text:
BMT Abatacept for Non-Malignant Diseases
|The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Know the risks and potential benefits of clinical studies and talk to your health care provider before participating. Read our disclaimer for details.
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01917708
Recruitment Status : Recruiting
First Posted : August 7, 2013
Last Update Posted : May 17, 2018
- Study Details
- Tabular View
- No Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
|Condition or disease
|Hurler Syndrome Fanconi Anemia Glanzmann Thrombasthenia Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome Chronic Granulomatous Disease Severe Congenital Neutropenia Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome Diamond-Blackfan Anemia Dyskeratosis-congenita Chediak-Higashi Syndrome Severe Aplastic Anemia Thalassemia Major Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis Sickle Cell Disease
|Drug: Abatacept
|Phase 1
Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) represents the only viable cure for children who suffer from a wide variety of rare, serious non-malignant diseases, such as Fanconi Anemia, Hurler syndrome, and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. A major obstacle to the success of HSCT is morbidity and mortality from graft versus host disease (GVHD), driven by donor T cells recognizing and reacting against disparate host antigens. This trial is being conducted as a step toward testing the long-term hypothesis that the costimulation blockade agent abatacept can be added to a standard post-transplant GVHD prophylaxis regimen, cyclosporine and mycophenolate mofetil, to improve disease-free survival after unrelated hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) using reduced intensity conditioning for children with non-malignant diseases (NMD). This study will have the following Specific Aims:
Specific Aim #1: To conduct a multicenter pilot assessing the tolerability of abatacept (n=20). Patients will receive four doses (10 mg/kg IV on days -1, +5, +14 and +28), a schedule well tolerated by adolescents and adults with hematologic malignancies in a previous pilot. Abatacept will be combined with cyclosporine and mycophenolate mofetil.
Specific Aim #2: To examine the immunological effects of abatacept in this setting.
Three reduced intensity conditioning regimens that have been shown to be effective in achieving sustained engraftment in patients with non-malignant diseases are available for use, depending on the patient's disease:
- Patients with Fanconi anemia will receive fludarabine, low dose cyclophosphamide, and anti-thymocyte globlulin.
- Patients with severe aplastic anemia will receive low dose total body irradiation, fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and anti-thymocyte globlulin.
- Patients with other NMD will receive either the low dose total body irradiation regimen or an alemtuzmab, fludarabine, thiotepa, and melphalan regimen.
|Study Type :
|Interventional (Clinical Trial)
|Estimated Enrollment :
|20 participants
|Intervention Model:
|Single Group Assignment
|None (Open Label)
|Primary Purpose:
|Supportive Care
|Official Title:
|Abatacept for Post-Transplant Immune Suppression in Children and Adolescents Receiving Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplants for Non-Malignant Diseases
|Study Start Date :
|January 2014
|Estimated Primary Completion Date :
|September 2018
|Estimated Study Completion Date :
|January 2020
Experimental: Abatacept
4 doses of abatacept 10 mg/kg/dose will be given on days -1, +5, +14, and +28.
Drug: Abatacept
All patients will receive 4 doses of abatacept in addition to standard GVHD prophylaxis with cyclosporine and mycophenolate mofetil.
Other Name: Orencia
- Tolerability of abatacept [ Time Frame: 1 year post-transplant ]
The primary endpoint for this trial will be tolerability, defined in terms of the success in administering all prescribed doses of abatacept.
Abatacept will be deemed to be poorly tolerated if any of the following conditions are met:
- More than one dose is withheld.
- Death from an infection that occurs within 30 days of receiving the last prescribed dose of abatacept, but that is not preceded by systemic immunosuppressive therapy for GVHD
- Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) that occurs within 100 days of receiving the last prescribed dose, but that is not preceded by systemic immunosuppressive therapy for GVHD.
If less than 4 patients (of at least 18 evaluable patients) tolerate abatacept poorly, abatacept will be deemed tolerable. If there are fewer than 18 evaluable patients, if 3 of the first 10 patients treated tolerate abatacept poorly, abatacept will be deemed tolerable.
- Proportion of Participants experiencing Immunological effects [ Time Frame: 1 year post-transplant ]
- CMV viremia defined as positive blood antigen or PCR test.
- CMV invasive disease defined in accordance with the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network Manual of Procedures.
- Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) defined in accordance with the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network Manual of Procedures and the World Health Organization's Classification of Tumours of Haematopoietic and Lymphoid Tissues.
- Other infections defined in accordance with the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network Manual of Procedures.
- Immune reconstitution assessed by the day 100 CD4+ T cell count and by the reaccumulation of NK cells, B cells, total T cells, and CD8+ T cells as assessed by multicolor flow cytometry.
- Proportion of Participants experiencing Regimen-related toxicity [ Time Frame: Day 42 post-transplant ]RRT will be scored according to the Bearman scale. Major RRT, defined as grade 4 (causing death) in any organ system or grade 3 for pulmonary, cardiac, renal, oral mucosal, neurologic or hepatic, will be recorded.
- Proportion of Participants experiencing Engraftment failure [ Time Frame: 1 year post-transplant ]
- Incidence of primary and secondary graft failure.
- Time (days) to neutrophil and platelet recovery.
- Proportion of Participants experiencing Graft versus Host Disease [ Time Frame: 1 year post-transplant ]
- Incidence and severity of acute and chronic GVHD, scored according to the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network Manual of Procedures using the NIH consensus criteria.
- Immune Suppression-Free Survival and Immune Suppression-Free/Disease-Free Survival.
- Survival Rate [ Time Frame: 1 year post-transplant ]
- Disease-free survival defined as survival without recurrence of underlying disease.
- Overall survival defined as survival with or without relapse of underlying disease.
- Pharmacokinetics of abatacept [ Time Frame: Day 100 post-transplant ]Abatacept serum peak and trough measurements will be performed through ELISA analysis (biochemistry assay) to determine the pharmacokinetic profile.
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below. For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|up to 21 Years (Child, Adult)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
- Must be between the ages of 0-21 years at the time of admission for transplant.
Must have one of the following diseases:
- Glanzmann thrombasthenia
- Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome or other combined immune deficiency
- Chronic-granulomatous disease
- Severe congenital neutropenia (with resistance to GCSF or chronic requirement of GCSF doses ≥10 mcg/kg)
- Leukocyte adhesion deficiency
- Shwachman-Diamond syndrome
- Diamond-Blackfan anemia ((transfusion dependent, including steroid failure or inability to wean steroids)
- Thalassemia major
- Fanconi anemia
- Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (inherited or acquired refractory to therapy or with recurrent episodes of hyperinflammation)
- Dyskeratosis-congenita
- Hurler Syndrome
- Chediak-Higashi syndrome
- Acquired (immune; non-inherited, non-congenital) severe aplastic anemia
- Other inherited or congenital marrow failure syndromes complicated by severe aplastic anemia
- Other inherited or congenital red blood cell disorders requiring monthly chronic transfusion therapy.
- Congenital platelet disorders requiring frequent platelet transfusions (patient must have received at least 10 transfusions in the last 3 years).
- Other inherited or congenital granulocyte disorders resulting in at least three inpatient hospitalizations in the past three years for infection.
- SCD (Hgb SS or S-Beta 0 thalassemia) will be eligible between ages 3 and 9.99 and with severe disease. Patients who meet one of the following criteria will qualify as having severe SCD:
(i) Previous clinical stroke, as evidenced by a neurological deficit lasting longer than 24 hours, which is accompanied by radiographic evidence of ischemic brain injury and cerebral vasculopathy.
(ii) Asymptomatic cerebrovascular disease, as evidenced by one the following:
- Progressive silent cerebral infarction, as evidenced by serial MRI scans that demonstrate the development of a succession of lesions (at least two temporally discreet lesions, each measuring at least 3 mm in greatest dimension on the most recent scan) or the enlargement of a single lesion, initially measuring at least 3 mm). Lesions must be visible on T2-weighted MRI sequences.
- Cerebral arteriopathy, as evidenced by abnormal TCD testing (confirmed elevated velocities in any single vessel of TAMMV > 200 cm/sec for non-imaging TCD) or by significant vasculopathy on MRA (greater than 50% stenosis of > 2 arterial segments or complete occlusion of any single arterial segment).
(iii) Frequent (greater than or equal to 3 per year for preceding 2 years) painful vaso-occlusive episodes (defined as episode lasting greater than or equal to 4 hours and requiring hospitalization or outpatient treatment with parenteral opioids). If patient is on hydroxurea and its use has been associated with a decrease in the frequency of episodes, the frequency should be gauged from the 2 years prior to the start of this drug.
(iv) Recurrent (greater than or equal to 3 in lifetime) acute chest syndrome events which have necessitated erythtocyte transfusion therapy.
(v) Any combination of greater than or equal to 3 acute chest syndrome episodes and vaso-occlusive pain episodes (defined as above) yearly for 3 years. If patient is on hydroxurea and its use has been associated with a decrease in the frequency of episodes, the frequency should be gauged from the 3 years prior to the start of this drug.
- Must have an unrelated adult donor (marrow or PBSC) who is matched at least seven of eight HLA alleles (A, B, C, DRB1; the mismatch can be at an allele or antigen level)* or an unrelated cord blood unit that is matched at least seven of eight loci (A, B and C antigen level-DRB1 allele level) and provides a minimum pre-cryopreservation TNC dose of 7.5 x 107 TNC/kg recipient weight. Mismatches at the DRB1 locus may be at an antigen or allele level.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) matched related donor.
- Severe combined immune deficiency.
- Bridging (portal to portal) fibrosis or cirrhosis of the liver.
- Pulmonary: DLCO (corrected for hemoglobin), FEV1 or FVC < 40% of predicted. In child unable to perform pulmonary function testing, a chronic need for supplemental oxygen will serve as the exclusionary criterion.
- Severe renal dysfunction defined as estimated GFR of <60 ml/min/1.73m2.
- Severe cardiac dysfunction defined as shortening fraction < 25%.
- Neurologic impairment other than hemiplegia, defined as full-scale IQ less than or equal to 70, quadriplegia or paraplegia, inability to ambulate, or any impairment resulting in decline of Lansky performance score to < 70%.
- Clinical stroke within 6 months of anticipated transplant.
- Karnofsky or Lansky functional performance score < 50%
- HIV infection.
- Uncontrolled viral, bacterial, fungal or protozoal infection at the time of study enrollment.
- Patient with unspecified chronic toxicity serious enough to detrimentally affect the patient's capacity to tolerate bone marrow transplantation.
- Patient or patient's guardian(s) unable to understand the nature and risks inherent in the blood and marrow transplant process.
- History of non-compliance severe enough in the estimation of the treating team to preclude the patient from undergoing unrelated donor transplantation.
- Patient is pregnant or lactating
- Patients HLA antibody testing demonstrates an antibody directed against a disparate HLA molecule.
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT01917708
|Contact: Ashley Griffin
|Contact: Chanta Whitlow
|United States, Georgia
|Children's Healthcare of Atlanta
|Atlanta, Georgia, United States, 30322
|Contact: Ashley Griffin 404-785-0653 firstname.lastname@example.com
|Principal Investigator: Elizabeth Stenger, MD
|Principal Investigator:
|Elizabeth Stenger, MD
|Children's Healthcare of Atlanta/Emory University
|Responsible Party:
|Elizabeth Stenger, Assistant Professor, Emory University
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT01917708 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|First Posted:
|August 7, 2013 Key Record Dates
|Last Update Posted:
|May 17, 2018
|Last Verified:
|May 2018
Keywords provided by Elizabeth Stenger, Emory University:
non malignant conditions
blood and marrow transplant
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Anemia, Sickle Cell
Anemia, Aplastic
Fanconi Anemia
Fanconi Syndrome
Granulomatous Disease, Chronic
Lymphohistiocytosis, Hemophagocytic
Anemia, Diamond-Blackfan
Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome
Mucopolysaccharidosis I
Dyskeratosis Congenita
Chediak-Higashi Syndrome
Bone Marrow Diseases
Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency
Pathologic Processes
Hematologic Diseases
Anemia, Hemolytic, Congenital
Anemia, Hemolytic
Genetic Diseases, Inborn
Leukocyte Disorders


