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Do you have some .ape files that you want to convert to OGG files so you can listen to them on your phone? Maybe you can only get your favorite song or lecture in the ape format. Fortunately for you, we've put together a simple guide for converting APE files into OGG. With APE to OGG file converter, you can turn those APE files into OGGs and be on your way. APE to OGG Converter offers you an easy and fast way to convert APE to OGG audio with high quality. Audio Transcoder is an advanced APE to OGG Converter and Audio CD Ripper with support of various popular audio formats and encoders. It currently converts between MP3, MP2, M4A/M4B/MP4/M4R/ALAC, AIFF, WMA, AC3, Ogg Vorbis, MP3, AAC, WAV and APE formats. People often search for "ape to ogg converter online" or "how to convert ape to ogg online" without realizing that uncompressed audio files are large in size and by the time you upload, convert and download the files you are better off downloading APE to OGG converter on your PC and perform convention locally = 0 second waiting for uploading and downloading. With APE to OGG Converter you easily rip your audio CDs to OGG, FLAC or WMA files for use with your hardware player or convert files that do not play with other audio software. You can even convert whole music libraries retaining the folder and filename structure. The integrated CD ripper supports the CDDB/freedb online CD database. It will automatically query song information and write it to ID3v2 or other title information tags. Have any questions regarding APE to OGG Converter? See the below Frequently Asked Questions.
Free download APE to OGG Converter, install it and launch it. Then follow the three steps to convert APE to OGG.
The first step is to select the files to convert ape to ogg. Run APE to OGG Convertor and use the Folder Explorer to browse to the files you want to convert. Then select the file in the File List, drag it to the Drop Zone and drop it there. Optionally, the APE to OGG Converter allows you to edit the audio tags of any selected file in the Drop Zone.
Once the files are selected, the next step is to select the output settings in APE to OGG Converter.
The second step is to select the output settings. To begin, select the folder to save the output file to and choose the action to be executed if the output file already exists - create a new file, overwrite or skip the existing file.
You can also set the APE to OGG Converter to delete a source file after conversion and preserve the the original folder structure, when doing batch conversion.
Finally, you should select the output format and audio quality. In the OGG dialog box, choose the format settings for the final OGG files. Depending on quality you need, select the bitrate of the file, sample rate and the number of channels. You will probably lose some audio content if you choose the mono option. You can choose what sample rate you want to use. 44.1 kHz (or 44100 Hz) is the sample rate used by audio CDs. Less than that and you'll start to hear the loss in quality. You can choose the bit rate you want to use.
Once the output settings are customized, you go to the final step - ape to ogg conversion.
Click Convert button to start to convert APE to OGG or other audio format you desired. A conversion dialog will appear to show the progress of ape to ogg conversion. If you want to stop the process, please click Stop button. After the conversion, you can click the Output Folder button to get the converted files and transfer to your iPod, iPad, iPhone, mp3 player or hard driver.
During the turning ape into ogg, you can change the priority of the process or set an automatic event to be executed when the conversion is over. After the conversion of ape to ogg has finished, you can find the ogg files in the output folder you specified.
We strongly recommend that you first find answers to your questions here before try to contact us.
Q: What can I do with APE to OGG Converter?
Q: Will this APE to OGG Converter work on Windows XXX?
Q: Which audio file formats are supported by APE to OGG Converter?
Q: Do I need to Convert APE to OGG?
Q: Do I lose sound quality when I Convert APE files to OGG format?
Q: How do I uninstall APE to OGG Converter in Windows Vista / Windows 7 / Windows 8 / Windows 8.1 / Windows 10?
Q: How do I uninstall APE to OGG Converter in Windows XP?
Q: How do I uninstall APE to OGG Converter in Windows 2000?
Q: How do I access the APE to OGG Converter download for PC?
Q: What is APE format?
Q: What is OGG format?
Q: How to ask questions, give comments & advises and report bugs?
A: You can convert your APE files to the popular OGG format.
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A: The APE to OGG Converter download for PC works on most current Windows operating systems.
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A: Input File Formats: 3G2, 3GP, 3GP2, AAC, AC3, DTS, AIF, AIFF, AMR, APE, CDA, FLAC, M4A, M4B, M4R, MO3, MOD, MP+, MP1, MAC, MP2, MP3, MP4, MPC, OGG, SHN, SPX, TAK, TTA, WAV, WAVE64, WMA, WV, IT, XM, PLS, OFR, OFS, S3M, M3U and CUE. Output File Formats: 3G2 (audio track), 3GP (audio track), AAC, AAC for iPod/iPhone/iPad/iTunes, AC3, AIFF, ALAC (Apple Lossless), FLAC, M4A (MPEG-4 audio), M4B (MPEG-4 audiobook), M4R (iPhone ringtone), MP2, MPC, MP3, MP4 (audio track), APE, OGG, WAV, WMA and any ACM Encoder.
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A: People Convert APE files To OGG format for various purpose, however, most of them Convert APE for the two common ones, first the APE files are too large, they want to save some space, second their portable devices do not recognize APE format at all, but these devices are capable of playing OGG files without any compatibility issues.
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A: This is a good question, but unfortunately, the short answer is YES. Since OGG is a lossy audio format, converting any audio formats (e.g. APE) to OGG is a quality-loss process.
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A: Click "Start"
Click on "Control Panel"
Under Programs click the Uninstall a Program link.
Select "APE to OGG Converter" and right click, then select Uninstall/Change.
Click "Yes" to confirm the uninstallation.
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A:Click "Start"
Click on "Control Panel"
Click the Add or Remove Programs icon.
Click on "APE to OGG Converter", then click "Remove/Uninstall."
Click "Yes" to confirm the uninstallation.
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Click "Start"
Click on "Control Panel"
Double-click the "Add/Remove Programs" icon.
Select "APE to OGG Converter" and right click, then select Uninstall/Change.
Click "Yes" to confirm the uninstallation.
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A: It's easy! Just click the APE to OGG Converter download button at the page. Clicking this link will start the installer to download APE to OGG Converter free for Windows.
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A: Monkey's Audio is an algorithm and file format for lossless audio data compression. Monkey's Audio does not discard data during the process of encoding, unlike lossy compression methods such as AAC, MP3, Vorbis and Musepack. Data file compression is employed in order to reduce bandwidth, file transfer time, or storage requirements. A digital recording (such as a CD) encoded to the Monkey's Audio format can be decompressed into an identical copy of the original audio data. As with the FLAC and Apple Lossless format, files encoded to Monkey's Audio are typically reduced to about half of the original size, with data transfer rates and bandwidth requirements being reduced accordingly. Monkey's Audio's advantages are better compression rates compared to FLAC and WavPack, as well as multithreading/multicore support. Monkey's Audio main drawbacks are the fact that it employs a symmetric algorithm, meaning the decoding takes comparable resources to encoding, which makes it unsuitable for all but the fastest portable players (via Rockbox firmware), and that it has limited support on software platforms other than Windows; on other platforms only decoding is officially supported by third-party programs. Although the original source code is freely available, the license is not considered to be an open source one. Monkey's Audio files use the filename extension .ape for audio, and .apl for track metadata. Like any lossless compression scheme, Monkey's Audio format takes up several times as much space as lossy compression formats like AAC, MP3 and Vorbis. A Monkey's Audio file is 3–5 times as large as a 192 kbit/s bitrate MP3 file.
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A: Ogg is a multimedia container format, and the native file and stream format for the Xiph.org multimedia codecs. As with all Xiph.org technology is it an open format free for anyone to use. As with most container formats it encapsulates raw compressed data and allows the interleaving of audio and video data inside a single convient format. Other examples of container formats are Quicktime .mov, the MPEG program stream, and AVI. In addition to encapsulation and interleave of multiple data streams, Ogg provides packet framing, error detection, and periodic timestamps for seeking, and in a small, bounded percentage bitrate overhead. Ogg is a stream oriented container, meaning it can be written and read in one pass, making it a natural fit for internet streaming and use in processing pipelines. This stream orientation is the major design difference over other file-based container formats.
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A: Please contact us.
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42 U.S. Code § 4655 - Requirements for uniform land acquisition policies; payments of expenses incidental to transfer of real property to State; payment of litigation expenses in certain cases
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§ 4655.
Requirements for uniform land acquisition policies; payments of expenses incidental to transfer of real property to State; payment of litigation expenses in certain cases
(a) Notwithstanding any other law, the head of a Federal agency shall not approve any program or project or any grant to, or contract or agreement with, an acquiring agency under which Federal financial assistance will be available to pay all or part of the cost of any program or project which will result in the acquisition of real property on and after January 2, 1971, unless he receives satisfactory assurances from such acquiring agency that—
in acquiring real property it will be guided, to the greatest extent practicable under State law, by the land acquisition policies in section 4651 of this title and the provisions of section 4652 of this title, and
(b) For purposes of this section, the term "acquiring agency" means—
a State agency (as defined in section 4601(3) of this title) which has the authority to acquire property by eminent domain under State law, and
a State agency or person which does not have such authority, to the extent provided by the head of the lead agency by regulation.
(Pub. L. 91–646, title III, § 305, Jan. 2, 1971, 84 Stat. 1906; Pub. L. 100–17, title IV, § 417, Apr. 2, 1987, 101 Stat. 256.)
1987—Pub. L. 100–17 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), substituted "an acquiring agency" for "a State agency" and "such acquiring agency" for "such State agency", and added subsec. (b).
Effective Date of 1987 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 100–17 effective on effective date provided in regulations promulgated under section 4633 of this title (as amended by section 412 of Pub. L. 100–17), but not later than 2 years after Apr. 2, 1987, see section 418 of Pub. L. 100–17, set out as a note under section 4601 of this title.
LII has no control over and does not endorse any external Internet site that contains links to or references LII.

