text:
DDMP-Dynamic Digital Marketing Program
DDMP-Dynamic Digital Marketing Program – Classroom / Online
Now learn the best strategies, tips, and 50+ tools for SEO, PPC, Social media, Inbound, Content and Digital marketing. This course covers a unique set of 25 modules of advanced digital marketing.
This Course gives an overview, intermediate and expert knowledge of Digital Marketing subject, including Planning a website, Website promotion, Email and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) campaigns, Pay Per Click (PPC) campaigns and Integrating digital marketing with traditional marketing, Affiliate Marketing, ORM, PR, Lead Generation, and Startups.
Who can attend this Course?
DDMP(Dynamic Digital Marketing Program) – A One of its kind online marketing course in the market, that will transform you professionally as well as personally making you a confident Digital Marketing Expert. Reach new heights in your career graph with our Dynamic Digital Marketing Program.
- Role of Marketing in business
- Components of marketing, Omnichannel marketing
- Understanding digital business models
- Introduction to assymmetric business models
- Digital tools for value creation of your product
- Digital Marketing Concepts
- About Search Engine
- Current trends in Digital Marketing
- Tools & Techniques
- Objectives of Digital Marketing
- Importance of Online presence/website
- Website creation, designing & ranking
- Domain, Hosting, Page rank
- Building a community of customers & fans
- Use email marketing to convert visitors to Buyers
- Taking help of Search engines to target audience
- Increase ROI through upselling and backend sales
- Mobile customer service
- About SEO
- On Page optimization
- Off Page optimization
- Webdesign for On-page SEO
- Site analysis, link building, website audits
- Webanalytics & Web marketing tips
- Optimizing SEO content
- Keywords research, density
- Search Engine Submissions, tools, etc
- Avoiding a Google Penalty
- SEO Latest developments
- Advanced SEO Techniques
- Overview of SEM
- Overview of PPC campaigns
- Campaign Management
- Strategy of PPC campaigns
- Types of Ads
- Ad Creation techniques
- Bidding, Bid strategies, Ad extensions
- Building Landing Pages
- Reporting & Analysis
- Google certification
- Creating brand awareness
- Targeting the right audience in social media platforms
- Facebook campaigns, biding, conversions, analysis
- Linkedin, campaigns, biding, conversions, analysis
- Twitter, campaigns, biding conversions, analysis
- Youtube, campaigns, biding, conversions, analysis
- Introduction to ORM
- Analyzing and dealing with Negative & Positive Mentions
- Social Media Exposure
- Local Listing (optimization)
- Business Profile Creation & Reviews
- Online brand enrichment
- Online Reputation Monitoring
- Effective Online Listening (Tools – Google Alert, TweetDeck, Hootsuite, etc)
- ORM Tools & Strategies
- Introduction, Basics of Email marketing, Emails template creation,
Call-to-action (CTA)
- Bulk emailing
- Lead generation
- Email Marketing and Your Business
- Sending the Right Message with Lifecycle Marketing
- Contact Management and Segmentation
- The Components of a High-Performing Email
- Email Design and Functionality
- The Essentials of Email Deliverability
- Developing Relationships with Lead Nurturing
- Measuring Success with Email Analytics
- Email Optimization and Testing
- Mobile Marketing basics
- Promoting apps through mobile arketing
- Mobile marketing strategies, Ads, etc
- App Marketing
- App Monetization
- Mobile website
- Mobile Marketing Analytics
- Social media and Mobile marketing
- Website designing in Word press
- How to choose and buy domain
- Webhosting
- Choosing related/relevant website template
- Website Content & Plug-ins
- Various plugin's to install Making website live
- Logo/graphic design, Photoshop, Illustrator, Image editing
- Landing page creative
- Template design
- News Letter design
- Understanding the consumer/Consumer behaviour
- Product Life Cycle (PLC)
- Digital tools for persuading the consumer
- Strategy for Creating Customer Awareness
- Understanding Your Customers Assessment
- Understanding of E-commerce and Online Market
- Knowing the different marketing types
- Know in the complete details of selling on an online platforms
- Learning the trick of Attracting & retaining visitors
- Setup objectives on eCommerce implementation
- Understanding customer transactions online
- Detailed study of Customer and organisation perspective
- E-commerce web strategy
- Understand and measure customer outcomes
- Importance of Data protection, Regulation & privacy issues in ecommerce
- Metrics and Analytics.
- Understanding CRM and its applications
- Types of CRM
- Knowing the benefits of CRM to Companies and Consumers
- Understanding the challenges and Delivering service
- Executing the CRM best practices
- Building long term relationship with customers and its importance
- CUstomer Retention, Customer Value Management
- Understanding about Affiliate marketing
- Knowing How and why Affiliate marketing
- Resources, Top players, Strategies
- Keyword research and analysis
- Choosing right products
- Choosing right domains and Hostings
- Creating Banners, promos and discounts
- Building an affiliate page using CMS
- Email list and Auto responder
- Campaign measurement and tracking
Learn how to make money online
- Introduction to Google Analytics
- How to use Google Analytics
- Setup and Configuration of Google Analytics
- Integration with Google Adwords and Webmaster tools
- Overview of Google Analytics navigation
- Learn how to create and analyse report
- How to make data driven decisions
- Adwords and Analytics
- Campaign setup in Google Analytics
- Introduction to Entrepreneurial Mindset
- Building the Entrepreneurial Mindset
- Introduction to Team work
- Managing/marketing a Start-up
- key elements of an entrepreneurial venture & elements of venture success
- Challenges of hiring good resources
- The Mind of the Entrepreneur
- New Product Development (NPD)
- The Business Eco system
- Sales, Strategy & Branding
- Business Models
- Marketing Models
- Creating the Business Assessment
- Business growth
- International Business & marketing
- Growth strategies & Assessment
- Market Penetration
- Market Expansion
- Product Expansion
- Diversification
- Acquisition
- Introduction & Sucessful story telling
- Knowing who to tell stories to(Target Audience)
- Facebook – Build your lead flow
- Youtube – Going vial overnight
- Let your content do the marketing
- Converting & Analysing your traffic
- Types of viral marketing – Buzz marketing, Pass long, Incentive viral, Undercover marketing, User managed database.
- Building Strategy To Keep your customer coming Back/Customer retention
- Introduction to Public Relations
- Public Relations Research
- Public Relations Campaigns
- Social Media in Public Relations
- PR baiscs, models & approaches
- PR management function & assessment
- Strategic Management & its evolution
- Strategy Formulation
- Strategy implementation
- Industry & competitive Analysis
- Resource 7 competency Analysis
- Analysing strategy across corporate & business levels
- About CRO
- AB Testing, Tools & building a AB Test
- Testing philosophies & skills – How & What to test
- Landing & pricing pages – Examing pages
- eCommerce Test planning – Identification & Evaluation
- Project Management – Building a Test plan & Tracking
- Analytics for CRO & results
- The Ultimate CRO Strategy
- Introdution to CMS
- Tools , Techniques & Strategies
- Content distribution
- Measuring & Marketing
- Content to audience mapping
- About Lead Generation
- Identifying your leads
- Defining your Sales Funnel
- Developing your Lead Generation Strategy
- Defining your key goals and metrics
- Generating leads with Inbound marketing
- Targeting your Approach with Outbound marketing
- Measuring & testing your Lead Generation programs
- About Inluencer Marketing
- About Blog Marketing
- Traditional vs Digital Influencer Marketing
- Blog Creation
- Tools of Influencer Marketing
- Incorporating Influencer marketing in your Social Media strategy
- Driving traffic & monetizing your Blog
- Introduction to Marketing Automation
- Lead Capturing & Nurturing
- Automated Campaigns – How To?
- Improving Customer Life Cycle
Know more Click
Learning outcomes
Create and/or improve a strategy for measuring and improving digital media effectiveness
Review current approaches and identify areas for improving performance
Search engine optimization (SEO), pay per click (PPC) marketing including Google AdWords, LinkedIn Ads, and Facebook Ads
Social media including Facebook, Twitter, blogging, WordPress, Tumblr, StumbleUpon, Instagram,…
Online advertising including Google ad networks, Display network and behavioral targeting
Site content and copywriting
E-commerce marketing strategy
Lead generation strategy
Email and Mobile Marketing strategy
Digital Marketing Strategy and Planning
Have an Interest ?
Course Features
- Lectures 27
- Quizzes 0
- Duration 200 hours
- Skill level Intermediate
- Language English
- Students 273
- Assessments Yes
- Introduction to Marketing & Digital Marketing
- Building an Online Business
- Search Engine Optimization / Optimizer – SEO
- Pay Per Click – PPC
- Social Media Marketing – SMM
- Facebook marketing and advertising
- Linkedin marketing and advertising
- Twitter promotions
- Email marketing
- Mobile marketing
- Website Planning & Creation
- Understanding your customers to drive to sale
- Introduction to e-commerce
- E-commerce web strategy
- Customer relationship management in business services
- Affiliate marketing
- Web Analytics
- Entrepreneurial success
- Fundamentals of Marketing Your Business Online
- Entrepreneurship-Creating the Business
- Growth Strategies for Business
- Viral Marketing
- Introduction to Public Relations
- Strategic Management
- Online Reputation Management
- Conversion Rate Optimization
- Content Marketing Strategy


