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|Country Files
Introducing, "The Circumventer"
Posted May 20th, 2009
A tool that allows Internet users to access blocked websites, developer Walid Al-Saqaf, a Sweden-based Yemeni, is using the device to respond to government web censorship.
"I realized that the authorities are getting so sophisticated that they need a similarly sophisticated response that could match up to their level that would limit their control over what users can access from within their countries," he said.
The tool also performs periodic checks on censored sites to track whether they remain constantly blocked or if the filtering is lifted at times. Meanwhile, users of the program can report information about filtering and blocking in their respective countries. The data gets stored in a centralized unit in the software.
Al-Saqaf, who also launched Yemen's first independent news search engine a few years ago, has been a target of Yemeni government censorship. In the spring of 2008, the five different domains of Yemenportal were shut down, making the site inaccessible in Yemen, except through the use of proxy sites.
Beating the censors
Al-Saqaf told MENASSAT that his personal experience with web censorship served as an inspiration to develop Al-Kasir. More importantly though, Al-Saqaf feels that authorities are becoming increasingly skilled in web censorship, and that their technological advancement need to be countered in a similar manner.
While primarily intended for use in Arab countries like Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen where web censorship is widely imposed, Al-Kasir can be used in any country.
In the first days after its launching, Al-Kasir was used in Qatar, Bahrain, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and China, among other countries. The tool was also explored by curious users in countries that don't suffer from web censorship, such as the UK and Germany.
Al-Saqaf explained the process of using the tool to access blocked websites.
"When you open the program, you will get information about your ISP, country, etc. If someone using the same ISP as you had already reported through Al-Kasir about a blocked website and that website got approved (by the moderators), then it will be accessible by you. If not, then you could report a blocked website and then it will be moderated and if approved, it will be accessible by you as well as everyone else using Al-Kasir and accessing the Internet through your ISP."
Limited scope
So does Al-Kasir circumvent all kinds of web censorship or is the scope limited?
Al-Saqaf told MENASSAT that the program only circumvents human-moderated websites that have been blocked by governments due to "political or informational reasons."
"In other words, the program allows access to human rights and activist websites, political websites, discussion groups, and social groups. It was a tough decision to make but it was necessary because otherwise, the bandwidth and the legal constraints would be costly," he continued.
"Some may not like what we're doing."
In terms of legal issues, Al-Saqaf said he will consult experts in the area to find out about potential constraints. But one thing he's sure of - Al-Kasir will not be greeted with open arms by repressive governments.
"I certainly understand that some governments may not like what we are doing. I'm sure they will try to crack the code for Al-Kasir but it may take them a while doing that and hopefully by the time the stable version is released, it will be more difficult for them to do so," he said.
Al-Kasir is currently available in its Beta test version. The product was implemented with the support of MidEastYouth, an online student-owned independent network that promotes constructive dialogue and understanding within the Middle East and North Africa.
Al-Saqaf hopes the program will rise to become a useful tool for those seeking access independent information in countries with restricted web access.
"My intention is that it gets used by people and becomes helpful to evade censorship of news and opinion in countries with emerging democracies and those struggling under excessive restrictions. Whether it gets popular is difficult to guess but I certainly hope it becomes useful,"he concluded.
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Mortal Kombat
Posted in Games by Ben
The acceptable face of violent decapitation.
The existence and commercial acceptance of Portal 2, Heavy Rain and LA Noire suggests that we're entering a brave new world of electronic storytelling, where journeys amuse, surprise and delight in equal measure, and our decisions are informed by morality and characterised by more shades of grey than the lost episode of 24 that featured Kilroy airing his scrotum during an alien invasion in the centre of Manchester.
LA Noire's acceptance to the Tribeca Film Festival may have had the faint whiff of PR tokenism, but it also shows that the lines between both art forms are likely to converge over the next few years, with cinema embracing the young upstart to prove its future offers far more than plastic glasses and blue cat-aliens, and games returning the favour to gain more artistic legitimacy. And then there's Mortal Kombat, happy to sit at the back of the class and throw rubbers at the smart kids' heads while they're busy earning respect for our hobby.
Though Mortal Kombat is no stranger to experimentation; it's nearly 20 years old and has spent a large part of its teens trying new things that both failed and were ultimately fairly embarrassing. But hey, we've all been there. And if your teenage failures were witnessed by millions of adolescents – the demographic most likely to not let you forget – you'd probably be a little bit angry too. So Mortal Kombat 2011 aims to rewrite the rules, not by refining a system of combat that was never the most sophisticated in the first place, but by embracing its coarse charms, smashing your face in with 'kontent' and spelling things inkorrectly.
By pitting the kind of generic martial artists you'd normally find generously distributed on the bottom shelves of a video shop against the kind of creatures you'd find on Napoleon Dynamite's schoolbook, Mortal Kombat was obviously a product of its time. But the new iteration's greatest strength is resisting the urge to forego its fantasy elements in pursuit of realism. So you won't find Goro working as a bus driver, or Kano played by Danny Dyer. Instead it offers a compendium of violent brutes, robot ninjas, scantily clad ladies and ugly people with four-arms beating the crap out of each other in two-dimensions. And it does so wonderfully.
As unlikely as it may sound for a fighting game, the story mode is Mortal Kombat's most compelling element, condensing the narrative of the first 3 games into an enjoyably ridiculous soap opera that intersects every violent bout with wilfully cheesy dialogue and ridiculous plot twists. In fact the levels of treachery and backstabbing surrounding the tournament are so ridiculous that Mortal Kombat's story mode is arguably a more accurate FIFA game than FIFA ever could be, with Shao Khan and Shang Tsung filling the roles of Sepp Blatter and Jack Warner, respectively. And of course there's Goro, who's like a more socially advanced Wayne Rooney.
The Mortal Kombat story mode is generously long. In fact by the time you've finished, you'd be forgiven for not wanting to spend another second ripping people's heads off and vomiting down their necks. Not that I found the fatalaties all that compelling – my fingers aren't as nimble as they used to be and the graphical fidelity on display actually made me feel quite bad about performing them. But anyway, that's Mortal Kombat in a nutshell: a wealth of riches wrapped up in a deceptively simple outer-casing – a bit like an aggressive Karl Pilkington. And even if you don't move beyond the basic arcade mode, you'll still find a suitably authentic Mortal Kombat experience that's been lovingly updated to please those who remember 'ABACABB' and the yoof of today, who probably recognise the aforementioned collection of letters as the correct way to recite the alphabet.
Alongside arcade and story, there's a Challenge Tower, which consists of 300 tasks, including needlework and pet grooming. Just kidding, of course it involves ripping people's arms off before the timer runs out and shooting zombies with missiles, that kind of stuff. Each challenge unlocks 'Koins', (natch), which can be redeemed in the Krypt (also natch) for fatalaties, violent pictures and new togs for your Kombatants (um, yeah).
Despite the detail involved you still get the impression that game play was at the forefront of this reinvention – and they've actually gone for a 'less is more' approach. So there are no swords, side-steps or superheroes. Though if you're really desperate for a multimedia crossover then one of the world's most famous deceased child molesters is available for download (don't get your hopes up, Ready 2 Rumble fans). Combat is meaty and immensely satisfying and the moves of yore are updated and replicated perfectly – alongside some new additions like Super Meters, which seem to be de-rigueur for the modern fighter.
There's not a lot to complain about with the new iteration of Mortal Kombat. Sure, it's cheesy, and stupid, but after years spent in denial it has finally realised that these are the things that made it great in the first place – and it's now embracing them with all four arms. It's never going to be a brain surgeon, or a nobel-prize winner, but it would make a fine plumber. And there's no shame in that.
Video games vs. art
Posted in Games by Ben
"Rich? Yes. Handsome? Undoubtedly. Art? Erm…Look! A shiny thing!!!"
Just back from a brief paternity hiatus and what better time to take on an incident from Twitter that happened over a month ago? In Twitter land this is something like 65 million years ago, which makes me like a less charitable, less wealthy and less impressive Richard Attenborough in Jurassic Park. And while there may not be any mind-blowing dinosaur factoids in the article below, I can still do a better Scottish accent. So suck it, Lord Attenborough.
The never-ending 'video games as art' debate reared its ugly and boring head recently (ahem) when Roger Ebert took to Twitter and said that they weren't. Someone who liked them then said that they were. Someone else agreed and then Ebert said that he didn't know and everyone took a deep breath and went back to wondering which of the trending celebrities had just died (or is that just me?) and re-tweeting 140 characters of the kind of life-affirming twaddle that should reasonably contradict sitting in front of a computer, re-tweeting life-affirming twaddle.
My own take is that art has somehow moved beyond its common definition to now basically mean a collection of useless and worthless crap that only becomes expensive when you combine the magic ingredients. Kind of like a Voltron sculpt made from dogshit that magically transforms into a platinum robot when you finish sculpting the 12th set of lion's teeth. Or something. A bed by itself is worth exactly what someone would pay for a bed, but once Tracy Emin pays someone to wank on it, it's worth a trillion pounds – and not because man-sap has suddenly become a precious commodity. At least as long as The Handmaid's Tale remains a work of fiction or until Octomom reveals the secret process for turning said ingredient into a fortune.
But something is only worth what people will pay for it. So while a rich idiot may spend a fortune on a piece of crap (Voltron shape, optional), there will always be a richer idiot to sell it to. It's like Liam Neeson said in The Phantom Menace: "There's always a bigger fish (richer dickhead)". Though I personally get more day-to-day usage from "Let's get out of here before more droids (dickheads) show up."
But I digress.
You don't need to re-mortgage your house or sell your collection of Beatles masters to afford a video game, unless you're one of those people who buys sealed NES carts of games that weren't good enough to mass-produce in the first place. And if you are such a wealthy proponent of staring into the electronic middle-distance, I'm sure there's better ways to kill the time until your cloned dinosaur eggs hatch than reading this nonsense.
Video games are art and you don't need someone to wank over a copy of Fifa 10 to increase its artistic value (Which is a shame, because I'm sure Tiger Woods would be more than happy to oblige his EA Sports brethren). But that's not to say that there aren't steps that developers can take to elevate the very best video games into art. Take Batman: Arkham Asylum, a game I recently replayed due to a perfect storm of the annual summer games drought and baby related wallet chastening.
Arkham Asylum is masterfully directed, with incredible voice work (as far as video games go) and art direction. But it's only on the second play-through that I truly appreciated this thanks mainly to my first go being dominated by the gaming trope that's harder to kill than the theoretical lovechild of Jason Voorhees and the Queen Mother: the collectible item.
Ever since Pac-man chomped his way through a series of scenarios involving cherries, ghosts and pills, game designers have been obsessed with players collecting things. Pac-man is absolved of blame however, as his very existence is determined by his ability to collect random crap. Plus he had a wife and child to support, and I'm sure we've all done far worse for our loved ones.
Super Mario is another one who's beyond reproach. While it appears he went to the Mushroom Kingdom to woo the Princess, he seemed to spend most of the time exterminating wildlife and stealing coins. But can we really blame him? Obviously the plumbing wasn't really working out and how else could he afford to keep his brother in green dungarees? It's not as though they're part of the Blue Harbour collection at M&S (Though I'm approximately 8 years away from confirming that).
So while Mario may have been the original cyber-criminal, his hand was forced, again, by the demands of his family. Batman on the other hand is different; he doesn't have a family, so the fact that he spends a large part of Arkham Asylum crawling round darkened ventilation shafts looking for glowing question marks and chattering teeth, when he should be stopping the Joker, makes him irresponsible, if not a complete tosser. It also takes the player out of the experience, which is probably the worst crime on display, in a game about super criminals, set in a prison.
But whatever Arkham Asylum's collectibles take away from the narrative experience they're still one of the more seamless examples of collectibles in video gaming. I've spent countless hours exploring every nook and cranny of a generic futuristic warehouse looking for Wolverine's socks or a piece of concept art that has no value whatsoever, even within a fictional world with no established laws of commerce.
Perhaps that says more about my virtual obsessive nature, but if video game designers are all about being inclusive with video games, allowing old people (the Wii), young people (Modern Warfare 2) and sexual deviants (Second Life) to have fun then is it too much to ask that they make similar concessions for those with electronic OCD?
If a protagonist's journey could be stopped every few minutes while they chased after some glowing crap in their peripheral vision, and such actions did not compromise a project's artistic worth, then you'd probably see Brian Sewell tackle Avatar instead of the Turner Prize in his next investigative documentary. Therefore losing video game collectibles would not only help cure mentally defunct paddle-monkeys like myself, but it might also help to elevate video games into a legitimate art form.
Then again, if we had to queue up at an abandoned power station to have a go at Ico because Charles Saatchi had bought all the remaining copies, perhaps we're better off where we are. Maybe Roger Ebert's opinions on video games are irrelevant? Perhaps this article has been an equal waste of time? Though conversely, this may also mean that spending hours of real time chasing virtual collectibles isn't as worthless as I thought all those paragraphs ago. And in that case, I'm cured. Huzzah!
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Vallejo , CA
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is the ultimate destination as Land, Sea and Sky meet to provide adventures, thrills and fun! This Northern California combination wildlife park, oceanarium and theme park features seven thrilling roller coasters, over 40 rides and attractions, plus wildlife shows and demonstrations including incredible opportunities to meet exotic animals.
Dates and hours subject to change without notice.
Click Here to view SFDK Operating Hours.
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Tim Casey
Study Compares Economic Status of Single-Parent Families in U.S. and Other High-Income Countries
December 20, 2012 (New York, NY) – Legal Momentum, the nation's oldest nonprofit advocating for the legal rights of women in America, announced the release today of a comprehensive, cross-national report comparing single parent families in the U.S. with those in 16 other high-income countries.
"Worst Off – Single-Parent Families in the United States, A Cross-National Comparison of Single Parenthood in the U.S. and Sixteen Other High-Income Countries" is an exhaustive, critical analysis of data and information drawn from a broad range of sources including government agencies, social scientists, and academic researchers worldwide. The scope of the report, with its impressive compilation of data and statistics, is a significant addition to the literature on social policies and an incisive analysis of the current circumstances and needs of single parents in the U.S. – the overwhelming majority of whom are single mothers.
"Worst Off" is the work of Timothy Casey, Senior Attorney and Director of the Women in Poverty program at Legal Momentum, and Laurie Maldonado, Research Associate of the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) Center at the Graduate Center City University of New York.
"This report makes an important contribution to our understanding of the difficult plight of single parents in the U.S.," said Janet Gornick, Professor of Political Science and Sociology at the Graduate Center, City University of New York, and Director of the Luxembourg Income Study. "The authors' cross-national analyses clarify that much of the hardship faced by U.S. single parents is due to lagging social policies in the U.S. Single parents in other high-income countries are granted more public social protections – and on many dimensions their outcomes are better."
Linda Basch, President Emerita for the National Council for Research on Women stated: "Thanks to Legal Momentum for issuing this important report with its many lessons. By documenting the cluster of benefits - for example, health care, paid parental and sick leave, childcare - along with the political will that make it possible for single parents in other high income countries to balance work and caregiving, the report demonstrates that single parenthood and poverty do not need to go hand in hand as they so often do in the US."
Countries compared in the report include Australia, Austria, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, The Netherlands, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The report addresses the prevalence of single parents; employment and wage rates; poverty rates; and healthcare coverage. It also examines public income supports such as child allowance, advanced maintenance, unemployment insurance, and social assistance as well as government support for combining jobholding and family caregiving through policies such as early childhood education and entitlements to paid parental leave, paid sick leave, and paid annual leave.
About Legal Momentum
Legal Momentum is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1970 to advance the rights of women by using the power of the law and creating innovative public policy in three broad areas: economic justice, freedom from gender-based violence and equality under the law. For more information visit www.legalmomentum.org.


