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There are many things about Apple (AAPL) that Microsoft is jealous about. But Apple's home entertainment business is not one of them.
Microsoft's (MSFT) Xbox 360 and its Windows Media Center software are quickly looking better than anything Apple offers. One reason is that the company is opening up to new ideas for content, even those that are considered competition.
For example, today Microsoft announced that it's going to build Netflix (NFLX) streaming support into Windows Media Center, a media dashboard built into most copies of Windows Vista. Netflix has also been in the Xbox 360 for months, and has attracted more than 1 million streaming subscribers to the console.
Netflix sort of competes with Microsoft's Xbox Live version of iTunes, where it sells TV shows and movies. But who cares? Microsoft's business is to sell Xbox 360s and Windows licenses, not make a few dollars off a movie rental.
Netflix support makes the Xbox 360 a more attractive movie machine than Apple's sad Apple TV -- currently ranked nos. 636 and 653 on Amazon's best-selling electronics list. And it makes Windows Media Center more attractive than Apple's "Front Row" media center software. So that's good for Microsoft (and Netflix) and bad for Apple.
What can Apple do? We've heard secondhand (a few months ago) that Steve Jobs won't invest more in Apple TV hardware until its software is improved. That explains why Apple hasn't done much with Apple TV hardware since early 2008. But it doesn't explain why the company hasn't done much with the software since then.
We've long hoped that the company might open up Apple TV and Front Row to other entertainment companies or developers, potentially including Netflix, video aggregators, MLB.TV, etc. Apple has as good a chance as anyone -- Roku, Samsung, LG, Comcast, etc. -- to be the company that connects your TV to the Internet. But so far it's taken a back seat, limiting itself by staying exclusive with iTunes and YouTube as the video sources for Apple TV.
That's what you expect from Apple -- self-isolation, even to its own detriment. But it's silly. While iTunes is a nice revenue generator for Apple, it is basically a breakeven business. Apple's real, profitable business is to sell more Apple TVs, Macs, iPods, etc. Opening Apple TV would be a helpful step.
Apple admits its home entertainment business is a "hobby." But right now, maybe "joke" is a better word.


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TAIPEI, Taiwan - A celebrated Taiwanese film director apologized Wednesday for allowing an award-winning Chinese photographer to use false papers to gain access to a naval base in southern Taiwan while scouting sights for a new feature film.
Niu Chen-zer apologized for his "negligence" in not paying attention to government regulations barring mainland Chinese from entering sensitive military establishments, according to a statement by filmmaker Atom Cinema, the producer of Niu's "Military Paradise" which is scheduled to begin shooting next month.
"I might have gone overboard in order to make a better film," Niu said on his Facebook page.
The photographer, Cao Yu, visited the Tsoying Naval Base with a local film crew on June 1, carrying the identity card of a Taiwanese man, according to the Apple Daily newspaper.
Niu did not provide details on how Cao gained access to the base.
Taiwan and China split amid civil war in 1949. While relations between the sides have improved dramatically under the China-friendly government of Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou, China still threatens the use of force against the democratic island, and the Taiwanese military remains committed to maintaining strong defenses against a possible Chinese attack.
Cao twice won photography awards from Taiwan's Golden Horse movie festival, underscoring the close cinematic cooperation between Taiwan and the mainland.
Taiwan's military originally agreed to assist in the filming of "Military Paradise," which tells the story of a group of Taiwanese soldiers stationed in the offshore island of Quemoy during the protracted 1958 Chinese bombing campaign against that isolated target. The film stars Taiwan heartthrob Ethan Juan.
But that appears to be changing.
On Wednesday military spokesman Yan Chen-kuo told Taiwanese TV stations the navy would back off from its earlier promise to provide sailors to assist in the filming of "Military Paradise."

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Party time in Shadofang Keep Party time in Shadofang Keep On the red carpet in Silvermoon City Dead man Black Panther in Thousand Needles Black Panther in Thousand Needles Camp fire near Thunder Bluff Netherdragon flying by The Western Plaguelands Some fly guy in Ashenvale Shadofang Keep Dead Wolf Inside Shadowfang Keep Looking at Shimmering Flats Dangerous Wind Rider Flying a bat Graveyard in the Eastern Kingdoms Eastern Kingdoms Night in Tirisfal Glades Sleeping everywhere Ship leaving Ratchet Northwatch Hold Dancing on a ship Archmage Arugal Archmage Arugal Sleeping in front of Ragefire Chasm How many heads do you have? Killing a big turtle in Blackfathom Deeps Tree guy Bridge Pirate ship at Merchant Coast The Crossroads Action in the Barrens Killed a Stormsnout Big Machine Going to Booty Bay Waiting in Booty Bay Gurubashi Arena Resting in Ashenvale Dancing in Orgrimmar Shadofang Keep, first Boss We are going to Ragefire Chasm On our way to Wailing Caverns Dungeon
Posted: September 8, 2007
Taken: September 8, 2007
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Archmage Arugal
I do my best dancing for Archmage Arugal. He does not seem to be interested.
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NEW ORLEANS – UMBC senior Andrew Smith (Chadds Ford, Pa./Garnet Valley) has been named a Second Team All-American by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), the organization announced on Monday night.
Smith earns his honor after advancing to the 2014 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships held in New Mexico last Friday and Saturday. The senior competed in the 800m run, placing 16th, after breaking the school mark in the event three times during the 2013-14 season.
He is the sixth athlete in UMBC track and field program history to reach the national meet, following in the footsteps of head coach David Bobb who was the first back in 1996. In addition, he is the third Retriever to reach the national stage in the last two years after Mercedes Jackson (Huntingtown, Md./Huntingtown) competed at both meets last season and Vincent Rentzsch (Oranienburg, Germany/Elite Sportschule Potsdam) joined her at the outdoor championships at Oregon.
Smith led a Retriever distance squad which rewrote the record book this season. The senior broke the 800m record (1:52.78) for the first time this season while winning the event and meeting the IC4A standard with a time of 1:51.30 at the NYU Team Challenge on Jan. 24. Just a week later at the Penn State Nationals, he bettered his time to 1:49.15, while placing second. Then, in one last attempt to reach the NCAA Championships, Smith shaved his time down to 1:48.82 on March 3 at the BU Last Chance Meet in Boston.
In the middle of his record-breaking performances, Smith successfully defended his conference title in the event, claiming the gold medal at the 2014 America East Championships at the Armory in New York on Feb. 24 with a time of 1:51.17.


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When we started our planning process for this version of Visio, we made it a central goal that it would be easier, faster and more pleasant to create beautiful, professional looking diagrams. To achieve that, we made a host of improvements to the application – far too many for us to cover here. So, for this post, I'll aim to give you an overview of all the changes we made and cover a few of the most highly requested new features. Later posts will cover everything here in much more detail.
Great Looking, Professional Diagrams
Making diagrams that can effectively communicate information is the heart and soul of Visio. Polished, professional looking diagrams grab attention, inspire more confidence, communicate more effectively and reflect well on the people who made them. It's always been possible to make good looking diagrams in Visio. This version we not only wanted to make it possible to create amazing looking ones, we wanted to make it startlingly simple. In fact, I might go as far as to say we wanted to make it hard to create bad looking diagrams in Visio (yes, yes – I am sure you could still do it if you tried!)
The foundation for great looking diagrams in the new Visio is the integration of the same rendering engine that PowerPoint uses. So, all the cool effects and UIs you're familiar with from PowerPoint are now in Visio too!
All that power is great, but it's like having a jet fighter without a pilot. It'll do amazing things, if only you could figure out which button to push! Fortunately, we weren't just aiming for the fighter pilot demographic. To make it incredibly easy to use all that power to get the look you want, we dramatically overhauled our theming feature. You just need to pick from among over 25 brand new, amazing looking themes and Visio will go and update the formatting on all your shapes to match that style.
Here's an image of the same diagram in three different themes. You can change between the following diagrams in a single click, easily moving from simple to vibrant to informal:
Of course, we've also made updates across huge swaths of our content to freshen up its look and to take advantage of all the power of our new effects and themes. I'll call out a few of the templates we've updated down at the bottom of this post.
Fantastic to Use
Using Visio has always been great. We love receiving feedback that starts with "I love this program" (and doesn't follow that with 'but')! We wanted to keep pushing on making the program fantastic to use to ensure that people keep finding the experience of using Visio to be efficient, intuitive and even – perhaps – enjoyable!
To achieve this, we invested across the board in polishing the product. We streamlined the ribbon and made our contextual UIs much more complete and focused. More commands than ever are now available right at your fingertips, which helps keep you focused on building your diagram instead of searching through complex UI to find the command you want. Try collapsing your ribbon in the new version and see whether using the right click menus makes you more efficient!
Outside the command space, we fixed hundreds of little road bumps (bugs 🙂 that folks told us about when using the product, and we built out several major features that customers have been craving for a while. We also dramatically simplified our application look, so that the diagrams you're making will take center stage, instead of needing to compete with Visio's UI. Lastly, we added a raft of smooth transitions, which make the program much easier to follow, as well as making it a lot more attractive to use.
All in all, we are tremendously excited about how great using the next version of Visio is and we're thrilled that you all will finally get to give it a try.
So, those new features… ?
Yeah – I've got examples. Now that you've got the summary, I'd like to dive into a few specifics here. We've got later blog posts planned that will cover theming, effects and the command improvements – so I'm going to hold off on them. However, I would like to talk a bit about some of the top requested customer features that we've built as well as walk through some examples of templates that we've updated.
Change Shape
Change shape is one of the most highly requested customer features we've ever had. It's not hard to see why. How many times have you dropped a process shape and connected it up, realizing later it should have been a decision? Or, have you ever wanted to give your simple decision shape more impact by subbing in one of the cool Visio Workflow shapes?
Changing a shape is now as easy as clicking a button and picking the shape you want. You can change one shape at a time or change several multi-selected shapes at once. This makes it easy to rough in a diagram with temporary shapes and then change to better looking, more accurate, or more appropriate shapes when you are ready to finish the diagram. You don't have to worry about losing connections, formatting or settings; Visio transfers all that over to the new shape automatically.
If you don't see the shape you want in the Shapes pane, you can use Search to find it and the search results appear in the Change Shape choices. To make changing the shape even quicker, you can use Change Shape from our right-click menu (we call it The Floatee).
Duplicate Page
Another highly request feature has been the ability to quickly duplicate a page. Right-clicking on the page tab and selecting Duplicate now creates a new page with all of the shapes, formatting and properties of the original. You can use this to quickly create variations of a diagram or to use a particular page as a starting template for many others or to simply explore different layouts – all without risking the contents on your original page. Combining Duplicate Page with Change shape also allows you to quickly try out using different shapes as well.
Finding shapes
It's now much easier to find the shape you want. Search has been updated with new keywords to give better results and the results are organized more clearly and grouped by stencil. You're shown up to the first four relevant shapes in each stencil and when you find the shape you want you can add it to your diagram or add in the whole stencil to the Shapes Pane with one click.
If you prefer to browse for shapes, we've also updated the More Shapes menu to make it easier to preview stencils and let you add or remove multiple stencils at once.
Updated Templates
As I mentioned, we've also updated a huge portion of our content this release. There'll be a whole article detailing what we've done later, so I just want to give you a taste here to illustrate a few of the changes that we've made.
Organization Chart
Org Chart has been reworked with 10 completely new styles, each with its own unique look. We've made the use of pictures super easy as well. The net result is that in a few clicks you can make org charts with incredibly varied styles that range from minimal to professional to hip to playful – whichever is appropriate for the personality of your team or organization.
Improved Containers and Callouts
Containers were already a powerful tool for diagram creation and they're even better now. Not only are there new containers for you to use, we've also added the ability to format containers with a variety of new looks. Whether you want something purely functional or more stylistic, it's easy to customize a container. Once you've selected a container style you want, you can change the heading style and use themes or quick styles to make it look just like you want.
Like containers, new callouts give you options to give your diagrams a customized look. Callouts have been completely reworked to provide more choices and more formatting options. You can quickly integrate the look of your callouts to your diagram with Themes, or use Quick Styles to draw special attention to a specific callout.
Basic Network and Detailed Network diagrams
New versions of these diagrams have updated shapes with a simple, modern look. In addition to making it easy to produce incredibly professional looking diagrams, these shapes are updated to include the newest hardware and concepts. We've also made the most important semantic details of the shapes more visually salient – making it easier to read large, complex diagrams.
Workflow Diagram
There's also a new version of the Workflow diagram that shares the modern look. Like the network shapes, you'll find they can add flavor to other diagrams.
Don't worry, though, the old 3D network and workflow shapes were so popular and iconic that we couldn't take them out. So, you can still find them by searching or browsing through the template categories.
Basic Diagram
The Basic Diagram template is a great toolkit to start a generic diagram or to use in an existing one, and we've updated it to give you a wider variety of attractive and useful shapes. You'll be able to use them to make quick drawings or add them to other diagrams to help illustrate your information. We've added lots of new shapes, including decorative shapes, arrow shapes, graph and math shapes.
Make the Most of Your Diagrams
And even with all that, we've just touched the tip of the iceberg on what the new Visio can offer. Check out our upcoming blog posts for deep dives on everything I touched on above.
We hope that you'll find it easier, faster and more pleasant to create beautiful, professional looking diagrams in Visio than it has ever been before!
Contact us
We would love to see your comments on this and other blog posts and if there are other topics you'd like to see us cover, let us know.


