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For our final meal in Charleston, an extra-ordinary dinner at The Ordinary.
Our party of six was seated on the second floor of the former bank building, offering expansive views of the "Southern seafood hall" and oyster bar. I do believe that the award for the city with the grandest dining rooms goes to Charleston!
Adam Nemirow and Chef Mike Lata, the team behind Charleston's beloved restaurant FIG, opened The Ordinary last year. The menu highlights the "merrior" of the Coastal Carolinas and the East Coast, according to the restaurant's website.
I'm not quite sure how Hawaiian rolls ($4) fit into the local "merrior," but no matter… As soon as I spotted them on the menu, I knew they had to be mine. Though not quite as sweet as King's Hawaiian Rolls, these were warm, fluffy, and benefited from a generous slathering of butter.
The Astronomer and I, along with The Astronomer's sister, joined forces to explore as much of the menu as possible this evening. We passed on the larger format dishes and went wild with a selection of cold and hot small plates.
First up, smoked fish pâté served with pumpernickel ($13). Cold, creamy, and smoky, the pâté was lovely—I bypassed the bread and ate it mostly straight up.
Equally chilled and delightful were the "Pickled White Shrimp" with cumin and coriander ($15). The seasoned and snappy shrimp made my lips pucker in the best way.
And then there were magnificent oysters: Otter Island Wilds, Capers Blades, and Standish Shores. A plethora of garnishes were on hand including a blood orange mingonette, red wine mignonette, and freshly grated horseradish.
Best of all were the oysters prepared "Moscow style," with a dollop of creme friache, vodka, and caviar! Oh, to slurp like Czars and Czarinas!
Next we moved on to the "hot" dishes. Prepared in the style of Vietnamese banh mi, the oyster sliders ($5) on Hawaiian rolls were savory, spicy powerhouses. I was impressed that the briny morsels were able to stand out amid the plethora of fixings.
I may have stolen one of The Astronomer's brother's white shrimp hushpuppies with tartar sauce ($12). I may have enjoyed it very much, with more tartar sauce than actual hushpuppy.
My favorite dish of the night was a surf and turf combo featuring crispy oysters and beef tartare ($15)—my kind of pairing!
For dessert, a bowl of cool Carolina Gold rice pudding topped with a collection of bitter, tart, and sweet citrus segments. Delicious!
And that, my friends, wraps up culinary coverage of Charleston. Traveling abroad certainly has its merits, but discovering new parts of the U.S. can be pretty spectacular too. In addition to eating extremely well in Charleston, I loved the city's rich history, architecture, and one-of-a-kind beach-meets-plantation vibe. I highly recommend you make your way here.
The Ordinary
544 King Street
Charleston, SC 29403
Phone: 843-414-7060
You fed me so well, Charleston! Thank you.


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I'm that kind of guy who enjoys watching terrible movies. They can have the ability to both help you appreciate good movies, and entertain in a way that few good movies ever could. Mostly, it will be because they are just plain laughably awful.
But tonight I witnessed the bad movie to end all bad movies. This was not just ordinary horrible movie. This was not an example of someone putting something together quickly with terrible results. No, this was the work of a master, someone with good intentions who failed so miserably. This was "Birdemic: Shock and Terror."
Few words can describe what I witnessed for that 90 minute duration time. The first thought I had though, once the film ended, was this: I want to smash this television set with a baseball bat. Yes, I still had a great time watching "Birdemic." Yes, at parts I laughed so hard I could barely breath. But it just left such a bad aftertaste. Right now, I could be writing my review of the masterful "Animal Kingdom," but I feel I am committing a good act of public service by writing about "Birdemic" first.
For starters, here is a brief premise of "Birdemic": a successful, young software salesman meets the girl of his dreams, and then all the birds in the world get angry about how humans treat the environment (I'm not joking) and start killing everyone.
The entire film is shot with a camera that seems to have even worse quality then the average phone. Meanwhile, the transitions and horrible sound quality make it seem like this film was edited on a version of iMovie from the 90s.
Now, director James Nguyen definitely went into this project with the best intentions. However, good intentions don't make a good movie. And if you want to make a good parable on the evils of global warming, you shouldn't include long monologues which are the equivalent of science class lectures. You also shouldn't include a plot about birds who get angry over environmental issues. If you want something about Angry Birds that actually makes sense, you might as well just play this game.
Not every great filmmaker needed film school (Quentin Tarantino), but they all at least tried to understand what a good movie was before they made one themselves. Nguyen meanwhile directs as if he's never watched a film in his life. This is literally the worst edited film I've ever seen. Most of its running time consists of people driving nowhere, with some snippets of plot in between. Having a little bit of downtime in a film is never a bad thing. Having that downtime take over your entire film, on the other hand, is absolutely unbearable. Oh, and did I mention the birds poop fireballs? That's the only way to explain the film's subpar (that's the nicest way to describe them) special effects.
Now, here is the movie's absolute worst offense. When I think of bad movies, I obviously think of "The Room." Somehow, "Birdemic" did the impossible and manages to be even worse than "The Room." "Birdemic" makes "The Room" look like it actually had a sensible plot and sense of direction. Most of the green screens used in "The Room" looked more realistic than the actual backdrops seen in "Birdemic." Tommy Wiseau, you have finally met your match.
I haven't seen every bad movie ever made. I haven't seen "Troll 2″ or "Plan 9 from Outer Space," and I have yet to finish "Freddy Got Fingered." However, I can safely say this: "Birdemic" is the worst made movie I have ever seen. Still, I advise you to see it. Even though it may intensify your urge to break your TV and yell at inanimate objects, just so you can truly understand the limit of awfulness, and how to cross it.
Get a preview of the awfulness here.

subset: commoncrawl


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What's your anthem of the year?
Emotional and inspirational, we hear about your personal anthem of the year. We also take a look at the new Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan, and his time at Boeing and the University of Washington. Plus, a conversation with historians Paul Dorpat and Jean Sherrard about their collaboration, "Seattle Now and Then."
Listen to the full show by clicking the play button above, or check out one of the show's segments below. You can also subscribe to The Record on your favorite podcast app.
What's your anthem of the year?
Marcie Sillman is joined by Liz Riley of Three Imaginary Girls and SassyBlack to talk about their anthems of the year. They talk about what makes a great anthem and why we're drawn to them.
Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan's history in Washington state
Marcie Sillman speaks to Washington Post reporter Dan Lamothe about Shanahan's time at Boeing and the University of Washington and what it might mean for his leadership.
Paul Dorpat and Jean Sherrard
Marcie Sillman speaks to historian Paul Dorpat and photographer Jean Sherrard. For more than 30 years, Dorpat has been highlighting Seattle's evolution in his Seattle Time's column "Now and Then." In their new book Seattle Now and Then, Dorpat and Sherrard winnowed down 1,800 columns into 100 photo essays.


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Rafa Bib
Rafa Bib
Bib Specifications - Rafa Bib
Our handmade Rafa Bib comes with a blue gingham fabric on one side, and an indigo linen fabric on the other. It is trimmed with a braided piping and has natural cotton string ties.
The bib's body is approximately 7.25 in" x 8." One size fits most. As a general rule, the bib will appear larger on newborns and fit snugly on 1-year-olds.
This listing is for one bib. Due to its reversible nature, both sides are shown in the pictures.
We believe that baby accessories can be both beautiful and functional. That's why our products are ideal for special events or formal occasions. Even little ones deserve to look their absolute best! We take pride in ensuring our bibs are locally made with high quality materials and an extra dose of love because your baby deserves it.
For best results, machine wash with cold water and lay out flat to dry.
Little boys get dirty. It's just a fact of life. But when your little rascal is looking handsome in his Sunday best, you'd like to make sure he stays that way. Our handmade Indigo bib can dress up your baby's outfit and keep him looking dapper and clean at the same time.
Our handmade bibs offer that finishing touch to any outfit, while also protecting your baby's fashionable clothes from the occasional drool. However, our bibs go beyond simply keeping your baby looking his or her best. Your baby's special bibs can also become heirloom pieces that your family can cherish for years to come.


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#GivingTuesday 2015
#GivingTuesday is a movement to create a national day of giving on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
On #GivingTuesday, please join Families for HoPE in helping to share the HoPE in Holoprosencephaly. We would love for you to join us with your time, talents, and personality to share the HoPE in your own special way.
This would be a perfect opportunity to become an Anchor of HoPE and recruit your family, friends and others to become an Anchor of HoPE too!
And, don't forget to use #GivingTuesday and #FamiliesforHoPE in all of your messages on social media to help us find your activities!


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Veteran writers, including Nayantara Sahgal, Kiran Nagarkar and Jeet Thayil have been overlooked by the jury of the inaugural edition of the Rs 25 lakh JCB (Joseph Cyril Bamford) Prize for Literature, whose shortlist, announced on Wednesday, features novels by five writers who the jury felt will be read by decades to come.
The shortlisted novels are "Half The Night Is Gone" by Amitabha Bagchi, "Jasmine Days" by Benny Daniel (translated from Malayalam original by Shahnaz Habib); "Poonachi" by Perumal Murugan (translated from Tamil original by N. Kalyan Raman); "All the Lives We Never Lived" by Anuradha Roy and "Latitudes of Longing" by debutante Shubhangi Swarup.
In a welcome move, all five novels are by emerging voices, who are gaining both readership and critical acclaim in recent times. Murugan is fast emerging as the most authentic voice from the Indian hinterland; Anuradha Roy's surreal prose is winning critical acclaim from both readers and critics; and, among others, Shubhangi Swarup stunned the literary space with her well-researched and minutely crafted debut work of fiction.
The prize has also recognised the vast spread of literature in Indian languages as two out of five novels are translated works. In announcing the shortlist at the Oxford Bookstore, the prize further affirmed its commitment to promoting physical bookstores in the face of their prolonged downfall since the rise of e-commerce platforms like Amazon and Flipkart.
But on the flip side, all the novels in the shortlist are from mainstream publishers: two from Juggernaut Books; and one each from Westland Publications, Hachette India and HarperCollins India. Not a single novel competing for the prize is from a smaller press, which, according to several publishing insiders, are on a rapid decline in India.
Publishing giant Penguin Random House India, otherwise in the tally of most national and international literary awards, did not feature in the list at all.
Jeet Thayil's highly acclaimed "The Book of Chocolate Saints", with praise from the likes of Salman Rushdie, too failed to make the cut.
Apart from Thayil's, the other novels from the longlist that the judges overlooked are: "Empire" by Devi Yesodharan; "Clouds" by Chandrahas Choudhury; "When The Moon Shines by Day" by Nayantara Sahgal; and "Jasoda" by Kiran Nagarkar.
The jury consists of novelist Vivek Shanbhag (Chair), entrepreneur and scholar Rohan Murthy, Yale University astrophysicist and writer Priyamvada Natarajan and author and translator Arshia Sattar. Film director Deepa Mehta, who was earlier chairing the panel, had to "retire from her position" due to "unforeseen professional commitments".
The winner will be declared on October 24, and will receive Rs 25 lakh. If the winning work is a translation, the translator will receive an additional Rs five lakh.