text: You are standing scant inches from where the sunlight streams in. There is an abrupt change before you. On your side there is darkness-except where the sunlight streaming in throws stark shadows and reflected glints-and rock and crystals. On the other side, there is an explosion of growths... grass, short stubby trees, mushrooms, moss covered rocks, and a distance away, an expanse of water, shrouded in a mist that defeats even the brilliant sun which must be riding high in the sky, as you cannot see it.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
News & Events
Instant CLASSic, lifetime connections
Undergraduate students create College-wide open house to promote CLASS pride
CLASS seniors Mike Nguyen and Ryan Johnson wanted to take their cougar pride to the next level.
The two who met during a College-sponsored event decided they need to help others connect with each other and the College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences as they had.
So they planned Instant CLASSic, a college-wide open house to introduce students to what CLASS offers beyond a full-course load.
"We wanted to showcase the college's departments, organizations, and students to the rest of the university," said Johnson, a creative writing major. "And create a place where students could meet fellow CLASS students in different majors."
Now in its second year, the Instant CLASSic is scheduled for October 27. Unlike other events individually managed by departments, the Instant CLASSic is an opportunity for every organization associated with the College to introduce themselves and what they offer to the entire campus.
To put on the event, Johnson and Nguyen sought out the support of two of the College's top administrators, Dean John W. Roberts and Dr. Sarah Fishman, associate dean for undergraduate studies.
"We are an asset to the university and we felt too quiet and unorganized on campus, we wanted to do something about it," Johnson said of the College and its undergraduate majors.
After being awarded a small budget from the Dean's office, Nguyen and Johnson heavily recruited other students to assist them in organizing and participating in the open house. Last year's first Instant CLASSic featured 29 faculty-led programs and student-led organizations, including the Student Government Association.
One aim of the open house is break barriers separating CLASS' many majors in the disciplines of creative arts, humanities and social sciences. Another is to generate student pride in learning in, affiliating with and, eventually, graduating from the College.
"History students hang out with history students, psychology students hang out with other psychology students," said history major Nguyen. "What most students do not realize is that at one point or another, they have been a part of CLASS."
Last year's event was a prototype to see how things officially work on campus. For the second year, they hope the Instant CLASSic son will bring even more attendees and participants that will make the event a legacy for current and future CLASS students.
"The best way to bring 12000 students together is to show them how much we all have in common," said Johnson. "Let's dedicate a day and put all these schools and departments together to showcase that we are nationally-recognized award winners and to recruit more students to help us achieve even more that what we have already done."
- Luis Zelaya