subset: commoncrawl


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Bronco Weekly Sports Wrap
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Coming off of a two-win weekend against quality Pac-12 opponents, including a 3-0 victory over then-No. 17 Cal, No. 17 Santa Clara (5-1-4) will wrap-up its non-conference schedule this week. The Broncos play at home on Thurs., Sept. 29 vs. Nevada at 7 p.m. and again on Sun., Oct. 2 at 2:30 p.m. vs. San Diego State.
The Broncos have never faced Nevada and the last meeting with San Diego State resulted in a 1-0 win in 2010 at Buck Shaw Stadium.
**Jerry Smith is in his 25th season as SCU head coach (374-117-42)
**Santa Clara is 208-35-21 all-time at Buck Shaw Stadium
**This will mark the first meeting between Santa Clara and Nevada
**The Broncos are 6-0-1 all-time against San Diego State
**Goalkeeper Bianca Henninger has been added to the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy Watch List
**Hennigner has also been nominated for the 2011 Lowe's Senior Class Award
**The Broncos are scheduled to play five teams ranked in the NSCAA Top 25
**SCU returns six players named to the WCC's 2010 all-conference teams
**Bianca Henninger and Margueritte Aozasa have been named team co-captains
NEVADA: The Wolfpack offense is led by Kori Disarufino and Ellie Scott. Both players have scored two goals each while Abieyuwa Ogiamien and Madison Lorenzen have added one goal apiece. Eight Nevada players have registered at least one point thus far.
Jenna Riddle has seen the majority of the time in net and has collected an impressive 47 saves with one shutout.
SAN DIEGO STATE: San Diego State is lead by Cat Walker on the offensive side of the ball. She has scored six goals on the season to lead the team with 12 points. Hannah Keane and Tiffany Hurst have six points each. Keane has scored three goals while Hurst has two goals and two assists. Six other Aztecs have registered at least one point to round out their attack.
In goal, Rachel Boaz has played all but 21 minutes for the Aztecs and has recorded 26 saves on the season. She has also registered three shutouts in 11 games.
BRONCO RECOGNITION: After shutting out two Pac-12 opponents, including then-No. 17 Cal, this weekend Santa Clara received several weekly awards for its play.
Julie Johnston was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week after scoring three goals to lead Santa Clara's offense. Johnston was also named the CollegeSoccer360.com's Division I Prime Time Performer for terrific week.
Bianca Henninger was named TopDrawerSoccer.com's National Player of the Week. In addition, Henninger was also named to the Team of the Week for recording two shutouts over the weekend.
PARITY IN WOMEN'S SOCCER: Santa Clara already has four ties on the season. The last time Santa Clara tied as many as four games in a season was in 2003 when the team finished 14-4-6 and advanced to the national quarterfinals.
"What's happening in the women's soccer game in my 25 years is that there is a lot more parity," said Bronco head coach Jerry Smith. "It's just a lot harder to win games. If you look at anybody's winning percentage, in the last few years as compared to the last 10 or 15 years, I guarantee you everyone's is down. Notre Dame's is down, North Carolina's is down – everybody's is down. It's harder to win games for even a team as good as Stanford, they already have a tie vs. Maryland."
SANTA CLARA HEAD COACH JERRY SMITH: SCU Head Coach Jerry Smith enters his 25th season at the helm of the Santa Clara women's soccer program in 2011. Although he is most known for the development of his players and teams, Smith also produces success and is easily the winningest women's soccer coach in Santa Clara history, having compiled a record of 374-117-42 (.702). Since taking over the head coaching duties at Santa Clara in the spring of 1987, Smith has built the Bronco soccer program into a national power. For 19 consecutive seasons, his Broncos reached the NCAA Tournament prior to 2008 and have consistently ranked among the top 10 teams in the country. He has taken the Broncos to 10 College Cup Final Fours and a national championship in 2001. In addition, his Bronco teams have won nine West Coast Conference titles.
**143 All-WCC Selections
**40 All-Americans
**24 College Cup All-Tournament Team Selections
**22 NCAA Tournament Appearances
**10 College Cup Appearances
**9 WCC Championships
**8 WCC Players of the Year
**8 WCC Freshmen of the Year
**7 WCC Defenders of the Year
**3 Honda Award Winners
**2 M.A.C. Hermann Trophy Winners
**2 College Cup Defensive MVPs
**1 College Cup Offensive MVP
**1 U.S. Soccer Young Female Athlete of the Year
**1 National Championship
FRESHMAN REPEAT: For the second year in a row the Broncos will have the defending WCC Freshman of the Year on their team. Julie Johnston won the award in 2010, starting 16 games and totaling 1,519 minutes. She led the team with five assists and added two goals to total nine points. Allie Vernon was named co-Freshman of the Year in 2009 as she helped the Broncos advance to the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
CHASTAIN HONORED: Santa Clara honored Bronco great, World Cup champion and Olympic gold medalist Brandi Chastain at halftime of its game against No. 1 Stanford on Sept. 18. Chastain had her No. 21 jersey retired during a halftime ceremony that featured Santa Clara athletic director Dan Coonan.
"Brandi is not only a world-class athlete, but an international superstar, as well as a tireless advocate for women and young girls," said Coonan. "Through it all, she has never forgotten or neglected her role within the Santa Clara family, which she represents so flawlessly in all she does. She epitomizes what it means to be a Bronco. We are thrilled to make her our first retired jersey honoree for women's soccer"
"What a great tribute for Brandi. I am glad we had a big crowd of students to see her honored Sunday night," said Bronco head coach Jerry Smith, also married to Chastain. "She is not only one of the greatest women's soccer players at Santa Clara and one of the greatest Santa Clara athletes, she is also one of the greatest women's soccer players to play not only in this country but also around the world. I was really happy we honored her. She has been honored on so many levels and it's nice to have her jersey be the one that was officially retired first as part of the Bronco women's soccer program."
Chastain played for Santa Clara in 1989 and 1990 and both years led the Broncos the NCAA College Cup Final Four. In her two years in a Bronco uniform she scored 33 goals and had six assists for a total of 72 points. As an All-American in 1990 her 22 goals and 50 points are the third and fourth most in a season for a Santa Clara player, respectively.
She was also part of the Bay Area's first women's professional team to win a championship when she was with the San Jose CyberRays in 2001. She won two Olympic gold medals and two World Cup titles, the most memorable coming when she scored the deciding penalty shot in 1999 to beat China in the championship game of the first Women's World Cup.
HENNINGER UP FOR MAJOR AWARDS: Preparing for what will be a stellar season, senior goalkeeper Bianca Henninger has been named to the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy Watch List as well as nominated for the Lowe's Senior Class Award.
Henninger has a 3.4 GPA as an accounting major and was named to the 2010 CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Second Team. Henninger has also been selected to the WCC All-Academic Team twice and the WCC Commissioner's List three times. She has also worked extensively with BAWSI whose goal is to get elementary school girls outside and moving. She was part of the BAWSI Sportspalooza in Spring 2011.
On the field Henninger was named the U.S. Soccer Young Female Athlete of the Year in 2010 and was a 2010 All-America selection. In addition to being All-WCC in 2010 she was named to the preseason All-WCC team in 2011. In 2010 she collected eight shutouts with a 0.63 GAA and led the WCC with 90 saves and a .865 save percentage.
SISTER SISTER: The 2011 Broncos feature a set of sisters in sophomore midfielder Ellie Rice and freshman forward Brooke Rice. The Rice sisters grew up in Jackson Hole, Wyo. and both played club soccer for the Utah Avalanche. They have a third sister, Nicole, who currently plays soccer at the University of Wyoming.
"It's like having your best friend around all the time," said Brooke on what it's like to be on the same team as her sister. "There is someone on the field who can criticize you and knows your game so well that they can help you all the time."
NATIONALLY RANKED: Santa Clara enters the week ranked 17th in the nation according to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).
2011 NSCAA TOP 25 (As of Sept. 27, 2011)
1. Stanford*
2. Oklahoma State
4. Duke
5. Wake Forest
6. Memphis
7. Boston College
8. Pepperdine*
9. Florida State
10. Marquette
11. North Carolina
12. Florida
13. Virginia
14. Wisconsin-Milwaukee
15. Tennessee
16. Dayton
17. Santa Clara
18. Maryland
19. UC Irvine*
20. Auburn
21. California*
22. West Virginia
23. Oregon State*
24. Penn State
25. Central Florida
*Santa Clara opponents in 2011
1. Portland - 61 (6)
2. Santa Clara - 53 (2)
4. San Diego - 47
6. Pepperdine - 31
7. Saint Mary's - 20
8. Gonzaga - 13
8. San Francisco - 13
(First place votes - rankings by NSCAA)
Cloee Colohan, Portland
Danielle Foxhoven, Portland
Natalie Garcia, San Diego
Bianca Henninger, Santa Clara
Kendall Johnson, Portland
Julie Johnston, Santa Clara
Olivia Klei, Santa Clara
Jordan Marada, Saint Mary's
Tawni Martino, LMU
Stephanie Ochs, San Diego
Michelle Pao, Pepperdine
Carlee Payne, BYU
QUOTEABLE: "Watching our last few games was like watching the San Francisco Giants this season," said Santa Clara head coach Jerry Smith. "They pitch great and can't score any runs to get their pitcher the win. That's what it was like for us and Bianca Henninger. She would play so well in goal but we couldn't score to get her the wins she deserves."
BRONCOS WELCOME TOP FIVE RECRUITING CLASS: The Santa Clara women's soccer recruiting class of 2015 was recognized as the fourth-best nationally, according to TopDrawerSoccer.com. By welcoming in nine freshmen the returning players and coaches know that it will take a total team effort to make the new players feel at home. "We're excited about the challenge of coming together as a new team," said Smith. "That's what preseason is about: working together and coming together. We know that if we put in the work and find a way to come together, we will enjoy a wonderful payoff at the end of the season." The class features both attacking players who will help with the loss of three starting forwards and players who can excel at several different positions.
BRONCOS ADVANCE INTO NCAA'S SECOND ROUND: After beating defending Mountain West Conference champion San Diego State 1-0 and defending WAC champion San Jose State 2-1 to open the 2010 the Bronco women, who finished the 2010 season ranked No. 19, were awarded for their fantastic season by once again playing in the NCAA College Cup tournament. They beat Long Beach State by a score of 1-0 in the first round but fell to Stanford for the second straight year. Stanford went on to the championship game but ended up losing for the second consecutive year.


