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Changes in the average payment terms and payment delays brought an increase in Taiwan's average payment duration which is the second highest in the region.
Despite a minor decrease in the proportion of overdue B2B invoices, 70.9% of respondents in Taiwan reported that their companies have been negatively affected by overdues. Changes in the average payment terms and payment delays brought an increase in Taiwan's average payment duration which is the second highest in the region. B2B receivables have been written off as uncollectable mostly because of insufficient availability of funds and the old age of the debt.
Convenience – a top reason for selling on credit
With an average of 42.7%, the proportion of total B2B sales on credit in Taiwan decreased by almost four percentage points in 2018. Similarly to what has been observed in the rest of the countries surveyed in Asia Pacific, the percentage of sales on credit to domestic B2B customers (47.5%) is higher than that of sales to foreign B2B customers (37.8%).
When asked about the main reasons for selling on credit to their domestic B2B customers, respondents in Taiwan mentioned convenience and trustworthy customers with whom they have long-term business relationships. Credit sales are perceived as a good way to expand business while at the same time increase the customer's trust. According to the survey findings, respondents are most likely to not offer credit because of the poor payment behaviour of their domestic B2B customers and due to a lack of information on the customer's business or payment performance (each reason cited by 66.7% of respondents).
We trade on credit because it is more convenient and improves work efficiency.
Convenience is also one of the top reasons mentioned by Taiwanese respondents in regards to their foreign B2B customers. However, credit seems to be offered to foreign customers most often to develop business on the international market. The main reasons for refusing to grant credit to foreign B2B customers are high economic or political risk in the customer's country (mentioned by 50% of respondents) and a lack of information on the customer's business or payment performance (37.5%).
We trade on credit to ensure long-term cooperation and to expand our market share.
A steep increase in average DSO in Taiwan
In 2018, the average frequency of late payment has declined slightly in Taiwan. Despite minor improvements every year starting with 2016, the majority of respondents, 86.1%, have reported late payments by their domestic and foreign B2B customers.
Based on the survey findings, there was also a minor decrease in the proportion of overdue B2B invoices in Taiwan; from an average of 45.0% in 2017 to 42.1% this year. This occurred mainly because of a drop of almost five percentage points in foreign past due B2B invoices.
The average Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) figure in Taiwan increased by six days in 2018 and stands at 48 days. Among the Asia Pacific countries surveyed, Taiwan recorded the second highest DSO figure after that of India (52 days). Asked about expected changes in their company's DSO over the coming 12 months, 47.9% of respondents said that they expect it to remain stable, 24.7% that they expect a slight increase and 18.4% that they foresee a slight decrease.
Overdue B2B invoices push Taiwanese respondents to correct cash flow
Next to their peers in Japan, respondents in Taiwan are setting the longest average payment terms for their B2B customers. Domestic B2B customers of respondents in Taiwan are given, on average, 42 days to settle their invoices. This is two days longer than in 2017. Foreign B2B customers are given, on average, 47 days to fulfil their payment obligations – one day longer than in 2017 and the longest average payment terms for foreign B2B customers in the Asia Pacific region.
Taiwan is one of the countries more likely to differentiate payment terms between domestic and foreign B2B customers. 47% of respondents said that they would give their domestic B2B customers a shorter time to fulfil their payment obligations. Reasons for differentiating payment terms in Taiwan are internal policies, industry practices and the financial risk related to the export transaction.
In 2018, there is not much difference between payment delays by domestic and foreign B2B customers. Respondents in Taiwan reported an increase of three days in respect to domestic B2B customers (on average, 26 days) and a one day decrease in regards to foreign B2B customers (on average, 25 days).
Payment delays by domestic B2B customers occurred most often because of insufficient availability of funds, cited by 55% of respondents in Taiwan. The second most frequently mentioned reason for domestic payment delays is disputes over the quality of goods delivered and services provided (cited by 44% of respondents). This is the highest percentage of respondents, who cited disputes over the quality of goods delivered and services provided in the Asia Pacific region.
52.9% of respondents in Taiwan said that foreign B2B customers delayed payments most often because of the complexity of the payment procedure. While this was also the main reason for foreign payment delays in the region, the percentage of respondents who stated this in Taiwan is way above the regional average and the highest for the region. The second most frequently mentioned reason for payment delays by customers abroad was disputes over the quality of goods delivered and services provided, cited by 49.4% of respondents – again the highest percentage in the region.
29.1% of respondents in Taiwan said that over the past 12 months, overdue B2B invoices did not have a significant impact on their business. Of those who were impacted, 25.6% said that they needed to take specific measures to correct cash flow and 21.5% that they needed to postpone payments to their own suppliers. 18.6% of respondents said that due to payment delays they lost revenue.
Based on the changes in average payment terms and payment delays, the average payment duration in Taiwan increased from 68 days in 2017 to 70 days this year. This means that respondents in the country need a longer time to convert B2B invoices into cash, almost two weeks longer than the average for the region.
E-invoice effective but no noteworthy effect on payment duration
Most of the respondents in Taiwan, 63%, said that they are already invoicing their domestic and foreign B2B customers online and 13% of respondents expressed their wishes to adopt e-invoicing in 2018. In contrast, 20% of respondents said they are not using e-invoicing and 5% indicated that they have stopped using it.
Of the respondents already using e-invoicing, 58% said that after invoicing their B2B customers electronically, they received payments on their B2B invoices quicker. For a notable 37% of respondents online invoices did not have a noteworthy effect on payment while 5% of respondents noticed a slowdown in payment.
A negative effect of up to 10%
65% of respondents in Taiwan expect the global economic situation – more specifically, protectionist measures – to impact their business over the coming 12 months. A low 4% of respondents – probably focusing primarily on domestic B2B sales – expect to see improvements based on the changes occurring around the world.
Like most of their peers in Asia Pacific, respondents in Taiwan stated that global protectionist measures will most likely have an effect on their company's turnover. When asked about the magnitude of the impact, 25% of Taiwanese respondents said that they believe it will have as much as a 10% negative impact. For 18% the negative effect is expected to be somewhere between 20% and 30%, while 10% of respondents expect to see a negative impact of up to 30%.
Old debt – often uncollectable debt
The average proportion of uncollectable B2B receivables in Taiwan is stable at 1.9% after 2.0% in 2017. Similarly to what has been reported in previous surveys, B2B receivables here were written off as uncollectable more frequently with domestic B2B customers than with customers abroad.
Uncollectable receivables in Taiwan originated most often from B2B customers in these sectors: electronics, services, business services and consumer durables. The main reasons for writing off B2B receivables as uncollectable are the customer going bankrupt or out of business (reported by 52.7% of respondents) and the old age of the debt (cited by 40.2% of respondents).
Construction materials – remains a sector with slow paying B2B customers
As mentioned above, B2B customers of respondents in Taiwan enjoy some of the longest average payment terms in the region and are asked to fulfil their payment obligations, on average, after 45 days. By sector, B2B customers in construction materials are given some of the longest payment terms (on average, 62 days) while those in the food sector have the shortest time to settle payments (on average, 23 days).
Similarly to what was observed in 2017, B2B customers in construction materials and those in electronics remain some of the slowest payers. Respondents in Taiwan received payments from B2B customers in construction materials, on average, 52 days late and from B2B customers in the electronics sector, on average, 24 days late.
Looking at the coming 12 months, most respondents in Taiwan do not expect changes in the payment behaviour of their B2B customers in the above-mentioned sectors. Should a change occur in the construction materials sector, 33% of respondents expect this to be for the worst. In contrast, 34% of respondents expect the payment behaviour of their B2B customers in the electronics sector to improve over the same time frame.
Relaterte dokumenter