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Madden–Julian oscillation
The Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) is the largest element of the intraseasonal (30- to 90-day) variability in the tropical atmosphere. It was discovered in 1971 by Roland Madden and Paul Julian of the American National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). It is a large-scale coupling between atmospheric circulation and tropical deep convection.[1][2] Unlike a standing pattern like the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the Madden–Julian oscillation is a traveling pattern that propagates eastward at approximately 4 to 8 m/s (14 to 29 km/h, 9 to 18 mph), through the atmosphere above the warm parts of the Indian and Pacific oceans. This overall circulation pattern manifests itself most clearly as anomalous rainfall.
The Madden–Julian oscillation is characterized by an eastward progression of large regions of both enhanced and suppressed tropical rainfall, observed mainly over the Indian and Pacific Ocean. The anomalous rainfall is usually first evident over the western Indian Ocean, and remains evident as it propagates over the very warm ocean waters of the western and central tropical Pacific. This pattern of tropical rainfall then generally becomes nondescript as it moves over the cooler ocean waters of the eastern Pacific (except over the region of warmer water off the west coast of Central America) but occasionally reappears at low amplitude over the tropical Atlantic and higher amplitude over the Indian Ocean. The wet phase of enhanced convection and precipitation is followed by a dry phase where thunderstorm activity is suppressed. Each cycle lasts approximately 30–60 days. Because of this pattern, the Madden–Julian oscillation is also known as the 30- to 60-day oscillation, 30- to 60-day wave, or intraseasonal oscillation.
Distinct patterns of lower-level and upper-level atmospheric circulation anomalies accompany the MJO-related pattern of enhanced or decreased tropical rainfall across the tropics. These circulation features extend around the globe and are not confined to only the eastern hemisphere. The Madden–Julian oscillation moves eastward at between 4 m/s (14 km/h, 9 mph) and 8 m/s (29 km/h, 18 mph) across the tropics, crossing the Earth's tropics in 30 to 60 days—with the active phase of the MJO tracked by the degree of outgoing long wave radiation, which is measured by infrared-sensing geostationary weather satellites. The lower the amount of outgoing long wave radiation, the stronger the thunderstorm complexes, or convection, is within that region.[3]
Enhanced surface (upper level) westerly winds occur near the west (east) side of the active convection.[4] Ocean currents, up to 100 metres (330 ft) in depth from the ocean surface, follow in phase with the east-wind component of the surface winds. In advance, or to the east, of the MJO enhanced activity, winds aloft are westerly. In its wake, or to the west of the enhanced rainfall area, winds aloft are easterly. These wind changes aloft are due to the divergence present over the active thunderstorms during the enhanced phase. Its direct influence can be tracked poleward as far as 30 degrees latitude from the equator in both northern and southern hemispheres, propagating outward from its origin near the equator at around 1 degree latitude, or 111 kilometres (69 mi), per day.[5]
Local effects[edit]
Connection to the monsoon[edit]
During the Northern Hemisphere summer season the MJO-related effects on the Indian and West African summer monsoon are well documented. MJO-related effects on the North American summer monsoon also occur, though they are relatively weaker. MJO-related impacts on the North American summer precipitation patterns are strongly linked to meridional (i.e. north–south) adjustments of the precipitation pattern in the eastern tropical Pacific. A strong relationship between the leading mode of intraseasonal variability of the North American Monsoon System, the MJO and the points of origin of tropical cyclones is also present.
A period of warming sea surface temperatures are found five to ten days prior to a strengthening of MJO-related precipitation across southern Asia. A break in the Asian monsoon, normally during the month of July, has been attributed to the Madden–Julian oscillation, after its enhanced phase moves off to the east of the region into the open tropical Pacific Ocean.[6]
Influence on tropical cyclogenesis[edit]
Tropical cyclones occur throughout the boreal warm season (typically May–November) in both the north Pacific and the north Atlantic basins—but any given year has periods of enhanced or suppressed activity within the season. Evidence suggests that the Madden–Julian oscillation modulates this activity (particularly for the strongest storms) by providing a large-scale environment that is favorable (or unfavorable) for development. MJO-related descending motion is not favorable for tropical storm development. However, MJO-related ascending motion is a favorable pattern for thunderstorm formation within the tropics, which is quite favorable for tropical storm development. As the MJO progresses eastward, the favored region for tropical cyclone activity also shifts eastward from the western Pacific to the eastern Pacific and finally to the Atlantic basin.
An inverse relationship exists between tropical cyclone activity in the western north Pacific basin and the north Atlantic basin, however. When one basin is active, the other is normally quiet, and vice versa. The main reason for this appears to be the phase of the MJO, which is normally in opposite modes between the two basins at any given time.[7] While this relationship appears robust, the MJO is one of many factors that contribute to the development of tropical cyclones. For example, sea surface temperatures must be sufficiently warm and vertical wind shear must be sufficiently weak for tropical disturbances to form and persist.[8] However, the MJO also influences these conditions that facilitate or suppress tropical cyclone formation. The MJO is monitored routinely by both the USA National Hurricane Center and the USA Climate Prediction Center during the Atlantic hurricane (tropical cyclone) season to aid in anticipating periods of relative activity or inactivity.[9]
Downstream effects[edit]
Link to the El Nino-Southern oscillation[edit]
There is strong year-to-year (interannual) variability in Madden–Julian oscillation activity, with long periods of strong activity followed by periods in which the oscillation is weak or absent. This interannual variability of the MJO is partly linked to the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle. In the Pacific, strong MJO activity is often observed 6 – 12 months prior to the onset of an El Niño episode, but is virtually absent during the maxima of some El Niño episodes, while MJO activity is typically greater during a La Niña episode. Strong events in the Madden–Julian oscillation over a series of months in the western Pacific can speed the development of an El Niño or La Niña but usually do not in themselves lead to the onset of a warm or cold ENSO event.[10] However, observations suggest that the 1982-1983 El Niño developed rapidly during July 1982 in direct response to a Kelvin wave triggered by an MJO event during late May.[11] Further, changes in the structure of the MJO with the seasonal cycle and ENSO might facilitate more substantial impacts of the MJO on ENSO. For example, the surface westerly winds associated with active MJO convection are stronger during advancement toward El Niño and the surface easterly winds associated with the suppressed convective phase are stronger during advancement toward La Nina.[12] Globally, the inter annual variability of the MJO is most determined by atmospheric internal dynamics.[clarification needed]
North American winter precipitation[edit]
The strongest impacts of intraseasonal variability on the United States occur during the winter months over the western U.S. During the winter this region receives the bulk of its annual precipitation. Storms in this region can last for several days or more and are often accompanied by persistent atmospheric circulation features. Of particular concern are extreme precipitation events linked to flooding. Strong evidence suggests a link between weather and climate in this region from studies that have related the El Niño Southern Oscillation to regional precipitation variability. In the tropical Pacific, winters with weak-to-moderate cold, or La Nina, episodes or ENSO-neutral conditions are often characterized by enhanced 30- to 60-day Madden–Julian oscillation activity. A recent example is the winter of 1996–97, which featured heavy flooding in California and in the Pacific Northwest (estimated damage costs of $2.0–3.0 billion at the time of the event) and a very active MJO. Such winters are also characterized by relatively small sea surface temperature anomalies in the tropical Pacific compared to stronger warm and cold episodes. In these winters, there is a stronger link between the MJO events and extreme west coast precipitation events.
Pineapple Express events[edit]
The typical scenario linking the pattern of tropical rainfall associated with the MJO to extreme precipitation events in the Pacific Northwest features a progressive (i.e. eastward moving) circulation pattern in the tropics and a retrograding (i.e. westward moving) circulation pattern in the mid latitudes of the North Pacific. Typical wintertime weather anomalies preceding heavy precipitation events in the Pacific Northwest are as follows:[13]
- 7–10 days prior to the heavy precipitation event: Heavy tropical rainfall associated with the MJO shifts eastward from the eastern Indian Ocean to the western tropical Pacific. A moisture plume extends northeastward from the western tropical Pacific towards the general vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands. A strong blocking anticyclone is located in the Gulf of Alaska with a strong polar jet stream around its northern flank.[13]
- 3–5 days prior to the heavy precipitation event: Heavy tropical rainfall shifts eastward towards the date line and begins to diminish. The associated moisture plume extends further to the northeast, often traversing the Hawaiian Islands. The strong blocking high weakens and shifts westward. A split in the North Pacific jet stream develops, characterized by an increase in the amplitude and areal extent of the upper tropospheric westerly zonal winds on the southern flank of the block and a decrease on its northern flank. The tropical and extra tropical circulation patterns begin to "phase", allowing a developing mid latitude trough to tap the moisture plume extending from the deep tropics.[13]
- The heavy precipitation event: As the pattern of enhanced tropical rainfall continues to shift further to the east and weaken, the deep tropical moisture plume extends from the subtropical central Pacific into the mid latitude trough now located off the west coast of North America. The jet stream at upper levels extends across the North Pacific with the mean jet position entering North America in the northwestern United States. The deep low pressure located near the Pacific Northwest coast can bring up to several days of heavy rain and possible flooding. These events are often referred to as Pineapple Express events, so named because a significant amount of the deep tropical moisture traverses the Hawaiian Islands on its way towards western North America.[13]
Throughout this evolution, retrogression of the large-scale atmospheric circulation features is observed in the eastern Pacific–North American sector. Many of these events are characterized by the progression of the heaviest precipitation from south to north along the Pacific Northwest coast over a period of several days to more than one week. However, it is important to differentiate the individual synoptic-scale storms, which generally move west to east, from the overall large-scale pattern, which exhibits retrogression.[13]
A coherent simultaneous relationship exists between the longitudinal position of maximum MJO-related rainfall and the location of extreme west coast precipitation events. Extreme events in the Pacific Northwest are accompanied by enhanced precipitation over the western tropical Pacific and the region of Southeast Asia called by meteorologists the Maritime Continent, with suppressed precipitation over the Indian Ocean and the central Pacific. As the region of interest shifts from the Pacific Northwest to California, the region of enhanced tropical precipitation shifts further to the east. For example, extreme rainfall events in southern California are typically accompanied by enhanced precipitation near 170°E. However, it is important to note that the overall link between the MJO and extreme west coast precipitation events weakens as the region of interest shifts southward along the west coast of the United States.[13]
There is case-to-case variability in the amplitude and longitudinal extent of the MJO-related precipitation, so this should be viewed as a general relationship only.[13]
- ^ Zhang, Chidong (2005). "Madden-Julian Oscillation". Rev. Geophys. 43 (2): RG2003. Bibcode:2005RvGeo..43.2003Z. doi:10.1029/2004RG000158.
- ^ "Madden-Julian oscillation forecast research". University of East Anglia. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
- ^ Takmeng Wong; G. Louis Smith & T. Dale Bess. "P1.38 Radiative Energy Budget of African Monsoons: NASA Ceres Observations Versus NOAA NCEP Reanalysis 2 Data" (PDF). Retrieved 2009-11-06.
- ^ Geerts, B.; Wheeler, M. (May 1998). "The Madden-Julian oscillation". University of Wyoming. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
- ^ Roland A. Madden & Paul R. Julian (May 1994). "Observations of the 40–50-Day Tropical Oscillation - A Review". Monthly Weather Review. 122: 814–837. Bibcode:1994MWRv..122..814M. doi:10.1175/1520-0493(1994)122<0814:OOTDTO>2.0.CO;2.
- ^ Goddard Space Flight Center (2002-11-06). "Ocean Temperatures Affect Intensity of the South Asian Monsoon and Rainfall". NASA GSFC. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Archived from the original on 2009-07-30. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
- ^ Maloney, E.D.; Hartmann, D.L. (September 2001). "The Madden–Julian Oscillation, Barotropic Dynamics, and North Pacific Tropical Cyclone Formation. Part I: Observations". Monthly Weather Review. 58 (17): 2545–58. Bibcode:2001JAtS...58.2545M. doi:10.1175/1520-0469(2001)058<2545:tmjobd>2.0.co;2.
- ^ Chris Landsea (2009-02-06). "Subject: A15) How do tropical cyclones form?". Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory. Retrieved 2008-06-08.
- ^ Climate Prediction Center (2004-07-08). "Monitoring Intraseasonal Oscillations". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
- ^ Jon Gottschalck & Wayne Higgins (2008-02-16). "Madden Julian Oscillation Impacts" (PDF). Climate Prediction Center. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
- ^ Roundy, P.E.; Kiladis, G.N. (2007). "Analysis of a Reconstructed Oceanic Kelvin Wave Dynamic Height Dataset for the Period 1974–2005". J. Climate. 20: 4341–55. Bibcode:2007JCli...20.4341R. doi:10.1175/JCLI4249.1.
- ^ Roundy, P.E.; Kravitz, J.R. (2009). "The Association of the Evolution of Intraseasonal Oscillations to ENSO Phase". J. Climate. 22: 381–395. Bibcode:2009JCli...22..381R. doi:10.1175/2008JCLI2389.1.
- ^ a b c d e f g Climate Prediction Center (2002-08-29). "What are the impacts of intraseasonal oscillations on the U.S.? When do they occur?". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
External links[edit]
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Madden-Julian Oscillation.
- "Daily Madden–Julian Oscillation Indices". National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center. Retrieved March 29, 2005.
- "MJO Homepage". Agricultural Production Systems Research Unit. Archived from the original on June 12, 2007. Retrieved July 13, 2007.
- "The influence of intraseasonal variations of tropical convection on sea surface temperatures at the onset of the 1997–98 El Niño". NOAA-CIRES Climate Diagnostics Center Climate Research Spotlight. Retrieved March 29, 2005.
- Lin, J.; Kiladis, G.N.; Mapes, B.E.; Weickmann, K.M.; Sperber, K.R.; Lin, W.; Wheeler, M.C.; Schubert, S.D.; Del Genio, A.; Donner, L.J.; Emori, S.; Gueremy, J.; Hourdin, F.; Rasch, P.J.; Roeckner, E.; Scinocca, J.F. (2006). "Tropical Intraseasonal Variability in 14 IPCC AR4 Climate Models. Part I: Convective Signals". 19: 2665–90. Bibcode:2006JCli...19.2665L. doi:10.1175/JCLI3735.1.
- Kim, J.; Ho, C.; Kim, H.; Sui, C.; Park, S.K. (2008). "Systematic Variation of Summertime Tropical Cyclone Activity in the Western North Pacific in Relation to the Madden–Julian Oscillation". J. Climate. 21: 1171–91. Bibcode:2008JCli...21.1171K. doi:10.1175/2007JCLI1493.1.
- Ho, C.‐H.; Kim, J.‐H.; Jeong, J.‐H.; Kim, H.‐S.; Chen, D. (2006). "Variation of tropical cyclone activity in the South Indian Ocean: El Niño–Southern Oscillation and Madden–Julian Oscillation effects". Journal of Geophysical Research. 111 (D22): D22101. Bibcode:2006JGRD..11122101H. doi:10.1029/2006JD007289.


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The Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy has developed a practical tool to help cities and towns analyze their capacity for economic development. Municipalities start by identifying and promoting their "deal makers" that foster economic growth and opportunity and surmounting the "deal breakers" within their control that have been working against their efforts EDSAT enhances the power of local officials to affect positive change in policies and procedures and to better enable these communities to compete for critically needed private sector investment – that is, EDSAT is one of the first steps mayors and city managers can take to becoming the "CEO of Economic Development" for their communities.
Guided by input from a broad group of public and private sector partners from the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties to the National League of Cities and the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives, our mission is to create a practical set of tools for local governments to better position themselves to attract industry, private investment, a sustainable tax base and high quality good-paying jobs.
We have developed a secure and confidential online self-assessment tool for evaluating and interpreting a municipal jurisdiction's characteristics and processes directly linked to the factors affecting local investment. With over two hundred and fifty questions, this rigorous examination helps public officials explore their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Once the self-assessment is completed, it is analyzed by Dukakis Center staff and a comprehensive report is prepared that weighs each community's performance against the multi-jurisdictional database that the Dukakis Center is continuously expanding as more municipalities participate in the self assessment. Local officials receive specific feedback in each assessment category, and they can then use the results as a reality check on their community's economic development strategy.
Ten Assessment Categories
1. Access to Customers/Markets
2. Concentration of Businesses & Services
3. Real Estate and Infrastructure
4. Labor Market Factors
5. Municipal Permit Processes
6. Community Quality of Life
7. Site Related Amenities
8. Business Incentives
9. Local Tax Rates
10. Access to Local Information
Click here for a copy of the latest powerpoint presentation about the EDSAT (delivered December 3, 2010 to the annual National League of Cities Congress of Cities and Exposition).
For more information, contact:
Catherine Tumber, Senior Research Associate
Dukakis Center
Click here to email
Phone: (617) 373-7868


