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Good evening Folks,
Whew! What a week! I love it! Every Sunday I try to forecast the high and the low for the Dow30 and last Sunday I expected an all-time low for the Dow of16,900 but the market surprised me (in a good way) to the downsidewith a low of 16,460. Within the past 2 days, the Dow was down 600 points and in August (10 days to spare), Dow is down 1,000 points or 10% from the all-time high (a loss of trillion dollars off the market) and the Dow is at a 4year low now. The volume rose to 1.3billion on the NYSE on 8/21/15. Usually when the volume goes up significantly with a decline it means that a bottom is near. I do not think that is the case.
For one reason, 8/21/15 was option expiry date and that contributed to this decline. Many weeks ago, when the Chinese market fell 30%, they lost 3 trillion dollars. Do I believe that the correction is over? No, not by a long shot; to paraphrase Winston Churchill, "Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning". For the past 30 years I have enjoyed Wall Street sayings. Today I heard someone say "It ain't over till the Fed lady sings". One Fed Governor had the audacity to come out and say that he still supports a rate hike in September. That would burst the 'debt bubble' and which in return would bust the 'equity bubble'. Soros, Carl Icahn and others are betting on that scenario.
Since we had our interest rates at zero for so many years, many foreign countries and companies have got in to debt in US dollars. Let us say that the total of that debt is 10 trillion dollars; then if the dollar appreciates 10% over those currencies, all of a sudden that debt will go up to $11 trillion. Most currencies, with respect to the dollar have gone down and since these countries are our major suppliers of commodities (i.e. oil, gold) the commodity market is in a terrible bear market.
The Russian Ruble is down by 20% ! Australian dollar, South African Rand, Malaysian Ringitt are all down significantly. Most people say that this is a like a replay of the Asian crisis of 1997. Thailand started that as the Thai Baht went from 25 to 60 for one US dollar, overnight. For the past 20 years, we have been asking the Chinese to devalue the Yuan but when they started with a 2% devaluation on 8/11/15, and gradually moved in that direction, the US Treasury Secretary called the Chinese Vice Premier to give a subtle warning. As I believe, most economists agree that China got it right. The US economy is so strong that it is close to full employment and the Feds are considering a rate hike in September while the Chinese rate of growth has gone down from about 13% in 2007 to an expected rate of about 5% this year.
Most agree that the devaluation should be more. Even though the Mexican economy is doing well, due to the commodity market and China the peso is losing ground to the dollar. In the business news, I heard 101 wizards crying over the rising dollar and how the whole world (except the US) was going down. As I stated in my last month's edition, I strongly believe that Europe's recovery is real and it is not going in to a double dip recession so I shorted the dollar against the Euro with a Euro/USD call option-to go against the herd! I purchased that on 4/14/15 and in 4 months it is up 129% and just within the last 2 days, it went up by 81.25%. Today in the Barron's John Higgins of Capital Economics states, " Just a month ago, wagering on the euro a winner. Don't expect that strength to last". He says that the euro increased because they believe that the Feds will not increase rates in September. Sounds like someone lost money by shorting euros/USD! My options expire in 2017 and the European economy will be humming by then. Ideally I would like to see the Dow go down another 3,000 to 5,000 points. At a real market bottom, most people, especially the retail investor would get terrified and it will be the #1 leading story of 'main street' and not only on 'wall street'.
On ABC News, on 8/21/5, it was one of the last items mentioned. When CNBC did a sidewalk survey, all the people said that this is just a buying opportunity. That shows that we have more to go down! Wait till people take money off their stock 401K plans. One thing I noticed today was that some call options on the Dow Jones Industrial Index were going up rather than going down. The buyers are extremely bullish! That is not an end of a correction. If it goes up again, we will re-visit this area or below pretty soon.
Remember September/October is the worst period for the market. It is when everyone gives up trying to catch a bottom that the market really makes a bottom. The market has a lot to do with mass psychology. Over the past few weeks, every time the market went up, I bought more puts as hedges. On 8/21/15 when the Dow went down 530 points my personal portfolio had a net gain of 1.6% in one day; my hedges worked! During this past week, just in 5 days, the Dow put went up by 150%, one NASDAQ put went up by 150% and the other NASDAQ put went up by 400%!! These are just hedges and not trades to make money-which is very dangerous; unless it is the Chinese market. As the short seller Jim Chanos, stated on CNBC on 8/21/15, the Chinese market is like 'pigs on LSD'. He also stated, "Whatever you think of the Chinese economy, it is worse than that". Many believe that the Chinese slow down is secular and not cyclical. They are going through growing pains. Just like in 2000, Silicon Valley is going overboard. According to tech expert Kara Swisher,on 8/21/5. "Everyone is awash in money". All the crazy startups and private equity going mad over there! A few months ago, Mark Cuban made the same comment.
Nobel Laureate Robert Schiller, the #1 expert on real estate economics (he calls himself a behavioral economist), stated that he is expecting the property market bubble to burst around Silicon Valley. I agree with Schiller when he said that all that is happening in the financial market now is based on a story we tell ourselves and when the story changes, market changes. As it said in eastern philosophies, what we think of as real is only an illusion. If the market goes up from here, as I have been doing for the past month when the market went up, I will buy more puts to short the market. September is the worst month for the market and most crashes happened in October. In 1987, the market hit a high in August and then it was volatile till it crashed on 10/19/87 ("black Monday"). Will we have another black Monday on 8/24/15? I hope so. Don't get me wrong; what I want is a good correction or a crash to clean up this over-valued market so we could have a nice bull market for the next 5 years where we could make money in a rational manner. It is abnormal to go for 8 years without a 10% correction and that is what we achieved today. 25% of the S&P 500 stocks and 35% of tech stocks are in 'bear territory' (down more than 10%). Many unique things happened this week. From day one, when the stock market goes down, people who sell, transfer that money in to the bond market and that did not happen today. Finally, they got wise! Otherwise, it would be like going from the frying pan to the fire as with the expected higher interest rates, you will lose your capital-it is better to be in cash for many reasons! The bond market is going to be toxic for a long time. If investing in bonds, one has to make sure of buying the actual short-term bond rather than getting in to bond funds which are extremely toxic.
When interest rates go very high, then bond funds are the best. Remember the 20%+ prime rate around 1980? Cure for stagflation. Maybe Brazil needs it to get over the current stagflation they are facing. For the past 3 years I have been asking readers to be 50% in cash to take advantage of a good correction. Most analysts would say that to get in too early with a correction is like catching a falling knife but at the same time there is no way to spot a bottom. All those analysts would say let someone else take the initial risk but most of the gain could come with the initial upsurge; and that is why if you have good stocks, you should not sell at this time. I am going to introduce you to a new strategy. As I started doing that with my last month's edition (with Twitter), instead of buying, I want you to 'nibble'-more about that later. Taking advantage of this correction, I want to start with a new list of stocks and a new way to list them in this newsletter. For the long run, this correction created many good opportunities.
Today the so-called 'fear index' (VIX) was at 28% but after watching wall street for more than 35 years, this is not fear I saw this week. On 10/19/87, the Dow fell from 2164 to 1677 (22.5% drop) and the next day it fell to 1616. However on 10/30/15, thanks to Greenspan, the market was up to 2049. Then the authorities introduced 'circuit breakers' and limitations on short sales and so on so now when the market goes down, it takes a long time to recover. When you allow the market to correct itself, it does it efficiently. The Chinese got the wrong message from our Feds QE1 and QE2 as well as all the market restrictions we placed. I do not think we should ban short selling. Most short sellers lose money and we can make use of their ignorance or greed to make money. One thing most people do not know about short selling is that you can lose by winning. Since you borrow the stocks to short sell, the broker can close your position by buying at the current market price and make you pay for that purchase. To make matters worse, most short sellers do that with margin (borrowed funds). When the stock moves in the opposite direction the short seller has to buy the stock to 'cover his shorts'. So I love them! Every week I look at the mostly shorted stocks (specifically where the shorts increased within the past 5 days-available in Barron's) and after studying the list at times I decide to go against these short sellers. It is very rewarding!
A few days I saw J C Penny on the list and it is my understanding that the worst is behind them so I decided to buy the stock but even before I did that J C Penny announced that they had a terrific quarter and their outlook on revenue was good and the share price rose from $8.07 to $8.92 within a matter of minutes! Short sellers have to pay the dividends announced by the company. The broker has to take your money and hand it over to the real owner of the stocks. About 15 years ago, I worked for a company called PMR and the CFO who became a CEO was a genius. As the company was going down due to various problems, the share price dropped from $20 to about $5. The CEO sold a part of the company and with those funds, one morning at 9am, he announced that the holders of that stock at 3pm that day would get a special dividend of $5 (100%)! Just imagine the plight of the short sellers! It got much worse, between 8am and 3pm that day, the share price rose to about $20!
All investors and traders make mistakes. Talking about mistakes, I must let you know that Warren Buffet is no longer a technophobe. For the past few years, as IBM was going down, he has been buying IBM. Probably he is betting that their artificial intelligence section (IBM Watson) will be a winner for them. So I suppose I should follow suit-not being a technophobe. One of the biggest mistakes I made was getting in to gold too early. If I did more technical analysis I would have found that it is not a good time to buy gold. The argument against gold is many folds. The rising dollar makes gold cheap as most of it come from countries with currently devalued currencies. The main argument is that when the feds increase interest rates, you can sit money in risk free treasuries and gold does not earn interest. I do not buy in to these arguments but I have some faith in the technical analysis and chart analysis.
When interest rates go up the debt bubble is going to burst overseas and that is going to have bubbles bursting in the equity markets as well as their property markets. It is a good thing that China has limitations on capital outflows as during the past 6 months they have already seen like half a trillion dollars leaving their shores. Everyone is expected to keep some gold as a part of diversification. A month or so ago, when the international fear factor was rising I was surprised that gold prices did not go up. Now I have the answer! As I have been saying in my last 2 editions, the Chinese government stopped selling on 50% of their stocks and since 90% of the account holders were uneducated people (with a grade 10 education equal to a grade 12 high school diploma in the US), they had bought stocks on margin and even borrowing against their homes. When they got margin calls, and when they could not sell what they wanted to, they sold what they could. Instead of buying gold, they were selling gold. However the situation reversed itself last week. Gold Miners were among the best gainers of last week. On 8/17/15, I purchased call option on Barrick Gold (ABX,$10,Call,Jan 2016) and now it is up by 13% in 5 days. For option trading or hedges, I use less than 5% of my portfolio-it would be too risky to do otherwise.
Now for Oil, the prices are at a 29 year old low. As I have mentioned in my previous editions, when WTI hit $45 in March 2015, I bought shares in the ETF 'OIL' and when it reached $60, I sold mine. WTI went up to about $62 and started sliding down again. When it hit $45 a few weeks ago I started nibbling again and I mentioned that this it might go down to $25-even though this time analysts were predicting a low of $35. Last week it went below $40 and now analysts are predicting a low of $25. Just imagine, the high for 2014 was $114. Most of all oil analysts are predicting that it will stay under $40 for 6.5years. These are the same analysts who did not see the fall of oil prices in 2014. Let us be real, for WTI to stay long below $45, the whole world has to stay in a deep recession for many years.
The US is near full employment and Europe is recovering. After debt and equity bubbles burst, US and Europe can tag along the other economies. As it used to be said, "when the US sneezes, Europe catches a cold and rest of the world gets pneumonia" (the opposite is true too). About a month ago, I start nibbling at other commodities too. On 8/9/15, long after I got in to commodities, Barron's (best for stocks) had a front page article stating that it is time to buy commodities. I won't say 'buy', I say 'nibble'-more about that later. Last week it was reported that Fidelity Contrafund (which manages $115B and made 7% when Dow was up 3%) stated that they are bearish on commodities. This is very good news! Why? As the best stock picker to work at Fidelity, Peter Lynch said buy stocks that are ignored by institutions. Why?
As the prices go up, these funds will come back in and drive the prices way up. When it comes to commodities I am nibbling at some of the big names who have suffered a lot over the past few months; like Freeport McMoRan(down from $60 to $9.58), Alcoa (down from $40 to $8.73) and so on. One day there will be a turnaround in China too. It might take time but China will come around but the stocks will rebound before our pundits are sure of a turnaround. That is always the case.
The best way to profit from it is by going with commodities. When the Chinese economy goes up, copper will go up. I started buying a little bit of the copper ETF, COPX. Most of the gains during the past couple of years were made on momentum stocks-"trend is my friend". I think that it deadly. As an analyst stated on 8/21/15, "Remember, at times friends can betray you". On 8/20, when the Dow was down 350 points, one of the well-known analysts on CNBC said that the worst stock at this time is Freeport McMoRan (FCX). Unfortunately he did not check the ticker tape; that day alone FCX went up 2.67%! These analysts are mere pups; most probably during the 1987 crash, they were getting breast fed. A few weeks ago, all the media and people were whining about high oil prices and the same time Wall Street was complaining about dropping oil prices. Hmmmmm. What happened? Oil Refiner margins started going up. Have you noticed how refiner 'accidents' happen from time to time when WTI goes down? Excuse to raise prices at the pump? Oil refiners and oil pipeline companies who are not affected by oil prices should do okay but investors are bringing the whole sector down. Transportation stocks should do well in a low oil environment. American Airline is the only airline that does not hedge against oil prices so they benefit from low oil prices and others don't. Delta is the exception as they own a refinery! However other airlines are immune to high oil prices as they hedge. Two months ago, the transportation index was low so I checked on airline share prices and found that most of them were down about 20% off their 52-week high.