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The world has lost 19 percent of its coral reefs, according to the 2008 global update of the world's reef status.
The report, released by the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, of which IUCN is a member, shows if current trends in carbon dioxide emissions continue, many of the remaining reefs may be lost over the next 20 to 40 years. This will have alarming consequences for some 500 million people who depend on coral reefs for their livelihoods.
Climate change is considered the biggest threat to coral reefs today. The main climate threats, such as increasing sea surface temperatures and seawater acidification, are being exacerbated by other threats including overfishing, pollution and invasive species.
"If nothing changes, we are looking at a doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide in less than 50 years," says Carl Gustaf Lundin, Head of the IUCN Global Marine Programme, one of the organizations behind the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network. "As this carbon is absorbed, the oceans will become more acidic, which is seriously damaging a wide range of marine life from corals to plankton communities and from lobsters to seagrasses."
Encouragingly, 45 percent of the world's reefs are currently healthy. Another sign of hope is the ability of some corals to recover after major bleaching events, caused by warming waters, and to adapt to climate change threats.
However, the report shows that, globally, the downward trend of recent years has not been reversed. Major threats in the last four years, including the Indian Ocean tsunami, more occurances of bleaching, outbreaks of coral diseases and ever-heavier human pressures, have slowed or reversed recovery of some coral reefs after the 1998 mass bleaching event.
"The report details the strong scientific consensus that climate change must be limited to the absolute minimum. If nothing is done to substantially cut emissions, we could effectively lose coral reefs as we know them, with major coral extinctions," says Clive Wilkinson, Coordinator of the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network.
Corals have a higher chance of survival in times of climate change if other stress factors related to human activity are minimized. Well-managed marine protected areas can also boost the health of coral reefs, but proper enforcement is difficult, especially in remote areas where the most pristine reefs are found.
"Ten years after the world's biggest coral bleaching event, we know that reefs can recover given the chance. Unfortunately, impacts on the scale of 1998 will reoccur in the near future, and there's no time to lose if we want to give reefs and people a chance to suffer as little as possible," says Dr David Obura, Chair of the IUCN Climate Change and Coral Reefs working group and Director of the Coastal Oceans Research and Development in the Indian Ocean Programme (CORDIO) in East Africa.
A new report on the state of Indian Ocean coral reefs, launched today by CORDIO, an organisation aligned with the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, states an overall trend of continued degradation, only alleviated by signs of recovery in some areas.
"With this report, the far-reaching degradation of Indian Ocean coral reefs has become evident," says Olof Linden of the CORDIO network and Professor at the World Maritime University (WMU), Malmö, Sweden. "To save coral reefs, we must focus on helping corals to adapt to climate change and on diverting people away from destructive practices such as overfishing."
For more information please contact:
• Sarah Horsley, IUCN Media Relations, m +41 79 528 3486, e email@example.com
• Borjana Pervan, IUCN Communications, m +41 79 857 4072, e email@example.com
• James Oliver, IUCN Global Marine Programme, t +41 78 6155857, e firstname.lastname@example.com
Benefits of coral reefs
Coral reefs provide food, coastal protection, building materials and income from tourism for half a billion mostly poor people. The fish they provide is their main source of protein; the reefs themselves have proved to be an effective natural barrier against storm surges; and diving tourism is an important source of income.


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Take part in a thrilling adventure in the mystical lands of Morocco.
This heart-thumping journey will have you mountain biking down the slopes of the Atlas Mountains and horse riding on the white sandy beaches of Essaouira. Experience the hospitality of the local Berber people with a friendly homestay in Aroumd, get lost in the colourful souqs of Marrakech and rest your weary bones in a traditional hammam. If you like your air to be fresh, your days to be active and your adventures, well, full of adventure, then this is the trip for you.
Discover the vibrant city of Marrakech from a different perspective, bike through the main sites and enjoy a freshly squeezed orange juice at the end of your trip
Join the nightly carnival of fortune-tellers, dancers and medicine men in Jemaa el-Fna square
Scale the High Atlas Mountains and trek through scenic Berber villages, spending a night in a traditional Berber homestay. Discover the culture and tradition of an indigenous population who have stood the test of time
Gallop on horseback through the sandy beaches and mimosa forests of Morocco's coastline
Ride a mountain bike down the slopes of the Atlas mountains on a fully supported trip
Relax in a traditional Moroccan Hammam; enjoy a well-deserved massage at the end of your activity-packed week
In 2018, Ramadan will take place from 15 May to 14 June. This is the holiest month of the year for Muslims around the world. Many festivals are marked as Islamic Holidays, which may cause some disturbance to your travels around this time. Some regular services may not be available or open during the daytime, such as restaurants or coffee bars. Please consider your travel arrangements carefully.
As Morocco has a tipping culture, travellers are expected to tip small amounts for most services, so please be prepared. Your leader will suggest methods and amounts to tip during the trip, but it is left to the group to decide the details.
This is an active trip packed with activities such as cycling, trekking and horse-riding. To fully enjoy it, you'll need to be in a good state of health and fitness.
The trip involves some early starts and long days due to the itinerary being packed with lots of exciting activities.
The weather in Morocco can be extreme. Summer temperatures can be uncomfortably hot, especially for those who aren't accustomed to the heat, so please consider what time of year you travel carefully. If you do travel in the warmer months then pack layers to cover you from the sun, bring the necessary sun protection and drink plenty of water. The desert can also get cold at night, so remember to bring base layers and warm clothing.
On Day 3 you will have a chance to discover the coast of Morocco on a horse back. While horses are great animals, we understand not everyone feels confident on their back. Please make sure you will make your Tour Leader aware of any issues before the start of this activity. Helmets for this activity are provided by us.
Day 2 & 4 will be based on cycling activities. To fully enjoy it, you must be a confident cyclist. Helmets are provided, but please feel free to bring your own.
Day 5 will take you in the hearth of Atlas Mountains. It's a long day in remote area, but certainly well worth it. Please expect some ups and down while trekking in the mountains!
This itinerary is valid for departures from 01 January 2018 to 31 December 2018. View the itinerary for departures between 01 January 2019 - 31 December 2019
Trip search is unavailable.
There are currently no scheduled departures on our Morocco: Hike, Bike & Horse Ride trip. If you are interested in other trips in the region visit one of the links below.
A single supplement is available on this trip with the exception of night in Aroumd.
The receipt of commissions or kickbacks in exchange for recommending particular shops, services or activities is ingrained in the culture of the Moroccan tourism industry. In an effort to best control and monitor shopping and activities with an aim for the best experience possible, Intrepid has established a system of carefully selected shopping experiences and activities based on positive feedbacks from our previous travellers. On occasion these will be as part of included walking tours or outside of included activities in free time. Please note that if you feel that you do not wish to join in on these shopping experiences we assure you there is no obligation and if you indicate your desire to not partake your group leader will help to facilitate a suitable alternative during this time.
Intrepid have set up a centralised system of receiving payments from these recommended suppliers, of which are then distributed towards local Responsible Travel projects (such as 'say no to plastic' cotton bags for our travellers and drinking water refilling stations), traveller information packs, and leader bonuses. Further details of these arrangements can be provided by your group leader on request.
While Intrepid endeavors to ensure that these suppliers and services maintain reasonable levels of quality, please note recommended suppliers are chosen based on past travellers feedback and experiences and Intrepid cannot explicitly guarantee the quality of the product. A priority in establishing this fund is that the experience of you our traveller is not compromised in any way. Please let us know via the feedback after your trip if we are successfully meeting this objective.
Our Morocco: Hike, Bike & Horse Ride trips score an average of 4.55 out of 5 based on 11 reviews in the last year.
This trip packs a lot into a week but in practice it is only really 5 days. We saw many aspects of Moroccan life which was very interesting. The Treck was more like a long walk and the cycling was quite short too but enjoyable. You will have to organise all your own visits to sites such as palaces and gardens which are well worth seeing. Some of our fellow travellers didn't do this and they missed out a lot.
Review submitted 19 Sep 2018
This Morocco tour gives you a taste of everything with activity to ensure you can enjoy your Tagine, couscous and pastilla.
Review submitted 08 Sep 2018


