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In This Issue
Briefly Noted
WiMAX World
Managing the Triple Play
Raising the Bar
Heard on the NetNews about People and Companies Influencing The Broadband Home
People News
Olivier Coste, senior vice president of Strategy and Business Development for Alcatel's Space activities, has been named President of Alcatel Mobile Broadcast, which will develop the technologies and infrastructure for mobile TV broadcasting. ( www.alcatel.com )
Rick DeGabrielle has been appointed President and CEO of Arroyo Video Solutions. Prior to Arroyo, he was at Catena Networks. ( www.arroyo.tv )
Mark Jeffery has been named Senior Director, Product Marketing at ICTV; he was previously with Terayon. Colin Shave has joined ICTV as VP, European Sales; he was previously with NDS. ( www.ictv.com )
Steve Santamaria is joining Xtend Networks as Senior VP and GM, Commercial Services; he was previously with Charter Communications. In other company moves, Avner Kol has been promoted to COO, and Davidi Gilo , Chairman and CEO of Vyyo, is also assuming CEO duties for Xtend. ( www.xtendnetworks.com ) ( www.vyyo.com )
Glenn Tamaru has been appointed VP Of Operations at Aperto Networks. Tamaru was previously with GoDigital. ( www.apertonet.com )
S.V. Vasudevan (Vasu) recently joined Cisco Systems, responsible for worldwide cable video architectures and solutions. He was previously with BigBand. ( www.cisco.com )
Company News
Ericsson is acquiring the majority of the assets of Marconi Corp. plc in a cash deal valued at £1.2 billion ($2.1 billion). Marconi will be renamed "telent plc" and will be Ericsson's preferred services partner in the UK. ( www.ericsson.com ) ( www.marconi.com )
Microsoft is acquiring media-streams.com AG. Terms of the agreement werent disclosed. ( www.microsoft.com ) ( www.media-streams.com )
Two big mergers--SBC Communications with AT&T and Verizon Communications with MCI--were recently approved by the FCC. SBC will take the corporate name of AT&T. As a condition of the merger, the FCC is requiring SBC and Verizon to provide "naked" DSL service for two years. ( www.sbc.com ) ( www.att.com ) ( www.verizon.com ) ( www.mci.com )
Tandberg Television is acquiring GoldPocket Interactive for $78.5 million in cash and shares. ( www.tandbergtv.com ) ( www.goldpocket.com )
Alereon, a fabless semiconductor company developing wireless UWB solutions, closed $20 million in a Series B financing. ( www.alereon.com )
BelAir Networks, a metro Wi-Fi provider, completed a $20 million Series C financing led in part by Comcast Interactive Capital (CIC). CIC has joined the BelAir board to assist in addressing cable and service provider market opportunities. ( www.belairnetworks.com ) ( www.civentures.com )
Briefly Noted: Updates, Observations and Trends
Each month, we collect miscellaneous happenings, studies, trends or observations you might have missed. This month we feature interesting telecom happenings in the UK and the ultimate validation of Wi-Fi.
The UK: Speeding up, Mobile TV and A Mobile Phone With My Coke, Please
Announcements in the UK during October indicate that the speed bar is moving up to 8 Mbps. These include:
Meanwhile, Sky and Vodafone are launching the UK's first commercially available mobile TV service. It is called Sky Mobile TV and will have 19 channels, divided between two service packs. One pack will include news, sports and factual content (e.g., National Geographic and the History Channel); the other will focus on entertainment and music. The service is free to all Vodafone 3G customers until January 31, 2006 after which it will add £5 a month per service pack to their bills.
Separately, if you're in Manchester you may do a double take when that red vending machine turns out to dispense mobile phones and not Cokes. The kiosks are targeted to the city's student population and offer pre-pay SIM cards from £5 and a number of different pre-pay handsets, priced from £30 to £50. If successful, the trial may lead to future deployments in airports, train stations and motorway service stations.
It's Official: Wi-Fi Is Real
An article in Telecom Web noted that "Wi-Fi" has made it into the newly released 2005 update of Merriam-Websters Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition. If it is in the dictionary, it has really arrived! ( www.telecomweb.com )
WiMAX World: Rabbits, Gorillas, and More
When Google finds 11,500,000 English pages from a search, as it does for WiMAX, it's clear the subject is getting lots of attention. If anyone doubted it, the reality was reinforced by both the number of attendees at the recent WiMAX World conference--over 2600--and the level of enthusiasm they showed. Part of this is the WiMAX promotion machine in high gear, part the realization that broadband wireless might well be "The Next Big Thing."
Target: High Mobility/High Bandwidth
In his opening "State of the Industry" talk, conference co-chair Berge Ayvazian of the Yankee Group highlighted the mobile broadband "sweet spot"--both high bandwidth and high mobility. Often depicted as the upper right quadrant in a "speed versus mobility" chart (you've likely seen some version), it is the target most players are aiming at.
In discussing various groups of players on the WiMAX market positioning chart, Berge introduced a new name--"Rabbits"--for those companies who may not have much presence in broadband wireless today, but may be nimble and unpredictable enough to have a major impact. Google could be one of those players. Others going at the "upper right quadrant target" include municipalities, innovative challengers like Clearwire and some of today's established mobile operators.
A Piece of the Puzzle
Conference attendees who were not that familiar with WiMAX probably took away the message that "WiMAX is great and will be the next big thing". Those with deeper background may have heard the more nuanced message Berge and others tried to share: there are multiple solutions for broadband wireless and to a large extent they can be complementary and not competitive. Wi-Fi, WiMAX and 3G can all become part of an overall architecture and "the deficiencies of one are the advantages of another". One speaker characterized the approach as "always best connected" as have others before.
Beyond those possibilities for broadband wireless, we were reminded that WiMAX is not the only technology aiming at the "sweet spot". Companies like Qualcomm (which recently bought Flarion) and IPWireless with UMTS TDD have other solutions which have gained adoptions and are possible alternatives to WiMAX. Since this was a WiMAX conference, it was no surprise that conference speakers thought WiMAX would be one of the winning solutions if not the only possible solution.
Indeed, several speakers appeared to use "WiMAX" as a generic term for mobile broadband in the same way "kleenex" is often used as a generic term for "tissue." Many companies used to describe their technologies as "pre-WiMAX". We prefer to assume good intentions and credit them for carelessly dropping the "pre". A less kind interpretation is that some are trying to make their product sound like something it is not.
No Monopoly on Clever Techniques
In a session on the "Evolution of Mobile Wireless Broadband" Peter Rysavy pointed out that WiMAX has no monopoly on the use of clever techniques for increasing rate and range. Techniques like higher order modulation, adaptive coding, MIMO, smart antennas, channel equalization and "receive diversity", which are being incorporated into mobile WiMax, are equally applicable to evolved 3G.
One industry insider told us about a recent phone discussion about "3GPP LTE TDD". He later realized how bizarre that long string of alphabet soup terminology would sound to others, while neither he or his caller blinked in saying that phrase. (Translation: 3rd Generation Partnership Project, Long Term Evolution, Time Division Duplex.)
Which WiMAX? Fixed and Mobile
While many people talk about "WiMAX" as a single thing, there are really two distinct "flavors"--Fixed WiMAX and Mobile WiMAX--each with a distinct value proposition and in different stages of development. Fixed WiMAX is an alternative to DSL and cable modems, and is viewed by many as most appropriate for countries and markets with a weak wired infrastructure. Mobile WiMAX is often viewed as complementary to wired broadband, adding mobility for people away from work and home.
Fixed WiMAX is further along. It is based on the IEEE 802.16-2004 standard (also known as 802.16d). Several companies have produced chipsets, pre-certification products are on the market and some have been deployed. The first wave of interoperability certification is winding down and certified products are expected by year end. Vendors have just completed a plugfest in Beijing and should be ready for commercial rollouts by the start of 2006.
Mobile WiMAX is based on the later 802.16e standard, which is expecting ratification and formal publication by yearend. Chips and products are being developed, but commercial certified equipment will probably not be available until 2007 and may not reach volume production until 2008.
When we talk about certification, it is easy to believe that equipment is either certified or not. As Monica Paolini of Senza Fili Consulting pointed out in a paper distributed at the conference, "the reality is more complex. A product may be certified for only some of the functionality it supports." As an example, she points out that "WiMAX products certified in the first wave will not be certified for QoS." The bottom line is that the WiMAX Forum "is defining different system and certification profiles for classes of products that interoperate with each other..." Subsequent certification waves will include additional functionality.
Some vendors have consciously decided to skip certification for Fixed WiMAX and to put all of their development efforts into Mobile WiMAX products; Alcatel and Motorola are two examples.
Sophisticated Ecosystem Developing
One key to the success of a new technology is the development of a industry "ecosystem": a network of specialist companies developing expertise in complementary segments. A major goal of the WiMAX Forum was to develop a complete ecosystem for wireless broadband access, with specialist companies focused on driving down costs. One benefit of the high expectations around WiMAX is that this ecosystem is becoming highly developed.
Integrated Circuits--RF and Baseband
Many companies are developing WiMAX chipsets. Most specialize in the digital "baseband" portion of the standard, implementing the physical (PHY) and Media Access Control (MAC) layers. Fewer companies participate in the linear "RF" portion, which connects to the antenna(s) on one side and to the digital portion on the other. (The picture shows a Wavesat Wireless mini-PCI card. The RF portion is on the left and the baseband on the right; RF occupies more than half of the card space.)
To learn more about the RF portion, we met with Charles Harper (Executive Chairman) and Matt Pope (VP Sales and Marketing) of Sierra Monolithics. Sierra specializes in "RFICs" -- integrated circuit chips for RF (other players in this segment include RF Magic, SiGe Semiconductor and TI). Sierra supplies its Fixed WiMAX RFICs to many WiMAX vendors.
We asked where the dividing line falls between the RF and baseband chips, and Matt told us the interface is now analog--the conversion between analog and digital is on the baseband chips. He said baseband chip vendors would like to move the analog/digital conversion into the RF chip so their chips would be entirely digital--this would simplify their chip design and could improve system performance by better isolating noise. Since Sierra already makes other chips with integrated A/D and D/A conversion, he expects the next generation of Sierra WiMAX chips will include this too.
Because baseband chips are at the heart of WiMAX development, we spent considerable time meeting with WaveSat Wireless, Sequans, PicoChip and TeleCIS. The first three showed fixed WiMAX chipsets and reference designs at the show.
Frank Draper of Wavesat showed us a "dual radio" WiMAX/Wi-Fi access point based on their new Fixed WiMAX reference design. It includes two mini-PCI cards--one Wi-Fi and one WiMAX (WiMAX is the larger of the two cards in the picture). Frank said the Wi-Fi channel would be used to communicate with users and the WiMAX channel initially for backhaul -- but later as more users had WiMAX built into their PCs, the WiMAX channel could also be used for user communications.
Rupert Barnes, VP of Marketing at PicoChip, showed us their Fixed WiMAX reference design. Unlike most other chip companies, PicoChip specializes in software-based radios. Rupert said this board will support Fixed WiMAX today, and can be re-programmed to support Mobile WiMAX when needed later.
We talked with Dave Sumi of TeleCIS about the recent announcement of an agreement between ArrayComm and TeleCIS--another example of the cooperative relationships that are growing out of individual vendor areas of expertise. ArrayComm has extensive experience in smart antenna technology (and previously announced a similar arrangement with Intel). TeleCIS develops multi-protocol BWA chips. The joint development agreement will leverage each companys expertise to create products for Mobile WiMAX.
Then Theres WiBro
In a conference presentation, Dr. Joseph Ko of Korea Telecom discussed the status of the WiBro project. To clarify misunderstandings about the relationship between WiBro and WiMAX, he said "WiBro is the Korean version of mobile WiMAX" and is based on the same 802.16e standard. KT is working with Samsung Electronics; Samsung recently introduced a WiBro phone which will be part of KT's demonstration of the technology at the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Corporation IT summit and exhibition in Pusan, Korea. KT's demonstration will include numerous WiBro base stations and repeaters, and will show mobile hand-off capabilities. The carrier plans to launch commercial WiBro service in Seoul by April, 2006.
Although WiBro is intended for Korea, Samsung announced in September that it had agreed to test Wibro systems and devices jointly with Sprint-Nextel and provide a pilot service to carry out field tests and compatibility with Sprint data networks. Intel and Nortel also have an agreement for Korean cooperation--this one with LG Electronics on WiMAX-WiBro compatibility.
When Will We See Mobile WiMAX?
Fixed WiMAX is moving along quickly, and in 2006 we will see many deployments based on certified products. Mobile WiMAX is a different story. Although the standard is complete and will be published by yearend, the path to deployment is rather hazy.
The key issue is the profiles. A "profile" defines one specific implementation of a complex standard: what frequency bands are used, the channelization of those bands, the forms of modulation, etc. Interoperability certification is for a specific profile, not for the standard itself.
Unlike other IEEE standards, the Fixed WiMAX 802.16-2004 standard included a set of profiles. The new 802.16e standard does not include any profiles. This is a cause of great concern to some key members of the WiMAX technical community.