Here is another secret: In a bull market, a good quality stock hits a 52-week high and retreats 5%+, if the fundamentals or the technical change, this is close to sure bet to buy. For shareholders, Delta is the best but I chose to buy some Southwest Airlines (LUV). Why? They have no exposure to foreign markets and foreign currencies. I bought a little bit thinking, when it goes down further I will buy more and keep lowering my average cost. It did not go down and it kept on going up. Even on last Wednesday, while the market was going down, Southwest was going up; and it was up 15% in 2 months. That is a good sign. On Friday, when it dropped2% I sold all but one share (as a tracker). Even if I did not sell it, I would have ended with a net gain of9% for 2 months. Not bad by anyone's standards! The main reason I sold is to increase my cash position so I can make use of the opportunities that might come my way with a good correction (or better yet with a crash). Yes, now there are all kinds of golden opportunities propping up. For the individual stock recommendations, I am going to start with a clean slate with this newsletter.
Here is another Wall Street secret-Usually after a correction, market leadership changes. If you look at old leaders and plan a buying strategy, you might not find good buys. I have always been a value or a special circumstance buyer (at times, it is such a no brainer!). This time around most analysts expect the leadership to go from 'growth' to 'value'. Even if that is not true, you will never lose in the long run by going with value. Last month I asked you to start nibbling at Twitter-in other words, buy 5% what you intend to end up with. Then I forgot to mention that when Twitter first came on the market, initially the price rose and then as soon as the insiders were allowed to sell (new millionaires and billionaires), the price dropped. At that point, I bought and sold when the price went up again. Now let me tell you the interesting things that happened to Twitter during the past 3 weeks (since my last newsletter). As I predicted, Twitter kept going down and that is good. When a stock is going down, all the 'haters' come out of the closet but when things turnaround all the 'haters' become overnight 'lovers'. That goes the other way too. Till a few days ago, Apple was everyone's darling no one could say anything wrong about it. Now even Apple is in bear territory with 20% down. They claim that the slow-down in China and rising dollar is going to be very detrimental to Apple. Jim Cramer (whom I respect) used to say 'do not trade Apple, invest in Apple'. In other words, do not sell when it goes up or down, keep it for the long run. Then last week, while the correction going on someone asked if to buy Apple and he said no, the time is not right-"catch a falling knife". Then I started 'nibbling' at Apple. In 2008 I was doing a second job at a University and this student worker asked if it was okay to buy Apple and I gave him a target price which happened later. If he bought it then, he would have made a 1,000% profit.
Now back to Twitter. On 8/10/15, Twitterinterim CEO, Co-Founder and Chairman (38 years old) and other insiders announced that they were going to buy more shares and overnight the price increased by 7%. There were some insider selling but that was done by the employees who were getting fired. Now on to another Wall Street secret: When the insiders are buying, that is a very good sign. They are not going to send good money after bad. On 8/13/15 I was watching this panel (of tech expert) discussion on Twitter and they were saying that the Twitter Board and the investors are very concerned that Dorsey is interim CEO of Twitter whilebeing CEO ofSquare which is supposed to come up with its own IPO soon. A that moment I was thinking, "Steve Jobs did the same thing". Then one panelist had the sense to point out that Steve Jobs founded Apple, got fired from Apple, founded Pixar and when he came back, he was CEO of both companies and they all did very well. Since then as I expected Twitter has been falling. Time to nibble again! Then the next day, there was a rumor that Facebook was going to start something to compete with Twitter and people were calling it a 'Twitter killer'. What happened? Facebook went down. IfFacebook investors liked the idea, the share price would have gone up. By the way, on Wall Street (as well as in the commodity market) and rumors go hand in hand. Even when I wrote the last newsletter, Twitter market cap was lower than what Facebook paid for Whatsapp. In fact, there are rumors that Facebook or even Google might buy Twitter.
On 8/20/15, Thursday, when the market fell 350 points, CNN came up with this breaking news, "Dow down 350 points. Twitter gets hammered". What did I do? I nibbled (bought) a little bit more on Twitter. Then came 'bad Friday' the 8/21 where the market fell 530 points with 82% of the stocks going down; what happened to Twitter? It went up (not by much; like 0.22) . Now to another secret: On a big down day, if a stock goes up, it is well noting. Also on 8/21, Tech Expert, Evan Wilson, said that he is happy with what Twitter has done already on the revenue side and all they have to do is to get their users up and he was confident that it would be done. To borrow a page from another pope of Wall Street, Peter Lynch, you have the most to gain in investing in a turnaround story. Is this very risky? Yes it is so. At times, what I avoid, work against me and still it is okay to keep to my guns. To make money on Wall Street, what is important is a discipline. For example, in 2004 someone asked me if he should buy Google (you know who you are!) and I told him that I would avoid it but luckily for him, he bought it anyway. It had a PE of 80! I have never seen such an expensive stock doing well in the long run. Now, after 11 years, Google is up 1,500% and the PE has gone down to a respectable30! It is cheaper now than it was in 2004!! Now on Wall Street, Google is known as "Berkshire Hathaway" of Technology.
Another opportunity that came up last week, was when another 'lover' became a 'hater' of Wall Street; I am talking about Disney. A few months ago, when analysts could not say enough good things about Disney, one of the things they used to mention was that Disney was going to open a park in China. At that time I was thinking that this is a bad time for that. Now analysts use that also to bash Disney. However the turning point came when Disney announced disappointing revenue from ESPN which brought down Disney and all of media stocks. In 2013, I made a lot of money going in and out of Disney call options. CEO of Disney, Iger is one of the best CEOs, I have confidence in Disney but I will not be surprised if the price even drops to $50 but I already started nibbling at it on 8/21/15. Out of all the opportunities that came up during the correction (and even prior to that) is something most will not agree with me. I like going against the herd. In fact, this is 'bluest of the bluest' stocks in an industry that many believe that they are headed for Armageddon.
I am talking of Exxon Mobile (XOM). I just cannot praise this stock enough but start nibbling with the expectation that it might continue to go down for the next 5 years. There is a high probability that it might turnaround in 12 to 18 months but if you do not expect it, you will not get disappointed. This is the giant of the giants. It reached its all-time high of $100 on 4/1/14. So now it is down 28% to $72. It is right at the simple moving average so in the near future, it could down drastically. Most probably this is something you can keep in your portfolio for the next 30 to 50 years. Periodically you have to check to see if there is something drastic coming down the pipeline and sell it but I am confident that Exxon Mobile would be able to adjust to changes and keep prospering. A few months ago, an analyst on CNBC was showing that all these big oil companies were making so little money now that their 'earnings per share' was less than the expected 'dividend per share'; and he concluded that all oil companies would freeze their dividend this year. Most, including Chevron and Shell are expected to do that. Not only Exxon Mobile paid a dividend, it also increased it (by a little bit). I personally checked their dividend history and found that every single year since 1911, they paid out a dividend! Not only that, for the past 32 years, each year, they have been increasing the dividend by an average rate of 6.4%! So I bet that they want to keep this reputation or else it would have been to their benefit to freeze the dividend and increase their cash position to get ready to buy all the hundreds of oil companies that will declare bankruptcy within the next 12 months.
In the 70's GM had that reputation about paying out annual dividends. Hopefully what happened to GM will not happen to Exxon Mobile. Out of the original Dow 30, only GE is there today. In the 2007 recession, they came close to getting themselves out of the Dow30. So this shows that Exxon Mobile is not a sure thing. If you want a sure thing, buy US treasuries and get 2% per year. Some bozo called Donald Trump introduced you to 'the art of the deal'; now let me introduce you to 'the art of nibbling'. The current price of XOM is at $72. Let us say you buy 10 shares (or multiples of 10 shares) now and each time the share price goes down by another 10% by another 10 shares (or multiples of 10 shares). According to this example, if XOM goes down to $10, you would have accumulated 180 shares of XOM for the total cost of $6,227.39(plus commission). Now your average cost is $34.60! Now let us assume that kept the current dividend in terms of dollars and it took 5 years for the price to drop from $72 to $10 (which is extremely unlikely) and you purchased 36 shares per year. Believe it or not, according to these assumptions, over the 5 years, you would have received $1,598.40 in total dividends. If you factor the dividend, your total cost goes down to $4,629 and the average cost goes down to $25.72-even though the stock itself went down by 85%. Now that is Part 1 of the 'art of nibbling'(which I just developed this week-up to this point I did not have it as a science). Now let us assume that over the next 10 years, with the dividend increasing 6% per year as they have done for the past 32 years, the share price increased 30% per year to get the price to $149-this is not unrealistic after such a rapid drop and only a 49% move up from 4/1/14. Then for that 10 year period you would have received$7,976.79 in dividends alone. Your XOM holding would be worth$ 26,824.51. Remember that during the first 5 years, your net cost was $4,629.00. If you reinvest your dividends in XOM and taking the compounded dividend and rate of growth, the potential to make money is higher. This is just an example by making so many assumptions but I was trying to create a general picture in your mind. To be realistic, I do not think that XOM will go down to $10 and it will go down for 5 years. Most probably it will start going up next year and it will hit $150 within 2 years and it will keep on increasing dividends for the next 10 years. Since the increase was less than 6% this year, they might increase it more next year to get back to the average of 6%. I already bought my first 'nibble'. After a major correction when you do not know if we have reached the bottom, high paying dividends with real growth prospects are the best. By the way, if you buy extremely high paying dividends without doing your research, you will get hurt. For example, Linn Energy has a dividend rate of 48% per year! The current price is $2.41. Bankruptcy court, here we come! Just high paying dividend stocks (utilities, AT&T, Verizon etc.) are expected to go down after an interest rate hike by the Feds as people are expected to get the same payout from a risk free treasury. However there is a huge flaw in that argument.
When Feds start to raise interest rates, over the next few years they keep raising interest rates. Why? More and more inflation seems like a possibility; they have no choice but raise rates. Martin Zweig coined the term, "Don't fight the Fed" after he discovered this historical trend and its impact on the financial market. So people who rush to a bond fund after the initial rate hike will find that they are going to lost their capital with future rate hikes. In the bond market, unlike the equity market, you cannot recover after you lose a big part of your capital. On the other hand, due to this correction, there are very solid companies with potential to grow with high dividends. As of 8/22/15, GM has a dividend rate of 4.7%, Ford=4.2%, GE=3.7%, Exxon(XOM)=3.9%. Let us say that you start nibbling at GM on 8/24/15 by buying 10 shares at $29.60 for a total amount of $296 (plus $8 for commission). Note that Warren Buffet owns 2.55% of GM. Now let us assume that we get this by a major market crash between now and November and the DOW drops 5,000 points and GM drops by another 50% to $14.80. Since the US market is doing well and Europe is coming back, I do not think that GM will even consider lowering its dividend. If the Feds want to lower interest rates in the future, they can always get back on the QE (quantitative easing) program by buying back bonds. So if GM falls to $14.80, their dividend rate goes up to 9% while the US Treasury is at 2% per year! Talk about a no brainer! This alone would drive investors and traders towards GM. However expect most on Wall Street to say that GM will go down to zero and they will eliminate their dividend and so on. That is how short traders make money. As Warren Buffet says, "buy when others are fearful and sell when others are greedy".
THIS IS NOT A TIME TO BUY. IT IS A TIME TO NIBBLE. Now till November keep 50% to 75% in cash. Cash is king. What happens if GM drops to $14.80 with a further drop in the DOW of 5,000 points and you do not have any money to buy any more and you have lost 50% of the value of your 8/24/15 purchases! If you go for the big kill, the market will kill you. As an individual investor, you have a great edge over hedge funds and mutual funds. Now all the retail investors are saying that this is a buying opportunity but if the market drops another 5,000, lay people will take money off their stock mutual funds in 401K plans and so on. Then, as most funds are fully invested (they have no choice), they have to sell indiscriminately to pay their clients. Look for that opportunity and pounce! Next time we have a huge correction (25%+) or crash, we are going to see what we have never seen in our history. Can you guess? Now most of the heavily traded items on the stock market or ETFs; when we get heavy withdrawals from these ETFs, they have to sell every stock they hold without discriminating what is a good stock and what is a bad one. Apple can move the DOW as well as the technology ETF, XLK. If Apple brings down XLK, you might find some other stellar tech stocks going down for no reason and creating a great buying opportunity.
Historically, in most years, market bottom in October so some say that if you always buy an index around Falland sell around Spring, you can make money. In fact, if you bought the DOW index (thru ETF, DIA) on 10/14/14 and sold it on 5/10/15, you would have gained 12.76% while the 2 year US treasury yields 2% per year. If you bought the same index that reflects the Dow 30 index on 10/9/13 and sold on 6/9/15, you would have gained 15.29%. As I stated earlier, "trend is your friend but remember that at times friends betray you".
After this interesting week, what is going to happen next? First of all, let me say what I would like to see. Between now and November, I would like to see the Dow30 slide down another 5,000 points. That is another 30% on the downside. With that I would like to see gold skyrocketing to2,000 per ounce (Can't I dream?). To me, that is a solid bottom. All the experts are waiting to see what happens in China on (our) Sunday night(their Monday). Jim Kramer said that is what he does every morning when he gets up is to check on the Chinese market. I do that every night at about midnight. Maybe I used to be naïve but I noticed something very unique. Since I have puts on the Chinese market issued by western companies, I did not think that prices adjust at night but I was wrong. Once I bought some puts on the Chinese market (ASHR) and in 10hours at about midnight I found the Chinese market was down by 1% and when I checked my Fidelity account, my puts were up 50% in 10 hours!
Unfortunately I do not have access to 24 hour trading but some do. Now, back to what to expect going forward; do not expect anything just react in a pragmatic manner. As long as people talk about a 'buying opportunity', know that the so-called bottom was not a solid one so keep 50% in cash. When it comes to oil and commodities, surprisingly even China (yes, China!), all analysts talk as if those prices will never come up again. The probability is high that a bottom is near for those items. Happy fishing (nibbling) in the stock market and good luck!