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The cost of California's proposed high-speed-rail system, originally pegged at about $36 billion, has nearly tripled since the project was presented to voters in 2008, according to a business plan that the agency charged with building the new system released Tuesday.
The estimated price tag for the rail line, which would stretch from San Francisco to Los Angeles, now stands at $98.5 billion and could end up as high as $118 billion under the most expensive scenario, the California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) has concluded in a highly anticipated report.
The numbers in the new business plan exceed not only the rail authority's earlier estimates, but also projections from rail watchdogs and the state Legislative Analyst's Office, which expected the price tag to exceed $60 billion. The detailed 230-page document supplants the rail authority's 2009 business plan, which was panned by state legislators and nonpartisan analysts as incomplete and optimistic.
While the rail authority's new plan continues to make a case for high-speed rail as an economically viable alternative to building new highways and airports, its ridership and revenue projections are more conservative than those in previous analyses. The report also provides more details about the rail authority's plans to expand the line from its initial Central Valley segment, which would stretch between north of Fresno and north of Bakersfield, to the more populated cities in the state's northern and southern regions.
But the biggest difference between the current plan and its predecessor is the cost projection. The rail authority argues that the significant cost jump was caused by major changes in California's landscape since officials first began the project more than a decade ago. The state added almost 5 million people between 2000 and 2010, the plan states, and large expanses of previously vacant land have become "bustling communities, suburbs and roadways."
The 2009 plan, for example, estimates the cost for building tunnels for the rail line at less than $6 billion. In the new plan, the estimate for tunnels is greater than $15 billion. For aerial viaducts, the cost estimate has climbed from less than $5 billion to more than $13 billion.
"The new development landscape has necessitated adding many miles of elevated structures, tunnels and other infrastructure," the report states. "The new designs permit access to major downtown population centers with less community impact and disruptions."
In addition, the timeline for completion of the project was extended by 13 years to 2033 which added $27.5 billion in inflation costs and $16 billion in contingencies, the report states.
To justify the rail project's price tag, however, the authority states that other transportation infrastructure including 2,300 miles of new highway lanes and various airport improvements that would be needed over the next 20 years would cost more than $170 billion.
"Providing equivalent new capacity through investment in highways and aviation would cost California almost twice as much as the Phase 1 (San Francisco to Los Angeles) high-speed rail system," the report states.
The new plan does little, however, to resolve the lingering uncertainties over how to pay for the new rail line -- a colossal project for which state voters approved a $9.95 billion bond in 2008 but which has attracted skepticism and heated opposition in the three years since Proposition 1A passed. In Palo Alto, the City Council has taken an official stance of "no confidence" in the project after initially endorsing the 2008 bond measure.
The rail authority's business plan relies heavily on public financing, particularly for the "initial operating segment," which would build off of the Central Valley segment either north to San Jose or south to the San Fernando Valley. The rail authority is banking on federal and state funding to pay for this segment in its entirety. Once the trains are running a point at which the system would be profitable, the authority asserts -- it hopes to draw about $11 billion in private investment for the system's expansion.
After the "initial operating segment" is constructed, effectively establishing the nation's first high-speed-rail system, the rail authority would focus on the "Bay to Basin" phase, which aims to connect the state's two megaregions by linking San Jose and San Fernando Valley. Once that's done, high-speed rail would be stretched further to connect San Francisco to Los Angeles -- a link that provided the main justification for Proposition 1A. The authority also hopes to later extend the line to Sacramento and San Diego.
The business plan calls the phased approach, with public investment upfront and private investment later in the process, "the prudent course to build a foundation that allows for greater efficiency in the use or private investment once the initial segments of the system are in place."
"As additional funding becomes available, operating sections will be added, to create the full statewide system," the report states, emphasizing that each segment of rail line, from the "initial operating segment" onward, would be financially self-sustaining. "This incremental approach is how most large transportation projects are built, both in the U.S. and around the world. It will accelerate benefits for California and will attract private investment far earlier than if the system were built as a whole."
For the "initial operating segment," which is projected to cost about $25 billion, the rail authority expects to draw about 80 percent of the funding from the federal government and the balance from the state. The federal subsidies under the plan's projections include both grants and tax credits. So far, the authority has received about $3.4 billion in federal grants.
The document acknowledges that federal funding will remain uncertain for years to come, but stresses that the incremental nature of construction would allow the project to proceed even if the plan's federal-funding projections fall short. Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have been particularly vehement in opposing the rail project, which many have characterized as a "boondoggle."
"There is substantial discussion in Congress related to reducing deficits and the federal government's role and scope," the business plan states. "It is clear that continued uncertainties will exist and that prudent planning assumes that funding will be limited in the short term.
"Any congressional initiatives on infrastructure funding and short-term job creation may improve this situation, but the Plan does not rely on such measure."
The plan also notes the authority would also need about $4 billion in local or "other" contributions to complete the "Bay to Basin" phase.
The new plan also incorporates some of the components of a proposal that U.S. Rep Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, and state Assemblyman Rich Gordon, D-Menlo Park, made earlier this year. The three Peninsula lawmakers proposed a "blended system" in which high-speed rail shares tracks with Caltrain on the Peninsula rather than building a separate track system for the ultra-fast trains. They also voiced opposition to an earlier proposal by the rail authority to send the new trains over the Peninsula on aerial viaducts.
The business plan calls for integration between high-speed rail and Caltrain. Initially, after the "Bay to Basin" system is completed, ending in San Jose, passengers would hop onto Caltrain to take them to their destinations. After the later "Phase 1" to San Francisco is completed with improvements to the Caltrain tracks, passengers would have a "one-seat ride" and not have to change trains in San Jose. The plan stresses that it "proposes to develop the high-speed rail system in a way that more clearly and effectively integrates it with regional and local rail systems to create a statewide rail network."
"The commitment to a blended system has been initiated through extensive cooperative planning among state, regional, and local partners," the plan states.
Dan Richard, one of two people who were recently appointed to the rail authority's board of directors by Gov. Jerry Brown, said at a Tuesday hearing on the business plan that the new plan "embraces" the blended approach championed by the Peninsula lawmakers.
"The fact of the matter is that we have the opportunity to use existing right of way and existing corridor and existing infrastructure on the San Francisco Peninsula and, as we move to Southland, by Caltrain and Metrolink," Richard told a state Assembly committee. "We know that we need to now work in partnership with those systems to develop long-term plans for blended service."
Simitian, who has been one of the Senate's leading skeptics when it comes to the rail authority's projections, praised the plan's adoption of the "blended" approach on the Peninsula. He called it "very different from their earlier proposal."
"They've put aside the notion of a viaduct and the notion of going beyond the existing right-of-way," Simitian told the Weekly. "They're talking about a 'one-seat ride' where you stay on the same track in the same train in the same seat as you move up and down the Peninsula."
Eshoo said in a statement the blended-system proposal that she, Simitian and Gordon offered earlier this year "will save taxpayers billions of dollars while being responsive to the many concerns of my constituents" and said she was "pleased to see that the CHSRA draft business plan included many of the blended system provisions."
But while local legislators praised the rail authority's new emphasis on a "blended" system, they continued to voice concerns about the system's ridership projections and cost estimates.
Ridership numbers remain a thorny issue. While the 2009 plan anticipated 41 million annual riders by 2035 and $3 billion in annual revenues, the 2012 plan gives a range of 28.9 million to 42.9 million riders. The plan assumes that the average fare price to ride the new train between San Francisco and Los Angeles would be about $81.
Simitian praised the new plan for being more frank in its cost estimate than previous projections.
"The good news is that we finally have a realistic number on the table," Simitian said. "The bad news is it's a very scary number."
Others shared his concerns. Elizabeth Alexis, co-founder of the Palo Alto-based rail-watchdog group, Californians Advocating Responsible Rail Design (CARRD), said that while the report is better than earlier versions, it still fails to address her group's criticisms about the rail authority's ridership numbers. Her group has persistently characterized the authority's numbers as unrealistic. Other rail experts, including professors from the Institute for Transportation Studies at UC Berkeley, had also found flaws in the methodology the rail authority had used to get its ridership numbers.
"It's a lot more information; it's much better written. But they haven't changed anything really other than making the cost of the system more realistic," Alexis said of the new business plan. "They're still using the same ridership model since 2007."
Alexis, whose group had long maintained that the price tag for the new system would rise significantly, said the new business plan confirms that the rail system would cost "a lot more money than we have in the bank."
"It's enough money that if we want the high-speed-rail system, the California taxpayers will be asked to contribute more than they already have," Alexis told the Weekly.
The rail authority on Tuesday characterized the plan as the foundation for a project that will create 1 million jobs and reduce carbon emissions by 3 million tons annually. Thomas Umberg, chairman of the rail authority's board of directors, said in a statement Tuesday that the board has "carefully constructed a business plan that is mindful of the economic and budgetary constraints facing both the state and the nation."
"It will deliver to California and Californians a cost-effective, efficient, and sensible alternative to more highways and increased airport congestion," Umberg said.
But the business plan, particularly its revised cost estimate, is also expected to add fuel to the criticism from Sacramento lawmakers who have long argued that the project is too expensive and should be scrapped. At Tuesday's briefing on the business plan, state Assemblywoman Diane Harkey, a leading critic of the project, said the state is already "drowning in debt" and predicted that the system would require government subsidies.
"I think there's going to be a sticker shock for the people of California," Harkey, R-Dana Point, said. "The more they know, the less they'll like it. It shouldn't be that way with something this important."
Gordon offered a more measured response, but also said he is concerned about the latest cost estimate for the project. In a statement, Gordon called high-speed rail "a powerful vision and dream" and said he hopes the state will find the means to implement this vision. But he said he was "concerned about the present price tag and the expectation that much of this will be paid for utilizing public funds."
"California remains in a fiscal crisis," Gordon said. "We do not have enough revenue to meet our expenses as is.
"Until we address our structural fiscal problems, I do not see how California can afford additional debt from high-speed rail."