From discussions with many WiMAX insiders, we understand an intensive debate is under way about the appropriate profiles for Mobile WiMAX; one said he'd heard more then twenty profiles were under consideration. This is not taking place in the open through the IEEE standards process, but rather behind closed doors at the WiMAX Forum.
We also heard from many vendors that Mobile WiMAX and Fixed WiMAX are incompatible--base stations and client devices will only support one or the other. This is quite distressing and goes against the original plan for Mobile WiMAX. Several said some service providers felt they could come to market more quickly with profiles based partly on elements of Fixed WiMAX that don't appear in the Mobile WiMAX standard.
Why is this important? Having a different Fixed WiMAX profile in different places is not a serious problem--customers will typically use such a service in one building or in several places in one city.
But Mobile WiMAX is different -- by definition, customers are carrying devices around from city to city and from country to country. They would reasonably expect to be able to buy mobile devices that will work wherever to choose to go. We're hopeful the smart folks involved in WiMAX will find a way to fulfill this promise.
All this suggests that the development and certification schedules we heard for Mobile WiMAX were probably overly optimistic. While some say we'll see certified products by the end of 2006, we believe 2007 is more likely.
Although some conference speakers delivered the usual WiMAX hype, we heard reality creeping in with more nuanced discussions about the role of WiMAX. Our takeaways were:
For More Information
( www.google.com ) ( www.wimaxworld.com ) ( www.yankeegroup.com ) ( www.clearwire.com ) ( www.qualcomm.com ) ( www.flarion.com ) ( www.ipwireless.com ) ( www.rysavy.com ) ( www.senza-fili.com ) ( www.alcatel.com ) ( www.motorola.com ) ( www.wavesat.com ) ( www.monolithics.com ) ( www.rfmagic.com ) ( www.sige.com ) ( www.ti.com ) ( www.sequans.com ) ( www.picochip.com ) ( www.telecis.com ) ( www.arraycomm.com ) ( www.intel.com ) ( www.kt.co.kr/kthome/eng/index.jsp ) ( www.samsung.com )
Managing the Triple Play - An Interview with Netopia
Telephone companies worldwide are deploying the "triple play": voice, data and video services for the home. As they move to IPTV, they need to manage many types of devices in the home--residential gateways and set-top boxes today, more tomorrow. Some are starting to deploy standards-based systems to support consumer networks.
Over the past few years, the DSL Forum has released a series of specifications for many elements of advanced broadband networks--we covered some of those last year in DSL Forum -- New Specs to Beat Cable (BBHR 9/15/2004). At the time, we asked how quickly telcos would embrace a standards-based approach.
A few weeks ago, we heard that BellSouth had licensed the NBBS server software platform from Netopia to manage its broadband CPE. To learn more about how telcos will manage the triple play, we set up a phone call with Netopia's Jeff Porter (VP of product marketing) and Jim Holden (CTO).
Netopia is one of several companies providing both residential gateways and central servers conforming with the DSL Forum's TR-069 specification, which creates a framework for centralized provisioning and management of consumer CPE. Netopia is using this framework to build a growing suite of management applications to improve operational efficiency and add revenue for service providers.
Managing the Network With TR-069
As we discussed in our earlier article, DSL Forum specification TR-068: Dual Port ADSL Router (DSL Gateway) (recently updated to version 2) defines a residential gateway device "down to the location, labeling and color of the front panel lights and the color of the ports on the rear."
A complementary specification TR-069: CPE WAN Management Protocol (May 2004) defines the protocols for communications between a centralized Auto-Configuration Server (ACS) and the home CPE. It also defines both required and optional parameters for the residential gateway, and provides for extension to other devices in the home.
TR-069 does not specify how the server uses these parameters to automate configuration and management of the CPE. Individual vendors can create ACS applications on top of the specification, with the assurance that different vendor's CPE will respond in the same way.
Reducing Costs, Increasing Revenue
The Netopia Broadband Server (NBBS) is an example of a TR-069-compliant ACS. Its core is the Broadband Server Platform; around the core, Netopia provides a growing suite of applications for broadband service providers.
Three of these applications help broadband service providers control their operating expenses:
Three more applications are designed to increase service provider revenue:
Jeff and Jim told us that "EMS and Zero Touch are completely agnostic to CPE", supporting other vendor's equipment as well as Netopia's. The other applications require "an agent on the gateway" and they said Netopia would license their agent for use in other vendor's equipment.
They said the Hot Spot application has a "venue centric view"--it's intended for individual venues, not for Metro Wi-Fi. Netopia sees hot spots as a "venue amenity" rather than a revenue generator. As an example, a restaurant pays a monthly fee to a service provider and can decide whether to provide the hot spot for free "or only for customers who buy two pizzas."
VoIP Devices, Settop Boxes and Smart Refrigerators
Residential gateways already support a wide variety of networking technologies: Ethernet, Wi-Fi, existing phonelines, power lines and coaxial cable. Many devices will connect to these networks: PCs, game consoles and digital set-top boxes today, VoIP devices and many more tomorrow. The service provider needs to support these devices -- certainly those it provides and possibly also those purchased by the end user.
TR-069 provides a standards-based approach for remote device management. In September, DSL Forum released several further specifications based on TR-069, including TR-104 Provisioning Parameters for VoIP CPE for networked VoIP devices in the home. IPTV set-top boxes will use TR-069.
Netopia said TR-069 could be extended to other devices in the home without adding much cost. "TR069 puts remote device management out into devices connected behind the gateway. We could put a a 10K chip into a smart Amana refrigerator" so the service provider could manage it remotely.
Moving the Telcos "Maginot Line" Inside the Home
TR-069 makes it possible for service providers like BellSouth to assume an important role in supporting customer CPE, which they are de facto doing anyway. Taking it on formally could result in new revenue and/or reduced expense.
In the old telco mentality, there was a firm demarcation point and anything beyond it was the customer's responsibility. In today's world, when a customer calls to report a DSL problem, it may in fact really be a failure in the customer-provided hardware or software. With TR-069 in place throughout the home network, the service provider will have tools to isolate the fault and also the capability to download or reset parameters in the associated software.
Testing Interoperability
It's one thing to write specifications, quite another to prove interoperability between products from different vendors. CableLabs long ago recognized that it would have to provide the testing and certification of devices built to its published specifications, and has done so very successfully for the cable industry. Although DSL Forum does not have a charter to provide certification, it does sponsor interoperability events.
Last month, seventeen vendors participated in the first DSL Forum TR-069 Interoperability Test Event, held at the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Lab. Participants conducted a "plugfest" connecting together a wide variety of ACS servers, gateways, routers and VoIP devices. Short of formal certification testing, this is a time-honored way to shake out the bugs between various vendor's interpretations of specs. The many participants--including equipment vendors (2Wire, Alcatel, Cisco, Netgear, Netopia) and chip companies (Broadcom, Conexant, TI)--indicate that TR-069 is catching on fast.
For More Information
( www.dslforum.org ) ( www.netopia.com ) ( www.cablelabs.com ) ( www.2wire.com )
Raising the Bar: Sprint and Cable Ops Make A Big Deal
Way back in the early 2000s, every service provider was after the triple play. But Internet time moves fast, and once again the bar has been raised. After months of speculation as to what would come out of the cable companies' quest to add wireless services to their bundle, the other shoe dropped. On November 2nd, Sprint Nextel, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications and Advance/Newhouse Communications announced they will form a joint venture "that will accelerate the convergence of video entertainment, wireline and wireless data and communications products and services to the approximately 41 million customers currently served by four of the country's largest cable companies as well as to Sprint's nearly 46 million wireless subscribers."
This is the next salvo in the intense competition between telephone companies like Verizon and SBC and cable operators like those in this JV. With cable operators all actively offering telephone service, the race is on to see how well the telcos will deliver video services and how fast and cohesively cable operators can mesh wireless services into the fabric of their business and their offerings. The customer is the one who should benefit and who will vote with their dollars on who wins.
The venture has high aspirations. The goal is not simply to "staple wireless onto the triple play" but instead to create truly converged services. The initial $200 million funding for the JV (half from Sprint and half from the cable companies) will be used to specify next generation wireless phones, provide the integrated cable and wireless services that run on them, and the back office functions that support them.
"Customers using the converged services will be able to seamlessly interface between email, home and mobile voicemail, Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) and photo programs" letting customers do things such as remotely programming their home DVRs from their mobile phone, having a single voice mailbox for both home and away, accessing unique video content and having email on their mobiles that uses their cable high-speed Internet account.
During the media introduction and demo, Time Warner Chairman Glenn Britt pointed out that cable is fundamentally a local business. Britt expects other cable companies will likely join this cooperative venture and eventually create a national quilt that covers the US with converged services.
However, this does not mean one umbrella organization will create and price services across all the companies. The JV will create a platform and a common look and feel across the wireless components of the service, but each cable company has its own specific services, prices and relationship with Sprint (in addition to the combined relationship). "In each market, the price of the integrated offering will be agreed to by Sprint and the cable company serving that market. Each cable company will be responsible for billing customers and for customer service in its territory for the converged offering."
Given the difficult history of the cable companies in creating @Home as a centralized, separate organization that was in the center of delivering high speed cable data services, we read the statements as saying "we've learned our lessons and aren't repeating our mistakes."
What Sprint Nextel gets out of the deal is access to the extensive network of last-mile facilities. According to Sprint President and CEO, Gary Forsee, "Our cable partners will look to us for long distance and voice over IP and we will look to them first for local access services." Sprint will keep the wireless revenue while cable operators will receive the revenue from the voice, video and data services they offer to customers.
While the JV is a vote of support for Sprint's current Power Vision EV-DO platform, the announcement made clear that the five companies have agreed to work together to explore potential next generation wireless technology business plans, potentially using Sprint's 2.5 GHz spectrum. WiMAX could play a big role. Sprint is a principal member of the WiMAX Forum and is on its board. Sprint has announced various joint efforts involving WiMAX with Intel, Motorola and Samsung and has been publicly supportive of WiMAX, in statements like the following by VP Oliver Valente: "...WiMAX is complementary to Sprints high-speed communications portfolio, and we are looking at WiMAX solutions for a number of future applications.
But WiMAX is hardly a slam dunk. Last year, Nextel conducted a trial with Flarion. Before the merger, it announced an upcoming trial with IPWireless and Sprint Nextel just joined the UMTS TDD Alliance which backs the IPWireless technology.
Whatever Sprint Nextel does will have a large impact on the US broadband wireless industry. Sprint undoubtedly has lots of vendors holding their breath until decisions are made as to what technology will be deployed to take advantage of their 2.5 GHZ spectrum.
( www.sprint.com ) ( www.comcast.com ) ( www.timewarnercable.com ) ( www.cox.com ) ( www.verizon.com ) ( www.sbc.com ) ( www.wimaxforum.org ) ( www.intel.com ) ( www.motorola.com ) ( www.samsung.com ) ( www.flarion.com ) ( www.ipwireless.com ) ( www.umtstdd.org )
Post script: Just as we were going to press, we read a Wall Street Journal article indicating that Yahoo is planning to introduce a cellphone sold through a partnership with SBC Communications. The report indicates that the phone will take a step toward linking mobile music, photos and email with consumers' existing online accounts, address books and preferences. It will operate over the Cingular Wireless Network, which is co-owned by SBC and BellSouth.
Everyone is working to integrate services on the mobile phone: the "third screen".
( www.wsj.com ) ( www.yahoo.com ) ( www.sbc.com ) ( www.cingular.com ) ( www.bellsouth.com )
Upcoming Conferences
If IPTV and entertainment are on your radar screen, the coming month will be a good time to immerse yourself in IPTV plus the content, services and home products that will be finding their way into more and more living rooms. One conference starts later this week and two more sound interesting to us.
We are on our way to Telco TV in San Diego and will report on some of what we see there in next month's issue. Please look us up if you're there. ( www.shorecliffcommunications.com/telcotv05/ )
IPTV Asia Forum
If you're interested in IPTV and can be in Hong Kong toward the end of November, put IPTV Asia Forum on your calendar for November 28-29. You'll hear about the current state of the Asian IPTV market as well as business opportunities, technologies and products. ( www.iptv-asia.net )
Digital Living Room
Digital Living Room appropriately calls itself the place where Silicon Valley and Hollywood intersect. If you are following the technologies and services that are transforming the living room into a digital hub, set aside December 5-6, 2005 in Foster City for this event. ( www.digitallivingroom.com )
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subset: commoncrawl


