introduction (00:10)
- Gear Overview (05:14)
- Lighting Kit (03:59)
- Camera Bag (04:31)
- Light Panels (05:59)
- Basic Lighting Kit (01:31)
- Metering Light (03:07)
- Summary (00:10)
Lighting (25:15)
- Introduction (00:10)
- Essential Lighting Skills (03:30)
- Light Distance (04:15)
- Lighting Styles (04:34)
- Using White Walls (01:43)
- Medium Diffuse Lighting (06:14)
- Direct Lighting (04:37)
- Summary (00:10)


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How to Donate:
Send donations directly to:
Fort Davis National Historic Site
PO Box 1379
Fort Davis, Texas 79734
The Friends of Fort Davis National Historic Site
P.O. Box 1023
Fort Davis, Texas 79734
The Friends of Fort Davis National Historic Site is a nonprofit organization which exists to support activities approved by the National Park Service for which congressionally appropriated funds are not available. The group provides money for such activities as historic preservation and restoration, education and cultural programs, research and planning. To donate to or become a member of the Friends' group, please contact them at P.O. Box 1023, Fort Davis, Texas 79734 or through their website: https://www.facebook.com/fofdnhs?ref=profile
Last updated: May 21, 2015


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A Simple Idea That Simply Changed Everything
Today is YouTube's 7th birthday. Happy birthday YouTube!
What an amazingly simple idea, start a website where people can upload and share videos publicly and freely. 7 years ago who could have possibly imagined how deeply this simple idea could permeate and change modern daily life?
Today we use YouTube in most aspects of our lives: entertainment, business, personal and educational. Movies host theatrical trailers both on their website and on a YouTube channel. Businesses create marketing campaigns using viral and quirky videos. A business can create informational content about who they are, their products and industry specific topics.
Now, more than ever, information is just a few simple clicks away. Just this month, YouTube showed me how to change the camera lens cover on my cell phone (bye-bye scratchy photos) and guided my son on how to sync our Xbox remote to a friend's console.
For some, the YouTube effect is stronger than others. With millions of views per video, Maru, a playful, mischievous Scottish White Fold seduces the internet on a regular basis. I'm sure his owner is more than a little pleased with his success. If you don't know Maru, let me educate you now:
As a mom, I share home videos of my children with my grandparents who live across the country. I'm able to find funny jokes, inspiring stories and an army of artistic movies, shorts and videos. From my phone, I can privately upload my sons humiliating themselves in dance and karaoke while publicly posting my parents' little pocket beagle ferociously attacking a feather. And let me tell you, the feather usually wins. Just this weekend I grabbed this little altercation between them:
The growing vlogging community is an incredible artistic outlet. YouTube has become a display case for home animation, video rants, home produced films, fan fiction, cooking lessons, college applications and creative resumes.
As features are added and the technology evolves, I can't help but ponder about where this is headed. The integration of Google, YouTube and Google Plus allows us to seamlessly share and explore things from all areas of our lives. With Hangouts on Air I could broadcast and record family events that distant relatives can't attend. Weddings, soccer games, birthday parties – suddenly distance is not such a large hurdle for keeping families and friends connected to each other.
It's just such a simple concept, create a space where people can share their videos. It's astonishing how simply this idea has changed the way we do business, entertain ourselves and archive our personal lives. Tell me, how has YouTube affected your life?


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Boogie on Nintendo DS introduces new gameplay modes and mini-games not found in the Wii version for easy gaming on the go. The game's unique modes include DS Download Play and Multi-Card Play, three main dancing gamplay modes including Copycat, Freestyle and Choreography as well as more than 10 mini-games. Players can also dive into the career mode for a deeper experience as they embark on a quest to become the Boogie Master.