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100 Hours of Astronomy: 1 million galaxies in 100 hours
31 March 2009
The team behind the Galaxy Zoo are challenging their users to complete 1 million classifying clicks during the 100 hours of astronomy. Each classification will contribute to the science produced by the project, and you never know what you might discover. Progress will be recorded on the newly invented Zoonometer - go to www.galaxyzoo.org to help classify.
Search IYA2009 Updates
National Nodes: 148
Organisational Nodes: 40
Organisational Associates:33
National Websites: 111
Cornerstone Projects: 12
Special Task Groups: 11
Special Projects:16
Official Products:8
Media Partners:22


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This group is for those who want to think about the Occupy movement.
Members: 27
Latest Activity: Oct 24, 2013
Started by Public Philosophy Network Admin. Last reply by J. Britt Holbrook Dec 15, 2011. 1 Reply 1 Like
Call for papers for the 2012 UCLA IRLE Graduate Student Research ConferenceFrom Port Huron to Occupy Wall Street: 50 Years of Student, Worker, and Social Justice StrugglesUCLA - March 13, 2012The…Continue
Started by J. Britt Holbrook Dec 2, 2011. 0 Replies 0 Likes
Here are some examples to get the discussion going:…Continue
I'm happy to be a part of the Occupy Philosophy Affinity Group. Are folks still talking about Occupy? What's the latest?
Well, welcome! Correction above, that's Herbert Simon.
Excellent! Thanks so much. I'm new to PPN so I'll have a look at the forums. As usual we could spend all day online.
I got another one for you, Chapter 2 "Economic Rationality" of Herbert Spencer's Sciences of the Artificial. Clear, concise, and referenced (and like Ostrom he got the Nobel Memorial Prize for Economic Sciences). High caliber ammunition if used properly. But make sure you're open to listening once you've startled 'em, most economists are actually concerned about figuring out the truth of a matter. They're just used to using certain (outdated and disproven) methods and theories to get there.
I saw hog away at the forum space, we could use some more dialogue on here. I don't want to bury you any more than you already are, it's easy to get lost in the social science literature since it is so vast. Particularly economics, you can find yourself knee deep in math in no time and the payoff can be small if you're not carefu. Do you have a particular objective or are your more rooting around and looking for an "aha!" moment? Ok, a little burying. It might only be because of my background in politics and economics but the best book I've read in ages was Elinor Ostrom's Understanding Institutional Diversity. She's got a framework that unifies the intuitions of political science (the real visceral kind not a castrated rational choice) with those of neoclassical economics. Backed up with strong empirical evidence and infused throughout with a healthy pragmatism. Powerful stuff.
Thanks for your comment, Christopher. Your remark about complicit politicians is most insightful. We do have a vigorous opposition and the curious alliance of extreme right and extreme left (on this issue at least). Ex-stockbrokers and bankers with a decent moral compass and socialists have combined to oppose the conservative government coalition. We had an Occupy space on the plaza outside the Cenral Bank but they were cleared out without violence in time for the St. Patrick's Day parade. Even they seemed to agree that we need tourist dollars really badly! I have so much to say but I don't want to hog this space. Thanks for the offer of material - I'm knee-deep in it but I would certainly follow up anything you think useful.
I have a background in economics and political science but don't work on financial market issues so I'm certainly no expert but I might be able to point you to some resources. My impression is that Ireland one case among many of the public being screwed by a good old game of "Heads I win, tails you lose." As I understand it, probably the worst case due to complicit politicians.
Iwonder if the focus of this group could be broadened in some way to include the morality and the politics of the market. After all, the Occupy Movement only makes sense in the context of financial markets which have achieved extraordinary power in our world (no matter what age you are). I live in Ireland and we have ascended a steep learning curve about financial markets because everyone in this country is being asked to repay billions of dollars of debt incurred by PRIVATE banks. The European Union is in crisis and the entire situation is dominating public discourse across the continent. I've had to divert from my own philosophical interests to bone up on all these issues. If anybody wants to pursue this line of interest I would be delighted.
Call For Papers
As editors of a book proposal accepted for publication by Cambridge Scholars Publishing, we announce a call for submissions to a collection of essays exploring the connection between concepts of time and social change. The volume will have a strong focus on interdisciplinarity, the fusion of theory with practice, and presenting possibilities for ways in which the consideration of alternative notions of time could bring about social change. Thus it is not only practical philosophy papers that we invite, but also contributions from fields such as literary studies, media studies, cultural studies, gender studies, postcolonial studies, sociology and political science. For full details, go to: https://sites.google.com/site/timeandrevolutionbookproject/
Cecile Lawrence
Hi, Sharon:
What you say sounds right to me. I wonder, are you planning to write an article on the Occupy movement? And if you are, whether you are thinking of targeting an academic journal or something more mainstream? Or both?
© 2019 Created by Sharon M. Meagher. Powered by


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Get this error with 2.0.1 on both Ubuntu 12.04 x86_64 and Arch Linux x86_64.
The cursor won't update its position when typing or pressing arrow-keys. Clicking somewhere in the text with the mouse moves the cursor though, but that's it.
This is something that occur pretty much at random times in my experience, I bypass it by restarting ST, but that's pretty annoying after a while. I'm afraid I don't know how to provide any valuable debug regarding this though.
Is there something I can try to do to track down the error, perhaps even fix it?


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Running practice snaps with the first team in an NFL minicamp in mid June is hardly the same thing as running out of the tunnel as a starter on opening day.
After three NFL seasons spent in a support role, Tampa Bay Bucs linebacker Dekoda Watson knows this well and wanted to make sure it was unmistakably clear.
"I'm not going to sit here and say that I've got the position," said Watson, vying to start at strong-side linebacker. "All I'm saying is that I have the opportunity. I want to make sure I clarify that."
This is Watson's best shot to earn consistent playing time. It's all coming together: opportunity, improvement, maturity. If the former Florida State standout can put all those elements together, he might enjoy the breakthrough season he has been seeking after making three starts in his first three seasons.
"Dekoda is, I think, an elite special teams player in this league, and now he's trying to become an elite linebacker," coach Greg Schiano said.
"I think he's made big strides. It's all in front of him right now."
For Watson, 6 feet 2, 240 pounds, this offseason has been about taking that critical next step. The 25-year-old is fast, athletic and looks the part with superhero-sized muscles.
But holes in his game have kept him back. He has shown flashes of pass-rush talent but has had lapses in coverage. He has displayed a knack for finding the ball on special teams, but hasn't always done so on defense.
Earning a spot in the lineup won't come by default. Former Saints reserve linebacker Jonathan Casillas, signed in March, has every intention of making things tough on Watson.
"I love it. I was born a competitor," said Casillas, 26, who is 6-1, 227 pounds. "It's only going to make us better at the end of the day at the position and defensively, as a whole. I'm excited about that."
Both players are athletic, so any difference in their performances could be related to mastery of the scheme. That hasn't been a strength for Watson, who as a reserve learned multiple positions to prepare to fill in where needed. But under Schiano, his responsibilities have been limited to the strong side.
"I think Dekoda has come a long way since last January," Schiano said. "We talk about the new scheme for the quarterbacks, but it's a completely new scheme for Dekoda Watson, too. He is locked in at the (strong side) now and he's learning that position."
Watson said that's "allowed me to just be able to focus on one position," the benefits of which, he said, are "tremendous."
And he has had a little help, from an unlikely source. Watson continues to enjoy a teacher-student relationship with Quincy Black, who held the position for four seasons before suffering a neck injury last season that could end his career. Black was released this spring with an injury settlement, but he hasn't gone far.
"Quincy is still being a leader as we speak," Watson said. "He's texted me plenty of times, telling me to take advantage of the opportunity.
"He's trying to tell me some things to make sure that I'm ready this year. He's still being that big brother to me. He's still playing his role."
LB poised to seize chance
Running practice snaps with the first team in an NFL minicamp in mid June is hardly the same thing as running out of the tunnel as a starter on opening day.