subset: commoncrawl


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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported some unusual news Thursday. For once Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the cause of slumping merchandise sales rather than gains. NASCAR's souvenir merchants are hoping sales of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s new No. 88 merchandise will help them recover from a disappointing 2007 selling season.
According to a Sporting News report in Ernie Saxton's Motorsports Sponsorship Marketing News, NASCAR'S top souvenir seller, Motorsports Authentics, is expected to report operating losses of $20 million to $25 million this year.
The main reasons cited for the loss are the drop in sales for items from Earnhardt, who announced in mid-season that he was leaving his No. 8 Budweiser-sponsored Chevrolet to drive for Hendrick Motorsports. If you attended a late-season race, you saw the reason for the losses. While the lines were still just as long at the No. 8 merchandise trailers, the price for your average t-shirt or hat ranged from $3-$8, rather than $15-$30.
--Michele Vincze


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An official website of the United States government
Alert 2005-21
October 24, 2005
Share This Page:
Chief Executive Officers of All National Banks; All State Banking Authorities; Chairman, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; Chairman, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; Director, Office of Thrift Supervision; Conference of State Bank Supervisors; Deputy Comptrollers (districts); Assistant Deputy Comptrollers; District Counsel; and All Examining Personnel
The above-named bank has reported that counterfeit cashier's checks issued in the bank's name are being presented for payment. These checks are being mailed nationwide in lottery-related scams.
The counterfeit checks may be identified by the following: printed on a blue or other safety stock computer check paper with a dark border at the top that includes the notice: "This document has a graduated background dark to light. The reverse side includes an artificial watermark." The bank's name appears in both the top left corner and top left center of the check; however, the bank's logo is missing. A remitter line appears below the bank name header, and the sections entitled date and pay to the order of as well as the dollar amount areas are underscored. The term "CASHIER'S CHECK" is printed in the bottom left portion of the check and a notice: "SIGNATURE HAS A COLOURED BACKGROUND," is printed under the signature line in the bottom right portion of the check. While some of the counterfeit items contain the bank's correct ABA number of 022000868 and correct address of 1460 Valley Road, Wayne, NJ 07470, others contain an incorrect ABA number of 021201383, an incorrect address of 211 Main Avenue, Passaic, NJ 07055, and a fraudulent telephone number of 1-877-570-2835.
Authentic cashier's checks issued by the bank are light green in color with a ribbon border, contain the bank's routing number of 022000868, and include a top border notice that states: "HOLD DOCUMENT UP TO THE LIGHT TO VIEW TRUE WATERMARK." The bank's logo, name, and address appear in the top left portion of the check. The correct address is 1460 Valley Rd., Wayne, N.J. 07470. The term "OFFICIAL CHECK" is enclosed in a box in the top center portion of the check, and the statement "Issued by Integrated Payment Systems Inc., Englewood, Colorado To Citi bank, N.A., Buffalo, NY" appears in the bottom left portion of the check. There is a statement "COUNTER SIGNATURE REQUIRED IF DRAWN FOR MORE THAN $2500.00" located above "Drawer: Valley National Bank" and two signature lines. There is a security logo of a lock and the notice "Security Features Details on Back" located on the right center portion of the check, and the only element of the check that contains underscoring is the "Authorized Signature" portion.
You can verify the authenticity of Valley National Bank's cashier's checks by contacting Integrated Payment Systems Inc. at 1-800-223-7520 or Peter Pellegrino, first vice president & security officer, at 1455 Valley Road, Wayne, NJ 07470, by telephone at (973) 305-4009, by fax at (973) 686-1631, or via email at [firstname.lastname@example.com].
Additional information concerning this matter that you believe should be brought to the attention of the OCC may be forwarded to:
Brian C. McCormallyDirector for Enforcement & Compliance


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We are where we are, because of our thoughts in the past.
Thoughts become things. We consciously or subconsciously always think about something. The problem is that we usually think more about things we don't want, than about the things we want. It doesn't matter if we want or don't want something, well get what we mostly think about.
Try to observe your thoughts for a day or two. Do you mostly think about the things that you worry about, you don't want them to happen, you are afraid of, or do you mostly think about pleasant and wonderful things?
Your present situation is the result of your predominant state of mind in the past. And you are creating your future now. Your future will be like your predominant state of mind now.
The past is gone. You can't change it, but if you are dwelling on an unhappy past now, you aren't feeling happy now, and you are creating an unhappy future.
Because you are creating the future now, only the present is important. By having a predominantly happy and positive state of mind now, you are creating your happy and positive future. It's called the Law of Attraction. You can attract whatever you want in your life: happiness, wealth, perfect health, love, and wonderful relationships.
But you can also attract things and situations that you don't want.
Actually we do it sub consciously all the time.
Because you are energy, you are like a magnet; everything is energy, you, your mind and your body. But you can control your body, and you can also control your mind.
Your mind can be your best friend or your worst enemy. If you don't control your mind and allow it to dwell on negative thoughts and feelings, it's your worst enemy, because it creates your unhappy future. If you control your mind, it's your best friend, because it becomes your best friend which will create your great future.
Of course, the lives of most of the people are a mixture of happiness and unhappiness because of their flickering states of mind. Now, because of knowing and understanding the law of attraction, you can start creating your happy future and be sure that you will get what you want in life.
The Law of Attraction is a broad subject and there is no space in this short report to explain everything. Fortunately, there is now more and more information available on the subject of attraction.
People like Plato, Newton, Carnegie, Beethoven, Shakespeare, Einstein and many others knew the law of attraction and lived according to the law of attraction, but it was a secret for most of the people. Now a lot of people are learning about the secret, the law of attraction and the science of manifestation.
© Work Hard & Feel Good ©


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Spiced Cranberry Muffins with Frosted Cranberries
I just couldn't stop eating these when we tested them, so for me this is another reason to look forward to the Christmas season.
They are great at any time, but would be especially good for a celebratory breakfast on Christmas morning.
The Delia Online Cookery School: You can now watch how to make other muffin recipes. Just click the recipe image to play
This recipe is from Delia's Cakes. Makes 6 large muffins
- method
- Ingredients
With muffins it's always a good idea to have everything weighed out and ready before you start.
Begin by sifting the flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder and salt into a bowl, lifting the sieve up high to give the flour a good airing. Now, in another bowl whisk together the orange juice and zest, egg, sugar, milk and melted butter. Now return the dry ingredients to the sieve and sift them straight into the egg mixture. (This double sifting is crucial because we won't be doing much mixing.)
What you now need to do is take a large metal spoon to fold the dry ingredients quickly into the wet ones – the key word here is quickly (i.e. in about 15 seconds). What you mustn't do is beat or stir the mixture – just do the folding, and ignore the uneven appearance of the mixture because that's precisely what makes the muffins really light. Over-mixing is where people go wrong.
Next, quickly fold in the cranberries – again no stirring. Now divide the mixture between the muffin cases. Bake near the centre of the oven for 25–30 minutes until well-risen and golden brown.
Remove the muffins from the oven and transfer to a wire cooling tray.
While they're cooling, make the frosted cranberries. All you need to do is dip each cranberry into beaten egg white and then roll it in caster sugar to give it a generous coating. Leave the berries spread out on baking parchment to become crisp.
Meanwhile, place the icing sugar in a small bowl and gradually add water, a teaspoon at a time, to get a good spreading consistency. Then, spread the icing over the cooled muffins using a small palette knife. Then top each one with 3 frosted cranberries.
Pre-heat the oven to 200°C, gas mark 6
Using a fan-assisted oven? Click here
You will need a Delia Online 6-cup Muffin Tray or similar, lined with 6 paper muffin cases, generously brushed with melted butter. Click here for more details of the muffin cases.
The Delia Online bakeware range is now available online and you can buy our 6-cup Muffin Tray direct from Silverwood.


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Posts Tagged 'fiji wikipedia'
Bridge the Gap Villages Implements the U.N. Millennium Goals with Vorovoro, Fiji
By Tom Barrett
In the year 2000 the United Nations embarked on an aggressive project to improve the living standards for humankind. This project, The United Nations Millennium Goals, were tasked with substantially reducing and sustainably improving the human condition in the following areas:
- Poverty
- Hunger
- Disease
- Illiteracy
- Environmental Degradation
- Discrimination Against Women
- Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger
- Achieving universal primary education
- Promoting gender equality and empowering women
- Reducing child mortality rates
- Improving maternal health
- Combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases,
- Ensuring environmental sustainability
- Developing a global partnership for development
About the Author: Tom Barrett
Tom Barrett is an Advisory Board Member for Bridge The Gap Villages. Tom Barrett is owner of Green Water Infrastructure. He is a noted author, speaker, business coach, and entrepreneur. Over the years, Tom has served as an advisor to hundreds of small businesses. Over the last ten years, Tom has delivered numerous presentations on sustainability at the Chicago Center for Green Technology. He has over thirty years of successful industry experience and is known as an accomplished corporate growth and change agent.