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15 April 2017
So Mysterious: a Q&A With Gerald So
by John Floyd
I e-met Gerald long ago, and although we've never crossed paths in person, I feel I know him well through our many emails and his many projects. We also share a love of crime poetry. (I've sold more than 300 poems, believe it or not--many of them in the mystery category--to Writer's Digest, EQMM, Grit, Farm & Ranch Living, etc.). Gerald reminded me recently of one of my poems called "Tinseltown," which appeared in The Five-Two several years ago. (Here's a link.)
Okay, that's my warm-up act. Here's the main event: a brief interview with the crime-poetry king himself, Gerald So.
JF: Gerald, it's great to have you with us at SleuthSayers. Let's start with a clarification: What would you say is the difference between crime fiction and crime poetry?
GS: Mainly, unlike fiction, poetry isn't necessarily narrative. Poetry doesn't have to stick to procedural aspects of genre conventions. It can, for example, depict the aftermath of crime as an emotional moment, before the tendency toward story sets in. Poets have the freedom to approach crime from angles you might not see in fiction. I need occasional breaks from reading and writing crime fiction while poetry has held my interest all along.
JF: How did you get started writing poetry, and especially crime-themed poetry?
GS: I started writing bad poetry in high school. By college, I'd decided fiction was safer ground, but while teaching at Hofstra University I befriended poet Robert Plath, and handled the technical side of the faculty poetry website he edited. In reading the material to be posted on the website, I began to form opinions about it, and then seriously write my own poetry. I broke into print with poetry, not fiction, and decided I wouldn't give it up.
I think the theme of crime worked its way in naturally because powerful inciting events, such as crimes, are what hook and keep me reading anything.
JF: I agree. As I mentioned earlier, you started out publishing The Lineup crime poetry chapbooks. Now that you've published via a website, would you ever consider adding a Five-Two paper format?
GS: Yes, but I'd need more resources and help to make it happen. The advantage of maintaining a poetry blog and ebooks is I'm the only one who has to work on them to see them published. That said, a longterm goal of the site and ebooks is to keep crime poetry in the public eye, to grow interest in the concept until things like print or audio releases, and anything else you might imagine, are within reach.
JF: Can you tell us more about The Lineup series?
GS: The Lineup was a print-on-demand chapbook published once a year from 2008 to 2011. An acquaintance, author Alex Echevarria Roman, suggested the idea of a crime-themed poetry journal, and I ran with it, recruiting friends as co-editors. The Lineup had four editors per issue, each reading and rating all the poems submitted. It was a unique but complicated process, and as my friends turned to bigger projects, The Lineup couldn't be sustained. All four published volumes are still available here, though, on Lulu.com.
JF: The Five-Two, which I've heard you call a "crime poetry weekly," is a great site. Who are some of the authors you've featured in The Five-Two?
GS: Thriller author J.T. Ellison is one of the volunteer audio performers. There have been poems by your fellow Derringer Award winner Joseph D'Agnese and by novelist Peter Swanson. Other frequently featured poets include Robert Cooperman, Jennifer Lagier, Charles Rammelkamp, and Nancy Scott.
JF: What other kinds of writing do you do?
GS: I've written book, TV, and film reviews for Crimespree Magazine, a regular TV/film column for Mysterical-E, and a handful of short stories in various journals. I'm waiting on the status of two shorts whose titles I'm not allowed to mention.
JF: In closing, what are some other current markets for crime-themed poetry?
GS: I don't know many other markets that seek crime poetry specifically as The Five-Two does, but there are always markets for poetry with powerful inciting events, of which crime is just one. Some are Midnight Lane Boutique, Nerve Cowboy, Red Fez, Silver Birch Press, and Yellow Mama.
JF: Which is my hint to try some of these latest markets, and for our readers (hopefully) to try their hand at crime poetry also. Many thanks, Gerald, for joining us today. Keep up the good work!
And thanks to all of you as well. I'll be back next Saturday with my regular SleuthSayers column, and some observations of my own . . . but I hope you'll tune in anyway.
15 comments:
Thanks again for the interview, John. Well titled. :)ReplyDelete
I really enjoyed this post. Thanks for telling us more about Gerald, one of the most interesting and giving people in the mystery writing community. And Gerald, thank you for always being there for your colleagues. You are a gem!
Thank you as always, Gail. Send me some poetry already. :)ReplyDelete
Great interview, John and Gerald--so much appreciate all of this. Gerald has been such a central figure in the Short Mystery Fiction Society in so many ways, and I admire and appreciate both that work and his work in the world of crime poetry as well. Hats off to you both!ReplyDelete
- janice law15 April, 2017 08:21
Sounds really interesting. I must look up some of Gerald So's poems.ReplyDelete
Nice article. Just bookmarked The Five-Two and will go to it regularly now.ReplyDelete
Thank you, Art. I regret missing Bouchercon last year, where I could have met John and O'Neil De Noux in person. Assuming no hurricanes in Canada in October, I'll see everyone then.ReplyDelete
Good background and interview. Thanks Gerald and John!ReplyDelete
Thanks again, Gerald, for doing this. As Gail and Art said, you have been such a friend and example to those of us in the short-mystery world.ReplyDelete
Thanks for your interest in my poetry, Janice. It's strewn across the Web, and not all about crime, of course. Feel free to write me with feedback using the contact form at The Five-Two or my own blog.ReplyDelete
Thanks for commenting, Paul. It would be great to attract prose writers with ideas that don't quite fit into prose. That's the genesis of many of my poems.
My pleasure again, John. I think anyone who writes short stories can be a champion for the form. The SMFS is at its best when we team up for things like anthologies, the Derringer medals, and the meetup meals.
I think anyone who writes short stories can be a champion for the form.ReplyDelete
Not to leave out anyone who enjoys reading short stories. As a reader, I appreciate the economy of shorts and poetry. So few words, and yet they stay in our memories as well or better than longer works do.
John and Gerald, thanks for a great interview! Gerald, like others, I appreciate all the time and hard work you devote to keeping the Short Mystery Fiction Society going. John, I loved "Tinseltown"--the ending took me completely by surprise.ReplyDelete
Thanks, Bonnie. Gerald is indeed tireless, and experienced in so many different kinds of writing.ReplyDelete
As for "Tinseltown," thank you--that was great fun to write. (But I doubt Carl Sandburg would've felt threatened by my talent.)
Hi, Bonnie.ReplyDelete
I've gotten to know the great people behind great stories through Shortmystery (home of the SMFS). That energizes me, but as I told Art recently, the ultimate validation would be to see the Society flourish without me, as a teacher hopes of a student.
Thanks again to everyone who commented today. If you've visited The Five-Two, you may have noticed this interview post marks the midpoint of a month-long blog tour highlighting poetry with crime elements. You're welcome to follow along the rest of the month.ReplyDelete
Welcome. Please feel free to comment.
Our corporate secretary is notoriously lax when it comes to comments trapped in the spam folder. It may take Velma a few days to notice, usually after digging in a bottom drawer for a packet of seamed hose, a .38, her flask, or a cigarette.
She's also sarcastically flip-lipped, but where else can a P.I. find a gal who can wield a candlestick phone, a typewriter, and a gat all at the same time? So bear with us, we value your comment. Once she finishes her Fatima Long Gold.
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In the most beautiful weather we arrived the station at Ella Ø early in the morning.
We were met by a muskox standing on the bridge between the red bulidings.
Ella Ø is placed in some of the North-Eastgreenlands most magnificent and breathtaking surroundings. The islands landmark "Bastionen" is a vertical cliff that raises 1367 meters above the Kong Oscar Fiord.
After landing at the beach we visited the mainbuilding and continued hiking trough the station area (the muskox had left) and followed the ridges around the lake - just above the station. At the westside of the lake four muskoxen showed up. A great opportunity to take good photoshots. In the lake the red-throated divers did not seem to be disturbed by the visitors.
In the afternoon we continued to Blomsterbugten at Ymer Ø. A hut "Varghytten" was placed here back in 1929. "Varg" means wolf in Scandinavian. We sended a large group of hikers ahead. Just like at Ella Ø several muskoxen showed up, but the expedition team guided us through the area safe.
The kayakers went out padling along the shore.
In the night the Northern light gave us a show with its beautiful curtains.


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Being noted as one of the world's most influential people is definitely not an easy thing to achieve, but it seems like Tim Cook just managed to make TIME's annual '100 most influential people' list, which was quite expected considering the fact that he currently leads one of the world's richest company.
The Apple CEO was also called a courageous innovator thanks to his bald moves and courage in the tech industry, which have managed to grant Apple a larger number of fans, ever since Steve Jobs died a few years ago and Tim became CEO.
When added to the list by TIME, the magazine also released a quick blurb, in which they said that Tim Cook represents proof that even the world's most successful companies should and can be judged by their leader and more than just their bottom line. As the profitability of Apple continues to increase, chances are that the company itself will become even more popular in the years to come, as long as they continue innovating and coming up with new and exciting products.
Based on everything that has been outlined so far, what do you personally think about Tim Cook making this list? Does he deserve to be referred as one of the world's most influential people? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.


