text:
Reuters and AFP led the way this week with the timely and responsible report that:
"Iran said on Wednesday it had started installing a new generation of machines for enriching uranium, an announcement likely to annoy the West and complicate efforts to resolve a decade-old dispute over its nuclear program."
"It came on the day the U.N. nuclear watchdog began talks in Tehran to try to advance a long-stalled investigation into suspected military dimensions of the program."
The Reuters report provided important context for this week's IAEA visit:
"The IAEA has been trying for over a year to secure the access that its inspectors say they need to investigate suspicions of nuclear weapons research."
"Its immediate priority is to visit the Parchin military base southeast of Tehran, where it suspects explosives tests relevant to nuclear weapons may have taken place, perhaps a decade ago, an accusation Tehran denies."
A day later, on Thursday, Reuters went on to note that:
"The U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Thursday it had again failed to clinch a deal in talks with Iran this week on investigating suspected atom bomb research by the Islamic state.
The lack of a breakthrough in Wednesday's meeting in Tehran, though expected by Western diplomats, represented a new setback for international efforts to resolve a decade-old dispute over Iran's disputed nuclear program."
Joby Warrick in the Washington Post, who certainly understands the nuances of the Iranian regime's sophisticated regime also reported that:
"Purchase orders obtained by nuclear researchers show an attempt by Iranian agents to buy 100,000 of the ring-shaped magnets — which are banned from export to Iran under U.N. resolutions — from China about a year ago, those familiar with the effort said. It is unclear whether the attempt succeeded."
Warrick emphasized the significance of this purchase:
"Although Iran has frequently sought to buy banned items from foreign vendors, this case is considered unusual because of the order's specificity and sheer size — enough magnets in theory to outfit 50,000 new centrifuges, or nearly five times the number that Iran currently operates."
He does, however, qualify these concerns noting:
"Iran has simultaneously taken steps to ease Western anxiety over its nuclear program, chiefly by converting a portion of its uranium stockpile into a metal form that cannot be easily used to make nuclear weapons."
Warrick finishes with the obvious, albeit biting, quip of a diplomat:
"Adding new machines just means you get there a lot faster," the diplomat said."
Simultaneously on Wednesday – when the wires were demonstrating their journalistic professionalism – the NYT got the headline slightly too optimistic ('Iran to Resume Nuclear Talks' – one they eventually changed), but were brought back to reality with more of Iran's predictable suspicious foot-dragging on Thursday:
Herman Nackaerts, the deputy director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said the discussions "could not finalize" a document that "once agreed, should facilitate the resolution of outstanding issues regarding possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program."
And during a week full of nuclear excitement, North Korea conducted a third and well documented nuclear test. Mark Fitzpatrick (director of the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Program at the UK-based International Institute for Strategic Studies) in The National, listed some of the potential repercussions for Iran's nuclear program.
"When Iran and North Korea signed a science and technological cooperation agreement in Tehran last September, both the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation and the defence minister were present."
Importantly, Fitzpatrick highlights that:
Some commentators even claim that Iran could thereby develop a nuclear weapon without testing itself, because North Korea would in effect be doing so on behalf of both countries, particularly if the third test turns out to have used highly enriched uranium (HEU). North Korea's previous tests were of plutonium devices, but the nation no longer produces plutonium and has shifted its emphasis to uranium enrichment, the backbone of Iran's nuclear programme.
So another week of journalistic excellence from Reuters, but more disappointment from Iran when all the world is asking for… is a bit of transparency.


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|This is the article on the anime adaptation. For the novel, head to Konoha Hiden: The Perfect Day for a Wedding.
Konoha Hiden: The Perfect Day for a Wedding (木ノ葉秘伝 祝言日和, Konoha Hiden — Shūgenbiyori) is the final arc of the Naruto: Shippūden anime. It covers episodes 494 to 500. This arc is an anime adaptation of the Konoha Hiden: The Perfect Day for a Wedding novel from the Naruto Hiden series that focuses on Naruto and Hinata's wedding. In the anime, it takes place after the Shikamaru Hiden: A Cloud Drifting in Silent Darkness arc.