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Hermes (spacecraft)
Artist's impression of Hermes (ESA)
|Contract award
|November 1987
|Project cancelled
|First flight
|Not built
|Crew members
|Three astronauts
|Time spent in space
|planned 30 to 90 days
Hermes was a proposed spaceplane designed by the French Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) in 1975, and later by the European Space Agency. It was superficially similar to the US X-20. France proposed in January 1985 to go through with Hermes development under the auspices of the ESA.[1] Hermes was to have been part of a manned space flight program. It would have been launched using an Ariane 5. The project was approved in November 1987, with an initial pre-development phase from 1988 to 1990, with a green light for full-rate development depending on the outcome of the phase. The project suffered numerous delays and funding issues. It was canceled in 1992 since neither cost nor performance goals could be achieved. No Hermes shuttles were ever built.
Configuration 1
- Landing sites 1.1
- Typical missions 1.2
Development 2
- Phase 1: Study and pre-development. 2.1
- Phase 2: Final development, manufacture & initial operations. 2.2
- Partners 3
- Hardware and mock-ups 4
- See also 5
- References 6
- External links 7
Hermes was to be launched on top of an Ariane 5 launcher and would consist of two parts: one part, a cone-shaped Resource Module which attached to the rear of the vehicle would be left behind before re-entry. Only the space plane itself would re-enter Earth's atmosphere and land.
In the configuration envisioned prior to project termination, Hermes would carry three astronauts and a 3,000 kg pressurized payload. The final launch weight would be 21,000 kg, which was seen as the upper limit of what an extended Ariane 5 could lift. The Hermes would be 19.00 m in length.
Landing sites
Possible landing sites for the shuttle would be:
- Guiana Space Centre
- Fort de France island (Martinique Aimé Césaire International Airport)
- Bermudas
- Istres (Istres-Le Tubé Air Base)
Typical missions
Four typical missions were proposed:
- Experiments are made on board, while in an equatorial 800 km orbit
- Flights to NASA's space station Freedom at a 28.5 degree orbit
- Flights to ESA's space station Columbus at a 60 degree orbit.
- Flights to ESA's unmanned remote sensing Polar Platform at a 98 degree 500 km orbit
To ensure European autonomous access to space, in the mid-1980s the French space agency CNES pushed for a European shuttle mimicking those of the Soviet Union and the United States. The European Space Agency approved the project, dubbed Hermes, in November 1987. It was envisioned that Hermes would service a small space station, the Columbus Man-Tended Free Flyer (MTFF), built primarily by the German and Italian Industry in the frame of the Columbus program.
Hermes was to be developed in two phases.
Phase 1: Study and pre-development.
This phase was scheduled to end in 1990. Initially the plans called for a capacity to lift 6 astronauts and 4,550 kg of cargo, but after the Challenger disaster, it was felt necessary to include ejection capacity of some form to give astronauts at least a small chance of survival in case of catastrophe. Accordingly the six seats were now curtailed to only three regular ejection seats, which were chosen over an entirely ejecting crew capsule that would have given the crew an escape option at heights over 28 km. The cargo capacity was limited to 3,000 kg. Hermes would not be able to place objects into orbit as its cargo hold could not be opened; again this option was abandoned due to weight concerns.
Although Hermes was originally seen as being entirely reusable (up to 30 successive re-entries without major servicing), problems aligning the capacity of the Ariane 5 launcher with the design of Hermes itself forced it to leave behind its rear part, the Resource Module, before re-entry. A newly built resource module would then be attached to the Hermes space plane and the entire structure would be launched again.
Phase 1 was not completed until the end of 1991 and by then the political climate surrounding Hermes had changed considerably. The Iron Curtain had been lifted and the Cold War was ending. As a result, ESA decided to interject a year-long "reflection" period to examine if it still made sense for Europe to build its own space shuttle and space station or if new partners could be found to share cost and development.
Officially, Phase 1 completed at the end of 1992, after a year of reflection.
Phase 2: Final development, manufacture & initial operations.
This phase was never properly started, as ESA and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency (RKA) had agreed to cooperate on future launchers and a replacement space station for Mir. Economic concerns prevented RKA from properly participating in a future launcher program, but at this point most of ESA's crew transport capabilities had been reoriented towards a capsule type system (as opposed to the glider system that Hermes represented) which was what the joint Russian/European designs called for.
When both Russia and ESA joined up with NASA to build the International Space Station, the immediate need for a European crew transport system disappeared as both Russia and the USA had existing capabilities that did not need expansion. Accordingly ESA decided to abandon the Hermes project.
The primary companies involved in Hermes were Aérospatiale and Dassault-Breguet, both French. Arianespace built the Ariane 5 launcher and was seen as a strong candidate for running the Hermes infrastructure. No contract was ever signed, however.
Hardware and mock-ups
- CNES in 1987) is stored in Paris – Le Bourget Airport for repairs and perhaps future display
- A 1/7 scale model (built by EADS) is on display at the Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport
See also
- Hopper, an unmanned, reusable satellite launch system that was developed and ultimately canceled by the ESA in the early 2000s.
- Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle, European lifting body spacecraft tested in February 2015
- E.S.S Mega, a 1991 space simulation game for MS-DOS, that feature the Hermes shuttle, along with other ESA vehicles.
- ^ Martin Bayer, Hermes: Learning from our mistakes, Space Policy, Volume 11, Number 3, August 1995, pp. 171-180(10)
External links
- Hermes at Astronautix.com
- Hermes at Aerospaceguide.net
- 1:1 Mockup photos, including cockpit
- HERMES, l' avion spatial inachevé...


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A joint initiative between the American Immigration Council and AILA seeks to change the playing field for immigrants facing deportation.
Register for AILA's National Day of Action (NDA) on April 11, 2019, to meet with members of Congress and share how the administration's immigration policy changes are harming American families, businesses, and communities.Register Now
AILA Doc. No. 11101809 | Dated October 18, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, October 18, 2011
George Tzamaras / Jenny Werwa
202-507-7649 / 202-507-7628
email@example.com / email@example.com
WASHINGTON, DC – Today's announcement from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of record high deportations in FY2011 illustrates even more the need for DHS to immediately implement its recent guidance on prosecutorial discretion, says the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).
According to ICE, some 45% of the 396,906 individuals removed last year had committed only civil immigration offenses. The other 55% were convicted of felonies or misdemeanors, but it appears that many of those misdemeanors were for minor violations, often created specifically to convert civil immigration violators into misdemeanor criminals.
A June 17, 2011, memo from ICE Secretary John Morton outlines for ICE agents and attorneys the factors that would deem an immigration case a low priority. They include good behavior, ties to America, schooling, economic contributions, and other equities for enforcement officials to consider when deciding what course of action to take in a particular case.
"The June memo recognizes that immigration law sometimes creates unjust consequences. For instance, a legal permanent resident who pleaded guilty after a bar fight fifteen years ago could be categorized as a criminal alien even though he's been in the country for decades, pays taxes, and has a U.S. citizen spouse and citizen children. Even though he has a green card, the bar fight incident could render him deportable. But this is exactly the kind of person that ICE should be looking at more carefully to see if prosecutorial discretion is warranted," explained Eleanor Pelta, AILA's president.
"Unfortunately," continued Pelta, "Morton's June guidance is for the most part going unimplemented in the field. AILA lawyers from across the country are telling us that many ICE offices have done nothing to put the memo into action. Thus, deportations of people who should be left alone continue apace. Instead of spending money and time removing low-enforcement individuals from the country, ICE is supposed to be going after the really bad guys who could do us harm. With such high numbers of people being deported who pose no threat to public safety, ICE still has a long way to go," Pelta said.
"The FY2011 data from ICE isn't telling the whole story about the deported immigrants and it would be wrong to assume that they are living up to their enforcement priorities just because a new record was set," Pelta concluded.
Cite as AILA Doc. No. 11101809.
American Immigration Lawyers Association
1331 G Street NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20005
Copyright © 1993-2019
American Immigration Lawyers Association.