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subset: commoncrawl


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Island of Salvation Botanica and La Source Ancienne Ounfo present the annual St John's Eve Headwashing Ceremony at the International House Hotel on June 20th and another ceremony at the Magnolia Foot Bridge over Bayou St. John on June 23rd, in honor of Marie Laveau . A headwashing is a form of Vodou Baptism. St John's Eve celebrates the birthday of John The Baptist and is one of the holiest days in the Vodou calendar.
Both events are open and FREE to the public. Please wear all-white with a white headscarf that can get dirty. Please bring an offering for Marie Laveau. She likes: Creole dishes, hair ribbons, barrettes, hair dressing tools (she was a hairdresser), blue and white candles, flowers, Voodoo-esque potions, gris-gris bags, etc.
Ricky Pustanio's fabulous sculpted shrine to Marie Laveau will make it's debut at this year's ceremony at Bayou St. John. Don't miss it!


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Join us for our First Friday Artist Reception featuring artist Nick Portanova and Bri Johnston. Enjoy a great music line up and be apart of a community art project! Hope to see you there!
Back to All Events
Earlier Event: August 28Free the Mic
Later Event: September 11Free the MIC


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I literally am losing my mind. Upon seeing this free Bear Naked Granola Bar or Cereal, I instantly recognized the company and remembered that they'd given away a sample of their granola a while ago. I figured it was back in May, maybe April.
Nope. It was last September!
Yet another reason why I shouldn't be relied upon for anything. Seriously, who put me in charge of this place? Can we get a recount?


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TFR CrossFit Thursday WOD -3/16/17
Having problems with nutrition or proper meal planning for life's endless surprise's. Set up a consultation with @Don Bush so, she can get you on the right path! Remember part of performing WELL is fueling your body with all the essentials.
Let's get to work…
Part A: 8x200m Run
Part B:
12 min AMRAP
35 DUs
7 Burpees
5 Knees to Elbow


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I spend a lot of time on this blog talking about Vikings in movies and television; it's a compulsion. But when the Vikings in question aren't actually historical, I talk about them elsewhere. Which is to say that I have a review of Vikingdom over at sister blog Bad Movie Marathon.
Spoilers: It ain't very good.
The movie, I mean. My review is terrific.