Konohamaru records a congratulatory message from Sakura for Naruto and Hinata's up-coming wedding. Sai isn't sure he can express himself in such a manner, but Sakura forces him to record a message as well. Sai struggles, coming off too stiff or too forced. Lee delivers a high-spirited message getting too close to the camera, Tenten finding it doesn't quite come across as congratulatory. Guy thinks there should be something symbolic onscreen, and suggests recording the message during the sunrise. Ino begins recording her message, but gets angry with Chōji and Shikamaru's comments. Akamaru suddenly topples her, and Kiba takes over the recording, sparking an argument with Ino. Konohamaru is bothered he can't seem to find someone to record a proper message. Konohamaru tries Iruka, who is very nervous, asks to postpone it so he can think of something to say. The next day, while trying to come up with something, Iruka finds Sadoru, a new Academy instructor, distressed by vandalism from students. He easily spots the perpetrators and when they try claiming they were just playing hide and seek, he tricks one of them into admitting to the vandalism, impressing Sadoru. Iruka comments that compared to Naruto, that was nothing. Sadoru is impressed, but the vandals think he's making it up, so Iruka adds to their punishment. Iruka reflects on how the village sees Naruto. Iruka is invited to take an exam for being vice-principal position in the Academy. Kakashi looks over the schedule for missions, seeing that if all of Naruto's friends go to the reception, there will be unfulfilled missions on the day. Konohamaru tries recording a message from Orochimaru, but Yamato covertly and emphatically tells him not to do it. Shizune tells Kakashi that Tsunade made a rule to determine which shinobi get to attend shinobi weddings based on their gifts, much to his dislike. Konohamaru and Ebisu find Iruka at Ichiraku, and Ebisu gets self-conscious upon learning of Iruka's offer. Kakashi asks what's up, having been there for a while without being noticed. When they tell him about Iruka's possible promotion, he says it would be difficult. After he leaves, the others discuss what he meant. Iruka decides to take the exam for vice-principal, and his efforts are visible to all in Konoha. Tsukune, one of the vandals, steals the Scroll of Seals after learning Naruto did that. Kakashi almost explains what he meant in Ichiraku about Iruka, but Shizune tells him about the scroll's theft. Iruka finds Sansho and Mibuna, some of the vandals, who confirm his suspicion. He finds the vandal and the scroll at the Hokage Rock, and apologises for always comparing his students to previous students, realising he just wanted attention. The vandal promises to try harder. Kakashi shows Iruka the scroll just has an Icha Icha volume, as if he'd leave the scroll where someone could steal it so easily. He then explains that what he meant about the exam being difficult is that it's on the same day as Naruto's wedding, and considers moving the exam to another day, but Iruka decides not to take it, noting his failure to notice his current students. Kakashi decides to make getting a wedding gift for Naruto and Hinata a mission, so he can determine who should go to the wedding and who should be on mission duty on that day.
The Konoha 11 wonder what to gift Naruto and Hinata. Lee tries Naruto's favourite ramen to get into his shoes and figure out something he'd like. He asks Iruka about Naruto, but Iruka barely sees Naruto nowadays. Lee leaves to find a gift. Konohamaru once again asks Iruka to record a message for Naruto, and Iruka postpones it again. Lee considers giving them dumbbells, but decides against it. Tenten thinks about giving them cute kunai, but realises giving them a weapon might reflect poorly on her. Lee arrives asking for help and the two spend the day trying to figure out a gift, Lee always coming up with a weapon and a ludicrous rationale for it being a useful gift. Lee dreams of Neji's ghost visiting him to offer advice, but only gets more confused. Iruka records a message for Naruto at last. Lee tells Iruka about his struggle to come up with a gift. Iruka says something that suddenly inspires Lee. Lee, Tenten, and Guy try coming up with ideas together, but Lee and Guy keep going off-topic. Lee and Guy decide to role-play being Naruto and Hinata, with Tenten being their baby to figure out what they should gift them. When they talk about Neji, Lee remembers his dream and has an epiphany, and decides to give them dumbbells anyway, him giving the left one and Guy the right one. Tenten settles for a custom-made kunai. Lee thanks Iruka for his input. Iruka asks Konohamaru to record a new message later, as he wants to learn more about who Naruto is now, and starts by asking Naruto's favourite ramen at Ichiraku.
