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Booking.com uses .africa precedent to challenge .hotels ruling
Booking.com has become the first new gTLD applicant to publicly cite the recent .africa Independent Review Process ruling in an attempt to overturn an adverse ICANN decision.
The challenge relates to the decision by ICANN, under the rules of the new gTLD program, to place applications for .hotels and .hoteis into a contention set due to their potential for visual confusion.
The two strings are heading to auction, where the winner will likely have to fork out millions.
In a missive to ICANN (pdf) last week, Booking.com outside attorney Flip Petillion said that the .africa IRP ruling shows that ICANN has to revisit its decision-making over .hotels.
The letter highlights a wider issue — how can ICANN follow community-established rules whilst sticking to its rather less well-defined Bylaws commitment to be "fair"?
Petillion wrote:
ICANN — and the BGC — has maintained the position 1) that the fact the process established by ICANN was followed is sufficient reason to reject that challenge and 2) that the fact that the process allowed neither for Booking.com to be heard nor for a review of the decision by the ICANN Board is of no relevance.
In the interim, IRP panels have confirmed that this process-focussed position is unsustainable. The ICANN Board has an overriding responsibility for making fair, reasoned and non-discriminatory decisions under conditions of full transparency.
He cites the .africa IRP decision to support this assertion.
Booking.com is the applicant for .hotels, while a different company, Travel Reservations (formerly Despegar Online), has applied for .hoteis, the Portuguese translation.
While both applicants are happy for the two gTLDs to co-exist on the internet, ICANN's third-party String Similarity Review panel, part of the new gTLD evaluation process, ruled that they cannot.
They're just too similar — in standard browser sans-serif fonts they can be indistinguishable — and would likely lead to user confusion, the panel decided in February 2013.
Booking.com challenged this decision with a Request for Reconsideration, which was dismissed.
It then filed an IRP, but that concluded this March with the panel awarding a grudging win to ICANN, which it orders should split the costs of the case.
In April, the ICANN board adopted the IRP panel's findings, saying that the two applicants should remain in the contention set.
Booking.com, along with Travel Reservations, filed a second RfR, challenging the board's decision, but this was rejected by ICANN's Board Governance Committee in June.
The ICANN board has not yet formally adopted the BGC's recommendations — I expect it to consider them at its next scheduled meeting, July 28 — hence Booking.com's last-ditch attempt to get ICANN to change its mind.
Petillion wrote:
Simply following the processes and procedures developed by ICANN cannot alone be sufficient grounds for declining to review a decision. If the requirements of fairness, reasoned decision making, non-discrimination and transparency have not been met in the implementation of the process and procedures, the ICANN Board must, when invited to, conduct a meaningful review.
In the .africa case, the IRP panel ruled that ICANN should have asked the Governmental Advisory Committee for its rationale for objecting to DotConnectAfrica's .africa bid, even though there's nothing in the new gTLD rules or ICANN Bylaws specifically requiring it to do so.
However, in the Booking.com case, the IRP panel raised serious questions about whether the String Similarity Review rules were consistent with the Bylaws, but said that the time to challenge such rules had "long since passed".
In both cases, ICANN followed the rules. Where the two panels' declarations diverge is on whether you can win an IRP challenging the implementation of those rules — for DotConnectAfrica the answer was yes, for Booking.com the answer was no.
In a new gTLD program that has produced long lists of inconsistencies; IRP panel decisions appear to be but the latest example.
The question now is how the ICANN board will deal with the BGC recommendation to reject Booking.com's latest RfR.
If it summarily approves the BGC's resolution, without doing some extra due diligence, will it be breaking its Bylaws?
Read that controversial .africa letter
Did the African Union Commission really use a letter written by ICANN to express its support for ZA Central Registry's .africa bid?
Having now obtained and read it, I have my doubts.
I'm publishing it, so you can make your own mind up. Here it is (pdf).
That's the letter that The Register's Kieren McCarthy reported yesterday was "ICANN-drafted" and "duly signed by the AUC"
"Essentially, ICANN drafted a letter in support of ZACR, gave it to the AUC, and the AUC submitted the letter back to ICANN as evidence that ZACR should run dot-africa," The Reg reported.
I don't think that's what happened.
What I see is a two-page letter that has one paragraph indisputably written by ICANN and whole bunch of other stuff that looks
incredibly remarkably like it was written by the AUC and ZACR.
And that one ICANN paragraph was drawn from the new gTLD program's Applicant Guidebook, where it was available to all governments.
The Reg reported that ICANN, in the unredacted ruling of the Independent Review Panel, admitted it drafted the letter.
What The Reg didn't report is that ICANN merely admitted to sending the AUC a letter based on the aforementioned AGB template, and that it was subsequently heavily revised by the AUC.
It was not, I believe, a simple case of the AUC putting its letterhead and John Hancock on an ICANN missive.
I believe that ZACR had quite a big hand in the redrafting too. The stylized ".africa (dotAfrica)" is not how ICANN refers to gTLDs, but it is how ZACR refers to its own brand.
The letter was written in order to satisfy the requirements of the Geographic Names Panel, which reviews new gTLD applications for the required government support.
The original AUC letter (read it here) was simply one paragraph confirming that ZACR had been appointed .africa registry, as the winner of an African Union RFP process.
It didn't have enough information, or was not specific and formal enough, for the GNP, which issued a "Clarifying Question".
In response to the CQ, it seems AUC reached out to ICANN, ICANN sent over something not dissimilar to its AGB template, the AUC and ZACR redrafted, edited and embellished it and sent it to ICANN to support their .africa application.
Did ICANN act inappropriately? Maybe. But I'm losing my enthusiasm for thinking about this as a massive scandal.
DCA's .africa bid officially unrejected by ICANN
ICANN's board of directors has un-rejected DotConnectAfrica's application for the new gTLD .africa.
The board held an emergency meeting this morning to consider last Friday's Independent Review Process decision, which said ICANN's handling of DCA's bid was not consistent with its bylaws.
Speaking at the Internet Governance Forum USA in Washington DC in the last half hour, ICANN chair Steve Crocker revealed the following:
We passed a resolution acknowledging the panel's report — decision — accepting it and taking action. The primary action is to put the the DotConnectAfrica Trust application back in to the evaluation process. And there are other aspects of the panel's decision that we will have to deal with later. This does not represent a final decision about anything. It just moves that process forward. There will be posting of the resolution and press release probably as we are sitting here.
If you want to catch it yourself, rewind the live stream here to roughly 59 minutes.
This story will be updated just as soon as the press release and resolution are published.
The resolution has been published.
In it, the board agrees to continue to delay the delegation of .africa to ZA Central Registry, which is the contracted party for the gTLD, to pay the IRP costs as ordered by the panel, and to return DCA's application to the evaluation process.
It also addresses the fact that the Governmental Advisory Committee has given formal advice that the DCA bid should not be approved.
The ICANN board says that because it has not decided to approve or delegate .africa to DCA, it's technically not going against GAC advice at this time.
It will also ask GAC to respond to the IRP panel's criticism of it for providing advice against DCA without transparent justification. The resolution says:
the Board will ask the GAC if it wishes to refine that advice and/or provide the Board with further information regarding that advice and/or otherwise address the concerns raised in the Declaration.
It was essentially the GAC's lack of explanation, and ICANN's lack of curiosity about that lack of explanation, that cost ICANN the case and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees.
How the GAC responds will be interesting. There's now a solid case to be made that it's going to have to start putting its rationales in its advice, rather like the ICANN board does with its resolutions.
ICANN execs helped African Union win .africa — report
Top ICANN executives helped the African Union Commission win the .africa gTLD on behalf of its selected registry, according to a report.
Kieren McCarthy at The Register scooped last night that Dai-Trang Nguyen, head of gTLD operations at ICANN, drafted the letter that the AU used to demonstrate governmental support for ZA Central Registry's bid.
The basis of the report is the unredacted version of the Independent Review Process panel's ruling in the DotConnectAfrica case.
McCarthy reports that the uncensored document shows ICANN admitting that Nguyen wrote the AU's letter, but that "did not violate any policy" and that there was "absolutely nothing wrong with ICANN staff assisting the AUC."
Apparently, the original AU-drafted letter did not meet the requirements of the Geographic Names Panel, generating a "Clarifying Question", so the AU reached out to ICANN for help creating a letter that would tick the correct boxes.
The unredacted ruling also contains an allegation that ICANN told InterConnect — one of the three corporate members of the GNP — that the AU's letter should be taken as representing all of its member states, El Reg reports.
DotConnectAfrica is expected to be shortly returned to the new gTLD application process, and then kicked out again due to its failure to meet the GNP's criteria of support from 60% of African governments.
I'm in two minds about how damaging these new revelations are.
On the one hand, ICANN staff intervening directly in an Initial Evaluation for a contested gTLD looks incredibly bad for the organization's neutrality.
One would not expect ICANN to draft, for example, a letter of support for a Community Priority Evaluation applicant.
I don't think it changes the ultimate outcome for DCA, but it may have inappropriately smoothed the path to approval for ZACR.
On the other hand, the new gTLD program's Applicant Guidebook actually contains a two-page "Sample Letter of Government Support" that governments were encouraged to print off on letterheaded paper, sign, and submit.
Giving governments assistance with their support letters was in fact baked into the program from the start.
So did the AUC get special treatment in this case, or did Nguyen just send over the AGB sample letter (or a version of it)? That may or may not become clear if and when McCarthy publishes the unredacted ruling, which he has indicated he hopes to do.
A related question might be: how did the AUC screw up its original letter so badly, given the existence of a compliant sample letter?
The optics are many times worse for ICANN because all this stuff was originally redacted, making it look like ICANN was trying to cover up its involvement.
But the redactions were not a unilateral ICANN decision.
ICANN, DCA and the IRP panel agreed after negotiation that some documents revealed during disclosure should be treated confidentially, according to this September 2014 order (pdf). References to these documents were redacted in all of the IRP's documents, not just the ruling.
What the revelations certainly seem to show is another example of ICANN toadying up to governments, which really has to stop.
DotConnectAfrica still barking mad after IRP win
DotConnectAfrica thinks it is going to get the .africa gTLD, following its successful Independent Review Process case against ICANN.
In a press release today, the company hailed last week's ruling as a "resounding victory".
DCA CEO Sophia Bekele is quoted as saying:
Going forward, we now expect ICANN to accept the binding IRP outcome, refrain from any further plans to delegate .Africa to the ZA Central Registry who should now be removed immediately from the new gTLD program; and cooperate fully with DCA Trust to ensure that the IRP Panel ruling is implemented so that .Africa can be delegated to DotConnectAfrica Trust
That's right, Bekele reckons the IRP win means ICANN has to kick rival .africa applicant ZACR — which has already signed a Registry Agreement for the string — out of the new gTLD program.
Needless to say, it doesn't.
The IRP panel refused DCA's demands that ZACR be kicked out, and by ruling against DCA on a number of other counts, it essentially signed its application's death warrant.
Bekele goes on to make three startling assertions about the case that have little to no basis in the IRP panel's ruling:
During the IRP, DotConnectAfrica Trust clearly established three major findings: that ZA Central Registry lacked any valid endorsements for the .Africa string that it applied for; and that the purported Governmental Advisory Committee Objection Advice against our .Africa application was not by consensus; and that the ICANN Board had seriously erred in accepting the GAC Advice. The truth has prevailed and we are absolutely happy with the IRP Panel decision.
"I also give thanks to God for helping to correct this act of victimization that was committed against DCA Trust," she added.
I'm not making that up. She really said that.
In Bekele's opinion, DCA "established" three major findings, but "alleged" would be a better word. The IRP panel largely disagreed with or ignored the claims.
First, there's nothing in the IRP's decision that shows ZACR "lacked any valid endorsement" for its .africa bid.
ZACR has the unambiguous support of the African Union and says on its web site it has backing from 78% of African nations. The IRP declaration doesn't even mention these endorsements, let alone question them.
Second, the IRP panel does not say that the GAC's advice against DCA's application lacked consensus. It says it lacked fairness and transparency, but did not dispute that it had consensus.
Third, the IRP did not conclude that ICANN should not have accepted that GAC advice, just that it should have carried it a bit more due diligence.
Finally, there's nothing in the IRP's declaration that gives DCA a chance of winning the .africa gTLD. In fact, the panel specifically decided not to give DCA that chance.
The closest the panel came to addressing any of DCA's myriad accusations of ICANN wrongdoing is described in its ruling:
DCA Trust has criticized ICANN for its various actions and decisions throughout this IRP and ICANN has responded to each of these criticisms in detail. However, the Panel, having carefully considered these criticisms and decided that the above is dispositive of this IRP, it does not find it necessary to determine who was right, to what extent and for what reasons in respect to the other criticisms and other alleged shortcomings of the ICANN Board identified by DCA Trust.
So what happens to .africa now?
ICANN's board of directors will discuss the IRP declaration at its next meeting, July 28, so we don't yet know for certain how things will proceed.
However, some things seem safe bets.
The IRP panel suggested that ICANN should continue to refrain from delegating .africa, which has been on hold since May 2014, to ZACR. I think it likely that ICANN will follow this recommendation.
It also seems possible that ICANN may decide to reconsider (that is, consider again, rather than necessarily overturn) its decision to accept the GAC's consensus objection to DCA's .africa bid.
The panel's key criticism of ICANN was that it failed to seek a rationale from the GAC for its objection. So ICANN may decide to seek such a rationale before reconsidering the advice.
The panel also told ICANN that DCA's application, which had been rejected, should re-enter the application process.
Assuming ICANN accepts this recommendation (and I think it will, given the political climate), the first step would to be for DCA to finish its Initial Evaluation. ICANN rejected the DCA bid, based on GAC advice, before the IE panels finalized their evaluation DCA's application.
Part of the IE process is the Geographic Names Review, which determines whether a string is "geographic" under ICANN's definition and whether the applicant has the necessary support — 60% of national governments in .africa's case — to be allowed to proceed.
DCA does not have this support, and it knows that this means its application is on life support.
It had asked the IRP panel to rule that ICANN should either give it 18 months to try to gather support, or to rule that it already has the support, essentially trying to lawyer itself into a position where it had a shot of winning .africa.
But the panel rejected both of these demands.
While DCA seems to have given up trying to convince people that its 2009 letter of support from the AU is still valid, it still holds that a 2008 letter from the executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa shows the requisite 60% support.
I don't know whether this letter was ever formally withdrawn, but UNECA is today listed as a ZACR supporter.
However, even if the Geographic Names Panel ruled that DCA had passed its 60% threshold, the application would still fail the geographic review.
The rules state that "there may be no more than one written statement of objection" from an affected government, and DCA received GAC Early Warnings from 16 national governments as well as the AU itself.
No matter what DCA says in its press releases now, its application is still doomed.
New gTLD program thrown into chaos as ICANN loses .africa case
ICANN has been opened up to a world of hurt after an independent panel of judges ruled that the organization broke its own bylaws when it kicked DotConnectAfrica's .africa bid out of the new gTLD program.
The what-the-fuck ruling cuts to the very heart of how ICANN deals with advice from its Governmental Advisory Committee, which comes out of the case looking like a loose canon with far too much power to sway the ICANN board.
Witness testimony published in the panel's opinion sheds humiliating light on the GAC's self-defeating habit of supplying ICANN with deliberately vague advice, a practice described by its former chair under oath as "creative ambiguity".
The ruling does not, however, give DCA a serious shot at winning the .africa gTLD, which has already been contracted to rival ZA Central Registry. More delay is, however, inevitable.
The Independent Review Panel said:
the Panel is of the unanimous view that certain actions and inactions of the ICANN Board (as described below) with respect to the application of DCA Trust relating to the .AFRICA gTLD were inconsistent with the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws of ICANN.
It also unanimously ruled that ICANN should un-reject DCA's application and allow it to continue through the application process and that ICANN should bear the full $600,000+ cost of the IRP, not including DCA's legal fees.
It's an important ruling, especially coming as ICANN seeks to extricate itself from US government oversight, because it implicitly calls on ICANN's board to treat GAC advice with much less deference.
What's the backstory?
DCA and ZACR have competing applications for .africa, which is a protected geographic string.
Under new gTLD program rules, only an applicant with support from over 60% of African national governments can be approved. ZACR's support far exceeds this threshold, whereas DCA enjoys little to no government support at all.
The ICANN board's New gTLD Program Committee rejected the DCA bid in June 2013, before its Initial Evaluation (which includes the Geographic Names Review) had been completed, based on the GAC's April 2013 Beijing communique advice.
That advice invoked the GAC's controversial (and vaguely worded) powers to recommend against approval of any application for any reason, as enshrined in the Applicant Guidebook.
A subsequent Request for Reconsideration (IRP lite) filed by DCA was rejected by ICANN's Board Governance Committee.
An IRP is the last avenue community members have to challenge ICANN's actions or inaction without resorting to the courts.
DCA filed its IRP complaint in October 2013 and amended it in January 2014, claiming ICANN broke its own bylaws by rejecting the DCA application based on GAC advice.
Despite the IRP, ICANN went ahead and signed a Registry Agreement with rival ZACR in the May and was just days away from delegating .africa when the IRP panel ordered the process frozen.