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If you already have a guest list, upload it in a file and use our iPad app to check guests in.
Unlimited number of questions and answer options.
Collect customer information and export it in an Excel spreadsheet.


text:
Paul Johnson, 97 - August 09, 2013Paul Edward Johnson, 97, of Gothenburg died Friday, Aug. 9, 2013, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney.
A visitation will be at Blase-Strauser Memorial Chapel of Gothenburg on Tuesday, Aug. 13, from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. with family present from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Services will be conducted at Blase-Strauser Memorial Chapel on Wednesday, Aug. 14, at 10:30 a.m. with the Rev. Larry Viter officiating. Interment will take place at the Gothenburg Cemetery.
Johnson was born March 12, 1916, at Eustis, son of John and Anna Johnson. He grew up in the Cozad area and graduated from Cozad High School.
He was married to Helen Velte, and the couple had two children. On March 12, 1948, he was united in marriage to Tillie E. Stevens. To this union, two children were born.
Johnson farmed southwest of Cozad and then moved to a farm northeast of Gothenburg.
He had a love for the land and a special place in his heart for horses, according to family members. He also enjoyed Golden Gloves boxing and Micro Midget racing.
Johnson was preceded in death by: his wife, Tillie Emily Johnson; his parents, John and Anna Johnson; five sisters—Dorothy (Leslie) Delap, Ester (Lawrence) Velte, Florence Stear, Edith (Ward) Kinnan and Ruth (Vern) Brown; a brother, Harold Johnson; sister-in-law, Lola Johnson.
Survivors include: his two son—Steve (Jo) Johnson of Gothenburg and Kenneth Lee (Carol) Spilker of Clifton, NJ; his two daughters—Beth (Curt) Bowman of Tucson, AZ, and Bette (Dr. Robert) Patton of Kingsport, TN; four granddaughters—Kimberly Johnson, Linda (Bruce) Williams, Christina (Mike) Makoska and Kara (Scott) Zinke; three grandsons—Doran Johnson, William (Deborah) Patton and David Patton; six great-grandchildren—Elizabeth, Charles, Rudd, Dylan, Leah and Brayden; a brother John Johnson of Lexington; special caregiver, Rebecca Meredith; numerous nieces, nephews and extended family members.
Memorials are suggested to the Gothenburg Volunteer Fire Department, 602 10th St., Gothenburg, NE 69138, and the Nebraska Children's Home.
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GOMA, Congo Rebels, who last week seized one of the most important cities in eastern Congo and advanced beyond, said Thursday that they had pulled back several miles to the town of Sake and were on track to leave the key city by Friday, in accordance with a deadline imposed by the international community.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said people had returned to Sake, abandoning a camp for displaced persons, but many found their homes had been looted or destroyed in the fighting.
"They have almost no food supplies and are unable to reach their fields," said Franz Rauchenstein, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross delegation in Congo.
The apparent phased withdrawal of the M23 rebels indicates that international pressure may have succeeded in reversing the rebel advance and staved off what many had feared could be the start of a new war between the enormous, jungle-covered nation of Congo, and it's much smaller and more affluent neighbor, Rwanda.
The M23 rebels are widely believed to be financially and militarily backed by the landlocked nation of Rwanda, which uses rebel groups to gain access to the mines that dot the landscape in eastern Congo.
Rebel spokesman Lt. Col. Vianney Kazarama said Thursday that his soldiers had already pulled back from the region of Masisi to Sake, located 18 miles beyond Goma. "We are withdrawing," he said. "Tomorrow we will [retreat to] Goma," on track to leave the city as asked.


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The Crucible, one of America's most enduring theatrical masterpieces, turns 60 in 2013.
Arthur Miller's allegorical response to the McCarthy Era, written in the 1950s, transports audiences to the Salem witch-hunt madness of the 1690s. The embers of a girl's malicious game ignite the Puritanical world of Salem Village with false prophecies, greed and vengeance.
Distinguished Visiting Scholar Judy Braha directs Suffolk University Theatre Department students in this production.
The Crucible opens Thursday, April 18, and runs through Sunday, April 21.
A discussion "Celebrating its 60th year - why does America still find The Crucible compelling?" will follow the Saturday matinee performance with Braha and Theatre Department Chair Marilyn Plotkins.
Tickets are available online or by calling 1-800-440-7654 at $15 for the general public. Discounted $10 tickets are available for students and seniors.
The C. Walsh Theatre is located at 55 Temple St. on Beacon Hill in Boston.


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Any niche can make money
I was on twitter earlier and saw a tweet from Patrick saying that you can't earn a commission from a car blog.
Whilst I get what he is saying on the traditionally available content and relationship route (CJ.com ) etc, the reality is though that (IMO) you can of course, make money from virtually any subject all you need to do is create the relationships with the suppliers and do what you choose to do well.
It's an interesting subject and very evident throughout most SERP's. Successful blogs and sites with developed affiliate models are doing very well indeed, just go do a query for anything, you might find this site called ebay or moneysupermarket or amazon.
The great thing about online is that you don't need a million quids worth of stock to earn a pound note, you just need to get the positions and add the value. The value add part being the hardest.
It could be interesting to explore it a little and see where it all goes. So let's look at the thing and consider the sorts of questions someone should ask himself, what are his options, is it a closed playground, those kinds of things.
Local or Global – Macro or Micro Choosing a Start Point
Does he specialise and zoom on in to a particular facet of his target, or does he go broad and address a wider sphere? What will be his USP? How can he improve on what's out there? Will he get a ROI? How long will it take? Will he lose his investment? Are just a few of the questions our imaginary Mr X would need to ask himself.
He might want to cast his net wide and have as broad a platform as he could. Let's say he has a blog or a site where he talks about eggs. He talks about the sizes, the types, the suppliers, the politics, the news items, the market, the industry in general. As part of this offering, he might also set up up a little egg wholesaler directory of suppliers categorised into localities and specialisms and discuss the relative merits of each, giving suppliers an option to appear high or low in the offering for a small fee.
Sooner or later he'll have a resource that's textually rich. He'd soon find his site ranking for related phrases like "Egg wholesaler location". Once he'd attained the rankings, it' wouldn't be so difficult to persuade people of the benefits of paying that little extra fro a premium slot. Newspapers and offline media do it that way everyday, it's worked well for decades. Pixel space versus column inches, there's very little difference, it's about bums on seats and eyes on the message.
Alternatively, he might want to keep it all reasonably tight, focusing on a sub aspect of it all. He might want to develop the whole agricultural angle; developing relationships with farmers, the impact on prices through drought affecting crop yield, the environment, animal welfare. Drawing stories and strands globally, through the creation of forums and community tools, enabling producers to share and debate ideas and topics and ethics and what not.
Whatever he decided, if he done it well, injecting passion ,enthusiasm and added value to the space for those people with the need, he'd soon find himself earning money.
I picked eggs as an example as it is a topic that on the face of it, isn't that interesting to most people so is probably a whole lot harder to monetise than most. It's probably a whole lot more fun to look at something that's closer to home or perhaps easier to think of in terms of practical everyday applications with mass appeal.
Developing the offering and doing things better than your competitors
A look at any vertical out there will show you that there are various levels of maturity. Take forex or finance as an extreme example and you'll see that it's a very developed space. Loans, stocks, shares and trading is one of those areas that offer huge potentials for return with lots of products and offerings. Content that empowers investment decisions is one of those premium facets that people pay for, people want choice, people want options, they like to feel in control of their purchasing decisions; a site that assists in that process is a definite asset.
I like the mybuilder.com idea, it's a great site to use as an example in illustrating this point. A very simple concept, attempting to answer a question that's asked a 1000 times a day by a 1000 different people worldwide. "Do you know where I can find a good, painter, decorator, plasterer, tiler etc?". This site puts people in touch with tradespersons who can bid for jobs and services, read reviews of their work and find answers to their needs. Give it a few months, with the right SEO and they'll be ranking for terms like "where can i find a plasterer in london?" and other such questions.
It's very niche, very targetted and very useful – Whilst the gumtrees and the craigslists of this world have their place, much of what they offer is presented poorly or just too damn anonymous to be trusted. People want to have confidence in an offering after all, no one wants to get burned.
A look at the search volume for related terms is kind of tricky to measure definitely (people search in diverse ways) but to keep it general there is obvious volume out there for related terms
If they were to buy this traffic on exact match from google then they'd be looking at these kinds of CPC's. The table below shows CPC and volume data for UK specific traffic for the search term followed by location, so 'builder in London', 'plumber in london' etc.
Multiply these globally and add in a little phrase variances and the potential for such a tool becomes a little more obvious for all stakeholders, owner, service provider and user.
At the moment, gumtree and craigslist get the volume for these searches (dependant upon locale and query) , simply because they've been around longer and have better authority scores and link citations. Yet a look at the difference in offering shows a huge disparity between what is presented SERP wise and what is known to be out there.
Search for Builder in London and Google gives you lots of choice, but not very much else to go on. The sites it returns are a mix of local results (google local) and other basic one service offering type business, directories or advertorial services. This isn't a bash Google type post, I'll save that for another day; however what I'm trying to say is that in terms of what is presented, the options are still limited. There are no 'confidence' builders, there isn't anything in that SERP to differentiate a poor service provider from a good one. I'm still left to do the whole research and due diligence thing myself.
A click through to Gumtree shows a random offering of things. Various providers, but nothing that really installs any confidence, nothing to make me think, cool – I'd have to email them and ask them questions and ask them for references and do all the usual due diligence.
The type of site that I'd like to see there isn't there though, I just happen to be lucky in that I know it exists already.
The Mybuilder.com site is far superior in that enables people to sign up and register and offer their services and for people seeking such services to review and put out quotes for tender. I can select by area or service type and I get an ebay style profile page with reviews and feedback and price guides and various other bits of information that I'd use to help inform a decision.
Confidence is increased and as a result I'm more likely to purchase or enquire.
So what am I saying? Without sounding like an advert for mybuilder.com, I am saying that within the SERPS there are hundreds upon hundreds of opportunities to do things better and succeed. Mybuilder.com has taken a commonly asked question and developed the idea further, fulfilling the need that exists.
Go ask any lazy travel affiliate marketer out there today about Google and bar raising and you'll get a good idea of the facts around how you just can't afford to lay back and rest on your laurels. You have to keep pushing the technology, you have to offer service and usability over and above those of your competitors because if you don't then you are just a click away from some SERP evaluators death clicks somewhere, and heh, if you need an idea then maybe you can go to Y! answers for inspiration (caution contains potentially offensive textual material of the dumbest kind)
Agree with what I say? Disagree even? Do feel free to comment. 🙂