Shikamaru and Chōji visit Ino at Yamanaka Flowers, wanting to discuss what to get for Naruto and Hinata. Ino says she already picked her present, and says they can't go shop with her when Shikamaru wants to go to the same store. At Yakiniku Q, Shikamaru discusses with Chōji about ideas, and is shocked to find he's already picked a gift, vouchers for dinner at a fancy tea house. Shikamaru considers giving them cash, so they pick whatever they want, but considers it to be too impersonal and lazy for a gift. Something Chōji says about eating ice-cream in a snowy place inspires Shikamaru to give them a honeymoon. The two come across Temari, and she and Shikamaru exchange awkward words. Chōji suggests getting Temari to give him a woman's point of view for a honeymoon location. Shikamaru asks her about it, but the two misunderstand each other, Temari thinking Shikamaru wants to go on a honeymoon with her. The two spend the day together. Ino goes to the store, and is about to get a portrait frame for Naruto and Hinata, but Sakura shows up, also intending to get the same gift. Ino and Sakura try psyching each other out of buying the frame, and end up being kicked out of the store for upsetting other customers. The two begin arguing who is more feminine and ask a passing Chōji for his opinion. Chōji says he thinks women who can cook are very feminine, and the two decide to make food pills. Both use ninjutsu skills to make pills. Chōji tries them both and is overwhelmed by how good they are, but since the eat them both together, he doesn't know which is which. Chōji passes out, while trying to figure out what happened, Ino and Sakura try each other's food pills, really enjoying them. Chōji wakes up, figuring all the ice-cream he ate earlier made his blood sugar go too high. Sakura and Ino decide to go find gifts together. Shikamaru and Temari almost go in a hot spring inn together, and they finally understand what the other meant, only Temari beats him up. Chōji, Ino, and Shikamaru discuss their progress at Ramen Ichiraku.
Gaara, Temari, and Kankurō arrive at Konoha, where they're greeted by Kakashi and Shizune. Kakashi confirms the arrival of other Kage, with the Mizukage still to arrive due to bad weather. Ōnoki asks Kakashi about Naruto's wedding, intending to give him a gift on Iwa's behalf. A also intends to send a gift on Kumo's behalf. Gaara learns of Naruto's wedding. Later, Kankurō asks Temari why they didn't know of that, considering she just visited Konoha. Temari angrily says she forgot, scaring Kankurō. Kankurō suggests something extravagant. Lee and Tenten arrive, on duty to show them around the village. Gaara asks to see places Naruto likes. Temari wants to stay in, and avoiding running into Shikamaru. At Ramen Ichiraku, Ayame notices Iruka has been coming there a lot lately. Teuchi notices that shinobi through the village are all trying to figure out what to give Naruto, and despite not being a shinobi, he also has come up with a gift, a free ramen pass. However, they don't know for how long the pass be worth, worried about Naruto going through all their ramen. Gaara asks Lee if he's gotten Naruto a gift already, which Lee confirms. Gaara ponders this is the first time he's had to give a wedding gift. Tenten is apprehensive when Lee begins getting overactive over telling Gaara about his gift and how he decided on it. Lee and Tenten take Gaara and Kankurō to Ramen Ichiraku, where they meet Iruka. They further discuss what to give Naruto, and have ramen. Killer B runs into the four, and is also giving Naruto a gift. Killer B mentions a dance number, and Kankurō feels Gaara should also perform. When A learns of B saying he'll dance, he almost makes a scene, but when the Mizukage misunderstands B about wedding, she intimidates him. The Five Kage meet, and Kakashi asks them to exercise moderation in their gifts. Temari runs into Shikamaru, the two apologise for their misunderstanding last time, and go out to eat together. Ino and Chōji spy on their date. Gaara goes to dine at Ramen Ichiraku, and Iruka apologises for putting pressure on him to give an extravagant gift. When Iruka says he's happy Naruto has made so many friends, Gaara is inspired to give him a gift not as Kazekage, but as his friend. As Ayame locks up, Teuchi decides to make Naruto's free pass lifelong. Kakashi, Lee and Tenten say good-bye to Gaara, Kankurō and Temari. Gaara intends to come back for Naruto's wedding, Kankurō is sad he won't see Gaara dance, and they notice Temari is in a much better mood. They realise they can still see Gaara dance as Naruto's friend.
Shino has his kikaichū report to him about others buying Naruto and Hinata's wedding gifts. He shows the insects to Academy students, one of them wanting to become Hokage, much like Naruto. Iruka watches them from afar. Shino encourages them to follow their dreams. Shino meets up with Kiba, who complains he's late. Shino tells him all their friends have already gotten a gift. Kiba is taking buying the wedding gift as a very serious mission, as it's the last mission they'll have as Team 8. The two ask Kurenai for advice. Kurenai tells them about a rare honey wine that the Senju clan would gift in certain occasions. The two leave for Sora-ku, where a beekeeper who supposedly makes the wine lives. They come across a ninneko, Momo, who refuses to share information with them, antagonising them over Akamaru and their dog and insect scents. They try baiting him with catnip and pursue it, but Tamaki protects him, and apologises for his behaviour. Kiba flirts with Tamaki. Tamaki gives them directions to find the beekeeper. When looking for him, Shino ends up being lost in thought and loses track of Kiba. Shino is attacked by the beekeeper, but manages to deceive him. The beekeeper assumes Shino wants to kill him, but just gives him the honey wine when asked for it. Shino asks for directions to leave, but is told there is something like a barrier, keeping those who come in wandering around. The fog has a component that stirs doubt on those in it. Kiba manages to leave the area with no problem, while Shino recalls his earlier conversations with Academy students, Kiba, and Kurenai, which lead him to question how to live as a shinobi after Team 8. The beekeeper tries to keep Shino enslaved to his doubt, but his resolve to find a new path allows him to leave. Shino meets up with Kiba, and the two leave with the honey wine. Shino speaks with the Academy students again, further motivating them. Iruka suggests Shino should be a teacher.