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ONEONTA, Ala. – A judge has ruled that a young Alabama wife must testify against her husband, a former high school teacher who's being charged because of their relationship.
Al.com (http://bit.ly/1SWswuG ) reports Judge Dennis E. Odell ruled in a Blount County courtroom Monday that the teenage woman isn't protected by spousal privilege, saying such a privilege doesn't exist in cases where one spouse is the victim of the other.
Thirty-eight-year-old Matthew Shane Wester, a former Cleveland High School math teacher, was indicted in January 2015 on one count of a school employee having sexual contact with a student under the age of 19. Five months later, Wester married the 18-year-old student. The Associated Press generally doesn't name alleged victims of sexual crimes.
The case is set to go to trial next week.


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I am considerably more sceptical about the effects of formal politics on this country's social and cultural life than the vast majority of modern British historians. Politically I was an anarchist (as in the radical labour tradition rather than the Sex Pistols aesthetic) before I was an academic and usually take my cues from the idea that at most the fortunes of political parties only reflect and reinforce what is already happening in our everyday lives.
Hence I would defend the idea that the most radical periods of government-driven change in the 20th Century (1906–1914, 1945 -1951, 1979–1991) were the product of broader social and economic forces. The governments in those periods were for the most part managing changes that were largely inevitable and would in any case have happened in one form or another under their opponents. If it seems, at times, that radical reforming governments (Attlee's, Thatcher's) have changed history, opposed by implacable enemies on the benches opposite, this is largely, I would argue, illusory. When we look at the details we discover their opponents largely accepting the same frameworks, addressing the same problems and inevitably producing similar solutions. We find shadows of Churchill the welfare statist lurking in 1945 and hints of Callaghan the monetarist in 1979. And in any case, even their relatively minor attempts to swim against the tide of social and economic forces saw them both swept away in landslides. When change is coming, no electoral campaign is good enough, no campaign manager quick-witted enough.
In between these moments political parties *almost* might as well not exist. They take turns managing, they decide some marginal issues (margins that are not always to be sniffed at, but margins they are), but the destination is the same, determined by forces both too big (economic) and too small (social and cultural) to control. It is no use asking what life would be like if John Smith had lived or if Foot had won in 1983. Both would either have bent to the prevailing forces swirling around them or they would have been broken. As it happens Blair did not need to bend. Blair's long-held convictions - economically liberal, culturally liberal, socially authoritarian — fit perfectly with managing the state and society as it already was. Hence Blair became to Thatcher what Churchill became to Attlee in 1951, a perpetuator of their predecessors' new status quo.
So it's in the context of this that I understand ideas of "electability". To be "electable" as I understand it is essentially to have an appropriate programme for the period of history which you are living through. In most cases this means agreeing to continue running the state largely as it is currently being run. In two 20th Century elections it meant agreeing to dramatically change the way the state and society functioned, so that the state might resolve a particular crisis (post-1973 stagflation for Thatcher, the need to restore state infrastructure and social stability post-war in 1945).
In both cases, actively seeking "electability" is ultimately a pointless act. In "stability" elections, "electability" inevitably means repetition. You're managing the same state, appealing to the same electorate, subject to the same economic, social and cultural forces. Your answers will largely be the same and your party is in effect redundant as anything other than a carrier of political aspirations and identity.
In the second case your policies will not appear to most politically-experienced people to be "electable". You will be characterised (as Thatcher and Attlee were) as a political outsider, advised to take a more moderate course, told it is unlikely that you will ever appeal to the majority of the public. It is unlikely that the wider political elite will perceive the shift in prevailing conditions until quite late in the process, with orthodoxy becoming hard-wired after years of offering (now-redundant) expertise.
Which brings us nicely to the currently floundering Parliamentary Labour Party, presently proffering its own expertise on winning elections. It is safe to say that since 2008 the social, economic and political conditions that produced most of the present intake (in terms of their political formation) have been utterly transformed. It seems likely that we are living in a period during which "electability" (policies appropriate to the political period in which you live) is changing, as the centrifuge that is globalisation clicks up a couple of gears and rattles along, merrily flinging out bits and pieces of Europe's old social democratic parties across our political landscape.
What does electability mean now for the leader of one of these parties? I don't think anyone really knows. Certainly the Labour MPs currently mounting a coup in its name don't seem to have much of an idea. Some, like Tristram Hunt, seem to be under the impression that restoring the party's hegemonic position can be achieved by offering a warm "One Nation" response to the rising tide of English patriotism, a tendency echoed by his soft left colleague Owen Smith just yesterday in his call for "progressive" immigration controls in order to win over the supposedly UKIP-flirting alienated Northern (white) working class. Prior to that the right's candidate for leader, Liz Kendall, had led the charge on assembling policies aimed at winning over "aspirational" swing voters in more affluent areas, who apparently got bored of listening to Labour go on about the economic problems of the party's "heartlands".
There are rather obvious contradictions contained in these three affirmations. The "heartlands" that the Kendall's swing voters don't care about are the same ones that Smith claims he wants to help with his border controls, and their diverse economic priorities both shoot holes in Hunt's one nation project, which itself has a four nations problem. Meanwhile, all three of these plans alienate that other potential component of a winning Labour coalition — that is the left-leaning and socially liberal populations of Britain's large cities and university towns — who are also more than capable of wandering off if the party takes them for granted.
Regardless of the overall popularity of the politics espoused by Labour's different factions (including Corbyn's), it seems unlikely that this unwieldy coalition can be stitched back together very easily. It seems especially unlikely, given the increasing speed with which global forces post-crash have ripped similar parties asunder, that unity across these categories could possibly be achieved by returning to something approaching the status quo ante — that is, the restoration of the party to a conventional "managing the state as it is" model. Especially when we consider that it was under this style of leadership (Blair) that the threads first started to fray, a process that continued under its soft-left alter-ego (in the form of Brown and Miliband).
Corbynism has its own problems, some self-inflicted (their widely criticised external communications, their refusal to downplay their least popular foreign policy interests, their inability to energise or mobilise their base for anything other than defence of the leader), some structural (ie. the unpopularity that comes from refusing to participate in the kind of nationalism that remains, sadly, dominant in public life in Britain). I suspect though that a relentless focus on left-wing economic policies is just about the only thing that actually could unite all the different groups they're trying to marry together, if only on the basis that they might all have something to gain from them. In that respect, the incumbent Labour leader is probably closer than his rivals to generating something that could translate into an "electable" project of the left for the current state of endless political dislocation.
Closer, but still I suspect, miles away. For at present, the absolute favourite, miles ahead of the pack, is a project of protectionist nationalism led from the populist right. Something that draws together the shared resentments of middle and de-industrialised England against liberal metropolitan England, just as the EU referendum evidently just did. It is this leading the charge to be what Thatcher was to 1979 and what Labour were to 1945. As the macro-economic and geo-political fire blazes away, fuelling social inequalities, throwing populations into flux, leaving communities abandoned, vulnerable, the micro-social simmers alongside, as friends, acquaintances, family members, activists, politicians and journalists slowly, imperceptibly shift people's ideas about themselves, their neighbours and their world, one conversation at a time. The process that produces social and cultural change, the process that may be forging right at this moment that potential coalition.
Except, and this is the exception to my political party nihilism, except, if that process goes another way. When these grand political changes come there is no one road. The crisis is the crisis and needs to be solved. But which answer triumphs is not pre-determined. The macro-economic fire rages, the micro-social pot simmers, but we all contribute to what happens inside it and thus determine how it comes out.
In the 1970s the (neo-)liberal economists, the far right, the papers, the Tory right, the pub bores, the declinist writers, Jim Callaghan, the trade union leaders, they all contributed to making Thatcherite economics triumphant. They built the frameworks and formed the questions that her movement used. There were, in that period between 1973 and 1979, other forces, creating other frameworks, answering their own questions. And if there is to be a solution other than nationalist protectionism then it means similar, but opposing forces, need again to dispute the frameworks and assumptions that are building this new consensus (and to win this time).
The idea that the movement of human beings across borders is the special force deconstructing our society. That "protecting our own" will save 'us' from anything, that "they", "the other" should be excluded so that we might prosper. Challenging that, proposing other exits in everyday encounters, from the private to the most public, we contribute to the outcome. These interactions will forge our new social norms. They are the responsibility of all of us and do not depend on what happens within the Palace of Westminster. The real project is always in our workplaces and in our communities. But it would be foolish to pretend that they are left untouched by some of the loudest voices amongst us: national politicians. In that regard, I have to accept (with great reluctance!) that the return of Labour to its conventional voice and acceptance of conventional frameworks on class, race, nation and economics, would, for me, be an unwelcome development, and an advance for that other ominous project that we know to be under way.