The case dragged on, partly because one of the original three-person panel died and had to be replaced, the delay causing much consternation among African GAC members.
What did the IRP panel finally rule?
Yesterday's ruling avoided deciding on or even commenting on any of DCA's crazy conspiracy theories, instead limiting itself to the question of whether ICANN's board and committees acted with bylaws-mandated transparency, fairness and neutrality.
It found that the GAC itself did not act according to these principles when it issued its Beijing advice against DCA.
It found that ICANN did not "conduct adequate diligence" when it accepted the advice, nor did the BGC or NGPC when they were processing the RfR.
In light of the clear "Transparency" obligation provisions found in ICANN's Bylaws, the Panel would have expected the ICANN Board to, at a minimum, investigate the matter further before rejecting DCA Trust's application.
ICANN did not do that, the panel decided, so it broke its bylaws.
both the actions and inactions of the Board with respect to the application of DCA Trust relating to the .AFRICA gTLD were not procedures designed to insure the fairness required… and are therefore inconsistent with the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws of ICANN.
Does this mean DCA gets .africa?
No. The IRP panel ruled that DCA's application must re-enter the application process, presumably at the point it exited it.
DCA's application never had a final Initial Evaluation result issued. If it were to re-enter IE today, it would certainly be failed by the Geographic Names Panel because it lacks the requisite support of 60% of African governments.
DCA wanted the panel to rule that it should have 18 months to try to secure the needed support, but the panel refused to do so.
The application is still as good as dead, but ICANN will need to go through the motions to actually bury it.
In the meantime, ZACR's delayed delegation of .africa is to remain on hold.
How embarrassing is this for the GAC?
Hugely. Verbal testimony from Heather Dryden, who was GAC chair at the time of the Beijing meeting, highlights what I've been saying for years: GAC advice is regularly so vaguely written as to be useless, inconsistent, or even harmful.
Dryden told the panel at one point: "In our business, we talk about creative ambiguity. We leave things unclear so we don't have conflict."
The IRP panel took a dim view of Dryden's testimony, writing that she "acknowledged during the hearing, the GAC did not act with transparency or in a manner designed to insure fairness."
The ruling quotes large chunks of text from the hearing, during which Dryden was grilled about the GAC's rationale for issuing a consensus recommendation against DCA.
Dryden responded by essentially saying that the GAC did not discuss a rationale, and that there was "deference" to the governments proposing consensus objections in that regard.
ARBITRATOR KESSEDJIAN: So, basically, you're telling us that the GAC takes a decision to object to an applicant, and no reasons, no rationale, no discussion of the concepts that are in the rules?
[DRYDEN]: I'm telling you the GAC did not provide a rationale. And that was not a requirement for issuing a GAC —
HONORABLE JUDGE CAHILL: But you also want to check to see if the countries are following the right — following the rules, if there are reasons for rejecting this or it falls within the three things that my colleague's talking about.
[DRYDEN]: The practice among governments is that governments can express their view, whatever it may be. And so there's a deference to that. That's certainly the case here as well.
This and other quoted sections of the hearing depict the GAC as a body that deliberately avoids substantive discussions and deliberately provides unclear advice to ICANN, in order to avoid offending its members.
Does this mean all GAC advice on new gTLDs is open to appeal now?
Maybe. There are numerous instances of the ICANN board accepting GAC advice without demanding an explanation from the GAC.
At a bare minimum, the applicant for .gcc, which was rejected in the same breath as .africa, now seems to have a case to appeal the decision. The applicant for .thai is in a very similar situation.
Amazon's lawyers will no doubt also be poring over yesterday's decision closely; its .amazon bid was also killed off by GAC advice.
But in the case of .amazon, it would be hard to argue it was a .africa-style summary execution. ICANN took extensive advice and delayed its decision for a long time before killing off that application.
The ruling essentially calls the part of the Applicant Guidebook that gives the GAC its strong advisory powers over new gTLD applications into question.
Literally hundreds of new gTLD applications were affected by the Beijing communique.
Anything else of note?
First, large parts of the decision have been redacted. The redactions mostly appear to relate to sensitive documents disclosed between the parties (reading between the lines, I think some of them related to DCA's purported support from a certain African government) that the panel ruled should remain private last September.
Second, the decision inexplicably quotes the ICANN bylaws text "MISSION AND CORE VALUES" as "MISSION AND CORE (Council of Registrars) VALUES", in what appears to be a weird search-and-replace error by an unknown party. CORE (Council of Registrars) is of course a registry back-end provider with apparently no involvement in .africa whatsoever.
Third, it seems I've been elected Pope. I hereby select "Dave" as my Papal name and will commence my program of donating all Church assets to the poor forthwith.
Panel slaps ICANN in .africa case
A panel of arbitrators had some stern words for ICANN as it handed controversial .africa gTLD applicant DotConnectAfrica another win in its Independent Review Process case.
In a 33-page procedural ruling (pdf) published by ICANN late Friday, the IRP panel disagreed with ICANN's lawyers on almost every argument they made, siding with DCA instead.
The panel strongly indicated that it believes ICANN has attempted to render the IRP toothless, after losing the first such case against ICM Registry a few years ago.
The ruling means that ICANN's top executives and board may have to face hostile cross-examination by DCA lawyers, rather than simply filing written statements with the panel.
It also means that whatever the IRP panel ultimately decides will in all likelihood be binding on ICANN.
DCA filed the IRP with the International Center for Dispute resolution after ICANN, accepting Governmental Advisory Committee advice, rejected the company's application for .africa.
The ICDR panel has not yet ruled on the merits of the case — personally, I don't think DCA has a leg to stand on — but last week's ruling is certainly embarrassing for ICANN.
On a number of counts, ICANN tried to wriggle out of its accountability responsibilities, the ruling suggests.
Primarily, ICANN lawyers had argued that the eventual outcome of the IRP case should be advisory, rather than binding, but the panel disagreed.
The panel noted that new gTLD applicants sign away their rights to sue when they apply for a gTLD, meaning IRP is their last form of appeal against rejection.
It also called into question ICANN's ability to police itself without a binding decision from an independent third party, pointing to previously reported accountability problems (my emphasis):
The need for a compulsory remedy is concretely shown by ICANN's longstanding failure to implement the provision of the Bylaws and Supplementary Procedures requiring the creation of a standing panel. ICANN has offered no explanation for this failure, which evidences that a self-policing regime at ICANN is insufficient. The failure to create a standing panel has consequences, as this case shows, delaying the processing of DCA Trust's claim, and also prejudicing the interest of a competing .AFRICA applicant.
Moreover, assuming for the sake of argument that it is acceptable for ICANN to adopt a remedial scheme with no teeth, the Panel is of the opinion that, at a minimum, the IRP should forthrightly explain and acknowledge that the process is merely advisory. This would at least let parties know before embarking on a potentially expensive process that a victory before the IRP panel may be ignored by ICANN.
The decision is the opposite of what the IRP panel found in the ICM Registry case, which was ruled to be "non-binding" in nature.
While deciding that its own eventual ruling will be precedential, the panel said it did not have to follow the precedent from the ICM case, due to changes made to the IRP procedure in the meantime.
ICANN had also argued against the idea of witnesses being cross-examined, but the panel again disagreed, saying that both parties will have the opportunity "to challenge and test the veracity of statements made by witnesses".
The hearing will be conducted by video ink, which could reduce costs somewhat, but it's not quite as streamlined as ICANN was looking for.
Not only will ICANN's top people face a grilling by DCA's lawyers, but ICANN's lawyers will, it seems, get a chance to put DCA boss Sophia Bekele on the stand.
I'd pay good money for a ticket to that hearing.
Was panel wrong to put .africa on ice or does ICANN have an accountability problem?
Did an Independent Review Process panel get it wrong when it accused ICANN of failing to implement proper accountability mechanisms, or did it actually highlight a more serious problem?
As we reported yesterday, an IRP panel has ordered ICANN to not delegate ZA Central Registry's .africa gTLD until it's heard an appeal by failed rival bidder DotConnectAfrica.
IRP is ICANN's last avenue of appeal for organizations that believe they've been wronged by ICANN decisions. Due to the duration of the process and the need for legal representation, it's extremely expensive.
The IRP panel in the .africa case based its decision largely on the fact that ICANN has failed to create a "standing panel" of would-be IRP panelists, something the panel said would have sped up the process.
A "standing panel" is supposed to be six to nine panelists-in-waiting — all respected jurists — from which three-person IRP panels could be selected when needed in future.
DCA would not have needed to file for an emergency injunction against .africa's delegation had this standing panel been created, the panel said.
According to the IRP panel, the creation of a standing panel has been "required" by the ICANN bylaws since April 2013, and ICANN has "failed" to follow its own rules by not creating one. It wrote:
the Panel is of the view that this Independent Review Process could have been heard and finally decided without the need for interim relief, but for ICANN's failure to follow its own Bylaws… which require the creation of a standing panel
But ICANN disagrees, getting in touch with us today to point out that the panel only partially quoted the ICANN bylaws.
This is the bit of the bylaws the panel quoted:
There shall be an omnibus standing panel of between six and nine members with a variety of expertise, including jurisprudence, judicial experience, alternative dispute resolution and knowledge of ICANN's mission and work from which each specific IRP Panel shall be selected.
There seems to me to be little ambiguity in that paragraph; ICANN "shall" create a standing panel.
But ICANN reminds us that the IRP panel ignored a second bit of this paragraph, which states:
In the event that an omnibus standing panel: (i) is not in place when an IRP Panel must be convened for a given proceeding, the IRP proceeding will be considered by a one- or three-member panel comprised in accordance with the rules of the IRP Provider; or (ii) is in place but does not have the requisite diversity of skill and experience needed for a particular proceeding, the IRP Provider shall identify one or more panelists, as required, from outside the omnibus standing panel to augment the panel members for that proceeding.
Basically, the bit of the bylaws stating that ICANN "shall" create a standing panel is almost immediately negated by a bit that explains what is supposed to happen if ICANN does not create a standing panel.
It's confusing.
Is ICANN "required" (the panel's word) to create this standing panel or not? ICANN seems to think not, but the panel thinks otherwise.
I have no opinion because, luckily, I'm not a lawyer.
But I did a bit of digging into the public record to figure out why the bylaws are so confusing on this issue and what I found is slightly worrying if you're concerned about ICANN accountability.
The bylaws paragraph in question was added in April 2013, but it has its roots in the findings of the first Accountability and Transparency Review Team, which is the key way ICANN's accountability is reviewed under the 2009 Affirmation of Commitments with the US government.
The ATRT said in 2010 (pdf) that ICANN should "seek input from a committee of independent experts on the restructuring of the three review mechanisms" including the IRP.
ICANN did this, convening a three-person Accountability Structures Expert Panel, made up of widely respected corporate/legal brains Mervyn King, Graham McDonald and Richard Moran
It was this ASEP that came up with the idea for a standing panel, which it said would speed up IRP decisions and reduce costs.
Members of the standing panel would be paid an annual retainer even when not working on an IRP, but it would be cheaper because IRP complainants and ICANN wouldn't have to repeatedly explain to a new panel of doddery old ex-judges what ICANN is and does.
The ASEP, in its report (pdf) did not specify what should happen if ICANN decided not to implement its recommendation on the standing panel.
I can't know for sure, but from the public record it seems that the confusing second part of the bylaws amendment was the creation of the ICANN board, possibly based on a single comment from gTLD registries.
The provision about a standing panel was formally added to the bylaws with an April 2013 resolution of ICANN's board of directors, which followed a December 2012 resolution that approved the change in principle.
The second part of the amendment, the bit about what happens if ICANN does not institute a standing panel, was added at some point between those two resolutions.
The April resolution sheds a little light on the reason for the addition, saying (with my added emphasis):
Whereas, as contemplated within the [December 2012] Board resolution, and as reflected in public comment, further minor revisions are needed to the Bylaws to provide flexibility in the composition of a standing panel for the Independent Review process (IRP).
Resolved (2013.04.11.06), the Bylaws revisions to Article IV, Section 2 (Reconsideration) and Article IV, Section 3 (Independent Review) as approved by the Board and subject to a minor amendment to address public comments regarding the composition of a standing panel for the IRP, shall be effective on 11 April 2013.
The notes to the resolution further explain (again with my emphasis):
The Bylaws as further revised also address a potential area of concern raised by the community during the public comments on this issue, regarding the ability for ICANN to maintain a standing panel for the Independent Review proceedings. If a standing panel cannot be comprised, or cannot remain comprised, the Bylaws now allow for Independent Review proceedings to go forward with individually selected panelists.
The "minor amendment" referred to in the resolution seems to have enabled ICANN to basically ignore the ASEP recommendations, which (remember) stem from the ATRT review, for the last 12 months.
The April 2013 resolution was on the consent agenda for the meeting, so there was no minuted discussion by the board, but it seems pretty clear that "public comments" are responsible for the second part of the bylaws amendment.
But whose public comments?
When the ASEP report was open for comment, only two people responded — the Registries Stakeholder Group and former ICANN director Alejandro Pisanty, apparently commenting in a personal capacity.
On the subject of the proposed standing panel, the RySG said it wasn't happy:
We also are concerned with the concept of standing panels for the IRP. A key component of the IRP is that the review is "independent." To keep this independence, we believe that service on an IRP tribunal should be open to all eligible panelists, not just those with previous experience with or knowledge of ICANN. Determining whether an organization has complied with its bylaws or articles of incorporation should not require historic knowledge of the organization itself, and we believe that any jurist generally qualified by the IRP provider should be more than capable of acting as a panelist for an IRP.
It wasn't the RySG's main concern, and it wasn't given much space in its comment.
Pisanty, commenting during the comment-reply period, seemed to disagree with the RySG, saying that the ongoing institutional knowledge of a standing panel could be a boon to the IRP.
When the ASEP report was discussed at a lightly attended early-morning session of the ICANN Toronto meeting in October 2012, the only person to comment on the standing panel was Neustar lawyer Becky Burr, and she liked the idea (transcript).
It's not what you'd call a groundswell of opposition to the standing panel idea. There were few opinions, those opinions were split, and if anything the balance of commentary favors the notion.
In any event, when ICANN compiled its usual compilation report on the public comments (pdf) its legal staffer said:
After review of the comments, no changes to the ASEP recommendations are recommended, and the report will be forwarded to the Board for consideration and action, along with the proposed Bylaws amendments.
ICANN staff, it seems, didn't think the RySG's (lone?) opposition to the standing panel concept was worth messing with the ASEP's recommendations.
And yet the ICANN board added the text about what happens in the event of a standing panel not existing anyway.
I could be wrong, but it does look a little bit like the ICANN board giving itself a carte blanch to ignore the recommendations of the ASEP, and therefore, indirectly, the ATRT.
ICANN may well have a point about the .africa IRP panel inappropriately ignoring some key sentences in the ICANN bylaws, but I can't help but wonder how those sentences got there in the first place.
.africa frozen by panel after ICANN screwup
ZA Central Registry's bid for the .africa new gTLD has been put on ice by an arbitration panel which admonished ICANN for failing to follow its own bylaws.
An Independent Review Panel ruled yesterday that ICANN should not carry on processing .africa until it has ruled on a complaint filed by failed .africa applicant DotConnectAfrica.
If .africa were to be delegated, which could have happened as early as Thursday — ZACR and ICANN have already signed a Registry Agreement — it would render the IRP's decision moot, the panel found.
This ruling doesn't mean ICANN has lost the case, just that it's temporarily enjoined from delegating .africa until the final decision has been made by the IRP panel.
However, the panel had some stern words for ICANN, saying that the matter could have been settled months ago had ICANN only followed its own bylaws.
In the Panel's unanimous view, it would be unfair and unjust to deny DCA Trust's request for interim relief when the need for such a relief by DCA Trust arises out of ICANN's failure to follow its own bylaws.
ICANN's board of directors passed a resolution in April 2013 calling for the creation of a "standing committee" of nine potential IRP panelists, from which each three-person IRP panel could be drawn.
But, over a year later, it has not created this committee, the current IRP panel said. This led to the delay that forced DCA to request the emergency injunction.
ICANN's basically been told by one of its own accountability mechanisms that that accountability mechanism is inadequate, at a time when its accountability mechanisms are under the world's spotlight.
Just last week, the organization launched an accountability review that it said it "interdependent and interrelated" to the process of transitioning IANA away from US government stewardship.
Yeah, it's embarrassing for ICANN. Doubly so because it's been beaten by a company so incompetent it accidentally applied for the wrong gTLD.
For ZACR, the panel reckons the delay in getting .africa delegated will likely last "a few months".
Despite IRP, .africa gets a new gTLD contract
ICANN has signed a Registry Agreement with ZA Central Registry for the new gTLD .africa, despite the string being subject to a legal dispute.
The RA was signed with the South African applicant on Monday.
Rival .africa applicant DotConnectAfrica filed an Independent Review Process complaint against ICANN in January, claiming the rejection of its bid, which came because it lacked government support, was "unfair, discriminatory, and lacked appropriate due diligence and care".
Now that ZACR is a contracted party — meaning that .africa is likely to hit the root in two or three months — it will be very difficult for DCA to get appropriate recompense should it win the IRP.
Fortunately for ICANN, I think there's a better chance of me getting elected Pope.