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- Licensing of Physicians
- Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) and Physician Mobility
- Repatriation Program
- Re-Entry Program
Licensing of Physicians
The following organizations are involved with the licensing of physicians in Ontario and Canada:
The CPSO is responsible for registering all physicians practising in Ontario. The CPSO is a self-regulating body. However, international medical graduates looking for information on entering practice in Ontario should first contact the HealthForceOntario Access Centre for internationally educated health professionals.
The RCPSC oversees the medical education of specialists in Canada. The RCPSC accredits university programs that train resident physicians for their specialty practices.
The CFPC oversees the medical education of family medicine in Canada. The CFPC accredits university programs that train resident physicians for family medicine.
Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) and Physician Mobility
The AIT and the Ontario Labour Mobility Act, 2009 require Ontario to register regulated professions including physicians coming from elsewhere in Canada. When an applicant comes from another Canadian jurisdiction where certificates of registration exist that are similar to Ontario's, the CPSO is required to register that applicant to practise without any additional material education or training.
The CPSO has incorporated the AIT requirements into its registration policies and registration regulation.
Repatriation Program
The Repatriation Program is a route into residency for qualified candidates who have completed postgraduate training outside of Canada but require up to two years of additional training to meet Canadian certification requirements. Please visit the Repatriation Program page for more information on application process and eligibility criteria.
Please note Repatriation Program participants are required to complete a Return of Service.
Re-Entry Program
Through the Re-Entry Program, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care offers funding each year for physicians currently practising in Canada to re-enter postgraduate medical training. Please visit the Re- Entry Program page for more information, including eligibility criteria and application form.
Please note that Re-entry Program participants are required to complete a Return of Service.


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Kadokawa Announces 2 New Anime Titles, Rising of the Shield Hero, Chio's School Road Staff
posted on by Karen Ressler
Anime News Network's coverage of Anime Expo 2017 is sponsored by Aniplex and Yen Press.
Kadokawa announced three new anime titles at its Anime Expo booth on Saturday, and showed promotional videos for all three. The titles are as follows:
Angolmois (Angolmois: Genkō Kassen-ki), based on Nanahiko Takagi's manga about a samurai defending Japan against Mongol invaders.
The anime adaptation's staff includes:
- Director: Takayuki Kuriyama (episode director on Re:CREATORS)
- Series Composition: Shogo Yasukawa (Chivalry of a Failed Knight, Food Wars! Shoukugeki No Soma)
- Character Design: Masayori Komine (animation director on Macross Frontier: Sayonara no Tsubasa, DRAMAtical Murder)
- Animation Production: NAZ
The anime is slated for 2018. The manga debuted in 2014 on Kadokawa's ComicWalker app.
Project D, an original time travel anime from director Takuya Satō (Steins;Gate) with character designs by Yoshitoshi ABe (Haibane Renmei, Serial Experiments Lain, Texhnolyze). Kadokawa describes the story:
When development engineer Delida wakes up in the future from a cold sleep, his girlfriend isn't there... he decides to go back 10 years in time to 'that incident' to keep his promise with her.
The key to get her back is a time leap.
Kadokawa also revealed the staff, English title, and trailer for the of Chio's School Road (Chio-chan no Tsūgakuro) anime, based on Kawasaki Tadataka's manga about a girl whose road to school everyday is interrupted by everything from construction to biker gangs to needing to go to the bathroom.
diomedéa will animate Chio's School Road and Mayuko Matsumoto (Kan Colle, Gingitsune) is designing the characters. The anime is slated for 2018.
Kawasaki launched the manga in Monthly Comic Flapper in 2014, and Kadokawa published the manga's sixth compiled volume on March 23.
Kadokawa also formally announced and debuted a trailer for the anime adaptation of Aneko Yusagi's The Rising of The Shield Hero (Tate no Yūsha no Nariagari) fantasy light novel series.
The staff for the anime adaptation includes:
- Director Takao Abo (Norn9)
- Series Composition: Keigo Koyonagi (Regalia: The Three Sacred Stars)
- Character Design: Masahiro Suwa (Chaika the Coffin Princess animation director)
- Animation Production: Kinema Citrus
One Peace Books is releasing the novel series and Aiya Kyū's manga adaptation in English. The publisher describes the novels' first compiled book volume:
Naofumi Iwatani, an uncharismatic otaku who spends his days on games and manga, suddenly finds himself summoned to a parallel universe! He discovers he is one of four heroes equipped with legendary weapons and tasked with saving the world from its prophesied destruction. As the Shield Hero, the weakest of the heroes, all is not as it seems. Naofumi is soon alone, penniless, and betrayed. With no one to turn to, and nowhere to run, he is left with only his shield. Now, Naofumi must rise to become the legendary Shield Hero and save the world!
Minami Seira illustrates the novels.
Update: Chio-chan background, Project D synopsis added.
Update: Kadokawa producer Rie Ogura spoke further about Project D at Kadokawa's booth on Monday. The science fiction story will have a serious tone and will take place in a country that is not Japan. The protagonist wakes up after a cold sleep and then goes back in time to save a "black-haired girl." Ogura noted that the trailer has two black-haired girls.
this article has been modified since it was originally posted; see change history


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US-based biopharmaceutical services provider Parexel International has designated Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (NJMS) in Newark as a Key Alliance Site for hosting clinical trials from Parexel's client base.
Under the agreement, Parexel will have the opportunity to place early- to late-phase studies at NJMS, which on 1 July became part of the newly created Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences unit within Rutgers, the state university of New Jersey.
The School has a clinical research centre unit, which conducts studies across a broad variety of medical specialties.
The arrangement will also give Parexel access to experienced investigators to help design clinical trials and to information resources through the NJMS electronic medical record system.
These integrated resources will enable Parexel and NJMS to plan, develop and execute clinical trial studies with shorter timelines, the School said.
Leading treatments
"With Parexel, NJMS looks forward to further developing our academic enterprise and biomedical research presence, as well as increasing patient recruitment and referrals," commented William Gause, senior associate dean for research at NJMS.
"Most important, the long-term agreement will allow us to continue offering leading treatments and new medicines to patients in Newark and the rest of Essex County."
Clinical trials hosted at the NJMS clinical research center unit will assess medicines and other products for a wide range of conditions, including cancer, obesity and diabetes as well as cardiovascular, respiratory and infectious diseases.
Many of these studies will be conducted in collaboration with University Hospital, New Jersey Medical School's flagship teaching hospital.


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Fighting Back Against Uncertainty: Kim
"You wonder why people don't leave," said Kim, a 61-year-old Bellevue resident. "It's the uncertainty. It's not knowing how you're going to make it, what you're going to do."
After periods of unfathomable uncertainty in her own life, Kim is now a successful author, full-time employee of the National Association of Letter Carriers, and caretaker to her adult son. But six years ago, her world looked entirely different.
"With the way my life was going," she confessed, "without The Salvation Army, I would have been dead."
It started with a bomb in the mail. Kim had received it from her abusive ex-husband, who sent it as retaliation for having to pay child support. After he was arrested and later released from jail, Kim and her adult son bought one-way tickets to Washington. They didn't know anyone or have a plan once they arrived. They just needed to get out.
"When you're in that flight mode," Kim explained, "you don't think about things you would normally think about. I just thought, 'I have to get out of here for the protection of my son.'"
Once they arrived in Seattle, Kim and her son connected with local agencies, staying in motels and churches as they searched for employment. Kim soon began working at an engineering firm, and her son took a job as a game tester for a local tech company. With the help of Kim's boss, they were able to secure their own place in Lake City.
"When people know that you help yourself, they will try to help you." Kim felt, for a moment, that they had found stability in their new life.
However, darkness re-entered Kim's world when she started dating—and then moved in with—a new man. His affection quickly revealed itself as physical and mental abuse. Kim recalls faking a heart attack to get her abuser to call 911. She then tried to slip the paramedics a note, but her abuser saw and screamed at the paramedics to leave. Even now, Kim suffers from vertigo due to him choking her and beating her head against a wall.
She was trapped in fear, in uncertainty.
But when Kim's abuser kicked her out of her home, without even the dignity of clothes on her back, Kim knew she couldn't return. For three days, she roamed the streets of Seattle and slept in her apartment's parking garage.
Then, she came across The Salvation Army Women's Shelter on Pike Street. And at that shelter, she found safety, a certainty that she could survive on her own.
"God always makes a way of escape, if we choose to take it," said Kim, referencing her choice to stay at The Salvation Army rather than return to her abuser.
Seattle's Salvation Army Women's Shelter gives those who identify as female a stable place to stay while they overcome barriers for independent living. For Kim, this meant meeting with an advocate once a week to work on housing applications, as well as address the various barriers associated with domestic violence situations.
"One of the most important things was that they kept telling me not to go back to him," she said.
Beyond case management, Kim also built community at our shelter. "It was camaraderie with the [other residents]. You take one day at a time, and you keep pressing forward."
Kim noted that her time with The Salvation Army was a "humbling experience," but it was one that she is forever grateful for. Something as simple as having access to a shower meant so much during that time. "You take so many things for granted. I'm just thankful."
After two months at our shelter, Kim was able to receive Federal Tax Property housing through her son. They still live together, now with the addition of her son's wife. "It's definitely a handful," Kim laughed.
It's this sense of humor, of joy, that has carried Kim through these past couple of years. At 61, she is close to retirement age, but she has no plans to stop working on herself. She has already published a children's book about her son, and she looks forward to working on her memoir soon. There may even be a greeting card business in her future.
"No matter how old you are," she said, "be encouraged that there will be something bigger and better to fulfill your purpose in life."
The Salvation Army Domestic Violence Programs in Seattle provide assistance to all gender individuals and families surviving domestic violence. Our services are unified under a single mission: To address domestic violence through programs that promote safety, healing, and empowerment, with autonomy of each person as a core value. Our goal is to be respectful and culturally sensitive to all people, so they feel welcome and hopeful for a life free from abuse.
If you or someone you know if suffering from suspected domestic violence, call our advocacy line at (206) 447-9944, or contact the National Domestic Violence 24/7 Hotline at 1-800-799-7233


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Top 5 Blog Posts — July 24, 2017
Did you miss last week's most-read Changing Aging blog posts? Ecumen's online visitors found these articles most interesting:
Ecumen's Velocity Leadership Program Graduates Class of 2017
The Ecumen Velocity class of 2017 has just graduated from the year-long program focused on building leadership skills and developing innovative approaches to aging services.
Diversity and Inclusion Learning Event: Welcoming LGBT People in Senior Living Communities
Marsha Berry tells the story about the day she drove past a senior community in Minneapolis and saw two rainbow flags flying. She pulled over and cried. In all her years of traveling the state of Minnesota as an Alzheimer's educator, this was the first time she had ever seen a rainbow flag – a symbol of LGBT pride – displayed at a senior community. Marsha is a lesbian with gray hair who was crying tears of joy.
Ecumen Leaders Encouraged To Embrace Generational Differences
Kim Lear, a Minneapolis-based strategist and researcher in generational theory, last week gave a group of Ecumen leaders some insight on how to "view the world through the eyes of a different generation." The session was part of Ecumen's Velocity Leadership Development Program. "It's not about right and wrong," said Lear, whose company is called Inlay Insights. "Every generation has different perceptions and strengths," she said. And every generation is profoundly influenced by the major events going on during its formative teenage years.
Dr. John Brose on Dementia Care: It Doesn't Have To Be This Way
It doesn't have to be this way is the mantra that would come to define Dr. John Brose's career as a behavioral psychologist, nationally renowned as a pioneer in speaking up for people who have lost the ability to speak for themselves.
Ecumen Named One of Minnesota's Best Places To Work for 10th Time
Ecumen has been named one of Minnesota's Best Places to Work for the 10th time by the Minneapolis/Saint Paul Business Journal.
You can read these articles and more at www.ecumen.org.