text:
New Law Authorizes Reservists to Respond to Homeland Disasters
- Details
- Category: News
- Created: Tuesday, 15 May 2012 15:33
- Last Updated: Tuesday, 15 May 2012 15:33
- Written by Administrator
That job was reserved for the National Guard, which state governors could call up as needed to support civil authorities. If additional forces were required ? as when Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast in 2005 ? active-duty service members became the federal default force.
That's long been a frustration to Stultz, who saw no sense in bypassing local reserve members simply because they operate under federal "Title 10" authority and not state "Title 32" authority.
"In a lot of cases, there were reserve-component soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who were close at hand with the capabilities needed, but didn't have the authority to act," he said. "Finally, we got the law changed. This new legislation says that now we can use Title 10 reserves."
For these forces to be used, the law specifies that the president must declare an emergency or disaster and a state governor must request the assistance.
Stultz clarified what hasn't changed under the law. Civil authorities will remain the first responders. And when they need military support, National Guard forces will be the first to step in when called by their state governor. "We are not trying to change any of that," the general said.
But now, when a situation also demands a federal response, reserve forces can step in to assist for up to 120 days.
Army Gen. Charles H. Jacoby Jr., commander of U.S. Northern Command, and his staff are evaluating their federal response plan to take advantage of these new capabilities, Stultz said.
Meanwhile, Stultz participated in a recent U.S. Army North exercise that helped to test the concept. The scenario involved two hurricanes hitting the United States almost simultaneously, requiring a federal response.
The exercise helped participants work through the procedures that would be involved in calling Title 10 forces to duty, Stultz explained. "How does the governor and the adjutant general within a state go through the process of asking for federal help?" he said. "How do Army North and Northcom identify what capabilities are close by that they can use? How do we go through alerting these forces to go down and help this natural disaster? And as always, who cuts the order to put them on duty, and who provides the funding?"
Stultz said he's gratified by almost universal support for the new legislative authority.
"Everybody is on board, from the governors to the adjutants general to Army North to Northcom saying this is going to be a good thing," he said. "We just have to make sure we have the procedures and processes worked out."
And now, before the authority is actually needed, is the time to get that resolved, he said. "Let's not wait until a hurricane hits to say, 'How do we do it?' he said.
Another change in the 2012 authorization act allows Title 10 reservists to be called to duty to support unnamed overseas contingencies. The reserves, and particularly the Army Reserve, have a long history of deploying members for medical, engineering and other missions to support theater engagement and security cooperation efforts.
Typically, they did so as their annual training, which generally limits their engagements to 21 to 29 days, Stultz said. That could be particularly limiting when the missions are in far-flung parts of the world, he said, sometimes reducing time on the ground to as little as 14 days before the reservist had to pack up and return home.
"With this new authority, now we can send them down for much longer periods of time," Stultz said.
As operations wind down in Afghanistan, Stultz said, he hopes reservists will be more available to support combatant commanders' theater engagement campaigns. Based on the Army force generation model, that means Army Reservists will be ready to deploy one out of every five years. He said the pool of ready reservists could conduct extended theater-support missions.
A hospital unit, for example, could potentially spend three months rather than three weeks supporting a medical mission in Central or South America, Africa or Asia. And at the end of that three-month period, another reserve unit could rotate in to replace them.
This additional capability, Stultz said, would give combatant commanders far more assets to support their engagement strategies across their areas of responsibility, even at a time of dwindling resources.
"It is not going to happen overnight," he conceded. "But over time, as we are sending an engineer unit to do a project in the Philippines, [we] have to sit with the Pacific Command and U.S. Army Pacific and say, 'Next year, instead of 29 days, let's do 60 or 90.'"


text:
Unitec implemented CCH Tagetik's software solution for Budgeting and Disclosure Management
CCH Tagetik's solution has enabled us to model multiple iterations and scenarios of our annual budget which was previously not possible. This will be key in helping us successfully change our business and perform at the top level in our industry.
Dr. Rick Ede - CEO, Unitec
Download the complete case study
The Challenge
Unitec, New Zealand's largest technology institute, was grappling with a complex annual budgeting process. Funding for the institute's 20,000 students comes from a wide array of sources. The institute has more than 100 departments, each of which has a different budget. Unitec also operates three campuses.
Yet until 2014, Unitec was managing annual budgeting with a complex system of Excel spreadsheets. Unitec's five-member decision support team, responsible for the annual budget, typically spent three months to consolidate the 100+ spreadsheets involved in the process. The amount of manual work required increased the risk for errors and a lack of standardisation resulted in data inconsistencies. Changes were a nightmare to manage because they had to be manually made in all linked spreadsheets. So, when Unitec began a $250M business transformation programme, senior executives recognized that Excel-based budgeting could not provide the business modelling required for planning upcoming organizational changes or manage the upcoming initiatives.
Changes can be modelled and scenarios understood without the need for any manual processing
Greater transparency over staff costing, more insight into profitability and new level of budgeting granularity
Now consolidated budget reports are available instantly after drivers and expenses have been entered
Senior executives have greater confidence in data and have quality information on which to base decisions
Standardised calculations across periods, departments, courses, and programmes
Planning and decision support for business transformation
The Solution
The CCH Tagetik solution has enabled Unitec to plan for its future success. Driver-based calculations are configured only once and then applied to every course, programme, and department across every budget month. Under the old system, this would have required tens of thousands of Excel formulae. Now consolidated budget reports are available instantly after drivers and expenses have been entered. Changes can be modelled and scenarios understood without the need for any manual processing. Senior executives have greater confidence in data and have quality information on which to base decisions.
Given the successful completion of the budgeting and planning project, Unitec is now expanding the use of CCH Tagetik for its annual reporting process.
Yes, I'd like to know more about Tagetik
For more information, please complete the below form and a member of our team will reach out to you shortly!


text:
Book examines difficult cases in radiation oncology
William Small, Jr., MD, of Loyola University Medical Center is co-editor of a new book that provides an evidence-based guide to difficult cases in radiation oncology.
Radiation Oncology: Difficult Cases and Practical Management provides physicians with practical, evidence-based guidance on common clinical challenges that community physicians would normally handle without outside referral.
The book offers comparisons of treatment approaches to difficult situations, allowing the reader to compare his or her current treatment approach to those of experts and others in the community.
Radiation Oncology is organized in seven sections corresponding to the major treatment areas of radiation oncology. Each section includes three cases to illustrate specific clinical challenges for which there is no clear treatment protocol. The case discussion includes an expert opinion on optimal management along with alternatives from a second academic expert's perspective and from a community practitioner's perspective.
Patients "frequently present with scenarios for which level I evidence is not available and a more individualized approach to each patient is warranted," the editors write in the preface. "It is in these scenarios that one must go beyond the pages of our textbooks and begin to practice the art of medicine."
Dr. Small is chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology of Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. Co-editors are Tim R. Williams, MD, medical director of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Lynn Cancer Institute and Eric D. Donnelly, MD, assistant professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.


text:
In Uncommon Marriage: What We've Learned about Lasting Love and Overcoming Life's Obstacles Together, Tony Dungy, the first African-American head coach in NFL history to guide his team to a Super Bowl title, joins his wife, Lauren, also a New York Times best-selling author of children's books co-authored with her husband, to impart principles the couple has learned during their marriage. The Dungys will draw on their own experiences to offer hope, encouragement, and practical advice to those who would like their marriages to be "better" but aren't sure what to do differently.
Uncommon Marriage will feature personal stories from a couple who have not just made marriage work, but have done so joyfully and with a real sense of purpose and partnership. Through their stories, the Dungys relate real-life lessons they've learned about developing and maintaining a strong, fulfilling, faith-filled marriage.
If you would like to win a copy of Uncommon Marriage, please leave a comment below with your best marriage advice. Giveaway ends Friday February 28th at 11:59 p.m.


text: Ok, I got myself a new machine, so I could sew properly (Husqvarna Sapphire for quilting), and a book to learn how to do this. Here's the result from my first attempt. DDs each want a specific Mariner's Compass quilt, so I should be busy. I'm pretty proud of myself with the success of my first attempt. It'll end up a quilted cushion cover for my livingroom.


text:
Posts tagged as:
Benchmark smarter. Perform better.
Posts tagged as:
by Urs E. Gattiker on 2009/08/13 · 14 comments 8,022 views
in checklists
by Urs E. Gattiker on 2009/07/08 · 17 comments 9,366 views
in checklists,FTCBI,improving the trend,trend watching,usability
by Urs E. Gattiker on 2009/06/03 · 26 comments 13,080 views
in best in class,checklists,FTCBI,improving the trend,trend watching
by Urs E. Gattiker on 2008/04/11 · 1 comment 3,953 views
CyTRAP Labs is a company offering monitoring and tracking tools for analysis of corporate blogs that are used for comparing social media stats and metrics.> We also help companies with:
1. Developing a social media strategy
2. Implementing the strategy
3. Benchmarking: Social media audit
4. Process evaluation & improvement
CyTRAP BlogRank gives you a spot on view of your corporate blog's performance (click URL)
Social Media Audit: Measure for Impact (SpringerBriefs BWL/Mgmt) - January 2013 - Autor: Urs E. Gattiker, PhD
CyTRAP Labs: Essential source for actionable metrics
© CyTRAP Labs GmbH All rights reserved.


text:
Big data centers spending big bucks on big hardware
No recession in the glass house
Just like the rich keep getting richer, the biggest data centers in the world keep getting bigger. And they're spending more money on servers, storage, and networking.
According to projections put together by the box-counters and prognosticators at Gartner, in 2010 about 2 per cent of data centers worldwide comprised 52 per cent of total floor space and 63 per cent of total spending on hardware. Fast forward five years, and in 2015 the top 2 per cent of data centers will make up 60 per cent of aggregate floor space and an astonishing 71 per cent of server, storage, and networking spending across all of the data centers in the world.
That sure sounds like a whole lot of cloud-computing capacity is being added.
But there are other factors at work. Jon Hardcastle, a research director at Gartner who follows data centers, said in a statement accompanying its data center spending projections, that the number of mid-sized data centers is shrinking as data center operators consolidate into mega-centers as cloud computing – it's the app, man – is on the rise.
Virtualization is also making data centers more efficient and denser in terms of the number of workloads and users that can be crammed into a given floor space, and this is actually holding back data center revenues, if you can believe it.
Gartner is pretty optimistic that hardware spending in the data center is getting back to where it once belonged. And that is mostly thanks to an insatiable desire for storage capacity.
"Worldwide data center hardware spending will finally reach and surpass 2008 levels," says Hardcastle. "Growth in emerging regions – particularly Brazil, Russia, India and China (the BRIC countries) – is balanced by continued weakness relative to pre-downturn levels in Japan and Western Europe. Storage is the main driver for growth. Although only a quarter of data center hardware spending is on storage, almost half of the growth in spending will be from the storage market."
Gartner reckons that the world's data centers (meaning, not the machines tucked under your desk or in your closet, but in a proper data center with controlled access, racks, power, and cooling) spent $87.8bn in 2010 on servers, storage, and networking gear, and projects that this will grow by 12.7 per cent to $98.9bn in 2011. Growth is projected to slow, however, with a rise of only 7.6 per cent, to $106.4bn. Gartner said that it expected for server, storage, and networking spending to reach $126.2bn in 2015, but did not provide any numbers for 2013 and 2014.
But any way you do the math, it means slowing spending for at least some of those years. A curve with 7 per cent growth in 2013, just under 6 per cent in 2014, and just under 5 per cent in 2015 fits the data points.
What Gartner did not talk about in its projections – and which would be very interesting to see – is how spending at SMBs and data closets and under desks for the same hardware will change over the same time. Is there going to be a net gain in hardware spending, or merely a shift out of SMBs and into clouds? ®
Sponsored: How to Process, Wrangle, Analyze and Visualize your Data with Three Complementary Tools