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Paignton Zoo
Paignton Zoo is a registered conservation, education and scientific charity dedicated to conserving our global wildlife heritage. We are committed to the conservation of plants and animals throughout the world. We carry out field conservation projects in the UK and overseas, run breeding programmes for native and exotic animals and do applied research within the zoo. We also sustain an extensive education programme reaching out to local schools, communities and groups.
With your support we can continue to protect and research endangered species across the world.
Thank you.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The broadcast campaigner Alex Jones, of InfoWars fame, has very often pointed out the campaign of hate directed by mainstream media & academia at any truth-teller, not to bring in tyrannical laws, although certainly to do that too, but in the hope of some rabid loner taking matters into his own hands, to kill the 'fascist' or the 'Nazi'. They hope to impel some weirdo to kill any figure who tries to warn Western civilisation about the impending abyss, like the British embarrassment who tried to shoot Donald Trump, or whoever it was who poisoned Robert Spencer in Reykjavik, as reported by Arutz Sheva today (hat-tip to The Religion Of Peace):
Anti-Islam activist poisoned by leftists in Iceland
Robert Spencer, director of the Jihad Watch website, poisoned in Reykjavik after lecturing on the threat of jihad.
Robert Spencer, director of the Jihad Watch website and author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades) and The Truth About Muhammad, was poisoned by leftists during a visit to Iceland.
Writing about the incident in Front Page Magazine, Spencer said the incident occurred last Thursday after he gave a lecture on the threat of jihad at a hotel in Reykjavik.
"It happened after the event, when my security chief, the organizers of the event, and Jihad Watch writer Christine Williams, who had also been invited to speak, went with me to a local restaurant to celebrate the success of the evening," he wrote.
"At this crowded Reykjavik establishment, I was quickly recognized. A young Icelander called me by name, shook my hand, and said he was a big fan. Shortly after that, another citizen of that famously genteel and courteous land also called me by name, shook my hand, and said 'F**k you.'"
A test confirmed that one of the locals who confronted him had dropped drugs into Spencer's drink, he added, stressing, "I wasn't and am not on any other medication, and so there wasn't any other explanation of how these things had gotten into my bloodstream."
"For several days thereafter I was ill, but I did get to Reykjavik's police station and gave them a bigger case than they have seen in good awhile. The police official with whom I spoke took immediate steps to identify and locate the principal suspects and obtain the restaurant's surveillance video," continued Spencer.
Spencer noted in his piece that his visit to Iceland had triggered a firestorm of abuse in the local press.
"Every story about my visit had the same elements: the notice that the SPLC claims that I purvey 'hate speech,' which is a subjective judgment used to shut down dissent from the establishment line; the fact that I am banned from Britain, with no mention of the key detail that I was banned for saying that Islam has doctrines of violence (which is like being banned for saying water is wet) and for the crime of supporting Israel; and the false claim that I incited the Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik to kill (in reality, I'm no more responsible for Breivik's murders than the Beatles are for Charles Manson's). After the event, one article even featured a big photo of Breivik, but quoted nary a thing I said that evening," he wrote.
"It's clear: jihad and Islamization are not subjects that Icelandic politicians and media opinion-makers want Icelanders to discuss. That's all the more reason why it must be discussed," he added.