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Who Should Attend:
Speech-language Pathologists, Speech-language Pathologists Assistants, Occupational Therapists, Occupational Therapists Assistants
Event Contact: DeNell at email@example.com for registration information.
Course Description:
This unique 2-day course benefits pediatric speech language pathologists and occupational therapists interested in the bigger picture pertaining to pediatric feeding disorders and who want strategies to implement right away with their clients. Why do children have trouble eating? How are physiology, motor skills and behavior linked and how do the basic principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) strengthen that connection? How do family dynamics and parenting styles influence progress? Why is it that a child eats well in the clinic setting but cannot generalize those skills to the home and school? This course answers those questions and focuses on setting children up for success for meeting functional objectives while utilizing the premise of ABA. Participants learn how to problem solve common roadblocks in eating and then continue to build progress by following a hierarchy of steps to success. Most importantly, this course emphasizes the importance of keeping the fun in feeding while developing consistent positive behaviors at mealtimes so that everyone in the family can enjoy their time together around the family table!


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Remarks by the President on Preventing an Income Tax Increase on the Middle Class
Private Residence
Northern Virginia
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I want to, first of all, just thank Tiffany and Richard, Jimmie and Velma for opening up their beautiful home to us. The reason that we're here is because Tiffany is one of the people who responded to My2K.
As many of you know, we asked folks all across the country to talk a little bit about what would it mean if their income taxes went up in 2013, and Tiffany, who is a high school teacher, responded. Her husband, Richard, works at a Toyota dealership. They actually live with Tiffany's parents, both of whom are still working. And so what Tiffany pointed out was that an increase of $2,000 or so for her and her husband in this household would actually mean $4,000 that was lost. And a couple of thousand dollars means a couple months' rent for this family.
And the story they tell about working hard, my understanding is they're interested in starting a business as well as the work that they currently do. They've got dreams and ambitions. They've got a beautiful 6-year-old son, Noah, who's back with great-grandma. And they're keeping it together, they're working hard, they're meeting their responsibilities.
For them to be burdened unnecessarily because Democrats and Republicans aren't coming together to solve this problem gives you a sense of the costs involved in very personal terms. Obviously, it would also have an impact on our economy, because if this family has a couple of thousand dollars less to spend, that translates into $200 billion of less consumer spending next year. And that's bad for businesses large and small. It's bad for our economy. It means less folks are being hired, and we can be back in a downward spiral instead of the kind of virtuous cycle that we want to see.
So the message that I got from Tiffany and the message that I think we all want to send to members of Congress is this is a solvable problem. The Senate has already passed a bill that would make sure that middle-class taxes do not go up next year by a single dime. Ninety-eight percent of Americans whose incomes are $250,000 a year or less would not see any increases. Ninety-seven percent of small businesses would not see any increases in their income taxes. And even folks who make more than $250,000 would still have a tax break for their incomes up to $250,000. So 100 percent of Americans actually would be keeping a portion of their tax cuts, and 98 percent of them would not be seeing any increase in their income tax.
That's the right thing to do for our economy. It's the right thing to do for families like Tiffany's and Richard's. And it's very important that we get this done now, that we don't wait. We're in the midst of the Christmas season; I think the American people are counting on this getting solved. The closer it gets to the brink, the more stressed they're going to be. Businesses are making decisions right now about investment and hiring, and if they don't have confidence that we can get this thing done, then they're going to start pulling back and we could have a rocky time in our economy over the next several months, or even next year.
So I'm encouraged to see that there's been some discussion on the part of Republicans acknowledging the need for additional revenue. As I've indicated, the only way to get the kind of revenue for a balanced deficit reduction plan is to make sure that we're also modestly increasing rates for people who can afford it -- folks like me. For folks who are in the top 2 percent, we can afford to have a modest rate increase. That allows us to not only reduce our deficit in a balanced, responsible way, it also allows us to make investments in education, in making college affordable, in putting folks back to work, and investing in basic research that's important for our economy.
And I think we all recognize that there are some smart cuts we've got to make in government. We're going to have to strengthen our entitlement programs so that they're there for future generations. Everybody is going to have to share in some sacrifice, but it starts with folks who are in the best position to sacrifice, who are in the best position to do a little bit more to step up. And that's what my plan does.
So just to be clear, I'm not going to sign any package that somehow prevents the top rate from going up for folks at the top 2 percent. But I do remain optimistic that we can get something done that is good for families like this one's and that is good for the American economy.
All right. Thank you very much, everybody.
January 18, 2017
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NEC will show a dual-screen tablet computer based on Google's Android operating system at January's International Consumer Electronics Show.
The new tablet will be based on the LifeTouch model that NEC unveiled in Tokyo in November. That device had a single 7-inch touch screen and is intended to be used as an access device for cloud-based services. (See video of the single-screen model on YouTube.)
The new tablet, which will also carry the LifeTouch name, has dual 7-inch screens and users will be able to view different information on each screen, NEC said in an email.
The computer will also pack Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 3G cellular networking.
When NEC unveiled the single-screen LifeTouch tablet it said plans to launch the machine outside of Japan were under consideration. It's appearance at CES is likely to firm up plans for its release.
NEC isn't offering the LifeTouch directly to consumers in Japan. Instead, it's hoping service providers will offer it to consumers bundled with an online service. A publisher might, for example, offer it bundled with an e-book service to users. NEC said it also sees potential uses in the healthcare and logistics industries.
NEC will also use CES to launch an Android netbook with physical keyboard and will show the single-screen LifeTouch tablet.
The International Consumer Electronics Show runs from Jan. 6 to 9 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Martyn Williams covers Japan and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Martyn on Twitter at @martyn_williams. Martyn's e-mail address is email@example.com


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Apo-Azithromycin tablets
This product is manufactured by Apotex Inc. using the ingredient azithromycin.
This product is taken orally.
Why is it prescribed?
Azithromycin is used to treat infections caused by susceptible bacteria. This material will be limited to the treatment of infections of the respiratory tract (e.g. pneumonia, tonsilitis) and the middle ear.
Use exactly as prescribed. Apo-Azithromycin tablets can be taken with or without food.
Do not take antacids containing aluminum or magnesium 1 hour before or 2 hours after taking this medication, because this will decrease the effectiveness.
Try to take the single daily dose at the same time each day with a glass of water. Take Apo-Azithromycin as prescribed until finished. Failure to take the complete course can result in incomplete elimination of the bacteria which can lead to a relapse of the infection. The prescribed course generally lasts a few days longer than symptoms of the infection (e.g. fever). Treatment usually lasts 5 days. If you miss a dose, take it as soon as possible. If it is almost time for your next dose, do not take 2 doses at once (unless you have been instructed to do so). Contact your pharmacist if you are not sure what to do.
Apo-Azithromycin may produce an allergic reaction which can range in severity from a mild rash or itching to a life-threatening reaction. Contact your doctor or pharmacist if you experience rash, itching, fever, difficulty breathing, chest tightness or anything else that alarms you.
It is not unusual to experience the more common, unwanted effects with Apo-Azithromycin® (e.g. nausea, diarrhea, etc.). Contact your doctor or pharmacist if they are severe, persist or become bothersome or if you notice any other adverse effects.
Other products that have the same ingredient as Apo-Azithromycin tablets are •Auro-Azithromycin Suspension •Jamp-Azithromycin tablets •PMS-Azithromycin tablets •Sandoz Azithromycin tablets •Sandoz Azithromycin Suspension •Sanis-Azithromycin tablets •Teva-Azithromycin tablets •Zithromax® suspension •Zithromax® tablets •
See other products used in the treatment of •bronchitis •middle ear infections •pharyngitis •pneumonia •respiratory tract infections •sore throat •tonsilitis •upper respiratory tract infections •
The usual adult dose for respiratory tract infections is 500 mg on day one then 250 mg daily on days 2 through 5. For the treatment of an exacerbation of COPD in an adult, the dose is either 500mg per day for 3 days or 500mg as a single dose on the first day followed by 250 mg once daily on days 2 through 5.
Azithromycin is an antibiotic. It works by inhibiting the growth of susceptible bacteria by blocking vital proteins required by bacteria. Azithromycin slows bacterial growth. Azithromycin does not suppress growth of all types of bacteria, but only those that have a sensitivity to this antibiotic. Infections caused by bacteria that are not sensitive to azithromycin will not show improvement after taking this medication.
Along with its needed effects, azithromycin may cause some unwanted or undesirable effects. Generally, azithromycin is well tolerated and many people will not experience unwanted effects. The frequency and severity of these effects is dependant on many factors including dose, duration of therapy and individual susceptibility. Possible unwanted effects include:
- diarrhea
- nausea
- vomiting
- stomach pain
- allergy (hives, itching, difficulty breathing)
- vaginal infection
Allergic reactions can occur with azithromycin use. People with a history of allergy, asthma, hay fever or hives seem to be more susceptible to these reactions. The reaction can be immediate and severe. Allergic symptoms include wheezing, hives, itching, swelling, spasms in the throat and breathing tubes, joint and muscle pain, difficulty breathing, fever and skin rashes. Nausea and vomiting are not symptoms of an allergic reaction.
Taking the antibiotic repeatedly or for prolonged periods may result in bacterial or fungal overgrowth which can lead to a second infection. When this occurs, the azithromycin may need to be stopped and another antibiotic prescribed to treat the new infection.
Diarrhea often develops while taking azithromycin. This is sometimes caused by an overgrowth of bacteria in the gut that are not killed by the antibiotic. In severe cases, this may be life threatening and would require treatment with other antibiotics. In mild cases, symptoms disappear shortly after the drug is discontinued.
Drug Interactions: It is important to tell your doctor and pharmacist of any prescription or over-the-counter medications you are taking. In some cases, the dose of one or both drugs may need to be altered or another drug may be prescribed.
The following drugs or drug classes have been known to interact with azithromycin:
- antacids containing aluminum or magnesium
- warfarin (e.g. Coumadin®)
- carbamazepine (e.g. Tegretol®)
- cyclosporine (e.g. Neoral®)
- digoxin (e.g. Lanoxin®)
- disopyramide (e.g. Rythmodan®)
- theophylline (Theo-Dur®)
- triazolam (e.g. Halcion®)
- phenytoin (Dilantin®)
Use is not recommended in the following situations:
- allergy to azithromycin, erythromycin or any of the macrolide antibiotics
Caution is recommended in the following situations
- liver disease
- kidney disease
Use in pregnancy: Azithromycin does cross the placenta. Consult your doctor or pharmacist if you suspect you may be pregnant.
Use while breastfeeding: Azithromycin passes into the breast-milk although levels are low. Consult your doctor or pharmacist before you take this medication while breastfeeding.