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The west is wrong to write off Ukraine's debts
It's easy to feel sorry for a country crippled by war and corruption – but dismissing past debts is not the way to help, say Alexander Lebedev andVladislav Inozemtsev
The road to hell is paved with good intentions, they say, and so it may be with the west's approach to Ukraine.
On 11 March the International Monetary Fund announced a $40bn assistance package to Kiev, consisting of $17.5bn in new loans and $15-20bn write-offs of previous ones. Such a programme may well help any normal country, but the situation in Ukraine is far from normal.
Before the former government was overthrown and then president Viktor Yanukovych fled for Moscow in February 2014, the country was renowned for its corrupt leadership. Yanukovych, convicted of robbery and assaultunder Soviet rule, is alleged to have received a share of each hryvnia (Ukrainian currency) that passed through the economy.
According to western analysts, the overall scale of corruption reached 14% of GDPduring the early 2010s, or roughly $30bn a year.
We believe that a significant proportion of this ended in the pockets of the president and his family, or in the accounts of the oligarchs and other close associates of the ruling clan.
For years these elites salted away their illicit profits in banks accounts around the world, with the west turned a blind eye.
The new government has been left in charge of a country crippled by both war and corruption, with external debts of $72.9bn at the beginning of this year. The finance ministry in Kiev – and the IMF – believe at least $20bn of this should be written off – because, after all, those responsible are no longer in power.
But why would creditors, many of whom are ordinary investors, be willing to do this? Why are they not asking whose debt is being forgiven – is it a new, free nation whose citizens have sacrificed dearly for their pro-European views? Or is it the former elite who are spending their retirement far from Kiev, wealthy and happy?
Rather than absolving those responsible, as the present government appears to be doing, we believe the private sector should take the lead in holding them to account.


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My name is Curt Bianchi, and I'm guest blogging for Straw Hat Visuals today. In my real life, I'm a software engineer at Apple, but once a year I play sports photographer as part of Bill's Kentucky Derby crew. This is my sixth Derby with Bill, and I thought I'd share some behind the scenes insights into the making of Kentucky Derby photographs.
While the Derby is known as "the fastest two-minutes in sports," for Bill it lasts most of a week. He typically arrives at Churchill Downs on the Tuesday before Derby Day. This is by choice. One thing you don't see too much in the magazine is how much Bill loves to photograph the entire Derby experience, from the barns and exercise riders to the fans and their hats. The Derby is perhaps without peer among American sporting events in terms photographic opportunities, but you rarely, if ever, see Bill's non-race work featured in print. The advent of DSLR video and post-production software like Apple's Final Cut Pro changed the game, providing Bill and Laura with the tools to create multimedia pieces for SI's Web sites. These pieces are an ideal outlet for incorporating all of the creative elements that make the Derby such a compelling event for Bill and Laura to cover.
Racing at Churchill Downs is an all-day event, with 11 or 12 races stretching from late morning to dinnertime. That means exercising the horses on the track takes place early, starting before dawn. Bill's usual routine is to be out of the hotel everyday between 4:30 and 5 a.m. in order to shoot the activity on the "backside," the area where the barns are located. Bill has shot the backside for something like 28 years, and he never gets tired of it. There is a tremendous amount of activity here, with more than 40 barns packed into a fairly tight space. It also feels intimate. Horses, exercise riders, hot walkers and trainers are everywhere, and the sunrise brings ever-changing light. As Bill said in an earlier blog post, it's "peaceful and beautiful; tranquil, but exciting." It's a great place to be a photographer. Bill loves to wander the backside with a 400mm lens, and he's a master a picking out details with it.
Serious preparations for the Derby itself begin on Friday of race week with the marking of spots. After the morning training session is done, all of the photographers from the various press agencies get together on the "frontside," where the grandstands are located. Spots are marked along the finish line, on both the inside and outside rails. There is a pecking order for this. The Churchill Downs official track photographer gets first choice, followed by the major media outlets such as SI, Associated Press and Getty Images, the great local papers --The Louisville Courier Journal and the Lexington Herald Leader. The spots are small, usually 18 inches to 3 feet wide.
Once the spots are determined, cameras can be installed.
This year, SI covered the race with three photographers: Bill, Heinz Kluetmeier, and Gary Bogdon. Bill always covers the first turn and the finish line. This is a lot of territory, encompassing a bunch of angles, so Bill installs upwards of 30 cameras to capture it all. Obviously, he can't be in all places at the same time, so most of the cameras are pre-composed and focused by Bill and fired by assistants. A few others are handheld by other assistants.
Bill places a dozen cameras under the inside rail, just after the finish line. These cameras -- equipped with lenses ranging from 14mm to 400mm lenses -- give the perspective of horses running nearly on top of you with the grandstands in the background. Other cameras are clamped to stands 1/8 of a mile ahead of the finish line, providing a higher perspective of the race. These have wide angle lenses and are mostly composed to directly face the grandstands. All of the cameras are wired so that they can be fired remotely, as the photographers here have to stand some distance away from the rail in order to avoid creating distractions for the horses. Another set of cameras is placed on the roof of the grandstands. These give you the sweeping shots of the fans and the track. With the Derby run late in the day, the lighting is usually gorgeous for these shots. After Bill composes and pre-focuses everything, the cameras are then "bagged" with plastic bags in case it rains before Derby time and to keep the cameras protected from dirt and moisture during the day while the racing card takes place and the grounds crew prepares the surface.
The last set of remotes are installed on the outside rail of turn one. Which brings me to my job at the Derby this year… In the past, I've handled what I would consider non-essential shots; that is, shots that wouldn't seriously detract from the overall shoot if they failed. One of my favorite Derby memories is from two years ago. It was raining on race day and in the afternoon Bill got the idea to install a camera under the rail to shoot the horses' hooves close up, splashing in the mud for a multimedia piece. I took the equipment out to the location where Bill planned to meet me to set it up. But he got delayed and sent me the text, "Can't get there. Do what you can. Good luck." This was my first time using a pocket wizard -- something you wouldn't ordinarily use in this environment -- but with Andy Hancock's help, we got it all working.
This year, Bill upped the ante, asking me to man turn one. Turn one is the location for one of the most iconic shots of the Derby -- the pack of horses rounding the turn with the Churchill Downs twin spires in the background. Bill sets up turn one with three pre-focused, pre-composed cameras: A mid-range lens to capture the spires, and a 300mm and 400mm to come in tight on the horses rounding the turn. These are all wired together so that they can be fired with a single remote trigger. An assistant --my wife, in this case -- only has to push the button at the right time. Sounds easy, right? But there's also the problem of exposure, which cannot be pre-determined because of the changing light conditions. For instance, last year it rained all day, right up until a minute before the horses left the starting gate, when the sun came out. It made for incredible images with mud flying everywhere, but it was a scramble trying to get exposures changed. Not only that, we shoot the horses "twice around," meaning the light could be different from one time to the next. For the inside rail shots, last minute changes aren't possible because the assistants have to be off the rail around race time, so you do the best you can.
In addition to the pre-composed cameras in turn one, I was assigned to shoot a handheld 600mm. Now, let me just say right here that I've never shot a 600mm lens, so the prospect of getting tightly composed and properly focused shots of horses running past me at 35 miles per hour or so seemed a bit daunting. But like I said earlier, there are races all day long, so I practiced.
In between all of the set up and preparations, Bill also finds time to shoot the fans and what he calls "feature work." Not much of it will find its way into the magazine, but this kind of shooting is one of the reasons Bill keeps coming back. One of the best places to shoot fans is from the paddock where the horses are saddled and the jockeys are mounted before each race. It is packed with spectators, and Bill can use his 400mm for tight crops and shallow depth of field. He also finds time to wander the infield, which is a completely different world from the grandstands. All in all, Bill's days are packed and sleep is in short supply. The same goes for Laura, who in addition to capturing audio and video at Churchill, does most of the post-production work and all of the video editing.
Finally, race time approaches. For me, the Derby is both exhilarating and nerve-racking. My wife and I got to turn one about an hour before the race in order to be there before the horses are lead from the barns to the frontside and into the paddock through a tunnel in the stands. Bill made one last check and set exposures, but there's still plenty of time for the light to change, and of course, it does. My main job is to stay on top of the exposures of the pre-composed cameras and shoot the 600mm handheld. I was so pre-occupied with the light that I completely missed the horses coming out of the paddock and parading in front of the stands before being lead to the starting gate at the far end of the track.
Once the horses are off, they are on top of you quickly and you've got about a five second window in which to shoot in turn one. The long lenses are shot wide open, so depth of field is extremely limited. I absolutely could not have shot that 600mm on manual focus while tracking the horses. Today's auto focusing cameras and lenses are a boon to photographers, dramatically increasing the success rate of mere mortals such as myself. And even then, it's not that easy. Back in the day when Bill came up, everything was manual focus, and the ability to focus long lenses on rapidly moving subjects separated the men from the boys. It's one of the essential qualities that have made top notch sports photographers such as Bill and Heinz Kluetmeier so successful. For the Derby, Bill shoots a 600mm handheld from the outside rail about 70 yards past the finish line -- he still shoot manual focus so that he can compose the way he wants quickly. He shoots the horses all the way down the track coming toward him, but most often the money shot is a tight one of the winning horse passing the finish line and the jockey celebrating. That's the shot that made the cover when Calvin Borel won aboard 50-1 longshot Mine That Bird in 2009.
After the race, it's a scramble to get cards back to the media room so that they can be copied onto computers and uploaded to the magazine's offices. The Nikon cameras Bill uses have two card slots which can be configured so that each shot is written to both cards. This enables Bill and Laura to give one set of cards to SI's Photo Operations Manager Erick Rasco while keeping another set of cards for their use in prepping another multiple piece. Erick is so calm, friendly and fast when he is on location with the photographers it makes an incredible difference.
We also have to clean and pack all of the equipment. This may seem like an afterthought, but cleaning and packing is extremely important and is not taken lightly.
You are talking about a massive amount of fragile and expensive gear.
We typically use wet wipes to clean off the equipment. Fortunately there was no rain on race day so the cleaning part was easy this time -- we finished it in about three hours.
When all is said and done, we got out of the Downs at around 10 p.m., time enough to get back to the hotel and order pizzas for everyone and a night of post-production editing.
My thanks to Bill and Laura for another great Derby. I had a great time, and so did the backup (or is it primary?) brain.
The multimedia "Beating the Odds: The 138th Kentucky Derby" is now on SI.com


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'We sold our home to build a social network'
The Hughes family in Manchester have quit their jobs and put everything they own into building a social network aimed solely at sports fans. But can they take on the giants?
"We see ourselves sitting at the top table with the big boys," says father Perry Hughes confidently.
"We don't think we're taking on the competition."
It might sound optimistic to put your family business in the same league as the multi-billion dollar social networks but the Hughes family certainly have the passion to give it a go.
Their big idea is GameDay Xtra, which has the bold ambition of hosting a page for every single sports team and player in the world - with even the humblest of leagues able to share their own news.
Son Sam, 21, has suspended his university studies and works through the night on the project. Daughter Mollie, 18, handles the social media side.
GameDay is purely for sports fans, the family say.
Members get live news feeds of sporting events, form their own groups and networks, follow games play-by-play, and in future will also be able to play bespoke interactive games themselves within the site.
"Super fans" will also be able to run the team or player pages of their choice if the real deal doesn't snap up their own page themselves.
The family say it currently has a few thousand members and will open for broader membership in August this year.
"We saw an opening in the market," says Sam, who is also an eSports video game player.
"It's good to work with family. We're all hard working, committed to the project."
Perry Hughes admits the family "panicked" when Facebook launched its Sports Stadium for sports fans in January 2016 but these days he does not consider them to be GameDay's rivals.
In fact two Facebook execs have joined the closed trial, he claims.
"When we saw what they did [with Stadium] we laughed," he says.
- Swipe right for new 'mum friends'
- The farmer who built her own broadband
- Why I want my home to watch me
There are five planned "phases" for the platform, and the family are secretive about what those will be.
Phase two will be only unleashed once they have one million members because the licensing is going to be expensive, Mr Hughes says.
"Phase three will be: 'what have they built!'" he teases.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, financing the idea has proved to be the biggest challenge.
"We went to a lot of investors. They said the scale of the project was too big," said Mr Hughes.
"We sold the house, the cars, everything. We ran out of money twice.
"We all gave up our jobs and committed totally to this. At times it's been lonely.
"When you put all your money into one project you are keeping an eye on everything."
They have now secured significant funding from a Russian backer, whom they decline to identify.
The family are also coy about how they plan to make money from GameDay but hint that it will be similar to Facebook and Instagram's business model.
"We will be carrying some ads - but we don't want to end up with loads of videos and so on," said Mr Hughes.
"This is not about 'build it, sell it and move on'. We think we are going to change the way media is done."
Emma Sinclair MBE, tech entrepreneur and investor, said she admired their ambition but was "unconvinced" that the platform could live up to the family's expectations.
"Sports fans are already likely using one or more of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and SnapChat. That's in addition to text, Whatsapp, email. And they will no doubt have their favourite sports hubs too relating to teams they support and commentators they follow," she said.
"There's a lot of competition and noise out there and for a start-up on a small budget, competing with giants and established players for attention is an expensive and ambitious job.
"As an angel investor and with the little information I have to hand, I am currently unconvinced that this site has the capacity to disrupt the market and come out on top as a key hub for sports fans as things stand.
"This being a site in beta however, I hope they prove me wrong and I wish them luck."


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Women Dress PU Waist Belt Office Carrer Belt
|Payment Type:
|Terms of Trade:
|Min. Order:
|2000 Piece/Pieces
|Delivery Time:
|35 Days
|1pc/opp bag
|Place of Origin:
|Supply Ability:
|HS Code:
Basic Info
Model No.: L150323B
Product Description
Women Dress PU Waist Belt Office Carrer Belt is pu leather+Third Layer cover leather
The width of women waist belt is 3.8cm width, L110-125cm.
The surface of Waist Belt is with impress to show the logo. The behind of PU Leather Belt is suede.
The pin buckle of the dress belt can be customized logo and shape as per your demand
Carton Size 50×30×50CM
Packing Method 1pc/opp bag 100pcs/CTN
Price Term FOB
Payment Term T/T
Loading of Port Ningbo
Sample 7days usually, USD$125
Mass Production 30-35days after confirmed the sample
Special Service Professional customize
Q: 1. Can I do a test order which quantity less than regular MOQ?
A: Certainly OK, sample orders less than the MOQ are OK, but you need to pay the sample fee and plate fee. Plz be informed the cost of it will be higher than MOQ price.
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We can offer OEM/ODM service for our customer. We can develop new product with our customer. To make customer logo and artwork in the product, the printing is by silk screen printing, heat transfer printing, embroidery etc.
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- Representative: Weng Haohui
- Product/Service: Promotion Gifts , Custom Bags , Auto Accessoires , Daily Commodity , Special Custom Projects , OEM Develop
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- No. of Production Lines: 6
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TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) � Brad Keselowski was minutes away from being benched for the Nationwide Series race. He was involved in a late wreck in the earlier Cup race, sending his carbon monoxide level soaring past NASCAR�s limit to drive.
He was a �real jerk� to the medical personnel in the care center because he demanded immediate clearance to race.
�If the race started 5 minutes earlier, I wouldn�t have been in it,� Keselowski said.
Keselowski needed an oxygen mask for the majority of his break between races then went out and won the Nationwide event at Talladega Superspeedway in a wild finish to end more than 850 miles of racing yesterday.
�We caught the right breaks today,� Keselowski said.
He got the breaks on the track and off to win his first race with Penske Racing. Keselowski said his carbon monoxide level after the Sprint Cup race was at 13 � nearly triple NASCAR�s required numeric level to drive a stock car.
Team Owner Roger Penske asked Sam Hornish Jr. to stand by in case of emergency. After 45 minutes of breathing through an oxygen mask, Keselowski was given the green light to drive the No. 22 Dodge.
All he needed then was the second green-white checkered finish of the day. Kevin Harvick and Jamie McMurray seemed poised down the stretch to duplicate their thrilling 1-2 finish in the Cup race. But McMurray got loose on the overtime laps and triggered a scary wreck that nearly sent Dennis Setzer flying over the fence.
Setzer went airborne, crashed into the safety fence and his car was on fire as it skidded down the track. It was similar to last year�s Cup race at Talladega when Carl Edwards sailed into the fence.
The left front spring and right front shock from the No. 22 was sent to research-and-development because it was under the minimum spring rate. NASCAR will make an announcement on its findings tomorrow.
McMurray, who needed ibuprofen early in the Nationwide race after finishing second behind Harvick in the Cup race, tried to squeeze in behind Harvick in a pack of traffic to eke out the win.
�I tried to get back to the bottom, and I saw a little gap between Harvick and� Clint �Bowyer, and when you are looking at it out of the side mirrors, it�s not as clear an angle as what it needs to be,� McMurray said. �As soon as I saw� Bowyer, �I tried to get back up the race track to not wreck everybody, but unfortunately I couldn�t save it and ended up spinning out there.�
Keselowski won for the first time with Penske Racing. It�s only the second year Penske is running a full-time Nationwide program. Keselowski was added this year to make it a two-car operation with Justin Allgaier, who gave Penske his first career series win this month at Bristol when he beat Keselowski in a 1-2 Penske Racing finish. Keselowski leads the points standings.
�Maybe we were behind when we started, but we sure got ahead today,� Penske said.
Joey Logano was second and Harvick third.
Edwards was involved in a nine-car wreck on Lap 21 and finished 35th, 10 laps off the pace. Edwards remains in fifth in the overall standings.
�I can�t complain about third place,� Harvick said. �It was a lot of the same scenario.�
Keselowski, Harvick and Logano were among the 10 drivers who pulled double duty and drove about 850 miles after rain wiped out Saturday�s scheduled race. It was the second straight race weekend NASCAR had a Cup-Nationwide double because of rain. The drivers who double-dipped last Monday at Texas Motor Speedway went a combined 801 miles.
�I think this week is different than last week because last week was a more demanding race track,� Logano said. �I was fine.�
Setzer, who said he was fine, surely made the highlight reels after his frightening crash that saw him hurled into the safety fence. His car nearly flipped over the fence but landed on the track in flames.
�Anything more exciting than this and we�ll have to go to the X-Games,� Harvick said.


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Syrian, born 1991, lives and works in Paris, France
Her artistic research is characterized by both colors, compositions, texture and gestures that compose her paintings, but also by the imagination that surrounds her characters. Her imagination allows her to open the doors of a fanciful and equivocal world, to create her own actors, to disguise them, to hide them and then to show them in order to reveal the truth or to conceal it, to bring love, madness and go in conquest, to have faith and hope and dream of wonders and enchantment.
Main Partners:
Official Patron: Société Générale
Production ARTER
Partners: Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication, Région Île-de-France, ADAGP


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The ASCE NJ Section invites you to the 44th Annual Awards Dinner!
We invite all ASCE Members and Civil Engineering Professionals to the 44th Annual Awards Dinner to celebrate the accomplishments of our peers and our profession, and more than 40 years of excellence in civil engineering. The Dinner will be held at the APA Hotel Woodbridge. This year, we are honoring:
Civil Engineer of the Year: Jose Rivera, PE, Port Authority of NY and NJ
Government Engineer of the Year: Andrew Kricun, PE, BCEE, Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority
Educator of the Year: Dr. Elizabeth Fassman-Beck, Stevens Institute of Technology
Excellence in Management: Kevin L. Haney, PE, Maser Consulting
Young Civil Engineer of the Year: Christine Yeatman, PE, Van Note-Harvey Associates
Project of the Year: Bayonne Bridge "Raise the Roadway" Program, Port Authority of NY and NJ
Project of the Year - Honorable Mention: Longport Point Revetment Project, Borough of Longport
Special Recognition: ASCE New Jersey Section Report Card Team
Event Details:
Registration opens at 5:30 pm
6:00-7:00 pm Reception & Hors D'oeuvres (cash bar)
7:00 pm Welcome and Introductions
7:15 pm Dinner
8:00 pm Awards Celebration
Registration Information:
Online Registration is required. Registrations must be received by May 3, 2018. Click below to register
Ticket costs: $90 per person; $850 for a reserved table of 10
If you are selecting a Reserved Table of 10, please select that item from the registration list, after that, please add all your guests' names and dinner choices.
Sponsorships Available:
$1,300 Premier Sponsorship includes a Reserved Table of 10, plus recognition on Display Board at the Reception and half-page recognition in the Awards Program, plus company name on electronic event notices
$250 Sponsorship includes recognition in the Awards Program and on Display Board at the Reception
Order of the Engineer Ceremony:
If you will be participating in the Order of the Engineer Ceremony (will be held just prior to the start of the evening's Awards Dinner), please be sure to provide the appropriate information during registration:
Credentials (PE, PLS, EIT, etc)
Mailing Address
Estimated Ring Size (5th finger of writing hand)
Registration Fee ($20)


text: Share: Comments Print December 24, 2007 at 10:49 AM A few Christmas Eve notes Posted by Bob Condotta I'm admittedly out of the loop a little for a few days as I try to do some family Holiday stuff. But I'll pass along a few things, and answer a quick question: — First is this story from ESPN.com that features the first comments I've seen from Tyrone Willingham since the firing of Todd Turner (though that isn't mentioned at all). Willingham hasn't made himself available to local media since Turner's firing. Nothing really revelatory, though I'd dispute the idea that UW hasn't been a consistent contender for the Pac-10 since 1992 — the Huskies were pretty darn competitive through the 2002 season. You could also debate the note about attendance — I think it jumped this year due to the schedule, but overall, it's not at the levels it was before the 2004 season, which is probably a more relevant indicator of where things are. — Reports out of LA are that DeWayne Walker will not be interviewed for the UCLA job until Wednesday. He's one of the leading candidates for the UW defensive coordinator position, as well, and he's unlikely to make a decision on that until he knows what happens with UCLA. This LA Times story gives a good overview of the whole process and also indicates there's a chance Walker stays at UCLA even if not named head coach if Rick Neuheisel gets the job, instead. — Speaking of Neuheisel, here's our story on his return to Seattle Sunday with the Baltimore Ravens. — RealDawg.com reports that Willingham was on the road yesterday and interviewed fired Michigan defensive coordinator Ron English. HOW MUCH DIFFERENCE DID JASON WELLS MAKE?: In the wake of the item on Kent Baer, a few of you thought the loss of Jason Wells was a key to the season. I wouldn't argue that losing a starting free safety isn't critical. However, Baer himself said late in the season (after the Cal game, actually) that Darin Harris might have been the most consistent performer in the secondary once he moved into the starting lineup, seeming to contradict the theory that the breakdowns were all the result of losing Wells. Wells was hurt in the first half of the USC game and UW's overall stats were better at that point — the Huskies allowed an average of 403.25 yards in the four full games Wells played this season. But that includes giving up just 207 against Syracuse in the opener. UW allowed 481 yards to Ohio State and 537 to UCLA in the last two full games Wells played this season. This isn't to pile on Baer more, just to point out that I think it's a lot more complicated than saying it was all due to the loss of one player (or even three, as mentioned in the article in question). And injuries, also, are part of the game. I didn't break it down specifically, but it seemed to me that UW suffered fewer injuries than just about any other team in the conference this year. Every week doing injury reports it always seemed as if the opponent had more key players out than UW. This may be it until after Christmas so happy holidays to everyone. Comments


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Have you ever experienced something so powerful and moving, that you had to really think about it for a while before you could put it into words?
About 5 months ago, a dear friend of mine was quite literally fighting for her life. She had been for several years, but had finally hit the point where if an organ transplant did not take place, the type she needed to survive, she was going to die.
Our conversations before she left for Duke Medical Center were all focused on positivity, and envisioning her future after the surgery. The day she left, I was very hopeful, sending positive energy.
The days started to tick by, and I got more and more concerned, as did her doctors. She had reached the point that even with a successful transplant, it would be a miracle if she survived.
Then it happened, the perfect liver was delivered, she had her surgery, and began the exhausting and terrifying process of fighting for her life. She had to get her body to accept the new liver while recovering from having her body torn in half. And you know what? She had all kinds of ups and downs, scares and close calls, but she beat all the odds and she did it. She lived.
Her doctors and nurses continue to call her their miracle patient.
Fast-forward 5 months. I received an email stating that she was starting back to work, that she'd be in on Tuesday. When I saw her last, she was beautiful inside and out, one of the kindest hearted most wonderful women I'd ever met. Her complexion however, reflected her illness. She was yellow, and sick and her limitless supply of personal strength and faith were the only things forcing her physical self to keep moving.
I walked into the office Tuesday morning apprehensive, I had no idea what to expect when I saw her for the first time. I turned the corner and saw her sitting at her desk, she turned to face me and she was glowing. I'm talking glowing like an angelic force was inside of her radiating outward. I have never in my life experienced anything even remotely close to what I felt that day. I burst into tears. She was standing there, happy, healthy and radiant thanks to her limitless supply of personal strength and faith combined with the incredible gift of life that had been given by a selfless individual who agreed to be an organ donor.
If you aren't an organ donor now, please consider becoming one. You won't need your organs when you are gone, but they can make all the difference in the world to the people watching the clock waiting for a hero to save them. You can make your legacy the gift of life.


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Deleting FileWish.com Successfully
Infections similar to FileWish.com
|Browser Hijacker
|Searchplusnetwork.com, DefaultTab-Search Results, Ecostartpage.com, Get-Information.com, Antivirstress.com, Www1.useclean-atyour-sys.in, Questdns.com, Addedsuccess.com
|Cerber Ransomware, Your Internet Service Provider is Blocked Virus, UpdateHost Ransomware, UnblockUPC Ransomware, Fs0ci3ty Ransomware, VHDLocker Ransomware, Cyber Command of Georgia Ransomware, Kozy.Jozy Ransomware, BlackFeather Ransomware, RemindMe Ransomware, Ai88 Ransomware
|AboutBlankUninstaller, Worm.Wootbot, Fake.Advance, Spyware.Perfect!rem, Backdoor.Satan, TwoSeven, Pvnsmfor Toolbar, Spyware.Webdir
|AdStart, LIE1D6FF.DLL, Coupon Matcher, Adware.Transponder_Bolger, MegaSearch.q, ABetterInternet.Aurora, WinAd, WebRebates, Hacker.ag, WhileUSurf, AdRotator, BrilliantDigitals, Fate, Click, SysLaunch, MyWay.x
|IRC-Worm.DOS.Loa, I-Worm.Bagle.b, Trojan.Tikuffed.AO, Win32trojanproxy.small, W32.Amtian, Trojan.Spy.Ursnif.GV, W32/Magania.AUJL, Weird Trojan, Injector.gen!D, BatXP.Saturn, I-Worm.Moncher, Trojan-Dropper.Agent.AHJU, Trojan.Dishigy
Steps To Get Rid Of FileWish.com From Affected Windows XP
Brief Information on FileWish.com
FileWish.com is a noxious Operating System infection which is especially programmed by the criminal hackers in order to inject and displays intrusive advertisements on your computer screen. It infiltrates the popular Chrome and embeds them with some promotional content of various shapes and sizes. Besides, it causes modifications in browser's settings. Such threat starts their malicious activities from altering the browser's start page, default search engine, and new tab page. As soon as the virus finishes these modifications, it gets the ability to reroute PC users to predetermined domains that are trying to increase their popularity.
In addition to that, FileWish.com blocks the victim's access to the Windows XP and then demands to pay ransom money. Once it infiltrates the targeted machine, it finds the mostly used computer files and encrypts them. Usually, this infection is used for stealing user's personal information, spreading other destructive viruses and simply disrupting system's performance. Cyber offenders can use the malware for getting an unauthorized remote access to a compromised Operating System. That is why, you should rely on a credible anti-malware shield in order to protect your system from threat infiltration. If the virus already infects your PC, then you should Fix FileWish.com Tips For from your system.
FileWish.com : Ways that are Used to Invade Targeted System
Technically, it is able to propagate themselves and then infect the Windows XP without user's knowledge. It may be manually installed on the system as any other program. In fact there are few major ways that are used by FileWish.com for entering the machine:
- It is mainly distributed with the help of spam email attachments.
- The threat can get into the PC using browser vulnerabilities.
- File sharing networks, P2P apps, instant messages and malicious links.
- Sometimes it gets installed with the help of other computer viruses.
- FileWish.com may travel along with freewares and sharewares.
Malicious Activities that can be Caused by FileWish.com
Such type of threats are capable of causing various harmful activities, some of them are mentioned below:
- Infecting, overwriting and corrupting files, PC components and installed apps.
- Destroy entire Operating System by deleting crucial files and formatting hard disks.
- Redirect you to predetermined sites that may infect your system with other threats.
- FileWish.com may display all kind of intrusive advertisements on your system screen.
- Hijack your Internet browsers and steal sensitive information from your machine.
- Encipher your files or display lock screen and demand hefty sum of ransom money.
Click Here To Download FileWish.com Free Scanner
Steps To Remove FileWish.com From Infected System In Simple Steps
Step 1: Start PC in Safe Mode To Get Rid Of FileWish.com
Step 2: Fix FileWish.com Related Processes From Windows Task Manager
Step 3: Get Rid Of FileWish.com & Its Associated Programs From Control Panel
Step 4: Fix Malicious Registry Entries Created by FileWish.com
Step 5: Remove FileWish.com From Infected Chrome
Step 6: Reset Chrome Settings To Eliminate FileWish.com Tips For
Step 1: How To Boot Your Operating System in Safe Mode To Get Rid Of FileWish.com
For Windows XP/Vista/7 Users
Tap F8 key continuously after the computer is powered on or restarted.
You will see Advanced Boot Options window on your system screen.
Use arrow keys to select Safe Mode or Safe Mode with Networking and then hit Enter button.
Now, you can find FileWish.com and Fix it as soon as possible.
For Windows 8 or Win 10 PC Users
Press Win key + C together and tap on Settings option. Click on Power icon, hold down Shift on your keyboard and click on Restart.
Choose Troubleshoot option and click on Advanced options.
Select Startup Settings and then press Restart.
Press F5 key to Enable Safe Mode with Networking option.
Then after, the Operating System will start in Safe Mode with Networking and you can identify and remove FileWish.com without any delay.
Step 2: Fix Unwanted Process of FileWish.com From Windows Task Manager
Press "Ctrl + Alt + Del" keys altogether to open Windows Task Manager.
Tap on Processes tab and identify unwanted processes of FileWish.com.
Select the malware related processes and click on "End Process" button.
Step 3: Get Rid Of FileWish.com From Windows Control Panel
Tap on Start button and go to the Control Panel menu option.
In the opened window, click on Uninstall a Program option placed under Programs category.
In the appeared list of installed programs, you can find and select FileWish.com and click on Uninstall button.
Step 4: Remove FileWish.com Related Malicious Registry Entries Tips For
Press Start button and choose Run option to open Registry Editor.
Type "regedit" in the open field and tap on "OK" button.
Find malicious registry entries created by FileWish.com and Fix them as quickly as possible.
Step 5: Eliminate FileWish.com From Affected Chrome
Fix FileWish.com From Internet Explorer 10-10.0.8250.00000
Open IE and click on Gear Icon from right-top corner in order to open the Tools.
Tap on Manage Add-ons option.
Now, select Toolbars and extension tab. Find FileWish.com related add-ons and click on "Disable" button.
FileWish.com Uninstallation From Chrome 56.0.2924
Launch Chrome and click on gear icon placed at the top right corner of your browser.
Now, click on More Tools option and go to Extensions.
Select all the unwanted extensions including FileWish.com and tap on Trash bin icon.
Get Rid Of FileWish.com From Mozilla:45.5.1
Open Mozilla FF and click on gear icon from the top right corner to open browser menu.
Select Add-ons and choose Extensions or Appearance panel.
Select add-ons related to FileWish.com and tap on Remove button.
Step 6: Reset Your Infected Chrome To Remove FileWish.com In Simple Steps
Reset Internet Explorer 10-10.0.8250.00000
Open IE and click on Tools menu and then select Internet options.
Tap on Advanced Tab and hit Reset button.
Also, check "Delete Personal Settings" option and click on Reset button.
Finally, tap on Close button and then restart your Internet Explorer. As a result, you will find the complete Uninstallation of FileWish.com.
Reset Chrome 56.0.2924
Open Chrome browser, click on Chrome menu and tap on Settings option.
Type Reset into the search box and finally click on Reset button.
- After resetting Chrome, FileWish.com will be removed Tips For .
Reset Mozilla:45.5.1
Open Mozilla FF, tap on Firefox menu >> select Help option and click Troubleshooting Information.
Click on the "Refresh Firefox" from top of the page.
In the appeared dialog box, hit "Refresh Firefox" button.
Resetting Mozilla Firefox will result in the complete Uninstallation of FileWish.com.


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How to Stop Clearing Your Throat
Do you loathe sounding like an old man all day and every day? After consulting with your doctor, try these tips to help alleviate the problem.
The first step is to consult with your Primary Care Physician. If you are feeling annoyed and self-conscious about clearing your throat, and close friends/family have made comments, DON'T delay. Sometimes doctors will send you to an ENT (Ear, Nose & Throat specialist). You may get diagnosed (or not) with a myriad of possibilities: Asthma, GERDS, Acid reflux, Sinusitis, Rhinitis, Allergies ... The primary cause of throat clearing is post nasal drip. Follow your doctor's advice, and review the following tips with your doctor to see if they will work in conjunction with his/her treatment plan.
Eat non-fat dairy products, the high fat content in dairy thickens mucus, especially for the lactose intolerant. The calcium in dairy is fantastic for the aging ladies, so do not feel compelled to cut dairy from your diet unless you can find your calcium somewhere else. Be realistic.
Drinking plenty of water will help to thin the mucus so that it moves more easily. Most people should consume 6 to 8 8-ounce glasses of non-caffeine non-alcoholic fluid daily (Drink the H20). When you feel the need to clear your throat sip some water to clear the mucus.
Another concept on throat clearing is Habituation. You have perhaps gotten into the habit of clearing your throat the instant you feel the tickle of mucus. Become conscious of this and PRACTICE refraining from clearing. If you must clear, close your mouth and use your throat muscles to SLOWLY clear, with just 1-2 short clears. It might sound like a grunt, but you will get better at controlling this habit by practice.
Extra strength Sudafed can help vasoconstrict and reduce the need to clear your throat or a nasal spray can sometimes help with this problem. Saline nasal washes and steroid nasal sprays can be effective. Ask your doctor what medications are available and any long-term effects they may have on your liver.
Acid imbalance in the body can cause many symptoms. Adding lemon to your water can actually PREVENT your body from getting too acidic... do some research on this topic.
Try to drink some warm water after food and whenever you feel the urge to do this "clearing" act. Eat and drink slowly, if you even slightly choke during consumption, it can cause inflammation in the airways and in turn mucous production.
Try drinking thyme and hot water. Pursue a diet/lifestyle change. Make sure that you drink a lot of water during the day, and try to avoid salt. Spicy food can be a trigger. Other causes of constant throat clearing are: Anxiety, Smoking, Dehydration, Aging, Radiation therapy, Enlarged tonsils, Enlarged adenoids, Upper respiratory tract infection, Tourette syndrome.
Always consult with your Doctor Keep a health journal, these are great. Jot things down with a date so you stay aware of symptoms and their duration. Be in charge of your health ... stay proactive ... remember you are the consumer and you are PAYING your doctor for his services.


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Kylie Jenner's boyfriend Travis Scott 'asked to be kept away' from her ex Tyga and Bella Hadid's former lover The Weeknd at Wireless festival
Rapper asked to be kept separate from the two acts to avoid any awkward run-ins with Kylie who ditched Tyga earlier this year or Bella who split from The Weeknd
TYGA and The Weeknd have been ordered to keep away from fellow rap stars Travis Scott at Wireless Festival to avoid any awkward encounters with his ex Kylie Jenner and her friend Bella Hadid
Travis Scott, who is now dating Kylie, is the man responsible for putting this "protective" measure in place - asking not to be billed alongside Tyga, or The Weeknd, who used to date Kylie's pal Bella.
Rapper Travis, 25, has really gone the extra mile to ensure nothing bad happened to spoil the mood at the UK festival.
He performed at the festival on Saturday as Kylie, 19, and her sister Kendall, 21, watched with Bella, 20, from the stands.
But with Travis' fellow performer Tyga hanging around backstage, he's all too aware that he needs to play a protective boyfriend, knowing just how tumultuous Tyga and Kylie's romance was.
And considering Tyga released a song called Playboy with the lyrics "She a superstar, she got it bad for me... / You cut her legs off, she crawls right back to me", it's unlikely Travis had many nice words for him either.
A source said: "Travis purposely asked to be separated from Tyga and The Weeknd so Kylie and Bella didn't run into them."
However, 27-year-old Tyga has been spotted canoodling with a blonde woman backstage at the event, suggesting he doesn't have much time for reunions.
The source added: "Tyga and his girl were all over each other backstage, with her caressing his arm.
"[Tyga and the woman] were seen cuddling up on the side of the stage too listening to Ty Dolla Sign," they added.
Kylie was oblivious to this, as she and her supermodel companions were busy watching the acts on stage.
They all looked perfectly groomed in festival-chic clothes, though Kylie must have been sweltering in her red leather trousers.
Kylie's trip to London with her pals has also seen her enjoy a Nando's, visit London Zoo and rush out of her hotel hiding her make-up free face.
She and Kendall are clearly enjoying some down-time after beingembroiled in a huge scandal over their line of T-shirts inspired by music icons recently.
Luckily for Kylie, plenty of brands like Puma are still keen to have her model for them.
most read in tv and showbiz
Though Kendall might be kicking herself over making another gaffe after her Pepsi ad fiasco earlier this year.
Bella, meanwhile, has remained single while her ex The Weeknd, aka Abel Tesfaye, continues his much-hyped new romance with Selena Gomez.
Got a story? email email@example.com or call us direct on 02077824220


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Hubbie and I got into a little argument last night. I was upset at his constant asking where things are in the kitchen and I decided not to answer him. Which he got upset at being ignored and then continued to extrapolate that into not caring about him and how mean I was. I in turn, got more upset that he always does that, makes it my fault and is never willing to own up to the fact that he doesn't pay attention or take my feelings into account at asking me millions of time over and over and over again.
It is draining for me to constantly remind him, show him, tell him etc. The bottom line for me is that he doesn't listen, pay attention or find this important enough to care.
So the bed was a little chilly last night. Yes we went to bed a little upset with each other.
But if this is what I have to deal with, I will take it. I love him after all and he loves me. These little spats are nothing compared to what others go through.


text: NZ Season starts Some photos and resukts from the NZ FT season opener event. There is a bit of chat at the start of the thread, but results and pics at the end. Changed a few things from the last few years,.......format, target colours, tree mounting etc. Hope you find it interesting http://www.nzairgunners.com/nzairgunforum/showthread.php?t=7408 cheers GS


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Welcome to the Fundraising page of
Heran Heart Foundation's Holiday Campaign
Heran Heart Foundation (H2F), an annual Holiday campaign, is committed to raise funds to support the care provided in the Cardiology department at BC Children's Hospital.
H2F was established in 2014 by a husband and wife duo, Larry and Manu Heran. Larry, an ex-patient at BCCH, has a special attachment to the cardiology department specifically as it has played a big role in his childhood. Manu, a registered nurse, also pursues a passion for healthcare, especially when a dear family member endured an open-heart surgery that nearly cost his life.
Aside from monetary donations, Larry and Manu take joy in collaborating with the hospital team to fulfill a wishlist provided by the patients. Since 2014, they have donated numerous gifts that have brought smiles to the patients at BCCH during the warm holiday season. The two came to find that a chunk of their happiness comes from making others happy; therefore, Heran Heart Foundation was born.
This year, H2F has been authorized to expand their donations to the Urology department. Larry and Manu's cousins, Paul and Jiwan, are also impressed by the care provided at BCCH that they would like to help donate to the Urology department, as their son (Sarwan) has been a patient there many times.
Sarwan was diagnosed with Hyrdronephrosis (a condition where the tube between the kidney and bladder is blocked) before he was even born. Since then, he has had regular visits to BCCH to monitor his condition, which include regular ultrasounds and testing his kidneys using isotopes. Late in 2016, Sarwan suffered severe symptoms that stemmed from his condition and surgery was performed in February 2017. After being discharged, Sarwan had to be re-admitted that same night due to a complication. Despite family commitments, Dr. Afshar (his regular urologist) came right back to the hospital that night to attend to Sarwan. He stayed there until he was satisfied with his condition. During our entire stay, the doctors, nurses and staff were incredible. Children deserve happiness and BC Children's Hospital does a great job of trying to restore this for so many.
-Paul and Jiwan
Family and friends have reached out to take part in the H2F annual holiday campaign. Donate now and help kids like Sarwan get better.
Monetary donations will be collected through the New Year by clicking on "Donate Now" located on the top right.
If you are interested in participating in the gift drive, please contact Larry and Manu directly at 604-537-4131.
Thank-You Scroll
Your Name Here


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Assessments. Notices of changes in assessments for 2016 are being mailed to property owners. A notice is mailed only when the assessment has changed. Of the 74,685 parcels in the City, 73% of the assessments are being changed (52,742 increases and 2,093 decreases…
For more information go to: City of Madison Assessor website
For more information go to: City of Madison Assessor website
Curbside yard waste and brush collection began April 4. Only two curbside collections of waste this spring but ongoing brush collection.
Bus Route Change. Muir Field loop proposed to operate counterclockwise. Service shifted from Piping Rock and Brookwood roads to Hammersely Rd. All are encouraged to give feedback on these routes using online feedback form. There is also a Public Hearing Wed., April 13th at 6:00 P.M. in Room 260 of the Madison Municipal Building (215 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.). For more info, contact: Lauren Hodkiewicz. email@example.com (608) 266-4903
Food Pantry at Meadowood Neighborhood Center. Hours are Tues. 6:00-7:30 p.m. and Sat. 12:30-2:30 p.m.
Help the city plan their conference, to be held in October. Please let them know what is important to our neighborhood by completing the questionnaire. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CFWWV35
Tues., April 12 6:00- 8:00 p.m. Family Science Night at Falk School. Volunteers from UW, Falk and Memorial High School will present some awesome hands-on science activities for your learning and enjoyment. Families will also show their science creations.
Tues., April 12 6:00 p.m.
Hoop Embroidery presented by Anthology at the Meadowridge Library.
Thurs., April 14. 10:30 a.m.
Michael Twitty will demonstrate KosherSoul Cooking at the Meadowood Neighborhood Center Community Room. Followed by Euchre at 11:30, followed by Thursday lunch.
Thurs., April 14 7:00 p.m.
Update on the Mid-Town Police Station. Preliminary designs available. Your comments are desired. At Our Lady, Queen of Peace Church (401 S. Owen Drive).
Fri., April 15 7:00 p.m.
Wisconsin Book Festival presents Neal Griffin who will discuss his second mystery novel, A Voice from the Field, at Mystery Me (1803 Monroe St.)
Sat. April 16 10am
Pilgrim Park Clean-Up. Come, meet your neighbors, and help make Pilgrim Park ready for spring. Treats, too. Rain date is April 17 at 10am. Questions? Contact sherribeth (at) gmail.com. Sponsored by Prairie Hills Neighborhood Assn.
Sat. April 16 11:00-1:00
Sat. April 16 11:00-1:00
Community Garden Registration Day. At the Meadowood Neighborhood Center. Interested gardeners can talk with garden coordinators and have their names placed on the wait lists. Sponsored by Meadowood, Hammersley and Prairie Hills community gardens.
Sat., April 16 6 a.m.-2 p.m.
First outdoor Dane County Farmer's Market of the year. Capital Square.
Sun. April 17- Sat. April 23
The Dane County Humane Society will offer discounted ID tags ($6, includes tax) and microchips ($20, includes tax) at the main shelter for both dogs and cats on a walk-in basis from 1pm-7pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and from 1pm-5pm on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. DCHS is located at 5132 Voges Road, Madison. Questions call (608) 838-0413.
Friday, April 22 4-7 p.m and Sat., April 23 9 a.m.-2 pm
Electronic recycling. At 805 Forward Drive, Madison. Will accept TVs, computer laptops and notebooks, flatscreen monitors, servers, routers, models, cell phones, digital cameras. No appliances. More info? email@example.com.


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Transition Litchfield's May events will focus on the insects that propagate almost $3 billion a year of agricultural products in the United States.
The monthly film, on Wednesday, May 1 at 6:30 p.m. at the Litchfield Community Center, featured three experts on pollinating insects.
Saturday, May 18th
Native Pollinator Conservation Workshop
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Mott – Van Winkle Classroom at the White Memorial Conservation Center, Inc.
James Fischer, WMCC Research Director will show you conservation strategies for our native pollinators, who pollinate our fruit and vegetable gardens every year. We will learn how to help conserve the Mason Bee, a native pollinator, by building shelters where they can build their nests.The material fee is $10 (White Memorial members) and $15 (non-members) per person. Each participant will build a Mason Bee Colony Shelter (no bees involved….build it, put it up and the bees will find it- no stings involved!) You will take your shelter home along with information handouts. The class is limited to 20 people.
This workshop is in collaboration with the While Memorial Foundation.
The White Memorial Conservation Center, Inc., 860-567-0857, is located on route 202 between Litchfield and Bantam. The Mott–Van Winkle Classroom is located on the left side of the gravel road as you enter White Memorial's campus.
Also of interest at Wisdom House, Wisdomhouse.org
|June 1, 2013Saturday 2:00 – 3:00 pm
|Ecology and Spirituality ForumThe care of the earth and its inhabitants calls for a responsible stewardship. What affects our world affects our spirit. The plight of the recent decline of the bee population will be the focus of this program. To complement this program, the Marie Louise Trichet Gallery will feature an installation titled "Requiem for Being" by artist Cate Bourke.Donation for this program: $5
|June 1 – September 7 , 2013Opening (Sat. June 1): 3:00 – 5:00 pm
|Requiem for Being: An InstallationArtist: Cate BourkeThe Marie Louise Trichet Art Gallery at Wisdom House. Taking bee colony collapse disorder as a point of departure, this art installation will be a meditation on otherness, ambivalence and disconnectedness.Gallery hours: Monday through Saturday 10 AM- 4 PM


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Fall Family Portraits--what are you waiting for?
That mass hysteria known as the "holidays" will soon be upon us, and many of you will wish that you had finally gotten that family portrait taken care of. You know, the one you've been talking about since the kids were in preschool, but now they're in high school and have probably passed you in height? Well now is as good as anytime, while there's still light, color, and most importantly, time to get everyone together, get it done, and get prints or cards made. If you're looking for professional family or children's portraits in the Greater Cleveland, Akron, Lorain, or Lake County areas, contact me to set up a session. Basic studio sessions start at $175 and include a print credit. We offer traditional prints, canvasses, greeting cards, calendars, and yes, even coffee mugs and magnets made from your images! Call or email for more details.


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The Herald
Hebert Zharare Political Editor
MDC-T'S duplicity has been exposed by leaked Jomic Election Observer Mission reports that endorsed the harmonised elections as free, fair and credible with the party's co-chairs feverishly working to ensure the report is not released into the public domain to abet their claim that the elections were farcical. MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai has since filed an application at the Constitutional Court seeking to nullify the election results pursuant to having a rerun within the next two months.
However, 10 reports covering the country's 10 provinces leaked to The Herald yesterday, confirmed that the elections were held in a flawless manner, a development that exposes for a sham the MDC-T's refusal to accept the results that plunged the party to its worst defeat since its launch on September 11, 1999.
Jomic constituted the biggest observer group to the harmonised elections with a staff of 30 000 observers, 10 apiece from each of the three GPA parties.
Although Zanu-PF had indicated that it was pulling out of Jomic alleging rampant abuse of the organisation's assets by the MDC formations who were using them for partisan purposes, the Jomic secretariat working with the Zimbabwe Institute that acted as a conduit for donor funds proceeded to include Zanu-PF officials in the observer group.
The Jomic report exposes for a sham MDC-T's pronouncements on the election results and flies in the face of the European Union, US, Britain and its dominion Australia that have been questioning the credibility of the harmonised elections..
The Anglo-Saxon alliance pumped an undisclosed amount of money into Jomic ahead of polls expecting a damning report from the body with an egg in the face, highly-placed sources disclosed yesterday.
Sources say some Jomic members (Mr Elton Mangoma MDC-T) and (Mrs Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga MDC), whose parties lost to President Mugabe and Zanu-PF, were refusing to convene a meeting to endorse the Jomic report and make it public.
By injecting millions into Jomic, the EU and Britain made it the largest single observer mission in the country.
Jomic was formed in 2008 in line with Section 22 of the Global Political Agreement and is composed of members of Zanu-PF and the MDC formations.
Some of its duties include ensuring the implementation of the agreement that died a natural death after the demise of the inclusive Government after the July 31 polls.
Zanu-PF Politburo member Professor Jonathan Moyo yesterday said although Zanu-PF had indicated that it was quitting Jomic, protesting abuse of resources among other reasons, donors still tried to use Jomic with the hope of getting a negative report.
"The donors were working with the Zimbabwe Institute led by (Mr) Isaac Maposa to mobilise money for the elections.
"The Zimbabwe Institute was a conduit for donor money and Jomic proceeded to observe the elections and ignored Zanu-PF's pullout and assembled a team of 30 000 observers so that there were at least four observers at each polling station," he said.
Each political party seconded 10 000 election agents to the 9 500 polling stations established by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.
After realising that all credible observers to polls — among them Sadc, Comesa, the African Union, Chinese observer team — had endorsed the polls, Jomic then defied its Western funders and came up with a favourable report.
"Contrary to what the donors wanted, some underhand measures have been made to put the report under the carpet.
"Some of the key MDC-T people like (Mr) Mangoma who lost the elections (and Mrs Mushonga) did not meet to authorise the release of the report. They want it to die a natural death. These people were never interested with free and fair election at all," said Prof Moyo.
Ambassador Christopher Mutsvangwa said the Jomic report was now immaterial after all organisations that mattered released their reports endorsing the elections.
"Jomic is a creation of Sadc and it (Sadc) has finished its work and produced its report and Jomic report is neither here nor there. So the deal is done.
"In this case, Sadc is supreme. Any other reports cannot be at variance with Sadc," he said.
MDC-T spokesperson Mr Douglas Mwonzora yesterday Jomic was yet to release its report, adding if their representative, Mr Mangoma was refusing to authorise it, that meant he did not agree with its contents.
"It means (Mr) Mangoma does not agree with what is in the report. The fact that two thirds are not in agreement means there are serious disagreements. We trust Mangoma; he is an intelligent man, why should he sign a report whose contents he does not agree with? As a party we respect his judgment. What Mangoma tells us is what we do," he said.
The other members of the MDC formation, Mrs Misihairabwi-Mushonga and spokesperson Mr Kurauone Chihwayi could not be reached for comment yesterday.