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Yesterday, I wrote about who I had representing the American League in this year's All-Star Game. So today, I give you the National League side with the same format as before, that being the roster is based off of last year's. Let's get into it.
C: Buster Posey, SFG
1B: Freddie Freeman, ATL
2B: Ozzie Albies, ATL
3B: Nolan Arenado, COL
SS: Brandon Crawford, SFG
OF: Nick Markakis, ATL
OF: Matt Kemp, LAD
OF: Bryce Harper, WAS
SP: Max Scherzer, WAS
C: JT Realmuto, MIA
1B: Brandon Belt, SFG
1B: Paul Goldschmidt, ARI
2B: Scooter Gennett, CIN
2B: Javier Baez, CHI
3B: Eugenio Suarez, CIN
3B: Matt Carpenter, STL
SS: Trevor Story, COL
OF: Lorenzo Cain, MIL
OF: Brandon Nimmo, NYM
OF: Kyle Schwarber, CHI
SP: Jacob deGrom, NYM
SP: Aaron Nola, PHI
SP: Miles Mikolas, STL
SP: Mike Foltynewicz, ATL
SP: Jon Lester, CHI
SP: Patrick Corbin, ARI
RP: Brad Hand, SDP
RP: Kenley Jansen, LAD
RP: Josh Hader, MIL
RP: Adam Ottavino, COL
RP: Sean Doolittle, WAS
RP: Felipe Vazquez, PIT
And there you have it. 32 players listed above, I made sure to include at least one representative from all 15 NL teams. Let me know if I left anyone deserving of an All-Star nod off.