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A group of residents at an Aberdeenshire care home are using technology to boost their quality of life.
They regularly use a converted room at Balmedie House to develop their computer skills.
And one resident, Duncan Evans, who has just celebrated his 93rd birthday, used Skype for a violin duet with his 90-year-old brother in Canada.
The room has been called The Silver Surfers and has four computers set up with internet access.
Home manager Ann Reid said: "Duncan and his brother hadn't seen each other for many years. Growing up they played the violin and on a Sunday evening they would entertain their family.
"Despite a seven-hour time difference, using Skype we were able to capture an amazing moment as they both faced each other, tucked their violins under their chins, glancing over their glasses at each other.
Those few precious minutes they spent together would never have happened without technologyAnn Reid Balmedie House manager
"You could see a tear run down their faces as they began to play together. This was a special moment as a few weeks later Duncan's brother died.
"Those few precious minutes they spent together would never have happened without technology."
During Duncan's recent birthday party he was joined on Skype by his daughter Jean, who lives in Brunei. She is also a fiddle player and they shared a few tunes.
Ann added: "Having this facility has brought pleasure to so many people here. Residents and their families have been able to maintain relationships, review meetings have taken place and one resident was even able to watch his granddaughter prepare for her wedding day.
Balmedie House, which has 31 occupants, many with dementia, started a new project this year involving residents, families and staff.
Another room in the home has been converted with a woodland theme.
As people with dementia can find communal living difficult, the sensory room - as it has been named - provides a tranquil atmosphere with soothing background sounds of singing birds and a waterfall feature.
The floor has been covered with artifical grass.


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NBC Pulls 'Playboy Club'
Playboy bunnies—a man's primetime paradise, right? Too bad the show was so bad that not even guys would watch it. NBC has axed the dismally rated The Playboy Club, replacing it with Brian Williams's primetime newsmagazine show. NBC chairman Bob Greenblatt also announced full seasons for Up All Night and Whitney.


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Homeoprophylaxis: The Vaccine Alternative
Homeoprophylaxis for Free and Healthy Children
A must read for parents looking for an alternative method to conventional vaccination.
~ Safe, effective, natural protection against infectious, contagious disease
~ Used since 1801 for scarlet fever, meningitis, leptospirosis, polio, childhood diseases
The question is not "should we vaccinate or shouldn't we vaccinate?" The question is whether the current vaccination method is the only way.
We invite you to embark upon a journey with us to change the current vaccine paradigm and bring reason to parents looking to protect their children.
We invite you to read
The Solution ~ Homeoprophylaxis: The Vaccine Alternative ~
A Parent's Guide to Educating Your Child's Immune System
Become a part of a growing generation of parents whose children's development will be unmarked by developmental delays and immune system confusion.
This website is hosted and maintained by Free and Healthy Children International: A non profit designed to promote the use of prophylaxis internationally: freeandhealthychildren.com
*The content of this website is not to be misconstrued as medical advice nor does it replace the consult of a physician or practitioner. Reader assumes the responsibility of investigating for themselves disease prevention and treatment methodologies that concur with their beliefs and understanding.