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The PACE Center for Girls is celebrating its fifth anniversary of its biggest fundraising event of the year known as Love That Dress.
It has become known as a girls' night out shopping spree where mostly adult benefactors purchase gently used dresses with the proceeds going to PACE to support educational, training, advocacy and counseling programs for teenage girls and young women from unfortunate circumstances.
"Our programs are focused on making a better future for girls and women who have been abused, neglected or abandoned and usually have issues with school or the juvenile detention system," said Love That Dress chairwoman Kendra Sutton. "We like to say we help them find their way. Our program is proud to have the highest statistics of clients no longer returning to the juvenile system at 94 percent; and 88 percent improve their academic performance."
Article Photos
Love That Dress returns to the Village Shoppes on Sanibel for the second year in a row on June 18 for the benefit of the PACE Center for Girls in Fort Myers. Showing off collected dresses from left are Mark Blust of Prawnbroker Group; Aislinn Kane of Zebra Yogurt; Janet Strickland, attorney; Rhonda Hodgson of Royal Shell Properties; Sarak Ashton of Royal Shell Real Estate; Barb Harrington, event coordinator of Royal Shell Companies; Tara Kane of Zebra Yogurt; Jessica Reimer of Hillgate Communidations; Tyrone Humbles of Sanibel Captiva Chamber of Commerce; and Brigit Stone-Budd, Chamber of Commerce marketing director.
PACE Center for Girls in Lee County can only serve about 52 girls at one time, according to Sutton. Since its founding in 2007, the center has helped more than 1,000 girls.
"That's why we are seeking to get a new building to be able to serve more girls," said Sutton.
The Love That Dress event on Sanibel draws more than 100 attendees each year and it typically is the county's No. 2 largest grossing local event between the collection and party and additional donations.
"They do a fabulous job for this non-profit every year," said Sutton.
"We typically get very nice dresses donated," said Sanibel event coordinator Barb Harrington of Royal Shell Companies, one of several main business sponsors on the islands. "We've picked up $130,000 off the dress sale. Adults buy the dresses and the PACE girls get the benefit."
Harrington said this year's Love That Dress collection party is 5-7:30 p.m. on June 18. Raffle tickets are five for $20 on items less than $100 in value, and $20 tickets on items valued at more than $100. Admission to the event is the donation of one or more dresses, gently used, from beach wear to bridal dresses. The Sanibel Merchants, Enchanted Ballroom and A New Beginning Events DJ provide many of the raffle items and entertainment. Prawnbroker Group provides the food and beverages through Matzaluna Italian Kitchen.
"It's all about the community donating the dresses and attending the events," said Sutton.
Participating businesses collect the dresses, and some handbags, from may through July ahead of the huge sales event this year from 5 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 28, at Embassy Suites in Estero.
An estimated 800 fashionistas (and a few brave men) are expected to stake their claim on thousands dresses and accessories selling for nominal prices. Guests also enjoy the event's popular silent auction, camaraderie, and cocktails.
Major sponsors will have access to the VIP shopping offering private dressing rooms, clothing hold, express check-out service, complimentary adult beverages and hors d'oeuvres and a private selection of decadent chocolates.
For additional information contact Sutton at email@example.com or 239-910-6414, Jennifer Nelson, operations & logistics volunteer at email@example.com or 239-822-8708 or Janie Smalley, PACE Lee executive director firstname.lastname@example.com or 239-229-9013.


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I like being able to view samples on my Kindle. It's one of the very neat features of the Kindle experience, kind of like spending 10 minutes in a bookstore reading the first chapter or so of a book. The advantage to me, however, is that I don't have to be at the bookstore.
Don't get me wrong, I like being at the bookstore, I appreciate the art of the covers, and there's something soothing about just browsing through a store, looking at what might be new. It's a much different experience than seeing the books listed on Amazon, and in many ways I prefer it.
But I often hear about books from people, and I don't necessarily remember those when I get to the bookstore. That's where the Kindle is outstanding.
As an example, I wrote an editorial on Trust a few weeks ago and someone responded with a recommendation for The Speed of Trust by Stephen Covey. At the time I was busy working along, answering posts, scheduling content, etc. and I didn't have time to read the sample that Amazon puts online, but I did have time to flip to Amazon and do the search for the book. Once I got there, I selected the Kindle edition, and I ended up with a page like this one:
On the right hand side, there's the "Try it Free" sample button, which I clicked, and it marked this book as a sample to send to my Kindle. The next time I turned the Wireless on my Kindle, which is something I do periodically, the sample downloaded to the device and appeared in my TOC.
I've done this with tons of books, and probably ended up buying 20-30% of them once I'd finished the sample.
What's convenient is that I can grab a series of sample and then read them when I have time. They drop into my list of books and I'll scan one when I have a few moments or I'm looking for something to read. That could be while traveling, waiting for the kids at the bus stop, or in bed at night. It's very convenient and I love that.
Bad Samples
The downside of the samples is that each publisher appears to be building their own samples, or perhaps Amazon is just pushing out the first xx pages of content (or bytes). I'm not sure which, but the result is that the quality of samples varies greatly.
Most give me a chapter or two of the book, some have the copyright/title page/dedication/etc. in them, some don't. I got one sample for a kid's book for my daughter that was a title, copyright, and one page, so perhaps this was xx% of the book.
For the book above, however, I ended up with about 12 or 14 pages of quotes from various people that loved the book. It's the kind of stuff that's usually on the back of the book, a reference from various well known sources. That's OK, but between that, the title page, the introduction by Stephen Covey's father, the TOC, I got 3 pages of the forward by the author and that was it. I have no way of judging this book now.
I still might buy it, and likely if I think of it, I'll try to read a chapter the next time I hit Barnes and Noble, but this sample really turned me off.


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The Founder Institute has been recognized one of the leaders in the Perth startup ecosystem, according to a report commissioned by the City of Perth. The report, which was compiled by the behavioral analytics team at Boundlss, also named Dash Dhakshinamoorthy, the Co-Director of the Perth Founder Institute, as one of the top influencers in the community.
Since launching in Perth last year, the Founder Institute has helped launch seven companies in the region, and was described in the Boundlss report as being a good example that "brings the community together" and can "attract people from other international startup ecosystems." The Founder Institute's efforts in Perth have also been previously profiled by several high profile media channels, including Perth Now, Startup Smart, and The Fetch.
In addition to Perth, the Founder Institute is also currently open for enrollment in Sydney and test launching in Melbourne, its third Australian city.
Adeo Ressi, CEO of the Founder Institute, recently wrote about the Australian ecosystem in Business Review Weekly;
"You would be hard pressed to find a faster-growing start-up ecosystem than Australia's, and this is very important. A lot of people dismiss the notion of an ecosystem, portraying it as a "fluffy" word that doesn't contribute to actual economic value. But one of the main reasons why Silicon Valley is a hotbed for innovation is the collaborative ecosystem and culture that exists here."
Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 180 cities and 60 countries, the Founder Institute has helped launch over 3,300 companies, which have created over 25,000 new jobs. The company's mission is to "Globalize Silicon Valley" and create sustainable startup ecosystems that will create one million new jobs worldwide.
If you could benefit from expert training and feedback to launch a company, apply to the Founder Institute today. We are currently accepting applications across Australia, in both Perth and Sydney, and many other cities worldwide.


text: Use mouse scroll wheel over image or pinch-to-zoom on touch devices. You can also click and drag around on image. Park it 1 1 Follow Dovisioso making the rounds at Mugello Parked to MotoGP '14 by Sport Rider Vehicle Info: 2014 Keywords MotoGP Sign up to add your own keywords More from this Garage: More from this Profile: Project MotoGP '14 Garage Comparisons & Shootouts Garage First Looks


