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Expert's Rating
- Tons of action
- Unique skill-development system for characters
- Continuous graphics engine keeps you playing rather than watching the time
- Hacking and slashing get repetitious
- No wide-screen support
- No cross-platform multiplayer support
Our Verdict
The measure of a game's action is sometimes referredto as its twitch factor, the frantic movement of your digits on a controller. Whether you're trying to stay alive or just attempting to beat the clock, twitch is what gets your heart pounding and mind racing. This month I look at several different takes on the action genre — a modern relative of Dungeons and Dragons, a 3-D romp with a bouncing orb, an homage to top-down- scrolling games of yore, and three variations on classic puzzle games. One thing they have in common is some fast and furious play.
Dungeon Fun
MacSoft's Dungeon Siege combines the hack-and-slash action of Diablo with the real-time strategy of Myth to create what is easily one of the most compelling and dangerously addictive games I've played all year.
Let me emphasize that this is not a role-playing game — at least not in any conventional sense. Dungeon Siege is first and foremost a combat-action game that includes role-playing elements, such as a fantasy-based story line and the ability to improve character attributes and control inventory. If you're hoping for a Baldur's Gate successor, you'll have to look elsewhere, but this game does provide an abundance of dungeon-crawling battles, a beautiful 3-D world, and enough seamless game play to keep you entertained for hours.
When you create basic characters in Dungeon Siege, you don't assign them fixed classifications, such as warrior, archer, or mage, right off the bat. Instead, your heroes adopt characteristics over time, depending on which skills you emphasize when you send them into combat. There are four major skill groups: Melee (hand-to-hand combat), Ranged Combat (firing bows and arrows), Combat Magic, and Nature Magic. Experience builds the characters' skills.
In a single-player game, you can amass a party of as many as eight characters; each will emphasize different skills, depending partly on how much you can afford to pay and equip your crew, and partly on the characters' predilections. Real-time strategy comes into play as you move further into the story and crank up the game's difficulty. You'll need to figure out how your party will approach new foes and what each member will do. You can group them, issue formation commands, and even provide each member of your party with unique offensive and defensive strategies. For example, my two warriors with tremendous strength and powerful enchanted armor would usually rush headlong into battle, striking down anything that moved, while my archer and combat mage — powerful in their own right but more susceptible to injury in hand-to-hand combat — would hang back to fire at enemies from a distance and protect the pack mule. (His name is Midnight, by the way.)
Dungeon Siege also supports multiplayer gaming — as long as everyone is on a Mac, that is. The PC version relies on DirectPlay, a Windows-only technology. MacSoft, on the other hand, includes support for GameRanger, the free Mac-only online game-matching service.
One of Dungeon Siege's most impressive features is its graphics engine, which loads levels continuously during game play, so you won't have to wait for new screens every few minutes. In fact, aside from a few interstitial sequences containing prerendered movie scenes, you can play the entire game from start to finish without ever seeing a load-level meter. It's remarkable technology, and it helps to maintain a sense of continuity. I've played for five or six hours at a stretch without any concept of how much time had passed. The endless parade of bad things to kill can get a bit tiresome after a while, but it's also very challenging and very fun.
Dungeon Siege offers reasonably stable performance and lets you save games at any point, in case you have to end a session abruptly. It's also extensively configurable. One currently missing feature is native support for the wide-screen format, which is becoming increasingly popular in Apple's product line. And that's a shame; the game's 1,024-by-768 limitation leaves nasty black margins on either side of a Cinema Display.
The Bottom Line Dungeon Siege is an almost perfect, action-packed dungeon crawl that will appeal to fans of Diablo and to real-time strategy gamers.
Great Balls of Fire
Following up on its recent Marble Blast offering (; The Game Room, June 2003), GarageGames has released Orbz 2.0 for the Mac, another 3-D-action title that places Mac users in the wake of a speeding ball. You may wonder whether a theme is developing. But don't worry about the similarities — these games cover very different territory.
In Orbz, you use your mouse to aim and shoot an orb through one of more than a dozen 3-D environments. These colorful and fanciful settings range from a bubbling spring to a construction site and a haunted graveyard. You pick up points along the way by bashing your orb into stars. Collect them all before time runs out, and you'll earn bonuses — but that's easier said than done.
Although Orbz is incredibly simple to learn — just aim and shoot — the game takes some skill to master. The Orbz world is subject to the laws of physics, so your orb arcs, bounces, and rolls just as you'd expect it to in the real world. This means that you sometimes have to aim above your target, depending on its distance and the kind of surface you're firing from. You can occasionally find power-ups that help you along the way by increasing the strength of your shot, raising the value of stars, defending you against other players, and more.
Version 2.0 is Orbz's debut on the Mac, and it was definitely worth the wait. The game has incorporated numerous changes since its initial release, including the addition of a single-player mode. In that solo mode, you work through 35 progressively more challenging levels. High scores will earn you bronze, silver, or gold medals and unlock new orbs to play. The game can even register your high scores on a ladder-ranking service if you wish.
In multiplayer mode, you can take on as many as nine opponents, either on a LAN or on the Internet. You can decide whether to face off against computer-controlled Botz, which vary in skill level, or other human players. You can host your own game, join someone else's, or play on the developer's common-access servers. The simple and colorful graphics are reminiscent of console games, and they're very effective within the context of Orbz. Sound effects are likewise sparse but effective — you'll hear a basketball-like thunk when your orb bounces against walls or other obstructions. And the whistle of a flying orb intensifies and fades just as you'd expect.
Like Marble Blast, Orbz 2.0 is available only for online purchase and download, so don't go to your favorite store looking for an Orbz box.
The Bottom Line Orbz's simple mechanics, nonviolent play, and cartoonish graphics make it a sure hit for families who want something everyone can play and find challenging.
Who's the Boss?
You won't find a lot of new top-down-scrolling arcade games these days — and that's a shame. Done right, scrollers can provide some furious action as you face off against a seemingly endless onslaught of foes emerging from the top of your screen. One of the things that makes these games so appealing is the boss level, where you take on a single massive foe — a huge space battleship or a giant monster with writhing tentacles, for example. Armed to the teeth with a dazzling array of firepower, this mammoth nemesis hammers you with an almost incalculable cloud of projectiles. (This is generally when you start pumping in quarters like mad.)
Game developer Kenta Cho distilled the essence of the boss level into an abstract, hypnotic, and downright addictive game called rRootage. And thanks to the efforts of Adam Green, it's now available as a free download for OS X.
rRootage features a unique but easily navigable interface and a vector-style graphics engine that, combined with a pulsing techno soundtrack, reminds me of another retro Mac game I adore, Battle-Girl. To play rRootage, you choose one of four game modes — each imbues your craft with special powers, such as bombs that nullify incoming bullets, and shields that deflect enemy fire — and then select a difficulty level. The constantly scrolling grid underneath your vessel gives you a clear sense of rushing over a vast terrain as you blast your enemy to smithereens. A convenient meter helps you track just how close your enemy is to final annihilation, while other status counters display your score, level, and number of remaining lives, as well as any applicable attributes of your ship. Flashing particle disintegration and showy lighting effects remind you that this is an OpenGL-based game.
rRootage is a heck of a twist on the venerable but sadly neglected genre of top-down scrollers. Aside from a few holdouts (such as Ambrosia Software's Deimos Rising and GameCube's Ikaruga), few new scrollers have made their way to the market in recent years, so rRootage is a welcome breath of fresh air.
Although rRootage is still a work in progress — the game is currently at version 0.22 — it feels fairly complete. It offers support for joysticks and multiple resolutions, and it can play in full-screen or windowed mode. Noticeably lacking, however, is any Mac-specific documentation or technical support. Still, this is a solid conversion and lots of fun to play.
The Bottom Line rRootage won't appeal to everyone. But if you're a true fan of the genre, this is an instant classic that deserves a special place in your collection.
Where's Elvis?
You won't find any truly original concepts in Power Chips & High Roller, a new pair of action puzzle games by Mumbo Jumbo (sold through MacPlay), but the titles do offer top-notch production value, excellent soundtracks, and some high-paced action.
Power Chips adds some Vegas flash to the classic action puzzle Collapse. You start with a green felt table and a horizontal row of betting chips in various denominations. As new rows fall from the top of the screen, your job is to cash out groups of three or more chips with the same denomination quickly enough to keep the ever-growing pile from filling your screen and ending the game. Bonus chips can dissolve rows, columns, neighboring blocks, and more. For an extra challenge, you can switch to Time Attack mode, which pits you against the clock.
The idea may not be new, but the game is fun and addictive. Its jazzy soundtrack is one of the coolest I've heard this year. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a way to make the chips fall faster without starting a new game at a higher level.
The second game, High Roller, adapts the Bejeweled concept to a 1950s-era muscle-car motif. In this case, your playing field — set into the car's dashboard — remains full as you match groups of three or more similarly colored translucent dice to earn points. Bonus dice abound. High Roller also has a Time Attack mode, but unlike the one in Power Chips, it's ridiculously difficult unless you have lightning-fast reflexes.
What separates Power Chips and High Roller from the plethora of puzzle games on the market today is high production quality. Both have great (if repetitive) soundtracks and enough dazzle, flashing lights, and sound effects to keep you interested. High Roller's translucent, gleaming dice look good enough to lick, and the sound of those Power Chips cashing out is oh so satisfying.
The Bottom Line If your game collection already includes Bejeweled and Super Collapse, you have no need for Power Chips & High Roller. However, if you're intrigued by action puzzles but have avoided buying one because the available puzzles just didn't offer enough eye candy to hold your interest, this disc might be worth a look.
A Work of Art
Shareware developer Dracosoft's latest creation, Cube It, offers yet another take on the classic Collapse. This time, the action takes place within primary-colored squares reminiscent of Piet Mondrian's abstract modern art (or of the Partridge Family's school bus, if art history isn't your thing).
Like most Collapse remakes, Cube It features a slowly scrolling series of blocks — in this case red, blue, and yellow squares — that build up at the bottom of your screen. You must click on three or more blocks of the same color to make them disappear before the pile reaches the top of the screen. You can also click on bonus blocks to make all blocks of a single color disappear, or to freeze the clock for a few moments and catch up.
While Cube It's style is great, its sound effects are spartan, and music is nonexistent. On the upside, however, it's a scant 600K download, suitable for even the most bandwidth-limited dial-up user. Performance needs some optimization — the game occasionally slowed down on my 500MHz PowerBook G4 system running OS X 10.2.4. For users who want to try it out before spending $10, Dracosoft offers a 60-minute demo version.
The Bottom Line It's not the most impressive Collapse clone out there, and it could use some performance tuning. Still, Cube It is a competent little puzzler. Plus, it's cheap and tiny.


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Tricia is the Colleges' Archivist and Special Collections Librarian. She earned her master's degree in public history at Wright State University. Tricia is passionate about helping students explore archival materials and discover the history of the place where they live and learn. She believes it is important to understand where we came from so we can better understand where we are today.
Tricia is a fervent fan of the Cleveland Browns and all things Harry Potter.
To discuss integrating research skills into your course or to request instruction, please fill out this form:http://library.hws.edu/instruction_menu
To make a research appointment fill out this form:http://libcal.hws.edu/appointments/

subset: commoncrawl


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Apple and SAP: Revolutionizing Enterprise Mobile Applications
Recently, SAP announced an important partnership with Apple to revolutionize the way we do enterprise mobile applications. But what does this partnership entail concretely? To better answer this questions, let's look at the rationale and elements of the partnership.
76% of business transactions touch an SAP system while 98% of Fortune 500 companies are using iOS devices. Together, SAP and Apple bring an ideal partnership to truly transform how businesses around the world are run on iPhone and iPad. On top of that, there is a global community of 2.5M SAP developers. These developers can build powerful native applications and deploy easily on HANA Cloud Platform (HCP) using the SAP HANA Cloud Platform SDK for iOS and harness the capabilities offered by the iOS devices such as 3D Touch or Touch ID.
SAP Canada already saw the potential of the partnership and wants be a major player in it, leveraging the expertise of the several development and sales teams thus positioning itself as a thought leader in mobility and innovation. SAP Canada is in a position to offer its customers the information and knowledge about the partnership details and core applications soon to be available. The engagement of the Canadian office this early in the partnership will allow its customers to adopt the next generation business mobile applications as early as possible making them run simple.
Let's go into a bit more details. The partnership currently consist of four elements:
1. A new set of iOS apps
New applications based on core and high demand scenarios have already been defined to be developed as part of the partnership.
2. The SAP HANA Cloud Platform SDK for iOS
The SAP HCP SDK for iOS will give, to anyone doing development of SAP iOS native applications, access to key building blocks including UI assets following the Fiori for iOS design language, access to backend services, easier access to iOS capabilities and devices services, etc.
3. Fiori for iOS
To make sure that the developed applications are providing a user experience at the level of what SAP and Apple can provide, a new UX, Fiori for iOS, has been created. SAP Fiori for iOS is our interpretation of how these values and principles can be implemented best for the iOS platform. We are adapting our design language, SAP Fiori, to the iOS platform for a great native app experience, made for mobile on iPhone and iPad.
4. The SAP Academy for iOS
The SAP Academy for iOS will be used to create a new class of highly skilled developers. It will provide designers and developers with the knowledge, tools, education and training needed to build a new class of mobile apps that take full advantage of the new SDK, SAP HANA Cloud Platform and Fiori for iOS UX, and the latest features of Apple hardware and software.
Everyone across Canada will have the opportunity to be part of this partnership, including SAP developers, partners and customers. We will be able to define a standard for how mobile applications should be in the industrial world with these new applications deployed on the HANA Cloud Platform.
We are still very early and many new things will come as part of this incredible partnership. More updates will be sent when available. For any questions about the partnership details or the upcoming applications, don't hesitate to contact me.
Pascal Lessard (firstname.lastname@example.com)
Product Manager – P&I Industry Cloud – Mobility


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Just last week in Google Stadia Streaming Gaming is Having Troubles: Bigger Problem – Usage Caps I pointed out that the problem with streaming gaming is its dependency on Internet infrastructure and its architecture. Gizmodo's bottom line is… well, not great. YouTubers too.
Gizmodo's bottom line is… well, not great. In its article Stadia Is a Glimpse Into the Future—But Maybe Not Yours or Google's.
When it works perfectly it's pretty neat!
It very rarely works perfectly, and is so unreliable its cost seems outrageous.
Internet Infrastructure a Problem
They also made the point I did about the Internet's infrastructure not being able to support streaming gaming.
The problem, as I've noted ad nauseum at this point, is that the internet is rarely as robust as it needs to be to handle game streaming. Unless you live in a big city with access to big internet pipes, game streaming—and even 4K movie streaming—is a pipe dream. The internet in the U.S. is abysmal, particularly in rural areas. I have friends living 60 miles outside of Colorado Springs that struggle with getting HD Netflix streams on their Roku. Stadia would be impossible for them.Gizmodo
Latency is a Deal Breaker
Alex Cranz in the Gizmodo article also makes the point I was making about Internet latency being a deal breaker.
Stadia's stutters made a shooter like Destiny 2 a miserable experience.
Red Dead Redemption 2 … was still a sub-HD performance that left all the characters looking like blurry blobs.Gizmodo
Google's History of Killing Products
And another point I posited, Google's commitment, or lack there of, to products:
While I might trust Apple or Microsoft to fully commit themselves to a badly launched product like Stadia, Google has a history of cutting its losses. It likes to launch all kinds of neat tools and apps… and then quietly axe them a few years later.Gizmodo
Bad Product Decisions
Oh and the bad product management decisions Google makes:
Stadia is a beta you have to buy, and that's never, ever going to be a good idea.
It's a beta that Google wants you to pay money for. Don't do it.
…Nvidia's offering has been in beta for four years, while Microsoft's beta launched last month. Google's Stadia absolutely should have done the same, rather than ask people to spend $130 on a buggy service, and then spend $20 to $60 a piece on the games available on that service.Gizmodo
6 Reasons Google Stadia Will Fail
HILARIOUS !!!! – The Top 10 Reasons Why Stadia Will (Probably) Fail
Watch the first 45 seconds – It's HILARIOUS !!!!
Maybe Never
I predict Google will give up and kill this, like it's done so many times before. And it will be years before streaming gaming from anyone makes any sense at all. If ever.
It might never make sense, because the UX and front end keeps advancing. Graphics at HD, then 4K, HDR, 8K, then what's next ? Streaming gaming can't keep up with just HD now. It may just keep making more sense to put the horsepower in front end hardware, and continue to use the Internet for networking players.


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What is Nappe Phenomena on Causeway?
Nappe is a term generally defined for structure in which a sheet of water is flowing over it.
Now, the causeway is one type of small bridge in which during rainy season rainwater passes over it, and this sheet of water flow is known as nappe.
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Causeway is a type of bridge which flows east to west.
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The late Friday quake with a magnitude of 6.5 roused residents from sleep in the Surigao del Norte province, sending hundreds fleeing from their homes, Joinfo.com reports with reference to ABC News. The quake was centered about 14 kilometers northwest ...Read More »
Massive 7.3-magnitude underwater earthquake strikes off the Philippines
The quake, southeast of the island of Jolo , was measured at a depth of 380 miles in the Celebes Sea, the US Geological Survey said. But Philippine seismologists say it was far too deep to cause any damage and ...Read More »
#prayforscarborough: Brits make fun of the earthquake no one felt
It was the worst earthquake in the UK since 2005. But nobody felt the shake because its magnitude was just 3.8 on the Richter scale. So Brits responded on Twitter with their famous British humor and an ironic campaign support. ...Read More »
Tsunami warning issued after powerful earthquake off Papua New Guinea
The quake of 7.9 magnitude struck 46 km east of Taron in Papua New Guinea on 10:51 GMT (8:51 p.m. local time) of December 17, according to the US Geological Survey. The epicenter of the quake was at depth of ...Read More »
6.5 magnitude earthquake strikes off coast of Northern California
The US Geological Surv reported about an earthquake of 6.8 magnitude on 14:50 UTC 157 km west of Ferndale in Northern California on Thursday, but later it was downgraded to the magnitude of 6.5. The center of the quake was 10 ...Read More »


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For Spencer Schneider cooking is a great way to experiment with different ideas, meet new people, stay healthy, and volunteer within his local community.
At an early age, Spencer Schneider found a passion for cooking, helping his mom make dinner and other meals, snacks, and desserts. As he got older, he began trying new foods and learning more about nutrition and forming a healthy diet. He later went on to utilize these concepts in his boxing boot camp and meal prep program called Spencer Schneider Training.
Over the years, he has worked in various restaurant settings learning how to cook and prepare meals. Currently Spencer Schneider volunteers at Second Harvest Food Bank preparing meals for at-risk youth in his local area.
Second Harvest Food Bank
With locations all across the United States, Second Harvest Food Bank strives to bring an end to hunger for families struggling with unemployment, low-wage jobs, and other causes for emergency food assistance. In the region where Spencer works, one in five households is at risk of hunger. With the rising cost of food, housing, bills, and other necessities, groceries and food items tend to be among the first areas where cuts have to be made. Meals are often skipped and parents will often go without in order to ensure their children have enough to eat.
This is where Second Harvest Food Bank steps in, providing numerous resources for these families and communities including:
- Food distribution programs
- Community kitchen meal services
- Advocacy
- Nutritional information
- Public benefits assistance
- Disaster response
This location of Second Harvest Food Bank was founded in 1982 and has since become the largest food bank in the world in 2005 while helping with hurricane relief as millions of individuals were displaced from their homes.
Spencer Schneider takes great pride in working with this group and supporting other food charities across the globe and in his local community to help make a positive impact on the lives of others.


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For Associate Logins
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Please contact customer service for assistance at 678-619-4929
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Your Preferred Customer Login Username is the complete email address that you used to set up your account. Please provide this email address below and then click the button below.
Your password will be sent to the email address on file.


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Updated Privacy Policy for Internet Software Sciences
The EU is about to enact new privacy legislation called the General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR"). It will come into force on 25 May 2018. We have updated and create.. read more
The EU is about to enact new privacy legislation called the General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR"). It will come into force on 25 May 2018. We have updated and create.. read more
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for Web+Center and Internet Software Sciences The General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR") is a regulation of the European Union designed to enable individuals better to control.. read more
Internet Software Sciences has been able to see the benefits of an Internet Connected world but also savvy to the potential abuses of those connections for exploiting especially when the.. read more
Once again, Web+Center out performs many competitors in the Help Desk/Service Desk Markets and Web+Center is listed #9 out of 20 for the HIGHEST RATED Service Desk software. We invite.. read more
Today we secured our application windows server that we use for various support, business and CRM, operations and customer application testing/demos. Until yesterday, customers and staff just used a regular.. read more
April 2016 – Disclaimer: This article was originally researched and written in April 2016. The facts and investigations found then may not be true today (2017+). Can you trust the .. read more
Today there are (too) many choices when it comes to Help Desk and Service Desk vendors. How can you effectively and timely evaluate the options without downloading or testing on-line.. read more
Web+Center 9.0 is now production and all of the supporting options for upgrades, version server, install guides and users guides are all available for any user wishing to download version.. read more
Web+Center for Business – IT Services and Computer Repair shops Ticket and Billing. We are looking for Web+Center to test and evaluate some of our up and coming Version 9.0.. read more
With the release of Windows 7 Operating system last week in both 32 and 64 bit flavors, the percentage of machines that come pre-installed with 64 bit versions of the.. read more


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With the 35th pick of Pride of Detroit's 2012 NFL mock draft, the Minnesota Vikings select Virginia cornerback Chase Minnifield. Dave Marshall is serving as the Vikings' general manager, and his reasoning for the pick is below.
The Minnesota Vikings have the unenviable task of facing Matthew Stafford, Aaron Rodgers and Jay Cutler twice per season each. The need for a solid secondary is essential. Frankly, Antoine Winfield is 35 years old, and Chris Cook has shown some abilities when he's on the field, but that seems to be the exception rather than the rule.
It is for these reasons that with the 35th overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings select Chase Minnifield, a cornerback from the University of Virginia.
This Lexington, Kentucky, native has good speed (4.38 40) and a good size (6'0", 180 lbs.) for his position. But the things that set him apart are his tremendous vertical leap, a great nose for the ball, and his ability to provide the big hit when needed.
He had six interceptions in 2010, second in the ACC. In 12 games as a senior, he had 1.5 sacks, seven tackles for a loss, three interceptions and eight pass breakups. He is an experienced player, redshirting his freshman year and playing the other. He will be ready to start from day one and can be a solid special teams player if needed as well.
Check out the 2012 Pride of Detroit Community Mock Draft tracker for a look at all of the picks.
Reminder: You can follow Pride of Detroit on Twitter and like us on Facebook.


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Imagine Your Community: Mobile Connected, Informed, Empowered, Involved, Collaborating And Contributing To Building A Better Future
From Anywhere At Anytime
Tools For A Smarter Connected City Hall:
Send real time public safety alerts or notifications to everyone with your city app regardless if it is open or not.
Everything your City Hall does, can be done beautifully mobile. From collecting payments to building permits & more.
Get the pulse of your community before the council meeting with Push Notification and link to a survey in the City Calendar
Tools For A Smarter Connected Community
No need to look up your Council Member's or Mayor's number on Google or the White Pages. Just tap to see their bio then tap the phone icon and their phone is ringing.
Event date-time-location information simple and uncluttered easily transfered to your user 's calendar appliciation.
- Sending Camera/Gallery Image
- Google Map of location
- Chat between citizen and admin
- Pending-Processing-Completed status tracking for admin
Google Maps & Directions
Whether it is a school, park, government facility or pizza parlor connect to it in 3 taps or less in your city's MyCommunity Mobile app.
Instant Payments to City Sevices
Payments for city services are a breeze when made through the convenience of your mobile city app. Simple, just the url to the online payment service that already the city already has.
Live Stream Important City Events
Important city council meetings, sporting events, parades, anything that can be live streamed, can be streamed through your city's MyCommunity Mobile app.


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Get the IRS off of your back | Don't be Afraid of an Audit | Master Business Tax Preparation Filing & Amendment Services | Forensic Tax Expert | In-House CPA | Former Auditor
Get Your FREE Analysis Today
Don't be afraid of an audit. Business owners: Is the IRS after your business? Do you need IRS tax audit and lien relief? In-house CPA here. Let me stand in virtually for your IRS audit and interface with them directly. Let me help your business today. Do not face the IRS alone.
Is the IRS after you and it's keeping you up at night? Tax debts and back taxes will not go away. The IRS is relentless and will come after you and your business.
As your forensic accountant, I file years worth of back taxes correctly the first time. I directly negotiate with the IRS to reduce your penalties and remove your tax liens.
As your Top Rated Local® accounting professional and tax expert and your in-house CPA, I deal with the IRS, prepare and file your business tax returns and amend back tax returns accurately. Finally get control of your business and your back taxes today.
Do NOT Delay Any Longer-Understand the IRS Penalties
The IRS charges multiple penalties and fees for filing late or not at all:
- Failure To File — Internal Revenue Code §6651(a)(1)
- Failure To Pay — Internal Revenue Code §6651(a)(2)
- Failure To Pay Tax Not Reported — Internal Revenue Code §6651(a)(3)
- Failure To Pay Proper Estimated Tax — Internal Revenue Code §6654
Stop Letting Late Fees and Interest Pile Up! Contact Your Expert Accountant Today! Call Me Now.
- Don't let the IRS cripple your business. I negotiate directly with them on your behalf.
- Don't fail to file your taxes. You will be charged five percent of the unpaid taxes for each month that your taxes are late with a 25 percent maximum. This fee, combined with other penalties and interest, can stack your tax obligations. I'll file correctly, the first time.
- Don't fail to pay your taxes on time. The IRS charges 0.5 percent of owed taxes per month until your tax obligation is fulfilled with a 25 percent maximum. Steep. As your business tax preparation expert, I ensure that moving forward, your taxes are corrected in the past and filed right going forward.
- Don't get audited but if you do, don't be afraid. I'm here for you. Business owners who fail to file also face "fail to pay" penalties and fees and run the risk of being audited. Research shows taxes that are filed by an expert are less likely to be audited. My full financial reconstruction and back tax services, Quickbooks accounting, and other mastery of every accounting software being used today, and my amended returns lessen that likelihood immediately. Why? CPA-filed tax returns are less likely to be audited, especially business taxes filed by an experienced tax preparer. Let me file and amend your back business taxes.
So, if your taxes are late and you fail to file your taxes, file your taxes late, or fail to file your taxes at all, the penalties and fees will accumulate each month and they're expensive. The IRS will continue to collect on your tax obligation until paid in full or negotiated down. Let me help you, right now.
How I Get The IRS Off Your Back
Audit Support
If you're being audited, I provide audit support and speak directly with the auditor.
Waiver Request
During an audit, I engage the IRS via phone to request a reduction in late fees and include a compliance narrative as to why you were not able to file or pay your taxes.
Appeal Decisions
I will appeal decisions not made in your favor, gathering more proof and sending in documentation to the IRS via paper audits and virtually support any in-person audits.
IRS Business Tax Audit Relief
Call me today. I offer proven strategies that work to reduce penalties and interest. Let me file your back taxes, now.
Breathing room for you and your business. That's what I provide. I prepare all documentation and communications for/with the IRS so that you don't have to. Your correspondence with the IRS goes through Rescue Business Tax Services. Our in-house CPA has over 15+ years of experience working with the IRS re: audits, liens, and penalties.
If you receive a notification for an IRS business audit, it is not random as only 2% of IRS audits are. The IRS is targeting you and your business. I work with and prove what you owe the first time to IRS tax authorities. Let me reduce your business tax debt obligations and save you money.
Services immediately available:
- Speaking directly with the auditor
- Offer in compromise
- Installment agreement
- Currently not-collectible status
- Penalty and interest reduction
Call your master, in-house CPA. Don't wait for the IRS to knock on your door. I manage the following on your behalf:
- Communicate with the IRS on your behalf
- Direct phone calls with the IRS
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- Provide tax Advice to avoid future IRS issues
Get the IRS off of you and your business' backs — call me now!COMPETENCIES AND QUALIFICATIONS
- 15-year master accountant and in-house certified public accountant (CPA)
- Experience with a range of entities and industries: construction, IT, real estate, restaurants, retail, LLCs, corporations, nonprofits, and so much more.
- Federal and state tax lien reconciliation
- Spot-on compilation reports for courts
- Amending years' worth of back taxes and debts owed to the IRS
- Accurate and laser-focused financial reports
- Eliminate errors and inefficiencies in your business tax returns
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What SSAB Services offers
In addition to premium steels, SSAB also offers several services to facilitate your product development — and increase your competitiveness. SSAB Services provides engineering services, parts & kits for trailers and tippers, steel processing, and local SSAB Steel Service Centers — all intended to speed-up your time-to-market. You'll also have unique access to our Knowledge Service Center with its extensive technical support. Around the world, SSAB Steel Service Centers are eager to help move your project forward. How can we best support you in your product development and serial production?


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Waggoners Trucking is always looking for qualified Diesel Mechanics in our shops nationwide.
See a list of our current job openings below. You may e-mail your resume to firstname.lastname@example.com – again, be sure to include the position and location for which you're applying.
Open Positions
Class A Lead Diesel Mechanic – Bowman, SC


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The Stranded Stitch
Palm Springs Cross Stitch Kit
Stitch the "Palm Springs" cross-stitch kit and feel bored no more! This kit comes with everything you need to make beautiful and intriguing embroidery that you can hang in your home.
- Basic cross stitching instructions.
- Counted cross stitch pattern.
- DMC embroidery floss and color chart.
- 14 count aida cloth, 5 inch embroidery hoop, needle.


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United States, 8th Feb 2023, King NewsWire – Adopting a Mediterranean lifestyle benefits not only our bodies, but also our minds.
In the meeting between MAGISNAT (www.magisnat.com) and the committee of the Fondazione Policlinico Agostino Gemelli IRCCS (Rome, Italy), this very topic was addressed with considerable interest and involvement of all the researchers present (https://www.jpmh.org/index.php/jpmh/article/view/2759/1023).
Numerous studies have shown that diet influences the onset of neurological diseases. Consequently, it has been shown that there is a link between diet and cognitive function.
"Eating properly, by following a Mediterranean-style diet, helps preventing and managing neurological diseases and brain aging," stated Dr. Matteo Bertelli, President of the innovative spin-off MAGISNAT, during the meeting.
To better understand the positive effects of the Mediterranean diet on these diseases, it is good to clarify what they are and what their characteristics are.
Neurodegenerative diseases have multifactorial origins. These diseases lead to a progressive loss of neuronal activity, resulting in impaired cognitive functions of the brain.
And this is where the so-called Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) comes in: with its healthful ingredients—rich in antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immune, neuroprotective, antidepressant, anti-stress and senolytic activity—it plays an essential role in the prevention and management of the aforementioned diseases.
Particularly, this type of diet, being composed mainly of whole grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes, white meats, fish, nuts, olives, and olive oil, is rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals, phytosterols, probiotics, and omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, all elements that have been shown to be beneficial, safe, and cost-effective in the treatment of neurological diseases.
However, diet is not the only component of the Mediterranean lifestyle that benefits the body: what makes the difference is, more broadly, the Mediterranean lifestyle.
In addition to diet, it is important in such cases to engage in moderate physical activity, preferably done outdoors and in nature. This activity allows for the development of endorphins, which notoriously are a panacea for the health of the nervous system, and makes it possible to reduce stress levels, which negatively affect brain functions.
Another important feature of the Mediterranean lifestyle, which should not be overlooked, is socialization. People, by sharing moments of their day in a peaceful and carefree way, and being in contact with each other, feel better and thus their mood is also positively affected.
In short, the Mediterranean lifestyle proves to be the most comprehensive and successful method of keeping people healthy and in a good mood.
However, it is not always possible to follow this advice and, especially, to follow such a diet. This is why MAGISNAT has formulated a line of dietary supplements, called GARLIVE, that is based on vitamins and other natural molecules that are extracted from typical vegetables of the Mediterranean diet, such as olives.
Among MAGISNAT's products, the dietary supplement GARLIVE Recovery, available on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Garlive-Recovery-Supplement-Hydroxytyrosol-Vitamins/dp/B0B4T82ZLV?ref_=ast_sto_dp ), deserves special attention.
Its strengths include: the concentrated formula of olive tree polyphenols (i.e., this contains more polyphenols than two cups of extra virgin olive oil) and the high dosages of vitamins (among which, for example, vitamins of groups B, C, D). Specifically, one tablet contains more vitamins than 14 ounces of fruit (https://magisnat.com/garlive-recovery ).
It is thus a good idea to follow it, finding the best way to live a peaceful life in well-being.
Media Contact
Organization: MAGISNAT
Contact Person: Matteo Bertelli MD, PhD
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Website: https://magisnat.com/
Address 1: Atlanta Tech Park 107 Technology Parkway Suite 801 PEACHTREE CORNERS, GA 30092
Country: United States
Release Id: 0802232432
The post The Mediterranean diet and its positive effects in preventing and managing neurological diseases appeared first on King Newswire.
Disclaimer: The views, suggestions, and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. No Finanow journalist was involved in the writing and production of this article.


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Why you need our under cabinet wine glasses rack?
1. Save space to storage of your wine glasses.
2. No longer worried about the glass will be knocked down and broken.
3. Works great in the kitchen, dining room, bar or anywhere you have an overhang, keep rour glasses within reach.
1. 1pcs stemware holder rack can store 6pcs glasses.
2. This wine glasses rack is available for many types glasses, such as Bordeaux wine glasses, white wine glasses, cocktail glasses, etc.
3. Easy to install: With only a screwdrive, you can install the glasses holder rack to your cabinet. The mounting screws are included in the packaging.
4. High quality: Solid bold and durable iron material with strong load-bearing capacity and more durable. Easy to clean,rust resistant and long-lasting life.
Dimensions: 13×5.7×2.6 inch (33×14.5×6.7cm)
Material: Solid Iron
1) 2×Wine glass rack (Wine glasses are not included)
2) 4×Screws
Make sure this fits by entering your model number.
★ 2 pack wine glasses holder: These 2 wine glass rack can hold totoal 12 glasses,this rack looks great and keeps your stemware ready to go for impromptu gatherings.
★ Duable quality: The stemware holder under cabinet is made of high-quality iron and is designed with high-grade coating. It can effectively prevent the wine glass rack from oxidizing and rusting. The quality of the sturdy iron material is durable and dependable, keeping your stemware chip-free is no longer a hassle.
★ Suitable for multiple glass types: The wine glass rack features an opening widened mouth design, with the opening width 3.5 inch, it is suitable for Bordeaux wine glasses, white wine glasses, cocktail glasses, etc.
★ Simple installation]: This under cabinet stem rack comes fully assembled and ready to mount to help you conserve space in your kitchen.
★ Compact and Elegant Design: This stemware rack can save cabinet space and fit the corner under shelf perfectly, elegance to your kitchen or bar decor. Not only can be placed in kitchen, but also in sitting room, bathroom, any place you want.. With durable construction, each rack is easy to clean.


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This flower looks a bit like a squishy brain. Perhaps I spent too much time in the Halloween aisle at Walgreens today!
The petals are still unfurling. The pattern of string behind my hand was woven for plant support.
That is amazing!! And I am sorry you got locked in again! I am going to have to get you a special levitating Mary Poppins parasol that will lift you right out!ReplyDelete
ohh no locked in hehehehe thank you for taking such risk's to show us some lovely polishes lol once again a gorjuz mani =DReplyDelete
I love this mani! Very pretty!ReplyDelete
Glitters are pretty on this navy base, great mani ;)ReplyDelete
This mani is gorgeous! Love the glitters :)ReplyDelete
Wow, that's one of my faves of yours! I love the Virgin, she's a great addition and appears surrounded by stars.
Oooh, again? You definitely need a Mary Poppins parasol!
That's a terrific idea about the Mary Poppins parasol. You just night the Mary magic in your own parasol. You've been lucky each time you've been locked in. This is a beautiful manicure. I love the design of it. I also love the "brain" flower. That and I believe the cockscomb are two favorite fall flowers. I especially love the color, a nice vampy shade. Your little friend has the same colors of the flowers on it's body. Very interesting. Thanks for always sharing your beautiful garden photos.ReplyDelete
your photos are beautiful as ever, and full of atmosphere :-) the mani looks magical...ReplyDelete
Love this mani! I want to try this.
(I'm a Virgo too!)
Sarada: I thought you would like this design. Her long hair reminds me of you a bit. :) I would accept Wonder Woman's steel bending powers too!
Skye: I never realized the adventures I would have with a nail blog! I'm happy you like the mani. :)
gildedangel: Yay! Thank you. <3
Celine: Thank you! I love navy and silver together too.
Charming Nails: Thanks so much. Glitter can do anything!
Nicole: The Virgo stamp is my favorite of all Konad designs. It reminds me of Mucha. I was keeping such an attentive eye on the gate, but the gardener snuck out without me...again. Such tomfoolery!
Lucy: My parasol seems magical, but it could benefit from the additional power of flight. I am happy to see chrysanthemums as well this time of year. I love how flowers seem to come with coordinating insects. It's like Nature's embellishment. :)
Inbal: Thank you. I love finding a bit of magic in each day. :)
DanaCerise: Thank you! You must try it! Virgos unite!
Ah, This is one of my favourite mani's Diana! I love everything about it - so mystical and dreamlike. Gorgeous photos too. Thank you xxReplyDelete
Danielle: Thank you! I'm so glad you like the manicure. The Virgo design makes me happy whenever I wear it. It has a certain celestial beauty. <3ReplyDelete
I love this mani. It looks magical.ReplyDelete
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Happy Sunday to you!
It has been raining all weekend here in Utah. But I'm totally okay with that because I love the sound (and smell) of rain.
I could totally just cuddle up with a warm, toasty blanket and sleep so good just listening to the rain. So when my alarm went off this morning, I really didn't want to get up. After I sluggishly got out of bed, I couldn't decide what to wear… (ever have that problem?) I just stood in front of my closet in my jammies thinking 'I have nothing to wear…' (ever have that problem either?) So this outfit kind of came together by accident.
After going through my shirts 2 (or 3 or 4) times, I kept coming back to this polka-dot peplum shirt I got from Burlington. Once I got my shirt, I decided I'll just grab one of my skirts that's hanging up in my closet. So I closed my eyes and grabbed this royal blue skirt from JCPenney. It's a little shorter than I like so I added a skirt extender from Sassy Steals. I also added this black cardigan from Savers because I wanted to keep my outfit modest and it's chilly here in Utah. I wore these super cute wedges from Journeys (my brother, Levi, actually bought them for me when he worked there – thanks Levi!)
After seeing how this outfit came together, I really liked it and thought 'I'm gonna do another lookbook that's "all about polka-dots"' So here are a few more looks that will be added to my lookbook. Hope you enjoy.
With Love,
Miss Lynsie
Shirt: Poshmark
Skirt: Express
Belt: H&M
Shoes: JustFab
Shirt: Express
Skirt: Agnes and Dora
Belt: H&M
Shoes: JustFab


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Mark Kerger now has the perfect conversation starter. He's a walking arcade console, thanks to this shirt that he built with an Arduino controller, 128 LEDs, and 4 AA batteries.
Hopefully this kind of platform can be developed into something even more capable, such as a shirt that can play Grand Theft Auto V.
-via Kotaku


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Fusion Leadership Book
Fusion Leadership: Unleashing the Movement of Monday Morning Enthusiasts
Amazon Best Seller
Dudley R. Slater and Steven T. Taylor combine the powerful stories of eight prominent leaders with Slater's own journey of becoming the leader he is and aspires to be in Fusion Leadership – Unleashing the Movement of Monday Morning Enthusiasts.
The wisdom and experience of Slater and other Fusion Leaders illuminate the goals of the Movement—to create a motivated workforce committed to its members and to ignite a common passion that provides individuals with self-fulfillment, and the organization with increased success.
When leaders reward the collective ego at the same level they attend to their selfish egos, their organizations not only make greater progress, but they fulfill the universal human desire to find meaning in work.
Utilizing an engaging narrative format, Fusion Leadership touches on a variety of challenges leaders face every day. Among the topics covered: techniques to provide support to front line workers, modeling appropriate behavior and conversations in meetings, addressing fair pay issues, putting aside ego to effectively lead a team, and demonstrating mutual respect toward lower-level employees and helping them connect their job to the larger vision.
Sharing both his successes and missteps, Slater generates hope and optimism that when leaders practice these concepts, they can not only equip their companies to rise to virtually any challenge and deliver exponential results, but start a movement that will extend well beyond their workplace to society as a whole.
"A Must-Read for any Current or Aspiring Leader..."
Fusion Leadership goes to the core question of how to engage workers in any organization, recognizing that its not your title or rank that inspires others, and offers a practical road-map and fresh perspective, shared through entertaining, real-world stories. A must read for any current or aspiring leader.
-Bill Cooney, air force general and president and deputy CEO, USAA (retired)
"A Practical, Engaging Tool Box..."
Fusion Leadership makes a compelling case that great organizations build true value by investing in people, providing a practical, engaging tool box for any leader who wants to achieve transformative results. The fresh perspective provided by Fusion Leadership makes this a "go to" resource for any leader.
-Brendan Scollans, partner, and Jan Vesely, director, EQT Partners
"A Fresh Perspective on Company Culture..."
Dudley Slater has done something that is difficult to do: write a business book that offers a fresh perspective on company culture. Together with his own valuable experiences as CEO of Integra Telecom, Slater seamlessly weaves in other leadership perspectives on how to empower your workforce and improve an organizational culture. Well worth the read.
-Merritt Paulson, Owner and CEO of the Portland Thorns and MLS Champion Portland Timbers
"Help Others Reach their Full Leadership Potential..."
Masterful in its humility, candor, and powerful storytelling, Dudley Slater's reflection on leadership displays a deep understanding of and reverence for his subject. The book reflects an earnest desire to help others reach their full leadership potential and avoids the common pitfall of simply relaying a personal "success story". Slater clearly cares more about the cause of his message than causing the reader to think well of the messenger. People who aspire to lead others well--at any level of any organization--will be well-served by this book and will return to it again and again for its practical wisdom.
-Mark Ganz, president and CEO, Cambia Health Solutions
"Breaks through the Clutter..."
There has been a great deal written on leadership. Slater breaks through the clutter with a practical, candid, engaging and relatable roadmap for leading an organization of any size, in any industry.
-Art Winkleblack, EVP & CFO, HJ Heinz (retired)
"A Must Read for Anyone Leading an Organization..."
It is a must read for anyone leading an organization and looking to create a committed workforce with a common passion that can outperform the competition.
-Michael Marchi, COO, American Standard Brands (retired) and president & CEO, Grohe Americas (retired)
"Leadership is Earned Not Bestowed..."
Leadership is earned not bestowed. This book will change the way you view leadership and show you how to enhance your company's enterprise value by earning your employees' respect and loyalty. Former CEO Dudley Slater engages you with personal stories and interviews of CEOs who have learned how to harness the power of fully engaged employees.
-Carlyn R. Taylor, global co-leader of corporate finance & restructuring, FTI Consulting
"I Fully Intend to Apply these Principles..."
This book helped me truly understand how Dudley was able to guide Integra through some very difficult economic times to become a real success. I fully intend to apply his Fusion Leadership principles in managing my own business. I fully intend to apply his Fusion Leadership principles in managing my own business.
-John Hunt, managing director, Abry Partners
Want to learn more?
Download the first chapter of Fusion Leadership: Unleashing a Movement of Monday Morning Enthusiasts and begin your journey towards a more productive workforce today.
You're Never Alone on the Road to Fusion Leadership
Fuel your drive to become a better leader by staying connected with the movement.


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Archive for December 2007
Special Family Day Gone to Pot–Briefly (Confessions from Jennifer)
Why is it that once you decide that it is going to be a fun family day, then all craziness breaks loose? We had planned that today would be a light school day–just some reading and creative writing– so that we would have time to make a gingerbread house, and make special Christmas Nativity picture…Read More
White Snow, Red Curry
Mmm, this is my second helping of red curry this afternoon. I came home from work, ravenous and snowy. I was going to join the family at our Y, but the car I'm driving doesn't have windshield wipers. I figured the first few roads would be my test to see if it would be safe…Read More


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Significant increase in E-cigarette use in Scotland
Published: 20 September 2016
The 2015 Scottish Health Survey, shows a significant increase since 2014 in the proportion of adults who currently use e-cigarettes.
20th September 2016, Issued by Scot Cen Social Research
The 2015 Scottish Health Survey, shows a significant increase since 2014 in the proportion of adults who currently use e-cigarettes.
In 2015 7% of adults said they currently use e-cigarettes, compared with 5% in 2014. Current use of e-cigarettes is most common among adults aged 25-64 (7-9%), although those aged 16-34 are the most likely to have ever tried e-cigarettes (22-26% compared with 4-10% of those aged 65 and over).
This is the second year that ScotCen Social Research has asked the public about the use of e-cigarettes as part of the Scottish Government's Scottish Health Survey, which interviewed 5,000 adults and over 1,400 children in
Scotland throughout 2015.
Exposure to second-hand smoke on the decline
Further findings from SHeS reveal a significant decrease in the proportion of children who were exposed to second-hand smoke in their home. In 2014, 11% of children were reported to be exposed to second-hand smoke, compared with 6% in 2015.
Just 12% of non-smokers aged 16 or over were exposed to second hand smoke in their own or other people's homes, down from 25% in 2003.
Meanwhile, the number of smokers in Scotland has remained relatively stable since 2013, with 21% of adults reporting that they currently smoke cigarettes. This is, however, a significant decrease on the 28% of adults who smoked in 2003.
Other key findings from the survey showed:
- A majority (65%) of adults in Scotland are overweight, including 29% who are obese. This figure has been relatively stable since 2008.
- The proportion of boys of healthy weight (73% in 2015) has increased year on year since 2011 (63%). The proportion of girls of healthy weight was 70% in 2015 and has remained stable since 1998.
- In 2012-2015, 9% of adults had both a physical health condition and symptoms of mental disorder.
- One in 10 (11%) adults did not consume any fruit or vegetables, while 1 in 5 (21%) met the 5-a-day recommendation on the previous day. 12% of children aged 2-15 met this recommendation
Diarmid Campbell-Jack, Research Director at ScotCen Social Research said:
"This is the first time there has been rigorous data from any source available across Scotland to accurately show how the use of e-cigarettes is changing over time. While it is still a small minority who currently use e-cigs, that proportion has risen significantly in a single year. Whether this is a cause for celebration or concern remains to be seen, with Scottish Health Survey data providing valuable information on our usage of e-cigarettes to health professionals examining their long-term impact.
It is positive to see that the proportion of boys of healthy weight has returned to similar levels to those seen in 1998, with almost three-quarters of boys being a healthy weight. However, Scottish Health Survey data shows that around two-thirds of adults are overweight, with this figure having changed little since 2008"
One of the authors of the report, Dr Linsay Gray, MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow, said:
"In looking at these data, we found that adults aged 75 and over, and those in the most deprived areas are more likely to live with a combination of health conditions. This was true for six in ten older people and around a third of those in deprived areas."
Download the summary report
Download the full report
The Scottish Health Survey has been designed to provide data on the health of adults (aged 16 and above) and children (aged 0-15) living in private households in Scotland annually. In 2015, 5,000 adults and 1,421 children took part in the survey.
The survey is commissioned by Scottish Government Health Directorates to provide a detailed annual assessment of the health of the Scottish population, and has been running since 1995.
ScotCen Social Research is an independent, not for profit organisation. We believe that social research has the power to make life better. By really understanding the complexity of people's lives and what they think about the issues that affect them, we give the public a powerful and influential role in shaping decisions and services that can make a difference to everyone.
First published: 20 September 2016
<< News


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community management
with our global services of web presence, we bring your business to the next level !
e reputation : a happy client will tell it to 2 people, an unhappy client will tell it to 10. On the internet you can multiply these numbers by 100 !
• customized social media strategy
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• social media accounts
• international web influencers & bloggers database
• community management and animation
• monitoring of brand's mentions
• social engagement statistics analysis


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For the past few seasons, the player who will captain the Sharks of the future has never been questioned. Logan Couture is the future and everyone and their mother knows it. But what if we have all been giving away the captaincy too easily? What if there is another who is just as deserving to take over the "C" from Joe Thornton? Namely, Joe Pavelski.
The Case for Joe Pavelski
By the Numbers
That picture is not lying. By every stretch of the imagination, Joe Pavelski is having the campaign of his life. 67 points, including two hat tricks, is a season-high and he has 11 games to go. Pavelski has also been a leader in terms of his stamina and durability. In a sporting world that sees superstars miss large amounts of time, Little Joe has been a crutch the Sharks have been able to rely on. He has played every game for the Sharks in the last three seasons. His faceoff numbers have consistently been among league leaders in the last three seasons. Currently, he sits at ninth in the league with a 56.4% win ratio.
The Intangibles
Joe Pavelski is a proven leader and would be more than capable to captain the Sharks. He has become an automatic member of Team USA in the last two Olympics and centers the best third line in the NHL. Pavelski can produce no matter who is around him. The carousel that revolves around him doesn't affect his performance adversely. And even better, he makes those around him better. Teammates of Pavelski see their Corsi For percentages drop when they are on the ice and Little Joe is not. Only Matt Nieto, Andrew Desjardins, Tyler Kennedy, and Scott Hannan have higher CF% when playing separate from him.
The Case for Logan Couture
By the Numbers
When healthy, Logan Couture is one dangerous player. He has the subtle and quick release that makes a simple wrist shot near impossible to track. His ability to find teammates for open looks is one of the most underrated parts of his game. While his goal numbers have suffered in this injury-riddled season, the assists have risen. More of his highlights this season have come from feeding teammates with amazing passes for wide-open looks. Overall, however, his most impressive stat is his plus/minus: +18 this year playing against the toughest competition in the NHL. Couture ranks tenth in quality of competition among eligible players. His ability to play against the best proves his capability to captain the Sharks.
The Intangibles
With sixteen less games than Pavelski, Logan has 57 blocked shots (to Pavelski's 58). Couture has a keen sense of defending no matter the situation. He is a favorite of Todd McLellan's when it comes to killing penalties. Couture also is deployed in his own defensive end the most often among Sharks forwards (55.6% of the time at even strength). All of these factors show his coach already treats him as a leader. With every game, he builds his resume as he battles against the league's elite.
The Best Case for the Sharks
The Sharks can't go wrong with either of these forwards as their next captain. But with Joe Thornton under contract for three more years, the letter on the sweater will not be available for a while. In those three years, it is entirely possible that these numbers will all change. But the number that will remain constant is both men's age. Pavelski is already 29 years old, while Logan is 24. At 27, Couture will be experienced and with a few healthy seasons perhaps become one of the most complete forwards in the game.
Couture is still the future of the franchise, but the race for the "C" is much closer than it once was. Maybe Joe Pavelski can have an "A" that's two or three font sizes bigger than normal.


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The Cotocon Group was contracted to conduct walk-through energy audit on The Bard Graduate Center (BGC). The audit was performed in accordance with the NYSERDA FlexTech Benchmarking Program, with a goal to provide BGC with enough information to assess and make decisions regarding the implementation of the most appropriate and cost-effective operational and maintenance (O&M) measures.
The audit was performed with full cooperation from building personnel. A facility conditions interview was conducted to acquire critical information including weekly hours of operation, space temperature setpoints, and other building operational details. This was followed by a comprehensive facility walk-through and inspection of major HVAC equipment, controls, lighting systems and building envelope.
Get Savvy to Measure and Verify Your Building's Emissions.


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- Home
- Government
- Departments
- Fire & Ambulance
- Severe Weather Preparedness
Severe Weather Preparedness
With spring and summer comes the threat of severe weather, including thunderstorms and tornadoes. Will you be ready if severe weather strikes East Peoria?
Tornado Sirens
East Peoria currently has 15 outdoor early warning sirens. All sirens have battery back-up systems and are activated by Tazewell County Consolidated Communications dispatch personnel.
View Tornado Siren Locations (PDF)
Siren Use
Sirens will be activated only if East Peoria, Creve Coeur, Morton, Washington or Peoria is listed as a city in a storm's path. In years past, sirens were activated if a storm was located anywhere in Tazewell County. East Peoria's policy reduces the number of false alarms for city residents. As a result, when East Peorians hear the sirens they will know a storm is approaching quickly and should take cover.
All the sirens are tested on the first Tuesday of each month at 10 a.m., as long as Tazewell County is not under any severe weather advisory at that time. The monthly test consists of three parts:
- Steady blast mode - 30 seconds
- Oscillating mode - 30 seconds
- Voice message announcement portion
Citizens should remember that the sirens are outside early warning devices.
Personal Preparedness
Weather Radio
Purchase a weather radio with a battery back-up and severe weather activation tone setting.
Emergency Kit
Keep an emergency kit in vehicles and homes. Kit contents should include:
- Battery-operated portable radio
- Blankets
- Emergency phone numbers of family and friends
- First aid kit
- Flashlights
- Non-perishable food
- Water
Don't let an emergency kit break your budget! You can build a budget-friendly family emergency preparedness kit in 24 weeks!
Weekly Steps
Read the Weekly Steps for Emergency Preparedness Brochure (PDF).
The brochure is courtesy of the Peoria City/County Health Department
Emergency Services Disaster Agency (ESDA)
The fire chief is the Emergency Services Disaster Agency coordinator for the City of East Peoria, and works with the Tazewell County ESDA director to ensure the emergency plan for both natural disasters and other major emergencies is kept current. Tazewell County is part of Homeland Security Region 10.
There are five counties in this group:
- Marshall
- Peoria
- Stark
- Tazewell
- Woodford


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Matcha High Quality 40g
Powdered green tea to a very high standard. Excellent for Matcha beginners. The green leaves are de-veined and ground slowly into a fine powder. This is the only tea where you drink the actual leaf (as supposed to be 'brewed') therefore the overwhelming health benefits. Matcha needs to be whisked into the water until a layer of foam forms on the top. For matcha whisker, spoon and bowl please go to "Accessories". In original 40g airtight sealed tin.
Health properties:- highest amounts of antioxidants in all teas, which can prevent heart disease, stroke and can be anti-carcinogenic - helps lowering cholesterol - contains vitamin C - strong antiviral capability - improves concentration + alertness (caffeine) - has a diuretic effect - contains fluorine which helps to prevents tooth decay and gum disease
- Stock: In Stock
- Code: Japan007


text: What package feeds are safe to use with the Raster image? (what about Raster plus frameworkd & zhone?) I bricked my FR a few times making the mistake of doing "opkg upgrade" against the FSO-unstable feed I set up to get frameworkd and zhone. As long as I manually opkg what I want from that feed I'm fine, but an 'opkg upgrade" tries to replace most of E - Enlightenment segv's a couple times, and on shutdown/reboot it hangs (often with an unclickable segv alter onscreen) and I can remain SSH'd to it, where I see exquisite-write sucking up 95%+ CPU. If I manage to shut down at that point, booting freezes when the kernel is up and the first boot progress screen comes up - I see the 'E' logo and an vertical white line marking the leftmost edge of the progress bar. Brick. (unfortunately I was doing all this with a reconstruction script right after flashing, so it took me a couple reflashes to realize I was causing the problem ;) j


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Life goes slowly at 960 frames per second, enough to make the Xperia XZ from October last year seem old. Old enough to have a successor that is, the Sony Xperia XZs.
The upgraded camera is certainly the highlight of the 's' version, and not just for its action-stopping video. The camera boasts a new sensor with pixels that are 19% bigger than the ones in the original XZ. The whole setup is called "Motion Eye" and lives up to its name thanks to the Predictive capture feature, which snaps up to four photos in the background (before you even press the shutter), it then lets you pick out the best one in case you missed some action.
Besides that, little else has changed. The RAM did get bumped to 4GB, but the chipset is the same Snapdragon 820 (not even 821), screen is still a 1080p LCD, battery remains at 2,900mAh, you get the idea.
Would you be better off waiting for the Xperia XZ Premium? That brings the world's first 4K HDR mobile display (5.46" instead of 4.1"), goes up to Snapdragon 835 and will have a bigger battery. Or perhaps you have a non-Xperia phone on your mind?
Well, are you getting an Xperia XZs? Waiting for the Premium model or just happy with what you have?
[Source:- GSMarena]


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The Internal Revenue Service succumbed to pressure from Republican members of Congress last month when it suddenly shut down its examinations into whether five large donors had violated the law by not declaring their contributions to political 501(c)(4) groups as gifts, a lawyer representing progressive donors alleged Monday.
The IRS initially defended the examinations after their existence was made public, saying they had been initiated by career civil servants, and were not political in nature.
But noting the historic lack of enforcement of the provision, six Republican members of the Senate Budget Committee, led by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.), accused the IRS of pursuing a Democratic political vendetta.
And on July 7, the IRS shut everything down until further notice. The five donors have never been identified.
The agency, however, had been on solid legal ground in pursuing those cases, said Marcus S. Owens, a Washington lawyer who used to head the IRS division that oversees tax-exempt organizations. Owens said his four progressive clients are "outraged" by the IRS's cave-in and believe that dropping the investigation was the political decision -- not launching it.
"The clear implication left by the IRS action on July 7 is that IRS enforcement activity can be curtailed by intervention from a handful of members of Congress, whatever their party affiliation, when political contributions are at risk," Owens wrote in a letter to the Treasury Department, which oversees the IRS.
"Best as I can tell, the agency sort of made a snap decision under pressure from Republican members of Congress to just freeze everything in place," Owens told HuffPost. "The problem is they reacted to political pressure and they shut down audits without any apparent justification other than it was irritating members of one political party. And that has a corrosive effect on tax law."
The letter calls on Treasury and the IRS to issue immediate guidance clearing up the issue.
Anything that could possibly affect donations to political 501(c)(4) groups is inevitably a hot-button issue in Washington. Such groups -- organized under a section of the tax code intended for "social welfare" groups -- played an enormous role in the 2010 election, mostly in support of conservative candidates, and are expected to play an even bigger role in 2012.
The groups -- freed from spending limits by recent Supreme Court cases, and exploiting a disclosure loophole created by the Federal Election Commission -- can now accept unlimited secret donations from corporations and individuals.
According to Owens, however, those donations are clearly subject to the gift tax under tax law that exempts only charitable groups and political groups organized under section 527 of the tax code. That was restated in an 1982 ruling by the IRS.
"The IRS position was clear. It was crystal clear," Owens said.
Gift taxes are not a big issue for most people; gifts under $13,000 per person don't need to be reported at all, and there's a $5 million lifetime exemption for gifts made after 2010. The tax is intended to prevent wealthy individuals from avoiding estate taxes through gifting.
For the really deep-pocketed big donors, especially those who give several million dollars to 501(c)(4)s at a time, the gift tax would be a huge blow. The gift tax rate is 35 percent this year -- and unless Congress acts, it will jump to 55 percent in 2013, even as the lifetime exemption falls to $1 million. Donors who gave to 501(c)(4)s instead of 527s (which require disclosure) could end up paying in a big way.
Owens said his four clients are not wealthy, and probably would not be affected by the gift tax anyway, but do give money regularly to political groups.
What precisely led the IRS to back down? Neither IRS nor Treasury officials had any comment on Monday.
Owens said he suspects it was mostly an attempt to avoid controversy, rather than an active attempt to appease Republicans.
Lloyd Mayer, who teaches tax law at the University of Notre Dame, agreed. "The worst fear of most career government servants is being drawn into the political spotlight," he said. "The political heat got a little bit too hot, and the IRS blinked, rather than stick to its position, which I think was right."
But the move backfired, Mayer said.
"To actually abandon existing audits -- not even try to bring those cases -- in the face of clear political pressure certainly gives the appearance that if you get enough members of Congress to write a letter, they'll back off," he said. Particularly "if you can play the partisan card; if you can say the reason they're going after me is a partisan issue."
Owens said that message has been heard loud and clear.
"Since the July 7th memorandum, I've actually had a client with a tax issue -- not a political issue -- ask whether there might be a political solution to his tax issue. 'Call up Orrin Hatch and ask him to write a letter,'" he said.
"The IRS is being put in an untenable position because of political pressure from both sides," said Brad Smith, chairman of the Center for Competitive Politics, a group that opposes campaign finance regulations. The original gift tax inquiries "kind of popped out of nowhere after comments by Sen. Baucus and others on the other side of the political spectrum," he said.
Last fall, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) asked the IRS to investigate the use of tax-exempt groups for political advocacy, generally speaking, and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) requested an investigation of the tax status of the Karl Rove-associated group Crossroads GPS and others like it.
Smith's proposed solution "is that Congress needs to back off trying to use the tax code to regulate campaign finance."


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If you ever needed an excuse to get more sleep, exciting new findings about lucid dreaming could be it. A recent study has just proved that, in the right conditions, you can not only communicate with people in the lucid state, they can answer questions, too. Sure, the subjects only solved simple math questions (the kind most 8th graders could) but it provokes a tantalizing thought — what else can we do while we're in slumberland?
Scientists communicating with lucid dreamers is nothing new, but the latest experiment dialed up the complexity of that communication, just enough, to renew the public's interest in this mysterious activity.
For the uninitiated, lucid dreaming is realizing that you are in a dream and then being able to influence what happens within it. As simple as this sounds, it's actually a tricky thing to do, and an even harder thing to study. But with this latest research, scientists are beginning to consider there might be tangible benefits we could tap into — something the community of avid dreamers has been suggesting for years.
Can we access parts of our mind that normally remain filtered during our waking life? Could we use this as a therapeutic tool? Could we even unlock some powerful learning tools? The answer seems to be tantalizing maybe. And technology might be the catalyst we need.
Research into lucid dreaming has its foundation in the '70s and '80s. In 1975 Dr Keith Hearne demonstrated it's possible to communicate with lucid dreamers in an experiment where subjects repeated a predefined pattern of eye movements while asleep. Ten years later, Stephen LaBerge, a name now synonymous with the subject, was able to determine that our sense of time in the lucid dream state was the same as that of the waking world — hinting at a stronger relation between the lucid and waking state than we first might have suspected.
What we now have is a more direct "conversation" between the dreamer and the scientist, albeit somewhat limited to simple math and food likes/dislikes. "This opens up a lot of possibilities for dream research, of course, but also, there's a lot of potential in all sorts of applications. If you think about it, our participants learned new knowledge during sleep." Dr. Kristoff Appel, one of the study authors, told Engadget.
Of course, if popular culture has taught us anything, it's that behind those heavy eyelids is when our inner genius comes out to play. "In the future, maybe we could use this for creative purposes, maybe connect the dream out to some machines to control robots, or maybe use it in creative space for creating art or music, compose some melodies maybe from dream. The Beatles song, 'Yesterday', is said to have composed or the idea came from a dream." Appel added.
Now, don't confuse this with something like those hypnosis audio tapes of yore. The kind that convinced Chandler Bing he was a strong, confident woman. Those programs claimed to speak to the subconscious, Appel and his colleagues were simply speaking to someone who also happened to be asleep. If you're wondering, then, what actually defines being asleep from a scientific perspective, it's a combination of measurable signals.
"You measure the brain activity, you measure the eye movements and the muscle tension. That's classical so-called polysomnographic recording in the sleep laboratory. And from these recordings, you can definitely say objectively okay, this is awake, this is maybe REM sleep, this is a deep sleep, and so on," according to Appel.
Kristen LaMarca, a clinical psychologist based in California, is even more enthusiastic about lucid dreaming's potential. "It is a fantastic, just wildly imaginative, magical state. There's so much positive emotion and beauty and some of this, we've actually quantified in research," she told Engadget.
It's not all just for flying around or visiting far away places, though. LaMarca uses lucid dreaming as a therapeutic tool, helping people overcome things like PTSD. "With PTSD, you're already revisiting those scenarios in different aspects of your life," she said. "So, the point of lucidity is to do that in a wiser way, a more conscious way." Once patients are able to achieve lucidity, LaMarca said, they know that they are safe and that the situation isn't real, thus better enabling them to process it.
You might well be asking yourself, "How do I achieve this 'magical' state?" The short answer is: With practise. There are many, many guides online on how to do this, but most of them revolve around two key ideas: Reality checks and dream signs. The former involves things like, counting the number of fingers on your hand (it can change in a dream) or using technology (which often doesn't work in the land of nod). Dream signs, LaMarca's preferred method, involves recognizing things that regularly occur in your dreams — like a recurring character or situation — as a way of triggering the awareness and, ideally, then being able to control it. "Another really great thing to focus on is your own thinking process as a dream sign itself. And this is ignored a lot in the literature. But your own thinking is a really great dream sign," she added.
You'll need more than just a trigger, though. There appears to be a strong link with memory recall ability and lucid ability. Which is why most guides will tell you to keep a dream journal and it's also why PTSD sufferers might be particularly suitable candidates — given that they spend a lot of time recalling the same event in vivid detail. There are also some practical factors. Lucid dreams tend to happen toward the end of the sleep cycle, so some people intentionally wake themselves around two hours before they normally get out of bed and set an intention to go back to sleep and, hopefully, right into a lucid dream — a technique known as WILD.
If this all seems like a lot of work, there are some tools out there to help. Galantamine is a drug typically used to treat cognitive decline and alzheimers. Thanks to its effects on memory, it has been found to be useful in promoting lucid dreaming. In fact, LaMarca claims taking galantamine in the middle of the night and going back to sleep can put you in a state that's conducive to having these long, full, very vivid, lucid dreams. Galantamine is available over the counter in the US, but is prescription only in most of Europe. Another supplement that's claimed to help is Huperzine A, which generally doesn't require a prescription. Of course, you should always check with your doctor before trying any new medication, prescription or otherwise.
This is where technology comes in. In a world full of sleep trackers and wearable silent alarms, we effectively already have tools that can, or so they claim, detect different stages of the sleep cycle and wake us up quietly. Used creatively, these gadgets could be a sort of lucid dreaming starter kit, right? According to Appel, we're not quite there yet.
"I would say until a few years ago, just all these sleep staging algorithms inside watches and all these also other devices, they were not reliable at all. And also there's a lot of research papers about it showing that, for example, REM sleep and being awake can't really be differentiated just from having a watch also recording your sleep. You need to analyze the brain activity for that, because the rest is not good enough to differentiate between."
So, it turns out, that sleep-stage detection might not quite be accurate enough with the current wave of wearables. Although that doesn't mean they can't be useful for waking you for the WILD technique. It's just not quite smart enough to automatically tell when you're in the right type of sleep. Yet.
That hasn't stopped a wave of smaller companies making all sorts of different types of gadgets that promise to hold the keys to the lucid kingdom. Just a cursory search on Kickstarter will reveal everything from wristbands, to headbands to eye masks. All of them promise to make achieving lucidity a cinch. Appel isn't so confident.
"I tried out several of these, different of these Kickstarter things, and other lucid dream mask, and so on, and so far it doesn't seem to work really well. And I think it will change over the next few years, I think there will be some maybe more sophisticated apps or devices and so on, but at the moment I don't see a technical device that can induce lucid dreams reliably, unfortunately."
LaMarca is also cautiously optimistic that we will be able to make effective devices for inducing lucid dreams, but it'll need companies to work with scientists to get it right. "I'd like to see more interdisciplinary collaboration in order to get that going more, but it is a shame because there really is a lot of potential to help use technology to help us lucid dream more."
Fancy wearables might not be the only way technology can help us get lucid. There are many apps that also make bold claims about tipping you off that you're dreaming. These might actually be a little more practical, for now. Awoken (Android) and Lucidity (iOS) for example operate more like training tools that leverage some of the tech in your phone. Every morning you can add to your dream journal and throughout the day they'll prompt you to check that you aren't sleeping (the idea being this test will carry over into your dreams). Some apps also let you set a "trigger" sound — a low volume audio cue that helps you lurch out of passive dreaming into the active.
Whatever method you might choose, be it the classical reality checks, supplements, gadgets or apps, there's definitely a lot that can be learned and not just for scientists. For many, the real allure is the rare access to your own mind, as Appel can attest. "I've tried it myself, talking to your subconscious, and asking the dream a question and it answers. So there's lots of interesting things that you can try out in your lucid dreams, and also a lot that you can learn about yourself, in my opinion, with these self questions."


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Storage Appliance Corporation, the developer of consumer backup software marketed as Clickfree™ Automatic Backup, raised $15m in new funding from the Tandem Expansion Fund.
With 23 patents pending, Clickfree is currently available in 25 countries and over 7,000 retail locations. The new capital will be used to expand worldwide the Richmond Hill, Canada-based company's product line.
This financing, which follows a $10m round led by Toronto's Jefferson Partners in April 2009, brings the total venture capital raised by Storage Appliance Corporation to over $30m.


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The ultimate accessory for your BIG day! These comfy flip flops with 'The Bride' charm detail can be used whilst getting ready, your honeymoon and after your big day as a pleasant reminder! Matching pairs are available for the rest of your bridal party!
This authentic Brazilian model has thinner, more delicate straps. These comfortable, durable and water resistant flip flops have a rubber sole, with rice grain pattern on the sole and a brick pattern on the outer sole. These also have the feature of being non-slip, heat resistant and lightweight!
The material of this charm is copper plated, approx size 15mm x 10mm.
And don't forget, all of our Havaianas come gift wrapped in our exclusive I Do Fancy boxes!


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Soros sheltering $18bn that American tax authorities can never touch
Billionaire investor George Soros has funneled a sum bigger than the economies of Jamaica or Albania to a private charity he controls. The money can never be taxed by the US Internal Revenue Service.
The founder of the $26 billion Soros Fund Management, transferred $18 billion to his Open Society Foundations over the past several years.
As the Wall Street Journal specifies, when a person donates untaxed, appreciated assets to a private foundation, he may also hold up to 20 percent of its market value on his personal tax return, carrying forward this deduction for five years.
When Congress eliminated the tax break in 2008, investors were given until December 31, 2017, to bring the cash home and pay the accumulated taxes. After Soros used the tax maneuver, he owes nothing to the IRS.
The donors can continue controlling the money for years or even decades, as foundations can hire family members with six-figure salaries to manage the charity.
Thus, the money can be kept by the Soros family almost forever. Soros himself has repeatedly said the wealthy in the United States should pay more taxes.
The newspaper also mentions self-proclaimed philanthropists like Mark Zuckerberg, who has promised to give up 99 percent of his Facebook shares which are worth $70 billion to the charity his family owns.


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FOREIGN POLICY….John Kerry's foreign policy vs. George Bush's foreign policy:
"I think there is a fundamental difference here in terms of their approach to the world," said Samuel L. Berger, Clinton's national security adviser, who now advises Kerry. "I think this administration believes you go it alone and you use allies when necessary, and I think John believes that you use allies whenever possible and go it alone when necessary."
Does that seem a little….abstract for a presidential campaign? It does to me.
Berger's quote is from an article by Farah Stockman in the Boston Globe today that highlights a key Kerry problem: as Kerry moves rightward after the primaries, and as Bush becomes more receptive to ideas that Kerry has long championed ? giving the United Nations a far greater role in Iraq, emphasizing the importance of welcoming NATO to Iraq, and beefing up the number of US troops in Iraq ? Kerry loses any chance of distinguishing himself from Bush over foreign policy.
This strikes me as a serious problem. National security is almost certain to be the defining issue of the campaign, and there's just no way for Kerry to get any traction there if his positions aren't clearly distinguishable from Bush's. And despite the pro-war partisans' continuing fantasy that George Bush is dedicated to the same kind of vast war of civilizations they are, the fact is that Bush has adopted an awful lot of Democratic positions in the past year. Aside from rhetorical tone, it's getting harder and harder for Kerry to find points of disagreement that are more than just nitpicking.
Unfortunately, that leaves only a charge of incompetence: Bush is prosecuting the war poorly and getting American soldiers needlessly killed. But that's a charge that's unlikely to stick. As John F. Kennedy said when his popularity rating shot up after the Bay of Pigs fiasco, "The worse I do, the more popular I get!"
I think that's exactly right. If the war goes poorly, a lot of people are likely to rally around Bush, not toss him out of office. And that means that if John Kerry wants to win, he has to figure out some genuinely bold and popular foreign policy initiative to identify himself with. But what?


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Nebraska and Oklahoma are trying again to overturn marijuana legalization in Colorado, this time by asking to intervene in an ongoing court case.
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed a proposed lawsuit brought against Colorado by the two states, leaving the states without a court to hear their complaints. Earlier this month, Nebraska and Oklahoma responded by asking to be added to a case at the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.
That case is the consolidation of two separate appeals filed by legalization opponents whose lawsuits were dismissed by a lower court. Nebraska and Oklahoma's motion means that all of the ongoing challenges against Colorado's legalization of marijuana have, for the moment, merged into a single court case.
Since Colorado became the first state in the country to allow licensed stores to sell marijuana to anyone over 21 years old, the state has faced a barrage of lawsuits seeking to shutter the stores. So far, none has succeeded.
Get caught up on Colorado's pot lawsuits
In-depth analysis: Who exactly is behind the lawsuits over Colorado's legal marijuana? Primarily out-of-state interests with deep pockets
Pot pesticides lawsuit tossed: Denver judge says consumers who sued weren't actually harmed from smoking pot they say was treated with pesticides
Fewer targets: Federal judge removes the governor and other state and Pueblo County officials as defendants in a high-profile marijuana racketeering lawsuit based in southern Colorado
Nebraska-Oklahoma lawsuit: Previous articles about the landmark lawsuit filed by neighboring states over Colorado's marijuana legalization
More on the RICO suits: Colorado residents suing to halt recreational marijuana sales
RICO suits: Coverage of cases trying to halt Colorado's recreational marijuana sales by using a federal law against organized crime
Follow The Cannabist on Twitter and Facebook
One lawsuit was brought by a group of county sheriffs, and another was brought by the owners of a rural property next to a marijuana grow. In both cases, the plaintiffs — backed by national anti-legalization organizations — argued that federal laws criminalizing marijuana should override state law. Federal trial court judges in Colorado dismissed both this year, prompting the appeals, which were consolidated into a single case.
This month, the attorneys general in Nebraska and Oklahoma filed a motion asking to intervene in the appeal.
"This is an exceptional case involving an imperative reason for intervention," lawyers for the two states wrote in their motion.
Nebraska and Oklahoma argue that marijuana legalization in Colorado violates their sovereignty and requires them to spend more money arresting, jailing and prosecuting an increasing number of people caught bringing pot into their states. By not allowing them to participate in the case, the two states say the appeals court, "may effectively decide Nebraska and Oklahoma's claim before it has the chance of being litigated in front of any court."
In a response filed last week, the county of Pueblo — which is named as a defendant in the property owners' lawsuit — opposed Nebraska and Oklahoma's intervention.
"They want to short circuit the process," the county's lawyers wrote.
There is no timeline for the 10th Circuit judges to make a decision on the states' motion.
John Ingold: 303-954-1068, email@example.com or @johningold


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Seinfeld: The Parking Garage
December, 2010
By Isaiah Mouw and Mark Botts
Parking vs. Pop Culture is a series of articles dedicated to significant parking references found in pop culture. The winner, either parking or pop culture, will be determined by whether parking ended as a positive or negative experience in the particular pop culture reference. This issues parking reference is taken from the Seinfeld TV show episode The Parking Garage, which originally aired on Oct. 30, 1991, on NBC.
Most of us have seen that hilarious Seinfeld episode in which Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer struggle to locate their vehicle in a large shopping mall parking garage. Many of us have had such an experience.
Seinfeld nine seasons, 61 awards, 121 nominations. Top ranks among its TV contemporaries. Characters seared onto our cultural consciousness and catch phrases grafted into our vernacular yada, yada, yada.
Seinfeld raises its arms as the undisputed heavyweight champion of television sitcoms of the last 20 years. No pithy topic could stand against the wit and humor of its cast of everyday people with everyday problems even if those problems were found wanting when compared with more national and global matters.
Still, when we cant find our car in a multilevel parking garage, is our mind filled with concerns for the national debt, terrorism or bipartisanship? No, we want to find our car. Everything else is secondary and tertiary.
And so, Seinfeld and his band of two brothers and one sister strike a resonate chord with our experiences and leave an indelible mark on our memories because who hasnt wandered about a parking garage looking for their car, all while talking to themselves, reassuring themselves that they parked the car right here! No, here!
Kramer promises the gang that his photographic memory will recall their parking spot. But he forgets its number, and a hilarious debacle ensues, aggravated by each characters personal crises:
Jerrys (Jerry Seinfeld), a full bladder; Elaines (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), a plastic bag of live goldfish; Kramers (Michael Richards), a newly bought window air-conditioning unit; Georges (Jason Alexander), being late for his parents anniversary party.
At the end of an arduous day, they find Kramers car, only to have their resolve stripped down further the car wont start.
The Dimensions of Parking, from the National Parking Association and the Urban Land Institute, dedicates an entire chapter to the concept of wayfinding, which refers to the process of reaching a destination.
Patrons making their way through a parking garage create cognitive maps, and draw on the information in those maps in order to make and execute decisions about where to go and what to do next.
Clearly, the designers of the parking garage that inspired Larry David to write this episode must have forgotten to read that chapter.
Due to a creative and innovative system of wayfinding at a Childrens Hospital Boston garage, co-author Mouw says his 1-year-old son was able to remind him what floor they had parked on. Deer, deer, deer, his son shouted as they approached the parking garage elevators. Each level is named after an animal and littered with images of that animal precisely to help customers remember what floor they parked on.
Other such examples of innovative wayfinding include the Chestnut Parking Structure in downtown Philadelphia, where each level is named after one of Ben Franklins Seven Virtues; and the a major garage in downtown Chicago, which uses musical themes and has each level named after one of the citys professional sports teams.
Not every parking structure needs to include Franklins Virtues or names of sports teams or musical themes, but effective signage, visual anchors and color coding different levels of the garage can go a long way.
The Parking Garage episode of Seinfeld turned a negative experience that happens to nearly everyone into a piece of pure comedy. It turned a usually frustrating situation into a This reminds us of the Seinfeld show ..., with a little laugh, which is why parking wins to take the lead 2 to 1.
Isaiah Mouw, a CAPP candidate who works for Republic Parking System, can be reached at email@example.com. Mark Botts, who attended the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York, is a graduate student in Regent Universitys MFA program. He can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.