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When talking about the roof cleaning venture in the Bossier, LA vicinity, not all agencies offer the same quality of treatment. A couple of companies choose to take the shorter route of knocking the dust and grime off your roof by working with power washers. Others may blend a power washer with chemicals that can be coarse in nature, which can temporarily bring out a little glimmer in your home's roof but these chemicals can chip away at the roofing materials over time. Our business knows better than to utilize a power washer because of the potential to harm your roof and we certainly do not want our company name on a roof that has a slimy appearance. Alternatively, we use a soft washing procedure together with cleaning agents that are safe to the touch. When all is said and done, you will never need to worry about finding loosened roofing materials yet your roof will look great. For people with contacts or family in other places for instance roof cleaning Belhaven, NC, tell them that we present solutions across the nation.
There are plenty of roof cleaning companies who provide their services within the Bossier, LA locale. Consequently, we have had to work incredibly hard to gain our reputation as the leader in the roof cleaning industry. We have done this through our highly-trained personnel and the quality of equipment they have access to when doing a roof cleaning job. To find out how we can assist with your roof cleaning needs, make sure you give us a call at Rise Above Roof Cleaning at 888-416-7747 right away.


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Bob Jane All-Rounder
Xenon Z7
Everyday Driving
Everyday Driving - Eco
Sport Performance
Highway - Eco
All - Terrain
Mud Terrain
Light Commercial & Utes
All -Terrain Tyres - M+S
Highway Tyres - M+S
Highway Eco Tyres - M+S
Mud Terrain Tyres - M+S
Sport Performance Tyres - M+S
Wheel Alignment
Wheel Balancing
Puncture Repairs
Tyre Check Tuesday
Nitrogen Tyre Inflation
Tyre Satisfaction Guarantee
Best Tyre Price Guarantee
Road Hazard Warranty
Wheel Warranty
Long Life Tyre Plan
Top 10 Tyre Tips
Tips for Driving in Winter
Fuel Efficient - Eco Friendly
Tyre Inspection Information
2019 Porsche Michelin GT3 Cup Series, Round 2
2019 Porsche Carrera Cup Series, Round 2
2019 Porsche Carrera Cup Series, Round 1
2018 Porsche Carrera Cup Series, Round 6
2018 Porsche Carrera Cup Series, Round 5
One of the business principles that helped Bob Jane T-Marts to become the market leader in tyre, wheel and battery retailing in Australia is our outstanding customer service.
Widely regarded as Australia's most successful independent tyre retailer, each Bob Jane T-Marts location is run by a Franchise Owner, Agency Owner or Manager who has the will to succeed, possesses sound business skills, enthusiasm, drive and the ambition to provide excellence in customer service. Our people are chosen for their experience, attitude and integrity and quickly become recognised as the tyre experts in their local community.
Bob Jane T-Marts are recognised Australia-wide for our staff and management expertise, wide range of famous brands and where prices are very competitive. And, with the very best marketing and advertising support, the organisation has grown to become the envy of its competitors.


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Asus Zenfone 2 Laser ZE601KL (Silver, 32 GB) (3 GB RAM)
Truly an aesthetic wonder, the ZenFone 2 Laser ZE601KL is 3.9 mm thin and comfortable to hold. The concentric-circle design gives this phone a premium look and feel.
The ergonomic arc design of this ZenFone features intuitive rear controls for easy operation. Whether you're left- or right-handed, these controls make it easy to snap selfies, adjust the volume and retrace your steps.
The 15.24 cm (6) Full HD display boasts a remarkable 72% screen-to-body ratio. You'll love playing games and watching videos on the crystal-clear IPS display of this ASUS device.
Thanks to the 64-bit Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, this Zenfone is perfect for your daily activities such as browsing, watching videos and playing games. The device runs on Android Lollipop operating system.
Listen to your favourite tracks in loud, crystal-clear sound quality on this ASUS device. It features a dual-driver audio chamber that comes with a five-magnet construction and metal voice coil.
The Corning Gorilla Glass 4 offers up to 2.5 times increase in drop-damage resistance and is 85% less likely to break in daily use.
Click beautiful pictures and selfies with the 13 MP rear and 5 MP front camera of this ASUS smartphone. The rear camera has laser auto-focus technology for taking shots quickly. It also offers Super HDR mode and Low Light mode.
Experience the simple, smart and personalized ZenUI on this Zenfone. It has a beautiful visual design and a variety of features that deliver a seamless user experience.
|In The Box
|Model Number
|Model Name
|Browse Type
|SIM Type
|Display Size
|Resolution Type
|Other Display Features
|Operating System
|Processor Type
|Processor Core
|Primary Clock Speed
|Operating Frequency
|Internal Storage
|Expandable Storage
|Supported Memory Card Type
|Phone Book Memory
|Call Log Memory
|SMS Memory
|Primary Camera Available
|Primary Camera
|Primary Camera Features
|Secondary Camera Available
|Secondary Camera
|Secondary Camera Features
|HD Recording
|Full HD Recording
|Video Recording
|Video Recording Resolution
|Frame Rate
|Phone Book
|Network Type
|Supported Networks
|Internet Connectivity
|3G Speed
|Pre-installed Browser
|Bluetooth Support
|Bluetooth Version
|Wi-Fi Version
|USB Connectivity
|Audio Jack
|Map Support
|GPS Support
|Touchscreen Type
|SIM Size
|User Interface
|SIM Access
|Other Features
|Important Apps
|GPS Type
|Audio Formats
|Battery Capacity
|Battery Type
|Warranty Summary
Simply awesome
Jasjit Singh
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Oct, 2016
Awesome Phone: Go For it without blinking an eye !!
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Mar, 2016
Worth the money
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Certified Buyer, Bangalore
Dec, 2016
Excellent Premium Phone in half of price than others !
Certified Buyer, Mumbai
Mar, 2016
Mind-blowing purchase
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Certified Buyer, Hyderabad
Sep, 2016
Must buy!
Certified Buyer, Kolkata
Sep, 2016
Rajveer Sri
Certified Buyer, West Dinajpur
Aug, 2016
saish kaloji(DSk)
Certified Buyer, North Goa
Oct, 2016
Flipkart Customer
Certified Buyer, Mumbai
Oct, 2016
Excellent product. Just go for it
Swapneel Kavadi
Certified Buyer, Pune
Jan, 2016


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Need some help? Speak to us:
Call: 01274 569911 | Email: email@example.com
Showroom in Bingley, West Yorkshire | Full Contact Details
Item Price:
The Thuka Trendy 4 shorty midsleeper is a fantastic solid pine short length midsleeper which includes your choice of play tent creating a fun play area under the bed. The Thuka Trendy 4 midsleeper also has the option of a tunnel, not only great fun, but great for stopping your little one bouncing on the bed! Why not complete the fun by adding an optional tower to your Thuka Trendy midsleeper. The Thuka Trendy 4 shorty midsleeper comes with a choice of straight or sloping ladder, with the sloping ladder being ideal for smaller children as it makes climbing up and down far easier.
Space tent disconmtinued March 2018
Straight ladder – L172 x W106 x H118cms
Sloping ladder – L172 x W136 x H118cms
Height under bed 78cms (there is a lip where the rails are, where the height is 74.5cms)
Want to see the full length version of this bed? Take a look at the Thuka Trendy 14.
Standard Delivery
Delivery is FREE when spending over £250, please see our Delivery page for delivery charges under £250.
Wherever possible we prefer to deliver your Thuka Trendy bed either in one of our own vehicles or using Thuka's home delivery service as this provides you with a better delivery service and ensures your bed is handled correctly. Depending upon where you are in the UK this can mean delivery takes 3-4 weeks.
Our standard delivery service includes delivery to your room of choice*. We will also give you an approximate time slot for delivery^.
Express Delivery
We appreciate that our standard delivery service does not meet everyone's requirements. We therefore offer the option of express delivery at no extra charge. Express delivery takes 3-5 working days. If you require delivery quicker than this please call us on 01274 569911.
Please note that we typically use overnight courier services to fulfil express delivery. Delivery can be anytime up to 4pm. Typically the courier drivers will only deliver to your front door. If you need fast delivery but have issues with these aspects of express delivery, please call us on 01274 569911.
Saturday Delivery, Collection, Local Delivery (BD, LS, HG, HX and HD postcodes)
Please see our Delivery page for more details on Saturday Deliveries, Collections and Local Deliveries.
Gold Service Assembly
Assembly for this bed costs £50.
Thuka Trendy beds are a flat pack product, and come with clear easy to follow instructions. We appreciate however that for many reasons not all customers either want or are able to build their beds. With our Gold Service your bed will be built in your home by members of either Rainbow Wood or Thuka's expert assembly team.
If assembly has been selected delivery usually takes 3-4 weeks, however if you need a bed assembled sooner than this please contact us on 01274 569911.
Please note that to reduce time in your house we will sometimes pre-build items of furniture.
* Please note that for health and safety reasons our delivery/assembly team are unable to remove footwear when delivering/building your bed.
^ We make every effort to plan our deliveries in order to give you an accurate delivery time. However, there may be circumstances beyond our control that may delay our driver, should this be the case we will endeavour to keep you informed.
Rainbow Wood is not just a website like many of our competitors. We have a showroom where you can come and touch, feel and climb all over our beds (although most leave the climbing bit to their kids).
This also means we are better able to advise you, as we see the beds on a daily basis, most of us have built beds and so we generally have more in depth knowledge than our competitors.
If you are just too far away to come and visit us then why not take a look at our online tour (just don't forget to go upstairs).
Rainbow Wood Price Match
We try our best to ensure our prices are competitive. If you find any product advertised cheaper elsewhere we will be happy to match that price*.
Price matching is available on all products on our website.
To request a Price Match please contact us email@example.com or call 01274 569911.
For bed/furniture combinations, we are also happy to try and price match package prices quoted directly to a customer. We may require some evidence of the price quoted.
* We will only price match on a like-for-like basis, taking into account any delivery charges, accessories, etc.
The product being price matched must be available for similar delivery terms to those offered by us (e.g. if we are offering next day delivery and the product is available cheaper but at a considerably longer timescale we may decline to price match).
Where price matching would result in selling a product below cost price (e.g. matching to an error on a competitor's website), we reserve the right to decline to price match.
Deluxe Memory Pocket Mattress – our most popular mattress
All the benefits of memory foam combined with a pocket sprung unit, all wrapped up in a temperature regulating cover.
Thuka Shorty Superior Sprung Mattress
A soft open coil sprung mattress, ideal for younger children.
Toby Memory Foam Mattress
Our entry level memory foam mattress, with 2cms of memory foam combined with high density foam.
Deluxe Memory Foam Mattress
2.5cms of memory foam, and a temperature regulating cover.
Sport Sprung Mattress
A fairly soft sprung mattress with football design cover.
Hearts Sprung Mattress
A fairly soft sprung mattress with pink hearts design cover.
Budget Sprung Mattress
Our cheapest mattress.
Please select options
The Thuka Trendy 4 Shorty midsleeper is a fantastic solid pine short length midsleeper with play tent.
Product Details
Item Price:418


text:
FMC has been making great brake lathes as well as a wide range of other automotive equipment for many years, starting with the early 600 series. FMC became a very reliable, accurate unit.
A 22-year veteran of the industry provides techniques for finding reliable and honest auto repair for people who are NOT mechanical. If you know what to look for, you can find a safe place to take your car, or at least drastically improve the chances of having a positive experience.
Simple, easy to understand proven methods on how to earn the highest salary as an automotive technician without stealing from the customer.
Nine in ten women believe they are treated differently at auto-repair shops than their male counterparts. These 6 tips can help protect a woman against fraudulent auto repairs.
To start a successful auto repair shop, you need to enjoy dealing with people in general. If you enjoy the mechanical work that is great, but if you intend to grow, you will need to learn to market your business.
Ammco have been making high quality brake lathes for a very long time, without needing to change the basic design. Buying spare parts even for a 40 year old model is a breeze!
It can be challenging to find a mechanic or auto repair shop that you can trust. By using these simple tips, you'll be able to get you car repaired at a quality shop without feeling like you've been ripped off.
You'll want to know how to defrost a frozen fuel nozzle if you own or manage a gas station where temperatures get below zero.
Signs and symptoms of a bad heater core in your car: fog, drips, and funny smells in the cabin, no heat in the cabin, the engine overheating.


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Proven Results from the Showcase Selections Lineup
PLAIN CITY, Ohio, January 5, 2016-Red Carrier Showcase Selections™ sires and popular, former Super Samplers™ 7HO11596 Scientific B DEFIANT-ET (VG-87) and 7HO11703 Mr Apples ARMANI-ET (EX-90) earned exciting daughter proofs during the December sire summaries.
DEFIANT, a 7HO9165 Regancrest S BRAXTON-ET (EX-95) grandson of Scientific Debutante Rae-ET (EX-92-EX-MS-GMD-DOM), is the No. 3 active A.I. sire and No. 1 Red or Red Carrier sire for Type at +3.46. He is one of the best for Udder Composite (UDC) (+2.41) and Feet and Leg Composite (FLC) (+2.31) and has an outstanding Sire Conception Rate (SCR) (+2.3). His daughters are extreme for stature, dairy form, strength, body depth, fore udder attachment and rear udder height and width. Two DEFIANT daughters earned Red and White All-American nominations this year. He is available in gender SELECTed™ semen.
A Goldwyn from KHW Regiment Apple-Red-ET (EX-96-3E-EX-MS-DOM), ARMANI debuts with solid Type (+2.11 PTAT, +1.96 UDC, +2.50 FLC) and as the No. 4 Red or Red Carrier sire for GTPI® at +2103. He is an impressive component improver (+0.31% Fat, +0.14% Protein) and his outstanding Daughter Pregnancy Rate (DPR) (+1.3), Productive Life (PL) (+2.7) and Somatic Cell Score (SCS) (2.83) earn him the HealthMark™ designation. ARMANI has an exceptional SCR (+3.1) and is available in gender SELECTed semen. His daughters received eight Red and White All-American nominations, including two milking daughters, and two black and white All-American nominations in 2015.
For more information on all members of the Showcase Selections lineup visit http://www.selectsires.com/designations/showcase.html.
Based in Plain City, Ohio, Select Sires Inc., is North America's largest A.I. organization and is comprised of nine farmer−owned and −controlled cooperatives. As the industry leader, it provides highly fertile semen as well as excellence in service and programs to achieve its basic objective of supplying dairy and beef producers with North America's best genetics at a reasonable price.
™Source: 12/15 USDA-CDCB Genomic Evaluation, USDA/HA Genomic Evaluation. Active and Foreign A.I. Holstein Sires List. 12/15 % Rel: DEFIANT Type 88, SCR 97; ARMANI Type 89, Yield 94, DPR 77, SCS 88, PL 84, SCR 99. ™Showcase Selections, Super Samplers, HealthMark and gender SELECTed are trademarks of Select Sires Inc. ®GTPI is a registered trademark of Holstein Association USA.


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AM1660/1640/1620 Precision Industrial PRTs
- Accuracy: ±0.035 °C at 0 °C
- Temperature range: -200 °C to 670 °C
- Durable and shock resistance
- Customized dimensions available
AM1620/1640/1660 series precision industrial PRTs are top choices when price-to-performance is considered. They cover a wide range of temperature from -200 °C to 670 °C with amazing accuracy of ±0.035 °C at 0 °C, short term stability of ±0.01 °C and fast respond time of 5 seconds. These industrial PRTs come with standard length 12-inch but customized dimensions are available per request.
To reach the best performance in stability and repeatability, the wire-wound sensing elements are specially designed to protect the platinum sensing wire from contamination at high temperature. A unique support structure and filling material provide the best balance among the hysteresis effect, mechanical shock and thermal shock performance. All of these probes conform to the standard 385 curve so the resistance ratio of the PRT follow DIN/IEC-751 curve precisely.


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We offer a modern wooden modular house.
We offer a modern design, functional, high quality wooden modular house. Available in both standard and individual projects, these houses are relatively fast to build and, moreover, do not require a long project coordination.
Houses are constructed using only ''green'' wood components, eco woodworking tools and eco insulation. Wooden walls "breathe" and radiates heat, thus the house is healthy and with a pleasant microclimate aura.
Modular house construction is a rational compromise between the need to save money and ensure maximum practicality and comfort in the building. In today's conditions in many parts of the world these types of buildings are widely used as individual structures (residential houses, garden houses, and summer houses), public buildings (offices, shops, and commercial pavilions) and industrial buildings (garages, warehouses, manufacturing workshops).
Modular type combines the needs of the owner and the conditions of the building site. The modular themselves are made of wood or the so-called standardized sandwich panels with high strength and insulation with already built in communications (electrical, heating and water supply systems, sewage and air conditioning equipment).
An important and valued customer advantage of modular house is their mobility. They are quick to assemble and do not require any additives capital foundations. In addition, if necessary, modular home are equally quickly dismantled and installed in a different location.
Of course, architectural form of modular house is limited to the individual project and other technologies reclaimed houses, but the skillful use of a variety of architectural and design solutions (glazed facades, skylights, Tambour, shutters, terraces, verandas, lamps, decorative wooden elements, sound wood modern paint, etc.) and modular homes can assign individuality, originality and elite look.


