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Marc J. O'Reilly. Unexceptional: America's Empire in the Persian Gulf, 1941-2007. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2008. xxi + 345 pp. $80.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-7391-0590-0.
Reviewed by Richard McAlexander
Published on H-Diplo (September, 2008)
Commissioned by Christopher L. Ball (DePaul University)
Mis-Titled But Insightful
With the U.S. invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq in 2003, observers and pundits have offered various categories to classify the latest adventure of the United States in the Middle East. Supporters of the invasion have argued that the George W. Bush administration's actions in the Middle East are simply another installment of America's benevolent but heavy-handed involvement in the Persian Gulf. Realist observers protested the overtly ideological nature of the war and disregard for realpolitik principles. Critics on the left (and some self-proclaimed neoconservatives on the right) argued that the latest Iraq war was beyond a mere hegemonic act but instead constituted a textbook example of imperialist behavior. In Unexceptional, Marc J. O'Reilly has crafted a welcome addition to the current debate on the nature of U.S. involvement in the Persian Gulf while also providing new insights into American Middle East policy since World War II.
O'Reilly, an assistant professor of political science at Heidelberg College in Ohio, argues that America's involvement in the Persian Gulf was and remains similar to previous empires' involvement in the region. Fully aware of the implications employing "empire" as an analytical tool, O'Reilly introduces the book with a survey on the contemporary debate on the definition of "empire," including a range of views from Niall Ferguson to Immanuel Wallerstein. O'Reilly tackles the taxonomists preferred alternative to "empire"--"hegemony"--by arguing that the two terms are meant to diagnose different ailments. The term "hegemony" implies that a state possesses a high level of cultural, economic, and political power, and then uses this power to coerce or encourage other states to bend to the will of the state. O'Reilly cites President Bill Clinton's bailout of Mexico in 1994 and the stabilization of the world economy in the wake of the Asian financial panic of 1997-98 as hegemonic acts. Contemporaneously, Washington unleashed multiple waves of air strikes against Iraq, which prompts O'Reilly to ask: "Why would a hegemon employ what could only be construed as imperial methods" (p. 23)? This question gets to the heart of O'Reilly's project: his goal is not to examine the essence of America's preeminent role in the world but to find an adequate framework and characterization for interpreting the aims and actions of America's involvement in the Middle East.
The bulk of O'Reilly's project consists of examining discrete episodes of larger periods of U.S. involvement in the Persian Gulf, and then placing those episodes into a framework that explains how empires act. O'Reilly offers five propositions for how the United States has exercised imperialism in the Persian Gulf, taking into account whether America's interests are at stake, and whether the United States itself, or an ally, can act to protect those interests. The first episode occurred during World War II, when the United States supplanted Great Britain in Iran and Saudi Arabia as the protector of the support line that shipped weapons and materiel to the Allies. The United States sought to improve relations with Saudi Arabia and Iran to "counter Great-Power threats [from the Soviets], a favorite imperial tactic" (p. 57). U.S. encroachment increased when Britain's empire declined, and thus "the United States, the superpower with atomic weapons and the most productive economy in the world, officially joined the Great Game" (p. 56). The replacement of Britain's role by the United States in Saudi Arabia and Iran as British power waned bolsters O'Reilly's thesis. This trend intensified in O'Reilly's second period, 1948-58, when British power declined precipitously in the wake of the Suez crisis and the United States responded with the Eisenhower Doctrine, which declared that the United States would be concerned with the internal politics of all Middle Eastern states. U.S. intervention in Lebanon in 1958, as intended, demonstrated to the Middle East that the United States would act on its promises, as if the ultimate imperial act (the covert overthrow of Mohammed Mossadeq in 1954) was not enough.
In examining the third stage of American expansion, from 1959-72, O'Reilly acknowledges that it "defies easy explanation" (p. 116). With the Vietnam War the central issue in U.S. foreign policy, involvement in the Middle East, declined. However, O'Reilly offers a convincing explanation for this seemingly anomalous behavior: with a military bogged down in Vietnam, the United States relied on its close relationship with Saudi Arabia and Iran to protect its interests, known as the Twin Pillars strategy. The central interest of the United States--unfettered access to oil--remained safeguarded despite the turbulence of the Six Days' War, the Yemeni civil war, and border skirmishes between Iraq and Kuwait. The United States was more concerned with limiting the negative effects of these conflicts than with preventing them.
The detached role of the United States in the Middle East continues into O'Reilly's fourth stage of analysis, from 1973-89. O'Reilly admits that calling "the American performance in this era imperialistic would seem rather preposterous," but "informal empire ... allows for the contraction of interests and influence" (p. 155). O'Reilly rescues his thesis by arguing that Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's success in convincing the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to abandon its oil embargo further insinuated the United States into the Arab-Israeli conflict. However, the inaction of President Jimmy Carter as he watched the Iranian shah fall and the Twin Pillars strategy crumble weakens O'Reilly's argument. Nevertheless, O'Reilly argues that Carter's inaction was consonant with imperialism. He writes that inaction was due to a lack of "decisive presidential leadership" (not a lack of will), and that "in contrast, a Truman, Eisenhower, or Nixon might have ordered some kind of action" to save the shah (p. 156). This exercise demonstrates that O'Reilly's minimum criteria for an imperial act includes nonactions--just as long as the idleness is driven by a reliance on proxies or ineffective government. Moreover, this means that O'Reilly's functional definition of "empire" is primarily concerned with the intentions or even desires of the purportedly imperial state. While his definition proves adequate for most of the examples that O'Reilly examines, his characterization of the detached role of the United States as the shah fell as imperialistic will prove problematic for some readers.
The heart of Unexceptional lies in O'Reilly's largest and most incisive chapter, which retells the wars of Iraq and Afghanistan through the lens of his interpretative framework on imperialism. O'Reilly argues that U.S. post-9/11 policy transformed from "informal" empire to "formal" empire, largely due to the American public's acquiescence to indefinitely deploying U.S. troops into foreign lands. This acquiescence was the result of the public's post-9/11 tolerance of the costs of occupation of foreign land--the rhetoric of the "Global War on Terror" provided a cover for the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, or formal empire. This, in conjunction with the significant military superiority of the United States, allowed the Bush administration to jettison the favored tactic of the United States in the region--reliance on proxies--for invasion and occupation. O'Reilly rightfully notes that the United States created the "archetypal imperial dilemma" in Iraq--the occupation inevitably fuels resentment and reprisals by the occupied, yet the occupied cannot risk abandoning the occupation to a "failed state" (p. 241). As expected, O'Reilly's thesis that U.S. policies in the Middle East are imperial is most convincing when U.S. policy shifted from informal to formal empire.
Ultimately, the central flaw in Unexceptional resides in the disconnect between the stated aims of the book and its contents. In the introduction, O'Reilly writes that, "above all else," his goal is to "answer one question: Is the American empire in the Persian Gulf exceptional? In other words, is American behavior different from that of previous Gulf imperialists" (p. 26)? To answer this important question, he would had to have undertaken a comparative study of British, Ottoman, and U.S. involvement in the Persian Gulf. Yet, O'Reilly's book is not a comparative study--it lays out a framework for interpreting U.S. actions in the Middle East as imperialistic, and then examines discrete episodes of U.S. involvement (and sometimes non-involvement) in reference to that framework. In that sense, the work is an enlightening and welcome addition to the debate on the imperial status of postwar U.S. foreign policy. However, O'Reilly simply does not address the question he lays out in the introduction. He includes only a handful of mentions of British involvement in the Middle East throughout the text, and his references to Ottoman involvement are even rarer. The reader looking for even a cursory answer to O'Reilly's central inquiry will surely be disappointed.
There are other flaws. For no obvious reason, O'Reilly confines significant discussion of the relationship between the United States and Israel to the latter two chapters, ranging from 1990 to the present. O'Reilly offers no explanation for why Israel suddenly appears in his analysis, which is especially odd when the incorporation of the formation of the special relationship around 1958 could bolster his overall thesis. Also, only U.S.-based, English language sources (albeit extensively researched ones) are used. Primary sources in Arabic could have shed some light on the effects, rather than just the intentions or goals, of U.S. policy in the Middle East. Despite its flaws, Unexceptional will be of interest to those concerned with the current debate on U.S. imperial status and those interested in examining the continuity between past U.S. actions in the Persian Gulf and the current Iraq war. The latter theme is where O'Reilly's project succeeds. O'Reilly presents a convincing case that "empire and imperialism can explain the U.S. rise to prominence in the Gulf since 1941 as well as the evolution of American policy and strategy in that region" (p. 5).
The overt and formal imperialism of the current Iraq war has clearly inspired O'Reilly to reevaluate past U.S. involvement in the region. Ultimately, Unexceptional succeeds because the interpretive framework is both relevant to contemporary debates and a provider of new insights into past U.S. actions without being marred by presentism.
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If there is additional discussion of this review, you may access it through the network, at: https://networks.h-net.org/h-diplo.
Richard McAlexander. Review of O'Reilly, Marc J., Unexceptional: America's Empire in the Persian Gulf, 1941-2007.
H-Diplo, H-Net Reviews.
September, 2008.
URL: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=15488
|This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.


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Eichholtz Encore Table Lamp Polished Brass/Nickel
Product Code: EI6646
Striking polished brass Eichholtz table lamp with black shade.
Add a touch of glamour to your home interior scheme with the Eichholtz Encore Table Lamp Polished Brass/Nickel.
Inspired by the glamorous luxury lighting from the roaring 1920s, this sophisticated designer table lamp has been updated for contemporary living.
Exuding the restrained opulence that Eichholtz are renowned for, Encore features a commanding sculptural base.
Constructed in a cross-shaped formation, four tall, slender polished brass bars combine together to create a glamorous aesthetic.
Complemented by polished nickel accents including a nickel plinth base, the lamp is then completed in style with a sleek cubed black cotton blend lamp shade.
Switch on to unveil an ambient radiance and combine with an Eichholtz side table or pair at either side of a luxury metal and glass console table for maximum visual interest.
Requires 1x E27 40W Max light bulb (not included)
Please note: Hand sculpted by skilled artisans, each table lamp is distinctively unique every time with no two exactly alike.
About The Brand
Eichholtz is the epitome of luxury living… our collection of furniture, lighting and accessories from Eichholtz is your go-to style destination for that elusive interior piece. From timeless Luxe glamour to hotel boutique Chic, the inspirational Eichholtz collection spans a host of iconic interior styles and can be found in some of the world's most prestigious hotels and residences.
Why shop with Houseology
Houseology is not only the UK's premier online interior design store - it is an emporium of design ideas, advice & inspiration and a platform of tools & technology designed to make your interior design decisions and calculations easy.

subset: commoncrawl


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Campus Safety
Chattahoochee Valley Community College is committed to ensuring the safety and security of its faculty, staff, and students. The following information was developed to provide a summary of safety and security procedures for CVCC employees and students as well as information for emergency conditions. To this end, the College provides procedures and policy directives for single incidents as well as for major emergency conditions affecting large segments of the College community.
Incident Reporting Form
Campus Safety and Security Report
Annual Security Report
Emergency Response
Hazardous Weather Conditions
Parking Areas
Security Officers
User ID: Your employee or student e-mail address
Password: Your Employee Number or your Student Number
Emergency Contact Information
|Medical Emergencies
|Please dial 911 immediately and then notify the switchboard at 334-291-4900.
|Other Emergencies
|For emergencies involving, fires, explosions, bomb threats, criminal acts, maintenance, weather, etc. please contact the switchboard at 334-291-4900 and ask to notify the administrator on duty.


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2007 Bentley Arnage Values
Select a 2007 Bentley Arnage trim level
2007 model year changes
The Bentley Arnage keeps its conservative shape and styling, which was last significantly updated in 2005, but for 2007 it gets a long list of mechanical improvements, including more power from both engines, a new automatic transmission, a revised electronic stability control system, and a revised driving position, plus a number of smaller styling changes and new equipment inside to make it more accommodating. All models get a new thin-film driver information panel, and the Arnage RL now gets a reverse-sensing system and the rSAP Bluetooth telephone system standard. The Arnage T gets a new dark-finish grille and "black crackle" finish to its intake manifold underhood, along with a revised Bentley logo and special engine plaques. Also, several new wheel, paint color, and interior trim options are available, and there's a newly optional retractable "Flying B" hood ornament.
Competitive comparison
Interior space (RL); posh ride; acceleration; classic appearance.
Special features for 2007
Next to Bentley's sleeker, more modern designs such as the Continental GT and Flying Spur, the 2007 Arnage is a connection to Bentley's heritage of being both conservatively styled and luxurious, yet fast. In the Arnage's price range, value isn't a consideration so much as exclusivity, and especially in high-performance Arnage T form, it makes a very rapid and distinguished conveyance.
Available in three trims – the Base Arnage R, the Arnage T and the top-of-the-line Arnage RL - there's no denying the 2007 Bentley Arnage is one of the finest luxury Sedans on the market today. The Arnage R and RL feature a 450 horsepower 6.8-liter V8 twin turbo while the Arnage T features a 500 horsepower 6.8-liter V8 twin turbo. Inside, the Arnage is luxuriously appointed with exquisite leather and woodgrain trim, two LCD TVs, an AM/FM/CD/MP3 audio system, a personal computer and seating capacity for up to five passengers, in addition to plenty of safety features.


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November 08, 2017 11:14 AM
Veterans can get a free pizza this Saturday at Salvatore's.
Salvatore's is offering all veterans and active duty military members a free medium, one topping pizza on Veteran's Day*. The offer is available between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. and is available for pick up or dine in orders.
Nick Pearl, who owns three Salvatore's locations, is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps. Each year on Veterans Day, Nick sets up a POW/MIA tribute table at his Scottsville Saloon location.
"Everyone needs to say 'Thank You' on Veterans Day," said Pearl. "I couldn't be happier that the Salvatore's Pizza Franchise stands with me in saying 'Thank You for your service'."
* No purchase necessary, must show a valid Veteran or Military ID, one free pizza per person.
Created: November 08, 2017 11:14 AM
Copyright 2017 - WHEC-TV, LLC A Hubbard Broadcasting Company
We no longer have Facebook comments on this site. Please visit our Facebook Page to join the conversation.


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Volunteer Recruitment is Ongoing—You May Sign Up at Any Time! See Application Below.
The Jack Jouett Archaeology Project (JJAP) is a community archaeology project that welcomes everyone with an opportunity to participate as a member of a team dedicated to the archaeological study of Kentucky's early distillery industry.
In many ways, Kentucky's identity is built on the historic success of the distilling industry. In pioneer Kentucky distilling corn whiskey was not a luxury; it was an economic necessity. Gallons of whiskey were traded in place of money to purchase goods, labor, and property. Before the 1820's the transportation infrastructure in many areas of Kentucky made it impossible to get corn to market before it spoiled. Distilling the corn into whiskey preserved the product until it made it into the market and sold for more money by volume.
As an early Kentucky settler and successful agriculturist, Jack Jouett would have participated in this economy. Jack operated a distillery and mill on Craig's Creek from the late 1700's to the early 1800's when he traded the distillery to Charles and Peter Buck in exchange for one thousand gallons of whiskey. Fortunately for us, he was never paid. The documents from the resulting litigation list landmarks that led us to the location of his distillery.
During our 2014 and 2015 seasons, we learned that the distillery begun by Jack lasted through the 1800's, ending production sometime before Prohibition. In the field, JJAP Team members located where the distillery workers ate and where they burned their trash. We gained inklings into the story of Jack Jouett the distiller. In order to fill in the gaps, in 2016 we are exploring two different distilleries that operated during the 1800's. Data from these sites will provide a comparative frame of reference for the early distilling landscape of WoodfordCounty.
Members of the JJAP team will be able to participate in every stage of archaeological investigation. From archival research, through excavation and artifact analysis, team members will have an active role in reconstructing forgotten stories from our history. Through an understanding of how fragile remnants of the past are, we will all be stewards of the past. Everyone who wants to participate regardless of physical ability will be included. The only requirement is that you are interested in archaeology, history, and/or whiskey.
This project is sponsored by the Woodford County Fiscal Court and The Woodford County Heritage Committee, with additional support from The Kentucky Distillers' Association and The Kentucky Heritage Council. We are grateful for the support of the families who own the land that we will be crossing and working on during this project. None of this would be possible without their permission. All of the artifacts recovered during this project remain their property and will be presented to them once the analysis has been completed.
This is the first phase of the broader Bourbon Archaeology Project that will examine early distilling throughout Kentucky. The Jack Jouett House Historic Site is excited to be a founding partner because we will learn more about Jack's role as a leading Kentucky agriculturalist and the stories of the people with whom he worked. WoodfordCounty is the epicenter of Bourbon Archaeology. Since 2014 we have been learning about the early distilling industry and the best methods to gather and analyze the materials associated with them. Our experiences will inform the next stages of the project and guide investigations of the industry throughout Kentucky.
Welcome to the team!
Nick Laracuente Janice Clark
Project Director Executive Director
Jack Jouett Archaeology Project Jack Jouett House Historic Site
Click on About Us/Press Room/2014—02-14 and About Us/Press Room/2015--02-07 to read press releases about the Jack Jouett Archaeology Project. Click on the links below to access the Jack Jouett Archaeology Team volunteer application packet. In addition to the project application, each Team Member is required to sign a liability waiver, which can be completed on the Team Member's first day on the project. Team Members under the age of 18 are required to have their liability waivers notarized, so they should contact the Jack Jouett House Historic Site to obtain a waiver prior to their first day on the project.


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COOL MAX Pink Robot Tank
Sold Out
Editor's Note
The adorable tank is made with Japanese 'COOL MAX' material that is a must-have for Frenchies in the summer! This material is highly breathable and helps Frenchies to evaporate heat on a sunny day.
To use: Wet the entire top in cool water, wring the top and put it on your pooch during summer walks. The material has high level of heat dissipation and it helps cooling your Frenchie on a sunny day. As the top dries, spray more water on it to keep the cooling effect!
- Pull-on
- COOL MAX material
- Also available in blue
- Made in Japan
Our model measures 53 cm (chest), 30 cm (length) and is wearing a size M.


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Candy By Design strongly believes in protecting all personal information of our customers and any information that you provide is for the sole use of Candy By Design. We do not share any of your information with any third parties or affiliates and any such company or individual stating this should be reported to us immediately at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Candy By Design stores customer address and contact details by way of the customer order details submitted. Candy By Design does not at any point collect or store customers bank details. This is always collected and stored by our third party payment processor PayPal. The information Candy By Design does store is used to analyse sales and market trends. At no point is this information passed on to third parties for commercial use. Delivery details including shipping address, email and telephone number will be passed to our third party carriers to allow for a quick and efficient delivery service.
Customers may choose to be emailed by way of the Candy By Design Newsletter. Candy By Design reserves the right to contact customers via telephone and email when deemed necessary. E.g for delivery or stock issues.
All paper work containing customers confidential details are destroyed in a responsible manor.
If customers find any details to be inaccurate or wish their account details to be removed they should contact Candy By Design via email with the requested actions.


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We Weave and Heft by the River is an all night event by the Coastal Reading Group (Bibi Calderaro, Christos Galanis, & Margaretha Haughwout) that explores ways to grieve the tremendous loss of non-human species that are passing away and being actively killed during this specific historic, geologic, cultural moment in time. It premiered at the Landscape Language and Sublime Symposium and Creative Gathering at Schumacher College in Devon England at the end of June 2016.
Massive environmental shifts are usually described to us in terms of data or through curated images, such as a polar bear on a piece of ice. For this event we wondered at how to even begin holding an affective space for species we might not even know.
In a relational, all night vigil conducted around an outdoor fire we talked and listened and worked our hands around materials sourced from animals and plants nearby. Processes were tried, conversations and questions absorbed us.
A shared inquiry for us was whether this kind of collective grieving has any halting effect on capitalist progress at all. Grief slows everything down and highlights what is most important. Capitalism relies on a blur of speed and forward motion to avoid the ever accumulating loss.
Our schedule:
Part 1:
– Begin fire
– Introductions
– Coastal Reading Group speak / read / weave
– Participants share stories/memories and speak with seed beads, plants materials and wool
Part 2:
– Active listening by the fire, small groups/ napping
Part 3:
– More weaving of materials and stories, words and silences
– Bury seed beads, plant materials and wool in meadow near event site
– Close
There were many stories and memories of plants, insects, humans and animals from the different decades that participants lived through. There was what Virginia Mackay, a participant in the event, calls "welling"; there was also despair, anguish, appreciation, silence and reckoning — all threads to and from grief. Our questions deepened.
At dawn we buried a co-created object that was made amidst our memories and silences in a meadow near to where we held our conversation.


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Sale Date Ended
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Your shopping cart is empty!
Availability In Stock
Composition : Sofosbuvir 400mg
Manufacturer : Dr. Reddy's Laboratories
Packing : Pack of 28 Tablets
Sofosbuvir is a nucleotide analog inhibitor of hepatitis C virus NS5B polymerase—the key enzyme mediating HCV RNA replication. The triphosphate form of sofosbuvir (GS-461203) mimics the natural cellular uridine nucleotide and is incorporated by the HCV RNA polymerase into the elongating RNA primer strand, resulting in viral chain termination.
Sofosbuvir is indicated for use by adults with chronic hepatitis C, meaning infection lasting more than six months. It is approved for people with HCV genotype 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6. Sofosbuvir can be used by people being treated for hepatitis C for the first time (known as 'treatment-naive'). Sofosbuvir can be used by people with all stages of liver disease including compensated and decompensated cirrhosis. However, it works better for people with less advanced liver damage. People with chronic hepatitis C who are awaiting or have received a liver transplant tolerate sofosbuvir better than older medications.
Get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficult breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.
Call your doctor at once if you have:
pale skin, feeling light-headed or short of breath, rapid heart rate, trouble concentrating; or
fever, swollen gums, painful mouth sores, skin sores, cold or flu symptoms, cough.
Common side effects may include:
headache, tired feeling; mild itching; nausea; sleep problems (insomnia);
This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects.
Store below 30°C (86°F). Dispense in original container.


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We must totally surrender our lives, our purpose and its implementation to God.
Here is the good news or the bad news depending on your perspective. Really it's more than that. It's not going to be enough to just acknowledge God in the process, we must totally surrender to God. In this way we become the process that God uses. You must understand that you will not be in charge of this process. God will be in charge and you will surrender to him, it or she. This is the way it has to be. The part of you that might be having a hard time with this is your ego, the part of you that is under the delusion that it is separate from God.


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Fenway Park opened in 1912 and is the oldest ballpark in the major leagues. Known for its Green Monster, a 37-foot-high wall that extends straight from left field to center field, Fenway Park has one of the last hand-operated scoreboards in baseball in the left-field wall. Green and red lights are used to signal balls, strikes and outs. The Red Sox added 269 new seats atop The Monster for the 2003 season.
The seats are cramped, the facilities ancient and the tickets are some of the most expensive in baseball. Now that that's out of the way, every baseball fan should make it to Fenway at least once. This oldest park in the Majors is a living museum to America's pastime and home to the best team in baseball in the new century. And right outside the door are some great sports bars. For more on the Fenway Park experience, including a game-day itinerary, visit Wise Guides.
Four Yawkey Way Boston, MA 02215
More Tickets »


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Public Administration
Public Administration
Public administration houses the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work. As a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope" its "fundamental goal... is to advance management and policies so that government can function." Some of the various definitions which have been offered for the term are: "the management of public programs"; the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day"; and "the study of government decision making, the analysis of the policies themselves, the various inputs that have produced them, and the inputs necessary to produce alternative policies."
Public administration is "centrally concerned with the organization of government policies and programmes as well as the behavior of officials (usually non-elected) formally responsible for their conduct" Many unelected public servants can be considered to be public administrators, including heads of city, county, regional, state and federal departments such as municipal budget directors, HRadministrators, city managers, Census managers, state [mental health]directors, and cabinet secretaries. Public administrators are public servants working in public departments and agencies, at all levels of government.
In the US, civil servants and academics such as Woodrow Wilson promoted American civil service reform in the 1880s, moving public administration into academia. However, "until the mid-20th century and the dissemination of the German sociologist Max Weber's theory of bureaucracy" there was not "much interest in a theory of public administration." The field is multidisciplinary in character; one of the various proposals for public administration's sub-fields sets out five pillars, including human resources, organizational theory, policy analysis and statistics, budgeting, and ethics.
Matching Public Administration Colleges
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Public Administration Scholarships
|Lawrence K. Roos Scholarship Fund for Public Service
|Up to $2,500
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Public Administration Related Majors
- Social Work
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- Public Policy Analysis
- Youth Services/Administration


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EU leaders asked to ensure a high ambition level in the revised Gothenburg Protocol on air pollution
To: Mr. Janez Potocnik, European Commissioner for Environment and Mrs. Ida Auken, Minister for the Environment of Denmark
Cc: Ministers for Environment of EU Member States and Mr. Karl Falkenberg, Director General, DG Environment
G10 EU directors letter: Call for EU leaders to ensure a high ambition level in the revised Gothenburg Protocol on air pollution
Brussels, 27th February 2012
Dear Commissioner Potocnik, Dear Minister Auken,
From 30 April to 4 May 2012, the parties to the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP), including the EU, will meet and decide on the amendments to the Gothenburg Protocol on air pollution. We are writing as the Green 10 to urge you to take all necessary steps towards an ambitious agreement.
Background: the cost of air pollution in Europe
Every year, air pollution causes nearly half a million premature deaths in the EU 27. This corresponds to almost 4.5 million years of life lost. In addition to premature deaths, increased hospital admissions, extra medication and millions of lost working days, air pollution causes significant damage to ecosystems, agricultural crops, modern materials, and our cultural heritage. More than 70 % of the EU's sensitive ecosystem areas are still subject to nitrogen deposition in excess of their critical loads.
Fighting air pollution does not only improve and extend people's lives. It can also bring huge socioeconomic benefits. In the year 2000 only, the health damage from air pollution was estimated to amount to between €277 and €790 billion.
By aiming for a level of ambition in line with the so-called High* scenario, the implementation of a revised Gothenburg Protocol could bring monetary benefits that amount to up to €110-290 billion per year in Europe (of which €50-150 billion in the EU27). Those benefits would be up to 55 times higher than the costs involved. In all cases, it is financially worthwhile to fight air pollution.
Impacts on the EU's air pollution policy and 2013 "Year of Air"
The revision of the Gothenburg Protocol presents a major opportunity for the EU to significantly improve the air quality in Europe, in line with the ambitions and objectives of the 6th Environment Action Programme (EAP). This could be done by the EU agreeing to strict emission reduction obligations by 2020 for the EU member states, and thereby also pushing non-EU countries in the same direction, which is of great importance since air pollutant emissions in non-EU countries markedly impact ambient air quality and depositions in EU member states.
The Protocol's revision is likely to have major consequences for the EU's air policy strategy for the years to come, in particular for the long delayed revision of the National Emission Ceilings Directive (NECD) and the ongoing review of the Thematic Strategy on Air Pollution (TSAP). It therefore needs to be as ambitious as possible to provide a strong basis for the proposals expected in EU's "year of air" in 2013.
A high level of ambition under the Gothenburg Protocol will also help fight climate change more efficiently and cheaply. Air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds (VOCs, precursors to ground-level ozone) or black carbon contribute also to global climate change. Cutting their emissions will therefore help both climate mitigation and air quality policies.
Negotiations under the CLRTAP have so far been a great disappointment as most EU member states and non-EU countries appear to aim for a very low level of ambition, with some member states even hesitating to accept emission reduction obligations in line with the baseline scenario (i.e. assuming solely the implementation of already existing legislation). We therefore urge you to make sure that the EU and other parties to the CLRTAP aim towards:
- Agreeing a level of ambition for national emission reduction obligations for 2020 that is at least in line with the High* scenario;
- Adopting ambitious binding emission limit values (ELVs) for specific sources of pollution, preferably at least in line with Option 1 in the draft technical annexes. Currently, the ELVs considered for adoption are either in line with or more lenient than existing EU legislation.
Overall, the EU should ensure that levels of air quality are achieved that do not give rise to significant negative impacts on or risks to human health and the environment, as stated in the 6th EAP.
Thank you for your support.
Yours sincerely,
Jeremy Wates, Secretary General, European Environmental Bureau
On behalf of the Green 10 Directors
Green 10 EU Directors:
- Angelo Caserta, Regional Director of the European Division, BirdLife International
- Wendel Trio, Director, Climate Action Network Europe
- Tony Long, Director, WWF -European Policy Office
- Anelia Stefanova, Director, CEE Bankwatch Network
- Jeremy Wates, Secretary General, European Environmental Bureau
- Genon K. Jensen, Executive Director, Health & Environment Alliance
- Agnieszka Komoch, Acting Director, Friends of the Earth Europe
- Christian Baumgartner, Generalsekretär, Friends of Nature International
- Jorgo Riss, Director, Greenpeace European Unit
- Jos Dings, Director, European Federation for Transport & Environment
Last updated on 29 February 2012


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The heart and major vessels
F001/9371 Royalty Free
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Credit: MEDICAL RF.COM/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Release details: Model release not required. Property release not required.
Keywords: 3d medical illustration, anatomy, colour, heart, human, illustration, inferior vena cava, larynx, portrait, pulmonary artery, pulmonary vein, right pulmonary artery, right pulmonary vein, stylised, superior vena cava, thymus, thyroid, transparent skin, vena cava, white background, with skin
Licence fees: A licence fee will be charged for any media (low or high resolution) used in your project.


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Microsoft CSP: 2-Tier Distributor Directory -- Redmond Channel Partner" />
Advanced Search
The 2-Tier distributors are the heavy-lifting partners of the Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) system -- dealing with Microsoft on one side of the transaction and interacting with hundreds or thousands of 2-Tier resellers on the other side.
Some of these partners, also referred to by Microsoft as cloud distributors, are bundling up other products for the 2-Tier resellers to offer. In many cases, the 2-Tier distributors provide the billing and provisioning back-end on the 2-Tier resellers' behalf and, in some cases, these distributors are offering white-label support, as well.
According to a Microsoft map (see below) of authorized 2-Tier distributors, there are 34 of them worldwide, with anywhere from five to 10 of them in a given geographic region.
Following is a directory of the U.S. 2-Tier distributors. Click through each entry for a Q&A with a senior executive of that company about their program for Microsoft CSPs.
A new partner-delivered Microsoft Dynamics 365 solution based on the on-premises Dynamics NAV product will become generally available on April 2.
More White Papers


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Alternative Student Loans
Alternative Loans are non-federal educational loans through a private lender processed and issued in a student's name. Since they are not federally backed loans, a credit check and credit worthy co-signer are usually required by the lender.
Waynesburg University strongly recommends that students and families consider an alternative loan only as a last resort and only after they have exhausted their loan eligibility under the Federal Direct Loan Program (Direct Loan and Direct PLUS Loan). The Direct Loan Program offers deferment, repayment and consolidation options not offered under alternative loans.
A student may choose any lender when borrowing an alternative student loan. It is crucial though that you do your homework and select a lender and a loan that best suits your academic and financial needs as a borrower, since there may be differences in interest rates, fees, credit evaluation, academic progress requirements, repayment terms and borrower benefits.
Here is a website that lists lenders who have processed loans for Waynesburg University students over the past three years and who currently process alternative student loans: Elm Select
Effective February 2010, the federal government enacted legislation effecting all alternative loans, thus lengthening the time between the initial loan application and the actual disbursement of loan funds to the student's school account. One should anticipate at least a four to six week period to complete the alternative loan processing and the actual disbursement of funds. To ensure the timely delivery of your atlernative loan funds, please apply early and respond quickly to any requests from your lender!


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- Admissions
- Profiles
- Community and Minerva
- Kaitlyn Suarez
Community and leadership
Hometown: Wading River, N.Y.
Major: Geology
Home-cooked meals and great conversations: Geology major Kaitlyn Suarez serves up both through Union's Good Eats program.
Funded in part by Union's Minerva House system, Good Eats coordinates with Schenectady ARC (Advocacy, Resources, Choices) to cook and plan meals in Minerva kitchens with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
A group of students and I get together with children and young adults and host the dinners in Green House or Wold House," says Kaitlyn, whose work with this initiative was profiled in USA Today.
At Union, Kaitlyn has done geology field work from Alaska to Australia. She's competed on the track and cross country teams. And she has grown as a leader, thanks in part to her Minerva House, where she has made close friends, organized campus events and volunteered to help others.
Here she explains the ins and outs of Minerva life.
A Minerva House welcome
The Minerva Program was really helpful my first week on campus. Everyone on your residence hall floor is assigned to the same Minerva, so if there was a house meeting or event, we could all go together. There's a Minerva House tour the first week, when each house has games, prizes and food. That's one of my first memories of Union—touring all the different Minerva Houses with my friends.
The first Minerva event I planned was apple picking at a local orchard. I had to apply for money to fund it, set up the transportation and get people to come. It was an easy process and a lot of fun. It was a great way to make friends my first year, and it inspired me to plan more events at Union."
House beautiful
Each house has its own style. Some are similar to residence halls and others are actual houses. They all have kitchens and grills, and some have porches and backyards. They often have big seminar rooms with projectors because some classes are held in Minerva Houses. My house, Messa, has a foosball table, a huge couch, big TVs, places to do homework and a seminar room that can fit 40 people. Messa is also decorated with photos from the Minerva Fellows. This program funds Union graduates to do social entrepreneurship all over the world. There have been Fellows in Uganda, South Africa, Cambodia, Ecuador and other countries. I may apply to work with autistic children in China when I graduate."
Academic life
One of my first classes was in a Minerva House. It was the best introduction to academics at Union. We all sat on couches and kicked off our shoes. We studied what it means to be good and to be moral. What makes a good decision? What is morality? We read works by Sigmund Freud and Karl Marx and watched a film on the Buddha."
Good Eats is not only about cooking, but also about peer mentoring. We talk to the young people about bullying and the struggles the kids face every day. They feel comfortable talking to Union students. Every time they leave, they ask when they're coming back. You can see the cheer in their faces. I applied to run Good Eats my first year. My experience planning events for my Minerva House really came in handy. I knew how to get people involved. We currently have about 20 dedicated volunteers and hope to expand the program."
Make it happen
The Minerva Program is amazing because you can essentially develop any program or event. I know some students who are really into coffee. They secured Minerva funds to buy high-end coffee beans and hold campus tastings. That's what the Minerva Program is all about: pursuing your passions, building community and becoming a leader."
Take a seat at Dinner with a Professor:


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TRENTON – NJDOT officials today announced that Route 22 westbound traffic has been placed onto the southern half of the new viaduct being constructed over Liberty Avenue in Hillside.
On Tuesday night, Dec. 20, NJDOT's contractor, Union Paving and Construction Inc., shifted both Route 22 westbound travel lanes onto the recently completed southern portion of the new viaduct as construction operations continue on the northern half of the bridge. The Route 22 eastbound travel lanes were placed on the southern portion of the new bridge in late-November.
The $22 million project is replacing the existing, structurally deficient viaduct with two new separate structures: a single span bridge over the ShopRite access road and a multiple span bridge over Liberty Avenue and Conrail. The new viaduct is being built on a new alignment, 23 feet to the south of the existing structure. Shifting the roadway alignment to the south allows NJDOT to maintain traffic on Route 22 during construction and helps hasten completion of the project.
Construction began in June 2010 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2012.
Motorists are encouraged to check NJDOT's traffic information website www.511nj.org for construction updates and real-time travel information.
Connect with NJTODAY.NET
Join NJTODAY.NET's free Email List to receive occasional updates delivered right to your email address!


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Analyzer technicians calibrate, install, repair and perform general maintenance on instruments that provide product quality and compliance monitoring to the main control system or operator such as physical and chemical properties of products, viscosity, density, PH, and BTUs. Gas chromatographs, hydrocarbon detectors, and continuous emissions monitoring analyzer are some of the analyzer systems install and maintained by the Analyzer Technician. They must also maintain the sample systems, work closely with Technical and Operations personnel, order and stock certified sample gases for the calibration process. The data collected is extremely valuable to operations to know that the process stream is operating at the highest integrity level without any impact to the environment. In the past, most analyzers were calibrated and maintained by the instrumentation department. As the field of analyzers has grown and become so much more sophisticated, a two-year degree from a college is recommended with a certificate in instrumentation or analyzer technology.
(Source: East Harris County Manufacturing Association)
|2017 Jobs
|2027 Jobs
|Median Pay
|Low Pay
|High Pay
|Industrial Engineering Technician
|Chemical Plant and System Operators
*Jobs for recently announced petrochemical projects not yet included.
Source: QCEW (Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages) Employees, Non-QCEW Employees, Self-Employed & Extended Proprietors – EMSI 2017.3 Class of Worker. Job and wage information drawn from counties touching a 100-mile radius of Baytown, Texas.
General Requirements
Long-term on-the-job training: Occupations at this level generally require more than 12 months of on-the-job training or combined work experience and formal classroom instruction for workers to develop the skills needed for average job performance. This category includes formal and informal apprenticeships that may last up to 4 years and short- term intensive employer-sponsored training that workers must successfully complete. Individuals undergoing training are generally considered to be employed in the occupation. Includes occupations in which workers may gain experience in non-work related activities, such as professional athletes who gain experience through participation in athletic programs in academic institutions. For nuclear technicians, the requirement is completion of a degree program usually requiring at least 2 years of full-time equivalent academic work. (Source: Texas Workforce Commission)
Programs of Study
Certificate of Completion, Analytical Instrumentation – ATI1


text: I have been playing dress up with these leggings ever since I got them. I thought it would be fun to do a Day to Night Series and these leggings were made a perfect jumping off point. I would love your feedback as to what you think! How do you wear faux leather leggings?


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Colorful Styles by Lazzari: Special Feature
Colorful Styles by Lazzari is a fresh, funky and functional storage solution for the modern home. If you're looking for a way to organize while enhancing your home's style, the modular storage containers from Lazzari are just what you need. They're not only extremely practical, but they offer nearly limitless customization and combinations for the creative-minded interior designer in you.
The Padstyle office was lucky enough to get a sample of Lazzari's products, and we liked what we saw. We got to try out a large, square, navy blue storage container with a tan leather handle and an ID slot for easy identification. The craftsmanship was nothing short of superb, and just what you would expect from a top-name Italian furniture producer. It fit on our office shelves, and is the perfect size for any standard bookshelf. We raved about the soft nylon combined with the rigid edges to keep its shape. And those of us who are a bit on the crazy side of organized absolutely adored the zipper top – you don't realize how often things spill until you prevent that with a lid.
Lazzari offers not only these simple, modular, portable drawers, but also the storage modules to put them in. Cubed, rectangular, simple and stylish, they have storage solutions for all types. Each of their furniture pieces is designed to fit the varied-sized drawers and containers that Lazzari creates.
One of the features that will excite your imagination is the color palate that Lazzari products display. Navy blue, canary yellow, vibrant orange, rose red, lime green, beige, white and a whole bunch of playful patterns including bunnies, cherries, cars and flags adorn the storage bins. These can be mixed and matched to achieve your perfect color balance, or you can purchase multiple sizes in the same color for more uniformity.
We are impressed with the variety of modular storage containers and units that Lazzari offers, and we hope you are too.


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Two raiders found the body of a dead man at his home – and called 999 instead of stealing from him.
The would-be thieves were looking for scrap metal at the back of Kenneth Christian's house when they noticed his back door was open.
They went inside and found the 68-year-old lying at the bottom of the stairs. It is believed his body could have been there for several weeks. It is thought the pair left the house in Longsight, and called police to describe what they had found. Officers arrived and discovered Mr Christian. He had died of a heart attack.
M.E.N. Media understands that a crime was not logged and the men who found the body were treated as witnesses instead of suspected thieves.
Mr Christian, who was known to his neighbours as Derek, was well-known in Longsight for arranging people's bins for collection – earning him the nickname 'Wheelie Bin Willy'.
He has been described as an eccentric recluse who cut himself off from his family after he moved to Attwood Street from the Isle Of Man in the 1960s.
Relatives only learned of his death when police made an appeal on Manx radio. His niece Jean Gallagher, 49, never met him but decided she wanted to find out more about his life after she discovered he had died.
She said it was upsetting to find out that he had shut people out so much that he was eventually discovered by would-be thieves.
Mrs Gallagher, from the Wirral, said: "It's very, very sad. It seems that he was a lovely person. It's upsetting that he never felt he wanted to go back home.
"He is going to be cremated and his ashes are going back to the Isle Of Man so we are bringing him home at last.
"I'm grateful to the two men who alerted the police. They could've just left him there."
Mrs Gallagher said her inquiries about her uncle had revealed he had led a fascinating life and she wanted to celebrate it. He was one of eight siblings, but had grown up in a children's home on the Isle Of Man, and she suspected he may have suffered from a form of autism.
She said: "People say he was a very quiet, unassuming and helpful character. He has been given awards for helping with the bins.
"I would have loved to have known him and have been able to help him in some way.
"The fact that he was different and had quirky ways wouldn't have bothered us. He would have been welcomed into our family with open arms."
Mrs Gallagher said she now wanted to gather people from Longsight for a memorial
A police spokesman said: "Police received reports of a body being found in a house on Attwood Street, Longsight.
"Officer attended and discovered the body of a man. The death was not treated as suspicious."
No inquest was opened because Mr Christian died from natural causes.


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linking Chlorine to varies cancers, it was only a matter of time
Fort Lauderdale, FL (PRWEB) May 08, 2012
Go Chemless Inc, the company known for developing and offering swimming pool owners a healthier way to sanitize their swimming pool with the use of natural ions and modern day computing power, unveiled the newest member of their swimming pool Bio Sanitizer line at most recent Florida Swimming Pool Association's show for the West Palm Beach Market Place 2012 event.
Go Chemless released a new version of their Swimming Pool Bio Sanitizer, tagged as the 138MS. The Swimming Pool Bio Sanitizer offers pool owners a better and safer way to keep their pool clean and sanitized. The 138MS uses a micro-processor computer to deliver precise amounts of elemental ions into the swimming pool to prevent algae, bacteria, viruses, mold and fungus from taking over the swimming pool. Unlike chlorine which breaks down very quickly, the Go Chemless ions are available for bio sanitization over and over again.
Go Chemless's co-founder and chief engineer Michael Self said, "It has been really great to see the huge market demand from consumers wanting to be more green by getting away from Chlorine and Saltwater Pool Systems. I believe that public awareness is finally hitting the pool owners market, with all the scientific studies that have been coming out lately, linking Chlorine to varies cancers, it was only a matter of time." Michael went on to say, "For years we have been buying our drinking water in bottles because all of the dangers and illness that Chlorine causes and yet only a few people think twice about jumping into a swimming pool of Chlorine, Trihalomethanes and other Organo-Cancer causing agents."
The Go Chemless Swimming Pool Bio Sanitizer is sold in most pool stores and pool services. If your local pool store does not carry the Go Chemless Swimming Bio Sanitizer, contact the company directly to find the closets dealer in your area.
About Go Chemless:
GoChemless' mission is to bring to market quality, technological solutions to reduce exposure to harmful chemicals in swimming pools. Go Chemless has pioneered the use of multiple electrode base elements and measured multi-electrode electrolysis to achieve the pool industry's first bio sanitizer with "set it and forget it" intelligence. This combination of revolutionary green technology and leading edge computing to battle viruses, fungi, bacteria and algae found in all pools, while reducing or eliminating the use of harmful and dangerous chemicals.
For company contact information and partnership opportunities, visit http://www.GoChemless.com
For More information:
Liz Kimbers
(855) 424-3653 Toll-Free


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Welcome to Cook's Garage!
Cook's Garage opened in April 2017 (5th of 5 family businesses). It started out as a "Man Cave" Yeaaahhhright….with a showroom for "REV LIMIT CUSTOMS" bbbuuuttt…Rrrusty kept adding signs and then buildings to display them, so of course we had to add a kitchen to cook lunch for Family and Employees.
Then, I turn around and soooM'body rented the space for Special Events! Like in early Spring we are home to the West Texas Roundup which is a pre '63 traditional Hot Rod Show….I can't catch a "BRAKE"! A few months later, I blink and…Holy Busted Radiators WE are running a full Restaurant and Bar!
Jesus take the wheel…Not sure how we ended up here, but it sure is fun! LIVE MUSIC, GOOD FOOD, with a COOL ATMOSPHERE and we are Super Excited to share Our Collection of Cool Cars, Vintage, Porcelain, and Neon Signs!
We are open TUESDAY – SATURDAY!!! 11am to sometimes Midnight.


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Originally posted by antmax21
This is one of this subjects where I just say..
O well Mr. Sun..All I can do is hope you do not do you worse and hopefully we can live our lives just like we want to because I don't want you mutating everything.
The story begins, in a sense, in classrooms around the world, where students are taught that the rate of decay of a specific radioactive material is a constant. This concept is relied upon, for example, when anthropologists use carbon-14 to date ancient artifacts and when doctors determine the proper dose of radioactivity to treat a cancer patient.
Random numbers
But that assumption was challenged in an unexpected way by a group of researchers from Purdue University who at the time were more interested in random numbers than nuclear decay. (Scientists use long strings of random numbers for a variety of calculations, but they are difficult to produce, since the process used to produce the numbers has an influence on the outcome.)
Ephraim Fischbach, a physics professor at Purdue, was looking into the rate of radioactive decay of several isotopes as a possible source of random numbers generated without any human input. (A lump of radioactive cesium-137, for example, may decay at a steady rate overall, but individual atoms within the lump will decay in an unpredictable, random pattern. Thus the timing of the random ticks of a Geiger counter placed near the cesium might be used to generate random numbers.)
series of papers published in Astroparticle Physics, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research and Space Science Reviews, Jenkins, Fischbach and their colleagues showed that the observed variations in decay rates were highly unlikely to have come from environmental influences on the detection systems.
Originally posted by coolottie
reply to post by sprocket2cog
This video is of Dr. Kaku and he talks about controling and maniputlating the Sun. It just might be something doing this that the author of the paper doesn't know about. [not trying to convert anyone in to believing anything & I don't mean religion]
The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was allowed to scorch people with fire.
I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red,
The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.
Revelation 19:17
And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, "Come, gather together for the great supper of God,
Revelation 9:2
When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss.
Originally posted by malicacid922002
reply to post by Arcade425
This is true. I would have to think that TPTB will have something over their heads that could hurt them would be great!!! Could this be it????(I personally doubt its this though)!!!
Originally posted by Turq1
Is there a better source?
I wouldn't be too caught up in it if it's only one site saying that.
Originally posted by kwakakev
On the positive side it sounds like all the radiation in Japan and elsewhere will get cleaned up a bit quicker. It is so good for the Sun to look after Earth like that as well all mess it up, I am really impressed.
As for this time thing, recently I have noticed that time is going faster compared to when I was a kid. When I try counting of seconds now compared to 30 years ago they do go by at a faster rate. Use to do it to judge how far away lightening was. I was thinking that this is just a normal part of getting older, it is quite common for many older people to say this. This is generally put down to natural aging and psychological reasons, but maybe this speed up of time has been going on for a very long time?
There are a few other threads starting to bring this time acceleration thing up with 2012 and the galactic alignment. I did try looking for a more reputable source about it and it is interesting to hear the scientific community and other ATS threads confirming that something is actually going on. I was left pretty disappointed after experiencing my first failed doomsday prediction so I am not inclined to go all apocalyptic about all the ongoing next ones. The SHTF could happen any time and we all have to die one day. However, it does sound like 2012 (or when ever it happens) could be quite an event if there is any substance to it.
Time to put away the foolish notion that math IS science rather than a tool of science.
Originally posted by Aliensun
Originally posted by PrinceDreamer
This post may be interesting, but I cant just read a wall of text like that, you need to break it down in to sections and paragraphs, it is too hard on the eyes
Rather than complain to just one person, the OP, do us all a favor and spend your time--only a few seconds--to copy the text into a word processor and suit yourself to every possible whim you can imagine such as colors, font sizes, bullets, indents, layouts, etc. That would be, oh, so much more fun and enlightening to yourthan a bitch about what you don't like to read. Give us a break. Grow up and get serious.


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This morning there was a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut. Local station WTNH 8 was on scene and did a couple of good interviews with families connected to the school. This first clip features young Alexis who saw police massing outside her window this morning. She describes kids who were so upset they "got a stomach ache":
Student, family talk about shooting
This second clip is an interview with a very well spoken 17 y.o. high school student whose little sister attends Sandy Hook Elementary. He and his mother rushed to the school after a neighbor called them to say she had heard gun shots:
Brother shares story of shooting
Kudos to reporter Erin Logan for her work this morning.


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WCHP Academic Policies
The Department of Physician Assistant, the Westbrook College of Health Professions, and the University of New England are committed to offering a quality Physician Assistant education program that complies with the evaluative criteria of the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant. The program provides learning experiences to enable graduates to achieve the outcomes required for the practice of Physician Assistant. Please refer to the WCHP Graduate Program Progression Policies and Procedures for detailed description of academic standards.
Technical Standards
All students must be able to meet the following University of New England Physician Assistant Program technical standards to successfully complete the Physician Assistant Program. A candidate for the Physician Assistant Program must have abilities and skills in five categories: observation, communication, motor, intellectual, and behavioral/social. Reasonable accommodation for persons with documented disabilities will be considered on an individual basis, but a candidate must be able to perform in an independent manner. The following skills are required, with or without accommodation:
Observation: Candidates must have sufficient sensory capacity to observe in the lecture hall, the laboratory, the outpatient setting, and the patient's bedside. Sensory skills adequate to perform a physical examination are required. Functional vision, hearing and tactile sensation must be adequate to observe a patient's condition and to elicit information through procedures regularly required in a physical examination, such as inspection, auscultation and palpation.
Communication: Candidates must be able to communicate effectively in both academic and health care settings. Candidates must show evidence of effective written and verbal communication skills.
Motor: The ability to participate in basic diagnostic and therapeutic maneuvers and procedures (e.g. palpation, auscultation) is required. Candidates must have sufficient motor function to execute movements required to provide care to patients. Candidates must be able to negotiate patient care environments and must be able to move between settings, such as clinic, classroom building, and hospital.
Physical stamina sufficient to complete the rigorous course of didactic and clinical study is required. Long periods of sitting, standing, or moving are required in classroom laboratory, and clinical experiences.
Intellectual: Candidates must be able to measure, calculate, reason, analyze and synthesize. Problem- solving, one of the critical skills demanded of physician assistants, requires all of these intellectual abilities. In addition, candidates should be able to comprehend three-dimensional relationships and understand the spatial relationships of structures. Candidates must be able to read and understand medical literature. In order to complete the Physician Assistant Program degree, candidates must be able to demonstrate mastery of these skills and the ability to use them together in a timely fashion in medical problem-solving and patient care.
Behavioral and Social Attributes: Candidates must possess the emotional health required for full utilization of their intellectual abilities, the exercise of good judgment, and the prompt completion of all academic and patient care responsibilities. The development of mature, sensitive and effective relationships with patients and other members of the health care team is essential. Flexibility, compassion, integrity, motivation, interpersonal skills and the ability to function in the face of uncertainties inherent in clinical practice are all required.
For more information on disabilities and accommodation, please contact the UNE Student Access Center at (207) 602-2815.
Upon completion of a course of study, the faculty member in charge of that course submits the number of hours taught and a grade for each student to the academic coordinator. The MSPA program uses a standard letter grading system.


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Well we went from nothing, to being super busy all within Last Monday to today. Finally the work has picked up!
We had what was called a "Semana Branca" Thid week in our mission, where every missionary dedicated just a little bit more and sacrificed just a little bit more, and did all that they could to baptize this week.
Needless to say we saw many miracles right from the very start of our week.
Sister Bird and I started with a Fast on Monday to start out our week, and that night we went to a big park in our area with the sisters to meet up with one of our recent converts. While we were waiting for him we were doing contacts and I spotted a man sitting on a bench that I went to contact. We talked with him for a bit and then invited him to come join the lesson we were going to have with our member. He accepted. and as it turns out that, the member that was recently baptized is related to this man (vitor). We have since been teaching vitor about everyday, and he even came to church with us yesterday.
The only problem is that we found out he has killed someone in the past, and was very into drugs etc......but everytime we talk to him he tells us how much he wants to change, and he has already cut cut down his smoking.
The atonement is for everyone! But we will have to be a little careful and see how it goes. :)
I made cafe rio this week for our whole district, and everyone was loving it, so thanks katie for the recipe. You made some elders extremely happy that day.
We also had a division in Caiscais on Friday. Usually we stay over with the Sisters but we had to help with a baptism on Saturday, so it was a pretty quick "there and back" trip. But it is always fun to get to spend some time with Sister Barron. It was weird talking about the fact that we both only have one more transfer left on the mission.
Saturday was absolutely crazy. We were running all over the place trying to help out with the baptism of the Sisters and the Elders-Printing out programs, and getting baptismal clothes, picking up one of our investigators, and then on top of all of that trying to put together a musical number with the sisters.
Yup....Missionary life. But the baptisms were absolutely incredible! Sister Jarnagin and Vanaquer baptized the coolest 16 year old young man named Simão. He has such a strong testimony of the church and is going to do increidble things.
That night we had to capture Claudia-One of our recent converts-because it was her birthday and we planned a surprise party for her with her husband. So she came and taught some people with us while her husband and daughter prepared everything with the elders and some other friends. It was pretty fun to be a part of that.
Yesterday was also a solid day. I got to see my montijo family for the 3 time in 5 weeks, and I told them we would have to keep up this pattern. They all came to Setubal to see the baptism of one of the members daughter. (Which is a super cool story that I am going to have to tell you guys in a letter) Nevertheless, I was extremely excited to get to see them all!
And then to finish off the week.....Snails.
I had my first experience eating snails this week.
How I have gotten this far on the mission without eating snails...I don´t know.
But I was actually pretty excited to each them, and I think I was the only missionary out of the 4 of us who actually kind of enjoyed them.
Adventures. Why not.
Hope you guys have an incredible week. Try something new. Love ya!
Paz e Bênçãos
-Sister Selk
|My first attempt at parallel parking...Sis Vanaquer has since taught me better:)


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A Changing Approach to SEO in the Aftermath of Keyword (Not Provided)
On September 23, 2013, the Internet was made privy to Google's master plan to encrypt 100% of organic search activity. Marketers were outraged, as Google's own Matt Cutts had formerly stated that keyword encryption would impact less than 10% of searches overall.
SSL Encryption and Google: A Brief History
Google initially launched an encrypted search option back in May 2010. Since October 2011, the search engine has been automatically redirecting users to its encrypted URL as long as they were signed in to Google. It was around this time that the "(not provided)" element in Google Analytics and other web metrics programs began to appear.
Since then, encryption has been adopted through various other browsers including the Chrome omnibox as well as Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari iOS6, steadily increasing the total percentage of obscured keyword data. Very soon, this encryption will apply across the board.
Webmasters and SEOs have been able to witness these disconcerting events unfold live over the past two years via the (Not Provided) Count graph on notprovidedcount.com. There was a noticeable leap in withheld terms around September 4 of last month. Today, the percentage of withheld data is currently up to around 80%.
Does Google Have Ulterior Motives for Withholding its Data?
When questioned by Search Engine Watch, Google claimed its decision to implement full encryption was made to provide "extra protection" for its users by obscuring potentially sensitive search strings.
However, there has been some speculation among webmasters as to several other possible motives:
- Accusations of cooperating with the NSA: Since June of this year, Google has been one of several targets involving accusations of cooperation with the NSA to provide private information to the government through the PRISM initiative. Google denied these accusations – it may be that the encryption is an effort to manage the company's reputation.
- Competition from smaller search engines: For years, Google has enjoyed the lion's share of the search engine market. But with growing public speculation surrounding big brother-type initiatives, smaller search engines such as Duck Duck Go have found some success guaranteeing privacy to their customers. Perhaps Google is working to retain this segment of the market by acknowledging the growing desire of users for more protection online.
- Promoting AdWords: Finally, some SEOs have asserted that the keyword encryption is simply motivated by monetary gain, as Google makes certain search data available only to customers of its AdWords program.
What Does Keyword (Not Provided) Mean for SEO?
The encryption of keyword data prevents marketers from being able to track visitors by referring keyword in their analytics program, so webmasters are no longer able to segment users according to search terms.
Without referral data, when searchers arrive at your website, you have no way of knowing what they were looking for when they clicked through to your site, and you have no way of knowing whether the page they landed on met their needs – aside, of course, from telltale indicators such as a high bounce rate.
Additionally, webmasters are no longer able to measure which of their organic keywords are converting customers, making the task of optimizing pages a process of trial and error.
The keyword data encryption certainly is bad news for webmasters who have up until this point relied entirely on Google Analytics to supply the data for their content marketing efforts.
The Problem with Webmaster Tools Referral Data
Keyword referral data for paid and organic searches is currently available for viewing on the Dimensions tab in AdWords. However, the organic data comes from Google Webmaster Tools, which is notoriously unreliable.
Google Webmaster Tools provides the top 2000 keyword terms per day for the last 90 days (Google states it will extend archiving to one year at some point in the future).
Unfortunately, Webmaster Tools "buckets" its data, which really means it approximates its numbers. While at times there seems to be some degree of correlation between GWT and Analytics data, the consensus among webmasters is that the Webmaster Tools data is generally inaccurate.
This aggregate data would perhaps best be used to determine where a site is performing best from a broad perspective; however, because it cannot be expected to provide the precision that was previously available in Google Analytics, it's hardly a viable solution for smaller businesses. Even for larger businesses, with a maximum of only 2000 terms, the keyword long tail is no longer up for grabs.
Other proposed (and still less than ideal) solutions include:
- Using keyword data available from Bing and Yahoo, which hold only 18% and 11% of the market share respectively.
- Tracking correlations between page optimization and general increases in organic search traffic.
- Measuring overall performance by monitoring rankings.
- Tracking on-site keywords used within search applications.
The New Face of SEO – A Holistic Approach to Search Engine Optimization
So how should we as webmasters respond to the keyword (not provided) crisis?
It's important to remember that as long as optimized content continues to appear at the top of the search results and organic rankings continue to drive 85% of search engine traffic, SEO remains an important element of a successful online marketing strategy – as well as a competitive one.
Rather than focusing on when the data will be 100% gone, we must adapt to changing climates and be willing to reevaluate our ideas of what it means to do successful SEO.
For starters, keep the following objectives in mind.
- Use trial and error to improve landing pages: Analytics data such as page views, time spent on page, bounce rate, and conversion rate are still available as telling data to improve relevance and user experience on a page level. While the task has certainly become more difficult, SEOs can salvage some of their traffic by using these remaining data to improve landing pages with high bounce rates and optimize conversion rates.
- Quality first, and the rest will follow: SEOs should strive to adopt an integrated approach to online marketing which places the focus on serving the needs of their market by providing quality content rather than interacting with customers behind the curtain of micro-details such as keyword data and hyper-analytics.
Think Customer-Oriented, Not Data-Oriented
By some in the SEO community, the keyword data encryption is being referred to as an apocalyptic event. For many veterans, however, it's simply a temporary setback.
Choosing the right keywords comes from knowing your target market and their needs, which can only be achieved through engaging your audience with a content marketing strategy that vigorously incorporates social media and other channels. Lasting organic search rankings and high-quality editorial links are a byproduct of these processes rather than the ultimate objective.
Those webmasters who welcome change as just another opportunity will continue to win out over the competition in the ever changing game of SEO.


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Quebec's Pauline Marois suffered a crushing defeat in Monday's provincial election, exiling the Parti Quebecois to the opposition benches and leaving her without a seat.
But it also reduced female representation at the premier's table down to two from an all-time high of six last summer.
Wynne and British Columbia Premier Christy Clark are the only ones who are left standing.
Wynne says it may have been a historical coincidence that so many women occupied leadership positions at the same time.
But she says she hopes that's not the case and more women will have those important jobs in the future.
"We can't dictate that," she said Tuesday.
"It's something that will happen ... and we will have more women in these roles if we encourage women to get into politics in the first place."
Wynne may suffer the same fate as Marois if her governing Liberals are defeated in the next election, which could be triggered this spring if their budget doesn't win the support of at least one of the opposition parties.
Newfoundland's Kathy Dunderdale, Alberta's Alison Redford and Nunavut's Eva Aariak have all left their posts.
Aariak lost her seat last October after saying she wouldn't seek another term as premier.
Dunderdale resigned in January amid questions about her leadership and sliding approval ratings. A scandal over lavish expenses and perks for herself and her inner circle preceded Redford's resignation on March 19.


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Find other projects
- Dance
- Media
- Music
The Soul Force Project is a multi-media musical & historical journey with the Arohi Ensemble, celebrating the redemptive power and relevance of nonviolence today.
Synopsis: Arohi is an ensemble of virtuoso performing artists from India and the US, led by award-winning sitar player, composer & activist Paul Livingstone. This November 2015, the ensemble will release a new recording 'Ahimsa' celebrating non-violence as a vehicle for change through social, political and spiritual renewal. We are engaged in presenting a unique multimedia concert 'The Soul Force Project' in conjunction with this release.
Our goal is to engage our audience around the positive values of non-violence and sacrificial love in the historical context of 20th century political upheaval, democratic reform and social justice movements leading us to where we are now with 21st century movements such as Black Lives Matter & the Guatemala uprising. We seek to demonstrate the continued relevance of soul force (active non-violence) today in the face of violent social, civic and international conflict around the world.
Our vision is to present an extraordinary artistic collaboration bridging history with current human rights struggles as we highlight the power of non-violence as an effective strategic philosophy of action. A flowing narrative of themes woven through extended passages of dynamic music will utilize brief stories and quotes along with historic images, spoken word and film. Creating a visceral experience of the painful struggles of non-violent civil disobedience, we will explore the transformative, revolutionary power unleashed through the sacrificial commitment to non-violent civil disobedience. Girded by the spiritual depth, moral and social vision of Gandhi, King & Chavez among other visionary leaders, we seek as artists to inspire others through a contemporary global expression of innovative music that validates the relevance of soul force today.
Accompanying the music will be a multimedia presentation that connects us with the visceral and sacrificial historical context of non-violent civil-disobedience. This year we celebrate anniversaries of key moments in the lives of the greatest spiritual and social leaders of the 20th century, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King & Cesar Chavez. The media aspect of the presentation will utilize creative projections of iconic historic imagery, quotes, graphics and film along with the dynamic music of the Arohi Ensemble.
Match Funds are not currently available.
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Today was the first day I could donate to the VFW 7560 Veteran Relief Fun, the non for profit I chose to benefit part of my calendar proceeds. I sincerely want to say a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who has purchased a copy so far as I was able to donate $210.00 😍 Im going to set a fundraising goal $1,500.00 so if you haven't yet, Support The Troops and be sure to grab your copy of my calendar here.
The VFW Post 7560 Relief Fund provides aid, assistance, and comfort to needy or disabled veterans or members of the Armed Forces and their dependents, and the widows and orphans of deceased veterans. Also supports patriotic programs and events our post sponsors. This year I volunteered to help via my campaign fund raiser by putting together a Veterans World War pin up calendar honoring these heros keeping alive the memories of those that fought and died for the freedoms and liberties we enjoy today. Your participation, contributions and donations are greatly appreciated in carrying on this tradition.
Anyone who would like to donate directly to the VFW 7560 Veterans Relief Fund can here.To all my Veterans out there, "Thank You For Your Service, This Ones For You 💋👊🏼🇺🇸"
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RYE BROOK, N.Y. -- Rye Brook's village budget is expected to increase by $216,000, or 1.2 percent, to $18.3 million for the 2014-15 fiscal year, which begins June 1.
The property tax levy will increase by 3.8 percent. Under the New York state property tax cap law, each municipality has a different allowable increase in the property tax levy. For Rye Brook this year, the allowable increase was 7.59 percent. This year's tax levy increase is about $484,000 below the maximum allowed.
"This was one of the most challenging budgets we've ever had this year," said Village Administrator Chris Bradbury. Part of the reason for that is the completion of a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement with a commercial property on Westchester Avenue. "Last year that property was paying PILOT payments, and they were making PILOT payments of about $650,000 a year. That revenue is lost, but what happens with the loss of the PILOT payments, it now goes on as a taxable property on the taxable portion of the tax roll."
That property, with an assessed value of $66.4 million, will make about $540,000 in tax payments to the village. With the exception of that property, the village's total assessed value is relatively flat. The residential property portion of the tax levy will actually decrease by 0.18 percent, a reduction of about $11 for the average homeowner.
"if you remove that property ... it's actually a slight decrease in the levy, which we're pretty proud of," Bradbury said.
The village is eliminating both hydrant fees and tennis permit fees, as well as a reduction in rental fees and deposits at the Anthony J. Posillipo Center to encourage more use of the facility. The budget also includes about $1.2 million in capital funds, including $500,000 for road resurfacing.
Payments to the village employee retirement system will be about $1.7 million, a $55,000 increase over last year. Bradbury said that is a large portion of the budget, but the year-to-year increase is much smaller than it has been in years past.
The Board of Trustees will hold a public hearing on the budget at its next meeting on April 8 at 7:30 p.m. at Village Hall.
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I first came across Ana from Ana's Attic Book Blog in a review she wrote about Tara Sivec's Chocolate Lovers series. It was as funny as Tara's book, so I had to invite her here! Please take a gander at her very curvy post!
Curves and Confidence
I love how the theme of this Valentine's blog is the pin-up girl. Look at the average pin-up girl from the 50s. Curvy was sexy. Now? The 50s pin-up girl is labeled plus sized, or even FAT. Seriously? Is twiggy and bony the norm? I guess that depends…the average woman in the world is a size 14. But is that what we see portrayed in the media? Of course not, we see stick-thin models and actresses who pay their personal trainers and plastic surgeons to help them out along the way.
These people have careers that depend on them staying that thin, which can be a hell of a motivation. What about the rest of us? Those who have kids, jobs, husbands, homes, and just want to enjoy life a little instead of being afraid of every thing they put in their mouth? It can be hard to feel sexy and attractive when you compare yourself to the women in the media. Even "plus sized models" are a size 12.
I'm not saying there is anything wrong with being skinny (although the totally jealous bitch in my head calls all of you girls "skinny bitches"). I AM saying that woman who are confident and comfortable in their skin are the most attractive. I recently met a friend who, to me, was beautiful—she said she had 100 pounds on me, but she seemed so comfortable in her skin that she came across beautiful, fun and confident.
I'm a book blogger at Ana's Attic Book Blog. I admit it, I sit around and read and blog a lot. I need to lose weight, about 50 pounds or so. 30 pounds ago I was curvy, now-- I'm fat. But luckily my husband of 22 years still loves me and still wants me. Hey, his body may still be hot, but he's going bald and I still think he's gorgeous! Plus, I don't want to be skinny, (OK, maybe I do, a little-but I'm a realist) I'm OK being chunky...but I'd love to be able to buy pants anywhere, not just the plus department (I can still squeeze into regular sized tops if I have to).
I'm not one of those women who is big and proud of it. I never will be. I wish I could really love myself the way I am, but honestly, being this overweight is unhealthy. I don't wear tight sparkly clothes and I try to blend in, always wearing black (but with great accessories!). I'm trying to accept what I can, and change little things to get healthy every day. I don't hate myself. I haven't given up. I just have other things that take priority.
I still get dressed everyday in something other than yoga pants, I still do my hair (I have great hair), shave my legs and put on makeup. I still try to look the best I can with what I have (and I have a lot!). I try to dwell less on the negative, and more on the positive. Do I like being the "fat friend?" NO. But do I like eating cookies and reading more than salad and exercise? YES. I make the choice, I live with it, and try to embrace what I am.
I went through a stage of not being interested in sex. After 16 years of marriage and 2 kids, I felt too bad about myself, I was too tired, and we lost our spark. Until I started reading books again. Then, my imagination woke up! I especially love books where the heroine isn't perfect. Sherrilyn Kenyon has some awesome heroines in her Dark Hunter Series, and Cherise Sinclair writes great imperfect women in her Masters of the Shadowlands and Mountain Masters Series, and they are H-O-T! It's nice to read about a real woman once in a while.
I know a ton of women who have said Fifty Shades of Grey saved their marriage. I don't know that it saved mine, but it certainly was one of the books that brought it back to life, and in the 2 years since reading it, and many other sexy books (Check out Ana's Attic!), my marriage has been better than ever. I have become more open with what I want. In fact, I sometimes take screen shots of good pages in my books and send them to my husband….it's a nice, easy way to give him ideas in the bedroom. After 22 years of marriage, my sex life if better than ever! My husband, (as long as he's getting' some), treats me wonderfully, and still pretends to find me sexy (and I know his lower half does). It makes me feel sexier, which is making me a happier person. See my Books with Hot Sex AND Great Stories list for more inspiration.
I am starting another blog Starting On Monday, that will be all about being too curvy and too busy (or lazy) to do anything about it. It will have sections on fashion, dieting, recipes, books, family, and observations about the world around us from a curvy mom's point of view. Hopefully I will have lots of guest bloggers as well. It will be live this month, and I'd love to have you all join me for some snarky, curvy fun talking about topics like this and more.
To help celebrate the fact that we don't have to be skinny to be sexually attractive, Cherise Sinclair will be helping me out by giving away the first in her Mountain Masters Series, Master Of The Mountain.
Some of you may think you are too skinny, too tall, too short, too flat, too whatever... but you are ALL beautiful in your own way, and feeling beautiful goes a long way towards being beautiful. It doesn't hurt to make sure you're getting lots of big O's along the way...
When Rebecca's boyfriend talks her into vacationing at a mountain lodge with his swing club, she quickly learns she's not cut out for playing musical beds. Now she has nowhere to sleep. Logan, the lodge owner, finds her freezing on the porch. After hauling her inside, he warms her in his own bed, and there the experienced Dom discovers that Rebecca might not be a swinger...but she is definitely a submissive. Rebecca knows that no one can love her plump, scarred body. To her shock, lodge owner Logan not only disagrees, but ties her up and shows her just how much he enjoys her curves. Under his skilled hands, Rebecca not only loses her inhibitions, but also her heart.
Purchase Master of The Mountain at Amazon
or win it here!
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Ana's Attic Book Blog
All photos provided by Ana's Attic.
All photos provided by Ana's Attic.


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A music video featuring Boston singer Brian Evans and "Star Trek" actor William Shatner is making the rounds online, adding fuel to the city's baseball fever.
"At Fenway" includes lyrics like, "No matter where you sit, you're in heaven for a little bit," and depicts Shatner as an umpire on game day. Ernie Boch Jr. makes a cameo as the Boston manger, and appears to argue with a sweaty Shatner over a large strike zone.
The video has been viewed 362,000 timeson YouTube as of Thursday.It got more than 250,000 views within the first 10 days of online promotion, which no doubt helped it get picked up by Comedy Central and VH1.
The video was shot last September following a game.
Check it out below:


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Course Type / Attendance
Part Time
Subject Area
Art, Design and Media
Start Date
February 2018
Course Level
Award to be received
NCFE Award
Awarding Body
Who is this course for?
This is an introductory level course that aims to introduce "beginners" to the basics of drawing and painting and develop their ability sufficiently over the course to achieve a level one qualification from the NCFE. The course will introduce you to the basic elements and fundamentals of drawing and painting.
What do you need to apply for the course?
There are no formal entry requirements, although previous drawing experience would be useful and you should possess a general interest in Art & Design. This specialised course should appeal to adults 19+ and all abilities.
What are the key things you'll learn?
This specific area of study will allow you to create visual images through the exploration and manipulation of paint, graphic materials and associated processes. Initially you will explore the formal elements of drawing and painting, which will enable you to develop a variety of work from first hand observation to the realisation of final outcomes.
How you will learn
Primarily you will learn through practical lessons in well-appointed studios. The course will be delivered through a series of structured exercises using a wide variety of drawing techniques. You will develop your ideas through a short project based assignment, which will include some critical/contextual studies.
There is no formal examination to the course, but to achieve the NCFE level one qualification, you are required to submit a portfolio of coursework for assessment. Staff will advise and assist you on the presentation, collation and review of this work as part of the course.
Where could this course take you?
Having successfully completed your NCFE level one qualification in Painting and Drawing (20 weeks) you can progress to NCFE level two Painting & Drawing or GCSE Art & Design.
What costs will you incur?
Basic materials including paper will be provided. You will be required to bring your own sketchbook or display file to present your level one coursework.