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Owen Cass wants to be a farmer when he gets out of college. While most people would assume that's not an unusual aspiration for a student in the University of Delaware's College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, it actually is. Careers in research, agri-business, natural resources management and veterinary science are more typical choices.
What's even more out of the ordinary is that Cass comes from a suburban background. He doesn't recall his parents growing so much as a tomato plant when he was a child in Bryn Athyn, Pa.
But this 22-year-old is getting plenty of experience growing tomatoes – and squash, sweet corn, cukes, peppers and much more – in UD's Garden for the Community.
Cass is a summer intern for this one-third acre garden that produced three tons of vegetables and herbs last year, all of which were donated to the Food Bank of Delaware.
The garden, located on UD's Newark Farm, is managed by Mike Popovich, a Cooperative Extension associate.
Now in its fourth year, the garden does good things for low-resource Delawareans who may not have the opportunity to eat many fresh vegetables. "We're so excited to get fresh-picked produce out to our hunger relief partners in the community," says Kim Kostes, communications director of the Food Bank. "As soon as Owen or Mike arrive with the day's harvest, we get it right back out the door."
The garden also does good things for students like Cass, who was eager to show off this season's crops on a recent 95 degree day. Despite the heat, Cass vigorously strode between the garden rows, pointing out pumpkins he had planted the week before; hibiscus-like blooms on okra plants; Japanese beetle damage on basil; and the "Florida weave" style of staking used on heirloom tomato plants.
(In the Florida weave technique, you drive a stake between every two or three plants and attach a string at the end of each row. You then weave the string between the plants.)
"Even during a bad thunderstorm the other night, the tomatoes stayed upright," says Cass. "Our peppers fell over but some international students volunteered the next day and helped to get them re-staked."
Farming requires knowledge not just about combating pests and re-staking plants but also about managing people. Cass hopes to own his own farm, in which case he may have dozens of employees under his direction. This summer, working with 200-plus garden volunteers, he is getting plenty of supervisory experience. A half dozen or so core volunteers show up every Saturday; others, like the international students, help out just once.
"I can't believe the amount that I'm learning," says Cass. "Mike lets me make a lot of decisions on my own, whether it's managing the volunteers or choosing which kind of seeds to plant for our second season of crops."
"I also get to learn from Extension and college experts," he adds. "Nancy Gregory [an Extension plant diagnostician] was out in the garden recently because she needed downy mildew samples for a research project. She didn't have enough in her own test plots but, unfortunately, we had it on our cucumbers."
Despite a bit of downy mildew and Japanese beetles the Garden for the Community always enjoys high yields. Popovich is the first to admit he has plenty of advantages over the home gardener. "The UD community gets very excited about this garden," says Popovich. "I'm fortunate to have a steady stream of Cooperative Extension professionals and UD agriculture researchers popping by to give advice and lend a hand."
"And Owen has been tremendously helpful with planting, weeding, harvesting and other chores," Popovich says. "He has taken an immense amount of initiative early on."
"Not one nuisance insect or weedy plant goes unnoticed by him," he adds. "Owen checks with college professionals — and his smart phone — to identify bug and disease issues. On one occasion, I saw him spend 20 minutes trying to catch a single squash vine borer. That's the type of dedication I like to see in an intern."
Cass will be extra busy in the weeks ahead, getting the garden in picture-perfect condition for the Aug. 9 Evening in the Garden, a benefit for the Food Bank of Delaware. Held under a tent, adjacent to the Garden for the Community, the event features fresh-from-the-garden food, fine wine, live entertainment and garden tours.
The meal will be prepared by students from the Food Bank's Culinary School. "At the beginning of the season, Mike connects with us and makes sure to plant the crops that the students will need for their recipes," says Kostes. "This year's menu includes tri-colored bruschetta, roasted vegetables, salmon with tomatillo sauce, and potato and goat cheese salad."
Tickets for Evening in the Garden cost $40, or $15 per student with ID. After Aug. 2, ticket prices increase to $50, and $25 per student. Call Kostes at 444-8074 or email her at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Article by Margo McDonough
Photo by Danielle Quigley
This article can also be viewed on UDaily.


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CAIRO – Egyptian riot police fired tear gas and clashed Thursday with dozens of protesters as they tried to tear down a cement wall built to prevent demonstrators from reaching the parliament and the Cabinet building in central Cairo.
The violence came on the eve of the second anniversary of Egypt's uprising that toppled longtime authoritarian President Hosni Mubarak. Three weeks of mass protests that erupted on Jan. 25, 2011, eventually forced Mubarak out of office.
Since then, Egypt underwent a tumultuous transition under the interim leadership of military generals until the election last June of Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood group. His first six months in office were marked by political tensions, street clashes, and an economic crunch that sapped his popularity.
Thursday's clashes may foreshadow a violent anniversary on Friday, when youth activists and opposition groups have called for large rallies in Cairo's Tahrir Square and in front of the presidential palace in the upscale Heliopolis suburb.
The opposition has demanded a suspension or radical changes to be made Egypt's newly adopted constitution, which an Islamist-dominated constituent assembly drafted amid deep polarization and mass street protests.
The constitution, which many Egyptians see as a detrimental to civil liberties and a precursor to a religious state, passed with a 64 percent "yes" vote in a December referendum in which around 33 percent of voters took part.
In an online video message posted on Thursday, the nation's most prominent opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei urged Egyptians to rally in the streets but warned that change will take time.
"I demand from each one of you, all across Egypt, to prove that the revolution must continue and much be completed," said ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former head of the U.N. nuclear agency in the message.
"Egyptians rose up for the sake of freedom, dignity and social justice," he said. "We must not stop until we see all the demands achieved. It will take time but we have to put ourselves on the right path."
The opposition wants to use the occasion to put pressure on Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, who secular and liberal Egyptians accuse of trying to monopolize power.
Meanwhile, the Brotherhood and other Islamist parties announced they will stay away from the streets on Friday's anniversary and warned the opposition against instigating violence. However, a Brotherhood member said that orders were given for supporters to rally at a mosque located near the presidency. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
Egypt witnessed some of its worst street clashes on Dec. 4, when supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood clamped down on tents and protesters holding a sit-in in front of the presidential palace. Clashes ended with 10 dead and hundreds injured on the two sides.
The Brotherhood said it would mark the anniversary by planting a million trees in a campaign entitled "Let's build Egypt."
In a statement posted on the group's official website, its leader, Mohammed Badie, advised Muslims to "watch their enemies," invoking challenges the Prophet Muhammad faced while founding a new state in the holy city of Medina in the 7th Century.
Commemorating the prophet's birthday, a national holiday, Badie said Muhammad faced "hypocrites, filled with hatred and envy for the emerging group."


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HELSINKI (AP) — Finnish utility TVO says the completion of the country's fifth nuclear reactor will be further delayed and the company does not expect it to go online until 2016.
TVO says "recent progress reports" from the Areva-Siemens consortium responsible for its construction indicate delays, including in the development of the plant's instrumentation and control systems.
The 1,600-megawatt European Pressurized Reactor — one of the first of its kind — has been plagued by delays caused by faulty materials and planning problems since construction began in 2005. It was meant to begin providing electricity in 2009.
Monday's announcement represented the seventh delay at the Olkiluoto 3 site.
In October, TVO said it was claiming €1.8 billion ($2.4 billion) in compensation from Areva-Siemens for the delays, but added that the amount might change.


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This one was looking a bit like Mission Impossible.
The Bulls were playing their third game in four nights on the road Thursday night without three of their top four scorers—Ben Gordon, Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich all were out injured. The Golden State Warriors were coming off five days of rest and reintroducing one-time Warriors rookie of the year Chris Webber to their lineup.
It was a mission the Bulls reluctantly accepted and one might have thought they certainly would self-destruct in five seconds.
"Are you trying to scare me," Bulls interim coach Jim Boylan laughed when the circumstances were noted before the game.
But the Bulls roared off to a fast start, survived an 18-4 Warriors' run early in the third, regained the lead and held on for a 114-108 victory.
Chris Duhon was a surprising hero with a career-high 34 points, easily surpassing his previous mark of 26. He made 11 of 16 shots with nine assists. He was assisted ably by Joe Smith, who scored 27 points in 37 minutes, going 13 of 14 from the free-throw line in 43 minutes.
"I took open shots, got my rhythm, and they continued to keep falling," Duhon said. "Being the only guard tonight, it gives you extra confidence knowing that you could be a little bit more aggressive. Even if you miss a few shots and make a couple of mistakes, Coach is going to continue to keep playing you, so you just play a little bit more loose and don't play mind games with yourself."
Monta Ellis led the Warriors with 25 points, shooting an astounding 11 of 12. Baron Davis added 22 and Al Harrington 20 off the bench.
Talk about your great guard matchups in the NBA.
There was Steve Nash and Chris Paul the other night in Phoenix. There's always Paul and Deron Williams. There's Kobe Bryant against Dwyane Wade or LeBron James, Allen Iverson against Davis and, of course, Davis vs. Duhon.
And you know Davis stands little chance in that one. Huh?
At least that's the way it was Thursday night as Duhon, coming off 45 minutes played in Portland on Wednesday night, blitzed the Warriors and Davis with 15 points in the first quarter on 6-of-7 shooting and four assists as the Bulls took an 11-point lead before ending the quarter with a 32-23 lead that left the home crowd stunned.
"We really needed this one," said Thabo Sefolosha, who had nine points and seven rebounds. "It was a close game, and we were able to finish it. A lot of players stepped up and brought a lot of things to the team. It's great when the team plays like that, fighting together for wins."
The Webber experiment went about as expected as he missed his first two shots and the Warriors trailed 14-6 before he was removed for the rest of the first half. This also was a matchup of Warriors' No. 1 overall draft picks, Webber and Smith, and it looked like the Warriors brought back the wrong one as Smith's 27 points easily eclipsed Webber's four.
"I don't think the guys are quitting, I think the guys are stepping up," Boylan said. "We're down quite a few players, but we're not letting that change the way we're playing. The guys that we have are coming out and playing hard and taking advantage of their opportunities to get some serious playing time."
The Bulls drove on the Warriors and, with Duhon cleverly using high screens, eased ahead 40-28 midway through the second quarter. Suddenly, Oracle Arena wasn't looking so much like the chamber of horrors it has been for the Bulls, who hadn't won in the building since 1998, where Michael Jordan suffered his only serious injury as a Bull with a broken foot in 1985.
But this was a game in which it looked like the Warriors would be the ones limping away.
Still, Golden State, which never saw a long three-pointer they didn't like, finally fell into a few as Davis and Harrington banged in one each.
And when Ben Wallace began shooting free throws as badly as ever—he came up short once and also missed the rim on the side on another attempt in going 0-for-7—and the Bulls committed three straight turnovers, the Warriors began running and dunking. Turnovers feed their game and the Bulls obliged with 25 in the game. The Warriors drew within 50-47 at halftime despite going 2 of 13 on threes.
The Warriors took their first lead at 59-58 four minutes into the third and it looked like they would open up the game with the 18-4 run. But Duhon drove for a score after a Warriors' turnover, put in a thrilling reverse on a drive and then flew the length of the court after a Warriors score with three seconds left to tie the game 77-77 after three quarters.
Like they say around the NBA, with Bryant and Duhon anything is possible.
The Associated Press contributed to this story