text: Here's something new that hit the shelves this summer: Seraphina, the debut novel by Rachel Hartman. Here's the description from Amazon: "Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high. Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life." Seraphina is available in hardcover from Random House.


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Android emulator that is installed with the SDK does not have Android Market installed. So you can not install apps from the market. But if you can find the .apk file for the app that you are looking for you can still install it.
Recently I needed to install Zxing Barcode Scanner app to emulator so that I can use barcode scanning in my app. Zxing's website provides the apk for most recent Barcode Scanner. So I downloaded BarcodeScanner3.6.apk from project website and placed it in my Downloads folder. Then from command line I used the following command to install the apk to the emulator.
adb install ~/Downloads/BarcodeScanner3.6.apkThis installed Barcode Scanner in the emulator. Please note that this command requires a running emulator because if emulator is not running adb command can not make a connection to it.
You can also remove an installed app from emulator using adb uninstall command but this requires a little more work. To uninstall an app you need the package name for that app. If you have the source code available then you can open the AndroidManifest.xml file and see its package attribute. But if you dont have the source then you will need to do an extra step. From command line issue the following command:
adb shellthis will open a shell/terminal interface to the running emulator. Now issue the following command
cd data/appthis will change the current directory to app directory which is where the user installed apps are found. Use ls command to see all the files in this directory. In my case, as I have only installed Barcode Scanner, I see only one file i.e com.google.zxing.client.android-1.apk. Removing -1.apk from the file name will give you the package name. So to uninstall this app use the follwoing command:
adb uninstall com.google.zxing.client.android


text:
Linkwitzlab is not affiliated with Gainphile Blog.
So many good things has been said about this Linkwitz experiment ...
One say it gets too uncomfortably close compared to Orion Dipole ($8,000 system!). I am curious to see how it will compare to my OB speakers.
Importing a pair of Auras is not an issue ($60), but the woofers are too expensive for me. So I substituted them with a pair of Dick Smith woofers laying around. The base uses paving block readily available in the garden. PVC pipes and rubber coupler are available in Bunnings (Australia).
As usual, breadboard implementation. Easy, no soldering. The electrons don't mind.
Halfway build. Very easy, very cheap. $50 worth of PVC from Bunnings.
Update 13/6/2008 - The Verdict
So I've been living with the Plutos for few weeks now. These are my impressions about this amazing little speakers.
- First, it is very small and slender. Visually appealing and cocky. I ended up not painting the PVC pipes as the beige colour is very nice.
- Bass is amazingly deep. But it does not have that dipole speed and transparency. Slam is better than dipole.
- It sounds lively like a dipole. There is no "narrow" box sound.
- However they are very prone to positioning. While initially were intended for small room, I found out that they are less tolerant too, which somewhat defeats the purpose. They ended up in my larger living room where they can "breathe" more freely. I found dipole is much more tolerant even in smaller rooms.
- In summary they sound like something in between dipole and box speaker, with leaning towards dipole.
Update 11/11/08:
Schematics posted on request. This is the same schematics available at LinkwitzLab. The greyed ones are not necessary, assuming you have a pair of stereo amps. I also removed the green ones because it sounds better subjectively without those. The green ones are tweeter phase delay and woofer notch filter. I'm not saying I know better than SL, just what I hear in my setup and my room.
(c) LinkwitzLab
I added a shelving low-pass on the woofer circuit to give deep bass. But can't play too loud (it's loud enough for 5x6m room). No need for subwoofer. Use the non-inverting circuit.
(note: removed and replaced with Linkwitz Transform circuit in next update)
Small clip is available at YouTube. Pardon my digicam's limitations and the fact that they only take 30-second clips.
Update 16/2/09
Revisited the equalization, and modified the Linkwitz Transform down to 20Hz. See design and conclusion here. In short, the low-frequency is extended but room modes issues still exist and manifest in boomy room sound.
Update 8/09
A friend came over to hear the speakers. He was very impressed, in his own words "I didn't know speakers can image like that." Hence, he is currently building his Pluto2 (real one).
Damping is an interesting topic. This is my final damping fill using polyester fibers. There is also an extensive discussion about the topic here. Note that I am using readily-available Polyfill, not the more exotic acousta-stuff.
Update 27/6/09
The pluto "imposter" was demo'ed at SNA Melbourne get-together (GTG). This is one of the comments:
"Now those little Plutos with some tracks had no right to sound as good as they did.Especially with that vocal track by Angelique Kidjo "Blewu" Amazing what you can make with some dunny pipes!!" -Joz
Update 6/8/10
I am on business assignment for a few months in Switzerland. I brought the Pluto clones and their small footprint and light weight make them a great pair of travelling loudspeakers!
Update 2/1/2011
Directivity plot, indoor, normalised at 0 degrees.
The Pluto maintains omni-directional pattern until 4khz where it starts to transition to forward-directional. The transition is excellent with minor widening around 15khz.


text:
Two Bay Area constitutional law professors predicted today the U.S. Supreme Court, after two days of hearings on same-sex marriage, will end up invalidating both California's Proposition 8 and a key section of the federal Defense of Marriage Act.
But Santa Clara University professor Margaret Russell and University of San Francisco professor Julie Nice said they expect the rulings to be narrow, limited or splintered.
The decisions are due by the close of the court's current term at the end of June.
"We are not likely to get a direct ruling on the merits," Russell said of today's hearing on the 1996 federal law, known as DOMA.
The nine justices heard arguments today on an 83-year-old New York widow's challenge to a DOMA provision that bars the U.S. government from recognizing legal same-sex marriages.
The provision denies gay and lesbian couples who were legally married in their state more than 1,000 federal benefits and programs, ranging from Social Security survivors' payments to tax advantages.
Widow Edith Windsor is challenging a $363,000 federal estate tax she had to pay after the 2009 death of her wife, Thea Spyer. She claims the law violates her constitutional right to equal treatment.
A decision overturning the measure would affect couples in the nine states that currently allow same-sex marriage.
Russell and Nice said they expect the court to strike down that section of DOMA, but in a splintered decision without a majority on the reasoning.
"We're not going to have that ringing majority ruling that gets to the crux of this case, which is discrimination based on sexual orientation," Nice said.
The two professors predicted the court's four liberal justices will cite a constitutional right to equal protection while Justice Anthony Kennedy, a swing vote, may favor a more limited federalism argument of respecting individual states' definition of marriage.
"The question is whether or not the federal government under a federalism system has the authority to regulate marriage," Kennedy commented during the two-hour hearing.
Russell said she thinks Chief Justice John Roberts may join Kennedy in the federalism argument.
The predicted 5-4 or 6-3 ruling would be a "majority result without a majority rationale" on issues of alleged discrimination against gays and lesbians, Nice noted.
No good reason to deny same-sex marriage [Chron]
A boost for gay marriage: Justices question US law [AP via Chron]
Gay marriage case's Edie Windsor: marriage 'magic' [AP via Chron]
Excerpts of gay marriage cases at high court [AP via Chron]
DOMA stirs skepticism among justices [Chron]
Supreme Court hearings on marriage a milestone in gay rights history [Chron]
A narrow ruling likely on Prop. 8, but reasons for optimism nonetheless [Ex]
Marriage equality might wait a bit longer [Ex]
Still, "as long as five justices agree for whatever reason on the result, it's very meaningful in itself that DOMA will be struck down," Russell said.
The two professors said there may be an even less definitive ruling on Proposition 8, the same-sex marriage ban enacted by California voters in 2008.
The court heard arguments Tuesday on the initiative sponsors' appeal of a decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco last year striking down the measure.
The case began with a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco in 2009 by a lesbian couple from Berkeley and a gay couple from Burbank, who claim the initiative violates the Constitution's guarantees of equal treatment and due process.
Russell and Nice said the justices' comments Tuesday suggest that they will either overturn Proposition 8 with a narrow ruling that would apply only to California, or dismiss the appeal on the ground that the sponsors lacked the legal authority to appeal after California officials declined to defend the measure.
Either way, the professors said, they expect the crucial fifth vote to be provided by Kennedy, who commented Tuesday that the voice of 40,000 California children who want their gay and lesbian parents to be married "is important in this case."
"It's very likely that one way or another, Proposition 8 is gone," Russell said.
Nice said, "I think there is not likely to be a sweeping victory for either side, but it seems very likely that Proposition 8 is not likely to be upheld and that it will no longer be in effect in California at the end of this process."
If the Supreme Court dismisses the Proposition 8 appeal, that action would reinstate a broad ruling in which U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker said in 2010 that the U.S. Constitution provides a right to same-sex marriage, and ordered state officials to allow the unions.
Proposition 8 supporters and opponents disagree on whether Walker's order would then apply only to the two couples who sued, Kristin Perry and Sandra Stier of Berkeley and Paul Katami and Jeffrey Zarrillo of Burbank, or whether it would apply statewide.
More lawsuits or court proceedings might result to determine the answer to that question, but many analysts, including Nice and Russell, believe that same-sex marriages would eventually resume in California.
In the meantime, the lower court rulings overturning Proposition 8 have been put on hold and the ban has remained in effect during the appeal to the Supreme Court.
Even though the panel's expected decisions in the two cases may be limited, Russell said, "I think it's been a remarkable two days in terms of the tone of the Supreme Court, the questions and the arguments."
Russell said that even the justices who might be expected to vote against recognition of same-sex marriage adopted a more respectful and less harsh tone during the two hearings than was heard in some justices' comments on gay rights cases in the 1980s and 1990s.
"Language is a key indicator of respect," she said. "It's as though it's finally sunk in that you have to think of these people as human beings."
Julia Cheever, Bay City News