Kakashi and Shizune review the wedding gifts for Naruto and Hinata. Kakashi leans towards having Lee, Guy, and Konohamaru on duty. Kakashi goes out on a stroll, and meets up with Hinata, who is going to meet the other girls. Konohamaru finds Iruka at Ramen Ichiraku, and demands he finally record a message for Naruto and Hinata. Iruka is still unsure what to say, recalling that Gaara decided to celebrate Naruto as his friend instead of Kazekage, and wondering what role he should be, though understanding most would consider him Naruto's teacher. While meeting with Hinata, Sakura almost slips about the mission for getting them wedding gifts. Later, with Team 8, Kiba almost slips about the mission. Tsunade comes by the Hokage's office and Shizune tells her about the mission and Kakashi's predicament of judging the gifts, while Konohamaru overhears them, deciding to hand in his video without a message from Iruka. Konohamaru informs the others of the judging of their gifts, which Hinata overhears, distressing her. Hinata goes see Kakashi about the mission. The others go to Kakashi and offer to rotate between missions and the wedding reception, allowing everyone to participate, and Kakashi being Hokage can change the rule. Tsunade points out this situation is different, as the rule was made at a time when there was a boom in shinobi weddings during a war, and that Kakashi should rule as he sees fit. Kakashi asks the other Kage to lend shinobi during the wedding, which they agree as a wedding gift. Iruka comes across a distressed Hinata, and wrongly assumes Naruto is to blame, and starts to apologise for him. Hinata finds it hilarious. Iruka talks with Kakashi, and gives him an idea, while also telling Konohamaru that Hinata found out about the mission, so his video is no longer a surprise. Kakashi asks the other Kage if they can spare shinobi for the missions of the day of the wedding, and Konohamaru tries recording a message from them.
Iruka dreams back to when Naruto stole the Scroll of Seals. Konohamaru wants to record another message from Iruka, finding the previous one to be uninspired. Iruka still doesn't know what to say. He scolds Tsukune, Mibuna, Sansho for vandalising the Third Hokage's statue again. Sadoru asks Iruka if he'll be making a speech during the ceremony, but Iruka says Kakashi will do it. Ayame runs into Iruka, noting he hasn't been to Ramen Ichiraku in a while. Iruka explains he's still trying to figure out what to say. Naruto visits Iruka, asking him out for ramen. Iruka is trying to cook his own dinner, without much success. Naruto wants to have fun in his last days as a single man, and Iruka scolds him for it. Naruto wants to go out with him to tell him something. Iruka wonders why he struggled so much with his message. Naruto asks Iruka to attend the ceremony as his father, moving him. Iruka accepts. Iruka and Hinata talk about Naruto's request. Iruka records another message with Konohamaru, finally getting it right. The guests arrive for the reception and mingle. Naruto and Hinata go get married.
|Episode Title
|Japanese Airdate
|English Airdate
|"Naruto's Wedding"
|16 February 2017
|11 June 2019
|"A Full-Powered Wedding Gift"
|16 February 2017
|11 June 2019
|"Steam and Food Pills"
|23 February 2017
|11 June 2019
|"The Kazekage's Wedding Gift"
|2 March 2017
|11 June 2019
|"The Last Mission"
|9 March 2017
|11 June 2019
|"The Outcome of the Secret Mission"
|16 March 2017
|11 June 2019
|"The Message"
|23 March 2017
|11 June 2019
- Throughout the whole arc, Orochimaru constantly shows up in minor scenes or in the background, along with Yamato secretly following him.

subset: commoncrawl


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Three Years Old
Raford: I've actually been a fan of your music since you gave me the Arizona Record, which I loved, but at the time, I never imagined that the Silver Jews would become something of an institution in indie music. In those days, I thought of the Silver Jews as a fun hobby of yours, but not much more. In those early days, did you imagine that the Silver Jews would become a major part of your career?