text: Since 1988, Point Loma Electric and Plumbing is your best choice for plumbing, electrical, leaking pipe repair, whole house rewiring, and QuietCool Fans in the San Diego Area. We take special pride in the craftsmen we train and employ--a fact you'll see in their reviews below. Its also noticeable immediately in the attitude and integrity our electrians and plumbers bring to your job site. Our entire company works hard to make your experience with us hassle-free and enjoyable. You can also be assured that stands behind the work we do as well as comply with all local codes. This is why, as you can see by the map and reviews below, we are rated so highly for Plumbing & Electrical Repair. Call us today at (619) 224-0672!


text:
Sometimes you might feel like you're desperate to be in a relationship…until the possibility is right in front of you. (It's like when you agree to go skydiving with a friend — then you see them jump out of the plane and you think, "No way am I doing that! Are you crazy?") When trying to find love, often fear is the one, huge thing standing in the way. But you learned when you were three — with the whole "monsters under the bed" thing — that some fears are imaginary. Here are 12 ways fear interferes with love, and why you should kick it to the curb (and say yes that relationship).
12 Reasons You're Afraid to Get Into a Relationship (and Why You Need to Just Chill)
Sometimes you might feel like you're desperate to be in a relationship…until the possibility is right in front of you. (It's like when you agree to go skydiving with a friend — then you see them jump out of the plane and you think, "No way am I doing that! Are you crazy?") When trying to find love, often fear is the one, huge thing standing in the way. But you learned when you were three — with the whole "monsters under the bed" thing — that some fears are imaginary. Here are 12 ways fear interferes with love, and why you should kick it to the curb (and say yes that relationship).
1. You're afraid of heartbreak.
Let's get this one out of the way right off the bat. Everyone is afraid of getting hurt. (Except for several of the villains in The Care Bears, I suppose. Those cold-hearted a-holes.) Doesn't that make you feel better? If life were one big bumper car game, and we were all afraid of getting hurt, we would be a little more gentle with each other, wouldn't we be? So let's just all agree to be more honest with each other about our feelings, and more kind to one another in our relationships, and hope that some asshole doesn't break the rules and ram us from out of nowhere, sending us to the chiropractor. But if you are afraid to enter a relationship because you are afraid of getting hurt, you are both a cliché and destined to go nowhere. (And as Dr. Phil would say, "how's that working out for you?")
2. You're afraid to not be single anymore.
Being single is awesome. But unless you have very, very strong convictions to be single for the rest of your life (hey there, my nuns sisters!), you are going to have to change sometime. You might like being single now. But ask yourself: do you want to be alone for the rest of your life? Picture yourself living alone in 40 years. Are you okay with that? The answer to that question can be yes. But if you are unsure, and there is someone in your life who you are interested in exploring a relationship with, and they are standing there with their arms open to you, and they are willing to help you out of your comfort zone into a new zone of possible relationship awesomeness, then for God's sake, let them.3. You're afraid to let someone get to know you.
If you haven't been in a lot of relationships, it might seem strange to let someone get to know you — to see you disheveled in the morning, to see you at your best and worst, to truly let someone into your life. You might think the only reason you seem desirable to anyone is because they don't know you that well — because you have managed to put the best version of yourself on display — something you can't necessarily do when you throw yourself into a honest relationship. But remember that you can't hide forever and nobody is perfect. Your new boyfriend/girlfriend is not perfect, either. We've all received the memo, and we are all okay with it.
4. You're afraid that love doesn't work.
Maybe you never saw successful couples when you were young, or maybe your parents got along so well you thought, "No way will I get that lucky!" Either way, you can't give up. Love never works perfectly all the time, but that doesn't mean it's not the best thing you will ever experience — the bad and the good makes that so.
5. You're afraid you're too busy.
If you are afraid to enter a relationship because you don't think you have time, there is a much bigger problem, here, and it has nothing to do with relationships. You are hiding behind your work/hobby/Law & Order obsession! What are you afraid of? If your job is standing in the way of the possibility of you feeling happy and fulfilled in a relationship and in love, what else will it stand in the way of? Your sanity? Your health? Your passion for metallurgy?
6. You're afraid you won't find this one exact person who might not exist or be right for you anyway.
It is really good to have high standards. But! Sometimes we look for someone in particular for weird reasons. Say, you thought you would be with a creative person, or you assumed you were strictly partial to blondes, or you had in your mind that you were only attracted to Kal Penn-lookalikes after seeing The Namesake in 2007. (His lips: I die.) Tear that all away. You will be glad you did.
7. You're afraid of a faux annoyance.
I'm not saying to ignore your relationship annoyances. I'm saying you should explore them really, really closely. Are they leading to actual, legitimate reasons for concern? Say the guy you have been seeing always wears socks with sandals. That is weird. And it drives you crazy and makes you uncomfortable and makes you think "ehh I don't… aaaa… he...socks with sandals! Always? I can't take him anywhere!" But something like that doesn't matter. Embrace this guy and his footwear.
8. You're afraid of leaving your family.
My mom used to yell at me because I was kind of depending on her to fill some of my boyfriend requirements, like being there for me, caring for me when I was sick/stressed/sad, talking to me on the phone, sending me funny pictures of cats, etc. I also never thought I would find a guy my family approved of, so I sort of let being in a relationship become, like, my 40th priority. I know that people do this with their parents and siblings. I know a few people who have had terrible tragedies in their families and felt this invisible pull to defend and dedicate themselves completely to their families until the end of time. I don't know what that is like and I don't want to pretend to, but I do know this: your family members are going to go out and finding relationships for themselves, or they already have. You deserve that, too. Your family will still be there for you, and they will be happy for you. (I wish someone would have pounded this into my brain years ago.)
9. You're afraid long distance can't work.
If you really want to be in that relationship, you will make it work because you won't see any other option. Long distance relationships are a shit-ton of work. But don't make that an excuse for breaking it off if you think it can succeed and make you happy, because it might even make your relationship better.
10. You're afraid to change.
Yeah, being in a relationship means you're going to have to stop doing certain things (like spending every single night watching Curb Your Enthusiasm reruns eating dinner in your underwear talking to your grandma on the phone — trust me, I know) but you should probably stop doing that stuff anyway. You might have to stop smoking or spending $80 on cocktails every night at that new hotel bar or traveling alone and not telling anyone where you are going, but you will feel good about it later. (Still call your grandmother, though. Fit it in, somewhere!)
11. You're afraid to succeed.
More of us are relationship masochists than we like to admit. Sometimes it feels good to fight and break up and cry and get angry. We are all really messed up people who love pain. But if you don't want to start a relationship (or you want to leave one) because you think it's going too well and you don't know how to handle it, let me tell you this: you can handle it and you deserve it and JUST TRY IT. Everything is going to be okay. And if it's not, you can cross that bridge when you come to it.
12. You're afraid that the person will be opposed to your (fill in the blank) lifestyle.
Well, yeah, they might be. But you never know. When you assume, you make an ASS out of U and ME. (If this is the first time you are hearing that, you're welcome.) Communication is very important in all relationships, obviously. You might just have found your perfect match.
--Written by Lauren Passell for HowAboutWe
Are any of these reasons hitting a little too close to home right now? What other things have you afraid of relationships?
More From HowAboutWe
6 Unexpected Perks of Long Term Relationships
5 Perfectly Good Reasons You Might Be Single
9 Reasons You Should Just Ask Them Out, Already