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Background: Burn induces a hypermetabolic state characterized by alterations in protein metabolism, which is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Eukaryotic elongation factor 2 (eEF2) plays a crucial role in regulating protein synthesis in many diseases, but whether it participates in burn-induced hypermetabolism is unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the expression of eEF2 and the upstream eEF2-inactivating kinase, eEF2K, in severely burned pediatric patients. Methods: Eight pediatric patients (> 40% total body surface area) and 3 nonburned pediatric volunteers were enrolled. Muscle and skin biopsies were collected at early (0-10 days postburn [dpb]), middle (11-49 dpb), and late (50-365 dpb) time points. Resting energy expenditure (REE), body composition, and muscle protein fractional synthesis rate (FSR) were measured. Proteins were extracted and analyzed by Western blotting. To further investigate the protein synthesis pathway, microarray data from muscle and skin were examined from 22 nonburned and 20 burned children. Results: Burn patients exhibited a profound hypermetabolic response, as seen by a significant increase in REE (P < .05) and loss of lean body mass without altered muscle FSR, indicating a shift to catabolism after thermal injury. In muscle, the phosphorylation of eEF2K-dependent eEF2 was down regulated early and middle postburn. Similar changes in eEF2K and eEF2 levels occurred in skin at the early time point. Total amounts of eEF2 and eEF2K were not altered. Conclusion: Burn induces prolonged activation of eEF2K and eEF2. Alterations in these mediators may contribute to profound hypermetabolism in severely burned patients. (JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr. 2012;36:596-602).
|Original language
|English (US)
|Pages (from-to)
|Number of pages
|Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition
|Issue number
|Published - Sep 2012
- burn
- hypermeta-bolism
- muscle
- protein synthesis
- skin
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine (miscellaneous)
- Nutrition and Dietetics


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City Panel Okays Oak and Loc Complex
Unanimous vote allows controversial East Side apartment project to move forward.
A prominent East Side intersection is slated to get a major investment under a proposed development by Michael Klein and Jeno Cataldo. The duo intend to buy and demolish a two-story building at 2900 N. Oakland Ave. and construct a five-story mixed-use building in its place. Striegel-Agacki Studio is leading the design of the project.
The Common Council's Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee unanimously approved a zoning change for the project today, but not before a lengthy public hearing centered around two area residents who have long opposed the project.
The building, referred to in documents as the 2900 Apartments, would include 55 apartments and 10,000 square-feet of commercial space under plans submitted to the city. The apartments would be a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom units that would rent for $900 to $1,800 per month. Parking would be available for $125 to $150 per month according to Cataldo.
The City Plan Commission had earlier recommended approval of the project, but only after a contentious meeting that included negative comments on the project by commissioners and area residents. The zoning committee meeting got equally contentious, with committee chair Ald. Jim Bohl asserting his control of the committee at multiple points.
Nearby residents James Mehail and John T. Miller vehemently oppose the project, and have objected to the project at multiple neighborhood meetings.
Mehail again raised the issue of sewer capacity. Department of Public Works representative Karen Dettmer said the limited capacity on paper is "not an atypical situation." She said that since the City Plan Commission hearing where the issue was first broached, the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District has issued a waiver for the project. In addition, Dettmer said a revised 2020 plan is expected to add an additional 12,000 gallons a day of capacity to the area.
Former area alderman Michael D'Amato, who now leads the area's business improvement district, testified in favor of the project. D'Amato told the commission "this is a catalytic project that has been identified by the business improvement district for years."
Area alderman and committee member Kovac noted he had received 10 letters in support and five in opposition. Speaking in support of the project, Kovac said he doesn't anticipate the project will trigger a wave of development in the area. While he supports development of the surface parking lot at the northwest corner of N. Oakland Ave. and E. Locust St. (and across the street from the proposed 2900 Apartments), other large projects for the area would likely to run into opposition because they would require tearing down historic buildings.
Additional details on the project are available in our coverage from the project's City Plan Commission hearing and a neighborhood meeting on the project's initial design.
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- February 11, 2016 - Nik Kovac received $100 from Jeno Cataldo
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Eyes on Milwaukee
Northwestern Mutual Wins Key Vote To Close Cass StreetJun 29th, 2023 by Jeramey Jannene
Meeting Will Guide Design of Bronzeville Arts CenterJun 28th, 2023 by Jeramey Jannene
Northridge Mall Lawsuit Keeps Dragging OnJun 20th, 2023 by Jeramey Jannene


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I recently tried 8 of the fragrances in the Geo. F. Trumper line; these were my favorites:
The Geo F Trumper Sandalwood fragrance was released in 2002 to honor Queen Elizabeth's Golden Jubilee. It has notes of bergamot, lemon, lavender, clary sage and spice notes, white jasmine, carnation, geranium and rose, sandal, patchouli, amber, vanilla and a hint of leather. This is a very nicely done, slightly sweet sandalwood, very smooth and creamy. It has light floral undertones, and the subdued notes of patchouli and amber give it a nice depth and warmth. It is by no means a girly scent, but nor is it overwhelmingly masculine. Very much worth a try for sandalwood lovers, especially those that are patchouli fans as well.
Ajaccio Violets starts out a out a lovely, light but sweet violet with a woody undertone. It gets darker and less sweet as it dries down, and starts to take on some of the earthy, almost musty edge that I also find in Caron Violette Precieuse, Berdoues Violettes de Toulouse and i Profumi di Firenze Violetta di Bosco. Again, this could easily qualify as a unisex scent, and it is very much worth a try for violet lovers.
My personal favorite out of the scents I tried was GFT, created to celebrate Trumper's 125th anniversary. It is described as "an invigorating and refreshing versatile cologne with top notes of mandarin, bergamot and lemon, a heart of tarragon, lavender and cypress on a light musk-like base with notes of cedar and moss". The top notes are a little sharp, but it calms to a really nice, light, summery citrus with woody undertones. The tarragon gives this some oomph without being at all overwhelming, and the cypress is just lovely. The closest thing I can think of to compare it to is Annick Goutal Eau d'Hadrien, but the GFT is longer lasting and I find it more interesting. This may be joining my collection soon.
If you want to learn more about the Trumper line, there is a very nice article on the basenotes site written by someone who worked in their London shop for some years. For purchasing information, see the listing for Geo. F. Trumper under Perfume Houses.


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Watch this exclusive Mr. Media interview with documentary filmmaker Jeremy Whelehan, director of Now: In the Wings on the World Stage starring Kevin Spacey as Richard III, by clicking on the video player above!
Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of Equity Card-carrying Shakespearean actors who don't approve of anyone's version of the Bard that they're not in … in the NEW new media capital of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida!
Have you seen 'House of Cards'?
Kevin Spacey is so deliciously creepy in the Netflix series that I simply can't imagine being around him for more than a few minutes. (Of course, I felt that way after The Usual Suspects and then American Beauty, too.)
JEREMY WHELEHAN podcast excerpt: "It was quite interesting to set about working with Kevin Spacey and making a documentary which would follow him for the best part of a year while he's at work, in the theatre, in the dressing room, and touring to all these countries. But, you know, he's a brilliantly talented actor, Kevin, very successful, a very powerful figure, in the entertainment industry, and seems to find himself more often than not on the front of the wave of innovation."
But that's just me; Jeremy Whelehan obviously doesn't share my unease, having worked with Spacey for 20 years. So the idea of shooting a documentary film about a live, modern, year-long touring production of Shakespeare's Richard III—that was the first reunion of Spacey and Mendes since American Beauty—was clearly irresistible to him.
JEREMY WHELEHAN podcast excerpt: "In some ways, 'Now' is an adventure story. Marrying that aspect of it with the theatre and the story of the play coming together, were the two poles of the film that I tried to embroider together."
Now: In the Wings on a World Stage is an extraordinary documenting of Spacey as Richard and much more. Whelehan gives the viewer unprecedented backstage access to the entire cast as the play is in development and as it winds its way around the world, through big, outdoor venues and relatively intimate indoor ones.
Whelehan, who spent three seasons as associate director of London's Old Vic Theatre Company – where Spacey himself has been artistic director for many years – has an excellent sense of what even the casual theatre-goer's mind would find awe in.
And you need not know a thing about Richard III or Shakespeare to enjoy this documentary, now available on Netflix and Amazon.com following its theatrical run.
Now: In the Wings on the World Stage Website • Twitter • Rotten Tomatoes • IMDB • Order Now: In The Wings On A World Stage from Amazon.com
Jeremy Whelehan Treetops Productions Website • Facebook • Twitter • Vimeo
Kevin Stacey Website • Facebook • Twitter • YouTube • IMDB • Wikipedia • Google+ • Kevin Spacey Foundation • Order House of Cards: Season One from Amazon.com


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Weather in Barcelona
Barcelona's proximity to the Mediterranean and the southern tip of the Pyrenees Mountains affords it mild weather for the better part of the year, although moisture coming in from the sea can make the city rather humid, especially with the rains in autumn and the summer heat.
Summers can be quite hot, with temperatures ranging from about 21oC to 30oC. In late July and early August, things heat up, and the sun can become punishing, pushing well into the 30s. Summer is also humid, dappling your skin with sweat and water. The city can feel like a gigantic steam bath at times.
Because Barcelona is situated in the north, close to France, it experiences more cold than Spain's southern cities. Temperatures cool down in the autumn and winter, with occasional snowfalls, but the snow is infrequent and doesn't linger for long. In the autumn, temperatures can reach as high as the low 20s, but tend to hover around the mid-teens. The rains arrive in October, and come winter, the thermostat can dip down into the single digits, with a mixture of rain and sunshine.
With the arrival of spring, there are more sunny days to enjoy. You'll experience Barcelona's pleasant weather without the excessive heat found in summer, and minus the deluge of autumn rain.
To summarise, Barcelona is a destination you can visit all year long, without too many weather extremes. Winter can become a little nippy, and summer has its share of scorchers, but most of the time the city offers reasonable weather and plenty of sunshine.