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Will Victoria Beckham Change Her Mind On The Reunion? Emma Hopes So!
Emma Bunton Talks The Spice Girls Reunion And The Lion Guard | This Morning
Posh Spice has previously ruled herself out but Emma Bunton is still holding out hope...
Emma Bunton is hoping that Victoria Beckham will "change her mind" about an upcoming Spice Girls reunion.
The Heart presenter appeared on This Morning where she claimed that all might not be lost as the fashion designer might eventually come round to the idea like she did for their 2007 tour and their appearance at the 2012 London Olympic games.
Emma also revealed that she spoke to Victoria's husband David, who she claims supported the idea of the singer making a musical comeback.
Discussing Posh Spice's reasons for not returning, Emma confessed on This Morning: "For a long time she has wished us the best.
"I was talking to her at David's birthday party and he said,"You've got to do something". Maybe she will change her mind, she does that, who knows."
The comments come after it was announced that Emma Bunton, Geri Horner and Melanie Brown were planning to reunite as a threesome under the pseudonym GEM, after both Victoria and Mel C decided not to take part.
News emerged last month that the threesome have ALREADY been hitting the studio.
Clearly wasting no time when it comes to getting their new content up and out, rumours of the beautiful-sounding leaked lyrics began circulating and reportedly contained the words:
"Wipe up your tears of doubt, you've been crying lift up your dreams feels like you're flying, kids are laughing it's four in the morning, it's four in the morning, can't help smiling…"
However, Emma herself was quick to point out that: "It's not a single. The girls just love having a laugh in the studio and creating…"
Personally we're hoping that the new tune has a 'Spice Girls' feel to it and that it reminds us of the chart-topping girl band music we LOVED in the 90s.
The Spice Girls Have Some BIG News For Fans On 20th Anniversary Of 'Wannabe'!
After months of speculation the Spice Girls have dropped their BIGGEST hint yet that they might be making a comeback, however the potential line-up is looking a little different from what you might remember.
It looks like former Spice Girl members Emma Bunton, Mel B and Geri Horner have decided to soldier ahead with a reunion WITHOUT Mel C and Victoria Beckham.
The potential newly formed trio took to Youtube to announce the news and revealed that they will now be referring to themselves as GEM, an acronym of their first names.
Credit: Youtube/Vevo
Fans will surely be shocked by the news, as they had previously been hoping that all five members of the iconic pop group would return to celebrate their 20th anniversary this year.
However Emma, Mel and Geri praised fans for their loyalty over the years and promised their return - if there is one - would not disappoint.
With the instrumental from their 1996 hit debut single Wannabe playing in the background, Mel B is first to pop up on screen, saying: "We've been thinking... We have the best fans in the entire world."
"You've stood by us for 20 years, and we wanna say a big thank you," adds Geri.
Credit: Youtube/Vevo
The trio then began to drop some major hints that they have something up their sleeves, as they teased a possible concert.
Heart's Emma, who was famously given the nickname Baby Spice, added: "We've had our ups and downs, but you've always been there."
Mel B continued: "And we wanna celebrate and have a party. And when we do..."
"You're all invited!" the three singers yell with excitement as the clip comes to a close.
Credit: Youtube/Vevo
Keen to leave the fans wanting more, the split screen of the stars fades out before a message appears saying: '"Happy 20th birthday to all our fans. This is a celebration for you!
"We hope to tell you soon what you want. What you really really want. #Wannabe."
So what are they planning? A tour, a one-off gig? an album? Who knows!
For now, it seems that fans are losing their minds over the news with many taking to Twitter to express their shock.
If this Spice Girls tour actually happens I'm 100% going even if I have to sit in Hyde Park by myself— hattie ward (@hattiewardd) July 8, 2016
Watching the 20years of the spice girls with a cuppa feeling incredibly old— Em (@misscumberlin29) July 8, 2016
Not sure how I'm feeling about #SpiceGirlsGEM tho... #SpiceGirls #Spice20 #SpiceGirlsReunion— Ry.i.am (@star_boi) July 8, 2016
if you wanna be my lovaaa you gotta get wit my friends #Wannabe #SpiceGirls #RezGirls #Lol— Georgia (@MissMayStar12) July 8, 2016
We'll be on the edge of our seats waiting in anticipation. We can't wait to see what's next!