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01/22/15 By Gary M. Baranec Altoona's Austin Myers move the puck up ice against BGC's Trevor Jamison during first period action Thursday at Galactic Ice.
01/22/15 By Gary M. Baranec Altoona's Matt Dalto scored the first goal of the night for Altoona in first period action against Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic Thursday at Galactic Ice. (Austin Myers on right would score two additional goals for Altoona)


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Category archives for tuya
The latest Eruptions Word of the Day is "Tuya". So, what is a tuya? This is a tuya: A tuya! Click on the image to see a larger version. Image by Erik Klemetti. Alright, well, that doesn't entirely help, does it? Lets look at the feature the arrow indicates. Some observations: (1) It is low…


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May 15, 2010
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on May 17, 2010, that juveniles may not be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for a non-homicide. Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative and a MacArthur Fellow, presented one of the cases before the Court. Stevenson argued, in Sullivan v Florida, that a sentence of life without parole for juveniles is cruel and unusual punishment and, therefore, unconstitutional. The Courts decision was issued in the companion case, Graham v. Florida.
Recognizing the developmental differences between adolescents and adults, the MacArthur Foundation has long supported efforts to reform juvenile justice systems. Research finds that young people are less culpable — and more amenable to rehabilitation — because of their immaturity.
MacArthur supports reform in 40 states and aims to help accelerate a national juvenile justice reform movement to improve the lives of young people in trouble with the law, while enhancing public safety and holding young offenders accountable for their actions.


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Anyone who has ever thought about helping out in the community, now's the chance.
Anyone who has ever thought about helping out in the community, now's the chance. The local crisis intervention and family advocacy group is conducting free training for anyone interested. The work may not be for the faint of heart, but it is vitally important and incredibly rewarding.
The annual training for volunteer advocates at the Women's Center-High Desert starts Tuesday, Sept. 17. The center runs the local battered women's shelter, spearheads sexual and child abuse prevention and awareness programs, a food pantry, and three 24-hour hotlines. The Center also provides anonymous and confidential intervention for a domestic, sexual violence or child abuse situation.
Graduates of the 65-hour course, offered free of charge and certified through the California Emergency Management Agency, will receive a certification of completion and will be ready to work directly with clients.
Denise Gossage, victim advocate and volunteer coordinator for the Center said Friday by phone that she encourages everyone to take the training. The work at the center may not be for everyone, but there is something for everyone who wants to help. Gossage explained that most people decide on their own through the training, whether or not they will be able to handle the sorts of situations they may encounter on the (unpaid) job.
Volunteers that complete the training can participate in direct client services. Direct client services include responding to the scene of crimes per law enforcement request, or responding at the hospital if asked by that facility. Advocates will even accompany victims to the emergency room. Gossage said an advocate would visit the client and gather information about the incident, then hand over that information to counselors at the center.
Gossage explained that having center representatives at the scene of incidents is a fairly new concept, and one for the benefit of both law enforcement and the victim. A rapid response means there is little to no lapse in time for the victim to forget what happened. Lawyers try to use a time lapse to poke holes in witness testimony. It is a known move by defense lawyers to prolong or drag out a case in the hopes that a victim will eventually forget the exact details of what happened during an assault.
The center has been responding to sexual assault scenes for some time but has only recently began responding to domestic violence cases. Gossage said the new domestic violence responses have been made possible with cooperation of the Kern County District Attorney. She explained that the center would not hear about some domestic violence cases until word came down from the DA's office. Gossage said this meant the situation is weeks, if not months, old by that point.
Advocates can also help answer calls on the Center's three 24-hour hotlines; Domestic Violence (760) 375-7525, Sexual Assault and Abuse (760) 375-0745 and the Child Abuse Prevention (760) 375-7100. Gossage explained a certified advocate can help those who call get the assistance they need.
Advocate can also work in the shelter, either helping "keep house" cleaning and maintenance or by assisting in classes like support groups or programs aimed at helping women recover, such as art therapy.
Topics to be covered during the training include; Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Communication Skills, Domestic Violence Advocacy, Sexual Assault Advocacy, Child Abuse, Crisis Intervention, Temporary Restraining Orders, Court Advocacy and Accompaniment, Rapist Profiles, Ethnic and Cultural Diversity, Personal Safety and Prevention and general knowledge regarding law enforcement, medical and legal.
Volunteers are always needed, Gossage said, whether on the front lines or answering phones and helping keep house at the local shelter. Along with the certified volunteers, there are the general volunteers that assist with such things as food drives, for example. There are also chances for groups to volunteer, too. She gave the example of military personnel who came by one Christmas and decorated the office inside and out.
The free training starts on Tuesday, Sept. 17 and completes on Nov. 7. Sessions will be held from 6-9 p.m. On Tuesday's and Thursday's unless otherwise noted; Sept. 17, 19, 25 and 26, Oct. 1, 3, 8, 10 the Saturday, Oct. 12 class will from noon-3 p.m., Oct. 15, 17, 22, 24, the Saturday Oct. 26 class will be 9 a.m.-4 p.m., and the Wednesday Oct. 29 class will be 6-9 p.m., the Saturday Nov. 2 class will be 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Nov. 5, 6, and 7 all offered from 6-9 p.m.
The training will be held at the Women's Center-High Desert, Inc., 134 S. China Lake Boulevard.
For more information or to sign up, please call Gossage at (760) 371-1969.