text:
Deanston Distillery DEANSTON HIGHLAND 2008 BORDEAUX CASK FINISH 750ML 2008
|Single Malt Scotch
|United Kingdom, Scotland, Highland
|Deanston Distillery
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Cakebread Cabernet Sauvignon 2016The grapes for our Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon come from a selection of our estate ranches and superior family-owned vineyards located throughout the valley's finest cabernet sauvignon appellations. Long-term relationships with our growers ensure an annual supply of top-quality fruit from diverse sites. This allows us to craft a stylistically consistent and complex cabernet marrying the lush black fruit and sturdy tannins typical of the valley's warmer northern districts with the bright fruit and acidity characteristic of its cooler southern climates. Each year, our winemaking team ferments dozens of different small lots of cabernet, assessing each one in order to select the very best lots for this classic Napa Valley red.
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Mollydooker Velvet Glove Shiraz 2010Dark black violet in colour, this wine has an intensely spiced nose with fruit aromas of fresh raspberry, plum and blueberry with an edge of tar, mocha and blackberry jam extending the complexity. The palate shows amazing purity of fruit with delicate flavours, fine oak tannins and creamy oak. Simply unique it has the ability to coat your entire mouth with the softest of textures yet unleashes such an intense and amazing array of fruit, completely rich and voluptuous with undeniable elegance. A wine that truly deserves it's name, coating your tongue like a Velvet Glove. To honour the beauty and individuality of our Velvet Glove Shiraz, we seal it in a unique bottle, apply a real velvet label printed in silver foil, and then place the bottle in either a gorgeous velvet bag or one of our handmade gift boxes. It's our labour of love to provide you with a joyful experience from beginning to end.
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Moët & Chandon Dom Pérignon 2009Nose: Notes of guava and spicy green grapefruit zest combine with stone fruit: white peach and nectarine. The wine opens up, with the whole complemented by woody vanilla and warm, lightly toasted brioche. Palate: The fruit is majestic: ripe, fleshy and profound. Beyond the richness and a certain voluptuousness is a strong impression of consistency that prevails. The wine's power is remarkably restrained. The various sensations - silky, salty, sappy, bitter and briny - converge and persist. Food Pairings: Dom Pérignon Vintage 2009 is a wine that needs to be excited. It needs a framework, it appeals to be stretched with contrasts. The champagne reaches out to the "vegetable" and "mineral" worlds, calling out by sea urchin carbonara with cardamom mousse. It works brilliantly when it has something to chew on: octopus marinated in Sicilian orange juice and roasted in butter.
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Chateau Tanunda The Chateau 100 Year Old Vines Shiraz 2008The classic regional characters of dense, spicy blueberry fruit along with hints of liquorice, plum and all-spice are all delicately interwoven with 1/3 new and 2/3 older French oak. 2008 has all the hallmarks of being a truly great Eden Valley vintage and we believe this wine will age gracefully for 10 years+
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Corte Sant'Alda Amarone della Valpolicella 2004
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Lapostolle Borobo 2005COLOR: Deep dark red with deep purple shadows. NOSE: Notes of cedar and mocha dominate a complex and elegant ensemble. Also ripe black and red fruit, spices and tobacco at the finish. MOUTH: Elegance again dominates a smooth and juicy attack. Pleasant and balanced mid palate that evolves in perfect harmony towards and long lasting finish with lush and creamy tannins.
- ws89
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Corte Sant'Alda Recioto della Valpolicella 2006 500mlFull-bodied, intense and complex perfumes are especially matched by never-excessive sweetness.
Bryant Family Cabernet Sauvignon 2010100% Cabernet Sauvignon made from our 13-acre estate vineyard atop Pritchard Hill, overlooking Lake Hennessey. This First Growth vineyard is meticulously farmed by David Abreu, with whom we have worked closely for over 12 years. This wine is a beautiful expression of our unique terroir and a testament to the dedication of our winemaking and vineyard team to produce the finest possible wine from this site.
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Ilegal Mezcal ReposadoAged for 4 months in a combination of new oak and re-charred used whiskey barrels. the fruit of the agave is very present in this reposado.with notes of butterscotch, caramelized pear, tobacco. Smooth and complex. Subtle fading smoke finish. Perfect sipping reposado.
- we88


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Tax Compliance Certificate
You may select each tax link below for information on the tax compliance process.
What is a TCC?
Why do I need a TCC?
Who needs a TCC?
Requirements for obtaining a TCC
Where can I apply for a TCC?
How do I apply for a TCC online?
What is the "One Stop" Process?
How does TCC "One Stop" benefit me?
Applying for a TCC via email
Applying for a TCC via fax
Tax Compliance Certificate is a document issued to an individual or a company as proof that payments of tax liabilities and wage-related statutory deductions are up-to-date.
A Tax Compliance Certificate is needed to ensure that an individual/organisation is tax compliant and that all tax-liabilities and wage related statutory deductions are up to date where applicable. It further serves to encourage voluntary compliance.
Who needs a TCC?
The following individuals need a TCC:
- Applicants for a Customs Brokers Licence
- Applicants For Quarrying Licence
- Applicants For Betting Gaming and Lotteries Licence
- Applicants For Citizenship or Work Permit
- Applicants For Security Firm Registration
- Applicants for contracts from Government
- All importers who need to submit an import entry to clear goods through Customs.
Requirements for obtaining a TCC?
First Time Applicants:
- Visit Compliance Section for interview
- Completed application form
- Original receipts (and copies) since January of the current year for payment of the following:
- P.A.Y.E (Income Tax, Education Tax)
- Company/Individual Income Tax
- Education Tax (Self-employed individuals)
- General Consumption Tax (SCT)
- H.E.A.R.T. Contributions (also Remittance Advices stamped and by Collector of Taxes. Especially important if trainees are employed.)
- National Housing Trust (NHT) contributions
- National Insurance Scheme (NIS) contributions
- Clearance letters from NHT, HEART and NIS Offices and from the Tax Administration Jamaica for Individual Income Tax, Company Income Tax, Education Tax GCT & SCT.
- Certified copies of all arrangements to pay.
- Taxpayer Registration Number (TRN).
PAYE Individuals Clearing Personal Items:
- Completed application form.
- Last pay advice and copy.
- Letter from employer stating that deductions have been paid over to the relevant authorities or clearance letter from Tax Administration Jamaica.
- Import documents with arrival notice and copies.
Self-Employed Individuals Clearing Commercial Items:
- Completed application form.
- Original receipts (and copies) since January of the current year for payment of the following:
- Income tax (individual).
- GCT (if applicable).
- Education Tax.
- HEART Contributions.
- NHT Contributions.
- NIS Contributions (produce stamp card).
- Clearance letters from NHT, HEART and NIS Officers and from the Tax Administration Jamaica for individual Income Tax, Company Income Tax, GCT and Education Tax
Returning Residents:
- Completed application form.
- Passport.
- Arrival Documents.
- Other evidence that there is no local liability for taxes/statutory deductions:
- Letter from Jamaica Consulate.
- Clearance letter from Tax Administration Jamaica.
- Import Licence from Trade Board (for motor vehicle).
A TCC can be obtained at any of the following collectorates:
- St. Ann's Bay Collectorate
- Mandeville Collectorate
- May Pen Revenue Service Centre
- Constant Spring Revenue Service Centre
- Spanish Town Revenue Service Centre
- Montego Bay Revenue Service Centre
- King Street Collectorate
- Savanna-La-Mar Collectorate
- Santa Cruz Collectorate (to come on stream)
- Port Antonio Collectorate (to come on stream)
How do I apply for a TCC online?
Click here for "How To....Submit a TCC Application Online" brochure.
What is the "One Stop" Process?
The Tax Administration Jamaica has become the "One Stop" agency for obtaining a TCC. Customers who are up to date in their payments are able to communicate directly with us to make their applications, and will receive their certificates at that office within 24-hours. Our customers are able to apply by email or fax at any of the selected sites. Please note if you apply for a TCC using the "One Stop" process you need not contact the other organisations i.e. NIS, NHT or HEART. Also, you need not apply over the counter.
How does the "One Stop" Process Benefit Me?
The "One Stop" concept is designed to benefit customers by:
- Reducing travelling cost.
- Minimizing non-productive time.
- Lowering stress and anxiety levels.
- Increasing customer satisfaction.
- Reducing time spent obtaining a TCC.
- Encouraging customers to keep their payments up to date.
Applying for a TCC via email.
The new process will enable compliant persons to apply via email for their TCC and pick up Tax Compliance Certificate within 24 hrs.
- Download TCC form.
- Fill out downloaded form.
- Send form as an attachment to the office you desire to pick up TCC. You may collect TCC within 24 hours after receipt of application. You can email it to the following locations:
- Kingston: firstname.lastname@example.com
- Constant Spring: firstname.lastname@example.com
- Spanish Town: email@example.com
- Mandeville: firstname.lastname@example.com
- May Pen: firstname.lastname@example.com
- St. Ann's Bay: firstname.lastname@example.com
- Montego Bay: email@example.com
Please note that applications will only be held for (2) days, after which applicants must re-apply.
Applying for a TCC via Fax.
Customers may fax applications to any of the sites and pick up their TCC within 24 hours of submission. The fax numbers for the seven sites are listed below:
- Constant Spring: 931-9194
- King Street: 922-2876
- Mandeville: 962-6095
- May Pen: 902-1811
- Montego Bay: 952-2766
- Spanish Town: 749-4866
- St. Ann's Bay: 794-9038
Latest Added
TAJ to host Transfer Tax expert in Jamaica
TAJ Supporting Local Businesses through Taxpayer Education
Transfer Pricing Workshop being held in Kingston
Copyright 2016 Tax Administration Jamaica
Privacy, Security and Accessibility Policy
What Everyone's Reading Now


text: Treat Yourself Like a Celebrity\\nWhen it comes to fashion and style, we love to be inspired by celebrities. So why not take a note from their books when it comes to treating yourself?\\nPoor Emma. She spends her downtime making out with BF Andrew Garfield, here, and workdays with Ryan Gosling for *Gangster Squad*. We feel for you, Stone.\\n*Les Misérables* star Amanda Seyfried looks anything but, licking that cone of creamy deliciousness.\\nBuying blooms for yourself = instant mood booster. Another boost? Seeing Kirsten Dunst, who's in *On the Road*, due next year.\\nSplurge on a pair that makes you feel as happy as Kate (who's now on *Glee*) looks here! The zippers on Hudson's make her legs look miles long.\\nWe're planning friend dates to see Ashley as Alice in *Twilight* ASAP. Here, Greene gets some girl-time in New York City.\\nOlivia Wilde, who stars in *The Longest Week*, broke things up by hitting the waves on a Wednesday. Nice!\\nThis looks even scarier than Shay Mitchell's character's run-in with \\"A\\" on *Pretty Little Liars*.\\nClassic cat's-eye specs sass up Leven Rambin's shorts look. *The Hunger Games* alum is in *Chasing Mavericks*, out now.\\n\\n \\n__[Emily VanCamp Talks Love, Flat Abs and Body Image](/healthystars/2012/10/emily-vancamp-slideshow)__ \\n \\n__[How SELF's Favorite Celebrities Give Back](/healthystars/celebrities-give-back-slideshow)__ \\n \\n__[Demi Lovato Opens Up](/healthystars/2012/08/demi-lovato-opens-up-slideshow)__


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Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek API - Followers
The German Digital Library ("Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek" in german) is the central web portal for the digital cultural heritage in Germany. It holds metadata, previews and links to digitized or born-digital cultural objects. The Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek API uses REST calls and returns JSON. The API allows users to query for information sectors, items including aip, binaries, children, edm, indexing-profile, parents, sources, view, as well as do advanced searching. An API Key is required with service.


text: Grants Writing Volunteer This role could be a fun introduction for someone looking to work in the Charity Sector. We will take into account your interests, skills, and length of time that you are available to volunteer with us. We would like you to help in: Location: Camden Type: Individuals Date: Ongoing/flexible


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Manny Lopez Skater Profile
Sponsors: Fabric Skateboards, Doodah Skate Shop, Street Gypsys, Fourstar
Hometown: London UK, Stance: Goofy, Age: 27, Status: Am
Last Update: Friday, July 6, 2012 Submit an Update
Recent News on Manny Lopez
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 posted by Rob
Manny's footage:
Manny Lopez Comments
Other Skater Links
- Full Skater Database - 6000+ skater profiles.
- Skateboarders on Instagram - browse your favorite pros and ams on Instagram.
- Skate News and Videos - daily skate news and videos from around the web.
- Media Coverage - we log all major magazine coverage by skater and photographer.
- Skate Photographers - we log all major magazine coverage by skater and photographer.
- Contest Results - over a decade's worth of contest history.