text: NAR Gourmet's mission is to bring rich, healthy handcrafted Turkish foods and ingredients to the world. Since 2007, NAR Gourmet's trusted farmers and artisans have been using all-natural, traditional methods to create their exceptionally pure, flavorful products. NAR Gourmet offers single estate and single variety oils, as well as seasonal preserves, natural vinegars and organic spices.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Beyonce: Super Bowl Halftime Show 2013 Performer?
UPDATE: Beyonce has confirmed the reports – check out the Super Bowl promo pic she posted on her website!
Beyonce is reportedly set to headline the 2013 Super Bowl Halftime Show, according to the Associated Press.
The 31-year-old singer is expected to be announced as the official performer tomorrow (October 17). Super Bowl XLVII will take place on February 3, 2013 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, La.
Recent Super Bowl halftime show performers include Madonna, The Black Eyed Peas, The Who, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Prince, The Rolling Stones, and Paul McCartney.
ARE YOU EXCITED to watch Beyonce perform at the Super Bowl?


text:
Fire Magic Tricks,
(Handheld Fireballs)
>Fireballs You Can Hold in Your Hand
Fire is made up of light and heated gases from combustion. You can control the temperature of fire by selecting a fuel that burns with a cool flame. If you pour the fuel onto a substance that won't burn, you can make a fireball that you can hold in your hand or juggle. Here are written instructions for making your own handheld fireballs. There is also a step-by-step video tutorial of this fire project if you would like see what to expect.
Views: 4258
Hope.... Hope... Hope.. Thanks for the really-helpful reply..
(I'm afraid my Sweeet SweetHeart partner-in-life Girl, who happens to be way well educated, & way resourceful; scorned and disdained my interest in the matter... poor me)
Hahaha! You're welcome :-)


text:
Michael Golamco's "Build" is alarmed by, among other things, the Internet generation's tendency toward soulless solitude, and the programmer's potential for virtually Godlike creation. Bringing such familiar themes to the stage ought to put a more human face on issues we've all seen hashed over in books and magazines. Yet ironically, as helmed by Will Frears, "Build" feels as disoriented from everyday human behavior as the repressed, cooped-up gamers it's examining. You keep wishing someone would hack into the script and implant some guts into its coding.
Golamco's antagonists – millionaire game designers charged with debugging their eagerly awaited sequel "Maelstrom 2" so it can be rushed to market – might be Sam Shepard's "True West" brothers transplanted to Silicon Valley. The dirty, dangerous one (Thomas Sadoski's Kip) is a pill-popping, pajama-clad recluse holed up in a ratty flat appallingly decorated, by Sibyl Wickersheimer, in computer monitors and old pizza boxes. The straitlaced one (Peter Katona's Will) stayed with the mogul who bought the boys out, and now rattles around a mansion in the hills with celebrity guests and a dissatisfied trophy wife.
The thesps give it their all. Katona suggests untapped depth beneath his steely control, while manic, monotoned Sadoski lurches around the filthy set twisted and misshapen like Lon Chaney on speed. If they're not for a moment convincing as lifelong pals and co-workers, it's partly because the text keeps having them ladle out exposition. (Will accuses Kip of violating Programming 101's rule not to let code go unlabeled. A precept of Playwrighting 101 might be, Don't have characters tell each other things they surely already know.)
One thing Will doesn't know, but comes to learn, is that Kip hasn't been idle during his year-long sabbatical from the world: The genius has created a fully feeling and reasoning computer duplicate of dead wife Allison, played on-screen and, as it were, in the flesh by Laura Heisler.
She's billed as The A.I. (Artificial Intelligence), though you'd think anyone interested in seeing "Build" either would be well aware of what A.I. stands for, or might enjoy having the third character's identity come as a surprise. Anyway, Heisler's appearances are heightened by Daniel Ionazzi's otherworldly lighting and the tinkling music Vincent Olivieri contrives to accompany her lines.
Yet the play remains tame and unmoving, the characters' basic appetites unattended to. There's no hint of sexuality anywhere to be found on the Geffen stage, with Kip and A.I. spending most of their time playing word games and sending cryptic messages to each other. ("Message to: You. From: Me.") Will apparently had a thing for Allison back in the day as well, but one couldn't swear to it given his granite jaw and endless typing whenever she pops by. Everyone's cyberspace "visits" are moody rather than terrifying.
We keep hearing about how much is riding on "Maelstrom 2" emotionally and financially. Yet as Will and Kip bicker and parry, make threats and back off, the desperation to make something happen stays in the words only. The stakes simply don't bring alive their confrontations, which too often devolve into uninvolving technospeak and forced reminiscence.
At one point Will accuses Kip of overengineering his product. The pat "Build" leaves Golamco vulnerable to the same charge, right down to the last two lines prior to the epilogue, which lay out his message tied up in a bow.