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The introduction of Windows 8 and its ability to work seamlessly with touchscreen computers has given manufacturers a new lease of life in terms of product design. Dell has come up with a unique 'flip and fold' touchscreen Ultrabook that it claims will turn your laptop into a tablet in seconds. We managed to get hands-on time with the device, so here is our first Dell XPS 12 Ultrabook review.
Dell XPS 12 Ultrabook screen
The first thing that we really ought to talk about is the Dell XPS 12 Ultrabook's crazy screen. The most noticeable thing about it is that it rotates through 180 degrees, to allow you to use the device as both a laptop and a tablet, albeit a pretty big and heavy tablet (1.54kg) that would soon tire your holding-arm out before too long.
The actual mechanics of the Dell XPS 12 Ultrabook are reasonable and steady. Flipping and folding the screen is very straightforward and doesn't require any real effort or brainpower to do, which is a good thing. What isn't a good thing is that the screen only turns 180 degrees, so when you get too confident and spin it too quickly it comes to a rather abrupt stop at the 180-degree mark. It would be surprising if a significant percentage of people don't overdo it with the flips, over this laptop's lifespan. That said, the laptop's overall feel was very solid and when you take a look at what rugged materials it's made from - machined aluminium, carbon fibre and Corning Gorilla Glass – it's not hard to see why.
The touchscreen itself is impressively clear and responsive to the touch. The Ultrabook boasts a Full HD (1080p) screen with 160-degree viewing angle. From our time with the XPS 12 Duo we can confirm that the screen looks sharp and bright from all angles. Oddly we found the physical Windows button on the touchscreen very useful and reassuring.
We did discover one fault while using the Dell XPS 12 Ultrabook, and this was that the laptop's accelerometer wasn't in the screen itself but underneath the keyboard. This became a bit of a drag when using the screen as you have to tip the whole laptop up to flip the screen's direction.
Dell XPS 12 Ultrabook build
If you take away the flip screen of the XPS 12 Duo, the overall look and feel of the Ultrabook is exactly what you'd expect from a modern Dell laptop, with familiar curved edges and a carbon fibre finish in a traditional colour scheme.
The keyboard is nice and spacious, with plenty of room to rest your mits either side of the mouse/touchpad. The keys had a nice effortless action. Typing on the touchscreen was also a relatively pain-free experience.
On the model we at hands-on time with, the mouse/touchpad did not support multi-touch or basic Windows 8 functionality such as bringing in the Charms Bar from the right-hand side of the screen (a feature that did work on the XPS 12's touchscreen). We have since enquired with the representatives and the Dell website, but it's still unclear if this was a sample unit's driver error or whether it is not supported on the XPS 12. We will of course look into this further when get one to test for our full review, which will replace our hands-on review as soon as possible.
Dell XPS 12 Ultrabook specifications
The interesting thing about Ultrabooks is that all of the specs are not a million miles apart, due to the hoops that need to be jumped through to gain 'Ultrabook' status. There are really no surprises with the XPS 12 Duo, you can get it with either an Intel Ivy Bridge Core i5- or i7 processor and with either 4GB or 8GB of RAM.
The Dell XPS 12 Ultrabook of course comes with a Windows 8 operating system as standard; a 12.5-inch Full HD (1080p) touchscreen; 128GB of SSD space; 6-Cell Lithium Ion primary battery.
Dell XPS 12 Ultrabook verdict
The Dell XPS 12 Ultrabook is a bit of a strange one, with prices starting at £999, meaning it's not ridiculously expensive and still nowhere near cheap. What we're trying to say is that for someone to part with a grand, then a product has to do a lot to convince buyers.
This laptop's specs suggest that is certainly not the lightest or fastest Ultrabook by a long way. Nor does it offer the best storage or battery performance. So what you are effectively left with is reasonably specced laptop with a flippy Windows 8 touchscreen. Is that worth £1,000? We're not so sure.
The Dell XPS 12 is a novel Ultrabook that can feasibly be used as both a laptop and a tablet, or though it isn't up for debate that it makes a better laptop then it does tablet. It's specs and price are reasonable, but not really impressive on face of it. From our hands-on time with it, we found it easy to use and nicely responsive too. If you're looking for a laptop to get the most out of Windows 8 on, then this should definitely considered as its Corning Gorilla Glass HD touchscreen is very impressive.