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Yes, I am going to be a little lazy today :D This is one of my favorite songs off of Music Inspired By The Story... All of the songs (there are 18 total) are really, really good. Enjoy the words to this beautiful song and may you be blessed by it.
(Remember to pause my purple music box, located on the right sidebar.... below My Blog Archive. The bottom middle button will pause it)


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Hamden and Wallingford Eye Associates welcome you to our offices. We offer comprehensive care in a caring environment using doctors and staff with training and experience to help you. Use the buttons above the picture or the buttons below to help you find the information you need about our office.
You can call us or use the "Contact Us" button above to arrange a time for your visit. If you already have a prescription, please come in without an appointment.
Each office is conveniently located with ample parking. We accept most major insurances and eye care plans. We have cutting-edge diagnostic equipment, electronic medical records, the latest in fashion eyewear, and a large supply of contact lenses for your evaluation and fitting.
Feel confident and comfortable to entrust your eye care to us and call now.


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(MONROEVILLE, Pa.) - The Carnegie Mellon University women's tennis team began its spring season with a 9-0 win over Division II Slippery Rock University on Sunday evening at The Club in Monroeville, Pa. The Tartans improve to 3-0 on the year while Slippery Rock drops to 2-4.
The Tartans made quick work of doubles play, winning 8-2, 8-2 and 8-1 at the respective one, two and three positions.
Junior Bryn Raschke (Del Mar, Calif./Torrey Pines) and freshman Vanessa Pavia (Thornwood, N.Y./Academy of our Lady of Good Counsel) won at No. 1 doubles while sophomore Brooke Tsu (Hillsborough, Calif./Burlingame) and junior Angela Pratt (Saratoga, Calif./St. Francis) won by the same 8-2 score at No. 2 doubles. Playing for the first time this year, senior Katie Cecil (Huntington Beach, Calif./Ocean View) teamed with freshman Nicolle Torres (Weston, Fla./Great Neck South) at No. 3 doubles for an 8-1 win.
In singles play, Pavia and Tsu won by 6-1, 6-1 scores at No. 1 singles and No. 3 singles, respectively, while sophomore Elizabeth Martin (St. Simons Island, Ga./Frederica Academy) won 6-1, 6-4 at No. 5 singles.
The Tartans will play again on Sunday, February 16 when they host Division II Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Division I Robert Morris at The Club in Monroeville. The match versus IUP is set to start at 12:00 p.m. with the Robert Morris match to follow.