text:
Subscribe to our Newsroom RSS feed | What is RSS?
Follow Loyola University New Orleans on Twitter
Fr. Wildes joins board of Friends of New Orleans
Loyola press release - June 27, 2006
Loyola President the Rev. Kevin Wm. Wildes, S.J., Ph.D., has joined the board of Friends of New Orleans. He is part of an esteemed group of members that includes noted author John M. Barry, political consultant James Carville, President and CEO of The Aspen Institute Walter Isaacson, actor John Larroquette, and author and filmmaker Mike Tidwell.
Friends of New Orleans is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization that has formed to provide a means for people to support and get involved in the regions recovery efforts. Linking communities in the devastated areas to individuals who want to help, the organization supports resources for
For more information of Friends of New Orleans and how to join, visit http://www.friendsofneworleans.org/.
# # #


text:
Installations, performances and images that deal with complex themes and provoke different levels of interpretation. Nicholas Hlobo tears, resews, cuts and rearranges varied materials to build complex, unpredictable structures. His works, replete with references to the Xhosa culture and his life experience in post-apartheid South Africa, reflect such themes as language and communication, gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity. He uses a variety of materials, many of which are recycled such as inner tubes, industrial wire, silicone, wood and textiles.
A major retrospective dedicated to him at the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design in Oslo pays tribute to his work from 2006 to the present. Man-size installations, notes on paper, visual performances and a Moleskine notebook interpreted and decorated by Nicholas Hlobo, donated to the non-profit organization Lettera27 on the occasion of Detour.
Further information on the exhibit can be found here
Nicholas HLOBO: sculpture · installation · performance · drawing
The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design
March 4 - May 29, 2011


text:
Hundreds of children from poor backgrounds are set to be offered places at top boarding schools such as Eton and Harrow, it has been announced.
A new charity, the SpringBoard Bursary Foundation, aims to send 2,000 of the UK's disadvantaged youngsters to leading state and private boarding schools by 2023.
The first 30 pupils are due to start next September with Eton College, Harrow School, Benenden School, Marlborough College, Roedean, Rugby School, Wellington Academy and Wellington College among those providing bursary places.
Eventually, more than 60 boarding schools from the private and state sectors are expected to be involved, the foundation said.
To be eligible to apply for a bursary, candidates must come from disadvantaged backgrounds and have the potential to gain from a boarding school education, a spokesman said.
The foundation closely follows the idea of a scheme run by Rugby School - a fee-paying boarding school for 11 to 18-year-olds - called the Arnold Foundation.
The Arnold Foundation, which was set up 10 years ago and is funded through voluntary donations, provides bursaries for pupils to take up boarding places at Rugby School.
Ian Davenport, SpringBoard chief executive and former headmaster of Blundell's, a private boarding school in Devon, said: "Boarding schools have helped transform thousands of children's lives but have too often been perceived to be the preserve of a social elite; so today marks an important moment for social mobility in this country.
"Alongside business and the third sector, the schools party to the SpringBoard Bursary Foundation will offer major opportunities to young people from communities that suffer from a poverty of educational ambition."
The foundation said that a number of individuals and trusts have already pledged funding for the bursaries.


text:
We have a large range of Custom Cases, Covers, Skins and Accessories for every device, and we know what works in every industry
Enquire Now, it's quick and easy
Any Design, Large Range, Free Delivery, High Quality, Fast, Satisfaction guarantee >>>
For 10 or 10,000,000, we have a solution for you. Request a custom proposal right now!
We work with many different businesses, schools and government departments to help with custom cases, covers, branding and design. Through the knowledge we have gained, we know what works in different industries and for different uses.


text:
Increases availability of industry-leading ARM RealView development tools in India
CAMBRIDGE, UK - July 5th 2005 - ARM [(LSE:ARM); (Nasdaq:ARMHY)] today announced it has appointed Ammos Software Technologies Pvt Ltd., one of the premier providers of embedded systems solutions to the embedded industry, to distribute ARM® RealView® development tools in India.
Ammos, founded in 2002, has become an established player in providing high technology solutions to the embedded industry and has gained significant market share in the embedded solutions business in India. Ammos also provides turnkey-based Physical Design solutions for the VLSI Design Industry. The technical staff at Ammos includes senior application engineers who have already been trained by ARM and are gaining significant experience by working closely with customers
"With India becoming a hub of embedded system design, this partnership with ARM will provide to the engineering community the best possible development environment in achieving their ever shrinking time-to-market schedules," said Syed Ajazul Huq, CEO, Ammos Software Technologies "We are proud to be associated with ARM, and strongly believe that we will reflect the best support practices offered by ARM."
"Ammos' reputation and experience with customers, together with ARM RealView development tools, will assist our Partners to develop innovative ARM processor-based devices with rapid time-to-market," said Atul Arora, president, Commercial Operations, ARM India.
About ARM
ARM designs the technology that lies at the heart of advanced digital products, from wireless, networking and consumer entertainment solutions to imaging, automotive, security and storage devices. ARM's comprehensive product offering includes 16/32-bit RISC microprocessors, data engines, 3D processors, digital libraries, embedded memories, peripherals, software and development tools, as well as analog functions and high-speed connectivity products. Combined with the company's broad Partner community, they provide a total system solution that offers a fast, reliable path to market for leading electronics companies. More information on ARM is available at http://www.arm.com.
ARM and RealView are registered trademarks of ARM Limited. All other brands or product names are the property of their respective holders. "ARM" is used to represent ARM Holdings plc; its operating company ARM Limited; and the regional subsidiaries ARM INC.; ARM KK; ARM Korea Ltd.; ARM Taiwan; ARM France SAS; ARM Consulting (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.; ARM Belgium N.V.; AXYS Design Automation Inc.; AXYS GmbH; ARM Embedded Technologies Pvt. Ltd.; and ARM Physical IP, Inc.
Contact details
Rony Thomas
Text 100
+91 80 22291914
Text 100
+ 91 80 22291914


text:
Welcome to Marguerites Bed and Breakfast, Baltimore Road, Coronea, Skibbereen, Co.Cork.
A warm Irish welcome awaits you at Marguerites from your hosts Joe and Marguerite McCarthy.
Marguerites B&B is a 3 Star Irish Tourist Board Approved Bed and Breakfast, offering quality accommodation. We are located on the outskirts of Skibberen town, in a tranquil private setting, with ample safe and free parking, yet only two minutes drive from Skibbereen town or just 12 mins walk.
Marguerites B&B is an ideal base for your West Cork Holiday.
Availability & RatesTo view availability and prices please select dates and click 'Update Dates'
Cancellation PolicyThis property has a 1 day cancellation policy. Failure to cancel within this time will result in a cancellation charge equal to the first night of your stay.
DirectionsShow MapHide Map
Drive through Skibbereen town.Take the R595 for Baltimore with LIDL STORE on your right Marguerites B&B is the 3rd turn to your right after LIDL, 2 mins drive from Skibbereen town or 12 mins walk.
GPS coordinates: 51.541024,-9.277954