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April 19. 2013 3:05PM
'Walk for Boston' planned for Newport Friday night
By MEGHAN PIERCE
Union Leader Correspondent
NEWPORT – "A Walk for Boston" is planned for tonight at the Newport High School track.
The community event was started by Steve Smith at the WCNL radio in Newport, but has quickly snowballed drawing in people from outside the town, said Cindy Gallagher who works at the high school.
The event is planned to begin at 6 p.m. and continue till 8:15 p.m., Gallagher said.
People from the Claremont and Colby-Sawyer community in New London are also planning to attend the event that will include a walk that begins at 6 p.m., then a candle light vigil and bagpipe performance at 8 p.m.
People are asked to give a show of support for the city of Boston by wearing a Red Sox, Patriots, Bruins or Celtics wear if they can.
Donations for One Fund Boston --
-- will also be collected at the event.
"It's also about a community uniting to say we say we care about other communities," Gallagher said.
"It can be a walk. it can be a run or it can be just come and play on our football area.. …I think this is gogin to be a big thing. Rain or shine we're doing this tonight.


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Ultra Restorative Creme is similar to the Exuviance Evening Restorative Complex, except this contains more PHAs (12% versus 8%). Otherwise, the same review applies. The amount of sodium hyaluronate in this product isn't worthy of the company's "moisture sponge" claim.
Experience revitalized skin with this advanced anti-aging creme, formulated to renew and restore photo-damaged skin, leaving it smoother, hydrated and more luminous. Regular use helps to diminish the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and promotes a more even skin tone.
Exuviance At-A-Glance
Strengths: Huge assortment of AHA and PHA products, all with correct pH to exfoliate; sunscreens that include AHA and/or PHA at right pH and provide reliable broad-spectrum sun protection; good cleansers; some excellent serums and lightweight moisturizers; the Exuviance makeup products are worth a try if you need full coverage with sufficient sun protection.
Weaknesses: No BHA products (better for blemish-prone skin or for those who can't tolerate AHAs or PHA); no topical disinfectants (a basic for those with acne); all hydroquinone products have at least one major negative; irritating toners; jar packaging; potentially problematic self-tanning products; lip balms contain irritating spearmint oil; most NeoCeuticals products are terrible.
Exfoliation is the name of the game for this line! The original NeoStrata and Exuviance brands were created by Drs. Eugene Van Scott and Ruey Yu, the two researchers who own the original patent (actually, they hold over 80 patents) for the use of glycolic acid (AHA) in relation to its ability to diminish wrinkles, among other capabilities. Few lines offer reliable and effective formulations for exfoliation, so those that do deserve your attention. Well-formulated AHA products are those that have an effective concentration of AHAs and a base with an acidic pH that allows them to have maximum benefit. The exfoliation that AHAs provide reduces the thickness of the skin's outer layer, helping skin to quickly look smoother and feel softer, which in turn can solve many skin problems, including dryness, blemishes, sun damage, and skin discolorations. A good deal of research also shows that AHAs can help increase the thickness of the underlying layers of skin, improve skin structure, increase collagen production, and allow penetration of other skin-care ingredients. Moreover, NeoStrata is one of the only companies to sell a range of reliable sunscreens that also contain effective AHA formulations.
Both the NeoStrata (these products are reviewed separately) and Exuviance lines contain glycolic acid (AHA), but even more of these products contain a polyhydroxy acid (PHA) called gluconolactone (also patented by Scott and Yu), and for which similar claims are made. Gluconolactone is supposed to be gentler and longer acting than glycolic acid, and its delayed penetration is attributed to its larger molecular size. However, according to an article in Cosmetic Dermatology (July 1998), the skin can't tell the difference between the various effective AHAs, and the possibility of gluconolactone staying on the surface of skin longer than other AHAs did not prove out. So in terms of exfoliation and potential side effects, PHA ends up being as good as AHA. Gluconolactone may be slightly less irritating for some skin types, but this isn't quite the magic bullet for exfoliation NeoStrata claims, though it does indeed work when properly formulated (but so do glycolic and lactic acids). Another PHA NeoStrata uses is lactobionic acid. However, there is no definitive, published research establishing it as an effective alternative to (or partner for) other AHAs or BHA.
Beyond the numerous products that exfoliate (which is NeoStrata's main selling point) there's not much to get excited about, especially for what the company is charging. And it's upsetting that a dermatologist-driven, physician-sold line still has weak spots such as the occasional inclusion of irritating ingredients with no established benefit for skin and, believe it or not, a sunscreen that leaves skin vulnerable to UVA damage. NeoStrata has their act together when it comes to AHAs and PHA, but that tunnel vision has, in some respects, kept them from branching out to offer a better assortment of state-of-the-art products.
For more information about Exuviance, call (800) 225-9411 or visit www.neostrata.com.
Caution: Keep in mind that skin needs only one reliable exfoliant at a time. Exuviance sells so many good ones, you may be tempted to double (or triple) up, but doing so can backfire and be more irritating than helpful.
NeoStrata Exuviance Makeup
The small assortment of Exuviance makeup products takes the "makeup as skin-care" approach by including gluconolactone in all the makeup products. Although Exuviance makes much ado about gluconolactone being a gentler AHA alternative with advanced hydrating and antioxidant ability, information presented in Cosmetic Dermatology (July 1998) doesn't bear this out. That is, it's hard to see any better possibilities for gluconolactone than for the older, mainstay AHAs such as glycolic acid and lactic acid. What's not discussed are the effects on skin when multiple products containing gluconolactone are used. Although its reduced rate of penetration might make it less irritating, the fact remains that skin does not need multiple products for sufficient exfoliation.
The most encouraging news is that each Exuviance makeup product includes an effective sunscreen. As far as anti-aging goes, that feature is far more essential than the next AHA alternative. Exuviance makeup has changed hardly at all since it was last reviewed. The three foundations still do not offer a middle-of-the-road option when it comes to coverage. You're left to choose between the opaque CoverBlend makeups or the sheer Skin Caring option. The CoverBlend Concealing Treatment Makeup SPF 20 is truly in a class by itself when it comes to traditional full-coverage makeup, and it's highly recommended if you need significant coverage for discolored areas on the face or body. The tube concealer also offers full coverage (though the colors are not the most neutral around), and the loose powder is a fine, albeit overpriced, option.
About the Experts
The Beautypedia and Paula's Choice Research teams have one mission: To help you find the best products for your skin, whether they're from Paula's Choice or another brand. By combining efforts, we're able to share scientific research and remain committed to the highest standards based on our decades of experience objectively reviewing thousands upon thousands of skincare and makeup formularies in all price ranges.
Beautypedia cuts through the hype to bring you product insights and recommendations you won't find anywhere else!


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Dawes, "Stories Don't End" (Hub)
Here's a pro tip for those of you obsessed with finding new music: Figure out the songwriters your favorite songwriters love and go listen to them.
Here in Nashville, Tenn., a huge number of the writers I dig also dig Dawes, and you can find out why on the group's smooth-groove third album, "Stories Don't End."
The album's cover depicts the band around a campfire exchanging stories, and that image perfectly captures the 12 songs here. It's a tour de force of cinematic storytelling by lead singer and main songwriter Taylor Goldsmith. Steeped in the California singer-songwriter sounds of the 1970s, each track is familiar musically. Lyrically, the tracks contain complex layers of meaning and vivid imagery that require repeated listening.
At the heart of the album is a song destined to make most best-of lists in eight months. "From a Window Seat" is Goldsmith's best work yet, a song driven along by an insistent piano line and a wordy, esoteric self-examination that somehow riffs on history, geography, identity, all done simultaneously from a bird's-eye view while traveling by airplane. It's a novel, distilled to its essence.
Go check it out. If you hurry, you can say you listened to Dawes before they got big.
Follow AP Music Writer Chris Talbott: http://twitter.com/Chris_Talbott.