text:
As 2013 comes to a close, efforts to revive growth in the world's most influential economies – with the exception of the eurozone – are having a beneficial effect worldwide. All of the looming problems for the global economy are political in character.
CommentsAfter 25 years of stagnation, Japan is attempting to reinvigorate its economy by engaging in quantitative easing on an unprecedented scale. It is a risky experiment: faster growth could drive up interest rates, making debt-servicing costs unsustainable. But Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would rather take that risk than condemn Japan to a slow death. And, judging from the public's enthusiastic support, so would ordinary Japanese.
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CommentsBy contrast, the European Union is heading toward the type of long-lasting stagnation from which Japan is desperate to escape. The stakes are high: Nation-states can survive a lost decade or more; but the EU, an incomplete association of nation-states, could easily be destroyed by it.
CommentsThe euro's design – which was modeled on the Deutsche Mark – has a fatal flaw. Creating a common central bank without a common treasury means that government debts are denominated in a currency that no single member country controls, making them subject to the risk of default. As a consequence of the crash of 2008, several member countries became over indebted, and risk premia made the eurozone's division into creditor and debtor countries permanent.
CommentsThis defect could have been corrected by replacing individual countries' bonds with Eurobonds. Unfortunately, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, reflecting the radical change that Germans' attitudes toward European integration have undergone, ruled that out. Prior to reunification, Germany was the main motor of integration; now, weighed down by reunification's costs, German taxpayers are determined to avoid becoming European debtors' deep pocket.
CommentsAfter the crash of 2008, Merkel insisted that each country should look after its own financial institutions and government debts should be paid in full. Without realizing it, Germany is repeating the tragic error of the French after World War I. Prime Minister Aristide Briand's insistence on reparations led to the rise of Hitler; Angela Merkel's policies are giving rise to extremist movements in the rest of Europe.
CommentsThe current arrangements governing the euro are here to stay, because Germany will always do the bare minimum to preserve the common currency – and because the markets and the European authorities would punish any other country that challenged these arrangements. Nonetheless, the acute phase of the financial crisis is now over. The European financial authorities have tacitly recognized that austerity is counterproductive and have stopped imposing additional fiscal constraints. This has given the debtor countries some breathing room, and, even in the absence of any growth prospects, financial markets have stabilized.
CommentsFuture crises will be political in origin. Indeed, this is already apparent, because the EU has become so inward-looking that it cannot adequately respond to external threats, be they in Syria or Ukraine. But the outlook is far from hopeless; the revival of a threat from Russia may reverse the prevailing trend toward European disintegration.
CommentsAs a result, the crisis has transformed the EU from the "fantastic object" that inspired enthusiasm into something radically different. What was meant to be a voluntary association of equal states that sacrificed part of their sovereignty for the common good – the embodiment of the principles of an open society – has now been transformed by the euro crisis into a relationship between creditor and debtor countries that is neither voluntary nor equal. Indeed, the euro could destroy the EU altogether.
In contrast to Europe, the United States is emerging as the developed world's strongest economy. Shale energy has given the US an important competitive advantage in manufacturing in general and in petrochemicals in particular. The banking and household sectors have made some progress in deleveraging. Quantitative easing has boosted asset values. And the housing market has improved, with construction lowering unemployment. The fiscal drag exerted by sequestration is also about to expire.
CommentsMore surprising, the polarization of American politics shows signs of reversing. The two-party system worked reasonably well for two centuries, because both parties had to compete for the middle ground in general elections. Then the Republican Party was captured by a coalition of religious and market fundamentalists, later reinforced by neo-conservatives, that moved it to a far-right extreme. The Democrats tried to catch up in order to capture the middle ground, and both parties colluded in gerrymandering Congressional districts. As a consequence, activist-dominated party primaries took precedence over general elections.
CommentsThat completed the polarization of American politics. Eventually, the Republican Party's Tea Party wing overplayed its hand. After the recent debacle of the government shutdown, what remains of the Republican establishment has begun fighting back, and this should lead to a revival of the two-party system.
CommentsThe major uncertainty facing the world today is not the euro but the future direction of China. The growth model responsible for its rapid rise has run out of steam.
CommentsThat model depended on financial repression of the household sector, in order to drive the growth of exports and investments. As a result, the household sector has now shrunk to 35% of GDP, and its forced savings are no longer sufficient to finance the current growth model. This has led to an exponential rise in the use of various forms of debt financing.
There are some eerie resemblances with the financial conditions that prevailed in the US in the years preceding the crash of 2008. But there is a significant difference, too. In the US, financial markets tend to dominate politics; in China, the state owns the banks and the bulk of the economy, and the Communist Party controls the state-owned enterprises.
CommentsAware of the dangers, the People's Bank of China took steps starting in 2012 to curb the growth of debt; but when the slowdown started to cause real distress in the economy, the Party asserted its supremacy. In July 2013, the leadership ordered the steel industry to restart the furnaces and the PBOC to ease credit. The economy turned around on a dime. In November, the Third Plenum of the 18th Central Committee announced far-reaching reforms. These developments are largely responsible for the recent improvement in the global outlook.
CommentsThe Chinese leadership was right to give precedence to economic growth over structural reforms, because structural reforms, when combined with fiscal austerity, push economies into a deflationary tailspin. But there is an unresolved self-contradiction in China's current policies: restarting the furnaces also reignites exponential debt growth, which cannot be sustained for much longer than a couple of years.
CommentsHow and when this contradiction will be resolved will have profound consequences for China and the world. A successful transition in China will most likely entail political as well as economic reforms, while failure would undermine still-widespread trust in the country's political leadership, resulting in repression at home and military confrontation abroad.
CommentsThe other great unresolved problem is the absence of proper global governance. The lack of agreement among the United Nations Security Council's five permanent members is exacerbating humanitarian catastrophes in countries like Syria – not to mention allowing global warming to proceed largely unhindered. But, in contrast to the Chinese conundrum, which will come to a head in the next few years, the absence of global governance may continue indefinitely.
George Soros
George Soros is Chairman of Soros Fund Management and Chairman of the Open Society Foundations. A pioneer of the hedge-fund industry, he is the author of many books, including The Alchemy of Finance and The New Paradigm for Financial Markets: The Credit Crisis of 2008 and What it Means.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2013.


text:
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"Coach Taylor gave me a lot of freedom..to focus on each player individually [to meet] their needs,you ll save,canada goose chateau parka,and after Bowden, so it was really fun to have something different to work on with each player."
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The Fair Gala is a preview of the flower and plant exhibits displayed in the Flower House and is traditionally held the night before the fair opens. This pleasant social event offers an atmosphere of music,canada goose sale, beauty and fragrance. Scrumptious hors d'oeuvres and wine will be served and the first 100 guests can keep their wine goblets as souvenirs,chaussures louboutin pas cher,, with their "Fair Gala" inscription. The suggested donation is $15 for one and $25 for two.
Brad Kaaya continued to connect with the veterans, linking multiple times with senior Clive Walford for first downs and finding junior Herb Waters for a 20-yard gain during 7-on-7 periods. The freshman signal caller also hit sophomore Malcolm Lewis on a deep ball down the right sideline,barbour jackets sale, picking up 40 yards for the Hurricane offense.
In the tenth game,and rewrites. Also,barbour vinterjacka, Pospisil made two easy backhand errors to fall into a 15-3 hole. Another forehand into the net gave Raonic his first match point and he would convert immediately as he stroked a gorgeous backhand passing shot.