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Your eyes do not deceive you. Yes, I REALLY DID spend only $4.10 for EIGHT Pantene products! Here's how I did it.
This post focuses in on how the Rite Aid Wellness+ and +UP Rewards programs work. For more posts on couponing, please check out these posts too: How To Coupon and Where To Find Coupons.
Here is a quick rundown of the Rite wellness+ card and how it works:
The Rite Aid wellness+ card is basically a "store membership" type card. You can sign up for one in the store and get a little plastic card for your wallet or one for your keychain OR you can sign up online here. If you sign up online, you won't get a physical card. Instead, you link your account to your phone number and just enter your phone number at the register everytime you shop at Rite Aid.
The Rite Aid "wellness+ rewards" and the "+UP rewards" are basically two parts to the same card.
First, there is the Wellness+ part, which gives you "points" everytime you use the card. These points add up and eventually you can earn some free stuff (like a magazine subscription for a year or a gift certificate to a restaurant). The main attraction to the point program is to get enough points to get store discounts. So many points will get you 5% off store purchases a year, so many more gets you 10% off and so on until you get up to 20%off. More on how this works here.
Then, there is the +UP rewards part, which basically works like a "cash back" system, whenever you purchase eligible items in the store within a given week. The "cash back" goes into your wellness+ account automatically after you check out. Your receipt will show you how many "rewards" you received. These rewards work like a store coupon (or like store credit, if that helps explain it better) that you can then use on another store visit. They are only good for a limited time so you'll want to spend them before they expire. You can see when they expire on your receipt.
So, HOW did I get EIGHT Pantene products for only $4.10?
1) I shopped at Rite Aid when there was a sale on the product I wanted. In this case, Pantene shampoo and conditioner was on sale for 2 for $7.00 at my local Rite Aid.
2) I used manufacturer coupons that I clipped from the P&G (Proctor and Gamble) insert in my Sunday paper. These coupons come out once a month and carry coupons for popular P&G products (such as Pantene). In my case, I had 4 coupons for "Buy One Pantene product, Get One Free." So, I purchased 4 Pantene products for $14.00 and received 4 Pantene products free.
3) I then applied the $12.00 worth of Rite Aid Rewards I earned from a previous visit (they show up as coupons on the receipt) and the subtotal became $2.00. Tax was $2.10. So my total OOP (out of pocket) was $4.10.
There! That is how I did it! I hope this example will you save on your next receipt as well. I would also like to add that I DO NOT work for Rite Aid or any of their associates, nor am I paid in any way to endorse anything about them. I am merely a woman trying to stay on budget and I want to help others save where they can too. I found a good deal at Rite Aid and wrote a post about it. That is all.
Don't forget to like my facebook fanpage here for all the latest money saving posts.


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How to Give
There are many ways to help maintain Four Winds' commitment to providing the best possible camp experience. Here are a few. For more information on each donation method, just click on it. For assistance, please don't hesitate to contact Mike Smith.
Make checks payable to Four Winds Camp and mail to:
Four Winds Camp/Giving, P.O. Box 140, Deer Harbor, WA 98243
Credit Cards
Make your donation securely on line here. We will also gladly take your credit card donation by phone, just call us at (360) 376-2277.
If your broker holds the security for your account, instruct him/her to electronically transfer – known as "DTC" - the securities to Four Winds * Westward Ho's account, using this information:
- Make stock payable to: Four Winds
- Four Winds * Westward Ho Tax ID#: 91-0828602
- Bank name: TD Ameritrade
- Phone number: 800-669-3900
- Account number: 868-565758
- DTC number: 0188
For Assistance, please contact Mike Smith.
Planned Gifts
Donors can help secure the long-term financial health of Four Winds through gifts that come to camp in the future or over a period of years. For additional information, contact Mike Smith.
Matching Gifts
Double Your Donation! Many companies offer matching gift programs to encourage employees to contribute to charitable organizations. Some provide matching funds to support employee volunteer hours. Most of these programs match contributions dollar for dollar, and some will even double or triple the amount of your gift! Check with your employer to see if it has a matching gift program.
Getting Married?
Through the I Do Foundation's Charity Registry, you can share the generosity of your guests directly with camp. Using their simple system, your guests can make secure online donations in support of Four Winds as their wedding gift to you.
Just like a gift registry, a "Charity Registry" informs your guests about your desire to have gifts donated to Four Winds. When you create a Charity Registry, you may suggest a specific number of donation gifts, or you may allow any or all of your guests to make donations freely. You can specify a certain dollar amount for each donation, or allow your guests to choose the amount of their gifts.


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Author: chrissiemorrisbrady
I've read poetry since I was nine and have written creatively since I was fourteen (probably long before that). After writing book reviews and social comment, I decided I wanted to write poetry. I have no formal training, but I surround myself with poets and their writing. I am honing my craft. I have two published collections which I don't feel good about, but have been published by madswirl.com and other publications. I live on the south coast of England with my daughter. I am seriously ill. View all posts by chrissiemorrisbrady