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YORKTOWN, N.Y. – Yorktown school officials have given their version of events in response to a 14-year-old high school girl's lawsuit challenging of her suspension for marijuana possession.
Yorktown Central School District administrators submitted their side of the story to the court Monday, a version that defended the three-month suspension. They said the student was not singled out or treated unfairly.
In her lawsuit , the freshman – referred to as "A.S." – allegedly admitted having a marijuana cigarette on campus at a Dec. 21, 2012 "movie night." On Jan. 9, she was subject to a disciplinary hearing to determine the severity of her punishment.
However, the student and her mother – referred to as "J.S." in the lawsuit – waived their right to a hearing and signed an agreement that A.S. would be suspended for one year but return April 15 on a probationary basis. Rebecca Valk, an attorney for the district, disputes the claim that they were "coerced" into signing the agreement.
"At no time were J.G. or A.S. coerced into accepting the waiver," Valk wrote in an affidavit. "Rather, they were advised of their options to accept the waiver or proceed with a hearing."
The affidavit also maintains that the girl's mother was properly informed about the disciplinary process and was not mislead into believing the suspension would last only five days, as the lawsuit contends.
The mother also argues her daughter was an honor roll student and that a three-month suspension was "unreasonable" for someone with no disciplinary history. Valk acknowledged that the student had a clean record and said that was why she offered the waiver and received a penalty on the "low end."
"[Principal Joseph] Degenarro, [Assistant Principal Randall] Glading and I all maintained that it was within the range of penalties given by the Yorktown Central School District for this type of infraction, that the possession of a drug on school property is quite serious, and that the school authorities had considered A.S.'s lack of disciplinary history in determining the appropriate penalty," Valk wrote.
The mother is seeking unspecified damages for emotional distress, medical counseling bills, punitive damages and attorneys fees. The lawsuit also requests that the school district expunge the student's records and allow her to return to Yorktown High School.
The district is requesting the case be dismissed.
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There are so many wonderful things about watching a movie! Out of all these, the escapism they provide is definitely one of the best parts. Watching a good film is like entering a whole new world – A world without any stress, difficulties or hardships. It is, therefore, no surprise that most movies aren't realistic. After all, who wants to pay to see the same mundane scenarios, right?
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Hello darlings!
Come and join the Lindy's 2018 DT Welcome Hop.
I'm so happy to invite you to join our first Hop and can't wait to introduce you to all the new DT members!!!
To join the hop, please visit all the Designers blogs and leave a little love, (it's such a big team that we are giving you a few days to do this) you might also want to check out their Facebook and Instagram accounts for a peek at some fabulous art.
On Day ONE of the hop, Lindy's will introduce the new Ambassadors, on Day TWO Lindy's will introduce the Video Designers and on Day Three Lindy's will introduce the new Photo Designers!
These are some of the projects I have created using beautiful products from Lindy's ...
Hop starts on 2nd January 2018 and finishes at midnight 6th January.
Please visit each team member's Facebook, blog and Instagram to see their amazing art and leave a little love to welcome them to the Lindy's Gang!
Go into the PRIZE draws by:
- FOLLOW Lindy's Instagram and leave a comment on the hop post
- JOIN Lindy's Creative Gang Gang and leave a comment on the hop post
- COMMENT on the Lindy's welcome blog post ( https://lindysgang.blog/2018/01/02/day-1-2018-design-team-welcome-hop) and on each of the DT member's blogs.
Prizes will be drawn randomly and include:
- 1 x $50 Lindy's Gift Voucher for a lucky Instagram follower
- 1 x $50 Lindy's Gift Voucher for a lucky FaceBook follower
- 2 x $25 Lindy's Gift Vouchers for two lucky Blog followers
Prize winners will be announced on the 9th Jan!!!!!
Hop Order
Start @ Lindy's Blog: https://lindysgang.blog/2018/01/02/day-1-2018-design-team-welcome-hop/
Day One: Lindy's Ambassadors
Our Ambassadors are our CHEER SQUAD you can take an in-person class with any of our amazing Ambassadors, please contact them for details:
- Aga Baraniak (Poland): http://agabaraniak.com/en/
- Natalie May (Australia): http://www.happydaks.blogspot.com/
- Phoebe Tonosaki (Japan): http://tonosakiphoebe.blogspot.jp/
- Yulianna Eframova (Russia): http://www.yulianna.pro/
Day Two: Video Design Team
Our Video Designers are our TEACHERS and will be giving you all mini-classes online, one project at a time:
- Aleksandra Mihelič: http://papermade-fairytale.blogspot.si/...
- Elena Martynova: http://blogmadevselenaya.blogspot.ru/...
- Kasia Bogatko-Skoczypiec: www.kasiabogatko.com
- Marta Turska-Grochocka: http://ja-majka.blogspot.com/
- Nirvana: http://scrapuleuxmonde.blogspot.fr/
- Olga Bielska: http://exploding-box.blogspot.com/
- Sivan Amedi: http://mylittlecraftystudio.blogspot.com.au/...
- Valerie Ouellet: http://leblogdevall04.blogspot.ca/
Day Three: Photo Design Team
Our Photo Designers are our INSPIRATION and they will be showing you how beautiful Lindy's look and inspiring you to create:
- Anat Weksler: http://www.anatechocolate.blogspot.co.il/...
- Asia Marquet: http://www.lemoncreation.com/
- Caroline Elliam: www.creationselliam.blogspot.ca
- Cindy Wille: http://www.cinscreations.com/
- Kerry Fellowes: http://whichcraftdoyoudo.blogspot.com.au/...
- Mel KD: https://andmelicious.wordpress.com/
- Olga Ravenskaya: http://olgaravenskaya.blogspot.ru/
- Pascale B. Scrap: http://pbhobby.blogspot.com/
FINISH @ Lindy's Creative Gang: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Lin...
Thanks for stopping by xoxo


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Would this age old occurrence require advance photo recovery?
My system crashed and I restored my operating system to factory condition. In doing this I was only able or chose to recover some photos; now I want them all back. Would this require advance photo recovery, what must I do?


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Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Hi, reader
I know my two readers are dying to hear my thoughts on every subject, so I will strive to get back on track. Next week starts a new diet, so I'll need a new hobby outside of food. I pick blogging, so thank your lucky stars! You'll hear more from me soon!
And now, here are songs that have been in my head inexplicably since I woke up this morning:
(Yeah, I know... quite the combo)
Monday, April 27, 2009
Submitted without comment
Thursday, April 16, 2009
I've said it once...
Well reasoned and rational discourse from the religious community. Refreshing!
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Inside all of us...
As I have stated many times in my life, bathroom humor will make me laugh every single time. I don't really care what that says about me, I just know that I can count on it.
Monday, April 6, 2009
All I know, All I owe, I owe Ioway
From the Iowa State Senate:
Friday, April 3, 2009
Hi Friends in IL-5 Congressional District!
I respect your right to vote for whom you please, but you should know that I have some really strong objections to Pulido. While I am not shy about having a liberal point of view, I think it's imperative for this country to have a reasoned voice of dissent in government. It's always important for the majority to be called to task by the minority for purposes of accountability and transparency.
That being said, I don't think Pulido offers that to the Republican ticket. She beat candidates who may have actually brought something to the table during this race. Why? Because people were complacent and fell into the mantra that there's no way to defeat the machine in Chicago. By not taking part in the process, they allow this woman to represent the Republican ticket and further drain any paitence the public has with listening to those presently in the minority.
I'll end with words from individuals retracting their orignal endorcements of Pulido:
John Curry - 32nd Ward Repulican Organization
"I wish to report to Republicans in the 32nd Ward and in the 5th Congressional District that I do not endorse Rosanna Pulido. Since the primary election and more particularly over the last two weeks, I have become aware of extremely disturbing information relating to Ms. Pulido. That information can be summarized as follows:
Pulido has an established relationship with another political party, America's Independent Party.
Pulido has not dispelled concerns that she is running as a "Trojan Horse" candidate, one who exploits the name of the Republican Party to her personal advantage only to promote a non-Republican or anti-Republican, fringe agenda.
Pulido is on record as making groundless and reprehensible remarks, unworthy of a good citizen, disparaging the Cardinal of the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, gays, Mexicans, African Americans, and others.
Moon Khan- York Township Trustee
In the tradition of Islamic forgiveness, while I still believe in pardoning you for pronouncing some hateful remarks against Muslims, assuming it might have happened in a moment of rage and ignorance, the continuous revelations of plethora of your provocative statements, which were completely unknown to me until a few days ago, delineate a disturbing mindset.
Several community organizations that include Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights, Council of American-Islamic Relations, Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago, Jewish Council of Urban Affairs, Priests for Justice for Immigrants, and other civic organizations and friends of mine, whose judgments I highly respect, have been referring to clippings of your quotes, published on blogs under the pseudonym of Chicagolady, demonstrate that while advocating your viewpoints you frequently transgressed the boundary of robust discussion and veered off to demonize and dehumanize the groups you wanted to oppose.
Considering this transgression, which is antithetical to one of the core values and attributes of a leader, I experience deep anguish in continuing my endorsement, which I extended to you earlier without the knowledge of the newly revealed testimonials of yours.
As such, I withdraw my endorsement for you for the Illinois' 5th Congressional District seat and request you to remove the endorsement text and my picture off your website.
Take care,
Moon Khan
York Township Trustee
Asian American Liaison of DuPage County Republican Party
(via Rosanna Pulida is a Freeper and Progress Illinois)


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Gisele Bündchen recently launched her range of luxury lingerie- and who modelled it? Well, there was no need to contract it out.
We can't think of a more striking way for Gisele to show off her new undies than by modelling it herself.
The supermodel launched the latest pieces in her Gisele Bündchen Intimates range at a Sao Paulo shopping centre in Brazil on June 16, showing off printed silk joggers and a sheer vest, over a signature bra- all form her collection.
Gisele models her entire range herself on her Giselle Intimates site, showing the luxury bra and knickers sets, body suits and separates.
Nino Muñoz took the shots of the 2 time mum in April – just 4 months after the birth of her daughter Vivian Lake.