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You don't need a complicated e-shop.
Sell your products on a regular basis
using Facebook Messenger
We will customize the Bot for you to perform exactly the function you need.
No more complicated setups. Just connect the bot with your Facebook page, add a few products, set up your account number and start selling. It's that easy.
Your customers won't have to go through the old-fashioned shopping process. Messenger will ask them for their address, charge them and that's it.
Forget emails. Millions of people worldwide chat on Messenger daily. Have natural conversations with your customers again, advise them on their shopping and get closer to them.
This recently launched platform by Facebook allows us to simulate a real person. Someone who advises customers on their shopping, helps them choose, entertains them and so on.
The greatest benefit for users: they don't have to leave their Messenger while shopping. Messenger is a place where billions of people spend numerous hours every day. It is a natural and familiar interface which we trust and communicate through with ease. It is fast and features the most popular applications for all devices worldwide. This is the place where more money is going to be spent than anywhere else.
It's time you began using it.
Every user needs to connect through Facebook Messenger. Careful, this is not the same as clicking "like" on a page. Either you have to send a message, which will instantaneously connect you, or go to a website and click on a blue Facebook button – Connect to Messenger. For instance, KLM integrates the button very nicely into the shopping process – "send the boarding pass via Messenger". From now on your user is connected and your Bot can start a conversation.
These are best suited for individual items or for a range of products. The cards can feature up to three action buttons. For instance "Buy", "Share" and "More details".
A native function for entering and confirming your current location. It can be also used for updating a delivery address or destination.
These speed up communication. No need to type anything! Quick responses offer users pre-filled answers which they select with one click.
You can open any website from Messenger and continue working with the data entered by the user. A "Confirm" button will return you to Messenger.
Users may not even recognise whether they are chatting with a robot or a person. For them the conversation is seamless. The page administrator sees the whole chat in Messenger or in our interface and can join in at the right moment.
You choose a URL to which Facebook will start sending POST requests with every message arriving in your Facebook page inbox. You can reply to users by generating a POST request with a message. This is the basic principle of chatbots.
For example, Victor sends a message to your Facebook page, saying: "I want to buy a blue T-shirt". Facebook immediately generates a POST request at your URL which (when simplified) might look like this:
"from": "Victor",
"text": "I want to buy a blue T-shirt"
In your application, you can use an API of other services. For example, here we have included language recognition services and a product search. For the purpose of processing Victor's message, we could create the following chatbot.
onMessage = (from, text) => {
// we convert the message into machine-recognisable data for filtering
filter = LanguageAPI.process(text)
// finds products corresponding with the filter
products = ProductsAPI.find(filter)
// we reply to Victor through Messenger and send him a selection of relevant goods
MessengerAPI.send(from, new TextMessage('We can offer you the following products:'))
MessengerAPI.send(from, new ProductsMessage(products))
Recognising the meaning of a written conversation is far from trivial. In order to interpret what a person is asking, what their needs are and what a relevant answer would be, we need to analyse the text and understand it as much as we can.
Many European languages are extremely complex in this respect (double negatives, irony etc.). Therefore we collaborate with a top specialist in intelligent interpretation – Geneea company. When in doubt, we send their experts text sequences via API. Within milliseconds, they respond with an analysis of a sentence in question, its meaning and other details which give us useful insights. The more our bot learns, the smarter it gets and ultimately it will replace us. This might take a while though :-)
We have devised our own method for processing payments though our bots. Facebook is likely to launch its own internal payment methods at a later date but it might take a few months before there is a solution for other than the largest countries. Our method allows customers to pay in the same way they are used to online. Autofill Card Payment turns out to be the most convenient option. This way, you can stay in Messenger from your second shopping visit onwards and make your purchase in one click.
Delivery of airline travel documents, booking confirmations, check-in announcements, boarding passes and flight status.
https://botlist.co/bots/607-klm, https://messenger.klm.com/
Flower and gift-basket delivery service.
https://botlist.co/bots/608-1-800-flowers, http://digiday.com/brands/two-months-1-800-flowers-facebook-bot-working/
A prototype of placing orders for burgers or whole menus in a restaurant.
A news service through a bot.
A bot which sends regular, personalised weather reports and horoscopes.
http://poncho.is/, https://botlist.co/bots/605-poncho
Daily delivery of vinyl offers. Customers can either buy records or click like/ dislike, which personalises future offers.
A smart chatbot marketplace dealing with auction bids, enquiries and rentals.
Regular online delivery of freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juices.


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Superstar pianist Lang Lang is celebrating what would've been the 200th birthday of his hero Franz Liszt by playing a concert with the Philadelphia Orchestra that will be broadcast live in movie theaters around the world. But first, he's getting a cheesesteak.
"This is a homecoming for me," he told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday before his rehearsal with the orchestra. He first came to Philadelphia in 1997 as a 15-year-old prodigy from provincial China to attend the exclusive Curtis Institute of Music, a few blocks from where he will take the stage at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.
Two years later, while still a student going with friends to South Street for his cheesesteak fix, he already was beginning to play sold-out concert halls.
Now 29 and a worldwide sensation, Lang Lang is joining the orchestra and its chief conductor, Charles Dutoit, for three performances of Liszt's famed Piano Concerto No. 1 along with other selections. Saturday's performance will be simulcast in movie theaters in Europe and the U.S. (except for the West Coast, where it will be on tape delay) and it will be shown in theaters again on Monday.
Liszt "was the biggest rock star during that time and he inspired so many people ... to listen to the amazing art he created on the piano. Truly my piano hero," Lang Lang said. "And to do it with Philadelphia Orchestra I think is a great privilege."
His new CD, aptly titled "Liszt, My Piano Hero," is a tribute to the 19th-century composer whose Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 was Lang Lang's first encounter with classical music as a 2-year-old watching a "Tom and Jerry" cartoon on television.
"At that time I have no idea about what is classical music. I only know Tom," he said with a laugh. "So in a way to see such a good pianist — Tom — playing on the piano is really inspiring, and I started playing on my little piano as well."
Liszt inspires him in part because he "made piano into a much bigger instrument in a way that piano sounds like an orchestra, or two orchestras, under his arrangement and his technique."
"In a way he made piano music and performance art," Lang Lang said. "He reunited those two elements into one creativity, which is to play music in a most emotional way."
Lang Lang (pronounced "long long") gets occasional criticism from more conservative classical listeners for his dramatic playing style but to younger fans in his native China and beyond, however, he is idolized like a pop star. His fame and fortune are prompting many parents to start their children in piano lessons, a phenomenon sometimes called the "Lang Lang effect."
He sees that as both an honor and a responsibility.
"We also need to take time also to think about developing programs for kids to really enjoy playing, not feeling it's only hard work which is most often the case," he said. "Kids like music but they hate practice."
Philadelphia Orchestra: http://www.philorch.org
Lang Lang: http://www.langlang.com


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As we saw last year, several rarely (if ever) open restaurants will be serving steadily through the weeks when Disney World is offering its free dining promotion. Here are the details:
Tomorrowland Terrace Cafe Will Offer a Table-Service Buffet on Sunday Evenings
From 5:30pm to 9pm on Sundays, beginning August 22nd and running through September, Magic Kingdom's Tomorrowland Terrace Cafe will offer a dinner buffet for guests. Pricing currently stands at: Adult: $37.28, Child: $19.17. The menu for the buffet will include beef and pasta dishes, vegetables, fried rice, rolls, and desserts. Booking is available on the DisneyWorld.com site.
Also, the Tomorrowland Terrace "Noodle Station" has changed up its menu to serve American classic fare (burgers and sandwiches, chicken nuggets, salads, etc.) for lunch and will switch to its Asian menu after 4pm.
El Pirata Y el Perico Restaurante Will Be Open for Lunch
This Adventureland location serving quick-service Mexican cuisine will be open for lunch from August 15th through September 4th, 2010.
Diamond Horseshoe Will be Open for Dinner
This Frontierland eatery will extend its hours through dinner time (5-9pm) from August 15th through the 28th, and from September 19th through October 2nd, serving a table-service style turkey dinner akin to what you'll get at Liberty Tree Tavern next door (via WDWMagic; booking for September/October dates not available on Disney site at time of this writing). Counter-service lunch will still be available at the Diamond Horseshoe from 11am-3pm serving sandwiches and other grab and go items.