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Lutsen Resort on Lake Superior
Nestled in a private cove on the beautiful North Shore of Lake Superior, Lutsen Resort awaits you with historic charm, modern comforts and a classic resort experience. From romantic getaways and weddings to family vacations and girlfriend getaways, Lutsen Resort is the perfect place to savor Minnesota's North Shore. View our live stream of the Poplar River.
Founded in 1885 by Swedish immigrant Charles Axel Nelson, Lutsen Resort is Minnesota's oldest resort. Having been in operation for over 130 years, we are proud to be family-owned and operated. Learn more about our rich Scandinavian history.


text:
|Little Falls, NJ
|High School:
|NE Falcons (EJHL) / Gunnery Prep
2010-11: Appeared in 33 games at center for the Pioneers...Tallied f our goals and seven assists for 11 total points...Scored first goal of the season at RIT (11/26)...Registered a goal in a 6-3 comeback win at Bentley (2/4)...Dropped two assists in 3-3 tie vs. Holy Cross (2/20)...Posted a goal at Air Force (3/11) in the AHA Quarterfinals.
2009-10: Registered two goals and four assists in 37 games...Scored game-winning goal in 4-2 win over Canisius 1/22, when SHU broke program unbeaten streak.
2008-09: Skated in 27 games in his rookie season as a Pioneer…Posted five assists accounting for all of his points…Notched his first collegiate point January 24th against Bentley…Secured his first multi-point game February 6th versus RIT…Contributed four assists against conference opponents.
Before SHU: Skated for New England Falcons of Eastern Junior Hockey League… Piled up 30 points, 12 goals, and 18 assists on the season…Played four years of varsity ice hockey for Clifton High School and one year for Gunnery Prep…Served as captain of Clifton in 2006…Set the single season scoring record at Clifton with 99 points…Two-time New Jersey State Player of the Year…Led the state of New Jersey in scoring in 2006…Was a second team all-state and first team all-public selection...High School Honor Roll student.


text:
OverDrive Digital Library
Downloadable audiobooks and eBooks for Garland Library card holders
- Listen to MP3 audiobooks
- Read eBook, PDF, Kindle and/or graphic novels
- Read magazines using Libby or your browser
- Audiobooks and eBooks can be used on a PC, Mac, tablet or smartphone
- Apps are available for iPhone, Android and Windows Mobile
Libby - the new OverDrive app!
Meet Libby
Libby Instructions (313 KB)
Libby app in a browser
Original OverDrive App
OverDrive App
Instructions for downloading outside the app:
Downloading audio books to your computer (PDF 238 KB)
Downloading to Kindle or Kindle App (PDF 96 KB)
OverDrive Help & Support links:
OverDrive Help - Search for answers and/or watch how-to videos
Libby Help - Learn about Libby and how it works
Device Resource Center - A snapshot of how popular devices can be used with OverDrive
OverDrive status - A site for determining if OverDrive is experiencing performance issues
OverDrive Downloadable Books Tutorial
OverDrive Online Magazines
75 current and popular magazine titles on topics such as news, entertainment, business, home and garden, celebrity, exercise, lifestyle, sports and more.
- Can be checked out just like a digital books through OverDrive's Libby app or from the
- Library's OverDrive website and read in a user's Internet browser.
- Check out is for 7 or 21 days and the magazines return themselves
- Magazines do not count towards the ten item checkout limit
- Magazine titles can be used simultaneously by more than one patron, so unlike digital books, there is never any waiting for a title
- Includes back issues (when available) beginning from our start date of January 2019
- Best viewed in the Libby app
- Patrons will need a valid, Garland library card


text:
sponsored by
mount over Afghan vote, protest held in Kabul
Send a link to a friend
[June 21, 2014]
By Praveen Menon and Mirwais Harooni
KABUL (Reuters) - Protesters gathered in
the Afghan capital on Saturday in support of presidential candidate
Abdullah Abdullah's accusation of vote fraud, and his call for the
organisers to stop counting the ballots from the run-off election held a
week ago.
Several hundred people gathered, disrupting traffic on the main
road to the airport, as police were deployed with batons and riot
shields to counter any violence.
Tensions have been running high in Kabul since the run-off between
Abdullah and his rival Ashraf Ghani, an former World Bank economist.
Abdullah says he no longer trusts the electoral bodies and blames
them and interference by President Hamid Karzai for mass fraud. He
wants the electoral bodies to halt counting votes and has invited
the United Nations to intervene.
The move has imperilled Afghanistan's political transition at a
critical time, with most foreign troops preparing to leave by the
end of 2014, and a Taliban insurgency still raging after 13 years.
Karzai late on Friday - to the dismay of diplomats who want the
electoral bodies to be respected and the election process to
completed - issued a statement supporting Abdullah's call for the
United Nations to intervene in the election.
The United Nations has said it needs to hear the details of any
proposal, but is ready to support an "Afghan-led process".
There are fears that street protests could turn violent and take on
an ethnic dimension, as most of Abdullah's supporters are Tajiks,
the second largest ethnic group, while Ghani's supporters are mainly
Pashtun, the largest group in Afghanistan.
Abdullah's supporters chanted "we will defend our vote to the last
drop of blood", while blocking the road leading to the airport on
the outskirts of the capital.
[to top of second column]
They also brandished banners with slogans, including "Death to
Karzai", "Death to Ghani". The Independent Election Commission was
similarly targeted, with banners that read "Death to the IEC".
Elsewhere in Kabul, a suicide bomber killed himself and a bystander
in an attempt to assassinate an advisor to the the High Peace
Council, which is seeking reconciliation with Taliban fighters.
The advisor, Mohammad Massom Stanikzai escaped unharmed, but other
several people were wounded, police officials said.
(Writing by Jessica Donati; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore))
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
< Top Stories index
Back to top


text:
Real love is feeling like being a part of that person's life almost isn't enough.
It's more like a feeling that you would live in the same skin with them
if you could and share every thought, heart beat, and emotion as one.
~ Rod Cannon.
Love is when you look into someone's eyes and see their heart.
~ Jill Petty.
Summer Love
The sweet, rustic smell of the rain,
Fills my nose, my head, and my brain.
The springtime showers soak my dress,
and toes tingle with a grassy caress.
The beauty of this day is lost to me,
As the deaf man hears not the melody.
For all Nature's wonders seem so dim,
When I am here, standing next to him.
~ Valerie Dawn Keller.


text:
Saturday Live feat. Dulcie Taylor at Vina Robles Winery
Every Saturday, we invite you to slow down from your week, sit back and enjoy live music - all while savoring award-winning Vina Robles wines. Complimentary. No RSVP necessary. Wine tastings as well as wine by the glass and Tapas plates available for purchase. For the full concert schedule and other[...]
- Start:October 08, 2016
- End:October 08, 2016
- Where:Vina Robles Vineyards & Winery - Hospitality Center, 3700 Mill Road, Paso Robles, California, United States, 93446
- Phone:N/A
- Event Type: Food & Dining
- Ticket Price:Complimentary; Wine for purchase & tastings available


text:
More Grandparents Care for Grandkids, New Report Finds
By Amy Goyer , September 05, 2013 09:23 AM
Grandma's house isn't only a great place to visit. For a growing number of children, it's a great place to move in during bad economic times.
A new report from the Pew Research Center, " At Grandmother's House We Stay", found that grandparents were the primary caregivers for more than 3 million children in 2011, a 20 percent increase from a decade earlier. According to Pew, those numbers surged between 2007 and 2009, in the midst of the Great Recession.
Contest: Post your memory of the birth of your grandchild
The report also found that one in 10 children (7.7 million) were living in the same household with a grandparent. In almost three-quarters of the cases, those grandchildren were actually living in the grandparent's household - though the majority of them also had at least one parent living there too. In most cases, it was grandmothers and moms living with a child.
According to Pew, children who are cared for primarily by a grandparent are more likely to live below the poverty line (28% versus 17%) and have lower median household income ($36,000 versus $48,000) than children who being raised by their parents.
These findings mirror other grandparent studies I've reported on in recent years, including AARP's 2011 Grandparent Study, and point to what I call the "grandparent safety net" - when difficulties arise, grandparents are likely to come to the rescue.
But to me, the most intriguing aspect of Pew's new report is the insight it provides into the situations of the parents of kids being raised by a grandparent.
- 77% were not married
- 44% had a baby as a teen
- 31% were under the age of 25
- 29% lack a high school diploma
- 22% are currently enrolled in school
- 21% are unemployed
- 12% have a disability
All families are unique and complicated, but this data, along with other research about multigenerational households, makes it clear: When the going gets tough, there's no place like (grandma's) home, and there are an awful lot of kids who are lucky the door is open.
Grandparent caregivers: Find help in my Grandfamilies Guide here on AARP.org.
Photo credit: Jen
Amy Goyer is AARP's Home & Family Expert; she splits her time between Washington, D.C. and Phoenix, Ariz., where she is caregiving for both of her parents who live with her. Her new book, AARP's Juggling Work and Caregiving, will be published this fall. Follow Amy on Twitter @amygoyer and on Facebook .
Also of Interest
- Grandmas Raising Grandkids Struggle With Depression
- Making Sense of Alzheimer's: 9 Books for Kids
- Obama: Health Law 'Working the Way It's Supposed to'
- Join AARP: Savings, resources and news for your well-being
See the AARP home page for deals, savings tips, trivia and more