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*Eurovision song contest winners. I basically went since my sister and her friends needed a ride. Good gig though.
This entry is stored in Sunday, September 17th, 2000 at 12:37 pm and is filed under Concert. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.


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Roger Yeh and Whitney Brown in PRISONER OF LOVE.
BOTTOM LINE: A well-acted, if overly complicated, family drama about one man's life after prison.
When Julian is about to be paroled from prison, he has all the anxieties common to the newly released. Will he be able to adjust to freedom? Will people — especially the three sisters who all but abandoned him while he was inside — be afraid of him? Will he be a pariah in his small upstate New York hometown? More importantly, will he be able to adjust to living apart from his boyfriend, Alonso, who is still locked up?
Julian, of course, is not the only one with worries. As Act I opens, his adult siblings are discussing his imminent arrival and debating how best to greet him. Since their mother is in the hospital, they're on their own and from the start guilt, fear, and competition are in ample supply. Pauline, a femme fatale (played by the excellent Whitney Brown), is the most in-your-face of the sisters. Norma (Tara Lynn Gillfillan) is weepy and self-absorbed and Janice (Jael Golan, whose Israeli accent provides the play's only casting confusion) is preoccupied with her husband's political aspirations. All three fear what will happen when their mom passes and speculate about whether she'll leave them the sizable inheritance they're hoping for. How will they survive if their brother is named sole heir, they wonder?
As the women wring their hands and bicker, Norma's boyfriend Kurt (Jamie Geiger), a condescending psychiatrist, and Ralph (Kelly Johnston), Janice's ultraconservative southern husband, are on-hand as mediators and foils. But once Julian (played perfectly by a vulnerable, if volatile, Roger Yeh) arrives, tensions rapidly escalate. And not for nothing: Julian is visibly tormented, insecure, and angry, and his furniture-throwing tantrums put everyone on edge.
When Kurt — looking to become Julian's mentor, or perhaps sniffing the scent of the parolee's enormous trust fund — steps in and offers to be Julian's on-call therapist, everyone in the house is momentarily relieved, at least until Kurt and Norma break up. Nerves further jangle as the family observes Kurt's infantilization of their brother; in a matter of days they see Julian regress, becoming childlike and incapable of making decisions on his own. Up to this point, Prisoner of Love is emotionally intense, sparsely written, and provocative.
This changes as the curtain opens on Act II. While the second half of the play retains some of its punch, it teeters close to melodrama and the denouement is overwrought. What's more, there are too many threads woven into the mix; a story line involving incest is particularly unnecessary. Despite this, as the events behind Julian's incarceration unfold, the drama offers an engaging look at a believable, if somewhat familiar, scenario.
Prisoner of Love is an ambitious work, touching upon questions of social class as well as loyalty, honor, autonomy, and personal responsibility. They're important subjects. Nonetheless, when taken together their impact is diluted and the play loses impact by attempting to tackle so many weighty issues at once. In the end, Prisoner of Love would be more powerful if it was stripped of several subplots. Sometimes less really can be more.
(Prisoner of Love plays at The 45th Street Theatre, 354 West 45th Street, through April 21, 2012. Performances are April 10, 11, 12, 13,14, 17, 18. 19, 20 and 21 at 8PM and at on April 8 and 15 at 2PM. Tickets are $25 for adults and $20 for seniors or students. Wednesdays are "pay what you can" night. Tickets can be ordered by visiting variationstheatregroup.com or by calling 646.580.6003 . For more show info, visit variationstheatregroup.com.)


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Lowest Tuition Fees and Other Expenses
UODA's tuition fees and expenses are amongst the lowest of all private universities in the country. We provide equal opportunity of access to higher education to all students. (For more information on our Equal Opportunity Policy, please do not hesitate to contact the UODA Admission Office.)
Transport Facilities
Having a transport system of its own, UODA provides buses and microbuses that transposrts to all major areas of Dhaka city, by picking up and dropping off students to and from the major bus stops in the city. This facility, unfortunately, does not extend to off-the-highway roads at the moment. However, we continue to monitor the evolving needs of our students and faculty members in transportation as we expand our academic commitments.
Residence Facilities
UODA provides hostel accommodation to all its students, both male and female, who are in need of such facilities. Living in a UODA hostel has many advantages. It is within walking distance to the campus and has a lively and friendly atmosphere. The hostels are staffed with resident teachers who provide care and support at all times. There are security guards and other staff serving the hostel round the clock.
Financial Assistance and Scholarships
The expenses of university education can be a major concern for many students and their families. But tuition fees and other expenses at UODA, as noted above, are amongst the lowest in the country. In meeting their university costs at UODA, students can expect some financial assistance from part-time employment, and some from scholarships and stipends. The Financial Assistance Office at UODA is committed to helping students, depending on their financial needs and academic performance.
Computing Facilities and Services
Technology has increasingly become an integral part of education in the 21st century. Here at UODA as well, computers are fundamentally used for learning, instructing, and conducting research. UODA facilitates computer services in various buildings which are accessible for use at all times by staff and students. This facility features latest PCs with updated softwares , tuned into the university network and connected with colour printers and other multimedia. Our IT Help Desk areon campus to support our students whenever required and provides quality assistance in resolving technical disputes.
A high-speed broadband connection has been installed within the campus , and operates in the entire netwrok for use by our student and staff at all times.
Courses on Law, Human Rights, Development, Computer Science and English
These courses are mandatory for all students, irrespective of their discipline, and are designed to help students in many different ways. The aim is to provide students with the necessary knowledge on basic laws of human rights and politics both in both national and international spheres. English courses are designed to help students reach a level of English proficiency that is necessary for success in academic and practical life. Computer Science courses are designed in such a way that the students can get more efficient and get a working knowledge on the usage of computers.
UODA library houses a large number of books and journals on various disciplines, to support the needs of the students in different courses. The library is accessible to all students and faculty members within the university. Apart from the main Central Library, there also exist seven additional libraries in each of the seven campus buildings, which house books relevant to each field.
Health Centre
UODA has its own Health Center staffed by qualified medical personnel. A senior medical doctor is present at the Health Center at all times to assist students and staff on any emergency.
Food Services
UODA provides its students and staff with an Alternative Food Service (AFS), with lower costs. Students can thus avail themselves to lunch and snacks with reasonable prices. This service is maintained hygienically and offers a big variety on the food menu.
Industrial Training Program (INTRA)
UODA ensures the relevance of its academic programmes to the industrial and commercial world. An important part of this philosophy is the INTRA programme, through which the student will be able to develop a practical understanding of the world of industry and commerce. INTRA formally integrates the students' academic preparation with closely coordinated realistic jobs or internships, based on the objectives of each course.
Recreational & Cultural Programs
UODA organizes social, cultural and sporting activities throughout the year, as a measure to develop the extra-curriculum potentials of students. Besides a Central Cultural Forum, UODA encourages all students and faculties to form their own Journal Clubs and Departmental Cultural Forums. UODA also actively encourages all students to participate in debates, seminar, art shows and other activities, relevant to their specific departments.
Career Services
UODA is proud to host a Career Service that provides invaluable advice to help individual career planning, and offers information about vacancies and opportunities in relevant fields. Students can avail themselves to use this service throughout their academic life at UODA. Career Service offer workshops on career planning, interviewing skills and CV writing. Advisors are available to assist students on an individual basis in career planning and their search for employment opportunities. UODA has links with employers from various businesses, industries, NGOs, health and educational institutions, who come to UODA to interview and recruit students for internship and permanent jobs.


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Don't Forget to see and Do These 4 Things in Italy
According to enthusiast travelers, you should explore Italy once in a lifetime due to several reasons. There is no doubt that this amazing country holds different experiences, landmarks, adventures, and tourist attractions such as its ambiance, romantic atmosphere, Colosseum, and so on. This country is really affordable in terms of travelling and all the credit goes to its railway system. Summer is the best time to visit this country in order to appreciate the beauty of the Amalfi Coast. From food to amusement places, this country deserves your attention this season. Travelling has become easier and budget-friendly because coupon.ae is offering Etihad offer code to users. Travelers can utilize this offer to book their tickets and can get insane amount of reduction on fares. Isn't it amazing? So, what are you waiting for? If you are a new traveler and don't know where to begin, then read this post. We have mentioned some important things and places of Italy that you should see ASAP.
Cruise the Canals:
Venice is the city of love and don't forget to visit this city whether you are travelling with your family or partner. It has plenty of canals where you can enjoy cruise rides, so skip the roads and cars. If you are a true water lover, then you can imagine the beauty of this thing. It is a major tourist attraction and a fun thing itself. You can explore the nature, sunset view, and other picturesque sites through cruising.
Visit Mount Vesuvius:
If you want to explore the ruins of Pompeii, then don't miss this place. It tells you about the ancient Italy and their lifestyle. This site is considered as the old Italy and a wonderful experience for history lovers and students. It features old style streets, shops, temples, and houses. You can easily predict the living standard of Pompeii by visiting this place. Use Etihad offer code right now to book your flight tickets at affordable cost. Pick this offer from coupon.ae and make your trip possible.
Pose in Pisa:
Pisa tower is another tourist attraction of Italy and your trip is incomplete if you don't take pictures with the tower. You can visit this place at daytime and can walk around to see this wonder. You can also go on the top for seeing the Italy from the top. It is one of the most amazing sites in Italy and world and nearly millions of travelers visit this place every year.
Explore the Amalfi Coast:
Basically, it is a coastline with full of breathtaking views, turquoise water, and plenty of other adventurous activities like boating, cruising, and more. You can spend a day at the place with your family for relaxing your mind and body. It has several accommodation options near the coast that offers direct view from the hotel's room. Take advantage of Etihad offer code from coupon.ae and get ultimate concession on the booking of flight tickets.


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Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Things are Looking Up!
Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! Look how close we're getting to our goal of $5000! EEEEEK!
Maybe 5 squillion wasn't so far out of our reach!
19 comments:
Looks like you are going to have to raise the goal again, Laurie!ReplyDelete
- scooterpantsJune 17, 2009 at 9:47 AM
Laurie has some sort of mystical powers over itty bitties.ReplyDelete
this photo is just the cutest!
congratulations on (crossing fingers) meeting your goal.
Maybe the national exposure by way of COL helped that a lil. :)
- AnonymousJune 17, 2009 at 9:56 AM
look at those little stinkboms! cute!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJune 17, 2009 at 10:10 AM
When Charlene asks, who of us could possibly refuse?ReplyDelete
Oh my gosh, those expressions are priceless. I just want to hug them all at the same time!ReplyDelete
awww this is too cute~ReplyDelete
Ok, first, that is super cute. Second I am so glad you are getting near your goal. I have a double soft spot since most of my family is out in that area (I am in Chicago but my dad's side of the family is in Tacoma/Seattle/Olympia area) and second the walk is on my mom's birthday - so it is double awesome!!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJune 17, 2009 at 11:18 AM
Ms Charlene Butterbean-counter was right on the mark.. Such a smart kiteh.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJune 17, 2009 at 12:57 PM
I see that even Inez and Edward Davenport have donated. It must've taken lots of scrimping, and forsaking kitty treats to save up!ReplyDelete
Yay Davenports!
- Annie RJune 17, 2009 at 1:29 PM
Aim high! Looks like Charlene set the bar and everyone is meeting the challenge. What an adorable picture, the kitties are especially Darling today ;o)ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJune 17, 2009 at 1:32 PM
awwwww...that is soooo cute of cute.. - JeanneReplyDelete
Times a squillion.
- AnonymousJune 17, 2009 at 3:29 PM
Yay, good thing!ReplyDelete
Wow. That scratcher/toy only holds one of my kitties. That really shows how itty bitty those darlings are!ReplyDelete
And so cute.
You made it! Congratulations!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJune 17, 2009 at 8:53 PM
YAY!! You've made your squillion...ReplyDelete
Charlene Butterbean-counter is a genius. :)
- AnonymousJune 18, 2009 at 3:09 AM
Do you know how hard it is to not want to take them all??? I would pile them on top of me and just die from bliss!!!ReplyDelete
Hugs to all the babies!!
Not that G, the other G.
Selma's little sweet face..Francine too.ReplyDelete
Congrats on hitting the goal!
Charlene sure knows how to set those goals for us furrless hoomans!ReplyDelete


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People suffering from acne scars who have tried to solve their problem with over the counter skin care products may feel as if their damaged skin can never be repaired. This isn't true. Edelstein Cosmetic can help to reduce or eliminate even the most severe scars, restoring the clarity and health of your complexion as it was before you had acne.
The best way to fight against acne scars is to prevent them from forming in the first place. One of the best ways to accomplish this is to properly treat all active acne without unnecessarily damaging the skin tissue or spreading infection in the process. Pimples should not be extracted at home, but should be handled by a qualified medical aesthetician who can remove them without hurting the skin or allowing harmful bacteria to spread. It's essential that pimples (especially deep, cystic blemishes) are treated before they have a chance to infect the surrounding tissue.
What you can do:
Preparing the skin for scar removal begins by treating any active acne. Why is the first step of any scar treatment regimen stopping acne breakouts? Active blemishes may lead to further marks even as existing ones are healed, making it essential that the root cause behind scarring is addressed before moving forward. After this issue has been resolved, our Head Medical Aesthetician will carefully assesses your skin before deciding on the best course of action. Our trained skin care specialist will be able to recommend the right treatment course for a patient's specific needs. This level of guidance helps in avoiding the common problems associated with using products that may be too strong for delicate or actively healing skin. Once acne is under control, patients may begin to take advantage of treatment options that reduce scarring.
Learn how to get rid of acne scars. Call (416) 256-5614.
Consult With Us
Before undergoing any Plastic Surgery Canada procedure, consult an experienced and reputable Plastic Surgeon. Book your consultation at our plastic surgery clinic in Toronto by calling (416) 256-4194 or by clicking here.Contact Us


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LED Power Wire
Up to 300 Watt
2 Sizes Available:
0.75mm Dia.
130 length metre / roll
1mm Dia.
100 length metre / roll
Disclaimer *All sizes are quoted are approximate. Product images are intended to only illustrate the closest accuracy of the actual product. While all effort is made to ensure the images are as accurate as possible, product specifications may change without any notice.
*Copyright @ FuTech®.


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Train the Staff
Training is everything
It is not enough to simply have appropriate policies, rules, and training for the use of surveillance tools. These must be accompanied by a comprehensive program for training anyone with access to the tools or information collected from the tools. These training programs must be reinforced by routine audits and mechanisms for disciplining infractions.
Employees should walk away from this training with a firm understanding of the risks of government surveillance and specific protections that are in place.
Training programs also should inform participants on how to raise concerns about misuse and civil liberties violations, and provide clear avenues for whistleblowing. Participants should be encouraged to provide feedback on the policies and procedures and on the training programs. Training should also inform participants of the records and audit materials that must be generated by any use of the surveillance tools or by access to surveillance data.
Training must emphasize civil liberties concerns. The risks of surveillance be outlined so as to highlight the importance of cautious and restrained use. In addition, training should seek to ensure that discrimination and bias do not factor into surveillance decisions.
All participants should be informed of the consequences of violating policies and procedures for surveillance.
- Is the technology or surveillance program accompanied by training for applicable employees?
- Does the training emphasize privacy concerns and civil liberties risks?
- Does the training address record-keeping and audit requirements?
- Does the training provide participants with information on reporting issues and whistle blowing?
- Does the training address discrimination and bias?
Examples of Use
- Location::San Francisco, CAACLU exposes biases in surveillance training procedures
The FBI has maintained a number of training materials related to intelligence and surveillance that epitomize failure to implement meaningful training that protects civil liberties. FOIA litigation brought by the ACLU of Northern California, the Asian Law Caucus, and the San Francisco Bay Guardian uncovered factually inaccurate FBI training materials that demonstrated strong ethnic and religious bias and encouraged discriminatory surveillance.


text:
Hours before the House antitrust subcommittee hearing featuring testimony from the CEOs of Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Apple, a blog post from TikTok chief executive Kevin Mayer proclaimed that all platforms should "disclose their algorithms, moderation policies, and data flows to regulators" and challenged the app's competitors to follow suit. This is quite a call to arms — and one that was obviously carefully timed.
In the post, Mayer makes a broad call for competition between social media companies and argued that TikTok could be a positive force for the United States, one that would protect its user data, with or without new regulation. And along those lines, Mayer also promised that TikTok would be more upfront about its algorithms and content moderation. Ultimately, he said, TikTok would be a model for how other social media companies could be more transparent, a commitment that echoed recent calls for TikTok to become this very example.
The post comes as TikTok faces concerns over potential security risks related to its parent company, the Beijing-based company ByteDance. Earlier this month, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo even threatened to "ban" TikTok, though it's unlikely the Trump administration could actually do this on its own; Joe Biden's presidential campaign also recently instructed its staff to delete the TikTok app from their phones. Meanwhile, assessing the true risk of the app remains difficult. As Shira Ovide wrote at the New York Times earlier this month, "politicians, like American tech bosses, engage in fear-mongering about Chinese tech so often that it's hard to know when to believe them."
TikTok, for its part, says that no foreign government plays a role in its moderation.
"Our content and moderation policies are led by our US-based team in California and aren't influenced by any foreign government," a TikTok spokesperson told Recode. "At our virtual Transparency and Accountability Center, guests can see firsthand how we moderate and recommend content."
After all, other US social media companies stand to benefit from action against TikTok. Facebook is currently preparing to fully launch a music-based product called Reels with Instagram, and is even reportedly recruiting TikTok stars to promote the competing service. In his recent blog post, Mayer accused Facebook of making attacks "disguised as patriotism and designed to put an end to our very presence in the US." Meanwhile, influencers who've gained massive audiences on the app are being wooed away to other rivals, like the Los Angeles-based music app Triller.
But now, in an apparent effort to allay concerns over its platform, TikTok is on a quest to prove that it is transparent about how it handles content. With Mayer's request for all social media companies to disclose their algorithms, it's obvious that TikTok wants to appear more transparent than Facebook and others. However, it's not entirely clear that these efforts will address the many other concerns about TikTok.
"TikTok has become the latest target, but we are not the enemy," Mayer wrote in the post. "The bigger move is to use this moment to drive deeper conversations around algorithms, transparency, and content moderation, and to develop stricter rules of the road."
As evidence, Meyer pointed to the TikTok Transparency Center, which was announced back in March. The center in Los Angeles will purportedly provide some experts "the actual code that drives our algorithms," Mayer said, and also let them observe content moderation in real time. Mayer argues that this new initiative puts TikTok "a step ahead of the industry." That announcement was followed by a blog post in June that explained some of the basics of the company's For You algorithm, which powers one of the popular parts of the TikTok app. The company is also opening another transparency center in Washington, DC, and hiring for positions meant to interface with the federal government.
It's unclear if TikTok's recent efforts will be enough to quell apprehensions about the platform. Several experts told Recode that they questioned whether TikTok's pledge to disclose how its algorithms work will actually reveal much meaningful information, such as what type of content the company's system chooses to amplify.
"Revealing the code is helpful and certainly more than other platforms have shared in the past," said Kelley Cotter, a postdoctoral scholar at Arizona State University who studies public understanding of algorithms. "Revealing the code will not, in itself, tell us if the algorithm has an influence."
Others wondered if TikTok can reveal details about its algorithms without exposing the personal data of its users. According to Nicolas Kayser-Bril, a journalist at AlgorithmWatch, the machine learning algorithms used by social media platforms are dependent not only on the code that operates them but also on training data that can influence how they operate. "In the case of TikTok's algorithms, the training data probably contains highly personal information from users, which should not be revealed as such, even to researchers," said Kayser-Bril.
Alongside its push for greater transparency around its algorithms and content moderation, TikTok is also working hard to distance itself from ByteDance and the Chinese government. TikTok made this case in a recent statement to Vox:
Protecting the privacy of our users' data is of the utmost importance to TikTok. There's a lot of misinformation about TikTok right now. The reality is that the TikTok app isn't even available in China. TikTok is led by an American CEO, with hundreds of employees and key leaders across safety, security, product, and public policy in the U.S. TikTok stores U.S. user data in Virginia, with backup in Singapore, and we work to minimize access across regions. We welcome conversations with lawmakers who want to understand our company.
However, not everyone is convinced that this new push toward transparency is enough to assuage worries that TikTok might be used as a tool for foreign influence. After all, regardless of how much we know about how TikTok recommends content, the company is also collecting massive amounts of data about millions of users in an effort, some say, to make its AI even more powerful for a variety of purposes.
"From a national security perspective, there's concern around using that data for espionage purposes, blackmail," Kiersten Todt, a scholar at the University of Pittsburgh Institute for Cyber Law, told Recode. "Artificial intelligence is only as good as the data that goes into it. So if the Chinese government has the most data of any other country in the world, then what it can produce from an AI perspective could potentially give it a tremendous advantage."
But regardless of the true security risks of TikTok, fear over the app may have prompted a new standard for what it means for a social media company to be transparent with its users. If TikTok lives up to its transparency promises, other social media companies may very well feel pressure to follow suit.
Open Sourced is made possible by Omidyar Network. All Open Sourced content is editorially independent and produced by our journalists.