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Welcome to my world
SyncKolab - a Thunderbird Extension
SyncKolab was written to add kolab functionality to thunderbird. It reads a selected Imap folder and synchronizes it with the local address book and calendar.
Version 1.0 had 61 prereleases and 83 nightly releases with over 100 bugs fixed and is known to work nicely with Thunderbird 2 and Lightning 0.8.
Even with this extensive testing, there might still occur problems in combination with other extensions, operating systems, thunderbird versions and/or special characters in your contacts/tasks/calendar entries .
Because of this, you should make a backup of all your relevant data (server side or your profile directory) before doing your first sync. If seomthing happens because of a bug you can then easily restore your data afterward.
If you find any bugs please check the synckolab github on: https://github.com/corinis/synckolab/issues
The Gentoo duplicate package checker
Make sure to also read Clean out unused packages from Portage and findcruft: Yet another script to find obsolete files if you want a clean drive.
There is a lot of software written for Linux, more than you think (escpecially when switching from the windows world). But it's not always too clear how to use vertain programs or which ones are useful for a certain exercise, and there are some pieces of software that you always have but never quite knew what to do with, so I created a this page to give some useful hints :)


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I used to hate big brushes, and that most definitely included Dior's newer big brush.
This is two SUPER EASY, dare I say MAJESTIC coats of Psychedelic Orange. And yes, I kind of love that dang big brush now. It just went on so effortlessly.
The formula on this polish is absolutely superb. It's a creme but with the tiniest amount of basically imperceptible shimmer. The application, opacity, smoothness, finish, and wear of Psychedelic Orange is basically perfect.
I've been on a bit of a coral binge for the past year or so now, and this color definitely makes me happy.


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Young or Old?
Skeletons are good age markers because teeth and bones mature at fairly predictable rates. For toddlers to teenagers up to age 21, teeth are the most accurate age indicators. Some of the best indicators of adult age are in the pelvis.
In Children
A baby's bones begin to grow in the womb. At birth, the skeleton is partially formed. Many bones are still in "parts." The ends (epiphyses) and bony shafts (diaphyses) of long bones form separately in the womb. At birth, the ends of the long bones are mainly cartilage, with centers of bone beginning to form inside. As a child grows, the shafts get longer, and bone gradually replaces the cartilage epiphyses. Through the growing years, a layer of cartilage (the growth plate) separates each epiphyses from the bone shaft.
Between 17 and 25 years, normal growth stops. The development and union of separate bone parts is complete. At this point, you and your skeleton are as tall as you are going to get - with many fewer bone parts than you started with!
- The clavicle (collar bone), pictured here, is the last bone to complete growth, at about age 25.
- Measuring the length of long bones can give an estimate of age for children, but this technique is useful only until bones have stopped growing.
- The tibia completes growth at about age 16 or 17 in girls, and 18 or 19 in boys.
- For toddlers to teenagers up to age 21, teeth are the most accurate age indicators.
Learn more here!
In Adults
Skeletons record an adult's age in several ways. The surfaces of the cranium, pubic bones, and rib ends hold clues. At the microscopic level, investigators can see the bone "remodeling" that takes place throughout life, as well as age-related bone breakdown.
Bone "Remodeling"
Even after childhood growth stops, bone "remodeling" continues. Throughout a lifetime, bone makes new osteons - minute tubes containing blood vessels. Microscopic exams show these changes, which can indicate adult age to within 5 to 10 years. Younger adults have fewer and larger osteons. Older adults have smaller osteons and more osteon fragments, as new ones form and disrupt older ones.
Clues in the Cranium
The bones that enclose the brain grow together during childhood along lines called cranial sutures. During adulthood, bone "remodeling" may gradually erase these lines, at variable rates. Closure of cranial sutures gives general information about a person's age. It is best used with additional indicators to estimate age, or when other age indicators are unavailable.
Other Age-Related Changes
Wear and tear on a body throughout a lifetime affects the skeleton. Arthritis of the spine and joints can reflect increasing age. Scientists also recognize many other clues to aging, such as the appearance of the rib ends and the cartilage that joins them to the sternum. In a young adult, the rib end walls are thick and smooth, with a scalloped or rounded edge. In an older adult, the walls are thin, with sharp edges, and the rim often has bony, irregular projections.


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Mindfulness Resources for Children
- Mindfulness for Teachers: Simple Skills for Peace and Productivity in the Classroom by Patricia Jenning
- The Mindful Child by Susan Kaiser Greenland
- Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud
- A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook, Bob Stahl, PhD and Elisha Goldstein, PhD
- Mindful Parent, Happy Child by Dr. Pilar Placone
Additional Resources
Day Care Programs
Day Care Resources
7 Domains of Learning
Personal and Social Development
Children learn to develop healthy relationships with adults and their peers while cultivating a positive personal identity.
Scientific Thinking
Children are taught to channel their natural curiosity to articulate questions and draw conclusions about the world around them.
Mathematical Thinking
This discipline focuses on numbers and their relationships, in addition to the geometric concepts that explain spatial awareness.
Language and Literacy
The basis of learning, this domain opens the door of communication through writing and drawing as well as grammar and comprehension.
Social Studies
This sphere examines societal relationships based on social structures and the connections between people and their communities.
The Arts
An exploration into visual arts, music, dance and theater, this domain celebrates distinctive expression of emotions and ideas.
Physical Development and Health
Children are taught regard for health and nutrition in addition to the benefits of exercise to develop a strong mind and body.


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Buying a Home in Alexandria, Virginia
One of the most important decisions you'll make is buying a home—whether you're a first-time homebuyer or you're just looking for a new place for you and your family. It's a process that requires a dedicated attention to detail and thorough understanding of the real estate in the area, and the real estate agents at Coakley Realty have been cultivating this kind of experience and expertise for more than two decades.
No matter where you are in the process of buying a home in Alexandria, VA, the highly experienced professionals at Coakley Realty can help you find the perfect home! Contact us today to get started!
How We Help You Find the Perfect Home
There is a lot to consider when buying a new home—you want to be sure your new place is going to fit in seamlessly with your lifestyle and needs. That's why the professional services of a real estate agent with Coakley Realty can be so beneficial! We can help you:
- Find the perfect location – we'll take everything into account, such as school districts, safety, income levels, and more.
- Find the right lot – do you need a big backyard? Do you want a wooded lot or a pool? Our real estate agents know how to find what you're looking for.
- Find the right size home – our team can take your specific needs, including square footage, the number of levels and bedrooms, and more into account when narrowing down your choices so you're always looking through the best of the best.
- Find the right price – we know price matters when buying a home in Alexandria, VA. That's why the real estate agents with Coakley Realty always find homes that are in your price range.
- Understand home buying procedures – this includes things like HOAs, insurance, home inspections, and more.
Coakley Realty has more than 23 years of experience buying homes in this area, so our real estate agents have a thorough understanding of the market and what's available for different budgets, family sizes, and needs. Contact us today to learn more about buying a home in Alexandria, VA.
and commercial real estate
Additional Real Estate Services
If you're buying a home in Alexandria, VA and need additional real estate services, Coakley Realty is happy to help! Not only do we assist you with finding the right home, we also provide the following real estate services:
- Home listings
- Open houses
- Potential buyer walk-throughs
- Buyer broker representation
- Real estate appraisals
- Investment properties purchases
- Real estate tax appeals
- Land development
No matter what your real estate needs are, the professionals at Coakley Realty have you covered.
Choose Coakley Realty When You're Buying a Home in Alexandria, VA
When it comes to buying a home in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area, no one knows your options and possibilities better than Coakley Realty. We can help you through every step of the buying process, including helping you sell your previous home if necessary! If you're interested in buying a home in Alexandria, VA, contact Coakley Realty today!


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Court: Motorola can't enforce injunction against Microsoft
Federal appeals court upholds judge's order preventing Motorola from blocking the sale of Xbox and Windows software in Germany.
Google-owned Motorola Mobility won't be able to enforce a German court injunction against Microsoft in a patent dispute, after a federal appeals panel in San Francisco upheld a judge's order blocking the company from doing so.
Bloomberg reports that the three-judge panel said the order was properly tailored.
The two sides have been fighting for a couple of years over Microsoft's ability to sell software for Xbox and Windows products in Germany.
As our Mary Jo Foley reported earlier this year:
"Microsoft was granted an injunction and temporary restraining order against Motorola, which was seeking to stop Microsoft from selling certain products in Germany. The decision means that Motorola will not be able to stop Microsoft from shipping products in Germany until after the U.S. courts have made a decision about whether Motorola is breaching its promise to provide at reasonable rates the use of its video patents around H.264. A Microsoft spokesperson said the German court decision will not go into effect until after the ruling in the U.S. court of the November 2010 lawsuit, and that this case will be determined later this year."
For more background, see this Seattle Times piece from earlier this year.