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Around Town
Get started with Cappex to compare the Eckerd College weather with your hometown!Create an account now!
Go for a swim and enjoy everything given to you.Read More
Go to South beach or check out Kappa Field. There are always events during the week and plenty of people to meet.Read More
You can lay out on Kappa field and watch shooting stars, play beach volleyball, enjoy various activities/sports at the waterfront, hangout on the beach by Kappa field, and just chill with friends!Read More
There are so many things to do for Fun. Eckerd College has a Waterfront where you can rent (student do not pay) paddle boards and kayaks, you can go to camping trips or just go for a swim. We have our own private beach where you can relax by reading a book or tan. There are more than 100 clubs that you can be part of and different school organizations will have activities ready for the week and weekends. We have our own concert where last year they brought T-Pain!Read More
Here's a list: kappa field, south beach, water activities at the waterfront (paddle board, wake board, swimming, etc.), pool on campus, down town St. Pete, the Undertow, Tampa is close by, Tampa music fest (Sunset Music Festival), and then you can always find a local with a boat.Read More
Since Eckerd College has their own beach you can sit out in the sun and relax or have fun with your friends.Read More
Go to the beach.Read More
Eckerd College has various opportunities at every turn of every day. Eckerd College has everything you need to learn in paradise. South Beach is equipped with chairs, hammocks, and plenty of field space to play sports or lounge about in the Florida sun! The Waterfront at Eckerd College offers various watersport activities. Eckerd College has boats, tents, and kayaks for rent to students. They also have a very accomplished sailing team! The Palmetto Productions committee plans various events throughout the entire year such as Spring Ball and Pitchers with Professors. Each event is an opportunity to bond with classmates and have fun, on or off campus. Any student can join or start a club of their choice. The possibilities and opportunities for fun and community at Eckerd College are endless!Read More
Water sports, cultural events, sports team and tons of clubs.Read More
Since we are right on Boga Ciega Bay we have a waterfront program where you can rent out kayaks, and paddle boards and take them into the bay! We have tons of dolphins and manatees that live and swim right in the bay as well! We are also 40 minutes from Tampa so there are many things to do in the city!Read More


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Castlecomer Union Pew News & Prayer Diary 9 July 2017: 4th after Trinity liturgical colour ??? Green
|Posted on July 8, 2017 at 12:35 PM
Please remember to maintain Holy Silence both before and after the service to allow others to pray quietly before the Lord
+ Monday 10
'Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.' Matthew 10.34
Reflection Christ does not, of course, want his followers going around attacking people with swords. But neither does he want them to back down in the face of every challenge for the sake of a quiet life. His Good News is not easy for every ear to hear – but that doesn't mean we must stop talking.
+Tuesday 11
'But I tell you that on the day of judgement it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than for you.' Matthew 11. 24
Reflection Sodom was notorious in Scripture for its decadent living; and great was its fall. But its punishment will seem mild to that in store for those who respond to all that God does for them with contempt and ingratitude.
+Wednesday 12
Jesus said, 'I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants.' Matthew 11.25
Reflection: Humility is the key to true wisdom. For those who think themselves wise often reject God's law; but those who are humble are grateful for what he teaches and so may enter into the eternal life that others fail to achieve.
+Thursday 13
'Come to me, all you that are weary and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' Matthew 11.28
Reflection Such famous words. And what true wisdom; for where else are we to find rest from all the troubles of this life other than in the one who created and sustains us?
+Friday 14 (day of discipline and self-denial)
'For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.' Matthew 12.8
Reflection: Christ told the Pharisees he was Lord of the Sabbath; and indeed he is. But his dismissal of the petty and arbitrary rules that they imposed on the people of their day is not to be taken as an excuse for us to treat the Lord's Day as if it were no different than any other.
+Saturday 15
But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him. Matthew 12.14
Reflection: Consider how the Pharisees, who thought themselves godly men, deliberately set out to break God's law with this conspiracy. Sometimes people fool themselves into thinking they can achieve good ends by evil means. But if the seed is not good, then neither can the fruit be. Do not be tempted to break God's laws for any reason.
+Sun 16 July 5th after Trinity; Liturgical colour Green (3rd Sunday of Month –see changes to usual pattern as listed below)
Changes to service times in July
Sunday 16 July: 9.15 am The Colliery; 10.30am Bilboa
Sunday 23 July: 10.30am St Mary's; noon Mothel
Sunday 30 July: (Fifth Sunday) 11am The Colliery Church
Coming up this week
+Friday/Saturday: fund-raising Raffle outside Eurospar in 'Comer 10am - 6pm. Many thanks to those who have already volunteered to sell lines. There are still some slots to be filled and it would be greatly appreciated if you would put you name down to help
– please see sign up sheet at rear of 'Comer/Colliery Church or contact the rector.
Notices and Advance Notices
+'Comer & Colliery grass money now due. €40
+Those hoping to be confirmed in the coming cycle of confirmations should let the rector know so he can organise a date with the Bishop.
+Special note of thanks: to those who assisted with the organisation, setting up, and running of this Year's Holiday camp. Particular thanks to Hannah, Gillian, and Linda Ward.
+16 July (Sunday) 3.30 pm Songs of Praise, Castletown, with Dean Philip Knowles and the 'In Cantorum' Choir
+20 Aug Parish BBQ Wandesforde Hall (United Service at 11 am in St May's)
+29 Sep Whist Drive Wandesforde Hall
+13 Oct Bilboa Dinner Dance
+24 Nov 'Comer Autumn Fayre
Rector: Rev Patrick Burke: 056 4441677 [email protected]
Sunday Services:
The Colliery 9.15am / St Mary's 10.30 am;
Mothel noon 1st and 3rd Sun; 2nd Sun Evening Prayer 7pm;
Bilboa noon 2nd & 4th Sunday, & 10.30am on 3rd Sundays.;
5th Sundays 11am, in rotation (30 July – The Colliery)
Please use recorded giving (envelope, etc)! The parish gets 45c extra for every euro you give, if you pay tax, from Revenue (if you give €250 pa or more) if it is recorded!
Categories: None
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Schuylkill Valley Model Railroad Club 400 South Main Street, Phoenixville, Pa 19460
Photo by Bill Harbison (C) SVMRRC
Schuylkill Valley Model Railroad Club - Annual Model Railroad Open House (since 1975)
Our Model Railroad Open House is "fun for kids of all ages". SEE & HEAR freight & passenger trains pulled by steam or diesel engines over nearly 800' of track. Four different railroads are depicted on the 1,000+ square foot HO scale (1/87) model. Hundreds of buildings, vehicles, people and trees create realistic scenes. Numerous buttons allow visitors to bring scenes to life! See Thomas the Tank Engine & try your observation skills with our Scavenger Hunt. Come see what we've been up to as we have been "workin' on the railroad".
To see other Model Railroad Open House dates this season, click
(Special thanks to Fred Monsimer and the Royersford Modular Model Railroaders)
You could win a train set! Admission is free. Donations are gratefully accepted. Our Open House Dates for the 2017/2018 season this fall and winter are as follows from 1:00 to 5:00 pm:
November 25, 26, 2017
December 2, 3, 2017
January 6 and 7...13 and 14...and finally 20 and 21, 2018
Check out this video of a recent open house: http://vimeo.com/95558522


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June 2013
Thursday, June 13, 2013 @ 4:00 pm
Guidelines for Creating a Professional Conference Poster
3rd Floor IS Building (all graduate students)
Current graduate students Wei Jeng and Michele Leininger will introduce participants to essential design elements to consider when making a poster for a professional conference. Regardless of your area of study/expertise, this session addresses commonalities to consider in order to make sure your poster is attractive, professional, and engages passers-by.
Monday, June 17, 2013@ 1:00 pm
Summer Hiking Tour of Frick Park (everyone)
Start your week with some enjoyable exercise: come with us on this three mile vigorous walk that will highlight some of the most interesting and beautiful portions of a 400+ acre park nestled in the middle of the city (http://www.pittsburghparks.org/userdocs/frickmap.pdf). We will meet at 2:00 p.m. at the Blue Slide Playground entrance (take the 61C or D, get off at the corner of Murray and Forward, walk to Beechwood and Nicholson). We will walk the Riverview Trail, the Riverview Extension, the Falls Ravine Trail, and the Tranquil Trail to exit at the Gatehouse at Reynolds Street. From this exit, you can walk to Penn Avenue and take the 71C back to campus. Along your walk to the bus stop consider taking a detour to the Frick Museum and Frick Car Museum, both of which are free.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013 @ 12:30 pm
Tour of Rodef Shalom Biblical Botanical Garden (everyone)
Join the iSchool Commonwealth Scholars for a tour of the Rodef Shalom Biblical Botanical Garden (http://biblicalgardenpittsburgh.org). The garden is the largest of its kind in North America and includes a waterfall, a desert, a stream, and a representation of the River Jordan. The tour also includes a viewing of the sanctuary. To sign up for the tour and obtain details, please contact Lauren Neal at email@example.com.
Friday, June 28, 2013 @ 4:00 pm
Faculty/Graduate Student Friday
IS Patio (grad students, faculty, and staff)
This is an opportunity for all faculty, staff, doctoral, and masters students to talk about ideas, get to know each other, etc. while enjoying light hors d'oeuvres and drinks. Thanks to the generous support of the iSchool Doctoral Guild and SISGO for making this event possible. The iSchool student organizations will attend, seeking your input on your graduate study experiences to share with new students arriving this fall. Your academic, professional, and social wisdom and experiences are all welcome.