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I'm sure a majority of us discovered these two bedroom pop artists at the same time; probably through YouTube's recommended videos, or on Spotify discover. We also can't deny that both Clairo & Cuco's music have a similar vibe, and we've always wondered if it was possible for them to release a track together and how it would turn out.
A couple of months ago, Clairo released an accompanying music video for one of her biggest hits, Flaming Hot Cheetos. Right when the music video was about to come to a close, a wild Cuco suddenly appeared, chilling with the dreampop artist in a trendy-looking diner. That's when we found out that they're actually friends irl.
We can finally die in peace—because they finally teamed up on a track together!
They also shared a behind-the-scenes video showcasing the song-making action, and a the two throwing a couple of jokes at each other during the process. The video is a part of the Yours Truly and adidas originals' ongoing Songs From Scratch series.
Is it acceptable to call them Cluco from now on? Yeah? No?


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Amber MacArthur – used to hear her recommend great sites with Leo Laporte at Twit TV a couple of years ago… This is an article I believe all running a business really should dig into. Are you on top of your business? I passion around – daily? Are you hiring the right staff?
Are you in a similar position – with all our business – or just with segments of our customers? You "own your market" and you're early. But competition's running up. What to do?
As internet changes terms of business in several areas today home for a multitude of suppliers soon will find one to three suppliers owning as much as 80% of the market.
How is this possible? What are the driving forces – except internet opportunities? I believe PASSION will be their driving force – as described by Simon Sinek in this presentation.
(I am still amazed there are people out there that haven't yet discovered TED.COM – are you amongst them? I envy you!)
As Simon Sinek, I too have been thinking and observing. And his "Golden Circle" has meant so much this last year, convincing me we are on the right path. Thanks, Simon! And wiht structures as I propose them in "The LUCK concept"
So what went wrong at MySpace? Well, it's certainly not over. But were passion around? What were the drivning forces of the company? Were they committed to their cause – spreading the "why" message, living it daily?
I'm very curious!


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Membership Level Details. If you have a change in your level, you can change it in your profile. You do NOT need to create a new profile.
Regular Membership Regular Membership will consist of any current or formerly employed local public health nurses, community health nurses working as public health nurses or visiting nurses working as public health nurses. Regular members are entitled to all benefits of membership.
Associate Membership. Associate Membership is available nurses who desire to join and support the Association but do not meet the requirements of regular membership. Affiliated nursing groups include school health, occupational health, or nurses practicing at the state, national levels. Associate members may not vote or be a representative on the Board of Directors.
Student Membership Student Membership is available to nursing students enrolled in a professional degree-seeking nursing program. Qualifying students are taking 6 credit hours [undergraduate] or 3 credit hours [graduate/postgraduate] per semester. Academic / Student members may not vote or be a representative on the Board of Directors.
Retired Membership. The Retired Membership is for nurses who have retired from the specialty of public health nursing as described in the Regular Membership but no longer derives income from public health nursing employment
2) Process your application entirely online below except for payment. You will receive an email "invoice" with payment pending (to the email address you provided on your application) for submission to your community/township/organization which can be mailed in with your check to MAPHN PO Box 537 Milton, MA 02186. Your community may require a W-9 from MAPHN. Click here for the MAPHN W-9


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A Senator Conducts His Own Interventionist Foreign Policy
Having "slipped into Syria the other day to meet with Islamist rebels," Justin Raimondo reports — Why John McCain Wants to Aid Syrian Terrorists. Even more troubling, these questions:
- So what did McCain do in Syria? The military backbone of the opposition is the al-Nusra Front, which has recently pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda. Did McCain meet with their commanders – in spite of the fact that they have recently been added to the State Department's list of officially-designated terrorist organizations?
Labels: America the Beautiful, Foreign Policy, Terrorism, The Levant


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Mar 5, 2018
My guest on the show today is Warren Hogarth.
Warren spent eight years as a Partner at the number one venture capital firm in the world, Sequoia Capital.
Sequoia have invested in companies like Square, Uber, WhatsApp, and AirBnB, and Warren stood shoulder-to-shoulder with founders to build large, enduring businesses; three of them went from zero to over $1 billion.
While at Sequoia, Warren saw first-hand how fintech startups were changing the way people approached managing money, payments, and investing.
He launched his startup, Empower Finance, in 2016 based on the belief that all people deserve access to expert financial advice.
As well as talking about Warren's experience funding startups and early stage companies at Sequoia Capital, we get into how fintech has the potential to save us money and make our relationship with money much simpler.
You can find the show notes for this episode at icradio.co.uk/314. There's useful links and you can also read the full interview transcript. That's all at icradio.co.uk/314.
Here's my conversation with Warren Hogarth, founder of Empower Finance, in episode 314 of Informed Choice Radio.


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BT Clients
A BitTorrent Client is computer software that utilizes the BitTorrent P2P protocol to download and upload data. The original BitTorrent client was released in 2002 by Bram Cohen. Since then, many different clients have developed, all of which are at least partially based on the original BitTorrent client.
- 1 BitTorrent Clients
- 1.1 Whitelist
- 1.2 Blacklist
- 1.3 External Websites
BitTorrent Clients
The full list (most up-to-date version) is viewable at http://www.bakabt.com/whitelist.php. Check there if in doubt; this page will be updated at infrequent intervals to match the main page.
If you have good reason to add a Bittorrent client not listed below, kindly post in this thread. Excessive whining and complaining is not going to help your case.
Please include the torrent client name and version number. Versions that are too old or in early beta will not be considered (unless you have a really good reason, in which case you are expected to defend your choice without us having to ask).
Before you ask why a torrent client is blacklisted, read this thread. Your question has already been answered there.
Vuze (Azureus)
Allowed versions: 2.5.x, 3.0.x, 3.1.x, 4.0.x, 4.1.x, 4.2.x, 4.x (Windows, Linux, Mac)
- One of the most preferred clients on BakaBT. This client has recently changed name to Vuze from it's old name Azureus.
- What Vuze is unique for is it's community part, which allows you to share torrents easily with your friends.
- While this client is very rich in features, it is written in Java, which makes it slow by nature, and is quite a memory hog. Despite these enormous flaws, it is still one of the best.
Allowed versions: 0.3.x (Windows, Linux, Mac)
- Client developed by John Hoffman. This client was the first to include super seeding. This client automatically bans connections with BitComet clients.
Allowed versions: 1.0.x, 1.1.x (Windows, Linux, Mac OS X)
- Deluge is a lightweight, Free Software, cross-platform BitTorrent client.
Allowed versions: dnh3.2, dnh3.3.x (Windows, Linux)
Allowed versions: 0.3.0, 0.3.1 (Windows)
Allowed versions: 2.1.x, 2.2.x, 3.0.x, 3.1.x, 3.2.x (Windows, Linux, Mac OS X)
libtorrent & rtorrent
Allowed versions: 0.x, 0.10.4, 0.11.x, 0.12.x (Linux, cygwin?)
- A mature BitTorrent client built around the libTorrent C++ library. Ncurses-based.
- Uses very minimal resources.
- Often used in a detached GNU Screen session.
- Has many web front-ends available.
BitTorrent (Mainline, Official)
allowed versions: 4.x, 5.3.x, 5.5.2, 6.1.x, 6.2.x (Windows, Linux, Mac)
- The official BitTorrent client, nicknamed Mainline by developers. The last version before BitTorrent Inc. switched to the uTorrent build.
Allowed versions: 1.5.x, 1.6.x, 1.7.x, 1.x (Linux, Mac OS X, BeOS)
- A client that runs on Unix based systems, Mac OS X, and BeOS. Default client for Ubuntu Linux, Zenwalk Linux and some other distributions. This client is known for having a small distribution size.
Allowed versions: 1.6.0, 1.6.1, 1.7.6, 1.7.7, 1.8.x, 1.9.x beta, mac0.9.x beta (Windows, Linux+WINE, Mac OSX)
- One of the most preferred clients on BakaBT. This client is known for having a small distribution size, despite being feature rich, and using little system resources. Available for Windows and WINE emulation only.
- This client is not suggested for use in the BakaBT community. It is currently only available for the Windows platform. It follows traffic behaviour that benefits the user at the expense of the swarm, which is discouraged.
- This client is based on the source code of the BitComet 0.56 core and includes adware and malware. It is not suggested for use in the BakaBT community. It is currently only available for the Windows platform.
- There exists two Shareza, one false and the true client. Shareza V4 is the false one, and it comes bundled with adware. Shareza V2 is the true client.
Xunlei (Thunder)
- Client that doesn't follow the Bittorrent protocol properly, reports fake transfer stats.