text:
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|Mauritania Main Page · World Factbook Main Page
Independent from France in 1960, Mauritania annexed the southern third of the former Spanish Sahara (now Western Sahara) in 1976 but relinquished it after three years of raids by the Polisario guerrilla front seeking independence for the territory. Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA seized power in a coup in 1984 and ruled Mauritania with a heavy hand for more than two decades. A series of presidential elections that he held were widely seen as flawed. A bloodless coup in August 2005 deposed President TAYA and ushered in a military council that oversaw a transition to democratic rule. Independent candidate Sidi Ould Cheikh ABDALLAHI was inaugurated in April 2007 as Mauritania's first freely and fairly elected president. His term ended prematurely in August 2008 when a military junta led by General Mohamed Ould Abdel... See More
|Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Senegal and Western Sahara
Geographic Coordinates:
|Total: 1,030,700 sq km
Land: 1,030,700 sq km
Water: 0 sq km
Area - Comparative:
|Slightly larger than three times the size of New Mexico
Land Boundaries:
|Total: 5,074 km
Border countries: Algeria 463 km, Mali 2,237 km, Senegal 813 km, Western Sahara 1,561 km
|754 km (Rank: 92)
Maritime Claims:
|Territorial sea: 12 nm
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
|Desert; constantly hot, dry, dusty
|Mostly barren, flat plains of the Sahara; some central hills
Elevation Extremes:
|Lowest point: Sebkhet Te-n-Dghamcha -5 m
Highest point: Kediet Ijill 915 m
Natural Resources:
|Iron ore, gypsum, copper, phosphate, diamonds, gold, oil, fish
Land Use:
|Arable land: 0.2%
Permanent crops: 0.01%
Other: 99.79% (2005)
Irrigated Land:
|450 sq km (2008)
Total Renewable Water Resources:
|11.4 cu km (1997)
Freshwater Withdrawal:
|Total: 1.7 cu km/yr (9%/3%/88%)
Per capita: 554 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural Hazards:
|Hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind blows primarily in March and April; periodic droughts
Environment - Current Issues:
|Overgrazing, deforestation, and soil erosion aggravated by drought are contributing to desertification; limited natural freshwater resources away from the Senegal, which is the only perennial river; locust infestation
Environment - International Agreements:
|Party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
Signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - Note:
|Most of the population is concentrated in the cities of Nouakchott and Nouadhibou and along the Senegal River in the southern part of the country
|Noun: Mauritanian(s)
Adjective: Mauritanian
Ethnic Groups:
|Mixed Moor/black 40%, Moor 30%, black 30%
|Arabic (official and national), Pulaar, Soninke, Wolof (all national languages), French, Hassaniya
|Muslim (official) 100%
|3,281,634 (July 2011 est.)
Age Structure:
|0-14 years: 40.4% (male 665,314/female 660,352)
15-64 years: 56.2% (male 866,859/female 975,821)
65 years and over: 3.5% (male 48,075/female 65,213) (2011 est.)
Median Age:
|Total: 19.5 years
Male: 18.6 years
Female: 20.4 years (2011 est.)
Population Growth Rate:
|2.349% (2011 est.)
Birth Rate:
|33.23 births/1,000 population (2011 est.)
Death Rate:
|8.83 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.)
Net Migration Rate:
|-0.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.)
|Urban population: 41% of total population (2010)
Rate of urbanization: 2.9% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
Major Cities - Population:
|NOUAKCHOTT (capital) 709,000 (2009)
Sex Ratio:
|At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.89 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2011 est.)
Maternal Mortality Rate:
|550 deaths/100,000 live births (2008)
Infant Mortality Rate:
|Total: 60.42 deaths/1,000 live births
Male: 65.55 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 55.13 deaths/1,000 live births (2011 est.)
Life Expectancy At Birth:
|Total population: 61.14 years
Male: 58.94 years
Female: 63.41 years (2011 est.)
Total Fertility Rate:
|4.3 children born/woman (2011 est.)
Health Expenditures:
|5.7% of GDP (2009)
Physicians Density:
|0.13 physicians/1,000 population (2009)
Hospital Bed Density:
|0.4 beds/1,000 population (2006)
Drinking Water Source:
|Urban: 52% of population
Rural: 47% of population
Total: 49% of population
Urban: 48% of population
Rural: 53% of population
Total: 51% of population (2008)
Sanitation Facility Access:
|Urban: 50% of population
Rural: 9% of population
Total: 26% of population
Urban: 50% of population
Rural: 91% of population
Total: 74% of population (2008)
HIV/AIDS - Adult Prevalence Rate:
|0.7% (2009 est.)
HIV/AIDS - People Living With HIV/AIDS:
|14,000 (2009 est.)
HIV/AIDS - Deaths:
|Fewer than 1,000 (2009 est.)
Major Infectious Diseases:
|Degree of risk: high
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
Vectorborne diseases: malaria and Rift Valley fever
Respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis
Animal contact disease: rabies (2009)
Children Under 5 - Underweight:
|16.7% (2008)
Education Expenditures:
|4.4% of GDP (2008)
|Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 51.2%
Male: 59.5%
Female: 43.4% (2000 census)
Average Years of Schooling:
|Total: 8 years
Male: 8 years
Female: 8 years (2007)
Country Name:
|Conventional long form: Islamic Republic of Mauritania
Conventional short form: Mauritania
Local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Islamiyah al Muritaniyah
Local short form: Muritaniyah
Government Type:
|Military junta
|Name: Nouakchott
Geographic coordinates: 18 07 N, 16 02 W
Time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative Divisions:
|13 regions (wilayas, singular - wilaya); Adrar, Assaba, Brakna, Dakhlet Nouadhibou, Gorgol, Guidimaka, Hodh ech Chargui, Hodh El Gharbi, Inchiri, Nouakchott, Tagant, Tiris Zemmour, Trarza
|28 November 1960 (from France)
National Holiday:
|Independence Day, 28 November (1960)
|July 12, 1991
Legal System:
|Mixed legal system of Islamic and French civil law
International Law Organization Participation:
|Has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
|18 years of age; universal
Executive Branch:
|Chief of state: President Mohamed Ould Abdel AZIZ (since 5 August 2009); note - AZIZ, who deposed democratically elected President Sidi Ould Cheikh ABDELLAHI in a coup and installed himself as President of the High State Council on 6 August 2008, retired from the military and stepped down from the Presidency in April 2009 to run for president; he was elected president in an election held on 18 July 2009
Head of government: Prime Minister Moulaye Ould Mohamed LAGHDAF (since 14 August 2008)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers
Elections: following the August 2008 coup, the High State Council planned to hold a new presidential election in June 2009; the election was subsequently rescheduled to 18 July 2009 following the Dakar Accords, which brought Mauritania back to constitutional rule; under Mauritania's constitution, the president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held on 18 July 2009 (next to be held by 2014)
Election results: percent of vote - Mohamed Ould Abdel AZIZ 52.6%, Messaoud Ould BOULKHEIR 16.3%, Ahmed Ould DADDAH 13.7%, other 17.4%
Legislative Branch:
|Bicameral legislature consists of the Senate or Majlis al-Shuyukh (56 seats; 53 members elected by municipal leaders and 3 members elected for Mauritanians abroad to serve six-year terms; a portion of seats up for election every two years) and the National Assembly or Al Jamiya Al Wataniya (95 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
Elections: Senate - last held in November 2009; National Assembly - last held on 19 November and 3 December 2006 (election scheduled for 16 October 2011 postponed)
Election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - CPM (Coalition of Majority Parties) 45, COD 7, RNRD-TAWASSOUL 4; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - CPM 63 (UPR 50, PRDR 7, UDP 3, HATEM-PMUC 2, RD 1), COD 27 (RFD 9, UFP 6, APP 6, PNDD-ADIL 6), RNRD-TAWASSOUL 4, FP 1
Judicial Branch:
|Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Court of Appeals; lower courts
Political Parties and Leaders:
|Alternative or El-Badil [Mohamed Yahdhi Ould MOCTAR HACEN]; Coalition of Majority Parties or CPM (parties supporting the regime including PRDR, UPR, RD, HATEM-PMUC, UCD); Coordination of Democratic Opposition or COD (coalition of opposition political parties opposed to the government including APP, RFD, UFP, PNDD-ADIL, Alternative or El-Badil); Democratic Renewal or RD [Moustapha Ould ABDEIDARRAHMANE]; Mauritanian Party for Unity and Change or HATEM-PMUC [Saleh Ould HANENA]; National Pact for Democracy and Development or PNDD-ADIL [Yahya Ould Ahmed Ould WAGHEF] (independents formerly supporting President Abdellahi); National Rally for Freedom, Democracy and Equality or RNDLE; National Rally for Reform and Development or RNRD-TAWASSOUL [Mohamed Jamil MANSOUR] (moderate Islamists); Popular Front or FP [Ch'bih Ould CHEIKH MALAININE]; Popular Progressive Alliance or APP [Messoud Ould BOULKHEIR]; Rally of Democratic Forces or RFD [Ahmed Ould DADDAH]; Republican Party for Democracy and Renewal or PRDR [Mintata Mint HDEID]; Socialist and Democratic Unity Party or PUDS; Union for Democracy and Progress or UDP [Naha Mint MOUKNASS]; Union for the Republic or UPR; Union of Democratic Center or UCD [Cheikh Sid'Ahmed Ould BABA]; Union of the Forces for Progress or UFP [Mohamed Ould MAOULOUD];
Political Pressure Groups and Leaders:
|General Confederation of Mauritanian Workers or CGTM [Abdallahi Ould MOHAMED, secretary general]; Independent Confederation of Mauritanian Workers or CLTM [Samory Ould BEYE]; Mauritanian Workers Union or UTM [Mohamed Ely Ould BRAHIM, secretary general]
Other: Arab nationalists; Ba'thists; Islamists
International Organization Participation:
|ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic Representation in the US:
|Chief of mission: Ambassador Mohamed Lemine El HAYCEN
Chancery: 2129 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008
Telephone: [1] (202) 232-5700 through 5701
Diplomatic Representation From the US:
|Chief of mission: Ambassador Jo Ellen POWELL
Embassy: 288 Rue Abdallaye, Rue 42-100 (between Presidency building and Spanish Embassy), Nouakchott