text:
Blue Jackets feeling confident heading into Game 3
There wasn't a day when the light suddenly went on for Todd Richards.
The Columbus Blue Jackets coach can't point to one game during the 2013-14 regular season and label it as the night he knew that his youthful players would have the chops to compete in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
But that's fine. For Richards, it meant the Jackets, usually the youngest group in the National Hockey League, consistently was learning as it went.
"There was not any defining moment that it hit me that our young guys were ready," Richards said on Sunday. "There were (regularly) moments in their games where they showed me and the rest of the coaching staff that they were ready for this.
"There was a little bit of a question coming into the playoffs about whether we were ready, and I think the guys have answered that."
The Blue Jackets certainly have done so in the second playoff appearance in franchise history, winning Game 2 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal against the Pittsburgh Penguins and taking an emotional advantage into Game 3 at Nationwide Arena on Monday night. The players expect their home building to border on bedlam, and it should be, considering it will be just the third playoff home game since the Jackets became standing members of the NHL in 2000-01.
It's a good bet that forward Nick Foligno will be in uniform for the Jackets after recovering from a knee injury, as he has been medically cleared, but Richards would not give an update on defenceman Fedor Tyutin, who was hurt in Game 2. Nick Schultz or Dalton Prout would take Tyutin's place.
In Pittsburgh, Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said forward Brian Gibbons, who also left Game 2 with an injury, was day to day. Forward Marcel Goc, out with a foot injury, skated again on Sunday.
-Click the box below for the skinny on this year's post-season
While the Jackets were backed by the solid goaltending of Sergei Bobrovsky during the regular season and had guidance from veterans such as Brandon Dubinsky and James Wisniewski, the youth shone.
Centre Ryan Johansen blossomed in his third year in the NHL with 33 goals; rookies Boone Jenner and Ryan Murray demonstrated they will have long, solid careers; and others such as Matt Calvert and Cam Atkinson settled into comfort.
It could be that the Penguins — who don't yet have a playoff goal from Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin or James Neal — get a hold of themselves and put their potential, which the Jackets can't match, to use. If that happens, the Penguins will be off to the second round.
But Columbus, with an enthusiastic spirit and a forecheck that has given the Pittsburgh defenders trouble, won't lie down.
"We're not looking at any age right now," Jenner, 20, said. "You can say we are a young team, but we play hard and we play physical. We know we are a good team and that's all that matters.
"It's good that we have learned together."
Said Wisniewski, speaking to the maturity of Jenner, Johansen and Murray: "I almost feel like playoff hockey is really Boone's cup of tea, and how big and strong Ryan has become over the last two or three seasons, he is really showing his potential to be a world-class player. Ryan (Murray) is that steady-Eddie type, a smooth-skating guy who does not get rattled."
Few across the NHL would have cocked an eyebrow had the Jackets trailed off following the Olympics, unable to shoulder the mental load that comes with competing in playoff-type games before the post-season starts.
Instead, the Jackets were 14-8-2 in their final 24 games.
Where did the resolve come from?
"Some if it might have been the youth being really naive, and I mean that in a good way," Richards said. "We have all been 22 and 21, and it doesn't seem like a lot bothers us. I think that was part of it.
"Some of it was leadership, the confidence that comes with how to play the game, and when you have that, there is a belief. You have sound structure, that always leads to confidence."