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Moving Day
Erin and I both recently embarked on moves to new homes, an act filled with bittersweet emotion, in saying goodbye, in starting anew, and in discovering the omnipresent belonging that exists in our hearts wherever we may find ourselves.
Erin's reflection on her experience resonated with me on a deep level as universal, poignant and beautiful. Please join me in reading her thoughtful, poetic words -- and please share your own thoughts and reflections of the constant return Home.
I've sat here for at least a hundred mornings. My last few mornings I've had in this space, I've written mostly about love; it's different ways of taking shape and also it's concession. About how memories often revolve around love; felt, expressed, lost, or given.
When I arrived here three years ago, boxes in hand, I was searching for something to keep me here. Something to keep me grounded.
This place has become my home; a reminder that I was ok and a symbol of that grounding. It's been my space to create, cook, dream, dance, laugh, share, cry, rest and grow.
A place I've labeled 'home' in my heart for years has been boxed up in hours.
Moving is a good lesson in impermanence.
With each box carried out and dust particle swept, I will take a little love memory from these years and trust that spark will translate to the masterpiece of life;
a continual home-making amidst the shuffle that goes on.
Leave a Reply.
Molly Jo Stanley
Educating for Mindfulness and Sustainability
October 2019


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Contemporary by Angela Li is proud to present "An Inner Journey", an art exhibition featuring works by four established contemporary Chinese artists: Cang Xin, Chen Wenling, Wu Didi and Zhang Qikai. Comprised of paintings, sculpture and video installation, the exhibition investigates and questions existential ambiguities in life. The exhibition will run from 6th to 28th October, with an opening reception on Thursday, 6th October at 6 – 8 p.m. attended by the artists.
As humanity evolves and our society becomes more mature and sophisticated, both the urgency of the continuous search for true inner self and inner peace, and the investigation into our existence in nature and our role within the society seems to escalate. Studied in conceptual ways, the exhibition presents various aspects and observations of life from different angles, with the intention of redefining and reinterpreting life and existence.
Multimedia and performance artist Cang Xin's artistic inspirations are often influenced by his religious belief. To him, the art-creating process is a spiritual way for him to review his inner self as well as the world around him. In his Hidden Consciousness series, the subject matter is imaginary, filled with mysterious objects and beings. The use of traditional Chinese painting materials of silk and pigment further creates a state of contradiction against such made-up objects and beings. Acting as a visual extension to his belief in animism, these works are the continued exploration of his spirituality and investigation in the meanings of existence.
Renowned Chinese sculptor Chen Wenling's Memory Tree is lively yet complex, expressing his attitude towards life and society. As a continuation of the legacy of his Red Memory series, the work at first glance shows his sense of humour, while at the same time inspires his audience to look for the much deeper meanings embedded within. With a little man hanging upside down on a tree in a carefree state, the sculpture conveys the artist's new phase of life in which he has overcome a major illness and reflects the malleability and strength in humanity.
Wu Didi draws the subject matter of her paintings from the simplest elements of nature, such as bamboo, stones, insects and weed. She gives each of her subjects a new life and unique identity. In her Bamboo series, she "bends" the bamboos into different shapes; the unnatural look conveys the bamboo's quality of resilience and toughness, while the closed shapes with split parts depict life's perfections and imperfections. The paintings serve as the artist's poetic study to examine spirituality in humanity as well as her own meditative process during the long creative process.
Zhang Qikai creates his art with references to philosophical tensions and focuses on reflections of the deepest meanings of life and ways of being. He encodes his observations and contextualises his creativity into a unique and peculiar visual experience. His multimedia work, Breathing, is simple yet mystical. Overlayering sound and video projection onto an imaginary space dimension, the work awakens new emotions within the viewers to rediscover the phenomenon in life.
About the Artists
Cang Xin (b. 1967, Inner Mongolia, China) studied at Tianjin Academy of Music and Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts. He is one of China's most celebrated performance and multimedia artists and is also an active art curator. He has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions around the world, including: "El Cuerpo en La Naturaleza" (Santander Art Center, Spain, 2016), "Beijing 798 Genesis (2002-2006)" (Songzhuang Art Museum, China, 2016), "Voice of the Unseen" (55th Venice Biennale collateral event, Venice, 2013) and "Cang Xin's Mythology" (Today Art Museum, Beijing, 2008). He currently lives and works in Beijing.
Chen Wenling (b.1969, Fujian, China) graduated from Xiamen Academy of Art and Design in 1991 followed by his postgraduate studies at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1994. He is internationally recognised as one of the top contemporary sculptors. He has previously participated in major exhibitions including: "The 6th Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art" (Russia, 2015), "China 8 – China Contemporary Art Exhibition" (Germany, 2015), "The 11th Sculpture by the Sea" (Australia, 2015), "The 55th Venice Biennale" (Venice, Italy, 2013) and "The Suspense – Sculptures By Chen Wenling" (Today's Art Museum, China, 2010). His works have been collected by numerous museums such as China Art Museum, Beijing Today Art Museum, National Gallery of Korea, Houston Museum of Fine Arts, Denver Art Museum, Arox Art Museum. He currently lives and works in Beijing.
Wu Didi (b. 1976 in Chongqing, China) completed her postgraduate degree in oil painting at the Central Academy of Fine Art in 2004 and has been a lecturer at the Central Academy of Dramatic Art since then. Her subject matters evolve from elements of traditional Chinese humanities. The artist had held solo exhibitions in Beijing and New York, and her previous important exhibitions include "CHINA NOW" (London, 2016), "Beyond the Mirror Phase" (Era of Art Museum, Beijing, 2016), "Wu Didi" (New York, 2015) and "Temperature of History" (Shanghai Museum of Art, China, 2015). The artist currently lives and works in Beijing.
Zhang Qikai (b. 1967, Beijing, China) graduated from the National Academy of Fine Arts in 1992 and obtained a bachelor degree in Fine Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts of Brera in Milan in 2001. He later obtained a postgraduate degree from the Multi-Media Department of the Institute of Design of Milan. The artist has had solo exhibitions in China, Taiwan, Italy and Germany. His previous major exhibitions include: "Brotherhood – Manhood" (Beijing, China, 2015), "Context" (Milan, Italy, 2014), "Insight" (Taiwan, 2012), "Living, Being – Sino-Dutch Contemporary Art Exhibition" (Songzhuang Art Museum, China, 2010) and "Zhang Qikai's Art" (Contemporary Art Museum of Genoa, Italy, 2001). The artist currently lives and works in Beijing.


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Endrus serpent
- This article is incomplete, which means that while it is not a stub, it still lacks certain data or information.
- Infobox entry on relative creature level
- Please see Category:Incomplete articles for more articles that are incomplete.
The endrus serpent is a leafy amalgam of woody detritus held together by snarls of vines and creepers. Despite its motley composition, the lithe serpent moves with reptilian grace invisible against the surrounding vegetation. Superficially resembling a large snake, this construct is the length of a tall Elf. The creature is constantly changing and reforming, but it tends to have a sinuous, serpentine body. Its maw is crowded with jagged teeth, and its eyes glow with eerie incandescence.
In Depth
These constructs are found down a serpentine path off the Southern Trade Route as it passess through the Endrus forest. They require around 70 ranks to hunt safely and swarm slightly.
They are immune to sleep effects.
Still moving Skinning slowly at 142 ranks, fully arranged.
Started training Stealth around 70 ranks slowed around 90 ranks still learning at 113, can't get past 1/34.
Tactics cap at 110. (Lore Prime)
Evasion Soft Cap 90, Tactics Hard Cap 108
Recall Knowledge
Level 1: It's a construct, it's made of forest-stuff, and it doesn't seem to like you very much.
Level 2: You recall that the origin of these verdant forest constructs is still shrouded in mystery. Some travelers claim that they are sentinels guarding a hidden fortress, ensuring with deadly single-mindedness that none survive to disturb whoever resides there. Others say that the serpents have been animated by the fell will of the trees and woods, guaranteeing that those who might attempt to bring the axes, fires and saws of 'civilization' can never succeed. Still others believe that the serpents were created as companions for some long-dead mage or wizard.
They are not known to cast any recognized spells.
They are not known to carry loot in locked boxes.
Death Messages
An Endrus serpent jackknifes a few times, then grows still, its body rapidly settling until it is little more than a pile of wood and vine.
- Articles for DR3 updates
- Incomplete articles
- Creatures without coins
- Creatures with gems
- Creatures without boxes
- Construct creatures
- Non-backstabbable creatures
- Non-spellcasting creatures
- Melee range-attacking creatures
- Non-stealthy creatures
- Creatures without special attacks
- Creatures with special defenses
- Leth Deriel creatures
- Bestiary
- Zoluren creatures
- Corporeal creatures
- Non-evil corporeal creatures
- Non-evil creatures


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Due to Different Suppliers and Brands, Please Check The Size Chart Carefully, Each Item May Have Its Own Size Chart, So You Can Choose The Size That Will Perfectly Fit to You.
Ex: If The Item is Asian Size, It is Better You Choose Bigger Size.
Item Type: Hoodies,SweatshirtsSleeve Style: RegularHooded: YesThickness: StandardCollar: O-NeckClosure Type: NoneMaterial: Silk,Polyester,CottonSleeve Length(cm): FullType: Slim


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Lindsay Ratcliffe is a Maryland native and a graduate of Towson University with a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications with a concentration in Public Relations. She was instrumental in the development of three prominent surgical practices in the Maryland region. Lindsay joined Maryland Vein Professionals in 2006 where she serves as the clinical coordinator and marketing director for the busiest practice devoted to vein care in the Baltimore/Washington/Annapolis metropolitan areas. Lindsay's responsibilities include billing, marketing, advertising, and new business development.
Lacey graduated from Clearwater Christian College in 2005 with a Bachelor's of Science degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with concentrations in Education and Church Ministries. During college Lacey worked at a Property and Title company in the Post Closing department and after College. Lacey also worked in pre-K development before joining MVP in 2007.
Casie joined MVP in July 2008 as the Insurance Authorization Specialist. She now focuses primarily on checking insurance benefits and getting authorizations, when needed, for the Closure Procedure. Before joining MVP, Casie worked as a Nanny and Early Childcare Teacher at the Goddard School in Columbia. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with family, friends, and her puppy.
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