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Canucks want TV everywhere, says study
No surprise here. Most Canadians want to be able view their favourite cable programs on the web or their mobile devices.
A new study finds nearly seven out of 10 Canadian TV viewers want to be able to access their cable channels on the web or mobile.
According to Toronto-based research firm SRG's Digital Life Canada study, the findings are consistent with consumer enthusiasm for the 'TV Everywhere' concept, promoted by media conglomerates Time Warner and Comcast in the US. Both companies are reportedly set to begin trials of broadband video services – paving the way for pay-TV subscribers to watch premium cable content online.
The majority of Canucks polled say being able to watch their favourite cable TV shows on the web or mobile is an 'excellent' (26%) or 'good' (41%) idea. Some of the top reasons cited are that it's easy, convenient, that viewers can watch while travelling and that they can take full advantage of their paid subscriptions. Some respondents were skeptical about an always-reliable stream, as well as potential compatibility issues, according to the study.
The study says there was little difference between the views of customers of major cable and satellite carriers. Among Shaw and Videotron customers, 68% like the idea, while among Bell and Rogers subscribers, the number was roughly 65%.
From Playback Daily


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Frequent Asked Questions
- Is the bag under a lid with print also available in different colors?
- Yes, in the shopping cart you can mention which color and color number you would like in the "Remarks" textbox.
- Do you also ship outside the Netherlands?
- Yes, we ship inside and outside of Europe. You will find the different rates in the shopping cart.
- How long should my luggage carrier be?
- Measure the length and width of your luggage and take a look at Measures and Models.
- What is the difference between a GMG Bobike and a childseat, what pannier do I need then?
- Click here (PDF) for more instructions.
- How can I continue to use my holdingstraps?
- You can choose the option "straps for incisions" in the menu panniers where the adjustments for luggage carriers are mentioned.
- Can I protect the bag against theft?
- An anti-theft ring is preventive, because you can lock the bag to the bike with the use of an anti-theft ring.
- What is the delivery time?
- The delivery of a pannier or bag is app. two to four weeks. This depends on the periode of ordering, in the cycle season we are mostly out of stock. For a custom bag or a reCYCLEd or Ferrari bag this can take up to max. 6 weeks.
- How can I pay?
- In the Netherlands you can pay through iDeal without any further costs. In other countries you can pay through PayPal, which brings some additional transaction costs with it. If you want to pickup the order in our store you can pay through debit card or cash. If you want to pay directly ;
SWIFT: BIC/SWIFT: RABONL2u. ten name van F.a. Clarijs
Paypal account; webshop@
- What doed the extra's mean?
- Measurements and Models
The internal dimensions of the panniers are shown in centimeters: Length x depth / width x height
Small(S) 30 x 12 x 27
Medium(M) 34 x 12 x 31
Large(L) 29 x 18 x 31
Extra Large(XL) 35 x 18 x 31
Extra Large cutout(XLU) 35 x 18 x 31
- You can transport 8 (1.5 liter) bottles per side in a XLU of XL pannier. (16 in total)
- You can transport 12 (1.5 liter) bottles in a L size pannier and 8 (1.5 liter) bottles in a M sized pannier
- You can't transport (1.5 liter) bottles in a S size pannier. These panniers a suitable for child bicycles and sport bicycles
- De one sided bags can store the half of the previous mentioned measurements.
On this drawing you can find the outside measures
- Attachment to the luggage carrier.
- All double panniers can be attached easily to the carrier with 4 velcro strips. Al single panniers can be attached bij special high quality synthetic hooks.


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Anji has just had the worst week of her life. She should be back at her desk, not travelling through time and space in a police box. The Eighth Doctor is supposed to be taking her home, so why are there dinosaurs outside? The Doctor doesn't seem to know either, or else he surely would have mentioned the homicidal princesses, teen terrorists and mad robots? One thing is certain: Anji is never going to complain about Monday mornings in the office again.
An adventure featuring the Eighth Doctor as played by Paul McGann and his companions Fitz and Anji
- BBC Books
- Published 7th March 2013
- 304 Pages
- 126mm x 198mm x 19mm
- 218g
- £7.99


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Monthly Archives: September 2017
Rockefeller Homes and Gardens
When you grew up, as I did, on the Hudson River, in the vicinity of Pocantico Hills, the Rockefeller name loomed large. In addition to their own stately homes, the family was largely responsible for so many generous gestures in the area, from the charming Union Church with its Matisse and Chagall windows, to the amazing Stone Barns Center to the Rockefeller State Park Preserve. …
Posted in architecture, art, auctions, books, Christie's, interior design 13 Comments
At Home in Connecticut with John Robshaw
With a background in fine arts and painting, John Robshaw caught the textiles bug when traveling to India in the 1990's. There he discovered his passion for fabric making and the handcrafted beauty of their artisan traditions. Working with makers throughout Asia, he developed his signature look of color and pattern rich global chic that was to become the hallmark of his thriving company.…
Posted in art, At Home with, design, furniture, interior design, Stylish Shopping, video 7 Comments
Haute Bohemians
Miguel Flores-Vianna's photographs are more than merely beautiful. They are poetic, instinctively capturing the spirit of place and the essence of lives that are lived within. In his new book, Haute Bohemians, Miguel gives us intimate entree into the homes and gardens belonging to many of the most stylish designers, aesthetes and creative talents around the world.…
Posted in architecture, art, books, design, interior design, photography 14 Comments
The Versailles You've Never Seen
You've made the requisite pilgrimage to Versailles and seen the storied chateau, in all likelihood with throngs of others. The Hall of Mirrors was glorious, the magnificent gardens sublime but in truth, you saw only a small portion of the great and hidden splendors of the Sun King's Palace.…
Posted in architecture, art, art history, design, garden, history, interior design, photography, travel 9 Comments
The Timeless Attraction of Toile
Another story in the 30th anniversary issue of Veranda that resonated with personal relevance was the icon selection in the style section celebrating the timeless appeal of toile. Ever since 1760 when Christophe-Philippe Oberkampf founded his textile factory in Jouy-en-Josas outside of Paris, Toile de Jouy has been a mainstay in the world of design.…
Posted in design, history, interior design 13 Comments
Behind the Scenes of Final Portrait with Christies
Talented and charismatic, Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti was also obsessed, possessed and a perfectionist. And it is this last characteristic which is the focus of the Stanley Tucci's new film, Final Portrait. Based on the book by American writer and art lover James Lord, it follows the writer and artist's friendship and, the period in 1964, when Giacometti invited Lord to sit for a portrait in his Paris studio.…
Posted in art, film 5 Comments
2017 What's New What's Next
A big thank you to all who came to Kindel for my chat at the with designers Sasha Bikoff, Phillip Thomas (at home in pajamas below in the new Tuxedo Park Poster Bed) and Senior VP of Marketing Amy Wolbert. We had such fun conversation about color, design and of course Dorothy Draper.…
Posted in art, design, furniture, interior design 1 Comment
Delvaux Brillant
When you think of Belgium, french fries, beer, chocolate and Brussel sprouts may come to mind, their famous decor style, or their international position as capital of the European Union and home to NATO. Or perhaps you think of them as the center of the world's diamond trade, or home to the prestigious Royal Academy of Fine Arts, famous artists such as Rene Magritte and fashion icons such as Dries van Noten.…
At Home and in the Garden with Juan Montoya
With projects around the globe, Columbian born architect and interior designer Juan Montoya is well known for his restrained yet layered luxury. Throughout his diverse projects, modernity is infused with a sensuous mix of elements and international influence. But at his own country house, La Formentera (named after a Balearic Island off the Mediterranean coast of Spain where he spent a year), in the Hudson Valley, a new talent emerged.…
Posted in architecture, At Home with, garden, interior design, Stylish Shopping, video 6 Comments
Gucci Décor at Bergdorf's
It was only a matter of time before the brilliant Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele applied his talents to the home. With the overwhelming popularity of his fashion collections and his overseeing the renaissance of Gucci-owned Richard Ginori, he has now debuted his exuberant super maximalist vision to Gucci Décor exclusively at Bergdorf Goodman.…
Posted in design, fashion, furniture, gifts, interior design 4 Comments


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Well its taken a lot of time but I finally got some hummingbird photos I don't hate!
The second one looks better large. Click here for that.
These are the largest of the 3 species we get on the island (2 residents, 1 now only vagrant), the Green-throated Carib. Its also the most aggressive and typically I only see 1 at a time or alternatively one chasing another away from its protected patch. This white flowered tree however was so laden with nectar rich flowers that it was absolutely covered in hummers, both caribs and, higher up, Antillean Cresteds. They were so focussed on the nectar that I was able to sneak up and take these images without too much difficulty even though my usual hummer shots contain only green blurs. Both species will visit feeders so I occasionally get the pleasure of their company on my balcony. Nice.


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SPRINGFIELD -- A defense lawyer told Hampden Superior Court Judge Michael K. Callan Tuesday it would be cruel punishment -- and thereby unconstitutional -- to sentence his client to a mandatory minimum sentence.
But Callan disagreed, sentencing convicted drug dealer Edgar Melendez to four and one half years in state prison. The mandatory minimum sentence Melendez faced was three and one half years.
"This sentence is neither cruel nor unusual. It's just," Callan said.
A jury convicted Melendez, 37, of possession of heroin with intent to distribute and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. Melendez was sentenced as a subsequent offender on both charge.
Callan said Melendez's addiction may mitigate his actions, but it does not take into effect the danger to the public from drugs.
"This city is under siege," Callan said. "This sentence is just."
Defense lawyer Matthew J. Fleischner argued Melendez's life of childhood abuse, drug addiction starting as a child, homelessness, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and mental health problems mean he has "never stood a meaningful chance."
He cited Article 26 of the Massachusetts Constitution which says: "No magistrate or court of law, shall demand excessive bail or sureties, impose excessive fines, or inflict cruel or unusual punishments."
Assistant District Attorney Patrick Bennett asked Callan to sentence Melendez, of Springfield, to six to seven years in state prison.
He cited Melendez's criminal record, with 27 convictions including drug distribution and trafficking and violent crimes.
"I don't believe he deserves any leniency or any more chances," Bennett said.
Melendez was arrested June 22, 2016, on Orchard Street in Springfield after police saw him hide cocaine under a rug in a courtyard where drug dealing has been a problem.