Mailing address: BP 222, Nouakchott
Telephone: [222] 525-2660 through 2663
Flag Description:
|Green with a yellow five-pointed star above a yellow, horizontal crescent; the closed side of the crescent is down; the crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam; the gold color stands for the sands of the Sahara
National Symbols:
|Star and crescent
National Anthem:
|Name: "Hymne National de la Republique Islamique de Mauritanie" (National Anthem of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania)
Lyrics/music: Baba Ould CHEIKH/traditional, arranged by Tolia NIKIPROWETZKY
Note: adopted 1960; the unique rhythm of the Mauritanian anthem makes it particularly challenging to sing
Economy - Overview:
|Half the population still depends on agriculture and livestock for a livelihood, even though many of the nomads and subsistence farmers were forced into the cities by recurrent droughts in the 1970s and 1980s. Mauritania has extensive deposits of iron ore, which account for nearly 40% of total exports. The nation's coastal waters are among the richest fishing areas in the world but overexploitation by foreigners threatens this key source of revenue. The country's first deepwater port opened near Nouakchott in 1986. Before 2000, drought and economic mismanagement resulted in a buildup of foreign debt. In February 2000, Mauritania qualified for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative and nearly all of its foreign debt has since been forgiven. A new investment code approved in December 2001 improved the opportunities for direct foreign investment. Mauritania and the IMF agreed to a three-year Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) arrangement in 2006. Mauritania made satisfactory progress, but the IMF, World Bank, and other international actors suspended assistance and investment in Mauritania after the August 2008 coup. Since the presidential election in July 2009, donors have resumed assistance. Oil prospects, while initially promising, have largely failed to materialize, and the government has placed a priority on attracting private investment to spur economic growth. The Government also emphasizes reduction of poverty, improvement of health and education, and privatization of the economy.
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity):
|$6.655 billion (2010 est.)
$6.358 billion (2009 est.)
$6.437 billion (2008 est.)
Note: data are in 2010 US dollars
GDP (Official Exchange Rate):
|$3.799 billion (2010 est.)
GDP - Real Growth Rate:
|4.7% (2010 est.)
-1.2% (2009 est.)
3.5% (2008 est.)
GDP - Per Capita (PPP):
|$2,100 (2010 est.)
$2,000 (2009 est.)
$2,100 (2008 est.)
Note: data are in 2010 US dollars
GDP - Composition By Sector:
|Agriculture: 20%
Industry: 36.3%
Services: 43.7% (2010 est.)
Labor Force:
|1.318 million (2007)
Labor Force - By Occupation:
|Agriculture: 50%
Industry: 10%
Services: 40% (2001 est.)
Unemployment Rate:
|30% (2008 est.)
20% (2004 est.)
Population Below Poverty Line:
|40% (2004 est.)
Household Income / Consumption By Share:
|Lowest 10%: 2.5%
Highest 10%: 29.5% (2000)
Distribution of Family Income - Gini Index:
|39 (2000)
37.3 (1995)
Investment (Gross Fixed):
|28.6% of GDP (2010 est.)
|Revenues: $934.4 million
Expenditures: $1.078 billion (2010 est.)
Taxes and Other Revenues:
|24.6% of GDP (2010 est.)
Budget Surplus / Deficit:
|-3.8% of GDP (2010 est.)
Inflation Rate (Consumer Prices):
|6.3% (2010 est.)
2% (2009 est.)
Central Bank Discount Rate:
|9% (31 December 2009 est.)
12% (31 December 2007)
Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate:
|17% (31 December 2010 est.)
19.5% (31 December 2009 est.)
Stock of Narrow Money:
|$940.5 million (31 December 2010 est.)
$886 million (31 December 2009 est.)
Stock of Broad Money:
|$1.137 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
$1.061 billion 31 December 2009 est.)
Stock of Domestic Credit:
|$1.718 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
$1.603 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Agriculture - Products:
|Dates, millet, sorghum, rice, corn; cattle, sheep
|Fish processing, oil production, mining of iron ore, gold, and copper
Note: gypsum deposits have never been exploited
Industrial Production Growth Rate:
|2% (2000 est.)
Electricity - Production:
|547 million kWh (2008 est.)
Electricity - Production By Source:
|Fossil fuel: 85.9%
Hydro: 14.1%
Nuclear: 0%
Other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - Consumption:
|508.7 million kWh (2008 est.)
Electricity - Exports:
|0 kWh (2009 est.)
Electricity - Imports:
|0 kWh (2009 est.)
Oil - Production:
|11,640 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Oil - Consumption:
|20,000 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Oil - Exports:
|10,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Oil - Imports:
|17,750 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Oil - Proven Reserves:
|100 million bbl (1 January 2011 est.)
Natural Gas - Production:
|0 cu m (2009 est.)
Natural Gas - Consumption:
|0 cu m (2009 est.)
Natural Gas - Exports:
|0 cu m (2009 est.)
Natural Gas - Imports:
|0 cu m (2009 est.)
Natural Gas - Proven Reserves:
|28.32 billion cu m (1 January 2011 est.)
Current Account Balance:
|-$378.7 million (2010 est.)
-$412.7 million (2009 est.)
|$2.04 billion (2010 est.)
$1.37 billion (2009 est.)
Exports - Commodities:
|Iron ore, fish and fish products, gold, copper, petroleum
Exports - Partners:
|China 41.5%, France 9%, Cote dIvoire 6.3%, Italy 6.2%, Japan 6%, Spain 5.6%, Netherlands 4% (2010)
|$2.029 billion (2010 est.)
$1.45 billion (2009 est.)
Imports - Commodities:
|Machinery and equipment, petroleum products, capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods
Imports - Partners:
|China 12.3%, France 11.4%, Netherlands 10.8%, Belgium 5.7%, Brazil 4.6%, Spain 4.5% (2010)
Reserves of Foreign Exchange and Gold:
|$280 million (31 December 2010 est.)
$238 million (31 December 2009 est.)
Debt - External:
|$2.344 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
$2.03 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Exchange Rates:
|Convert Mauritania Ougulya to Any Currency
Ouguiyas (MRO) per US dollar -
Telephones - Main Lines In Use:
|71,600 (2010)
Telephones - Cellular:
|2.745 million (2010)
Telephone System:
|General assessment: limited system of cable and open-wire lines, minor microwave radio relay links, and radiotelephone communications stations; mobile-cellular services expanding rapidly
Domestic: Mauritel, the national telecommunications company, was privatized in 2001 but remains the monopoly provider of fixed-line services; fixed-line teledensity 2 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular network coverage extends mainly to urban areas with a teledensity of 70 per 100 persons; mostly cable and open-wire lines; a domestic satellite telecommunications system links Nouakchott with regional capitals
International: country code - 222; satellite earth stations - 3 (1 Intelsat - Atlantic Ocean, 2 Arabsat); fiber-optic and Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) cables for Internet access (2008)
Broadcast Media:
|Broadcast media state-owned; 1 state-run TV and 1 state-run radio network; Television de Mauritanie, the state-run TV station, has an additional 6 regional TV stations that provide local programming (2008)
Radio Broadcast Stations:
|AM 1, FM 14, shortwave 1 (2001)
Television Broadcast Stations:
|1 (2002)
Internet Country Code:
Internet Hosts:
|23 (2010)
Internet Users:
|75,000 (2009)
|28 (2010)
Airports - With Paved Runways:
|Total: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2010)
Airports - With Unpaved Runways:
|Total: 19
1,524 to 2,437 m: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 8
Under 914 m: 2 (2010)
|728 km
Standard gauge: 728 km 1.435-m gauge (2010)
|Total: 11,066 km
Paved: 2,966 km
Unpaved: 8,100 km (2006)
|(some is navigation possible on the Senegal River) (2010)
Ports and Terminals:
|Nouadhibou, Nouakchott
Military Branches:
|Mauritanian Armed Forces: Army, Mauritanian Navy (Marine Mauritanienne; includes naval infantry), Islamic Air Force of Mauritania (Force Aerienne Islamique de Mauritanie, FAIM) (2011)
Military Service Age and Obligation:
|18 years of age for obligatory consription of all males; conscript service obligation - 2 years; majority of servicemen believed to be volunteers; service in Air Force and Navy is voluntary (2011)
Manpower Available For Military Service:
|Males age 16-49: 718,713
Females age 16-49: 804,622 (2010 est.)
Manpower Fit For Military Service:
|Males age 16-49: 480,042
Females age 16-49: 581,473 (2010 est.)
Manpower Reaching Militarily Significant Age Annually:
|Male: 36,116
Female: 36,826 (2010 est.)
Military Expenditures:
|5.5% of GDP (2006)
Disputes - International:
|Mauritanian claims to Western Sahara remain dormant
Trafficking in Persons:
|Current situation: Mauritania is a source and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to conditions of forced labor and sex trafficking; women, men, and children from traditional slave castes are subjected to slavery-related practices rooted in ancestral master-slave relationships; Mauritanian boys called talibe are trafficked within the country by religious teachers for forced begging; Mauritanian girls, as well as girls from Mali, Senegal, The Gambia, and other West African countries, are forced into domestic servitude; Mauritanian women and girls are forced into prostitution in the country or transported to countries in the Middle East for the same purpose
Tier rating: Tier 3 - the Government of Mauritania does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so; the government acknowledges that some forms of trafficking are a problem in the country, and during the year, it created a multi-stakeholder body to lead its efforts related to child trafficking, child smuggling, and child labor; hereditary slavery was officially outlawed in 2007, but many officials do not recognize that the practice continues despite its prohibition; the government did not take proactive measures to identify trafficking victims or provide them with protective services, and it continued to jail individuals in prostitution and detain illegal migrants without screening either population for trafficking victims (2011)
|Mauritania Main Page
|World Factbook Main Page
(UM) Mauritania Ougulya (MRO)
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