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SOLIDWORKS partnered with some of the BattleBots teams that you've seen duking it out on another action packed season of the ABC TV show BattleBots. Download the models, watch videos, read the infographic and so much more.


text:
The most infamous of the 380 remaining enemy combatants detained at the Joint Task Force-run Guantanamo Bay detention facility (JTF-GTMO) confessed to extensive terrorist activities, according to transcripts of his statements made during a recent hearing. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, also known as KSM, admitted masterminding 9/11, planning the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, assisting shoe-bomber Richard Reid in his attempt against American Airlines Flight 63, perpetrating in 2002 the Paradise Hotel car bombing in Kenya and attacks at Paddy's Bar in Bali, and beheading Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, as well as planning never-executed assassinations of two U.S. presidents and destruction of several major U.S. landmarks.
Some news commentators cast doubt on KSM's confessions, citing his well-known penchant for braggadocio or arguing his comments were obtained after years of confinement and torture. Indeed, for many on Left, merely mentioning KSM's detention at Gitmo is enough to conjure images of extensive and outrageous civil rights violations.
But that image is dramatically false as I recently discovered. As a media guest of the Joint Task Force at Guantanamo Bay, I toured the base and detention facilities. I saw not the repetitious and stock images of chain link fences and huddled detainees, replayed over and over again in the media, but an efficient, well-run facility that provides care that surpasses even that given our own troops. I was privileged to meet some of the dedicated men and women who serve under the motto "Honor Bound to Defend Freedom" and learned of the stresses and dangers they face daily. Indeed, it is only Gitmo's past, unfair reputation that keeps it from being considered a model detention center.
My Gitmo trip began on a warm, balmy evening aboard a low-flying 19-seat prop jet. The noisy, three-hour trip from Fort Lauderdale sans air conditioning, restroom facilities and snacks on Air Sunshine, one of only two commuter airlines to Gitmo, was made slightly more bearable with earplugs. About two months prior, I had requested a media visit, submitting a biography, descriptions of my organizational affiliations, copies of recently published articles, an equipment list, photo and vital statistics. Once I received clearance and subjected myself to five vaccinations, I was ready to tour the much-maligned, detention facility on the 45-square-mile U.S. military base in southeast Cuba.
The base at Guantanamo Bay that houses al Qaeda and Taliban-affiliated enemy combatants is run by Joint Task Force Gitmo (JTF-GTMO) in concert with the local Naval Station staff. JTF- GTMO is a combined service operation involving all branches of military service -- the Navy, Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. Including the active Naval Station, the base population comprises approximately 6,000 service members, dependents, contractors, foreign nationals, civil servants and Cuban exiles. JTF-GTMO oversees detention, intelligence gathering, medical services, staff support and port security. Naval Station personnel provide logistical support to ships and aircraft in the Caribbean, support U.S. drug interdiction activities and conduct migrant surge operations.
Established in 1903, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is the oldest overseas U.S. military base and the only one in a Communist country. Following the Spanish-American War, the Cuban government leased the area to the United States. That lease was later formalized in a treaty that can be terminated only by mutual consent of both countries. Guantanamo has served as a fuel and supply base, a drug interdiction operations center and a migrant assistance and processing facility for Haitian and Cuban refugees. Since 2001, it has been an enemy combatant detention center for the Global War on Terrorism.
On my tour, the only other media representative was a Pakistani who broadcasts in Urdu for the BBC. We were met at the tiny airport by a media relations officer, one of a five-member team that would squire us through Gitmo. A quick ferry ride from the airstrip and we were on our way to what appeared to be a replica of a small U.S. town with a Subway, Starbucks, McDonalds, Navy Exchange, schools, gyms and fields. After checking into our quarters -- pleasant two-story, two-bedroom townhouses -- we were briefed by an Army lieutenant on permissible reporting and images. Acceptable were empty spaces, including cells, bays, recreation areas and courtrooms. Tight shots of detainees that obscured identifying features were also O.K. Strictly verboten were shots of unoccupied guard towers, radar domes and antenna arrays, as well as photos that indicated locations of sensitive facilities and coastline areas, plus pictures of specific troops, security checkpoints, the airport and military aircraft. Any intelligence gained from witnessing interrogations or interactions with Cuban and Haitian migrant personnel were not to be reported. The BBC reporter and I were informed that our photos would be checked daily to ensure compliance with Gitmo security regulations.
I felt honored to visit Gitmo and looked forward to an early departure next morning. Close to 200 members of Congress and their staff have visited Gitmo, as well as 1,000 journalists from around the world on more than 400 media visits. I was anxious to see for myself how detainees lived and were treated.
The next day, our tour began at Camp 1, a secure facility with 7 x 8 mesh cells equipped with a toilet and metallic sink. We were told Camp 1 detainees wear tan uniforms connoting their higher level of compliance than detainees wearing maximum-security orange. We viewed the clothes and comfort items given Camp 1 inhabitants including a prayer mat, skullcap and Koran in the detainees' native language, plus a rubberized finger toothbrush, toothpaste in a clear container, soap, shampoo, plastic flip flops, underwear, shorts and shirt. Cups are discretionary items since they can be used for fecal cocktail attacks, our guide said. Meals are delivered through a small opening in each cell door through which detainees periodically try to injure guards by closing the opening or using a sharp object, we were told. In nearby exercise yards with adjacent shower facilities, detainees are permitted to play soccer.
Our tour guide displayed plastic cones with the letter "P." These are placed on the floor of each detention facility to signify 20 minutes of uninterrupted quiet time during the five times daily broadcast calls to prayer. Guards receive Muslim "sensitivity training" and handle Korans only with gloved hands, our guide said. We saw a Koran hanging inside a surgical mask from the wall of each cell, plus, on each bunk, a painted arrow pointing toward Mecca.
At our next stop, the Camp Library, we met the librarian who periodically visits Gitmo inhabitants. Each detainee selects one book weekly from a surprisingly broad selection in 19 languages that includes fiction, biographies, politics and religious books about Mohammed and the prophets. The BBC journalist audaciously asked if the political books espoused a pro-American viewpoint. Much to his apparent satisfaction, he was told that the library selections include multiple political points of view.
At Camp 4, the detention facility for the most compliant Gitmo residents, good behavior and cooperation with the interrogation process earns detainees admission to this communal living arrangement and its white uniforms. We toured dormitories where detainees eat, sleep and pray together. They can study various subjects and work on gardening projects in separate classrooms. We saw ample recreational areas for board games and team sports and were told that detainees occasionally are permitted to watch Arabic television.
By contrast, the maximum security facilities at Gitmo, two-story structures modeled after U.S. state-of-the-art prisons, house the most dangerous detainees. A raised glass-enclosed control center sits above the cells where touch screens monitor detainee movement and control the facilities, including even shower-water flow. We observed detainees exercising outdoors by themselves in mesh enclosures. In one high-security building, I heard a detainee praying loudly in Arabic and repeatedly invoking the "Yahoud," or Jew, in Arabic. It was chilling. I knew he couldn't be saying anything good, and I was thankful he was behind a locked, steel door.
We were informed that all Gitmo detainees were apprehended on Afghanistan battlefields where they were deemed to have intelligence value and then transported to Gitmo for detention and further interrogation. Further, we were told that all Gitmo detainees are categorized as "enemy combatants." Media relations staff explained that enemy combatants are differentiated from prisoners of war (POWs) in that they are non-state actors who do not belong to a recognized military unit, do not wear a uniform, do not bear arms openly and do not follow accepted rules for the conduct of war, specifically the safeguarding of civilians. The laws of war dictate that POWs are required to provide only their name, rank and ID number and may not be subject to interrogation. Still, the Geneva Conventions that apply to prisoners of war have been followed with detainees since Gitmo began operations.
A lieutenant on the media tour explained that enemy combatants housed at Guantanamo include terrorist recruiters, trainers, facilitators, financiers, explosives makers, Bin Laden associates and avowed martyrs. He told us that among the detainees are medical doctors, lawyers, engineers, pilots and computer specialists. Many have provided critical information that has helped U.S. soldiers in combat and anti-terrorist operations. The information has included the organizational structure and geographic distribution of terrorist groups, terrorist recruitment and training processes, use of explosive devices and poisons, funding of terrorist operations and the pursuit of weapons of mass destruction. We were told that approximately one-third of Gitmo detainees are currently undergoing interrogation and are believed to possess intelligence value.
During a meeting with two Gitmo guards, we learned of the month's worth of training they received before their year's service at Gitmo. The training emphasizes teamwork and interpersonal skill building and includes role-playing of likely, on-the-job scenarios. The soldiers talked about learning about the cultures of Afghanistan, Yemen, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and other countries from which detainees come. They also described long, stressful shifts filled with personal threats and assaults, during which they rigorously adhered to operating procedures, conducting themselves professionally and maintaining a belief in their mission and the fight against terrorism. We were told that a large number of detainees are dangerous, pose a threat and have said they intend to continue to wage jihad. A diagram of disturbances for the past year showed over 3,000 incidents of detainee misconduct, including threats to military personnel, possession of contraband, assaults with bodily fluids, and physical assaults.
Our tour guide explained how detainees communicate with family and learn about current events. They receive and send mail, over 40,000 pieces since 2002, and read weekly international news reports. He pointed out enclosed bulletin boards in recreational areas, displaying news stories in multiple languages. We were also told of visits every six weeks by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), a worldwide organization that monitors compliance with Geneva Conventions and assists with detainee-to-family communication.
On a behind-the-scenes tour of the commissary led by the head of food services, we were shown ample stores of a wide variety of food, including fresh fruit and vegetables. The area where the halal meat for detainees was stored was separate from the non-halal meat served to troops. Our tour guide told us that detainees receive the same food as Gitmo troops, but with more meal choices and a menu that changes more frequently. The six menu choices for detainees were displayed on a kitchen counter, and we were encouraged to sample the selections. Our guide mentioned that meal schedules and content are modified for Islamic holy periods such as Ramadan. The food was excellent. It was easy to see how detainees had gained an average of 18 pounds each during their detention.
Our next stop was the Gitmo Detention Hospital, a 20-bed, full-service modern medical facility with an outpatient clinic, two operating tables and a dental clinic. Five physicians, 20 nurses, a psychologist and a psychiatrist staff it. Interpreters in five languages assist with communication.
A psychologist led our tour of the modern, spotless medical facilities. We were told that detainees receive the same health care as base soldiers and their families and that the hospital logs 12,000 interactions with detainees per year, dispenses 400 medications per day, and performs 7,000 dental procedures annually, including six-month cleanings. Our guide recounted that when Gitmo first opened wound treatment was the primary care provided. Now, treatment centers on sports injuries, backaches and neck aches. He added that approximately nine percent of detainees use mental health services, which include counseling.
Approximately a dozen detainees are on hunger strikes at Gitmo, which prompts increased medical care, the psychologist said. After nine meals are missed, a detainee is evaluated at the medical clinic, counseled by a psychologist and subject to regular blood work and vital sign and weight checks. When deemed necessary by the medical staff, life support measures, such as insertion of a feeding tube, are initiated. Hunger strikes confer elevated status on detainees amongst their peers, the psychologist said, and once inside the medical facility, hunger strikers willingly consume liquid supplements.
The tour included the opportunity to sit in on the unclassified segment of an administrative review performed by the Office of the Administrative Review of Detention of Enemy Combatants or OARDEC. We were briefed on the detainee review process and informed that all detainees undergo a review process that includes a one-time detainee status classification, the Combatant Status Review Tribunal (CSRT), and an annual evaluation before an Administrative Review Board (ARB). The CSRT is used to determine if a detainee should be classified as an enemy combatant. Each detainee, even Al Qaeda operatives who don't qualify for this procedure, is offered assistance from a military officer to prepare and deliver pertinent information to three neutral, U.S. military officers. CSRT determinations are governed by the "preponderance of evidence" standard.
The ARB process, given to all enemy combatants not pending Military Commission prosecution, assesses if detainees should be released, transferred or detained further. The decision is based on assessment of their intelligence value and the threat they pose. The ARB process, unprecedented in the history of war at a time of ongoing hostilities, is not required by Geneva Conventions.
The ARB that we observed on our tour was convened to consider the status of an enemy combatant affiliated with two groups associated with al Qaeda. The detainee in question refused to attend his review meeting, a not uncommon occurrence, and the evidence of his enemy combatant status was presented by three military officers.
Our guides discussed the Military Commissions Act of 2006 and that Gitmo detainees linked to al Qaeda will face military tribunals. We were informed that the purpose of the military commission is to ensure the protection of military personnel, as well as the accused, and to prevent the release of classified and sensitive information. Each Military Commission consists of a presiding officer, who must be a judge advocate, plus three neutral military officers. E ach detainee is provided a full and fair trial with the following provisions: presumption of innocence, proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, counsel provided at no charge, attorney-client privilege and the right to call and cross examine witnesses.
During our Gitmo tour, we heard about specific incidents, such as a planned attack, suicides and allegations of detainee abuse, that have occurred at the facility, despite the extreme precautions taken and the standardized procedures in place. We were told by one of the guards that in May 2006, a group of detainees in the minimum security, communal living section staged a suicide attempt to lure guards into the compound. When guards entered the cell block, they slipped on a floor covered with feces, urine and soap suds and were attacked with makeshift weapons. The guards regained control within six minutes using pepper spray, batons and shotguns with non-lethal rounds, without any reported injuries to detainees.
Also, in June 2006, three detainees with close ties to Middle East terrorist organizations hung themselves in their cells using sheets and clothing. The first detainees to die at the facility, they left suicide notes in Arabic. According to news reports, military officials described the suicides as attempts to gain attention and to manipulate world opinion. Rear Admiral Harry Harris, the prison commander, said at the time that the suicides were "not an act of desperation, but an act of asymmetric warfare against us."
"Detainees are held at JTF-Guantanamo because they are dangerous and continue to pose a threat to the U.S. and our allies," General Bantz Craddock, head of the U.S. Southern Command, was quoted as saying at the time. "They have expressed a commitment to kill Americans and our friends if released. They are not common criminals, they are enemy combatants being detained because they have waged war against our nation and they continue to pose a threat."
In a meeting with the Commander of JTF-GTMO, Rear Admiral Harry Harris, we were told that allegations of abusive treatment by Gitmo detainees were investigated by the FBI and detailed in the Schmidt Report, which concluded that over a three-year period "only three interrogation acts" were "in violation of interrogation techniques authorized by Army Field Manual 34-52 and DoD guidance." The report "found no evidence of torture or inhumane treatment at JTF-GTMO."
Interestingly, an 18-chapter Al Qaeda manual on waging jihad discovered by police in Manchester, England, which came to be known as the "Manchester document," exhorts its operatives when in enemy custody to "insist on proving that torture was inflicted" and "to complain of mistreatment while in prison."
At the time of the charges, Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld expressed frustration with these tactics and said, "These detainees are trained to lie, they're trained to say they were tortured, and the minute we release them or the minute they get a lawyer, very frequently they'll go out and they will announce that they've been tortured."
The lieutenant who was part of the Media Relations team conducting our tour, mentioned that in 2005, allegations were made by detainees that a U.S. serviceman flushed a Koran down the toilet. He compared the size of the Koran to the toilet opening to demonstrate that this was an impossibility. We were told that an extensive inquiry, including the review of over 30,000 documents and hard drives of both classified and unclassified materials, found no credible evidence of such an incident ever taking place. But the inquiry did uncover 15 incidents in which detainees mishandled the Koran, including using it as a pillow, tearing pages out and urinating on it.
Admiral Harris informed us that although the Geneva Conventions specify that enemy combatants may be warehoused and interrogated until "the cessation of active hostilities," many Gitmo detainees have been transferred to other countries or released. Of the approximately 770 enemy combatants detained at Gitmo, about 390 have been set free or remanded to such countries as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Morocco, Russia, Britain and France.
In response to my question about released detainees returning to the fight Admiral Harris said that an estimated 30 former detainees, mainly from the upper echelon of terrorist groups, resumed terrorist activities as part of the Taliban or Al Qaeda. This despite signing pledges at the time of release to renounce violence. At least two former detainees are believed to have died fighting in Afghanistan and a third was captured during a raid of a terrorist training camp. One former Gitmo resident murdered a judge outside of a mosque in Afghanistan. A teenaged former detainee was recaptured after returning to fight with the Taliban. One Pakistani former detainee who carried a false Afghan identity card while at Gitmo returned to Pakistan as a Taliban commander.
Although Gitmo has been the site of espionage attempts by Muslim, U.S. military and civilian personnel, information on that was not provided during the tour. My additional research, once I returned home, revealed disturbing attempts to reveal classified information and compromise national security.
In 2003, Army Capt. James Yee, a Chinese-American Muslim convert since 1991 who served as a chaplain at Gitmo, was charged with espionage and pleaded guilty to transporting classified documents and lying to military investigators. To protect national security, charges against Yee were reduced to mishandling classified information and later dropped. According to a list obtained from terrorism expert Steven Emerson, Yee had ordered $26,000 worth of Arabic and English books, many of which espoused a radical Islamic ideology, for detainee use during his assignment to Gitmo.
Yee's friend, Air Force translator and Syrian-born Muslim Ahmad al-Halabi pleaded guilty to transporting classified documents and lying to military investigators. A civilian interpreter, Ahmed Fathy Mehalba, who had attended an Army intelligence-training program in Arizona, was convicted of removing classified documents from Gitmo containing the names of Al Qaeda operatives mentioned during interrogations. Army Colonel Jack Farr, who formerly headed the prisoner interrogation unit at Gitmo, was charged with "wrongfully transporting classified material without the proper security container."
When the tour was over and I boarded the ferry to the airport for my return to the States, I thought about how the military detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has been at the center of controversy since it began housing enemy combatants in 2002. From the very start, allegations of torture and inhumane treatment were raised by officials and members of the press who had never visited the facility. Even the United Nations and several countries, including Britain and Germany, called for its closure, claiming human rights violations sight unseen.
Yet, claims that Gitmo is inhumanely holding innocent people who are held indefinitely without legal recourse are patently false. Clearly, the facility houses dangerous enemy combatants who receive balanced meals, appropriate clothing and comfort items, good medical and dental care, generous recreational opportunities, yearly military board reviews, access to attorneys and visits from the Red Cross in a secure environment in strict accordance with Geneva Conventions.
Congressional Democrats who are demanding the closure of Gitmo and advocating that terrorists be held in mainland U.S. prisons are misguided. Ask former New York Metropolitan Correctional Center guard Louis Pepe, who was the unfortunate victim of an al Qaeda terrorist housed in a civilian prison. Pepe was blinded in one eye, partially paralyzed and has difficulty speaking as a result of a brutal one-hour attack with a sharpened comb purchased in the prison commissary.
Terrorists who have the will to decapitate and amputate, blow themselves up, fly planes into buildings, use women and children as human shields and shoot infants in the back are prepared to commit extreme acts of violence to escape confinement. Confining them to an offshore detainment facility in the middle of the ocean with a tyrannical dictator outside the gates is an ideal solution to a difficult problem.
By Janet Levy
Janet Levy is the founder of ESG Consulting, an organization that offers project management, fundraising, promotion, event organizing and planning services for conservative political causes and issues related to terrorism and national security.


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JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (April 3, 2010) - Junior Katie Henderson (Jackson, Tenn.) gave the Lady Bucs a three-run lead with her three-run homer in the fourth, but Florida Gulf Coast's Hayley O'Mara belted a pair of two-run homers - including the game-winning shot in the seventh - as the Eagles rallied to a 5-4 victory in game one. The Eagles capped off the sweep by scoring nine runs in the first two innings and FGCU held off a Lady Buccaneer comeback with an 11-7 win in the nightcap.
The two losses snapped ETSU's four-game winning streak and the Lady Bucs dipped to 14-22, 3-5 in A-Sun play. Meanwhile, after being swept by USC Upstate on Friday, the Eagles bounced back and improved to 17-23, 6-4.
Freshman Whitley Hensley (Erwin, Tenn.) found her stroke at the plate after entering as pinch-hitter in the fourth inning of game one. Hensley went 4-for-5 (.800) with two runs scored and a RBI on the day. Henderson also fueled the Lady Bucs' offense as she hit .429 (3-7) with two home runs, three runs scored and five RBI.
Katie Henderson belted her first home run of the season with a three-run bomb in the fourth, but Florida Gulf Coast came back on Hayley O'Mara's two-run home run in the seventh to cap off the 5-4 rally.
Senior right-hander Darci Gilbert (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) had her two-game winning streak snapped as she suffered the loss (4-3). Gilbert allowed the two runs on three hits in 2.2 innings of work. FGCU's Catherine McDaniel earned the win by going all seven innings and issuing four runs on seven hits.
The Lady Bucs grabbed a 1-0 lead when Trisha Massenzo (Russellville, Tenn.) drove in Lucy Schneider (Dade City, Fla.) with an RBI single to short.
Florida Gulf Coast quickly responded with a run of its own in the top of the second on Tiffani Upchurch's RBI double to left. The Eagles were prime for a big inning as they chased starter Jessica Duncan (Ooltewah, Tenn.) from the circle after Duncan hit Nicole Boswell with one out in the inning. However, senior Marissa Hardy (Rocklin, Calif.) entered and did an excellent job keeping the game tied at one. Hardy forced the next to Eagle hitters to fly out to end the inning.
From there, Hardy kept the Lady Bucs in the contest and Henderson rewarded the Rocklin, Calif. native with the three-run homer in the bottom of the fourth - putting the Eagles in a debacle as ETSU led 4-1.
However, with the wind howling out to left-center, the Eagles took advantage of the gusts as O'Mara belted the first of two, two-run homers in the fifth inning - making it a 4-3 contest. Hardy's day was done following the bomb and Gilbert entered in relief. Gilbert retired the first to FGCU hitters she faced to get out of the fifth.
Gilbert was in line to get her first save of the season but with one out and a runner on second, O'Mara found a 2-0 pitch to her liking - and this time - sent a rocket flying over the fence in right-center - giving FGCU its first lead at 5-4.
McDaniel retired five of the last six ETSU hitters she faced to record the win for the Eagles.
After trailing for most of the game in the opener, FGCU plated nine runs in the first two innings and the Eagles held off a late Lady Buccaneer comeback with an 11-7 victory.
The Eagles capitalized on some Shelby Morris (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) control issues in the first, as the sophomore hurler hit three of the first four Eagle hitters she faced. After Morris hit the third batter and FGCU led 1-0, the Mt. Juliet, Tenn. native was pulled and Marissa Hardy entered in relief. Unfortunately, Hardy didn't have better luck as Mariah Fernandez sent the first pitch from Hardy over the fence in right to put FGCU up, 5-0.
Florida Gulf Coast continued adding runs on the board the next inning as the Eagles plated four runs on four hits - extending its lead to 9-0. The Eagles scored three runs on a Courtney Platt home run and Fernandez connected on her second dinger two plays later.
In the fourth, FGCU scored its final two runs to take an 11-1 advantage.
After scoring their first run on a passed ball in the first, ETSU responded with a three-run fourth to make it an 11-4 contest.
Senior righty Darci Gilbert tossed 3.2 innings of one-hit ball to keep Florida Gulf Coast from winning via the run rule.
ETSU never let down and Katie Henderson's two-run homer in the seventh made it 11-6. Eventually the Lady Bucs tacked on their seventh and final run on Arielle Garner's (Buchanan, Ga.) RBI single to right - scoring Annie Martin (Centerville, Tenn.) from second.
Morris, who didn't record an out, suffered the loss (1-5) after being tagged for four runs on one hit. Kelci Breaux earned the win (6-7) after allowing six runs (four earned) on 11 hits in 6.1 innings.
The Lady Bucs return to action on Tuesday evening when ETSU travels to Blacksburg for a doubleheader with Virginia Tech. First pitch is set for 5 p.m.
For more information on Lady Buccaneer softball, visit www.ETSUBucs.com.


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Allegiant Air specializes in bringing passengers from small cities across the country to warm-weather vacation destinations such as Las Vegas, Florida and Arizona. Only 17 of Allegiant's 203 routes are flown directly by another airline. Here's a look at its 87 destinations:
Allentown Pa.
Appleton, Wis.
Asheville, N.C.
Bangor, Maine
Belleville, Ill.
Bellingham, Wash.
Bentonville, Ark.
Billings, Mont.
Bismarck, N.D.
Bloomington, Ill.
Boise, Idaho
Bozeman, Mont.
Casper, Wyo.
Cedar rapids, Iowa
Chattanooga, Tenn.
Colorado Springs, Colo.
Columbus, Ohio
Des Moines, Iowa
Duluth, Minn.
Elmira, N.Y.
Eugene, Ore.
Fargo, N.D.
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Fort Wayne, Ind.
Fresno, Calif.
Grand Forks, N.D.
Grand Island, Neb.
Grand Junction, Colo.
Grand Rapids, Mich.
Great Falls, Mont.
Greensboro, N.D.
Greenville, S.C.
Hagerstown, Md.
Harrisburg, Pa.
Huntington, W.Va.
Idaho Falls, Idaho
Kalispell, Mont.
Knoxville, Tenn.
Lansing, Mich.
Laredo, Texas
Las Vegas
Lexington, Ky.
Little Rock, Ark.
Los Angeles
Maui, Hawaii
McAllen, Texas
Medford, Ore.
Mesa, Ariz. (Marketed as Phoenix)
Minot, N.D.
Missoula, Mont.
Moline, Ill.
Monterey, Calif.
Montrose, Colo.
Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Newport News, Va.
Niagara Falls, N.Y.
Oakland, Calif. (Marketed as San Francisco)
Ogden, Utah
Owensboro, Ky.
Palm Springs, Calif.
Pasco, Wash.
Peoria, Ill.
Plattsburgh, N.Y.
Provo, Utah
Punta Gorda, Fla. (Marketed as Fort Myers)
Rapid City, S.D.
Reno, Nev.
Roanoke, Va.
Rockford, Ill. (Marketed as Chicago)
San Diego, Calif.
Sanford, Fla. (Marketed as Orlando)
Santa Maria, Ca.
Scranton, Pa.
Shreveport, La.
Sioux Falls, S.D.
South Bend, Ind.
Spokane, Wash.
Springfield, Ill.
Springfield, Mo.
St. Cloud, Minn.
St. Petersburg, Fla. (Marketed as Tampa)
Stockton, Calif.
Toledo, Ohio (Marketed as Detroit)
Tri Cities airport in Blountville, Tenn.
Wichita, Kan.
Youngstown, Ohio


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The Mothers Day Butter Tarts Assortment 2-Pack by Last Course Sensations is an ultimate Mother's Day gift. Enjoy two Butter Tarts, hand-crafted, individually wrapped and packaged in an elegant gift box. Butter Tarts are made with a flaky, buttery pastry and filled with a delicious caramel filling. The caramel filling contains either plump golden raisins, delicious pecans, or dark chocolate chunks (60% bittersweet chocolate). Choose an assortment of Butter Tarts with raisins, pecans or chocolate chunks. The Butter Tarts Assortment Gift is ideal for birthday gifts for adults and children alike. The Mothers Day Butter Tarts Assortment 2-Pack is an ideal gift for someone special on Mother's Day.


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There are two types of bad games. Those that try for something great and simply miss the mark, and those that just didn't care at all and end up being the exact sum of their efforts. While "Lost Planet 3" is an example of the former, which is normally the better way to go, here it's a frustrating case of a game with incredible potential not making the most of it.
Let's back up a bit. "Lost Planet 3" is the return of a series that had its 15 minutes of fame during the Xbox 360 launch for featuring an impressive snow world that proved to be one of the initial examples of things that the 360 could do that wasn't possible before.
Those amazing graphics, and some lightning fast gameplay, made the series stand out for a time, but its star faded only months after its release, and a 2010 follow-up did little to improve its standing, as it only emphasized the same elements and gameplay that by then had more than worn out their welcome.
That's where new developer Spark Unlimited takes over for this third installment, and their designs to turn the series into something relevant are immediately apparent. A prequel to the initial games, renewed focused has now been placed on the plot, which may borrow liberally from movies like "Alien," "The Thing," "Starship Troopers" and other classic sci-fi staples, but is actually really, really good. Told through found audio and text logs, along with traditional cut scenes and environmental clues, it revolves largely around a new energy source on a hostile (and still very snowy) planet, and the trials your blue collar protagonist endures in his pursuit of it as a contract worker for a shady organization.
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