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We went with our church group Mosaic and this year's theme was superhero. We were really hoping for Festival of Fantasy because we were going to go ALL out...but then Steven had a genius idea to go as conservation heroes! Not only it is super fitting since we were all WE Troop Leaders, I truly love the DWCF pins and the conservation it promotes. In fact, I have like 14 of the pins, ha! (I want to collect them all...next on my list is Aulani =P)
Mickey's Not So Scary
Two days ago, I went to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party (or MNSS), AKA my favorite thing EVER! I want every day to be MNSS so I can collect copious amounts of candy, dress up, have Disney themed dance parties, and watch Boo to You parade all the time. (Side note: I would also like to somehow be in the Boo to You, ha! Especially this and this part! :D)
So, we each picked a pin and fully embodied it, ha! We also each had a conservation message inspired super power. Mine was to "Tell your friends." (Pictures to come! =P)
People Mover fun!
The dance party had such cool villain posters decorating the walls! And if you want to see what a Disney themed Halloween dance party, check this out! :)
I of course had a fantastic time! Dancing, eating, and with my favorite people? What's not to love?! When I attended MNSS during my CP, it was one of my favorite moments (if not my top favorite) from the program...and I think it once again stole my heart for my second adventure as a Disney CM. I HIGHLY recommend MNSSHP for any and all visitors. It is truly a wonderful experience for all ages and beyond fun! =D
Leave a Reply.
A permanent believer that "Adventure is out there" and a DAK girl for life!
January 2016


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I don't know why, but i can't make the pictures bigger, so annoying :(
got that song stucked in my headdd.
don't know what to write, i only know that i need money . haha, that's not really new, but it seems like so long ago i shopped a little bit.. but i'm getting money for christmas, so ;)
i really love checking out blogs from other people, just don't know where to find nice ones.. can you tell me some good blogs? or maybe your blog? i'd love to check it out :))


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A little hand sanitizer goes a long way.
Well, we had another week jam-packed with firsts. I guess that tends to happen when you have a new baby, right? Anyway, it all began on Monday when Charlie and I both woke up not feeling so hot. Or, I guess I should say we were feeling too hot…literally. I had to work, even though it was MLK day, and I could feel that I had a slight fever. Charlie's temp never got over 99.7, but still a low-grade fever. I had a bit of a sore throat. Charlie had a cough, was sneezing a ton and had some pretty funky looking boogies. Over-share? What, you're not used to me doing that by now? We thought maybe it was the dry air overnight; our Rinnai heater likes to act up on us sometimes, shutting off in the middle of the night. Or the middle ... Read the full post.


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George Soros is an American billionaire who has distaste for oppression and dictatorship. From his donations and affiliation to the Democratic Party, George Soros can be referred to as a liberal. To further emphasize his stand in this, he strongly opposes some of the conservative agendas such as opposing religious reforms, criminal justice reforms and immigration reforms. Soros may have been shaped to become a liberal from the things that he has faced in his life. For instance, he was born in Hungary under the occupation of Nazi. When growing up, he witnessed the persecution of many Jews and barely managed to survive. However, his father came to his rescue by offering him fake passports and identity. When he could take it no more, George Soros decided to go out and achieve his dreams elsewhere. It was during this time that he relocated to the United Kingdom and took odd jobs.
Learn more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jan/14/george-soros-funds-ferguson-protests-hopes-to-spur/
During his time in the United Kingdom, the founder of Soros Fund Management would work as a tout at one time and as a waiter. He later enrolled in the London School of Economics where he mastered the art of finance. During the past American Presidential elections, George Soros made a donation of $25 million to the Democratic Party. According to reports obtained by the Politico from the Information Revenue Service, these funds were meant to help Hillary Clinton defeat Republican candidate Donald Trump. Before this donation, George Soros had donated another $25 billion to the Democratic Party in the year 2004.
Since graduating from London School of Economics, George Soros has been associated with many ventures and philanthropic efforts. His most notable philanthropic body is the Open Society Foundation that he uses to fund Democratic efforts across the world. George Soros established the Open Society Foundations. Other than the United States of America, George Soros has helped restore democracy in many countries such as Ukraine, Burma, South Africa and several South American countries. Back in the States, George Soros has been a friend to Hillary Clinton for over 25 years. Despite his political affiliation, George Soros was more motivated during last year elections as he felt a lot was at stake. Learn more on discoverthenetworks.org about George Soros.
Despite failing to help Clinton become the president, George Soros has continued his commitment to helping build a better America. Following the defeat of his preferred candidate, Soros and other rich donors of the Democratic Party held a three-day closed-door meeting in Washington to accustom themselves with the lessons that had emerged from the election. This billionaire often speaks for the people who are discriminated for who they are. This includes people like the LGBTI, sex workers, and drug users.


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"Theatre in the Museum" Program
This new program puts emphasis on the availability of the content and the themes of the museum to visitors through theatre. The components of the program include the play "Dance of Joy and Sorrow" and seven dramatized monologues throughout the museum's exhibits, which are integrated into the visit.
Holocaust remembrance among young adults is an important goal that presents a complex challenge for educators. The Yad LaYeled educational staff sees itself as an active partner in reaching this goal. The museum's exhibits, as well as the educational and artistic activities, are age appropriate for young visitors who are invited during this first meeting with the subject, to connect to and start a dialogue with Holocaust child survivors. Art workshops accompany the educational activity in the exhibits of Yad LaYeled whose purpose is give the visitors an opportunity to process what they experienced through music, creative writing, plastic arts, movement and drama.
The "Theatre in the Museum" program was recently launched at the Yad LaYeled museum. The program is geared for visitors from the upper elementary and middle school levels, as well as the general public, including soldiers, senior citizens, teachers and pre-service teachers.
Since the opening of the museum in 1995, there have always been theatre performances based on testimonies of Holocaust child survivors. Four monodramas were produced throughout the years and were integrated into the educational program and now a new play with two actors has been added to the repertoire:
The last two plays, which are not performed today, were integrated into the museum space and brought to life for children the silent reality with the exhibit displays.
Seven monologues of Holocaust child survivors were dramatized and are performed throughout the museum space by an actress as part of the guided tour of the exhibits. The monologues focus on subjects such as losing one's home, separation from parents, life in hiding and living under a false identity, as well as the signs of physical and emotional stress, intuition, life in deportation camps and the image of the rescuer. The "Theatre in the Museum" program, with all its components, reveals the world of those adults who today make sure that the subject of the Holocaust will never be forgotten even if the number of testifiers is disappearing from the stage of history.


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James McKennaCommunity Advisor
James is a marketing and communications professional, currently serving as marketing communications business partner for Tompkins Financial Corporation. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing the marketing efforts in the Hudson Valley region and supporting the Tompkins Mahopac Bank's 14 branches. Previously, James worked in a variety of marketing roles within the hospitality and travel industries. James received his Bachelor of Science degree from SUNY Plattsburgh and his Master of Arts in Integrated Marketing Communication from Marist College. He is a lifelong resident of the Hudson Valley, and currently resides in Poughkeepsie.


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Courtesy of Random House
Montreal during the turbulent mid-1980's: Chernobyl has set geiger counters thrumming across the globe, HIV/AIDS is cutting a deadly swath through the gay population worldwide, and locally, tempers are flaring over the language laws of Bill 101. Hiding out in a seedy apartment near the Concordia campus is Alex Fratarcangeli, a somewhat oafish 30-something grad student. Though tender and generous at heart, Alex leads a life devoid of healthy relationships, ashamed in particular of the damage he has done to the women with whom he has been romantically entangled. Plagued by the sensation that his entire life is a fraud, Alex attends daily sessions with a lacklustre psychoanalyst in an attempt to shake off the demon of depression (and the cigarette-tinged voice of Peter Gzowski in his ear).
Scarred by a distant father and a dangerous relationship with his ex Liz, and consumed by a floundering dissertation linking Darwin's theory of evolution with the history of human narrative, Alex has come to view love and other human emotions as "evolutionary surplus, haphazard neural responses that nature had latched onto for its own insidious purposes."
Then a convergence of brave souls enter Alex's life, forcing him to recognize the possibility of meaningful connections. There is his neighbour Esther, whose multiple sclerosis is progressing rapidly, yet who gamely attacks every day she has left. There is the elegant Félix, an older gay man whose own health status is in question yet who remains resolutely generous,and María, returning to fight for human rights in her native El Salvador, knowing she will face certain peril. Along the way Alex meets others whose struggles with their own demons are not so successful, and sometimes tragic. When he receives a letter from Ingrid, the beautiful woman he knew years ago in Sweden, notifying him of the existence of his five year old son. Alex is gripped by a paralytic terror.
Whenever Alex's thoughts grow darkest, he is compelled to recall Desmond, the British professor with dubious credentials whom he met years ago in the Galapagos. Treacherous and despicable, wearing his ignominy like his rumpled jacket, Desmond nonetheless caught Alex in his thrall and led him to some life-altering truths during their weeks exploring Darwin's islands together. It is only now that Alex can begin to comprehend these unlikely life lessons, and see a glimmer of hope shining through what he had thought was meaninglessness.
Funny, poignant and visceral, Nino Ricci's most recent masterpiece The Origin of Species will remind you of the wonder of life, the beauty of existence andthe great gift that is our connection to the universe and all that is.
About the Author
Nino Ricci was born in Leamington, Ontario, to parents from the Molise region of Italy. He studied English literature and creative writing at York University and Concordia University, then Italian studies at the University of Florence. He has taught literary studies and creative writing in Canada and abroad. He now lives in Toronto, and is a past president of the Canadian Centre of International PEN.
More information
- Author's Site: Nino Ricci
- Extra Info:
- Random House | Chapters.ca | Amazon.com
Product Details
1 copy availableThis book is CLAIMED
- Hardcover: 496 pages
- Publisher: Doubleday Canada (September 30, 2008)
Shipping within Canada sponsored by Random House