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Kent Fire and Rescue Headquarters, The Godlands, Straw Mill Hill, Tovil, Maidstone , ME15 6XBTel:
To ensure that agencies and organisations plan and work together, to ensure a co-ordinated response to emergencies that could have a significant impact on communities in Kent.
The KRF is one of a number of Local Resilience Forums (LRFs) across England set up to align with the local police area. The LRF is not a legal organisation in itself, but a partnership made up of a number of organisations and agencies.
The Kent Resilience Forum is made up of over 100 organisations working together to improve the resilience of Kent. The Civil Contingencies Act (CCA) 2004 defines these members by certain 'Categories'.
A Category 1 responder is an organisation that is directly involved in the response to an emergency. This includes emergency services in Kent (Kent Police, Kent Fire and Rescue Service, South East Coast Ambulance Service, Maritime and Coastguard), local authorities, primary care aspects of the NHS, and others. These responders are subject to a number of civil protection obligations.
Category 2 responders are those who have a role to play in response, but are less directly involved. This includes organisations such as utility companies, infrastructure (e.g. Network Rail), and others. The Act does not place such stringent duties on these responders, but does require that they share information appropriate to managing emergencies and cooperate fully with the Resilience Forum.
The KRF also includes members who are not categorised under the Act, notably the military and the voluntary sector, who both have a big role to play in responding to emergencies.
A full list of KRF members is available in the 'KRF Constitution'
The KRF is responsible for:
The KRF supports the principles of the 'Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Programme' (JESIP). This programme is designed to make sure the emergency services (as well as other partners) work with common principles and terminology.
This ensures that when we are responding to incidents we can work seamlessly together.
Copyright 2006 - 2019 My Surgery Website | Privacy & Usage | Edit | Staff Home | Site Map | Accessibility | Site T&C's | Service T&C's


text:
In other words, Kane's accessories appear to blend both his avant-garde aesthetics and Versace's traditionally ornate style quite nicely; meaning Versus' premiere collection could simultaneously pique the interest of London "it" girls and South Beach elite. The collaboration is far from a surprise, considering Donatella purchased the Central Saint Martins grad's entire graduate MA collection back in 2006. With Versus providing the icing on Kane's cake, 2009 is already shaping up to be an especially good year for the 26-year-old designer. Not only did his SS09 collection sell out within 24 hours of hitting Net-a-Porter.com, but the International Herald Tribune's Suzy Menkes recently stated that the designer's Fall 09 collection "confirmed his wunderkind status." Not too shabby.
Christopher Kane Versus Versace
By Alisa Gould-Simon
Published Jul 29, 2009 at 3:47 PM
Just last week, Versace announced it would breath life back into Versus, the diffusion line that Gianni Versace originally birthed in the late 80s as a project for his sis, Donatella. Now comes word that the newly reincarnated brand will debut with quite an eye-catching collection courtesy of Brit designer Christopher Kane. According to Dazed & Confused, the accessories line "draws direct inspiration from the back catalog of Versus and includes super high black platform heels with bold diamond detailing, black geometric calfskin bags, chunky bejeweled Chelsea boots and opulent crystal jewelry."
For more stories from BlackBook, go to bbook.com


text:
It is pretty rare to see this type of mea culpa in the tech industry. But Netflix CEO Reed Hastings just said in a blog post that he "messed up" in how the company communicated recent price increases to customers.
The remarks come as the company announces plans to spin off its DVD mail order business under the name of Qwikster.
Meanwhile, the Netflix brand will live on for the company's streaming video service.
"It is clear from the feedback over the past two months that many members felt we lacked respect and humility in the way we announced the separation of DVD and streaming, and the price changes," wrote Hastings. "That was certainly not our intent, and I offer my sincere apology."
It is a fascinating read from the CEO of a publicly-traded company, and it will be interesting to see how Wall Street reacts on Monday morning. (The stock was hammered last week after Netflix announced that more people are canceling their subscriptions than anticipated).
As part of the spin off of the DVD rental business, the Qwikster brand plans to carry video game titles for the Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation.
[GeekWire Poll: Do you accept Netflix's apology?]
Hastings says that DVD rentals and streaming video have grown apart, and that the company will be more innovative operating as two separate units. Hastings, also a Microsoft board member, writes:
"So we realized that streaming and DVD by mail are becoming two quite different businesses, with very different cost structures, different benefits that need to be marketed differently, and we need to let each grow and operate independently. It's hard for me to write this after over 10 years of mailing DVDs with pride, but we think it is necessary and best: In a few weeks, we will rename our DVD by mail service to 'Qwikster.'"
As previously noted on GeekWire, I wouldn't be surprised if Netflix is prepping for a sale. Splitting the company into two distinct brands could help position it to sell off either piece, something that GigaOm also thinks is possible.
Here's Hastings taking his message to the YouTube community. Ever seen this sort of public apology before from a tech CEO?


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State Codes and StatutesStatutes > West-virginia > 16 > 16-5c-3
§16-5C-3. Powers, duties and rights of director.
In the administration of this article, the director shall have the following powers, duties and rights:
(a) To enforce rules and standards promulgated hereunder for nursing homes;
(b) To exercise as sole authority all powers relating to the issuance, suspension and revocation of licenses of nursing homes;
(c) To enforce rules promulgated hereunder governing the qualification of applicants for nursing home licenses, including, but not limited to, educational requirements, financial requirements, personal and ethical requirements;
(d) To receive and disburse federal funds and to take whatever action not contrary to law as may be proper and necessary to comply with the requirements and conditions for the receipt of such federal funds;
(e) To receive and disburse for authorized purposes any moneys appropriated to the division of health by the Legislature;
(f) To receive and disburse for purposes authorized by this article, any funds that may come to the division of health by gift, grant, donation, bequest or devise, according to the terms thereof, as well as funds derived from the division of health's operation, or otherwise;
(g) To make contracts, and to execute all instruments necessary or convenient in carrying out the director's functions and duties; and all such contracts, agreements and instrumentsshall be executed by the director;
(h) To appoint officers, agents, employees and other personnel and fix their compensation;
(i) To offer and sponsor educational and training programs for nursing homes for clinical, administrative, management and operational personnel;
(j) To undertake survey, research and planning projects and programs relating to administration and operation of nursing homes and to the health, care, treatment and service in general of such homes;
(k) To assess civil penalties for violations of facility standards, in accordance with section ten of this article;
(l) To inspect any nursing home and any records maintained therein that are necessary to determine compliance with licensure laws or medicare or medicaid certification, subject to the provisions of section ten of this article;
(m) To establish and implement procedures, including informal conferences, investigations and hearings, subject to applicable provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, and to enforce compliance with the provisions of this article and with rules issued hereunder;
(n) To subpoena witnesses and documents, administer oaths and affirmations, and to examine witnesses under oath for the conduct of any investigation or hearing. Upon failure of a person without lawful excuse to obey a subpoena to give testimony and uponreasonable notice to all persons affected thereby, the director may apply to the circuit court of the county in which the hearing is to be held for an order compelling compliance;
(o) To make complaint or cause proceedings to be instituted against any person or persons for the violation of the provisions of this article or of rules issued hereunder. Such action may be taken by the director without the sanction of the prosecuting attorney of the county in which proceedings are instituted, if the officer fails or refuses to discharge his or her duty. The circuit court of the county in which the conduct has occurred or, if emergency circumstances require, the circuit court of Kanawha County shall have jurisdiction in all civil enforcement actions brought under this article and may order equitable relief without bond. In no such case may the director or any person acting under the director's direction be required to give security for costs;
(p) To delegate authority to the director's employees and agents to perform all functions of the director except the making of final decisions in adjudications;
(q) To submit an annual report to the governor, the Legislature and the public sixty days before the governor is required to submit an annual budget report to the Legislature. The report shall describe the licensing and investigatory activities of the department during the year, and the nature and status of other activities of the department, and may include comment on the acts, policies, practices or procedures of anypublic or private agency that effect the rights, health or welfare of residents of nursing homes. The annual report shall include a list of all nursing homes in the state, whether such homes are proprietary or nonproprietary; the name of the owner or owners; the total number of beds; the number of private and semiprivate rooms; the costs per diem for private residents; the number of full-time employees and their professions; recreational programs; services and programs available as well as the costs thereof; and whether or not those nursing homes listed accept medicare and medicaid residents. The report shall also contain the department's recommendations as to changes in law or policy which it deems necessary or appropriate for the protection of the rights, health or welfare of residents of nursing homes in the state;
(r) To establish a formal process for licensed facilities to file complaints about the survey process or surveyors; and
(s) To establish a committee to study and make a recommendation to the Legislature on a central reporting system for allegations of abuse.


text:
In 1834 James Brine, James Hammett, George Loveless, James Loveless, Thomas Standfield and John Standfield were arrested, put on trial and sentenced to seven years' penal servitude. Their crime was to join a trade unon in the small Dorset town of Tolpuddle. Nation-wide campaigning resulted in a full and complete pardon for each of them. The Martyrs returned home.
The Marx Memorial Library holds a unique set of contemporary newspapers documenting this story and shedding new light on social and political attitudes and broader debate about workers' rights, trade unions, crime and punishment.
This project, with broad support from the British and Australian labour movements, brings these newspapers to life, publishing them online, in a travelling exhibition and in a related publication.
The exhibition was launched at the 2017 Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival.
Exhibition dates:
27 Nov - 12 Jan 2018, Islington Museum, St John Street, London
22 Jan - 16 Feb 2018, Working Class Movement Library, Salford
19 Feb - 24 March 2018, TUC Library, London Met University, London
21 May - 4 June 2018 TUC, Great Russell Street, London
3 - 20 Sept 2018, Mechanics' Institute, Manchester
24 Sept - 19 Oct 2018, Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick