text:
''Rrrbit! Rrrbit! Great Jove has found you unworthy, human! Now prepare to die !''
Toltep walked slowly along the avenue, it would have been easier to swim along in the viaduct, but he had made it a point to not do the easy thing. All to often the easy path lead to ruin, and he had not survived so long by taking shortcuts, or the easy road. The market, what was above water, was abuzz with conversation. A large school of blood-crazed lurdi had been diverted into an ambush where the brave people had slaughtered the monsters. There was some worry, Toltep gathered, as a few had escaped.
''In a world dominated by savagery and barbarism, we alone represent civilization. Is it any wonder then that we are forced to keep the horrors of the outside world at bay?''
-an anonymous Usholal
Swimming with the Great Western Tide that sweeps towards Tarrod from the far west of the Ocean, the mighty and enigmatic Uuluun sing songs that speak of the unfathomable gods of the deep, and wrestle each other in seabed-shaking contests of strength and martial skill.
The jewel of the imperial shoal, this aquatic city is the emperor's seat of power.
Inhabiting the waters of Tarrod, the Organi is a dangerous creature.
Isolated from the known world by the seemingly endless watery wastes of the fabled Vaet Ocean, the Eshal rule the watery continent of Tarrod with an iron fist, ever ready to carry out plundering raids on the subject races at the slightest excuse. Proudly calling themselves the Brave People,the Eshal are a race of savage warriors and fanatics that are driven by the consuming need to find an ever larger number of victims to feed the monstrous thing known simply as the Matriarch .
Founded on the promise of prophecy, this fiefdom owes it success to its previously worthless amethyst deposits. And its very survival as well.
Swift and deadly as any Dunleoustous, the Anura remain a proud and free people, though outsiders have time and time again, imposed great cruelties on this race.
A dark shadow falls over the still waters of the swamp, and for a brief instant every sound made by a living creature ceases.
Unbeknown to them, the party of Brave People wading in the shallows in hot pursuit of a small band of defeated human soldiers, have themselves unwittingly become the prey.
''By the strength in my sinews, I swear upon the spirits of my ancestors that this Curd will not forget the mate and children he has lost, nor find rest until his jaws have crushed the life out of the scum that dare to call themselves the Brave People!''
The siblings of the Emperor:The High Priests
The Surash are without doubt,the most distrusted and least liked race in existence.
The Old One is the living core of Tarrod.
Just like with the sharks they so revere,a wrong or inappropriate action can provoke a lethal reaction from a Shura. As the other mer-races are so fond of saying among themselves,the only thing more unpredictable than a shark is a Shura. This is a prefered weapon, simple yet deadly.
Gar Eeels live in the large,weed choked rivers and lakes that cover much of the Powi lands,are are revered as godlings by these primitive people. Many shamans say that the power to control the rains, rest with the Gar Eeel or Messengers of the rains, as they are known by the tribes.
Ranchowen are aquatic beasts that are ridden by high ranking Eshal warriors. A lot more comfortable to ride than Great Serpents and infinitely more docile,they are highly prized live stock that are bred and reared in special hatcheries by skilled Eshal animal trainers and herders.
The Brotherhood's goal was to preserve traditional Eshal practices and customs, with emphasis being placed on the belief that every member of the tribe mattered and that to ignore his rights and contributions, would result in the Clan collapsing.
The Great Serpents are the primary form of riding transportation for the Eshal. These massive, venomous creatures are one of the primary reasons that the Eshal were so successful in running roughshod over the cities of the Mer-folk.
Large and powerful, they are the aquatic equivalent of elephants in a battle situation-very dangerous, but no army can afford not to have large numbers of them.
It has been said that within the mountains (or was it the darklands?) there dwells a fluffy creature of immense cuteness. This creature is so adorable that all who encounter it are filled with joy so great their mortal forms cannot contain it. And they explode. Several magic institutions are desperate to study the creature or better yet capture one to prove the theory of an elemental plane of "D'Awwww".


text:
Taking time to walk through the Winchester National Cemetery, it's obvious the purpose for which this cemetery was made… as a place in which to bury (actually, rebury) Union soldiers.
In addition to the graves that dot this relatively small parcel of land, there are also a number of monuments recognizing the sacrifices of men from places like New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
But in-between these graves and monuments focused on Union soldiers are the graves of veterans from later years… not everyone buried here is a Union soldier, Civil War veteran, or "Northerner." You can easily tell that by looking at the individual headstones and reading the inscriptions.
Yet, there are some that aren't quite as clear. One example is this stone…
This is plot 4288 in which John Richard Gill, "U.S.A." is buried.
It may be that the average person who walks through the cemetery won't make much of this stone, after all, there's just a name, and the indication that this man, at some point, apparently served in the U.S. military.
In fact, John Richard Gill was a private in Co. B, 1st United States Cavalry, and later served in Co. G, 2nd Veteran Volunteers. He was a Union soldier.
In 1869, this Union soldier married a girl from neighboring Shenandoah County (Mary Jane Stidley, daughter of Robert Stidley).
He was also a pensioner, having applied January 25, 1886.
He died on October 9, 1905, and was buried with full military honors, courtesy of the local Grand Army of the Republic Post… yes, Winchester, Virginia had a G.A.R. Post., named for Union general James A. Mulligan (it appears to have been the only G.A.R. post in the Shenandoah Valley).
This is one instance in which a little doesn't appear to go a long way as the story behind this man was much more than the headstone tells. On the other hand, for those who take the time to know who the people were beneath the stones, this simple inscription actually goes a long way.
You see, while you can't possibly know that which I have already mentioned by just looking at the stone, nor would you know, looking at the stone, that Gill was… a Virginian. He was a Virginian who opted for blue instead of gray. He was born ca. 1835, the son of William and Catherine Gill and, like his wife, he too was born in the Shenandoah Valley, but in Frederick County. He even lived at one point, in my home county of Page, residing with his sister in his final years… where, perhaps, he bounced his niece on his knee… a daughter of another Civil War soldier… a Confederate veteran.
That's all very interesting to me, but this stone leaves me curious. I'm left wondering if Pvt. Gill asked for his stone to be engraved so simply, without any mention of his unit. I'm also wondering if he asked for nothing more than "U.S.A." to be engraved on the stone. It's a standard U.S. veteran headstone for the time. He could have requested more on it. His fellow veterans could have looked after him, and asked that his unit information be included. On the other hand, though a Virginian by birth and in death, does the simple inscription "U.S.A." on his headstone reflect what was the bottom line for him?

subset: commoncrawl


text:
AUGUSTA - The Georgia Southwestern baseball team was well aware of what was on the line this past weekend with the Peach Belt Conference weekend series at Augusta State. Lose two or more to the Jaguars and any hopes at a postseason opportunity take a stern blow. Win at least two of three at Lake Olmstead Stadium and hope remains. After splitting the opening doubleheader on Saturday, GSW proceeded to deliver its first conference series win in 12 months with an 11-4 victory in the rubber game on Sunday.
The Hurricanes are one game behind North Georgia in the win column for the fourth - and final - slot out of the West Division in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament. GSW has nine PBC games remaining, all against division foes.
Next up for Southwestern is a non-conference matchup 5 p.m. Tuesday evening at Auburn Montgomery.
Below is a review of the series at Augusta State.
Chase Young's RBI single in the ninth inning gave Georgia Southwestern a 5-4 win in the series opener at Augusta State on Saturday afternoon.
The Hurricanes built a 2-0 lead after Jarrod Taylor and John Duran hit run-scoring singles in the fourth and fifth innings, respectively.
A pair of GSW errors and three singles by ASU in the bottom of the fifth quickly erased the Hurricane lead and helped the Jaguars snag their first advantage of the weekend, 3-2.
GSW would answer the next half inning as freshman Les Cromer put the Hurricanes back on top with a two-run single in the sixth.
ASU had another game-tying run in them in the seventh as the Jaguars manufactured a run off of a leadoff walk. A sacrifice bunt, balk and sacrifice fly plated the home team's final score in Game 1.
Young drove in Randall Sheffield, who had singled and stole second to put himself in scoring position.
Taylor led the Hurricanes at the plate in Game 1 with a 3-for-5 performance. Young, Cromer and Zach Moss added two hits apiece.
Caleb Saggus had two hits for ASU.
Frank Ambrosino (2-2) picked up his second-straight win after throwing eight innings for the Hurricanes. He walked two and struck out eight. Only one of the four runs charged to Ambrosino was earned. Justin Lott earned his first save of the spring after retiring the side in order in the ninth behind two strikeouts.
Chase Johnston (3-1) surrendered the deciding run in the ninth to suffer his first loss of the season. ASU threw four pitchers in Game 1.
In the nightcap on Saturday, the Hurricanes once again took the early lead when Corey Benson blasted his first home run of 2012, a solo shot to lead off the third inning, to put GSW up 1-0.
The lead would hold until the fifth when ASU scored its first run of the game. The Jaguars grabbed the advantage in the sixth with a three-run frame and added an insurance run in the seventh.
GSW scattered three base runners the rest of the game after the Benson home run and had no answer for Jaguar starter Josh Barks (3-6). Barks went the distance and struck out six while walking two.
Southwestern starter Matt Weaver (1-6) matched Barks until the sixth. He finished with 5 2/3 innings pitched, four runs, three walks and eight strikeouts. Tyler Daniel threw the final 2 1/3 innings and held ASU to one run. He struck out three and did not walk a batter.
Benson (2-for-3) and Beau Parker (2-for-4) led GSW hitters with multi-hit performances in Game 2.
Caleb Saggus and Matt Smith recorded two hits apiece for ASU.
Seven runs by Georgia Southwestern over the final two innings on Sunday turned a close ballgame into a lopsided 11-4 victory for the Hurricanes.
As was the case in the first two games of the series, GSW took the early lead, only to have it disappear. GSW scored the first two runs of the finale in the second inning, capped by a Michel Coffey RBI single.
ASU answered with a run in the bottom of the second and another in the third to tie the game at 2-2.
The teams remained tied until the seventh when GSW posted two runs. Beau Parker brought in Les Cromer with a sacrifice fly and Zach Moss drove in Coffey with a double.
Southwestern tacked on four more runs in the eighth behind four singles and two ASU errors. Corey Benson and John Duran collected RBIs.
After the Jaguars plated a run in the bottom half of the eighth, the GSW hitters went to work again adding three more runs in the ninth. Coffey, Parker and Benson all collected RBIs. A pair of walks and three GSW singles spurred the final rally.
Coffey and Duran each had a three-hit afternoon to lead GSW at the plate. Coffey had two RBIs and scored two runs. Duran drove in a run. Cromer and Jarrod Taylor added two hits apiece. Taylor scored three times and Cromer scored twice.
Curtis Parker and Justin Appel had two hits apiece for ASU.
Matthew Suggs (2-6) won Game 3 for the Hurricanes after holding ASU to three runs while on the mound. Suggs threw seven innings, walked three and struck out four. Justin Lott pitched a scoreless eighth. Gray Carden allowed the final Jaguar run, but struck out three batters in the ninth.
Dylan Wall (0-6) threw 6 1/3 innings for ASU and allowed four runs - two earned - behind five hits, three walks and three strikeouts. The Jaguars shuttled out six different pitchers in relief of Wall over the final 2 2/3 innings.


text:
Gun Lobbying Funding Considered
KSCB News - May 17, 2013 4:10 pm
Kansas lawmakers are close to approving limits on the use of state tax dollars to lobby federal, state or local officials on gun control issues.
The Senate approved the measure on a 31-6 vote Friday. The House could consider the measure as early as Monday.
House approval would send the bill to Gov. Sam Brownback, who is a strong gun-rights supporter but hasn't said publicly whether he'd sign the measure.
The bill would bar state and local officials from using state funds to prepare materials or broadcast advertising that promote or oppose gun control measures. They also couldn't hire lobbyists on the issue with state funds.
Proponents of the measure say Kansans don't want their tax dollars used on lobbying. Critics said the bill is vague.


text:
Teacher resources and professional development across the curriculum
Teacher professional development and classroom resources across the curriculum
Title of work: ...y
no se lo tragó la tierra (...And the Earth Did Not Devour
Him) by Tomás Rivera
Considered a landmark of Chicano literature, Rivera's 1971 novel tells the story of a community of migrant workers in the United States in the 1940s and '50s. A compilation of stories, internal monologues, vignettes, and scraps of conversation, the novel focuses on a year in the life of a boy from a south Texas community. The boy faces bigotry, poverty, illness, and confusion about his own history and identity, but finds strength in himself and in those around him. "By discovering who he is," writes Julián Olivares in Tomás Rivera: The Complete Works, "this adolescent becomes one with his people. Through his quest, he embodies and expresses the collective conscience and experiences of his society."
Chicano literature scholar Nicolás Kanellos writes: "Tomás Rivera's ...y no se lo tragó la tierra is haunted by the nameless Chicano masses whose nocturnal voices reflect on the events narrated and record them into the collective memory of the Chicano. Rivera, in reproducing the Chicano social milieu, allows the reader to eavesdrop on the candid, all-knowing and unguarded conversations of the unidentified interlocutors who represent the collective subconscious of the Chicanos. We see through them how Chicanos interpret reality. For the most part, these nighttime speakers are not even circumstantially related to the plot; rather, they review for each other what they themselves have heard. It seems that they are one step from oral history and folklore, one step from immortalizing their subjects in a corrido or folktale."
There's a lot of beautiful poetry in Tomás Rivera's novel, you'll find. You know, even though it's a very harsh experience that the book conveys -- you know, pain, suffering, the sun bearing down on the people as they're working -- there are moments that are refreshing, and inspiring, like little fleeting swirls of beauty. Like, for example, when he goes out into the silvery night. It is magical.
From a literary point of view ... this is a very, very sophisticated book. Not only is it poetic, not only is the language poetic, but also the devices of plot construction and perspective are very, very highly literary and belong to the new novel. They belong to what people have assumed is the Latin American boom, where the reader is expected to construct the narrative. So there are all kinds of clues in the book that lead the reader to piece together who is speaking at what time, what it means, what are the relationships of the characters, so this becomes somewhat of an artistic literary puzzle.
Q & A with Nicolás Kanellos
Why is And the Earth Did Not Devour Him a good choice for high school students?
And the Earth Did Not Devour Him is a great book to teach in high school especially, because at this point in the life of a young person, they're trying to find out who they are. There are all kinds of pressures, and emotions, and growing pains that we try to make sense of -- the protagonist has to piece together his identity from bits and pieces of overheard dialogue, from personal experiences, from imaginings, from stories that other people tell. It's really like what happens in the real world, that you never get the full story.
So there are all kinds of clues in the book that lead the reader to piece together who is speaking at what time, what it means, what the relationship of the characters are -- because in fact we have about four or five different types of narrators in the book, so this becomes somewhat of a literary puzzle.
Is this book autobiographical?
That has been a mistake of some critics, and teachers of the book. They try to see in this book a biography of Tomás Rivera. Well, [like] any author, Tomás Rivera included incidents from his life, characters from his life are woven, but in no way was this a biography. Tomás was a highly literate and literary person. And he read broadly in the literatures of many languages. He got a master's degree in French from the University of Oklahoma. At every point he knew that he was constructing something that was in the mainstream of avant-garde literature at the time that he was writing. And he saw the world that way. So it was in no way an autobiography. The main character is not Tomás. It's a broad interpretation of the struggles of migrant workers, Mexican Americans, other ethnic groups that need to find themselves in a minority culture. It has epic dimensions.
To what extent is the book based on historical fact?
Many people have called this the Chicano Grapes of Wrath. And the same kinds of historical background that tell us about the dustbowl, and what John Steinbeck documented through The Grapes of Wrath, is here. We have that background. And, in fact, not only do we have that background historically, we have it today. Because all of these issues, and all of these trends in immigration, and farm labor, and unionizing labor, and poor schooling for migrant workers -- and for poor kids -- still exist in this country.
Where does Rivera fit into the Chicano literary movement?
Tomás Rivera had been writing before the official Chicano movement got underway (which historians and scholars place around 1965), when Cesar Chavez organized farm workers in California, and tried to unionize them. Along with that unionizing came the birth of the El Teatro Campesino, with Luis Valdez, who very much developed a farm worker theater and took it around the country and popularized this new kind of literature that used the language of the people. It also had a political message along with the civil rights movement and protests against Vietnam.
In the late 1960s, some professors from the University of California, Berkeley, began publishing a very, very important magazine called El Grito, and published the first really kind of academically respected anthology of Chicano literature called El Espejo, The Mirror. Then they founded their publishing house, called El Quinto Sol. So in 1970, they started giving the award for the best Chicano literature, one award per year, and the first award they gave was to And the Earth Did Not Devour Him, by Tomás Rivera.
What issues does the novel explore?
This book is much, much more about some of the more intimate, poetic, and personal moments of coming to terms with one's identity, and family, and society. And therefore looks beyond the mere, political movements, the mere politics of resisting domination from outside. It's much more a query of the community itself. What are you going to do to get outside of the vicious cycle of poor schools? What are you going to do to get outside of the vicious cycle of being treated like a beast of burden? But in a very much more poetic and intimate way, not couched in the rhetoric of party politics.
What were some of important influences on Rivera's work?
Tomás Rivera really was nurtured on the oral culture in migrant worker communities. So he knew the folk songs, and the folk tales, and the legends, and the grassroots interpretation of religion. And we see that in the book. Not only do we see it, it becomes an integral part of the plot, the characters, and the texture of the book.
Discuss the issues Rivera's book brought to light, and how he treated them.
Now, some of the issues brought up obviously are shocking. Children that get shot because they want to go have a drink of water. Kids that could burn to death in their house because they have to be left alone while their parents are out working the fields. These are tragedies. And they go beyond just pointing fingers. The book is full of irony. And those, those unidentified voices in the dialogues at the end of the chapters that kind of represent the collective conscious in the book -- they're injecting the irony.
For example, in one chapter, the boxing gloves the kids were using to play with when they were at home, when they were alone, didn't burn in the fire, but the little bodies burned. So one of these little anonymous voices says, "Well, they sure make boxing gloves durable these days, don't they?"
So it questions the values of the society -- materialism, you know, we make these kinds of things to last, but we can't make kids last and aspirations and hopes last.
What was Rivera saying about religion?
Tomás Rivera was very, very much concerned about what kept migrant workers within that vicious migrant cycle, not being able to break out of it. Besides the working conditions -- migrant work having been a conscious replacement for the system of slavery in the nineteenth century -- he looked inward, he looked at Mexican American society, and he saw some of the traditional binds that religion tends to place on people, especially religion at the grassroots level, where priests find it more important, for instance, to raise money to build a church, than to deal with the needs of a community. Or the rote learning that goes on in catechism, that teaches young people that their bodies are bad, that sex is bad, that there is evil and filth involved in the sexual act. Rivera is trying to raise the level of consciousness of the readers and the community, because this book ultimately was aimed back at the community.
So when this young man struggles to find out who he is, he runs smack dab up against those teachings, about good and evil and death and heaven and sin, and he has to find his way through that maze. And the kind of message that we get through all of this meandering through these principles and teachings of the church and the nuns and what have you, the book becomes very, very much an existential tract, where Tomás is telling us people have to forge their own lives. They have to get outside of those vicious cycles.
So, when he questions the idea of good and evil, and he takes us all the way back to the garden of Eden and original sin, he is really is examining theology on a grassroots level. What is good? What is evil? What responsibility does man have for his own life? Is there a devil out there forcing man to do evil? Is there a God out there enticing man to do good by promising heaven?
Any religious belief, any philosophy, any ideology, whether it's just rote, it's just passed on from generation to generation without questioning, ultimately entraps people, and that's what this is about. What is it in the spiritual or religious background of migrant workers that kind of leads them to accept their lot in life? And Tomás Rivera was like that protagonist who crawls out from under the house after discovering how society works, and says, "I don't have to be trapped by that. I can free myself. And if they call me crazy, that's OK, too, because I don't fit into that society, and I can climb up into that tree and observe all of this, and I can become a writer, and analyze it, and teach other people about it. That can be my role, to free myself."
In a book that's so small, so readable, and so poetic, there are the many, many very deep, philosophical, theological issues. And, it's fun to deal with them, as long as we have an open mind, and can have an open discussion about them. And that's for every teacher in his or her own classroom to arbitrate.
Information about key references
Bracero Program
On August 4, 1942, the U.S. and Mexican governments instituted the Bracero Program, a set of labor laws intended to provide fair treatment for Mexican nationals recruited to work in the United States. (These laborers were, in part, taking the place of U.S. workers lost to World Wars I and II.) The program failed to protect the Mexican workers fully, however, and those workers were often badly exploited.
Migrant Farm Labor
Many Mexicans and Mexican Americans provide labor for farmers throughout the United States, particularly in the West and Midwest. The work is seasonal, exhausting, and pays very low wages. In spite of heroic efforts by the United Farm Workers, under the direction of César Chávez and Dolores Huerta, to improve working conditions, many migrant workers still toil under oppressive conditions similar to those experienced by the boy and his family in Rivera's novel.
Rivera's storytelling style has been called "fragmented" because he attempts to cover a large range of experiences without the constraints of a chronology. Similar to stream of consciousness, the structure of the novel seeks to mimic the way in which memory works, and to present the feelings of disorientation-- and loss experienced by many of the migrant workers.
Although the protagonist of Rivera's novel comes from a very pious family, he is compelled to curse his religion and its divinities because he cannot believe that God would allow him to experience such suffering.
Suggestions for applying other theories to ...y no se lo tragó la tierra (...And the Earth Did Not Devour Him)
Because Rivera's experimental novel is, in part, an exploration of early adolescent development, it can yield rich personal responses from students. A reader-response approach might involve students creating a visual timeline of the novel and recording their personal reactions to the events along the timeline. Students should discuss the similarities and differences between those responses.
A cultural studies approach to Rivera's novel might include an intertextual reading about agricultural issues in the United States. For example, the class can be divided into groups of three or four students. One group might read about the Farm Aid concerts made popular by Willie Nelson, John Cougar Mellencamp, and others during the 1980s; another group might read about César Chávez's activism in the 1960s and 1970s, perhaps beginning with Rudolfo Anaya's eulogy to Chávez; and another group might explore the current debate over organic produce laws. Other possible topics include the legal plight of African American farmers in the South, corporate farming and agribusiness, and protests by vegans over additives in produce. Students can read about various topics and engage in conversations in which they are required to show links between them.
Many critical activities can be developed from the novel. Teachers can engage students in learning about contemporary working conditions for migrant workers. For example, students can create news releases on migrant conditions in their area or produce short documentaries on local conditions. Students can also conduct research and/or interview people committed to improving labor conditions for migrant workers. The rich folkloric encounters in the novel provide an impetus for students to research and replicate rituals, art, and stories as a way of learning about culture and history.
© Annenberg Foundation 2017. All rights reserved. Legal Policy


text:
Nancy Lanza was, in many respects, a typical American Mom. The former stockbroker was a volunteer in her neighbourhood, a diehard Red Sox fan, keen on gardening and fond of a glass of wine at her local bar in Connecticut. But on Friday last week she became the first victim of Adam Lanza – her deeply troubled son. After her murder, he would go on to kill a further 25 people, most of them young children.
We will never know the full reason why he committed one of the worst school massacres in US history. One detail, however, about his otherwise comfortable, suburban family life has caught the eye. His mother was a "prepper".
Nancy's sister-in-law, Marsha Lanza, has told reporters how she "prepared for the worst. Last time we visited her in person, we talked about prepping – are you ready for what could happen down the line, when the economy collapses?"
She had started stockpiling tinned food, amassing a large collection of guns and reportedly taking her son to the local shooting range.
Prepping – preparing for disasters – may be a new term to British people, suggesting fairly extreme paranoid behaviour. But in America it is fast becoming a fully fledged movement, with an estimated three million adherents, and practised by a wide variety of people, including many – like Nancy Lanza – living in apparent humdrum apple-pie neighbourhoods, with wide-screen televisions on the sitting room walls and a picket fence around the garden.
A large array of websites, online forums, radio shows and shops cater to preppers and their belief that something terrible may just happen.
Everything from The Survival Mom, which gives advice on how to cook tasty brownies for your kids in the event of "a horrific natural disaster or civil war", to shops that sell crossbows to kill "suburban animals".
The alphabet soup of militia-style jargon and acronyms that preppers use – TEOTWAWKI, frequently cited, is "the end of the world as we know it" – gives the impression that preppers are a homogenous movement, all speaking the same language and sharing the same beliefs. But they are a disparate group of people, who hoard food for wildly different reasons.
Some believe that the impending disaster will be caused by an asteroid hitting the earth or an unmanageable population explosion, causing civil unrest and looting. Others are merely preparing for the very realistic eventuality that they may lose their job and be short of income.
The one thing they share is the belief in being ready and, particularly, having a few days' worth of food stored in the garage. Or, in the more extreme examples, a whole year's worth, along with a flock of chickens or even hundreds of fish in one's swimming pool, a wind- or solar‑powered generator, a means of escape, and the ability to be completely self-sufficient.
In America there has been a long history of citizens wanting to recreate the pioneer lifestyle of their forebears, with the survivalists phenomenon popular in the Seventies and Eighties. The most extreme example was Ted Kaczynski, the "Unabomber", who lived in a cabin in Montana and waged war on technology by sending numerous homemade bombs through the post. The niche movement died down until the late Nineties, when a widespread fear of the so‑called Y2K bug – which was supposedly going to cause chaos in the world's computer systems on the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve in 1999 – took hold in the mainstream.
The bug never materialised, but the need to be self-sufficient and survive "off-grid", free from technology, national power supplies, and the state only escalated with 9/11 in 2001 and Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. The view that people could no longer trust government to protect and help them was exacerbated by the recession and severe increase in unemployment in recent years.
James Rawles, a former US Army intelligence officer, is a leading prepper. His website, SurvivalBlog.com, gets 300,000 visitors a month. He lives deep in the countryside, in a secret location somewhere in the Rockies, has trained in martial arts and has enough food to last three years.
"Should the worst happen, it's become apparent the government can't provide for everybody. And now that realisation is becoming far more widespread," he says.
"Survivor Jane" (who won't give me her real name) runs a "girly girl" blog for female survivalists, illustrated with a picture of camouflage four-inch heels, and says her driving motivation is "self-responsibility".
"For me, the last straw came after two people who had just robbed someone at gunpoint tried to car-jack me as I left a downtown parking garage – that was the day my eyes were opened to how unsafe our world had become. That is when I began to educate myself."
She insists that preppers are not synonymous with gun owners. "Absolutely not. In fact, I would say it would be foolish to focus on guns as your only means of protection."
Though, with 88 guns for every 100 American citizens, the majority of preppers see guns as a key part of their survival kit – not necessarily for self-defence, but certainly as a weapon to hunt food with.
Dr Glenn Wilson, a fellow of the British Psychological Society, says that preppers exhibit classic anxiety traits, commonly found in people with a conservative outlook, who fear change. "They have a tendency to react to uncertainty with fear," he says.
The one word that nearly all preppers use, when justifying their behaviour is "insurance".
Simon Dillon is one of a small, but growing number of British preppers. The former soldier (many preppers have a military background) has a large selection of pulses, sauces, and freeze-dried meals at his home in Brinnington, Stockport, along with 140kg of rice.
"That's 75 grams a portion, 1,866 meals, which is enough for a meal every day for a year."
Simon, who is happily married with children (also provided for), has built a special extension to his house to store the food and 300 litres of water. He thinks he is behaving rationally in the face of economic uncertainty and rising food and fuel prices.
"Other people have buildings insurance and life insurance. Well, I have food insurance."
He also points out that his behaviour is not that much more extreme than that exhibited by Tom and Barbara Good, the much-loved characters from the Seventies sitcom The Good Life.
"If you walked into someone's house and saw they had that much food, you'd think they were a bit off the wall. But if you look at it as a whole with everything else I do, I like to think it's just a bit like The Good Life. If a difficult time comes, I won't be relying on the state."
He is far from being the only British prepper. Royston Upson, is a retail manager by day, but runs survivalist courses at the weekend in the south-east. "It's growing all the time over here. I'd say there were tens of thousands of us."
Like many, he is uncomfortable with the prepper tag, preferring to describe himself as "self-reliant". When he was unemployed for a few months last year, he dipped into his store of food – he recommends everyone keeps a month's worth. "It's better than money left in the bank. It's partly a hobby, but also a genuine belief that something could happen. The economic problems are only going to get worse."
Many preppers in America are fearful that the Connecticut massacre will see Obama's government try to limit their freedoms. Tom Martin, founder of the Preppers Network, said: "Preppers seek to prepare, save, and defend life. So why the blame game?"
He claims that Victoria Soto, the primary school teacher murdered by Lanza and hailed a hero for managing to hide some of her pupils in a cupboard, was also a prepper.
"Whether they are defending themselves or especially when they defend the lives of those that they love the most, a prepper's primary goal is to protect life."
That may be so, but it is hard to avoid the conclusion that in this terrible incident, the fear of disaster became self-fulfilling.


text:
call (561) 833-4447
Call (561) 833-4447
Absolute Kitchen
& Bath Works
We specailize in custom cabinetry and countertops for your kitchen and bathroom. We like to help our clients design the room of their dreams. Let us help you improve your ktichen or bathroom.
At Absolute Kitchen & Bath Works we understand the importance of a beautiful and practical kitchen. Let us install custom countertops and custom cabinetry for you today.
Let us design the bathroom of your dreams. Your bathroom should be a relaxing and functional place built just for you. We can install custom countertops, custom cabinetry and tub decks to make your bathroom like a spa.
Custom Countertops
At Absolute Kitchen & Bath Works, we can fabricate any countertop you can dream of. We offer granite, marble, onyx, quartzite, and many popular brands such as Corian, Silestone, Cambria, Caesarstone, and more.
At Absolute Kitchen & Bath Works, we understand that a kitchen needs to be the perfect balance of functionality and visual appeal. Having one without the other just doesn't work.
Absolute Kitchen & Bath Works creates some of the most unique bathrooms in South Florida. Our team is very creative and can design a bathroom which is not only stunning but also practical.
Mon 8:30AM-5:00PM
Tue 8:30AM-5:00PM
Wed 8:30AM-5:00PM
Thu 8:30AM-5:00PM
Fri 8:30AM-5:00PM
Sat By Appointment Only
Sun Closed


text:
Monday, 22 March 2010
Yellow school buses for Britain again ?
Now the CBI (Conferederation of British Industry) is at it. They "want to see more use of US-style yellow school buses to cut school-run congestion." Apparently "the average length of journey to school for 11-16 year-olds rose from 2.8 miles in 2000 to 3.4 miles in 2006... It is estimated that 12% of school pupils would use such a service, which would eliminate 130 million car journeys a year (saving 55,000 tonnes of CO2). This would cut rush hour car traffic by 2.6%."
That's right, this again has nothing at all to do with making children's lives better, but they'd like to see children kept out of the way of important people in cars. Here in the Netherlands, children quite routinely make much longer journeys by bike to get to school. They can do so because of the infrastructure.
Where are the calls for similar infrastructure in the UK, reducing dependence on motor vehicles by increasing the directness of journeys and the subjective safety for cyclists, and giving children a greater degree of freedom ?
If the CBI really is concerned about the cost to business due to congestion then why don't they really, seriously, try to encourage more cycling ? If cycling in Britain reached Dutch levels not only would it save British businesses 2.5 billion pounds per year, but it would also do a lot more for the environment than the CBI's motor vehicle oriented "low-carbon transport roadmap," in which the only mentions of changes to infrastructure are in terms of charging stations for electric cars. Yes, it seems they really do believe that the problems caused by cars can only be solved by more cars.
Freewheeler covered this story from a different angle.
10 comments:
- Taliesin said...
Surely it doesn't get more inefficient than buying and operating busses to make one run in during the morning and one out in the afternoon, plus a few school excursions?
And we already have school buses, they just look like all the other busses and coaches on the road, only they can be used to run commuter services and other charters as well.
What a wasteful suggestion by the CBI.
- 22 March 2010 at 09:57
- SteveL said...
Having lived in the US, I know that school buses aren't that great
1. Costs of the buses come onto the schools budget. Right now, if a parent chooses to drive: they pay. With school buses, an already stretched budget suffers
2. It gears the children up to going to school in a vehicle, albeit a shared one. But certainly not walking or cycling.
Another way of reducing congestion would be to ban all parent parking within a mile of all schools. That would reduce a mile of driving on every parent, remove any time advantage of short-haul driving, and make it safer to walk or cycle
- 22 March 2010 at 12:06
- David Hembrow said...
Steve: FYI, cars are banned from stopped near many schools here.
- 22 March 2010 at 12:33
Bear in mind that the CBI are only interested in the impact on businesses. If 20% of the traffic is from the school run then 80% is from the work run, and that group live more than 3.4 miles away for sure. Few of these self important pin striped duffers cycle to work, nor do they make provision for their staff to do so. Evidently few of them have been to the Netherlands, which is most unfortunate.
Mark Garrett, Bristol UK
- 22 March 2010 at 18:10
- Kevin Love said...
Not all of the USA is yellow bus dependent. One place where so many children cycle to school that they got rid of the yellow busses is Davis, California.
From their official website at:
"City residents voted to get rid of public school busses many years ago, so many children walk or bike to school."
- 23 March 2010 at 08:46
- sheffield cycle chic said...
I used to go by bus to school on a 3 mile journey. Bikes were banned and there was no pavement for part of the journey - so my parents forbade me from walking because they considered it too dangerous. When the bus subsidies on child fares disappeared in the mid 1980's with privatisation my parents started driving us to school. Bear in mind the cost of sending 3 kids to school went up from 72p a day to £1.98 or from £140 a year to £386. Petrol was about £1.20 a gallon then. It was a no brainer, with the free option of walking and cycling denied due to poor infrastructure and stupid rules of course parents started driving their kids to schools - it was the cheap option.
Compare this with the current cost of sending 3 kids to school by bus in Sheffield at 2010 prices - £2.40 a day - 40p more than 25 years ago in Lancashire! But old habits die hard and many parents that were driven to school 25 years ago wouldn't even consider the bus as an option for their children, let alone cycling or walking. This is why we have such ridiculous congestion - the short sighted money-grabbing policies of the Thatcher era have wrecked our infrastructure and the same misguided policies seem to think "american style buses" can somehow solve it! Do these yellow busses have a greater capacity than a normal single decker? I can't see how they have more capacity than a double decker (which is the standard school bus in Sheffield). And I seem to recall they have an appalling safety record.
Until we have better infrastructure, I am afraid school buses are the only viable option - but we have them already and in much more modern wheelchair accessible designs than these ancient yellow contraptions. I would dispute the notion that you don't get any exercise on a bus - I seem to recall as a small 11 year old it took my whole strength to remain upright whilst standing on a 3 mile journey and my arms and legs got a fair work out from all the effort not to be sent flying by all the jolting from the bus and all the shoving from the older lads!
- 23 March 2010 at 09:34
- neil said...
"Bikes were banned" - Of course the school has no authority to dictate how you get to school, just what you bring on to the school premises.
- 25 March 2010 at 10:13
- Kevin Love said...
Here in Ontario, here is an example of a school that banned parents from taking their children to school by car.
- 26 March 2010 at 07:02
Increasingly school administrators do not see things that way; believing that they have a mandate, obligation and the actual authority to police the behaviour of children 24/7, even in their own homes, in their own bedrooms.
This is an issue that has come to a head recently in America where a school was "caught" monitoring children using the cameras built in to their school issued (with personally owned machines being banned for school work) laptops.
I put the word "caught" in scare quotes because the monitoring came to public awareness when the school suspended a student for "inappropriate" behaviour, yes, in their own bedroom; thus they themselves revealed the monitoring, rather than being "caught."
They took such measures and revealed themselves doing it, because, of course, they believed in the above and did not seem to realize they were doing something wrong.
Keeping the authority of school administrators to the administration of schools is likely to be one of the great social battles facing us in the next 20 years or so.
- 26 March 2010 at 17:12
- neil said...
Unbelievable! Hopefully it wasn't considered in any way reasonable or legal!!
- 29 March 2010 at 15:04


text:
Gold & Silber – Fragen und Antworten
Hall war eine Münzstätte in Tirol , die in der zweiten Hälfte des
The most common dosage is 500 mg, 3 times per day, half an hour before meals. If you want to buy garcinia cambogia despite the poor results in the studies, then there is a great selection of brands with thousands of customer reviews on Amazon. If Garcinia Cambogia Doesnt Work, Then What Does. Ive been experimenting with and researching supplements for years, but I have yet to find a weight loss supplement that actually works. There are a few that appear to be mildly effective.


text:
Laramie 2500 Capability - Limited Stock
Cummins Engine
Combine world-class capability with outstanding performance and you've got the 6.7L Cummins Turbo Diesel engine. Virtually indestructible in design, the Cummins Turbo Diesel is engineered to the tolerances, quality and durability to power semi class big rigs. Rated at 276kW and 1084Nm, the incredible torque delivers uncompromising strength for towing and hauling. The engine features a next generation Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) System and an ultra-efficient Diesel Cooling System with an 11 blade fan and a smart diesel exhaust brake.
Whether you carry your weight in a trailer or in your tub, the 6.7L Cummins® Turbo Diesel engine delivers.
Six Speed Automatic Transmission
The Cummins Turbo Diesel engine is packaged with the 68RFE six-speed automatic transmission, which includes driver-adaptive shifting and three multiple clutch packs, dual filters on a dual stage pump and an independent lubrication cooler that delivers ample pressures under all loads and driving conditions.
Active Air
Sometimes, the best things come from sitting and listening. For years, Ram engineers learned from some of the toughest workers around: customers. It's paid off in increased performance, thanks to the Active Air®system, designed specifically for those who take trucks to the limit day in and day out.
In extreme heat or high altitudes, the Ram Active Air® system reads outside conditions and automatically switches to intake cooler air from the grille.
Ram Active Air® technology helps ensure optimal engine air intake regardless of climatic elements. We made sure that optimal power and torque are virtually certain in all tow, haul, push, pull scenarios—and even in the most extreme temperatures known to man.
Tough 4 x 4
The transfer case in the Ram is exactly what you need for ultra 4x4 capability. The BorgWarner BW 44-46 transfer case features responsive electronic shift on the fly engineering with three operating ranges plus neutral. This impressive unit offers a long range reduction ratio of 2.64:1 – an ideal ratio when off road in a slow rock climbing situation or when using your Ram 4x4 on challenging terrain or steep grades. You need capability and performance that exceeds the need and Ram Heavy Duty trucks are designed to excel.
Advanced Suspension
The Ram 2500 is defined by capability, with standards that allow zero tolerance for compromise or for convention. In front, a unique three-link coil spring suspension. At the back, a class exclusive five link coil spring suspension featuring unique multi-rate coil springs and heavy duty fixed displacement twin tube shock absorbers, both of which are placed in an outboard position that optimizes performance and minimises noise and vibration. Innovative Ram technology delivers it all: phenomenal ride quality, impeccable road manners and unrivalled control. Let the others try to catch up.
The Frame – Uncompromising Support
Whether used for business or pleasure a Ram Heavy Duty gives you the means to master the toughest tasks. The Ram 2500 uses ksi steel with eight tough cross members all contributing to robust towing and hauling. The front and rear sections are produced through hydroforming, a process that ensures durable strength and mass efficiencies. Rail contours are ideally placed for the suspension components and ancillary mounts. The frame strength gives you no-nonsense towing with structural integrity to ensure occupant comfort when hauling big payloads.
The proven ladder frame also features a large front suspension cross member with roll formed centre rail sections in a smart outwardly curved position to improve rear spring and shock placement.
# Payload and kerb weight figures are based on vehicle certification. It is the driver's responsibility to ensure: weight of fully loaded vehicles do not exceed GVM; front and rear axle load limits are not individually exceeded; the combined weight of the fully loaded vehicle (including tow ball download when towing) and trailer does not exceed the GCM; compliance to State and Territory towing regulations. Payload is the combined value of occupants, luggage, cargo, added options, accessories and tow ball download (when towing). Kerb weight includes the vehicle with a full tank of fuel and all standard equipment, excluding occupants. Additional weights of optional features, occupants, luggage, cargo, accessories and tow ball download (when towing) must be taken into account when calculating payload.


text:
The Mystery Method
About The Mystery Method
Mystery Method DVD Video Archive
Welcome to the Official Mystery Method Website. We are the only site on the web authorized to sell Mystery's original "Mystery Method Video Archive Encyclopedia." As a special promotion, we are offering this 5 DVD set with hours of exclusive video content, recorded directly from private seminars taught by Erik von Markovik (aka "mystery") - the star of the VH-1 show " the Pickup Artist". From openers to seduction, from routines to wingman tactics, Mystery covers everything you need to know to go out and meet beautiful women - tonight. Everything is presented in bite-size chunks, so you're not absorbing hour after hour of theory but can find exactly what you're looking for and use it right away.
As a limited, special promotion
we are taking $100 off the recommended retail price.
You can own what Mystery considered, at the time of production, to be his life's work... all for only $197!
Mystery Video Archive
Mystery's 5DVD set of Pickup instructional videos.
Price: $
Add to Cart
Check out these sample video clips from the actual product
Get the Flash Player
to see this player.
Get the Flash Player
to see this player.
Click Here To Watch More Samples
If you Would Prefer to Read a Book than be Personally Trained by Mystery on DVD then you may be Interested in His book.
Book Description:
For every man who always wondered why some guys have all the luck, Mystery, considered by many to be the world's greatest pickup artist, finally reveals his secrets for finding and forming relationships with some of the world's most beautiful women. Mystery gained mainstream attention for his role in Neil Strauss's New York Times bestselling exposé, The Game. Now he has written the definitive handbook on the art of the pickup.
New York Times author Neil Strauss is considered to be a close friend, business partner, and former instructor for Mystery.
Buy now from Amazon.com
Copyright© The Mystery Method 2013
Video Clips
Shopping Cart


text:
What You Mean to Me
What You Mean to Me
I wonder if you really know what you mean to me,
The first time that I spoke to you, you made my heart feel free.
Day after day I wondered if someday we'd meet,
Than the day came when you said you were coming to see me.
As I saw you through the window, your back was turned to me.
When you slowly turned around, than our eyes did meet.
Not knowing how you felt, an embracing hello we had.
Hoping that you wouldn't know chills were going down my back.
I felt like I had known you, for all of my life.
I knew that moment in my heart I wanted you for mine.
You were just a stranger someone I didn't know,
I knew that I loved you, but couldn't let it show.
That night was like a dream to me, since you were by my side.
But I knew in a couple days that you'd have to say good-bye.
I couldn't be apart from you, to see you I did go.
Excited to be with you, and all the love I had to show.
I held you in my arms again and swore I'd never leave,
Than my heart realized that this just could not be.
You had a new beginning, a Marine you would be.
I told you that I'd be there for you until he next time we meet.
Missing you so terribly, and waiting for each letter.
Knowing in my heart that time and love would make it better.
Tears would go down my face from the loneliness within,
Sitting here waiting to be in your arms again.
Not knowing or understanding all the changes there would be,
Time stood still for a moment, you were again a stranger to me.
Remembering my promise I made, that I'd be there till the end,
I began to see the love star to grow in your eyes again.
I held you close time after time and dreaming for the day,
That you would not leave me, forever you would stay.
Hoping that you love me just as much as I love you,
I wait for the day I don't have to part from you.
Than the day came to say good-bye again,
Now all I have are memories and your love I hold within.
I count the days till I hear your voice, and the day that we will meet.
But neither of us know which day that will be.
So I pray each night that you'll be safe,
and you know that I will wait.
For I love you more and more each day, this you should know,
I'll be dreaming of the day that you will take me when you go..
By, Georgina Pielli
Written for Jesse Bruce


text:
This example shows how to work with MATLAB® HDL Coder™ projects to generate HDL from MATLAB designs.
This example helps you familiarize yourself with the following aspects of HDL code generation:
Generating HDL code from MATLAB design.
Generating a HDL test bench from a MATLAB test bench.
Verifying the generated HDL code using a HDL simulator.
Synthesizing the generated HDL code using a HDL synthesis tool.
The MATLAB code used in this example implements a simple symmetric FIR filter. This example also shows a MATLAB test bench that exercises the filter.
design_name = 'mlhdlc_sfir'; testbench_name = 'mlhdlc_sfir_tb';
MATLAB Design: mlhdlc_sfir
MATLAB testbench: mlhdlc_sfir_tb
Execute the following lines of code to copy the necessary example files into a temporary folder.
mlhdlc_demo_dir = fullfile(matlabroot, 'toolbox', 'hdlcoder', 'hdlcoderdemos', 'matlabhdlcoderdemos'); mlhdlc_temp_dir = [tempdir 'mlhdlc_sfir']; % Create a temporary folder and copy the MATLAB files. cd(tempdir); [~, ~, ~] = rmdir(mlhdlc_temp_dir, 's'); mkdir(mlhdlc_temp_dir); cd(mlhdlc_temp_dir); copyfile(fullfile(mlhdlc_demo_dir, [design_name,'.m*']), mlhdlc_temp_dir); copyfile(fullfile(mlhdlc_demo_dir, [testbench_name,'.m*']), mlhdlc_temp_dir);
Simulate the design with the test bench prior to code generation to make sure there are no runtime errors.
To create a new project, enter the following command:
coder -hdlcoder -new mlhdlc_sfir
Next, add the file 'mlhdlc_sfir.m' to the project as the MATLAB Function and 'mlhdlc_sfir_tb.m' as the MATLAB Test Bench.
You can refer to Getting Started with MATLAB to HDL Workflow tutorial for a more complete introduction to creating and populating HDL Coder projects.
Right-click the 'Float-to-Fixed Workflow' step and choose the option 'Run this task' to run all the steps to generate fixed-point MATLAB code.
Examine the generated fixed-point MATLAB code by clicking the links in the log window to open the MATLAB code in the editor.
For more details on fixed-point conversion, refer to the Floating-Point to Fixed-Point Conversion tutorial.
This step generates Verilog code from the generated fixed-point MATLAB design, and a Verilog test bench from the MATLAB test bench wrapper.
To set code generation options and generate HDL code:
Click the 'Code Generation' step to view the HDL code generation options panel.
In the Target tab, choose 'Verilog' as the 'Language' option.
Select the 'Generate HDL' and 'Generate HDL test bench' options.
In the 'Optimizations' tab, choose '1' as the Input and Output pipeline length, and enable the 'Distribute pipeline registers' option.
In the 'Coding style' tab, choose 'Include MATLAB source code as comments' and 'Generate report' to generate a code generation report with comments and traceability links.
Click the 'Run' button to generate both the Verilog design and testbench with reports.
Examine the log window and click the links to explore the generated code and the reports.
In the 'HDL Verification' step, select 'Verify with HDL Test Bench' substep and choose the 'Multi-file test bench' option in 'Test Bench Options' sub-tab. This option helps to generate HDL test bench code and test bench data (stimulus and response) in separate files.
HDL Coder automates the process of generating a HDL test bench and running the generated HDL test bench using the ModelSim® or ISIM™ simulator, and reports if the generated HDL simulation matches the numerics and latency with respect to the fixed-point MATLAB simulation.
HDL Coder also creates a Xilinx® ISE™ or Altera® Quartus™ project with the selected options and runs the selected logic synthesis and place-and-route steps for the generated HDL code.
Examine the log window to view the results of synthesis steps.
Run the following commands to clean up the temporary project folder.
mlhdlc_demo_dir = fullfile(matlabroot, 'toolbox', 'hdlcoder', 'hdlcoderdemos', 'matlabhdlcoderdemos'); mlhdlc_temp_dir = [tempdir 'mlhdlc_sfir']; clear mex; cd (mlhdlc_demo_dir); rmdir(mlhdlc_temp_dir, 's');


text:
President Obama's latest budget proposal makes a good predicate for a grand bargain — between the White House and the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
Granted, the White House envisions a higher level of debt 10 years from now than in the highly ideological document produced by the most left-wing Democrats in Congress. But if the president is truly open to reason, he'll listen to the co-chairmen of the caucus and find a way to achieve as much deficit reduction as they do.
Then, at least, he'll be a little closer to Paul Ryan and the House Republicans, who have about $4 trillion to $5 trillion more in deficit reduction than he does over the next 10 years.
The new White House budget is supposed to embody the president's "charm offensive," during which he has subjected himself to the indignity of occasionally eating meals with members of the opposition. He was forced into this expedient after his posture of the end-is-nigh confrontation in the run-up to the sequester failed miserably.
Going out of his way to get to know Republican senators and congressmen in the fifth year of his presidency is certainly charming of him, but if Obama truly wants a "grand bargain," there's no substitute for substance. This budget doesn't provide it, but hey, there's always the 2015 budget.
There are a few constants in the president's budgeteering. When he isn't reaching out to Republicans, he proposes more spending and taxes. When he is reaching out to Republicans, he proposes more spending and taxes. He increases spending by $150 billion next year and wants an additional $1 trillion in new taxes over the next 10 years.
In fact, he's so consistent that even when he is making a serious gesture toward deficit reduction, he increases the deficit. He's proposing a higher deficit than under current policy until 2017, when he's out of office. In other words, if the president threw up his hands and said, "Let's keep doing what we're doing now," the deficit would initially be lower than under his much-touted budget attempting to meet Republicans halfway.
Even the claimed deficit reduction evaporates upon first contact with scrutiny. The Associated Press writes: "Obama claims $1.8 trillion in deficit savings over the coming decade, but the budget tables show the savings are actually $1.4 trillion.
"And $1.2 trillion of that is devoted to reversing automatic, across-the-board spending cuts required because of Washington's inability to follow up a 2011 budget pact with further deficit action."
The signature proposal of the new, more winsome and companionable Obama budget is so-called chained CPI, a technical adjustment in the calculation of inflation that reduces Social Security benefits. This was part of Obama's offer to House Speaker John Boehner in the grand-bargain negotiations. Obama has repeatedly congratulated himself in public for his courage on entitlements behind closed doors, without ever bothering to propose in open view what he advocated in private.
Now, he has put it in writing. That's progress. And he deserves credit for doing what Republicans haven't dared — cutting an entitlement benefit for current retirees. But chained CPI is an inherently "balanced" proposal, since it also accelerates bracket creep and leads to higher taxes.
Regardless, the president says he will jettison it without other tax increases. This is the joke of the Obama charm offensive in a nutshell: He won't accept his own proposal for what is, in part, a tax increase, unless it is paired with yet more tax increases.
If the president thinks Republicans are going to go for this, he hasn't spent nearly enough time with them. It is hard to imagine a deader-on-arrival budget. More than a herald of a great breakthrough, it is another indication that the entitlement crisis that is a little closer with the retirement of every baby boomer won't be seriously addressed during his presidency.
If this is the best he can do, he should stop trying.


text:
Oct 8 (Reuters) - Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc
received offers from a private-equity consortium including Blackstone Group LP and Carlyle Group LP , Bloomberg reported, sending the healthcare company's shares up 6 percent in premarket trade.
Late last month, sources familiar with the matter said the company had held talks with private equity firms about the possibility of a leveraged buyout.
Bloomberg, quoting sources, said Allscripts wanted second-round offers within three to four weeks.
An Allscripts spokeswoman said the company does not discuss rumors or speculation. Blackstone and Carlyle could not immediately be reached for comment.
In June, Allscripts settled a proxy fight with hedge fund HealthCor Management, placing three of the investor's nominees on its board.
HealthCor had sued the company in May to be allowed to launch a proxy fight after the company's chief executive, Glen Tullman, refused a demand to resign.
Allscripts, which makes software applications for healthcare providers such as hospitals and physicians, is expected to benefit from the Obama Administration's push to computerise patients' health records.
Allscripts shares were up 6 percent at $14.10 in premarket trade. They closed at $13.33 on Friday on the Nasdaq.
(Reporting by Esha Dey in Bangalore; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
((firstname.lastname@example.com)(within U.S. +1 646 223 8780, outside U.S. +91 80 4135 5800)(Reuters Messaging: firstname.lastname@example.com))
Keywords: ALLSCRIPTS DEAL/


text:
Independent Vetcare Ltd, trading as Abbey Veterinary Clinics ("We") are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy.
This policy (together with our terms of use and any other documents referred to on it) sets out the basis on which any personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to us, will be processed by us. Please read the following carefully to understand our views and practices regarding your personal data and how we will treat it. By engaging with our Practices to provide veterinary services or visiting www.abbeyvets.co, you are accepting and consenting to the practices described in this policy.
For the purpose of the EU General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679, the data controller is Independent Vetcare Ltd of The Chocolate Factory, Keynsham, Bristol BS31 2AU.
Information categories we may use
We may collect and process the following data about you
We may collect and process the following data about you
In this case we will have informed you when we collected that data that it may be shared internally and combined with data collected on this website. We are also working closely with third parties (including, for example, business partners, sub-contractors in technical, payment and delivery services, advertising networks, analytics providers, search information providers, credit reference agencies) and may receive information about you from them. We may also receive information about you when your pet is referred to us from another practice.
How we use your information
We process your data to provide the services and products defined in our Terms and Conditions. Our legal basis for processing this data falls into one of the following categories:
We may share the information about you defined above with certain third parties, to enable us to provide the products and services defined in our Terms and Conditions. These include payment processors, insurers, indemnity providers and other professional and legal advisors, debt recovery agencies, referrals to other vets or specialist clinics and labs or other providers who support us in providing services to your pet.
We will retain information about you for as long as we have a legitimate business interest to do so. After this your information will be securely destroyed where possible or at least anonymised where destruction is technically impossible.
Securing your information
We understand the importance of keeping your information safe and secure, and we use a range of technical and organisational measures to achieve this. We only allow access to your information to those who have a legitimate business need to do so, and under strict confidentiality. We have processes in place to deal with potential breaches to information security, and these include communication to you and our regulators where we are legally required to do so.
Your Rights
Under the GDPR you have the following rights over your information:
If you contact us to exercise any of these rights we may ask for information about you to positively identify you and verify your request is valid.
You can contact us at firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Talking Less, Paying More for Voice
The largest U.S. wireless carriers are working on ways to keep their customers paying up for something they do less and less—making phone calls.
In a sea change for consumer behavior, the amount of time spent making old-fashioned voice calls has fallen every year since Apple Inc. AAPL 0.25% introduced the iPhone in 2007. The rub for carriers is that voice billings still account for about two-thirds of what they charge cellphone customers every month.
To make sure monthly billings don't follow usage downhill, carriers expect to get rid of plans that let contract subscribers buy only the number of minutes they need and replace them with a flat rate covering unlimited calls.
Carriers say a move to unlimited-only calling plans would simplify what can be a confusing array of options. But it also would keep a cash cow healthy by depriving customers of the option to trade down to cheaper plans—even as their phone use drops as they spend more time texting and using Internet-based calling services such as Skype.
"The industry's definitely moving towards unlimited," AT&T Mobility Chief Executive Ralph de la Vega said in a recent interview. "Especially as more people adopt smartphones that have voice capabilities over the Internet, segmented voice plans will become less relevant."
Carriers are wrestling with a generational shift in the relationship between their customers and the devices they sell. Phone calls simply are no longer the primary reason people buy mobile phones. The shift is so pronounced that AT&T Inc. T 0.47% Chief Executive Randall Stephenson said at an investor conference Friday that he wouldn't be surprised if some carrier pops up in the next two years with cellphone plans that cover only data, no voice.
Carriers are trying to shift their billing practices to reflect the new data-driven reality, but they aren't keeping up with the pace at which consumer habits are changing. Meanwhile, subscribers are figuring out they could save money each month by scaling back their voice plans.
The problem is one carriers have largely brought on themselves. By opening up to the iPhone and then heavily promoting other smartphones, carriers gave their subscribers hundreds of new reasons to use their handsets, which in reality have become mobile computers.
People no longer need to call their loved ones for directions or restaurant reviews. They now have Google Maps and Yelp at their fingertips. And texting has become far easier, even with much-bemoaned touch screens, than using the old telephone keypad with multiple letters per button.
All of that has accelerated a shift driven by younger users who have adopted texting as their primary way of communicating while restricting calls to a small privileged circle of friends, parents and circumstances.
E.C. Hurley, 32, a disc jockey from Farmville, Va., said he typically used just 50 minutes of his 450-minute monthly allotment with AT&T, which includes free nighttime and mobile-to-mobile calling. "I am just getting more and more rollover minutes now and there's no way I can use them," Mr. Hurley said of the $40 monthly plan.
The toll is evident in data tracked by CTIA, the trade group for the U.S. wireless industry. The average phone call lasted 3.03 minutes in 2006, the year before the iPhone was rolled out by AT&T. At the end of last year, it took 1.78 minutes, down by nearly half. Monthly use by the customers who buy contracts has followed suit. After peaking at an average of 826 minutes per month in 2007, the average fell to 681 minutes at the end of 2011.
Many users are regularly paying for more. Unlimited plans—which T-Mobile USA says are chosen by about 80% of its new customers—run about $70 a month. Yet a growing number of subscribers are availing themselves of cheaper options with limited minutes. Verizon Wireless, AT&T and Sprint Nextel Corp. S -1.14% all offer monthly plans that charge $60 for 900 minutes and $40 for 450 minutes. T-Mobile has a basic 500 minute plan for $40.
Lauren Fields, 25, recently doubled her minutes with Verizon Wireless to 900 per month after she went over her allotment, but is considering scaling back to the 450 minute plan. "I don't need 900 minutes, and I certainly don't need an unlimited plan," said the University of Michigan admissions counselor, who makes use of Internet phone applications like Google Voice. "It already feels like I am paying for nothing."
Purchases of smaller monthly allotments of minutes hit sales at AT&T, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile, which reported declines of about 2% to 4% in voice revenue in the first quarter. Sprint's quarterly disclosures don't allow for a similar calculation.
Those cheaper options are likely to narrow for new subscribers. "It's more important to offer a complete solution to consumers which is really, truly unlimited," said T-Mobile USA Chief Executive Philipp Humm in a recent interview. "The new world is a completely unlimited, worry-free world."
Brian Higgins, Verizon Wireless's vice president for product development, said carriers are looking to squeeze what value they can out of voice service since it isn't growing any more.
"There are limits to what you can do with the voice product," he said. "It makes sense to look at the pricing."
Fared Adib, head of product development for Sprint, which still offers new customers unlimited data plans, said eliminating tiered voice options makes sense because it simplifies choices for customers. "People like the freedom of not having to worry about either data or voice," he said.
Representatives for AT&T, Verizon Wireless and Sprint declined to say what percentage of contract customers are already on unlimited voice plans and cautioned that no final decisions had been made about shifting to unlimited-only voice or what it would cost.
If wireless carriers do get rid of minute-based voice plans for contract users, it will echo the steps some have taken to shore up revenue from texting. Carriers are seeing slower growth in use of their lucrative texting services, as subscribers switch to free services like Apple's iMessage or the third-party service WhatsApp. In response, AT&T last year got rid of plans that charged for bundles of texts and replaced them with unlimited plans.
Telecom companies are taking the opposite approach with their data plans. Confident that data use is growing quickly, carriers have moved away from unlimited plans in favor of tiered offerings that charge subscribers more dollars when they use more megabytes.
AT&T was first to shift to tiered data plans nearly two years ago. Verizon Wireless, co-owned by Verizon Communications Inc. VZ 0.15% and Vodafone Group PLC, followed suit last year. Sprint and T-Mobile still offer unlimited data plans.
The moves have helped data revenue increase quickly, but it still is dwarfed by voice charges. Data accounted for 37% of carriers' $169.8 billion in wireless revenue last year, compared with 12% in 2006.
Write to Greg Bensinger at firstname.lastname@example.com
Copyright ©2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Most Popular Videos
Most Popular Articles
Lachlan Murdoch Sets L.A. Record by Paying $150 Million for a Château-Style Mansion
Opinion: The Incredible Shrinking Impeachment
Disney Accused of Snow Job Over 'Frozen 2' Tweet Apology
Trump Plans to Sign Off on Limited Trade Deal With China
Vatican Uses Donations for the Poor to Plug Its Budget Deficit


text:
Font Size
By Shane McGinley
Font Size
The Burj Khalifa developer will meet with investors in London today
Emaar Properties, builder of the world's tallest tower Burj Khalifa, has picked banks to arrange investor meetings in London ahead of a possible new Islamic bond, or sukuk, issue.
The company, the Gulf's largest listed developer by market value, has mandated no fewer than seven regional and international banks for the meetings which take place on July 11, and only in London.
A sukuk issue under the company's $2 billion sukuk programme may follow, subject to market conditions, arranging banks said on Tuesday.
The Islamic debt market has been resilient during the latest phase of the euro zone crisis and most regional deals so far this year have been in the form of sukuk.
Emaar, which saw sales of apartments plunge 85 percent last year, is gradually shifting its focus from the bleak Dubai property market towards the more profitable hospitality and retail sectors.
It owns the Dubai Mall, billed as the world's largest shopping mall, and operates the Armani-branded hotels. Last year, Emaar used Dubai Mall as collateral to secure a $1 billion lending to help refinance upcoming debt.
Emaar plans to focus on boosting revenues from its global operations and enhancing profit from recurring revenues, its chief executive Mohammed Alabbar said earlier this year.
Emaar's previous sukuk issue was a $500 million sale in February 2011 which carried a profit rate of 8.5 percent under the programme.
The sukuk has rallied significantly in recent weeks, and was bid well above par at 109.5 cents to the dollar on Tuesday, to yield 5.8 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Emaar has picked Standard Chartered Plc, HSBC Holdings, Abu Dhabi's Al Hilal Bank, Qatar's Barwa Bank, Emirates NBD, Dubai Islamic Bank and Noor Islamic Bank for the deal.
Emaar shares closed 0.3 percent lower on the Dubai bourse prior to the sukuk announcement.


text:
Formed in 2009 in Houston, Killing Clover gives us a sound reminiscent of Bad Religion, The Misfits and a little of The Ramones. Forming in 2009 in Houston, the band plays gigs at Warehouse Live and will soon be competing in the Battle of the Bands at Fitzgerald's on Sept. 4.
Primarily seen in the Houston area, Killing Clover is ready to take their show on the road. The band consists of Felix Savala (vocals), Mitch Shaw (guitar), David Haynes (bass) and Jason Cluthe (Drums).
Felix and Mitch spoke briefly with The Examiner
Who do you consider your biggest influences?
Felix: My biggest influences would have to be Face to Face, No Use For A Name and basically all of the old 90's So-Cal bands. We all have different influences. I think one thing that makes us who we are is that we all come from different interests in music. I listen to everything but mainly punk-rock. Mitch is into a lot of blues, country, and rock-n-roll. David is our indie kid and Jason is a punk rocker.
Can you describe the band for those who have never heard of Killing Clover?
Felix: I would have to say that we are bringing back that old sound punk and at the same time throwing a new twist into it.
How'd you come up with the band name?
Mitch: It came from my aunt and my cousins. My aunt was pulling weeds and my cousin asked what she was doing. She said killing clovers and my cousins were like, that's a cool band name. We changed it to just killing clover and I made some graphics for it. This was before I was in the band so when I joined this band they still didn't have a name and I threw this one out. We all loved it and thought it was cool so we kept it.
How has your reception been live, and how important are your live shows?
Felix: We always have energy at our shows, of course like all bands, we don't always play to the most packed houses but no matter what, we play like we are playing in front of huge crowds. We never want to let down the fans even if it's a free show. To me playing in front of 100's is just as important as playing in front of a few people. I never want to hear a fan say it wasn't that good or it was boring. No matter where we play or who is there watching, we will always have that energy and excitement.
What can we expect to see from Killing Clover in the future?
Felix: Right now we are in the studio working on a full album and we are about to release a demo for our patient fans that have been with us waiting for music. We are anticipating the release of the full album probably towards the end of the year. We have a couple of shows lined up at Warehouse Live and Battle of the Bands at Fitzgerald's and this is the final round. The first one was in January and it's based on crowd voting. It's an important show and we will also hand out the demo CD there as well.
For more information, find the band on Facebook at facebook.com/killingclover
Photo courtesy of http://bigjohnsphotography.com/
[1] http://theexaminer.com/users/brent-morton
[2] http://theexaminer.com/sites/default/files/blog/IMG_5323.jpg
[3] http://theexaminer.com/features/artist-interviews
[4] http://theexaminer.com/tags/killing-clover


text:
Construction Seduction - Long Roofs
Falling in love with a state-of-the-art '65 Chevelle wagonBuilding a car isn't so different from building a home, really. Ask Dennis Smith-as general superintendent of land development for a housing contractor in Orange County, California, as well as a lifelong car nut, he's done plenty of both. Three-bed/two-bath duplex, '65 Chevelle wagon… whatever. Of course, the car moves (though so might the house if it's in one of these nutty California quakes), and you can live in the house (though the back of that Chevelle is mighty expansive), but the steps to accomplish the goal remain the same.
*First, you need a plan: a vision, a blueprint, a rough idea to build upon. Dennis wanted a wagon for him, his wife Nancy, and his three kids-Jaime, Kelly, and Dale-so they could experience the fun of travel by car together. For Dennis, this also meant the best of everything: fuel-injected big-block, six-speed, massive rolling stock. No expense was spared; no need to go into specifics here (it doesn't quite touch six figures), but suffice it to say that there are large portions of our country where this kind of money can be spent on a house. Ironically, the two-door wagon was the cheapie model of the lineup and usually was spec'd out as a stripper. What a way to turn things around, eh? (Anyone who is upset by this flagrant use of cash can read our low-buck Mercury feature on page 20.)
*Then you need something to build upon. A plot of land. A basic car. It should be noted that some money helps. Dennis met his Chevelle through a chain-link fence as he was cruising through Riverside. It wasn't for sale and "I had to beg," he says.
*You need builders who know what they're doing. For work, he relies on the men his company hires. For his Chevelle, Dennis relied on Rick Hunt of Menifee, California, (who did the bulk of the building) and David Sconyers of Pomona, California (who helped with final assembly and some of the "flashy trinkets"). Rick and David are a couple of early Chevelle experts who buy, sell, trade, part, and customize enough of these bad boys that you'd think that they were still rolling out of Fremont.
*You need a solid foundation. Like concrete. Or like the A-body full-perimeter frame, which has certainly proven to be one of the most popular foundations for modifications both great and small-every variation of suspension tweak, engine/tranny combo, and trick known to hot rodding has been foisted upon the A. It certainly makes life simpler when you have a laundry list of readily available items from which to pick and choose; better still is when this ease of component availability gels into a package that you're proud to call your own. As far as powertrain goes, Dennis went with a full Craig Railsback-programmed BDS EFI conversion on his 496ci stroker using proprietary C-Com computer programming. The EFI intake manifold was a custom piece built by Rad Rides by Troy-originally for use on Bisquik, Jack Trepanier's own 604ci Chevy, and later removed for reasons of reliability. It changed hands a couple of times, eventually ending up with Rick, who installed it on Dennis' car; Jack stopped by on Power Tour 2000 to take a look and said, "By God, you got that thing to work!" The engine works to the tune of 550 hp and 500 lb-ft, incidentally. And with a Richmond six-speed behind it, Dennis can tickle 18 mpg if he's careful.
*You need to make it comfortable to spend time in. Big, airy rooms may be hard to paint but sure convey that feeling of spaciousness. Dennis had Frank's Hot Rod upholstery in Temecula install several cows' worth of leather inside the wagon's cavernous expanse, including the seats, steering wheel cover, dashpad, console, shift boot, and door panels. What isn't leather is tweed. The carpet is the same as what's used in late-model Mercedes-Benzes. Zehr gut. There are two separate A/C units: a factory unit for the front, and a Vintage Air unit to keep the back cool. A custom gauge insert is home to Autometer UltraLight (NASCAR-style) gauges. An Eclipse head unit with 12-CD changer will keep all parties happy with the music selection at one time or another-Dennis is a Tom Petty/Steve Miller man, for what it's worth.
*You need to build methodically but not so slowly that you tire of your eventual goal. This particular ride was done within 10 months. There wasn't any particular rush.
*You need to make it yours. Small touches abound, from the ghost flames to nearly invisible items like the stainless steel gas tank and the rear A/C lines tucked into the framerails.
*Finally, hold an Open House and show it off to your friends: This car made its debut on Power Tour East '99, and Dennis saw thousands of friends come by to have a peek. After sinking all that money into a car, you'd think the last thing he'd want to do is drive it, right? Wrong. The Smiths drove this monster, hiccup-free, from Massachusetts to Florida. The rain that plagued that trip was more of a baptism than anything else, and it hasn't put a wheel wrong yet. (The thinking behind taking the car from California to Massachusetts, when there was already a tour that started in California, has long since been lost.) Dennis will be holding another Open House on Power Tour this year, and he invites everyone to come and visit as he cruises across the country.
Quick Inspection
Dennis Smith
Murietta, CA
'65 Chevrolet Chevelle 2-door wagon
Type: '70 Chevrolet LS6, bored 0.060 and stroked 0.25 inch, 496ci total; balanced rotating assembly
Induction: Tuned-port fuel injection by BDS, Whittier, CA, C-Com programming; intake by Rad Rides by Troy
Heads: Edelbrock BBC aluminum rectangular-port
Cam: Comp Cams, 0.520 lift, 230 degree (intake)
Pistons: Lunati, 9.5:1 compression
Rods: Lunati aluminum
Crank: Lunati, quarter-inch stroke, steel
Ignition: MSD 6AL and distributor timing set 32 degrees total
Exhaust: Sanderson shorty headers (1 7/8), 2 1/2-inch diameter pipes, Flowmaster Big-Block 70-series mufflers, Jet-Hot coated; designed by Brian Langlois and Randy Davis, American Auto, Murrieta, CA
Power Rating: 550 hp at 5,500 rpm, 500 lb-ft at 4,700 rpm
Transmission: Richmond 6-speed (1:1 Fifth), 0.76:1 Overdrive; Long shifter, Hays clutch and balanced billet steel flywheel, Lakewood bellhousing
Driveshaft: Balanced aluminum shaft (3 1/2-inch diameter) by Inland Empire Driveshaft, Corona, CA
Rearend: 12-bolt, 3.73:1, posi
Front Suspension: Hotchkis springs (1 1/4-inch drop), Delco shocks, Hotchkis A-arms and 1 1/4-inch sway bar, 2-inch drop spindle by True Connections, Riverside, CA
Rear Suspension: Air Ride airbags, Delco shocks, Hotchkis control arms and 1 1/8-inch sway bar
Steering: Refurbished power-assist 605 box by True Connections, Riverside, CA; 12:1 ratio
Brakes: 12-inch late-model Camaro
Featured:17-inch Budnik (8-inch front, 8 1/2-inch rear)
On The Cover: Intro Segsters (18×8 all around)
Featured: Z-rated, 45-series, 17-inch BFGoodrich Comp T/A (235 front, 255 rear)
On The Cover: Falken 235/40ZR18 front, 255/35ZR20 rearThanks to Barney's Tire and Wheel, Temecula
Body & Paint
Repairs: Floorpans replaced, complete frame-off bare-metal strip and resto
Materials: '99 VW New Beetle Blue
By: Rick Hunt, Menifee, CA (bodywork), Jason at Caliber Collision, Murrieta, CA (paint), DR Design, Temecula, CA (ghost-flames)


text:
Hi guys, it's me, Selwy
Believe it or not, I just updated from ZBrush version 3.1 to 4R4 this summer! (Yes, that's silly, I know... better late than never I guess) I went into traditional wood carving for quite some time (www.ben-godi.com) and didn't had a chance to keep up with the latest releases. And now, what do I find? Tons of new features and work flows!!! Basically I had to relearn how to use ZBrush But because of its unchanged structure and a very good documentation, it took me only about three weeks or so. And because learning works best by doing, I made some sculptures. Simultaneously I could review things I have learned during my time at the wood carving academy here in North Italy. My participation ended with me teaching the other students how to use ZBrush instead of carving. But that's another story! Crazy; it seems like everyone goes "digital" these days without exceptions...
By the way, I have finally updated my website: http://www.selwy.com
Boys and Girls
I started with the same basemesh for all the characters below. For the textured guy I used QRemesher on a midres level, created new topology, projected the details back onto the new mesh and finished sculpting. For quick UV unwrapping I executed UVMaster as a push button solution - worked absolutely fantastic! With the help of Spotlight I roughly projected some reference images to the mesh and hand painted remaining spots. The images here are pure screenshots of BPR renders straight out of the ZBrush viewport. A modified version of the "old" SkinShade4 material was applied as shader.


text:
A forum open to ybw.com registered users only, for the purpose of discussing whether to meet for land-locked drinks in any given area. Threads expire after 30 days of inactivity. For on-water events see Ad hoc forum.
There have been no posts in the last 365 days in this forum.
Try using the controls below to search for any older posts that may exist.
Use this control to limit the display of threads to those newer than the specified time frame.
Allows you to choose the data by which the thread list will be sorted.
Order threads in...
Note: when sorting by date, 'descending order' will show the newest results first.
Forum T&Cs


text:
Transfer from Luneville to Frankfurt am Main Airport
Private chauffeur service from Luneville | Free waiting in airport and Free Child Safety seats
When visiting Luneville, you can book a per-hour car rental with driver from 2 hours/day and more. Meet and Greet service, offered by our company, will significantly simplify the meeting in the airport for the newcomers. Using a "car rental with driver" service you can vesit the places of interest, famous shops or outlets to do some shopping near the city, saving your time in this way. Luneville chauffeur service offered by our company will cost you much cheaper to order a car rental with driver with us than to hire a taxi driver. To book the economy car or minivan with chauffeur or a comfortable premium class car, coach, shuttle bus up to 50 seats, please choose the button. Per hour rental in the left upper corner of the page, write in the [Departure:] field the departure point and number of hours.
Economic minivan oe business sedan from Luneville and Airport
Frankfurt International Airport FRA is the biggest German airport that is second only after London Heathrow Airport and Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport by the passenger traffic. It was the first place that started using the automatic luggage sortage system that made much easier the passport control procedure. You can get to the aiport by electric train or by bus. The taxi servise will cost you about 50 Euro. Still it doesn`t mean that you will have to choose between the options: either to loose your time and comfort or to be forced to pay extra for taxi services. However the better option is to order a transfer servise from our company. We can offer you not only the possibility to save some money (because it is cheaper than a taxi) but we also guarantee the high comfort and safety on your way to the city. Please feel free to contact us!
Company vehicle fleet
- ComfortToyota Avensis, Volkswagen Passat, Chevrolet Cruze, KIA Sportage
- Business ClassMercedes C-Class, E-Class
- Business MinivanMercedes Viano, Mercedes Vito, Volkswagen Caravelle
- Standart Minivan ExtraLongMercedes Sprinter 415
- CompactCitroen C1, Fiat Panda, Hyundai Atos
- Economy Fiat Punto, Peugeot 206, Vokswagen Golf, Fiat Doblo
- Luxury ClassMercedes S-Class, Audi A8, BMW 730, Cadillac STS
- Economy MinivanOpel Vivaro, Renault Trafic
- Standart Minivan LongMercedes Sprinter, Ford Transit
- MiniBusSewa Bus 25, Mercy, Mercedes Benz Sitcar Beluga
- Bus StandartMercedes 404
- Bus PremiumMercedes Tourismo, Setra 515, Volvo 9700
- Exotic LimoRolls Royce Phantom, Limousine Magnum, Bentley Arnage 120, Chrysler C 300 Limousine 130, Hummer H3 140, Lincoln Strech Limousine
- Vintage SedanOn Request (Alfa Romeo, Cadillac, Buick, Plyumouth etc.)


text:
Opinion: Democrats Go Whale Hunting
Assistant editorial page editor James Freeman on the Senate investigation of J.P. Morgan's London Whale trades. Photo: Getty Images
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... back to Opinion Journal why Mary Kissel ... the Senate is holding hearings on the JPMorgan so-called ... whale trading debacle that cost the bank six billion dollars last year ... the system editorial page editor James Freeman is here to explain the vast on your knees at play ... with my jeans up quite a spectacle ... overall the major media this morning why is this involve an all ... given the JPMorgan in a profit last year the the ... and it's been with the trends show that it's pretty tough for anyone to figure out the all of the exposures that these big banks and certainly hard if you're an average investor to read or their financials and figure out what's really going on with the risks are but ... but the irony ... Sen Levin of running the sort of an interrogation on the ins and outs of how they value different positions but ... this is available a month ago voted for Jack Lew to be Treasury secretary ... the Dow never as to the tough questions of watching this hearing today were very aggressive questioning from Mr Levin ... on what was going on a JPMorgan you think is the taxpayer info when he applied that to Citigroup and that ... the Jackal his time there and what happened before the big bailout or in words or maybe the regulator's let's put up on the screen a quote ... from a report of the Senate permanent subcommittee on investigations and I quote ... it was not until May twenty twelve a few days before the bank was forced to disclose two billion dollars in losses ... in its public Assisi filings ... that the OCC that's a bank regulator one of them ... one of the problems he said in the portfolio James ... you are these guys I'm you know this is been this is a bad morning for JPMorgan they're getting punched around the Senate but it's also pretty bad day for the regulators and drilling for Mr. Levin in the other social this this Dodd Frank law in twenty ten and saying ... that the ... regulators will now be all knowing ... all seeing all seeing what is that it's able to spot systemic risk summer Verizon not anticipate problems in the markets ... and it's pretty clear that the opposite the Comptroller of the Currency the bank's regulator ... really had no idea what was going on out they basically learned about it though ... really after the Journal is reporting it when the public I got the full story and then even afterwards ... they had trouble deciding whether there was any problem with that in terms of this Volcker rule that they have supposedly been drafting to prevent ... banks from gambling with taxpayer money inversely set the tone of the Volcker rule violation of the Senate was so ... you know that I think you have more so when one of these myths that that that now now the regulators are going to build a spot risks and from and so what is the point of all of this hue and cry is it to look at a time frame did did figure out what's gone wrong with the legislation you wish you wish it was a of a bigger view than that to you know how we fix this thing and we get rid of too big to fail banks on it's really about basically an arm wrestling match a lobbying fight Mr. eleven on one side J P Morgan CEO Jamie Dynan on the other ... over the Volcker rule and how much banks will be allowed to operate in the securities markets How ... house strict isn't going to be in terms of of ... forcing them out not to take positions that the bank says there are pages and he says our proprietary tradesmen from a profit the kids there is an interesting guy he sure was a coalition emerging in the Senate between ... very far left Democrats like Elizabeth Warren ... been very conservative ... Republicans like worker ... on to break up the big banks by teasing hearings late today ... generates about the workers all the more I think ... I think it's un isn't under the Republican party I think you know that there's some good did come out of this this is another one of those hearings that proves that too big to fail is filled with incentive people are willing to take another look at this and if there's ... a bipartisan sense that that ... that that we need to go in another direction that's great I he I think those little hearings were the perfect opportunity to raise this but ... J was not ... to take advantage of by Democrats of personally but the ... but that this this could be a ... moment where people say of the system to reform and twenty two the system didn't get re formed in twenty ten ... more bad news out of