text:
Speech – Pacific Islands Private Sector Organisation PIPSO
Pacific Women Business Conference "Making The Connection – Challenges And Solutions, Opportunities And Options, Buyers And Sellers, Entrepreneurs And Leaders Of The Pacific" Pacific Women Business Conference
"Making The Connection – Challenges And Solutions, Opportunities And Options, Buyers And Sellers, Entrepreneurs And Leaders Of The Pacific"
Keynote Address – Penny Williams
Date: 0910-0940 hrs, 14 November 2012
Venue: Tanoa International Hotel, Nadi, Fiji
Acknowledgements and Introduction
Mereia Volavola, Chief Executive Officer, Pacific Islands Private Sector Organisation
Business men and women of the Pacific.
I am delighted to be in Nadi, participating in this conference on Women in Business and I'm very grateful to the Pacific Islands Private Sector Organisation for the invitation to be here.
It's always a privilege to meet with women from around the region and to share experiences regarding the challenges we are all facing, specifically today – the promotion of women entrepreneurs in our countries.
It's also a pleasure to catch up with old friends. I was last in Fiji for International Women's Day in March this year and enjoyed spending time with partners of Australia's Pacific Leadership Program during that visit. How lovely to see some familiar faces here.
To be making a return visit reminds me that time is moving on quickly, even though it sometimes feels as if it was only a few months ago that I was appointed as Australia's first Global Ambassador for Women and Girls.
The work of a Global Ambassador for Women and Girls
Australia takes very seriously its responsibility to contribute to women's empowerment globally and to be a strong and persistent voice on behalf of the world's women and girls.
My appointment as Ambassador for Women and Girls in September last year signalled the Australian Government's strong commitment to advance gender equality globally, but with a special focus on the Asia Pacific region.
The commitment is evident across the spectrum of Australia's international work on gender issues.
We are a founding supporter of UN Women, the UN entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and one of the primary funders of the agency's work
• And we look forward to joining the Executive Board of this agency in January next year;
o at a time when the Solomon Islands is also joining the Executive Board.
We work energetically within our other partnerships too – with the Commonwealth, with ASEAN, with the East Asia Summit, APEC and the Pacific Islands Forum to name an important few.
With the recent success of our bid for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council, there will be new opportunities for Australia to pursue our 'gender agenda' and this will include work on Women Peace and Security which has been a priority for more than a decade already.
Specifically for me in my role as Australia's Ambassador for Women and Girls, the 14 months since my appointment have been very busy and equally rewarding.
I have been working closely with women and men across the Pacific, in Asia, and the Caribbean to promote women's political, economic and social empowerment.
I have engaged with diplomats at the Commission on the Status of Women in New York, with business and government leaders in APEC meetings on Women and the Economy, with civil society in Australia, and with young women through organisations such as the YWCA.
And I have travelled extensively throughout the Pacific to expand Australia's cooperation with our Pacific partners on gender issues.
In our common endeavour to promote women's empowerment, I have a particular appreciation for the approach taken by business representatives such as yourselves.
There's a pragmatism which is very specific to business women, a determination to solve longstanding problems as efficiently as possible and with the minimum of fuss.
We need more of this approach because the list of challenges is long. Together we must continue our work:
• to encourage a world where women and girls are free of violence and the fear of violence
• free of forced marriage, servitude or of being trafficked
• free of discrimination
• where women participate equally in their countries' political and economic lives
• and participate equally as leaders of peace.
• We must work to promote a world where women and girls are involved equally in reconciliation processes
• where women and girls have equal access to education and necessary access to healthcare – including sexual and reproductive health services
• and, importantly in the context of today's gathering, to promote women's equal access to jobs, to markets and to finance.
In short, our common goal is that all societies are characterised by equality of aspiration and equality of opportunity.
The catchcry of leaders around the world on this topic will be familiar to many of you: gender equality is not just the right thing to do, it's smart economics.
We simply can no longer afford to deny the full potential of one half of the world's population. The world needs to tap into the talent and wisdom of women.
Whether the issue is economic progress, food security, sustainable development, health, or peace and security, the participation of women is needed now more than ever.
Women's economic empowerment
One of the enormous challenges of our time – the challenge that you will be addressing for the three days of this conference – is to grow our economies and ensure shared prosperity for all people.
Our aim is to give every citizen – women and men alike – greater opportunities to find work, to reach their potential, to save and spend money, and to provide for their families.
When it comes to this challenge, no person should be overlooked, and certainly not because they are female.
There is a growing body of evidence that proves bringing more women into the workforce spurs innovation, increases productivity, and grows economies. Families have more money to spend. Businesses expand their consumer base and increase their profits. When women participate more fully in their economies, everyone benefits.
Conversely, across the world, economies are suffering because of women's limited access to employment opportunities.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that in the Asia-Pacific region alone this equates to a loss of $47 billion annually.
Looking forward, the ILO estimates that 865 million women will be of working age by 2020 but will lack the fundamental prerequisites to contribute to their national economy. Either they won't have the necessary education and training, or they simply won't be able to work due to legal, familial, logistical and financial constraints.
In the Pacific, as we gathered here are acutely aware, there is a significant and persistent gap between men's and women's participation in economic activities.
Only twenty per cent of Pacific entrepreneurs are women.
Men outnumber women in paid employment outside the agricultural sector by approximately two to one.
Even in the informal sector – where women dominate the work – they are often not involved in decision-making, nor do they have control over land and other assets.
These are sobering facts, but there are useful foundations to build from.
For example, in the largest agriculture-based countries of the Pacific region – Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Fiji – women vendors have long been keeping their families and communities afloat. The Honiara Central Market in Solomon Islands, for example, turns over around $10-16 million a year and 90 per cent of this market activity is conducted by women.
And importantly, the will for progress is flourishing – as is evidenced by your presence here and by the support that development partners wish to give to this agenda.
Policies and programs to promote the active participation of women in business are increasingly part of the development work undertaken by donor agencies such as Australia's Agency for International Development, AusAID.
Australia's Pacific partnership
The Pacific matters deeply to Australia.
Australia's interests are intimately tied to those of our near Pacific neighbours. Our geography has dictated that we have a shared destiny.
All of our interests are best served by a stable, prosperous and growing Pacific.
The force of globalisation has meant these interests are more aligned now than ever.
We are connected by a deeply rooted network of personal, business, sporting and community ties.
Australia is the region's major security partner.
We are the region's key economic partner.
As part of Australia's broader ongoing commitment to the Pacific, the Government is working with other Pacific Islands Forum members to pursue greater regional trade and economic integration as a means of contributing to Forum members' prosperity.
Trade, investment and economic reforms are important drivers of economic growth. So is democracy and the rule of law. Countries that are stable, adopt trade-enabling policies, and invest in the health and education of their people tend to be more successful.
Australia remains a strong supporter of the 2009 Pacific Islands Forum Leaders' decision to commence negotiations for a new regional trade agreement, known as PACER Plus. We also support the recent decision by Pacific Islands Forum Leaders encouraging increased engagement and rapid progress on PACER Plus.
PACER Plus should be seen as a long term opportunity to promote jobs, private sector growth and economic growth.
Our approach to PACER Plus goes beyond a traditional trade agreement defined solely by our commercial interests. Australia's primary objective for the PACER Plus negotiations is to promote the economic development of Forum Island countries through greater regional trade and economic integration.
Australia has provided more than $7 million to support Forum Island countries' engagement in the PACER Plus negotiations to date. This includes support for an Office of the Chief Trade Adviser to advise Forum Island countries in the negotiations and support for the training with the Institute for International Trade.
Australia relationship as a development partner in the Pacific is another crucial element of our engagement. We are the Pacific's leading aid donor.
In fact almost a quarter of our aid budget is expected to flow to the Pacific in this financial year.
This translates to half of the world's development assistance to the Pacific coming from Australia.
Over the next four years, Australia anticipates increasing assistance to the Pacific Region by around 37 per cent, from an estimated $1.17 billion in 2012–13 to an indicative level of $1.6 billion in 2015–16.
Australian aid – gender focus
Australia's aid program identifies gender equality as a critical and cross-cutting issue.
To deliver real results and improve the lives of women and men, their families, and their communities, AusAID is organising its work on gender equality and women's empowerment around four pillars.
– Advancing equal access to gender-responsive health and education services.
– Increasing women's voice in decision-making, leadership and peace-building.
– Empowering women economically and improving their livelihood security.
– Ending violence against women and girls at home, in their communities, and in disaster and conflict situations.
In 2011-12, 52 per cent, or AUD 2.16 billion, of all ODA expenditure by Australia's aid agency, AusAID, was on activities with a primary or secondary objective of improving gender equality and empowering women.
Existing Australian support for women entrepreneurs
Australia already supports a number of programs that aim to address many of the constraints faced by Pacific women in business.
The AusAID-funded ADB Private Sector Development Initiative has helped create single shareholder companies and community companies in the Solomon Islands. These innovative reforms are significant for women in that they
• enable women to establish companies on their own
• and they enable community groups – including women's groups – to promote a community interest or objective through a legally registered entity and to increase the profile of their work within their communities.
Through the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and the UN Capital Development Fund, Australia is supporting "mobile" access to finance for rural communities and the poor, with a focus on the needs of women for a safe and discrete mechanism to receive and transfer money in their homes.
AusAID has also partnered with the IFC in the production of Gender and Investment Climate Reform Assessments for Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga and Vanuatu.
These assessments examine the constraints faced by women in business and provides recommendations for the IFC to incorporate into its investment climate reform programs to reduce the gender specific obstacles.
Flowing from this work, additional women in business organisations have been established such as WISE (Women In Sustainable Enterprise) in Tonga.
Building on these foundations, Australia recently announced a major new avenue of cooperation with the Pacific on gender issues.
Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development
The Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development Initiative, launched by Prime Minister Gillard at the Pacific Islands Forum in August, commits up to $320 million over 10 years to help shift entrenched barriers to women's social, economic and political participation across Pacific Island Forum countries.
The Initiative will support commitments made by Pacific Island Forum Leaders in the Gender Equality Declaration made at the 43rd PIF, in the Cook Islands.
This Declaration committed leaders to a set of policy actions, including adopting measures that "eliminate all barriers preventing women from participating fully in the economic sphere, consistent with the decisions made by Forum Economic Ministers in July 2012".
Specifically, the leaders committed to advocate for increased representation of women in private sector boards and committees, including produce market committees.
They committed to remove barriers to women's employment and participation in the formal and informal sectors, including in relation to legislation that limits women's access to employment opportunities or contributes to discriminatory pay and conditions for women.
They agreed to improve the facilities and governance of local produce markets and to encourage women's safe, fair and equal participation in local economies.
And they committed to targeted support for women entrepreneurs in the formal and informal sectors – such as financial services, information and training – and to review legislation that limits women's access to finance, assets, land and productive resources.
Undoubtedly, the Leaders Gender Declaration is a strong foundation for the Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development Initiative.
The Initiative will make a practical difference in the lives of Pacific women, their families and their communities and this change will be driven by Pacific women and men based on what is important to them.
In its initial stages the program aims:
• to provide mentoring and training to female members of parliament and candidates to help them influence national and local level politics and successfully run in elections
• to improve Pacific marketplaces to offer safer and better facilities such as lighting, water supply, sanitation and waste disposal; greater women's participation in market place management
• to expand services for survivors of violence, including increasing the number of health services, crisis centres and shelters
• and to challenge current social attitudes and behaviours towards women.
In all these areas, there will be an explicit focus on supporting women's groups across the Pacific. The initiative envisages full participation by Pacific women in their own futures as well as the future of the region.
Women such as yourselves know through direct experience what works and what doesn't, and you will be central in the coming decade as the initiative is implemented, assessed and refined.
We will conduct a consultation process with government, private sector and civil society to identify what the major causes and outcomes of gender inequality are; what is already being done; and what can best be supported through this initiative.
The first four workplans under the initiative will be developed in PNG, Solomon Islands, the Cook Islands and Fiji. Drafting of these plans will begin by the end of the year with work to commence in other countries in early 2013.
Given the importance of a Pacific-led program, we want to build on Pacific experience and support existing successful approaches. Where possible, workplans will evolve out of existing country-level gender strategies.
Country work plans will need to carefully prioritise and identify a small number of preliminary activities. The workplans will continue to be updated over the 10 year lifespan of the Initiative.
However, we also have the opportunity to be bold. Ten years gives us the opportunity to trial new approaches, to expand those programs which are already showing an impact and to add new dimensions to existing partnerships.
In addition to our close cooperation with women's groups around the region, Australia works closely with UN Women in the Pacific and has funded the agency's Pacific Fund to End Violence Against Women.
We anticipate that UN Women and UNDP will be key partners to the new Pacific women's initiative. We will also be working with women's organisations, civil societies organisations, governments and the private sector in delivering the initiative.
An initial area of cooperation includes work to expand UN Women's Partners Improving Markets program in the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu and their Safe Cities program in Papua New Guinea.
Elizabeth Cox, who has worked for over 30 years in the Pacific on women's issues, will be talking in some detail about the challenges to doing business in city and town markets later this morning.
It's a significant and exciting area of work – and one where the impacts on women entrepreneurs are immediate and real.
Only last month, I noticed the Fiji Times reporting that women vendors from Fiji's highlands and remote areas now have a safe places to stay overnight at the Rakiraki Municipal Market thanks to the Partners Improving Markets program. The overnight accommodation facility and also a "Millennium Market Learning Centre" both opened in October with the support of UN Women and UNDP support.
Barriers to Women's Economic Empowerment
We know all too well that women still face obstacles. According to the World Bank, there are more than 100 countries where laws are different for women than men who wish to participate in the economy.
In some countries, women cannot open a bank account or sign a contract. In other countries, women are restricted as to what professions they can enter and what hours they can work.
In still other countries, women are not permitted to be the head of her household, and they are not permitted to make decisions for their own good and the good of their children.
These rules undermine women's economic participation and women's dignity and rights while reinforcing the damaging idea that women should be treated differently because of our gender.
Even where there are no legal barriers, social or institutional restrictions often hold women back.
In Australia, for example, we are still grappling with issues like equal pay. So in my country, too, women's economic empowerment remains a priority, requiring ongoing momentum in our domestic agenda.
Economic empowerment for Australian women
In Australia, as in the rest of the Pacific, we are learning that if we really want to achieve parity for women in the workforce -both that they participate and how they participate -then we must remove structural and social impediments that stack the deck against them.
A new Bill was introduced into Australia's federal parliament earlier this year, proposing significant reform to existing legislation governing employment participation.
Once passed, the new Act – called the Workplace Gender Equality Act – will help increase women's participation in the workforce and their economic empowerment with a new focus on the unequal burden of caring responsibilities.
The new Act will help ensure that both women and men have equal options to balance their paid work and caring obligations.
It will also focus on equal remuneration, recognising that closing the gender pay gap is central to achieving equality.
Another important legislative reform – the Fair Work Act – has resulted in an historic pay equity decision. Social and Community sector workers – the majority of whom are women – will benefit from substantial pay rises based on a finding by Fair Work Australia that their work had been undervalued on gender grounds.
In 2011, the Government introduced a Paid Parental Leave scheme providing up to 18 weeks of Government-funded Parental Leave pay at the National Minimum Wage for eligible parents of newborn or recently adopted children.
And, from next year, Dad and Partner Pay will give eligible fathers and partners two weeks' paid parental leave. This sends another strong signal that taking leave to care for children is part of the normal course of work and family life for both parents.
Australia's experience is that if we want to see opportunities for women improve, we must begin with sound economic policies that explicitly address the unique challenges that limit women.
So, too, in the Pacific.
We must ensure women are given access to capital so women entrepreneurs can turn their ideas into the small and medium enterprises that are the source of so much growth and job creation.
We must examine and reform legal and regulatory systems so women can avail themselves of the full range of financial services.
We must improve women's access to markets so those who start businesses can keep them open. We need to inform women about trade and technical assistance programs that are available.
Let's not underestimate the difficulties of ushering in an age where women are equal participants in their economies. Legal changes require political will. Cultural and behavioural changes require social will.
All of this requires leadership by governments, civil society, and by the private sector. This is why the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Declaration on Gender was such a historically important milestone.
But even when countries pursue aggressive structural reforms to get more women into their economy and enhance their productivity, they don't always produce the results that we would like to see. So we have to persevere. Persistence must be part of our long-term plan.
And economic orders do not perpetuate themselves. They are made and remade through countless decisions, small and large, by economic policymakers, political leaders, and business executives.
Economic orders may be hard to change, and policy strategies—no matter how good—can only get us so far.
We all have to make a choice, not simply to remove the barriers but to fill this space with active investment and involvement from each of us.
I wish you all a successful conference, and I look forward to the outcomes of your discussions and to working with you into the future.
Thank you.
Content Sourced from scoop.co.nz [1]
Original url [2]


text:
John Leopold trial begins with opening statements
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - The way prosecutors describe him, the head of Maryland's fourth-largest county is a bully who abused his office and used his police bodyguards and secretary as his personal servants.
They say John Leopold had officers put up campaign signs and drive him to repeated sexual romps in a bowling alley parking lot. He required officers to prepare dossiers on political challengers and drive him to sabotage a rival's campaign signs. Prosecutors say Leopold also had them work overtime when he was hospitalized for back surgery, assigning an extra officer to ensure his live-in girlfriend and another woman he was involved with didn't meet. And when he left the hospital, he allegedly forced his secretary to empty his catheter bag several times a day.
During the opening of Leopold's criminal misconduct trial, a state prosecutor said Friday that the now 69-year-old executive's actions were "egregious" and more than the misuse and mistreatment of county employees. Prosecutor Emmet Davitt told the judge hearing the case that Leopold's actions amounted to criminal misconduct in office.
Leopold's lawyer wove a different narrative in denying the criminal charges. Defense attorney Bruce L. Marcus described Leopold as a dedicated public servant, an intensely self-reliant and independent man who suddenly found himself with serious health problems as he campaigned for re-election in 2010. In the face of suggestions he was too old and too weak to serve, Leopold asked those closest to him to help, his lawyer said.
Leopold, who sat writing notes during the day's proceedings, may have been "injudicious and unseemly" in his actions, his lawyer said. But he said the attention-grabbing and tawdry details of the case don't amount to crimes.
"They may be viewed in the light of poor judgment, lack of social grace. But they do not rise to the level of criminal conduct," Marcus said.
John Leopold is enigmatic, idiosyncratic and unconventional, his lawyer said, a "different kind of politician." During a nearly hour-long opening statement Friday, his lawyer called him a "throwback to a simpler era." He lives frugally in a blue-singled, two-story home. Leopold has devoted his life to public service, first as a lawmaker in Hawaii and later as a Republican state legislator in Maryland, his lawyer said. In 2006, Leopold was elected to head Anne Arundel County, the growing county between Baltimore and Washington that is home to 500,000 residents and the U.S. Naval Academy.
As he was campaigned for re-election in 2010, however, Leopold began to have excruciating back pain, said his lawyer, putting up a picture of Leopold's misaligned spine. Treatment would require two surgeries.
Meanwhile, there were whispers that Leopold was too old and sick to be re-elected, his lawyer said. Leopold, a cancer survivor, decided to hide his weakness so it couldn't be used by political adversaries. So, when a girlfriend showed up unexpectedly at the hospital, he asked for a second officer to be posted, his lawyer said.
Anne Arundel and several other Maryland counties assign police officers to provide security for their elected executives, at taxpayer expense.
Prosecutors say the second officer was posted to help Leopold conceal his relationship with the woman from his live-in girlfriend. And posting the second officer, prosecutors say, cost the county more than $10,000 in overtime pay.
But Leopold's lawyer said Friday his client didn't know about the overtime. Leopold, who gave back his own salary increase, didn't approve the expense, his lawyer said. And when he learned of the overtime after his re-election, he initiated an investigation.
Around the same time, prosecutors allege, Leopold personally removed six of his Democratic opponent's campaign signs, tossing them into ravines or the woods. His lawyer seemed to suggest Friday that the signs were improperly placed in the public right of way.
And when he asked for help from employees, he believed they were friends and working for a common goal, his lawyer said.
But on Friday, his secretary and scheduler Patricia Medlin testified she was never asked if she wanted to help with his personal care. Leopold just told her she would be emptying his catheter bag two or three times a day, she said.
"Patty, I need you now," he would say when he wanted it done, she said.
Her voice broke as she described fearing for her job if she didn't do as he asked, emptying the bag into a green coffee can under a bathroom sink, and from there into the toilet.
After he was charged with misconduct last year, Leopold said he was confident he would be cleared.
"When all the salient facts are known, I'm confident that we will prevail," he said.
Leopold now faces four charges of misconduct in office: one for using officers to perform campaign activities like placing signs, one for having officers perform personal activities including picking up take-out dinners, one for stealing campaign signs and one for the police overtime incurred during his hospital stay. He is also charged with misusing county money for personal benefit, a charge that results from the overtime pay.
Separately, Leopold also faces two federal lawsuits brought by women who were former employees, both alleging sexual discrimination. The ACLU has also filed a lawsuit in state court over the dossiers on political opponents Leopold is alleged to have created.
On Friday, the first day of what is expected to be a two-week trial, Leopold declined to discuss the case as he entered the courthouse, saying only "Good morning."
The trial is expected to last about two weeks. Leopold waived his right to a jury trial on Thursday.


text: When it comes to your kids, nothing is more important than their safety. We've developed the safest, most consistent playground surface anywhere. Our Playground System is designed for all types of playground equipment and protects children from falls as high as 12-feet under the accordance with IPEMA standards and CSA approved fall attenuation.


text:
Nothing beats a handmade card, lots of hugs, and extra attention. But if you're feeling like Mom deserves a splurge this Mother's Day, there's nothing better than a luxurious beauty gift. Everyone loves to feel pampered, right? And each time she uses one of these spa-like essentials, spritzes on a fancy fragrance, or applies some high-end makeup, she'll think of how much you love her. Bonus!
Check out our top picks for mom!


text:
Hot on the heels of Skype's sale to Microsoft, the company's co-founder Janus Friis is already busy prepping his next project – a subscription-based streaming video service called Vdio (it's pronounced vee-dee-o, in case you were wondering).
Vdio is likely to replicate the subscription model of Friis' streaming music service Rdio, and is currently in a closed beta. It'll be launching in the UK first – visitors to the holding page are invited to log in with Facebook, and while UK users are told it's "coming soon," users from elsewhere are told that the service is "currently available in the UK only."
The market for streaming video is pretty crowded, with services such as Lovefilm offering a similar subs-based model. Vdio looks like it's going to hit the ground running, though, teasing films and TV shows from Warner Bros, AMC, Showtime, Sony and Fox – including The Dark Knight, Breaking Bad and Mad Men. We'll be watching with interest.
[Source: GigaOm]
Samsung releases ChatOn IM service


text:
Katy Perry, other stars go nuts at theme parks
There are few things in this world--dental floss, In-N-Out Burger and the TSA come to mind--that equalize the wide gap between the luxe lives of celebrities and those of us regular people. Theme park rides, it seems, should be added to that list. Six Flags Great America just released some pics of Katy Perry screaming and laughing on several roller coasters, and she's not alone. Check out these other stars who aren't afraid to go bananas at a good ol' fashioned theme park. (Ariel Alexovich, RedEye)
Copyright © 2018, Chicago Tribune


text:
With a new school year comes a new learning program in the Independence School District designed to prepare high schoolers for a 21st century economy.
The Ford Next Generation Learning Initiative debuts this 2014-15 school year for all ninth graders with the "Freshman Academy." The mission is to create a new generation of young people ready to compete in a dynamic/technology-driven economy by making all of them literate in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) disciplines and instill 21st century job skills. This new Freshman Academy serves as a starting point for future career academies planned to be offered at all three Independence high schools in the following 2015-16 school year. The FNG Initiative is not a voluntary program but is part of the district's freshman curriculum, Assistant Superintendent Brad MacLaughlin has said. "This (Freshman Academy) will strengthen the baseline." Independence is the only district in Missouri to utilize the program.
"Teachers have been told this for the past decade or so," said English teacher Amy Fuhr about the need to prepare students for a 21st century economy, "but it is not always easy to implement. By partnering with area businesses, teachers are able to see what technology skills are being used in today's job market."
"Good-paying, sustainable jobs are going wasted," FNG consultant Carl Leiterman said late last year at an Independence Chamber of Commerce meeting.
Speaking last month at the Independence Council for Economic Development Annual Meeting, economist Chris Keuhl said many people in today's national economy simply lack the training and skills to meet the qualifications of a specialized job opening that offers a decent salary.
So far the district has partnered up with local engineering firm Burns and McDonnell, Bayer Crop Science, architectural firm Hollis + Miller and Alliant Techsystems (Lake City Ammunition Division) to help implement the new career preparation program. This alliance allows freshman teachers to emphasize 21st century skills in their instruction, such as critical thinking, collaboration and information technology. More business partnerships will be added in the future as the program expands to 10th through 12th grades next school year.
"Our first Career Academy, Engineering, will be offered to sophomores, juniors and seniors in the fall of 2015," said Director of Communications Nancy Lewis. "Our goal is to have five academies in place at each high school by the 2019-20 school year. Additional academies will be chosen each year between now and 2019."
The Independence Chamber of Commerce previously pointed out this program will help keep major employers in the area and let them expand.
Besides just transforming a ninth grade core classroom to be more STEM-intensive, the Academy will incorporate other activities to help students decide what they want to pursue after high school graduation. In fact, during the next six to nine months of the upcoming school year, each freshman student will devise a specific plan of what they want to accomplish in the next ten years.
"We can better prepare our students to meet those job demands by helping them see the value in their high school education through college visits, career fairs, and a new FOCUS curriculum," Fuhr said. The FOCUS curriculum is also being implemented this year in the district. Similar to the district's Accelerated Reader program with fiction books, it instead features electronic non-fiction reading material that aligns with state learning standards.
"It's (the Freshman Academy) going to provide the teachers more opportunities to teach relevant material, as well as focus on catching those students who might normally fall through the cracks academically," said Industrial Technology teacher Aaron Smith.
In order to prepare for the new Freshman Academy curriculum, Independence high school teachers attended "externships" for one week last month at the partnering companies.
Not only are students encouraged to pursue a post-secondary education with the Initiative, but it also gives them the option to enroll in a university or technical school or immediately begin a position at one of the program's partnered companies. "There are multiple exit points with this program," McLaughlin has said. He said that it is unrealistic for every student in the district to obtain a college degree, and he noted that 23 to 28 percent of people who are currently unemployed already have degrees.
"The benefit of focusing on our students their first year in high school, teaching them 21st century skills, and also providing a road-map, (our 10-year plan) that they develop will be a great asset to them in the future," said Smith.


text:
In the United States, each person produces 4.6 pounds of trash per day, much of which could be recycled. Recycling one ton of paper saves 17 mature trees, 7,000 gallons of water, three cubic yards of landfill space, two barrels of oil and 4,000 kilowatt hours of electricity. This is enough energy to power the average American home for five months.
The purpose of the Dumpster Dump event is to create a visual of the items thrown away on the St. Bonaventure campus that should instead be recycled. Anyone wanting to learn more about this event or get involved can contact Sr. Suzanne Kush, C.S.S.F., at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Application forms, procedures and additional information
There are many ways to experience
St. Bonaventure for yourself
Learn more about the programs that interest you