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Watch The ::God Is Imaginary Videos On YouTube ::
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To answer Azdgari's comment on my post, no, I am not focusing on the "human DNA" canard. ...
I always say what I mean. But sometimes I'm a sarcastic prick whose tone can't be properly communicated via text.
Really? So I suppose I consider stray hairs, fingernail clippings, shed skin flakes, wasted gametes, et al, as human beings then, since they also have human DNA? Funny that I never noticed that before. I must have needed your genius, your perspicacity and discernment, in order to realize this "glaring error" in my judgment.
Funny, though. None of those other things will grow into what we consider a human person on their own. Even gametes, sex cells, will simply remain inert unless they join with their opposite number.
Only a fetus will do that, in the correct kind of environment, but it always will given those conditions.
I think we can safely consider a fetus qualitatively different than other cells, or groups of cells, that also have human DNA, but that we don't consider human.
Perhaps you should consider whether this "glaring error" that you saw in my post was actually my error.
Ahh the misogyny of the anti-abortionists, so pervasive. A woman isn't characterized as a person, but merely an environment.
This is strawman argument - you put these words into jaime's mouth.
He has also never said in this thread that a woman is less important than a fetus.
I never accused you of being consistent.
Wait, "grow into..."? As opposed to a fertilized egg itself being one? Earlier you characterized the fertilized egg as a human being, yet here it's just the potential for one (as opposed to the other cells you mention).[1] Again, I never accused you of being consistent. Or are you making a distinction between a human being and a human person?[2] 1. I am assuming here that the "we" includes yourself. 2. Outside of legal terminology, of course, in which they are certainly different as well.
Ahh the misogyny of the anti-abortionists, so pervasive. A woman isn't characterized as a person, but merely an environment.[3] 3. In case your protest this as reading too much into our wording, our choice of words can reveal a lot about our cultural biases. Here there's simply too much relevance for your poor choice of words to be random, given the position you're taking simultaneously.
She doesn't have to, you know, do anything - she's just the environment, a fertile background for the fetus. On its own, the fetus[4] will certainly not grow into a "human person". 4. "Fetus", of course, not "zygote" or "embryo" with you. You're referring to zygotes and embryos as well, but only use the term "fetus" because it's closer to "baby". Emotional appeals, just like the anti-choice lobby.
Once we view the mother as a human being, we're forced to acknowledge that she and her body play a very active role in turning that fetus into a human being. Just like she did when she got pregnant in the first place. Her body's work is not done after fertilization, Jaime.
I assume you mean "...but that we don't consider human beings/persons" here. "Qualitatively different" is a far cry from "human being" or "human person". My toothbrush is even more "qualitatively different" from those cells, yet we don't consider it to be a human being either. Potential is not actuality. Citing potential is an admission that what you're valuing does not exist yet.
I did. Then I smited you for it. You're typically a pretty honest chap, and if you realized it yourself, I'm sure you wouldn't have gone forward with it.Unless, of course, it's been pointed out to you before...
Your repetition of this "I never accused you of being consistent" statement makes it look like you're trying to strawman my position without actually coming out and saying that.
You're implying that I have internal attitudes that conflict with the ones I express, even though you aren't actually saying what those are. And, naturally, you set this up so that you can honestly claim that you never actually attributed any positions to me, and thus you never actually made the strawman fallacy (just like you did with su27). The problem is, it only works if you can fluster your opponent into giving you the openings you need, which is why you put loaded terms (such as misogynistic anti-abortionist) in your post without ever actually calling me one.
I expected you might try something like this, so you will note that I said it would grow into a human person, not a human being.
The distinction is that a fertilized egg is a member of the species homo sapiens (what we call a human being), whereas it is not legally (or generally) recognized as a human person.
Again, I expected you might try something like this. I spoke of environment as a general term (because fetuses can grow and develop outside of the womb, given the right conditions, such as an incubator or the equivalent; just gotta make sure that it gets the right nutrients and such). You took it as a specific term that referred to women, and implied that I might be a "misogynistic anti-abortionist", because I 'characterized' women as an environment. Never mind the fact that a woman is no more her womb than a man is his penis.
Maybe you'd better think about your own attitudes and why you would jump to a conclusion such as this. Because, right now, it honestly looks like you're just trying to find excuses to dismiss my arguments and paint me in such a way that you can ignore any future arguments from me on this subject.Hardly a way to conduct a reasonable discussion, which I was trying to have with you.
Hardly a way to conduct a reasonable discussion, which I was trying to have with you.
Your sarcasm here is both pointless and unnecessary, as you're directing it against the position you attributed to me just before, rather than the position I actually hold. Sure, to be precisely (and pedantically) correct, I should refer to each stage of development separately, so "fertilized egg, zygote, embryo and fetus". I do know the difference between them, but I saw no point in being such a pedant as to obsess over which formal term I should use. It's simpler just to say "fetus" or "embryo"; my choice of the term to use was not intended as an emotional appeal. Maybe you should consider what it means that you assumed it was one.
And of course a fetus can't survive on its own, without assistance. Any more than an infant could. We consider an infant to be a human being, though, despite its complete inability to survive unaided. Noting, of course, that this hasn't always been the case - there have been a lot of cultures which have abandoned unwanted infants, leaving them to die to exposure or predation.
None of those other things will grow into what we consider a human person on their own.
I never said that it was. It was only your assumption that led you to believe that. You're implying that I somehow believed women were nothing more than an environment for a fetus to grow in, and without your efforts to illustrate this to me, I would have continued to believe that deep down. The thing is, though, that isn't how I think, and it never was. I can see a fetus as a human being without having to dismiss the mother's human-ness, and vice versa.
Given your track record in this post, I think it's safe to say that you got this one wrong as well.
You had to nitpick technicalities to change what I said into what you thought I might have meant (notably, using a toothbrush as an example of a "qualitative difference" from a cell that was not a human being; you seriously thought that was an effective counter?).
Given the number of unwarranted assumptions you loaded your post down with, you will excuse me for not accepting that. But I don't think you did so intentionally. I think you got caught up in your immediate reaction to what you thought I was saying and never really stopped to consider if that reaction was warranted or justified. I've done that myself before (frankly, I did it a lot when I was younger). It's why I don't go with my first reaction anymore, because it's easier to take some extra time to think about it and make sure that I'm not the one with the error in judgment.
One of the reasons I'm pretty sure that you did this is because I stated that I supported legalized abortion and was against the anti-abortion movement in the very same post you 'smited' me for. I suppose that's where "I never accused you of being consistent" came from, since if you assume I have misogynistic anti-abortion attitudes deep down, they can't really be consistent with supporting legalized abortion. The only problem with this is that I don't have those attitudes at all (I've been pro-choice since I was a child; with a mother who was fervently pro-choice, and a father who clearly had no problems with that attitude, that was a foregone conclusion). I've spent a lot of time (literally years) thinking about this issue, and my posts here have reflected that thinking.
The way as I see it, Jaime just gave an idea that may help understand why some people may have problem accepting abortion.
But it seems to me that for some reason you, Azdgari, put him in the "anti-abortion misogynist" box and argue just for sake of arguing with your own strawman arguments.You seem to see misogyny everywhere and overuse that word.
And it was definitely my mistake for not acknowledging that. The topic of my comments is tangential to Jaime's intended point, which as you say is a useful one.
Conservatives rarely recognize stuff like that. Sociology to a conservative is like geology to a YEC.
As for Jaime's smite, I thought my last post was pretty reasonable. Certainly more so than the one I'd written prior to it. Maybe that was the problem?
If you made a mistake there, then maybe you should start considering where else you might have made a mistake too.
Which is irrelevant, since I'm not all that conservative.
You started off with a bunch of sanctimonious, weaselly statements that you were trying to use to rationalize your previous behavior as perfectly reasonable and rational. I suppose you might have thought they were reasonable, but they pissed me off so much that I couldn't even finish reading the post. When I get that angry, it's usually not a good idea to reply. Or issue smites, I suppose, but while I have enough self control to stop writing an angry post or PM before I send it, smites are quick enough to do that they sometimes get through.
What excuse did you have for your retaliation?
On reflection, I certainly can't fault you for that, given how this all started.
I thought that that was all you were going to respond with. And despite how my post (especially the start) came across, it was meant in sincerity.
EDIT: By the way, I just read your smite's content. I'm not aware of having actually dodged any questions. Your post didn't have many questions in the first place. Do you mean the personal one about why I might be, as you put it, jumping to conclusions about you? It's because of my own meager sociological training. Our language choices are not random. There are causes there. Trends in those choices - both in ourselves and in others - tell something about ourselves, and about others. You've made it clear that I read way too much into it, however, and for that I do apologize. This isn't the first time I've done something like this on whatever topic; sort of prone to it, really.
I was being trite, in response to the same from you. Take another look at what I'd quoted when I said this the first time.
I used those terms to, perhaps, wake you up to your own language and how it can come across. Your rhetoric is similar to that of the anti-abortion lobby, and your language is misogynistic. Which is why I said those things. There is not some sinister plot at work here, Jaime.
Try something like what? I noted it too. I asked about it directly, at the end of that quote. There is not some sinister plot at work here, Jaime.
A member, or just having the quality of being human? You've not established this. You've taken it as granted by all parties. It's by no means granted. What makes something 'a being', Jaime? Show your work.
The topic is abortion, Jaime. And when a fetus is in an incubator, abortion isn't a relevant topic. You painted the womb as a passive environment that the fetus finds beneficial for growth. It's not. That was misogynistic of you.
You've in no way shown me to be wrong in that conclusion, Jaime. And maybe I'm less inclined to give you the benefit of the doubt on this topic in light of past ones. Remember the whole "women need to face the consequences of their own actions" tuffle way back? As in, women who have sex and get pregnant without meaning to shouldn't be able to get off scot free for their moral failure? You were oblivious at the time to how this could be characterized as you wanting women to be punished for the crime of having sex. Have you considered that you might be similarly oblivious now? It's hard for a third party to tell whether your misogynistic language is a mistake, like it supposedly was before, or if it reflects some actual bias of yours.
Trying to have, so long as certain relevant topics are barred from analysis.
So your choice of which term to use was random? Oh, please. Of course brevity was one of your motivations, that's reasonable. But brevity could select for any of the terms we listed. You picked one. Why pick that particular one?
Granted. Will you grant, by the same token, that your point here:QuoteNone of those other things will grow into what we consider a human person on their own....is null and void? Nothing ever grows into into what we consider a human person on its own.
So, again, your depiction of the mother as merely an environment was...random. Or a mistake. Or something. Not very convincing, Jaime.
Does this mean that based on your reaction to the rest of my post, you didn't bother to think through what I said here? Let's see...
...yep. What you had, made no sense as written, because our cells in general are human. They're human in the sense that they are human cells and not, say, fish cells. So I figured you meant "not human beings/persons" since that made sense in context. I stated I was assuming this, so that you could correct me if I'd made the incorrect assumption. Who's the one jumping to conclusions, again?
As for the "nitpick", my point is that "qualitatively different" on its own is irrelevant. What's important is the nature of the qualitative difference, if one exists. Which is why I went on about potentiality to form a valued being, not being a particularly important qualitative difference. Because the being in question still doesn't exist.
So no, it's not safe to assume I got this one wrong, though I suppose it's convenient to assume so.
Given your moral stance against abortion, despite your legal support for its option, I'd have been very surprised not to find what I found. Maybe that is my own bias talking, or maybe the truth is somewhere in between. Perhaps from your perspective it's justified, but in an abortion situation, finding it to be morally wrong for the would-be mother to put her personhood over that of the baby is misogynistic.
It's saying that some moral sovereignty of a woman's body is lesser than that of a man's, because a man never has to make such a decision about his own body. It's equally morally sovereign to that of a woman's in all other respects. Again, maybe this is justified. Maybe I'm wrong to consider this a bad thing. But you can't pretend the discrepancy doesn't exist, and that it doesn't tend to end up informing one's other opinions on the topic.
I hope my clarification where you addressed this further up-post shows why I came to the conclusions I did. I know you're personally pro-choice, Jaime. But as you know, it's quite possible to be morally against abortion while still believing that it should be kept legal. Hell, I'm morally against indoctrinating kids with known falsehoods (eg. YEC stuff), yet believe that on balance it should be kept legal, given the alternatives. And while you've left no doubt about your pro-choice stand, you've also expressed for quite some time your position that abortion is morally negative. It's not your legal position that I object to, Jaime. It's the moral position, which seems to me to be quite similar to the positions that motivate some people to take a political stand against abortion (just not you). In short, your political support for choice doesn't have much to do with the moral question that we were actually discussing.
We are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones. Most people are never going to die because they are never going to be born. The potential people who could have been here in my place but who will in fact never see the light of day outnumber the sand grains of Sahara. Certainly those unborn ghosts include greater poets than Keats, scientists greater than Newton. We know this because the set of possible people allowed by our DNA so massively outnumbers the set of actual people. In the teeth of these stupefying odds it is you and I, in our ordinariness, that are here. We privileged few, who won the lottery of birth against all odds, how dare we whine at our inevitable return to that prior state from which the vast majority have never stirred?
My position on abortion is extremely simplistic. While there are still children in orphanages, and foster care, or wandering parentless, or part of an abusive family, then I have one opinion. When we are in a world where every child there is, has a stable and loving family around it, my opinion may change.
That is certainly one of the biggest problems I have with the anti-abortion lobby, especially the fallacious arguments that they like to trot out about how we may have killed the next Einstein or Bach or whoever.
The similarity in rhetoric was somewhat intentional, but it wasn't for the reasons you thought. I think we can both agree that much of the anti-abortion lobby uses that rhetoric in order to sway the minds of people through manipulating their emotions. I've started to think that we need to expose this subtle manipulation for what it really is - a cynical effort by people who have a social agenda that they want to implement. The problem is, simply telling them this won't be believed. Nobody likes to be told that they've been played for a fool, and they'll fight for a long time to keep from admitting that they could have been wrong in the first place. Instead, I thought that by using similar rhetoric, their defenses against "evil pro-death liberals" wouldn't kick in, and they might actually be willing to listen.
It was starting to look like you were trying to lure me into saying something which you could then use to discredit me. I've encountered people like that before, and it's something I have to be careful of in other places.
I was expressing my opinion here, actually. That doesn't make the question meaningless, it just means that I wasn't assuming it granted by all parties.I consider an embryo or fetus, even a fertilized egg, to be a human being (not just having the quality of being human, which makes very little sense to me in any case). That is why I have a moral objection to abortion, because I don't think it's right to kill other humans regardless of whether most people consider them humans. That's one of the pro-life arguments that I agree with. However, despite that, I consider myself pro-choice. Because first off, to dictate my beliefs to others as moral imperatives that must be followed is reprehensible; second, to fixate on a developing embryo and ignore the other human being who's severely impacted by a pregnancy (the mother) is stupid; and third, to ignore necessity and practicality in favor of morality is foolish.
First, the only reason I brought up environment at all was to demonstrate that there is no environment wherein hair stands, or skin flakes, or fingernail clippings, or whatever, will ever be anything but hair stands, or skin flakes, or fingernail clippings, or whatever (which is not true of an embryo) Second, I was not passing the womb off as a passive environment in any case; I simply spoke of the correct type of environment. I think you read something into my words here which I in no way intended. Third, if we had artificial wombs which could do the job of growing embryos and fetuses, then it would be relevant (since that would be an option instead of abortion). Though, we don't have those yet, and probably won't for several years at the earliest.
It's been an awfully long time since that topic happened, but as I recall, I had to spend a while trying to explain that I didn't mean what you thought I meant, and I'm not sure if I successfully got that across or not. I think I was using consequence in its neutral sense, that is, something that happens as the result of another action, but since people often use consequence and punishment interchangeably, that's how you took it.
If I had gotten this far when I originally read your post, this comment would probably have caused me to get even more upset. Suggestive comments like this aren't generally conducive to having a good discussion.
Because it's the one that came to mind first. I do get in arguments with anti-abortion people elsewhere, and they use that term pretty heavily. I also live in one of the most conservative states in the entire country, Oklahoma, so it's used a lot in general. When you hear a term a lot, it comes to mind more easily.
Sure. None of those other things will do so, period. The point I was trying to make there is that an embryo can and does grow into a fetus, then an infant, etc. Bodily detritus, such as hair, skin, fingernails, etc, not only does not, but can not (short of esoteric genetic manipulation which isn't possible anyway).
The way you wrote it, it looked like more that of trite sarcasm that you used earlier. It's not easy to tell when someone's being serious, as opposed to facetious or sarcastic or trite or...whatever.
An embryo isn't just a set of human cells in the sense of being human cells and not fish cells. Hair strands, skin flakes, fingernail clippings, blood samples, pick a subset of human cells...none of them will eventually grow into an infant under any circumstances, whereas an embryo will, under the right circumstances. That's what I meant by qualitative difference, so it is relevant to the discussion. As for it being valued, what does that have to do with anything? Something doesn't have to be a valued being for it to be a being (since there are uncountable examples through history where humans were not valued at all, yet still met the definition of human being).
The problem with this conclusion is that it presumes that I don't accept any circumstances where this could happen, which is not true. Furthermore, it's kind of like saying that because I morally disapprove of someone calling for another person's death (despite supporting their legal right to say it per the First Amendment), I must therefore hate the first person deep down. It's not the same situation, but it's close enough to illustrate the problem (or at least so I think).
First off, even if the former is accurate (which I don't grant, more in a bit), why would the rest follow from it? Why would a man's body be morally superior to a woman's in all respects, simply because it was superior to it in one?
Also, consider this: I don't think of it as either superior or inferior. Just different. For something to be superior or inferior, there has to be a reasonable basis for comparison. And when it comes to pregnancy, or having an abortion, there is no such basis for comparison, because men can't get pregnant or have an abortion. It is a moral difference, but to claim that it's superior or inferior is foolishness, in my view.
I hope that I've illustrated why my moral position with regards to abortion is not like the anti-abortion moral position regarding it. Oh, I wouldn't be surprised if there were some superficial similarities, but it's not difficult to find those in many circumstances. Here's how I look at it. Would I want some stranger, who I didn't know from John Doe, butting in and telling me that my wife (or girlfriend) should not have an abortion, for for that matter that she should? The answer is no, therefore, it is not at all justifiable for me to do it to anyone else, whatever my personal feelings about it.
I came across this quote from Richard Dawkins today.Quote from: DawkinsWe are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones. Most people are never going to die because they are never going to be born. The potential people who could have been here in my place but who will in fact never see the light of day outnumber the sand grains of Sahara. Certainly those unborn ghosts include greater poets than Keats, scientists greater than Newton. We know this because the set of possible people allowed by our DNA so massively outnumbers the set of actual people. In the teeth of these stupefying odds it is you and I, in our ordinariness, that are here. We privileged few, who won the lottery of birth against all odds, how dare we whine at our inevitable return to that prior state from which the vast majority have never stirred?


text:
I live by the north-west coast of Holland, where there almost always is quite some waves with the wind. But in the summer it is often lower wind and less waves.
And for these conditions I am looking for a second board for a 12m Bandit. My other board is a f-one trax 134x39
My primary goal is to be able to play in lighter wind, and just have a nice time surfing
I have had two recommendations for boards which are on sale around me:
1. Brunotti Wave board - 5'8'' from 2012 or 5'4'' from 2010
2. North Whip - 5'4'' from 2012 (most expensive of the 3)
I am 178cm and approx 74kg, and I am still learning.
The question is: Any recommendations between the two boards, and if so, which length?


text:
The best corporate managers are always one step ahead. Salesforce is the second coming of Amazon.com...
2 Stocks You Can Bank On Up North
12/13/2012 10:45 am EST
Focus: STOCKS
Canada's financial system got through the global meltdown relatively unscathed, and a couple banks are expanding their base and are worth looking at, writes Jack Adamo of Insiders Plus.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM) reported fourth-quarter and full-year earnings for the fiscal year ended October 31. Quarterly EPS were up 12.8% at $2.02. Excluding "items," the rise was 14.6%.
The great quarter helped pull up what had been a rather slow year. Full-year earnings were up 6.6% to $8.07 after reasonable adjustments. On a GAAP basis, they were up a rousing 17%, but the particulars in this case make that less meaningful than the adjusted comparison. Operating cash flow was four times higher than income, which is always a big plus.
Given the challenging economic and interest rate environment, these are excellent results, and the stronger Q4 numbers suggest things might improve further in 2013, although the environment will remain challenging.
In other metrics, CIBC's return on common equity was 22% for the year. Its Tier 1 capital ratio, measured by the stricter, soon-to-be-enacted Basel III accord, was 9%, well in excess of the 7% minimum requirement. To show you how strict the new accord is, the bank's Tier 1 capital under the current GAAP methodology is 13.8%.
Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) also reported earnings. They didn't match CIBC's, but were good, considering the climate. Q4 GAAP EPS was $1.66 versus $1.68 last year, while adjusted earnings of $1.83 were 5% higher than the comparable quarter. Full-year EPS was $6.86 according to GAAP, up 5%, and adjusted earnings were $7.42, up 8%.
Tier 1 Capital according to Basel III was a very healthy 8.2%. Return on equity was 16.3%, comfortably above the 15% threshold that Warren Buffett considers the measure of an excellent company.
Note also that these return on equity measures are affected by the new Basel accord measurements of capital. The new figures are more conservative. Regardless of your political leanings, in accounting, conservative is good.
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text:
Morgan Stanley, the sixth-largest U.S. bank by assets, plans to purchase a stake in Eris Exchange LLC and become a liquidity provider for the interest-rate swaps futures market.
Morgan Stanley will participate in electronic and block trading on Eris early next year, the New York-based company said today in a statement. The bank will also join the board of directors of Chicago-based Eris as part of the deal, the terms of which weren't disclosed.
New rules are pushing more derivatives onto exchanges as regulators seek to reduce the risk resulting from a trading firm defaulting on its obligation in a transaction. Unlike over-the- counter products, those traded on exchanges are usually standardized and cleared by an organization that guarantees the contract will settle.
"As the traditional OTC rates-swap market undergoes significant structural, economic and regulatory changes, Morgan Stanley believes that Eris Exchange and its futurized swaps are ideally suited to provide our clients with flexible alternatives," Patrick Haskell, Morgan Stanley's U.S. head of liquid flow rates, said in the statement.
Standard interest-rate swap futures contracts traded on the exchange carry margins that are 40 percent to 80 percent less than over-the-counter agreements, according to the statement.
Morgan Stanley increased its interest-rates trading headcount by more than 20 percent in 2010 and hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. trader Glenn Hadden last year in an effort to turn around the business. Rates and currency trading contributed more than half the firm's fixed-income revenue in the 18 months ended in June, from less than half in 2009, an increase driven "primarily by rates," Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat said in September.
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