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Just Toys Classic Cars is proud to present this beautiful one owner
1972 Chevrolet C20 Cheyenne Super pick up truck. These trucks were
iconic back in the day because of how versatile they were and that
carries on to this day. This truck has so many stories as most of
them did. You could get a camper to slide in the bed and have the
time of your life with your family. This way, you didn't have to
buy a small pop up that would get destroyed in major thunderstorms.
This truck has been completely gone through from tip to tail by the
original owner. The truck has had one repaint in its original Okra
and White and it presents very well. The bumpers have been replaced
with quality parts so you see them shine like you could shave in
them. This truck is very special and it is looking for a new owner
to take just as good a car of it.
Under the hood sits the original 402 that it was born with. Yes, this is a numbers matching 1 owner truck. Very hard to come by these days. This motor has all of the power that you are looking for to get you through some touch places camping or maybe just punching it off a light and surprising that new car next to you that can't believe you are keeping up with him. As we said this is numbers matching so it is mated to the original Turbo Hydra-matic transmission. This all goes out to the stock rear end that is supported by the HD rear springs.
The interior of this special truck just carries on with how nice everything else is. The bench seat has been recovered once, the radio has been updated to an AM/FM/Cassette from the original push button radio it was born with. This truck has all of the modern things you would look for in your new truck. We don't mean all of that fancy computer stuff, we mean power steering, power front disc brakes, and cold A/C. Remember that this is a 1972 and all of those things were pay for options back in the day. This is a very loaded, and very comfortable truck that you could get and start making memories with your family today. Get your own camper to slide in and plan your next camping trip to a national park near you.
We offer classic car financing for those that would like to take advantage of the option. They offer great rates and terms with as little as 10% down and no prepayment penalties. This way you can get the vehicle of your dreams and don't have to take all of the cash out of the bank at once. We look forward to speaking with you soon, and we look forward to making you the newest member of the Just Toys Classic Cars family.
1972 Chevrolet Cheyenne Super Pick Up Truck
1 Owner
Okra & White
#'s Matching
Turbo Hydra-Matic Transmission
HD Rear Springs
Power Steering
Power Front Disc Brakes
Before you buy any vehicle, sight unseen, it is very important to ask as many questions as possible to make sure you are getting what you expect. The majority of the customers that buy vehicles from us are very happy with their purchases. We recommend that you should inspect cars in person before or have a professional appraisal company of your choice evaluate this vehicle and provide documentation to you "at your expense" before buying any vehicle from our company. Our description of the vehicle including options and all documentation, provenance have been given to us by the current owner and we make no claims or misrepresentations as to the condition of the vehicle or the options as listed on the ad including the description and documented with the photographs and video for this vehicle. All vehicles are sold AS/IS Where Is with no expressed or implied warranties. Just Toys Classic Cars, LLC represents this vehicle and all vehicles in our inventory solely based on the information and documentation provided to us by the current owner or owners representative. We assume no responsibility or liability based on the current condition of this vehicle or any repairs or modifications or changes you make to bring the vehicle to your standards. I hereby agree to hold harmless Just Toys Classic Cars LLC and their agents, owners, officers, and managers, or employees, and all other persons or entities acting in any capacity on their behalf collectively referred to as Just Toys Classic Cars LLC. Upon review of this disclaimer and purchase of this vehicle, all sales are final upon receipt of all funds rendered and bill of sale delivered. You agree upon reading and understanding this disclaimer, there are no exceptions regarding this transaction. Should Just Toys Classic Cars LLC or anyone acting on their behalf be required to occur attorneys fees to enforce this disclaimer, the purchaser of said vehicle agrees to indemnify and hold Just Toys Classic Cars LLC harmless for all such fees and costs. In the event a law suit is filed regarding this vehicle against Just Toys Classic Cars LLC the purchaser of said vehicle agrees to do so solely in Orange County, Florida. The purchaser agrees that if any portion of this disclaimer is found to be void or unenforceable, the remaining portions shall remain in full affect. The information in these descriptions are provided to us by the owners of the vehicles. We make no other representations. Final price does not represent tax, tag, and title, or shipping, and dealer fee of $450.00
Pick of the Day is a two-seat 1969 AMX AMC sports car
A keen-eyed vendor spotted the classic truck south of the border
1925 Brought Superior sand-racer 'project' sells for a stunning $349,306 at Autumn Stafford Sale
The sporty new A-Spec model includes an impressive collection of electronics gear, plus a boatload of new features
These will turn more than a few heads at your next car show
1911 American Eagle Touring sells for triple its pre-sale estimate
Former Datsun/Volvo dealer selling cars of all sizes at VanDerBrink auction
The Pick of the Day is from the final year of importation to America, and said to be in immaculate original condition with just 8,900 miles
The Mustang has been a popular vehicle among the businesses at SEMA and we suspect this year will be no different


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Let Your Kids Enjoy Their Younger Years With Fun Games and Toys
Do educative toys and games increase initial childhood progress?
Sad to say, a few parents are under the misconception that they must acquire amusing and educational toys separately. You can't blame them. At least they recognize the significance of having toys that are fun along with learning. With fun toys, the youngsters will have something which can charm them for hours so that they will not be bored stiff in addition to cranky. With educational toys, they will possess something which will help them with their psychological development.
Older toddlers may like colorful fridge magnets, publications which offer sounds in addition to songs plus other interactive toys. Any sorts of fanciful play sets, such as garages, airports as well as dollhouses, can also be popular plus educational techniques for your little one to learn about the planet around them. Toys that feature clay modeling, chalkboards or anything that the little one can write on may aid to offer the older toddler an outlet for expressions.
Some toys specialize in specific education skills for example math, reading in addition to science. Several of the educative toys that help to develop a kid's mathematics ability are simple sorting games.
The more interactive the toy is, the more that specific toy will increase your child as well as hold their attention. Learning toys are also a great opportunity for parents to develop an independent play for their children. That way the youngster is occupied and their mind are being stimulated while the parent can tend to other things.
The importance of games and toys
It is important that an educative toy should hold a child's attention for extended play. Toy makers have seen and fulfilled this requirement by way of delivering a vast variety of imaginative and learning toys.
Preschool toys now consist of wondrous electronic gizmos included in them. This makes the learning toy industry one of the biggest growth areas because of the low cost of electronics nowadays. Young babies even get to kick and punch items just to help make a sound though and so maybe it is an education in the inappropriate path.
Usual toys and also puzzles have both visual together with intelligent aspects that great for your kid. There are numerous forms of puzzles, games of logic along with easy math issues obtainable in the market. You can find also learning toys such as construction together with toolkits, flash cards, stacking alphabet blocks, as well as the kinds of sorting toys, among others.
Toys that feature lots of switching buttons and items will help the little one to formulate motor abilities along with co-ordination. Toddlers and infants particularly adore the toys that make noises. Additionally, toys that feature keyboards or noise-making buttons can help your youngster to associate activities with obtainable along with fun sounds. A fundamental capacity for sound recognition is introduced in this way.


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A range of courses focused on preparing students for an exciting career in the dynamic world of new media.
Enhance and update your existing skills, equipe yourself with the tools needed for a new career start, or simply do a course for fun …
- Evening Web Design
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Check out some of our recent graduate students work.
Students on our programmes get real hands-on experience of creative design software on professional Apple Mac systems.


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Product Specification
* 48" (122cm) Deflated
* 0.40mm K80 Cold-Resistance PVC
* Safety valve(s)
* Customized Dimensions/Designs are welcomed!
Product Material:
EN71/ASTM/REACH standard complied
Free of 6 Types of Phthalates, AZO, Cadmium
Product Imprint/Graphic:
Massive choices in our catalog
OEM design also available
Product Packaging:
Polybag/Insert Card/Hangtag/Color box/Gift box/Blister/PDQ…
We also offer artwork re-design service.
Lead time normally 7 working days.
Free of charges for small items without printing.
Reasonable charges for OEM sampling, and fully refundable in final orders.
TQC for each production process
24-hours Infatuation & Deflation test for each product to avoid air leakage.
Always with competitive & reasonable prices
Valid for 30 days after quoted.
We maintain the most instant communication with customers.
Any enquiries will be answered within 24 hours.
Factory Brief Introduction:
Our factory locates in Fengxian Industrial Area of Shanghai, about 40 minutes' trip from both Pudong Airport and Hongqiao Airport. With a stable labor force of 300 workers, we produce various items from beach balls to lake boats and jumping castles. Our technical & management staff is formed of the most experienced personnel in this industry some have been in this field for over 20 years.
PVC Inflatable Snow Tube


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Naomi Watts (born 28.9.1968)
Naomi Watts is a British-Australian actress. Her acting career began in Australian television, appearing in soap operas and series such as Home and Away and Brides of Christ.
Childhood: Naomi Watts was born in Shoreham, in Kent, to Myfanwy Edwards and Peter Watts. Her mother was an antiques dealer, as well as a costume and set designer. Her father was a sound engineer and tour manager, who worked with Pink Floyd, amongst others. Her father died whilst she was young and the family moved to her mother's homeland, Wales.
Watts has stated that she wanted to become an actress after watching the film Fame in 1980. Naomi's grandmother was Australian, so in 1982, it was easy for her mother to obtain passports for the family to move to Australia.
Whilst in Sydney, Naomi Watts attended Mosman High School and North Sydney Girls' High School (along with Nicole Kidman). In 1986, Watts took a break from acting to work as a model in Japan, but failed to make the grade and did not enjoy the work.
Upon returning to Australia, she was invited to take part in a drama workshop and this rekindled her passion for acting.
Acting Career: Naomi Watts started out acting in a number of Australian TV series, including the popular soap opera Home and Away (which also launched the careers of Dannii Minogue, Heath Ledger and Guy Pearce. She also appeared in the award-winning mini-series Brides of Christ and the sitcom Hey Dad...!
In 1991, Naomi Watts landed a role in the acclaimed 1991 film Flirting, along with Thandie Newton and Nicole Kidman. After making the decision to move to the States, Watts was then selected for the supporting role of Jet Girl in Tank Girl, which starred Lori Petty and Ice T and featured music by the likes of Hole, Devo, Iggy Pop and Portishead.
However, in her first few years in Hollywood, Naomi watts struggled to land the roles that she wanted. She missed out on roles in Meet the Parents, The Parent Trap and Man on the Moon, though she took a role in the B-movie Children of the Corn IV.
Watts' big breakthrough came in 2001, when she starred in The Shaft, which also featured James Marshall. Later that year Naomi Watts starred in David Lynch's acclaimed movie Mulholland Drive along with Laura Elena Harring and Justin Theroux. Watts' performance earned her the Best Actress gong at the National Society of Film Critics Awards.
2002 saw Naomi Watts star in The Ring, one of the biggest US box office hits of the year. The film was a remake of a cult Japanese horror and its success led on to Watts starring in Ned Kelly, opposite the late Heath Ledger, Orlando Bloom and Geoffrey Rush.
The Merchant Ivory film Le Divorce was released in 2003 and starred Naomi Watts along with Kate Hudson and Glenn Close. Building on her success, Watts went on to feature in 21 Grams, along with Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn. Her role in 21 Grams led to Watts being nominated for the Best Actress Academy Award, though she lost out to Charlize Theron.
In 2004, Watts produced the independent film We Don't Live Here Anymore, as well as appearing in it, alongside Mark Ruffalo, Laura Dern and Peter Krause. In The Assassination of Richard Nixon, Watts was reunited with Sean Penn and Don Cheadle, before teaming up with Jude Law and Dustin Hoffman in I Heart Huckabees. She also starred in the sequel to The Ring: The Ring Two.
Another successful turning point in Naomi Watts' acting career came in 2005 when she starred in the remake of King Kong, playing the role of Ann Darrow, with Adrien Brody and Jack Black filling the film's starring roles. With Peter Jackson at the helm, the film was a massive success, both in the USA and around the world.
The following year, Naomi Watts starred along with Ed Norton and Liev Schreiber in The Painted Veil. She also starred in a remake of the 1997 Austrian film Funny Games, along with Tim Roth. As the latest in a string of remakes, Naomi watts began to earn herself a reputation as 'queen of the remake'. She also appeared alongside Viggo Mortensen in David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises.
Jim Sheridan cast Naomi Watts in the thriller Dream House in 2010, to work alongside Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz.
Personal Life: Naomi Watts is engaged to Liev Schreiber and they have two children together.
There are quite a few terrific moments in this true story, based on the memoir by journalist Jeannette Walls. It's an account of a seriously mind-boggling childhood that sees years of mayhem through a remarkably clear perspective, only occasionally dipping into sentimentality. But the actors are terrific, bringing an earthy realism to their roles, including a stand-out turn from Woody Harrelson.
It opens in 1989 New York, as Jeannette (Brie Larson) lies to her prospective in-laws about her parents, with her nice-guy fiance (Max Greenfield) helping her create a story that obscures the truth: Rex and Rose Mary Walls (Harrelson and Naomi Watts) are essentially homeless, living a life deliberately off the grid in defiance of meddling governments and too-powerful businesses. Indeed, Jeannette was raised in a free-form way, and her siblings (Sarah Snook, Josh Caras and Brigette Lundy-Paine) understand why she tries to hide them from her high-flying Manhattan life. But they are determined to be involved with her, and after another of Rex's impulsively violent outbursts, Jeannette thinks it might be time to get away from them for good.
This story is interspersed with extensive flashbacks of Jeannette's childhood (in which she's played by Chandler Head and the excellent Ella Anderson), exploring Rex's lifelong desire to build his dream "glass castle" for the family to live in. But this strikingly intelligent man is undone by his hot temper and antagonistic approach to society, creating problems with his wife and children. Harrelson and Watts are terrific in their colourful roles as these brightly artistic people trying to make sure their kids are smart and free. By comparison, Larson can't help but seem a bit bland, especially in her puffy 80s suits and hairdos. So some of her emotional reactions to the people around her feel strangely abrupt.
Continue reading: The Glass Castle Review
Jeanette Walls is raised with the idea that city life is not something to be desired. Her parents put themselves across to her and her siblings Lori, Brian and Maureen as adventurous travellers who believe that they don't need a proper education or a house with all the usual amenities - all they need is the open road and the stars. The reality is that her father Rex is an alcoholic and her mother Rose Mary is a failed artist and occasional teacher. They are constantly uprooting the kids and moving them around as they escape the FBI and their mounting debts, compromising their future as they disrupt their schooling. Eventually Jeannette and the others escape their parents for a life the complete opposite of what they grew up with, and have to find it within themelves to forgive them and show them that they are truly happy.
Continue: The Glass Castle Trailer
Apparently, this offbeat script had been making the rounds in Hollywood for some 20 years as filmmakers struggled to work out how to blend its inventive mismatch of genres. Enter Colin Trevorrow, who's first film Safety Not Included was a mix of comedy, drama and time-travel adventure. In between making blockbusters for the Jurassic and Star Wars franchises, Trevorrow invests this unconventional drama-cum-thriller with plenty of heart, eliciting terrific performances from his central cast. But it never feels very authentic.
The story centres on single mother Susan (Naomi Watts), whose complex life is managed by her genius 11-year-old son Henry (Jaeden Lieberher). Adorable younger brother Peter (Room's Jacob Tremblay) offers plenty of support, but it's Henry who keeps everything running and supports the family with his savvy investments. Then he begins to suspect that his classmate Christina (Maggie Ziegler), who lives next door, is being abused by her stepdad Glenn (Breaking Bad's Dean Norris). But Glenn is the police commissioner, so Henry knows that calling the cops is useless. Instead, he makes an elaborate plan and writes it down in his notebook so his mother can take action.
The film's first half is a fascinating drama about the delicate balance in this unusual family. Beautifully played with layers of resonance by Watts, Lieberher and Tremblay, these are people we would like to know a lot more about, and we settle in to discover their secrets. All three are excellent, continually surprising the audience with insightful character touches that make each person vivid and likeable, even with their flaws. And then the Hitchockian plot kicks in, the suspense gurgles over and everything begins to turn rather implausible. This is kind of the point of the story - that experience is perhaps more important than intelligence - but it's much more difficult to engage with.
Continue reading: The Book Of Henry Review
Henry Carpenter (Jaeden Lieberher) is a genius for his meagre 11 years and the reason why his single mother Susan (Naomi Watts) copes so well taking care of him and her younger son Peter (Jacob Tremblay). He helps her out with all her financial problems, and does his best to keep Peter in line at the same time. But there are more pressing matters on Henry's mind. His next door neighbour and classmate Christina (Maddie Ziegler) is in trouble. She lives with her abusive stepfather Glenn Sickleman (Dean Norris) who also happens to be the police commissioner, make it impossible for Susan and Henry to go to the police about their concerns. However, Henry has it all worked out and has documented an elaborate and inventive plan to rescue Christina in his notebook. Having always put all of her trust in her son, Susan agrees to help him execute the plan.
Continue: The Book Of Henry - Trailer and Clips
Naomi Watts out and about with her children Samuel Kai Schreiber and Alexander Pete Schreiber - Manhattan, New York, United States - Tuesday 2nd May 2017
Kate Hudson, Naomi Watts and Stella Mccartney pose on the red carpet at The Met Gala 2017 - New York, United States - Monday 1st May 2017
Naomi Watts at the 2017 Tribeca Ball - New York, United States - Monday 3rd April 2017
Naomi Watts at CinemaCon 2017 Big Screen Achievement Awards at Caesars Palace - Las Vegas, Nevada, United States - Thursday 30th March 2017
Naomi Watts at a Virtual Tour Of Australia event held at Hudson Mercantile - New York, United States - Monday 23rd January 2017
Critics from all over the world were asked to name the best movie of the past 16 years.
Mulholland Drive has been named the greatest film of the 21st century in a list of the 100 best, compiled by the BBC. Critics from all over the world were asked to vote for their favourite movie of the past 16 years in the poll, in a bid to prove that great films are still being made.
Mulholland Drive director David Lynch
Mulholland Drive, the 2001 neo-noir mystery directed and written by David Lynch and starring Naomi Watts, Justin Theroux and Laura Harring, came out on top among the critics.
Continue reading: 'Mulholland Drive' Named By Critics As Greatest Movie Of The 21st Century
The much-anticipated 'Twin Peaks' reboot is coming to screens in 2017, and is accumulating a star-studded cast list.
After an unpredictable few months, fans of 'Twin Peaks' have received two more pieces of big-name casting for the revival of the cult '90s show over on Showtime next year, with Naomi Watts and Tom Sizemore added to the already impressive cast list.
On Tuesday (February 1st), Deadline reported that the revival has added the 47 year old English actress Watts to the burgeoning cast at the behest of director David Lynch. She has worked with the idiosyncratic director before, playing the dual identities of Bettie Elms and Diane Selwyn in his 2001 movie Mulholland Drive.
Liev Schreiber and Naomi Watts at the 2016 SAG Awards
Continue reading: 'Twin Peaks' Reboot Adds Naomi Watts And Tom Sizemore To Impressive Cast
Ray is, in many ways, a regular New York teenager who enjoys skating, goes to school and is being raised by a single mother. The only unusual thing about him is that he was born female. Now he's hit puberty, he wants to under-go hormone replacement therapy and his mother Maggie is behind him one-hundred per cent. She may be grieving for the daughter that she's lost, but all she wants is for Ray to be happy and feel whole. The news that Ray wants to become a boy doesn't sit well with everyone, however. Her lesbian grandmother Dolly, for example, with whom he and his mother lives is dismissive of the idea of transitioning, and when the time comes to sign the parental consent form from the doctor, Maggie struggles to get her estranged husband to agree too. Ray isn't backing down without a fight; he refuses to go to school until he can start afresh in a boyish body, having undergone years of bullying. But it's going to take some serious discussion for him to be accepted for he is by the people around him.
Continue: About Ray Trailer
Davis Mitchell is very successful in what he does for a living, though he's not as productive when it comes to his marriage. He's an investment banker stuck in the same old daily routine and he tends not to ever think about anything else. However, he is forced to re-evaluate himself and the way he lives his life when his wife Julia dies suddenly in a car accident. His father-in-law and boss Phil doesn't think much of Davis, but encourages him to pick himself up off the ground and start appreciating the world around him. After deciding to file a complaint to a vending machine company, Davis ends up writing numerous letters about his personal struggles and confessions. When they are discovered by a woman named Karen whose struggling to overcome problems of her own, they start a friendship that will encourage Davis to take apart his life, and re-build.
Continue: Demolition Trailer
The acting pals took to the stage for a snog in a shower cap
If it's good enough for Britney and Madonna, Sandra and Scarlett and Amy and Tina, it's good enough for Austalian best friends Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts, who went down the familiar celebrity route of 'locking lips' in public at a recent Women In Film event.
Nicole Kidman made a speech about female empowerment at a Women In Film event
With Kidman on the stage giving a speech about female empowerment, Watts joined her long-time pal and they went in for a big smooch both wearing, strangely, floral shower caps.
Continue reading: Nicole Kidman And Naomi Watts Are Not Afraid To Smooch For Females
The Oscar winner's new suicide drama is dividing opinion with its first screenings at Cannes.
Matthew Mcconaughey has completely reinvented himself since his shirt-on, shirt-off rom-com days, going on to star in darker and better-received dramas like Killer Joe, the acclaimed TV series True Detective, Christopher Nolan's space epic Interstellar and, of course, Dallas Buyers Club, for which he won his first Oscar. It looked like the man could do no wrong.
Matthew McConaughey's new film has gone down badly at Cannes
And then came the boos and laughter at the recent Cannes press screening of The Sea Of Trees, a spiritual drama in which he plays a suicidal man who has a life-changing encounter with a stranger in Japan's Aokigahara woods. As an A-list actor who's become much more used to praise in the last four years, McConaughey responded (we have to say, rather well) to the audience's negative reactions, saying, "Anyone has as much right to boo as they do to ovate".
Continue reading: First Boos And Now Applause For Matthew McConaughey's 'Sea Of Trees'
Date of birth
28th September, 1968
There are quite a few terrific moments in this true story, based on the memoir...
Jeanette Walls is raised with the idea that city life is not something to be...
Apparently, this offbeat script had been making the rounds in Hollywood for some 20 years...
Henry Carpenter (Jaeden Lieberher) is a genius for his meagre 11 years and the reason...
When a young women finds herself with amnesia following a car accident on Mulholland Drive,...
Mary Portman is suffering greatly with the grief of the death of her husband Richard,...
With its darkly emotive themes and brittle humour, this well-made drama by Jean-Marc Vallee (Dallas...
After the more thrilling Insurgent, this saga reverts to the talky style of the original...
In the third instalment of the Divergent series Allegiant, Tris and Four find themselves plunged...
Davis Mitchell is very successful in what he does for a living, though he's not...


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The Gambler's Quick Reference Guide to Taxes and the IRS
1. The wager must be legal. This seems like a no-brainer, but you would be surprised.
2. Gambling winnings are taxable income, and you must report them, period. This includes winnings from lotteries, horse and dog races and casinos and the fair market value of prizes are all taxable by the IRS. The rules are somewhat complicated, but the casino will keep you honest by issuing you a W2-G if you make more than $1,200 in slots, $1,500 in Keno, $5,000 in a poker tournament or the payout on some other wager exceeds $600 and is more than 300 times that wager. They may even withhold some of your winnings meet this criteria.
3. You may deduct gambling losses if you itemize, but they may not exceed gambling winnings. I had a buddy in college that kept all his losing tickets, but he never had any winnings. Sorry, doesn't work.
4. Keep a journal and your receipts on winnings and losses if you do any significant volume of gambling. You really will need a written record to make a case for your offsetting losses if you are ever audited.
These are only a summary of broader rules, but you get the picture. If you are facing an audit where gambling winnings are at issue, or your gambling has caused a shortfall in your ability to pay your taxes, call locally licensed tax lawyer, Travis Watkins, at 1-800-721-7054 today. I have helped many just like you put their finances back together from these shortfalls.
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Not that easy with this to switch, it is my brother's purchase. I am sure there is a way around it.
The configuration is already DHCP
This routers works with two tablets and a phone on several occasions and none of these have the issue plus there is a computer set up wirelessly in the basement (far from the router) and that works. Do you think it could be windows 10?


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February 10, 2015
BOISE, Idaho — The House Transportation and Defense Committee narrowly affirmed regulations on Feb. 4 that would mandate how long car dealerships should be open each week. Rep. Kathy Sims (R-Coeur d'Alene), a dealer herself, called the move "terrible" and said it would needlessly burden small dealers, IdahoWatchdog.org reports.
The rule would require dealers to be open at least 20 hours a week and to report working hours to the Idaho Transportation Department. The Senate Transportation Committee initially stripped the rule of the time requirement, but because the House panel affirmed the rules, they stay in place unless a change in language passes both legislative bodies.
To read the full story, click here.
? This is bizarre... are there really dealers that stay open less than 20 hours per week? Is this a big problem in Idaho?
GM Financial Triples Share of GM Leases
GM Financial officials said Ally shouldn't be surprised by GM's decision to internalize its lease program. The company ended the year with a 50% share of GM's lease business.
© 2018 Auto Dealer Today. All Rights Reserved.


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Since the dawn of civilization, he was worshipped as a god. Apocalypse, the first and most powerful mutant from Marvel's X-Men universe, amassed the powers of many other mutants, becoming immortal and invincible. Upon awakening after thousands of years, he is disillusioned with the world as he finds it and recruits a team of powerful mutants, including a disheartened Magneto, to cleanse mankind and create a new world order, over which he will reign. As the fate of the Earth hangs in the balance, Raven with the help of Professor X must lead a team of young X-Men to stop their greatest nemesis and save mankind from complete destruction.
Original Title: X-Men: Apocalypse
Release Date: 27 May 2016
IMDB Ratings: 7,6/10 from 36 688 users
Genres: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Director: Bryan Singer
Cast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Oscar Isaac, Nicholas Hoult, Rose Byrne, Tye Sheridan, Sophie Turner, Olivia Munn, Lucas Till, Evan Peters, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Alexandra Shipp, Josh Helman, Lana Condor, Ben Hardy
Runtime: 144 min
Language: English
X-Men: Apocalypse movie download:
Quality 1: HDCam 720p, 1264×512 px, .mkv, 1,2 GB
Link from Publish2 | Link from Keep2share | Link from NitroFlare


text: Neal Tiles has been tapped as exec VP-marketing at DirecTV. Company President-CEO Mitchell Stern made the announcement last week as Tiles, the ex-Fox Sports exec, will spearhead advertising and on-air promotions strategy. Tiles represents the latest executive, who like Stern, has previous ties to News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch, who recently closed his acquisition of the direct-broadcast-satellite operator.


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Close window
The Ricketts Quadrangle will be closed from 12:00 on Thursday 10 March to 17:00 on Friday 11 March for the North London Higher Education Fair. During this time the Costa outlet will be open for take away service only. Reception services will remain open.
Other Chartwells outlets including the Circle Cafe in Sheppard, Joe's in The Grove Atrium and my Costcutter, will be open as advertised opening times.
Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.


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DNA molecules, artwork
F006/8776 Royalty Free
Please login to use the price calculator
Credit: KTSDESIGN/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Release details: Model release not required. Property release not required.
Keywords: artwork, biochemical, biochemistry, biology, biotechnology, complexity, deoxyribonucleic acid, dna, double helix, gene, genetic, genetics, genome, illustration, molecular, molecular model, molecule, red background, research, strand, structure, technology
Licence fees: A licence fee will be charged for any media (low or high resolution) used in your project.


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For many years, ISLAND has raised funds to grow vibrant programs in ecology, the arts and agriculture through a combination silent auction and benefit concert held at Short's Brewing Company in Bellaire.
Bidders in the silent auction can choose between two platforms. The main auction takes in person, as it always has, at Short's. Before the main auction starts, bidders can also choose to support ISLAND programs by placing bids on select art, food, and handmade goods online via ISLAND's Facebook page.
The auction continues at its online home through Friday, April 10th at 5pm, at which point it moves offline to the ISLAND benefit concert, held Saturday, April 11th at Short's. Your bid will carry over from the online auction, and if yours is still the highest bid by the end of the night, you win.
Here's a sample of what could be yours:
· get-away weekends at local accommodations
· get-away weekends at local accommodations
· festival tickets
· mushroom landscaping consultation and starter kit
· original art for your home
· baked goods and food from farms
· a guided mushroom walk
· hand-made wooden utensils
· handmade aprons, purses and jewelry
· smokehouse, plant nursery, and local farm gift certificates
· … and more!
Watch the ISLAND Facebook page for silent auction posts.
The 9th annual ISLAND benefit concert takes place April 11th at Short's Brewing Company in Bellaire from 4pm til late. Suggested donation is $20 at the door. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. Additional donations are also welcome!


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Cited by many as the greatest singer of the 20th century, Jussi Bjorling was a Swedish tenor whose velvety voice possessed a much-desired quality known as 'spinto", a vocal term used to characterize a soprano or tenor voice of a weight between lyric and dramatic that is capable of handling large musical climaxes in opera at moderate intervals; in short a spinto singer can rise above the wall of sound created by an orchestra. Conductors and fellow-musicians prized the opportunity to work with him, since he was a man without ego, a man with a relentlessly sunny disposition, a tenor who wasn't your typical egomaniac in search of self-aggrandizement.
Frequently compared with Caruso, Ponselle and Flagstad, Bjorling gave to the operatic world an incalculable legacy, burnished even brighter by his early death of an enlarged heart at the age of 49 in 1960. Even in the months preceding his death, Jussi retained his youthful lyricism and his superb technique, characterized by a brightly-toned voice with just a tinge of melancholy.
More elegant than Pavarotti, infinitely more precise in his diction without being pedantic, Bjorling projected a restrained but intense passion that makes his finest performances memorable for a lifetime. His "Nessun Dorma", for instance, renders the competition (and operatic tenor singing is no less a contest than an Olympic decathalon) far too showy, even sloppy compared to Bjorling. And as for his "Una Furtiva Lagrima", this incredibly moving "Recondita Armonia", and "La Donna e Mobile", there are none better. For many fans of great operatic singers, there is Caruso, and then there is Bjorling.
It must be said that the audience for classical music remains small, passionate and committed to record-buying, as well as an inspiration to the music industry which often despairs of the iTunes generation. Kudos to Sony Classical for daring to assemble and market a 14 CD collection. Long after the best of current popular music has been forgotten, the works of Jussi Bjorling will continue to triumph with new generations of listeners.
This CD collection is priced at less than $45, an incredible bargain for the excellent remastered quality of sound, the beautiful LP-inspired CDs, and the extensive liner notes.
If you are new to classical music, new to operatic tenors, and more than slightly bored with the ephemeral nature of most current music, you may owe it to yourself to invest in The Complete RCA Album Collection of Jussi Bjorling. And yes, we did use the word 'invest". Scroll down below and listen to the evidence of that claim.
"Nessun Dorma"
"Una Furtiva Lagrima"


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Every morning I wake up and allow myself to be punched right in my psyche, hit by the negativity of some people in my online community. Not only do I allow this, I set myself up for it. With each fresh morning I open my 17" LCD window to the world, and allow myself be soiled by people I call friend.
Soon after, I begin asking myself, why do I do this…? Why do I grant access into my consciousness, to toxic personalities pushing such heavy loads…? It can sadden me, depress me, influence the direction of my day, and can change my perspective of life – all by 6:00 a.m. Still, I do it day after day.
I know who I am. I know who I wish to be. I try to be who I really am as often as I can, though many times throughout the day I ignore my compass and allow myself to drift. I find myself led off course by my own fears, and by the influence I allow others to have over those fears. I work hard though, to stay centered and on track, and I guess I do a fair job of it.
When I attempt to answer my own question, about why I allow the negativity of others into my life, and why I keep those people there, the answers are complicated. I guess I see it this way: That the universe has brought those people into my life to begin with, and there is no denying they exist within my life, so they must be there for a reason(s).
They become my external friend first, but in time can become my internal enemy – but that's on me, not on them. I do little to dissuade their toxicity and negative energy. I simply ignore it, and store it. I do very little online arguing since I have seen nothing good ever come of this. I have my opinions, others have theirs.
I ask myself: Are these people in my life to test me, to teach me, to hurt me, or to offend me…? Not sure. Mostly I think they are in my life to ground me – to remind me of who I am, who I am not, and who I might turn out to be, relative of course, to who I hope to turn out to be.
I think people who exhibit single-mindedness, who spew hatred, who can argue without ever listening, and who use social media as their outlet are speaking from a place of fragility and fear so deep that they themselves may not even know it's there. In that sense I feel for them – that they are so damaged they may not even know they are damaged, or why. At least I know where my damage comes from.
I try hard not to judge people for these behaviors, as I hope I am not judged by others for the simple act of being myself.
At the end of the day I believe in an absolute universal oneness. I genuinely believe that we are all interconnected — that everyone else is me, and I am them. Maybe not in this life, but in the life next door, in the life down the road, or in the life I will live three lives from now.
I take it all with a grain. I meditate to keep myself centered. I exercise to keep my head clear. I write to honor my creative gift. I also listen without judgment because the voice coming my way might be my own voice someday, or may have already been. Wishing you peace this day… rc
Please check back in two weeks to see what happens when I push the "stop" button on the blender in my head.
Oh, and there is this by Sweden's Hellsingland Underground. Enjoy…


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GDoN "Gleaming Brazilian cherry wood floors" edition
This house is located at 312 Varnum Street, Northwest. The listing says:
"Fabulously renovated 3-level row home in desirable Petworth with perfect attention to detail! Large Master Suite with sitting room, fireplace, luxury bath and access to private balcony. Remodeled kitchen with high-end stainless steel appliances. Gleaming Brazilian cherry wood floors. Beautiful indoor and outdoor spaces. Three bedrooms, three full and one half baths. Rare over-sized 1-car garage."
You can see more photos here.
This 3 bed/3.5 bath is going for $799,900.


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Definition of prosthetic
a. - Of or pertaining to prosthesis; prefixed, as a letter or letters to a word. 2
The word "prosthetic" uses 10 letters: C E H I O P R S T T.
No direct anagrams for prosthetic found in this word list.
Words formed by adding one letter before or after prosthetic (in bold), or to cehioprstt in any order:
s - prosthetics
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Everyone seems to have heard about CASL – Canada's Anti-spam legislation, but few are aware of its implications. CASL will impose significant and unprecedented requirements on businesses to acquire consent in order to send marketing emails and other commercial electronic communications. The regulations have now been published and will take effect July 1, 2014.
View our webinar – available exclusively to members – to find out WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU and your operations. Retail Council of Canada and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce are partnering to offer this webinar which will save you time, energy and money as you move through compliance with this new regulation.
What you'll learn:
• What is a CEM?
• What constitutes consent?
• How do I get consent?
• How do I prove I have consent?
• What are the exemptions?
• What does this mean for my business?


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By Katie Cook on Jun 30, 2016 10:11:26 AM
ContractRoom is a cloud-based negotiation and digital transaction management platform that is redesigning the way that people agree.
With over 50 world-class customers, including several Fortune 500, over 25,000+ users and in excess of 250,000 contracts under management.
[fa icon="phone"] (800) 950-9101
[fa icon="envelope"] firstname.lastname@example.com
[fa icon="home"] 1710 S. Amphlett Blvd., San Mateo, CA


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Wolf Parade "Expo 86"
Great followup to At Mount Zoomer. All of the things that make Wolf Parade great are still there, with a great mix of Dan Boeckner and Spencer Krug songs. On At Mount Zoomer I found myself gravitating toward Dan's songs, while on this album I leaned more towards Krug's awesome Bowie-esque jams.
9.Grinderman "Grinderman 2"
Love me some Grinderman. Nick Cave at his absolute dirtiest. Cave snarls some of his most disturbing lyrics over crashing drums, pulsating bass and some seriously messed up guitar. Saw them at the Riviera and it was one of my personal highlights for the year
8.The Black Keys "Brothers"
I have to admit, I came seriously late to the Black Keys party, and anyone who knows me knows that I'm seriously skeptical of two person blues-ish bands. I gave the Keys a chance this year and fell in love, however. Their show at the Aragon at the end of the year really sealed the deal on them for me.
7The National "High Violet"
At first this album was a real disappointment for me. Right off the bat, we're hit with the absolute terrible production of "Terrible Love" which really set a sour note for me for the album when I first got it. Fortunately, songs like Bloodbuzz Ohio, Lemonworld and Runaway get back to what makes the National great.
6.Big Boi "Sir Lucious Left Foot, the son of Chico Dusty"
I know it loses more and more of its luster every time someone calls Big Boi Outkast's underappreciated secret weapon, but its really true. Big Boi takes a backseat to no one in terms of rhyming skills, and we see once again that Outkast's groundbreaking sonic inventiveness and production are more that Andre 3000.
5.Cee Lo Green "The Lady Killer"
Full disclosure, I'm a huge fan of pretty much everything Cee Lo does, and I think an argument can easily be made he's the most sonically adventurous artist in the hip hop genre. But even that does his overall sound a disservice. Jumping everywhere from 80's electro synth pop to doo wop soul to rock, Cee Lo does it all effortlessly. Everyone knows about the ridiculously catchy "Fuck You," but "Bright Lights Big City" may be just as good.
4.Jim Jones Revue "Burning Your House Down"
Vocals distorted by old school channel distortion? Check. Frontman with the best chicken walk this side of Mick Jagger? Check. Barroom piano? Check. Amped up blues riffs? Check. All wrapped up in a rockabilly-punk sandwich? Count me in. Jim Jones is a blast of old school rock and roll that makes you want to reach for the pomade and watch the Outsiders. I love it.
3.The Arcade Fire "The Suburbs"
This was another album from one of my favorite bands that initially disappointed me. Slow to start and 18 songs long, its not an album that readily invites you in and it really took me 5 or 6 listens to come around. Once you delve into the deceptively simple arrangements, however, the results are quite rewarding.
2. Vampire Weekend "Contra"
I totally forgot this album came out this year until I saw it on Matt's list. Not only have I listened to it so much, but its such an effortless album to get into, that it just seems like i've had it forever. Its hard to call any of this terribly original if you've ever listened to Paul Simon, but Vampire Weekend write such great songs it really doesn't matter.
1.The Walkmen "Lisbon"
Yet another album that I might not have given enough of a chance if it wasn't anchored by such a great song in the middle that it demanded I come back to it. "Angela Surf City" was my favorite song of the year and it wasn't even close. Its a perfect capsule of what makes the Walkmen so awesome. Slightly off beat drums, an absolute tidal wave of a chorus and Hamilton Leithauser's half drunk croon in the verse turned blood vessel exploding scream in the chorus. What really comes out though is the stylistic differences throughout. Besides the rockers like Angela, Victory and Woe is Me to an extent, there's the playful Juveniles to open, and the almost country beat of Blue Blood. What really stands out, however is the hushed restraint shown throughout. Songs like Follow the Leader, Torch Song and the closer Lisbon show that well the Walkmen can still pull off a great rocking single, there is more depth left for them to mine.
Honorable Mention:
Gaslight Anthem: American Slang
Black Angels: Phosphene Dream
MIA: Maya
Gorillaz: Plastic Beach


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Death of MLA's kin: Varying reports put health dept in a fix
Health minister Shabir Ahmed Khan has issued directions to commissioner and secretary, health and medical education, to examine both departmental and magisterial enquiry reports on the death of an MLA' s relative in Rajouri hospital and take action accordingly.india Updated: May 23, 2013 01:03 IST
Health minister Shabir Ahmed Khan has issued directions to commissioner and secretary, health and medical education, to examine both departmental and magisterial enquiry reports on the death of an MLA' s relative in Rajouri hospital and take action accordingly.
Shariq Shadab, relative of Darhal MLA Choudhary Zulfikar, died on the operation table while undergoing 'septoplasty' on May 1.
Rajouri district development commissioner FC Bhagat ordered a magisterial enquiry by additional district magistrate SD Singh after Zulfikar and family members alleged negligence on part of doctors, including anesthetist Dr Bashir Khan, brother of health minister.
Meanwhile, on the directions of the health minister, director health services, Jammu, Madhu Khullar, also initiated a departmental inquiry by a team of four senior doctors led by deputy director Dr Ved Parksh Sharma.
In magisterial enquiry report, pointing out deficiency in the working of the district hospital, concluded that "the doctors have accepted that in most probability the patient died of medicine/drugs administrated during operation and it can either by reaction of drugs, overdose or mere suppression of heart movement because of anesthesia. However, there is a possibility that the patient might have died due to reaction caused by anesthesia with food present in the stomach."
However, the doctors and paramedical staff of the district hospital rejected the magisterial report on the grounds that the persons in the probe team (DSP headquarters and the ADM) were not technically qualified. Also, health employees observed strike in all the hospitals in favour of doctors.
The departmental enquiry report gave clean chit to doctors in question and said every precaution and required medication was observed by the ENT surgeon and anesthetist during and before the operation.
Dr Vijay and Dr Bashir Khan had said the patient died due to sudden cardiac arrest and every possible attempt was made to save his life.
Police had also started inquest proceedings under section174 of the CrPC. Reacting to the "clean chit "given to the doctors in the departmental enquiry, the Darhal MLA said: "It was just an eyewash and attempt to save the brother of the health minister. The probe panel lead by Dr Ved Sharma had made mockery of the system and issued report totally in contradiction to the magisterial inquiry report."
He demanded registration of an FIR against the doctors, as the magisterial enquiry had held them responsible for the death of the Shariq Shahdab.
On the allegations that the health minister had tried to save his brother by giving clean chit in the departmental probe, the health minister said: "On May 1, the Darhal MLA contacted me and informed about the incident. I, on the MLA's request, immediately ordered a departmental enquiry."
He added that commissioner/secretary health and medical education had been directed to take action under law after examining both the reports. Meanwhile MLA Ch Zulfikar has warned to move court if the government failed to take any action during next few days. He also warned to launch district-level agitation.
First Published: May 23, 2013 01:01 IST


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3 month Weight Watchers Journal- check
Points Plus Calculator- unavailable… lame
Complete Food Companion- eh, ok- check
Wednesday was my first day back on Weight Watchers and my first real run at the new program. So far, so good. Being a vegan, it helps that most fruits and vegetables are zero points.
I've been dieting for as long as I can remember and been on Weight Watchers multiple times through a few different variations on the old Points program. It works. I know it does. I just have to actually do it.
This time is a little different. I've been working with an awesome trainer at the gym and it really makes a huge difference. I work harder when we have our sessions together because, well, because she adds weight to machines or hands me a bigger weight and there's not a whole lot I can do about it. I work harder on my own because I know I have to write down what I did and she'll look at it.
So here we go. Again.


text:
£12.50 per 100ml
24 Health & Beautycard pointsinStock
You can only use PayPal to buy a subscription product
P20 provides up to 10 hours sun protection from just one application
P20 provides 10 hours protection from one application and is very water resistant even after swimming frequently throughout the day.Its clear, lightweight consistency ensures a silky and even coverage. Active 15 minutes after application, it's quickly absorbed, non sticky and leaves no white marks. New easy to use spray. Thanks to its long-lasting UVA and UVB filters, it helps protect against burning and the premature signs of ageing, and its once a day formula is colour and paraben-free, with no added fragrance or preservatives. Great for all the family, including the children whether you're lazing by the pool on holiday, outdoors playing sports, or just enjoying the garden at home. Perfect under make-up or moisturiser and for men with a thinning scalp.
Do not apply to broken or sunburnt skin. If you have already been burnt, make sure you stay out of the sun. Follow the enclosed instructions carefully for the full benefit of P20. Do not spray directly on to face, spray onto hands and rub in. For external use only; avoid contact with the eyes and other mucous membranes.
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Size (200) Unit (ML) Height (12.1) Width (6) Depth (6)
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Apply generously and evenly, paying particular attention to the most vulnerable areas such as the ears, nose, shoulders, shins and feet. Allow to dry for 15 minutes before exposure to the sun. Pat dry rather than rubbing after swimming.Excessive rubbing and soap will remove the product, reapply in those situations.
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General Photography
By Joerg Colberg
May 8, 2008
At the Griffin Photography Museum, Jen Bekman will tonight be given the Rising Star Award as part of the museum's 3rd Annual Focus Awards, honouring her contribution to the promotion of photography (more info). Congratulations, Jen!
Copyright © 2002-2012 Jörg M. Colberg


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What is Salesforce?
Salesforce is latest cloud technology and cloud CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software that effectively helps to streamline the sales and maintenance of an enterprise. Salesforce brings you the latest in Customer Relationship Management (CRM). With the world moving its data to the cloud, you get to equip yourself to merge your CRM techniques with Cloud Computing. Create dashboards for your clients and generate reports easily to help them keep track of statistics which would otherwise require manual tasks by a support executive. Salesforce simplifies CRM and maximizes Customer Satisfaction!
What is CRM?
CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is software that is capable of integrating the activities of a sales / business team remotely connected through the internet.
Name some of the key concepts in Salesforce CRM.
Security Confirmation
Activate your computer for Salesforce.com CRM
Organization Administration of Salesforce.com CRM
Customization in Salesforce.com CRM
Security & Access in Salesforce.com CRM
Workflow in Salesforce.com CRM
Workflow Approvals
Data Validation in Salesforce.com CRM
Data Utilities for Import and manage data
Analytics & Reports in Salesforce.com CRM
Marketing Administration
Service & Support Administration
Administration Console
Extending Salesforce CRM
The AppExchange
What is the need for CRM in today's world?
Tracking the sales activities and performance is essential for any business to improvise and stabilize the growth of the business. That is why CRM plays a major role in helping them to track the sales and performance effectively.
What are the Basic Elements & Sub Modules in CRM?
Company management, contacts management, email management, SMS management, document management, Products Management, Invoice management, orders management, and other management modules are available in Salesforce CRM.
Define Cloud Computing.
The ability to perform computations and to store data and information is defined as Cloud Computing. It has gained significant momentum for the past 10 years for its robustness and portability.
Explain about Salesforce APIs.
Simple and powerful APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) from Salesforce grants an effective programmatic access to create the applications to handle the information of an organization. Most of the APIs are SOAP and REST based APIs.
What do you know about SaaS (Software-as-a-Service)?
It eliminates the need to install and maintain software in a computer. You can avail the application services over the internet using SaaS (Software as a Service).
What do you know about Multi-Tenant Cloud in Salesforce?
Salesforce uses Multi-tenancy, a smart cloud technology to share various IT resources effectively and efficiently. This technology is also known for its security attributes. Multiple software applications, business or organization can share the same IT resources cost-effectively with this technology.
Define PaaS (Platform-as-a-Service).
In Platform-as-a-Service, you can run various applications irrespective of the hardware and software resources of your company.
What do you know about the Ecosystem of Salesforce?
Salesforce provides a vast enterprise ecosystem by accommodating more than 2700 partner applications in addition to the already powerful suite of sales, marketing, and CRM applications. Salesforce continues to rise as a fourth-largest software manufacturer from sixth largest software provider for its added advantage of hosting thousands of third-party applications.
Define Data & Objects in Salesforce.
With excellent functionality and additional enhancements, Salesforce objects help to store data effectively and efficiently in the database. There are different types of read-only and read-write objects such as Standard Objects, Custom Objects, and External Objects.
Mention about Mobile UI concept.
Mobile UI is an open-source element which is based on Polymer framework (Google). With the help of these fundamental building blocks, Mobile apps with fun, engaging and innovative functionalities can be created.
What do you know about Wave Analytics Cloud?
It is an exclusive Analytics and Dynamic Visualization Engine that provides reports and dashboards to derive a clear understanding of the business and its status. It allows assigning instant tasks and taking instant actions after the retrieval of results in analytics and reports dashboard.
Briefly tell us about IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-Service)?
In this type of service, the user can utilize various virtualized resources of computer as a cloud computing service over the internet.
What are CRM Editors?
A User can view and edit the contents on the Salesforce CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software with the help of user-friendly CRM editors.
Talk about Navigating through Salesforce.com.
Easy navigation across the data and services of Salesforce CRM is customized depending on different platforms such as computers, laptops, IPhone and Android mobiles etc.
Why Salesforce uses a Cloud Platform?
The cloud platform eases the Information Technology services from acquiring big infrastructure and maintenance resources.
Tell us something about Salesforce Cloud 2 Platform.
Salesforce CRM cloud services are accelerated in their performance and applications with the new Salesforce Cloud 2 Platform.
What is Force.com Platform?
It is a lightning speed platform to run various Salesforce applications to maintain enterprise is made possible by Force.com Platform.


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نقش اعتبار بانک بر رشد محلی: آیا سیاست ها و بحران ها مهم هستند؟
|کد مقاله
|سال انتشار
|مقاله انگلیسی
|ترجمه فارسی
|تعداد کلمات
|سفارش دهید
|11657 کلمه
Publisher : Elsevier - Science Direct (الزویر - ساینس دایرکت)
Journal : Journal of Financial Stability, Volume 9, Issue 1, April 2013, Pages 13–25
چکیده انگلیسی
Although state-owned banks are expected to promote the growth of less-developed regions, especially in developing economies, several cross-country studies report that lending by state banks is associated with the inefficient allocation of credit and low levels of development. Further, state banks have been found to lend to their cronies, especially around elections. In this paper, we study the lending activities of state-owned and private banks during the period 1992–2010 and analyze the relationship between the credit these banks provide and local economic growth in Turkey during crisis periods and in election years. We find that the share of state-owned banks in the credit market in crisis periods and local election years is significantly higher than their share in non-crisis and non-election periods. The per capita real credit that state-owned banks provide during crisis years is found to be positively associated with local growth in all provinces. Our results suggest that although state-owned banks might issue loans for political reasons in election periods, they also seem to play an important role in offsetting the adverse effects of economic shocks, especially in developed provinces.


text:
Optimising paid search advertising programs is all about hard work. Testing and tuning over and over again.
Many advertisers and search industry commentators mistakenly talk about and desperately pursue so-called creativity as the holy grail in creating ad texts, keyword research etc. Creativity is fine but nothing beats hard work. Read this brilliant post that nails the truth about paid search optimisation: Clickz: To Succeed in Paid Search, Think Inside the Box
Filed under: search+, creativity, keyword research, paid search, tune


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Warner Home Video celebrates Black History Month 2011 with the DVD debut of the urban family drama, Of Boys and Men, and the Blu-ray™ premiere of the American classic, The Color Purple and HelloBeautiful is making it possible for you to add them to your collection.
All you have to do is answer the trivia questions about THE COLOR PURPLE or about the actors in OF BOYS AND MEN in the comments section.
Enter as many time as you wish. Ten (10) winners will each be awarded one (1) DVD of the movie The Color Purple, or Of Boys And Men. The contest will end Monday, 01-24-11 at Midnight (Pacific).
Our trivia question for today's "Color Purple" drawing is:
Who played Harpo in The Color Purple?
Also On HelloBeautiful:
comments – add yours
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The Health Minister's Car
|A collection of digital photographs by Dave Sag.
|Click on any photo to enlarge.
Meet David Penberthy
David Penberthy is a journalist working for the Telegraph in Sydney. To his mates he is often known as Pembo, or even occasionally 'el-guapo'.
Meet the Minister's car
Seen here safe and sound in the car park under NSW state parliament. During the leadup to the 2001 Australian Federal election Penbo drove this car about the countryside talking politics with the bushies. The series of interviews was very successful and the car became a minor celebrity in its own right.
We borrowed the car
After the campaign the car was auctioned off to the Minister for Health, the right Honourable Craig Knowles MP. The proceeds of the raffle went to charity. Pembo and I figured we needed to take the car out for one last burn so we sneaked into the carpark underneath Parliament House and, um, pinched it. Our joy ride was short lived however. We had just crossed the Pyrmont bridge when disaster struck.
We broke it
I'm not sure what we did but there was this most horrific thunk and scrape from beneath the car so we stopped.
Traffic hazard
The car was well and truly gounded by now and we were a major obstacle to some serious peak hour traffic. Great bonnet scoop though don't you think.
International rescue
Sydney's highways are closely monitored by cameras, unlike the carpark of state parliament. Within about 5 minutes of the breakdown the emergency highway clearence squad arrived having seen the impact of our breakdown on the general flow of traffic. We stood out like dogs balls
Pump it up
They jacked up the car, climbed under it and affixed what we Australians call an 'occie strap' to hold the suspension in place temporarily. "This'll get youu off the highway" they explained and so it did. We drive very slowly up and around the corner, out of harms way.
Pembo looks impressed
We broke down again almost 20 metres off the highway. Distraught, stranded and without beer, we called Pembo's wife, Georgia, and demanded she bring us beer.
Georgia to the rescue
After much protest - she hates this car - Georgia arrived with - LIGHT BEER! She drove off home again leaving us to our fate. We phoned a tow truck and settled in with our light beer to wait.
All photos taken by Dave Sag and ©2002 - All rights reserved. Higher resolution photos are available by request.


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"Peace, Propaganda and the Promised Land" does an admirable job in setting up its arguments. That Israel's actions in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are an illegal occupation of Palestinian land, condemned for more than thirty-five years by the United Nations. That Israel set up the Hasbara Project to ensure good press in the United States, and that all major American news organizations are in leagues with the Hasbara Project to present "news" from the Middle East conflict which always shows Israel in a positive light. And that since September 11th, efforts have been made to always show any and all Palestinian actions in the region, regardless of the levels of violence, as a terrorist act. Now, how much you believe these bullet points will depend on your own personal feelings of Israel, Palestine and war, and "Peace, Propaganda and the Promised Land" does its best to show the levels of difference in coverage, showing US network news covering an incident, followed by a BBC reporter covering the same situation. The disparity in reporting is often startling.
Yet, this film's greatest strengths is also its biggest weakness. Outside of its small group of talking heads, including MIT linguist professor Noam Chomsky (the seemingly obligatory go-to guy for all discussions highly critical of the American media), "Peace, Propaganda and the Promised Land" uses almost exclusively BBC footage to make its case. Surely there must be one other non-Arab news organization in the world besides the BBC who is, in the filmmaker's minds, properly covering the Middle East conflict. Could they not find a single clip from Australia's Nine Network, Hong Kong's TVB or Japan's TV Asahi which would favorably add to their argumentr
"Peace, Propaganda and the Promised Land" remains engaging as it provokes viewers to consider not only a civilization half a world away but our own premonitions and prejudices. But by employing the very practice it seeks to condemn, the film will ultimately leave viewers just as angry and frustrated about the conflict at the end as they were at the start.Rating: C


text: Are these WM8650 generally multi-touch, e.g. can you zoom a picture or a web page by spreading two fingers over the screen? I've noticed that some sellers give option of buying multi-touch device for 4$ extra (still resistive screen, but they claim multi-touch), which seams to be quite low for that nice feature. Are the WM8650 devices that you bought from Ebay multi-touch or not?


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Seed Conservation at the National Botanic Garden of Belgium
Volume 2 Number 9 - December 1997
I. T. Vanderborght
The seeds manipulated in the seed bank of the National Botanic Garden of Belgium are collected either in the living collections or from wild plants spontaneous in Belgium. The first are mainly used for our own sowing programme and/or exchange with other gardens or scientific institutions. They are conserved on a short-term basis. Every year, a seed catalogue is published offering about 900 different species, and 4,000 seed samples are distributed to more than 300 institutions. The seeds from wild Belgian species are not distributed but conserved on a long-term basis. This ex situ conservation is considered to contribute to a global strategy of nature conservation.
For appropriate orthodox seed conservation, the seed bank is equipped with a cold room (50 m Sq) where the temperature and relative humidity are maintained respectively at 15ºC and 10%. These conditions are quite suitable for short-term storage (10 years), the seeds being conserved in open glass or paper containers placed on shelves. For long-term storage, seeds dried at 5% moisture content are packed in sealed plastic-aluminium laminated bags and placed in deepfreeze units at -20ºC.
About 2,500 accessions are stored in the seed bank. For each of those accessions, an action (Table 1) is decided upon, based on several criteria. Action 01 is attributed to each accession to be cultivated in the living collections. This action can be combined with actions 02, 03 or 05 (Table 2), according to a global value attributed to the taxon (e.g. rarity, vulnerability, taxonomic value, horticultural value, human utilisation), the quality of the data on the provenance of the accession and the verification level of the plant material in cultivation. The action for an accession is never definitive.
This system of action(s) has implications for the daily activities in the seed bank, e.g. the seed harvest in the living collections, the setting-up of security seed samples or the compilation of the annual seed catalogue.
The harvest of seed samples in the living collections strongly depends on the action attributed to the accession (Table 3). Action 01 (accession useful for the living collections) or 02 (accession to be kept in the current and future seed catalogues) used alone or in combination with another action, implies the absolute necessity to collect those accessions. Accessions to which a single action 03, 04, 05, 06 or 07 is given do not have to be harvested. Action 08 is used for accessions producing recalcitrant seeds or seeds rapidly losing their viability. These ones are therefore only harvested on request, just before dispatching or utilisation. As for the accessions to be harvested, a higher priority is attributed to annual plants than to perennials which must not be planted every year. A list is compiled every year and used as a guide by the collectors.
Seed harvesting is extremely time-consuming, particularly for annuals, which have to be verified every year. The seed bank is testing a system of security seed samples in order to reduce those activities and to respond to an eventual complete destruction of the accession in cultivation and to avoid the whole seed stock being distributed. The system consists of the preparation of a certain number of seed samples harvested during one year from verified plants, each of them being sufficient for one sowing. For annuals, one seed sample is conserved on a long-term basis and six others on a short-term basis. Five of the short-term seed samples provide sowing material for five consecutive years without requiring any verification work. The sixth short-term seed sample is used as a starting point of a new seed multiplication (with plant verification), while the sample conserved on a long-term basis constitutes a strategic reserve. For perennials, only one seed sample is conserved on a long-term basis. This system of security seed samples is completed by one reference seed sample and by one long-term stored sample with seeds of origin. It is applied to all the accessions with action 01 used alone or in combination with other actions.
The National Botanic Garden has participated in the International Seed Exchange Scheme for botanic gardens for a long time. A list of seeds is compiled every year and mailed to about 600 correspondents. The system of actions has been applied to the compilation of the seed catalogue since 1995 and is partly the result of an in-depth analysis of the contents of previous Index Seminum and their corresponding demands. Accessions of very common species with no data on origin were eliminated. Other seeds that were removed are, for example, seeds harvested on out-crossing species cultivated with related taxa in the same area, seeds characterised by a short viability, seeds harvested from plants with doubtful or incomplete identification. Efforts are made to increase the number of accessions from interesting species with high-quality data on provenance (although it is not a criterion for being selected by the correspondents of the Garden) and with recent verification information. In terms of actions, only the accessions with an action 02 or 03 are now included in the seed catalogue, that is 900 instead of the 1,600 before this analysis and the use of actions. We also try to offer numerous accessions harvested in the greenhouses, by far the the most requested items of the seed catalogue. As most of the species cultivated in the greenhouses are characterised by short-lived seeds, we created the action 08 (harvested on demand). A list of species, based on experience and phenological observations, is compiled and offered for exchange.
The 'Seed Bank Management' module of LIVCOL, the multi-user relational database application developed by the National Botanic Garden of Belgium using the software PROGRESS, allows to process all information about seeds, including date of harvest, actions, security samples and reference samples and type of storage. The module is very useful for the establishment of accession lists to be collected or be verified. It also allows the compilation of the annual seed catalogue and facilitates the seed dispatching. Statistics related to seed supply and offer are provided, too.