text:
Details about this Driver
|Download driver for: SONY VPCZ11AGX
|Supported System
|win 10(64bit), win 10(32bit), Win 8 (32bit), Windows 8 (64bit), Win 8.1 (32bit), Windows 8.1 (64bit), Windows 7 (64bit), Windows 7 (32bit), Windows Vista (64bit), Win XP (64bit), Windows Vista (32bit), Windows Server 2003 (32bit), Windows XP (32bit)
|File Size
|8313 kb
|TouchPad Settings Update driver for SONYVPCZ11AGX
This utility updates the TouchPad settings to resolve an issuewhere the cursor may move erratically while typing on thekeyboard.
The Most Efficient Way to Update Sony Drivers
How to Update Drivers with Device Manager?
QUESTION: 1. I downloaded the Vaio Care Pro but it does not work. I click on the Windows update and it did not attempt to download it. Should I have downloaded the simple Vaio Care without the PRO added to it?
2. I tried to touch AV mode and increase or decrease the volume by touch, is there a driver that I need to download?
3. I wanted to replace my battery pack. Darn, it cost $220 while Laptopcharge.com has a compatible battey for this vaio for $52, though encompass is the recomended place by Sony where you can purchase parts. They said it is the compatible battery for my laptop and it has two years warranty on the battery. Apparently, Encompass said that original batteries are not available anymore. Is there something which I have to be concerned about. What a price difference!
If anyone can help me with these issues, I would appreciate it!
ANSWER: It's sad to hear that you are getting issues after upgrading to Windows 10.
1. Where did you get the Vaio Care Pro? I suggest that you download the VAIO Care?
2. For the Touch Sensor A/V Slide Control, download the drivers under Notebook Control and Utilities which includes the VAIO Launcher Software and Setting Utility Series.
3. We always recommend to use a Sony brand battery to be certain that it's compatible and will work perfectly on your device. We can't guarantee the quality of a non-Sony batteries.
To acquire the full list of compatible drivers and software for your laptop, kindly visit the link below. https://esupport.sony.com/US/p/model-home.pl?mdl=VGNCS290&template_id=1®ion_id=1&tab=download#/downloadTab
To update driver for SONY VPCZ11AGX using Windows Update.
You can check Windows Update any time to see if it's found updated drivers for your hardware, especially if you recently installed a new device. Then, you can install the updated drivers. Here's how:
- Open Windows Update by clicking the Start button. In the search box, type Update, and then, in the list of results, click Windows Update.
- In the left pane, click Check for updates. If there are any available updates, click the links to see more information about each update. Windows Update tells you if an update is important, recommended, or optional. Each type of update might include drivers for SONY VPCZ11AGX.
- On the Select the updates you want to install page, look for updates for your SONY VPCZ11AGX, select the check box for each driver that you want to install, and then click OK. There might not be any available driver updates.
- On the Windows Update page, click Install updates. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation. Windows Update will tell you if the updates were successfully installed.
That error still there? Don't Give Up! Try DriverTuner
1. Click here to download Driver Updater and install it
2. Scan your PC for outdated drivers. Select the drivers(here you should choose SONY VPCZ11AGX) you want to update and click download
3. When the download process is finished, click SETUP to install them. Voila! Your driver for SONY VPCZ11AGX has been updated. Sometimes a restart is required to put the drivers into use.
|Fix Driver Problems
|Driver Update Tool
Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista and XP


text:
It was lush and colorful and seemingly prosperous. Paul wondered, do the people in North know about this place? I mean why wouldn't you live here?
And I wasted no time in making myself comfortable. Nothing better than mango juice on a warm afternoon.
Paul was so relaxed he could do little but take in the serene water scenes that we floated through.
An old cargo boat, our vessel was really quite spacious.
There was more than enough room for the two of us and our crew of three.
Luckily that crew included a cook, who soon brought us a gorgeous south indian lunch.
And you too, whatever you are, I loved you too.
After lunch I retired to the cushioned deck, where I would remain for the remainder of the trip.
But before long we made it out into the less populated canals.
And presently stopped
to pick up some giant shrimp for dinner.
And then stopped by the church's woodworking shop.
We pulled to the side of the canal, battened down the hatches, and waited it out. And then this was our reward.
And then dinner came (see those shrimp?). Yum. Curry pastes galore, some more of my favorite coconut, and some lovely cold beer. Could life get any better?


text:
Venmar Ispira 36" Chimney Range Hood – White Panel IC70036WH
Delivery Includes:
- Delivery and placement in your home. Learn more about our delivery process.
- Basic assembly of your item (except items marked "Customer Assembly Required").
- Disposal of packing material for most items.
Pick-up Includes:
- Free shipping to almost any store of your choice (selected in checkout).
Specialty Installation and Assembly:
- We offer professionally licensed installation and assembly services at competitive prices in many communities in Canada. Call 1-888-933-8786 to check if these services are available in your area.
Special Order
This product is ordered directly from the manufacturer and is not eligible for refund or exchange once shipped.Item Code: IC70036W
Model: IC70036WH
Dimensions: Width: 16'' Height: 14'' Depth: 28''
Other items and packages in this collection
Product OverviewEnjoy clean air in a stylish cooking space with this Venmar Ispira chimney range hood. The white panel on the front of the range hood is interchangeable so the look of your kitchen can change as often as you'd like. PURLED™ lighting illuminates your cooktop, while the hybrid filter is easy to clean in your dishwasher. A feather-touch interface and a whisper-quiet motor make this range hood a top choice for your home.
Key Features
- PURLED™ Light System
- Hybrid Filter
- Feather-Touch Interface
- Whisper-Quiet Blower
- Interchangeable Glass Panels
PURLED Light System
The PURLED light system is specially developed by Venmar and certified by Energy Star®. It offers even, glare-free lighting across your entire cooking surface – just like in full daylight. An LED system boosts light output by 25%, distributes light six times better, improves energy efficiency by 88% and extends the life of your light bulbs by up to 25 times (as compared to previous generations). You can choose from four light settings, including night light, and it includes two, 5.5-watt LED bulbs.
Hybrid Filter
The new hybrid filter is the perfect combination of two filtering technologies. It traps up to 28% more grease than previous generations at every ventilation speed. The full-size stainless steel filters are dishwasher-safe.
Feather-Touch ConvenienceThe Ispira feather-touch control interface is intuitive and easy-to-clean. LED backlighting, a built-in master on/off control and an automatic "last selected speed" save function can be controlled via the interface. Use HeatSentry™ mode to adjust ventilation automatically and avoid overheating. Plus, set the delay-off function so the fan automatically turns off after five minutes.
Whisper-Quiet Blower
Whatever the blower speed, Ispira range hoods are quieter at normal speed than previous models. The whisper-quiet blower is designed to allow you to cook and entertain at the same time – without having to raise your voice. With four blower speeds to choose from, use up to 700 cubic feet per minute (CFM) to clear your kitchen of smells and steam.
Interchangeable Glass Panels
Personalize your decor with an exclusive selection of coloured glass panels (sold separately). The easily interchangeable glass panels offer the flexibility to create a unique style you can adapt as you please.
- White: SV09956WH
- Brushed Grey: SV09956SS
- Black: SV09956BL
- Orange: SV09956OR
- Lime Green: SV09956LM
- Purple: SV09956PU
- Red: SV09956RD
- Emerald: SV09956EM
Full Features and Specifications:
- Width: 36"
- Internal Blower: 600 CFM
- Ducting Size: 3.25"x 10"
- Sones (Low Speed): 1.4 Sones
- Ceiling Restrictions: Suitable for 8' to 9' High Ceilings
- Flue Extension for 10' High Ceilings: 19323
Included Accessories:
- Two LED Light Bulbs (5.5 W)


text:
Peace and Justice Studies
Peace and Justice Studies is a multidisciplinary minor that explores the causes and nature of conflict and war, the connections between violence, terrorism, war and social life, and models of peacebuilding, healing and reconciliation in the resolution and transformation of conflict. Students who minor in Peace and Justice Studies are encouraged to explore opportunities relevant to Peace and Justice Studies through fieldwork, service learning, internships and study abroad.
Faculty across the campus contribute courses to the Peace and Justice Studies Minor, representing a wide variety of perspectives and methodologies. The Peace and Justice Studies program is enriched by continued association with Fellow of Peace and Justice Studies, Rajmohan Ramanathapillai, former professor of Philosophy and Peace and Justice Studies at Gettysburg College.
Interested students should contact the following faculty: Professor Hakim Mohandas Amani Williams (firstname.lastname@example.com).
Requirements for the Minor are: one Core course - PHIL 219, PHIL 222, PHIL 224, or PHIL 226; at least two courses at the 200-level; at least two at the 300 level or above. Of the courses taken beyond the Gateway course, students are encouraged to take at least one with a global focus and one with a domestic focus. One of the courses taken at the 300 level or above will be designated as the capstone for the minor, and may be an Independent Study.
The sixth course for the minor may be any course chosen from the list of approved courses, or students may email the program coordinator with a request to have another course count.
No more than two courses may be in the major field of study.
Students who want to declare a Peace and Justice Studies Minor, should complete the form below with the Coordinator of Peace and Justice Studies, Professor Hakim Mohandas Amani Williams.
Declaration of Minor form