DCB: No, of course not. I was mostly embarrassed we even existed.
Raford: So what happened? How did the Jews evolve from that point?
DCB: Well the job market in 1989, coming out of college, was the worst since the thirties.
There were zero jobs for a creative person. I saw making records and writing poetry as a kind of cultural loitering, fending off cubical slavery. I was leaning against a wall all day, working as a guard in a new york art museum. I thought "I need to find a way to lean against my own walls."
So the band just started as a way to make art. That's why it wasn't really a band. It was semi-conceptual art.
Raford: I've always admired your writing. I find myself sharing my worn-out copies of "Actual Air" with friends and acquaintances who express even a little bit of interest in poetry. The same is true of your lyrics. Do you find that there is a great difference between writing poetry and lyrics?
DCB: Poetry is complete freedom with words. Getting the right lyrics to fit in rhythmically and also mean something interesting is closer to searching for a tic-tac in a haystack. Writing poetry is daunting. Writing lyrics can be grueling.
Raford: I've understood that writing can be a torturous process for you. Can you tell me a little bit about that?
DCB: It's not so bad as long as I just do the work everyday. But it is hard to keep your will going because for all the days you aren't finished with the song, you only have these ugly butchered thing with a dream of being better attatched to it. You have to live with the ugliness of failure for many days before you get it right.
Raford: The ugliness of failure? That seems to be a theme in many of your lyrics.
DCB: Failure is the key to success. I got it from Oedipus Rex. No, I sing about failure from the perspective of one. Everybody should want to be an ex-failure. Never failing at all is just too uncharming to bear.
Raford: And how the hell do you find the motivation to work every day if you're not really accountable to others in terms of a deadline, boss, etc?
DCB: You have to harness your fear.
Like your fear is a seahorse and you are Aquaman. No, it's hard.
For a lot of years I stuck to something I read early on. Stendahl had this dictum: "Twenty lines a day. Genius or not. This rule of thumb was something that kept me writing, eveb during my lost years.
Raford: How is that process similar to and different from recording a record?
DCB: On a record you are more likely to go with "feel". You get other people to do a lot of the imagining for you. A lot of things become foregone conclusions. You get "stuck" with having to dress stuff up sometimes. You know the clock is running and you don't have the ability to just do stuff over and over again.
Raford: A couple of years ago, your toured for the first time to support the Tanglewood Numbers. Before that tour, you had been known as a recluse when it came to performing your music. What changed?
DCB: I made a deal with God, like Kate Bush. I felt like I had to do it to save myself and Cassie from imminent ruin financially. I couldn't continue to say "no" to offers to play.
I suddenly realized I had a way to out, and I just had to say "yes" to make it happen.
DCB and Raford as geeky adolescents.
Raford: How did you enjoy touring? Was it miserable, or do you now see touring as a major part of the Silver Jews' future?
DCB: It's not miserable. I like being on stage. I don't like the driving. We are going to tour this fall but I don't think it will continue on into my forties. I'd like to get doing something else. Playing live is a happy ending to the silver jews, more than it is a new beginning.
Raford: You're already into your 40s. I understand that you don't want to be like the Rolling Stones, but you don't see yourself as a 45 year old touring Silver Jew?
DCB: I'm hoping that I'll find different work by then.
What do you think about LOMLOC as the official acronym for it? It's cute, I think.
Raford: LOMLOC? It works.
Raford: Do you see LOMLOC as the Jews' last record?
DCB: I don't know if it's the last, but I'm definitely not going to make it again.
Raford: On that tour, you told me that it was kind of strange for you to be around people who knew the lyrics to your songs better than you did. I found it understandable that your fans would know the lyrics to your songs. What was a little disconcerting to me was that there seemed to be a certain element of your fan base in Bloomington that seemed to enjoy emulating your appearance. Creepy? Inspirational? Or am I thinking too much?
DCB: Hmmmmm. I think they are trying to look like Carl Sagan.
Raford: Heh. No.
Up next: David and I discuss Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea.


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2006 has been a crucial year for our business because we effectively started to be a part ofthe Paniere, an association which groups the most typical products of the Province of Torino, thanks to our mountain honey. We obtained this certification by attentively following the characteristic rules of this association.
Le Querce has obtained the Maestri del Gusto reward since 2006..
Against the fast and inattentive consumption and the series-food production, the Turin Chamber of Commerce, along with the Slow Food association and the Chamber Chemistry Lab, has valued 149 flavour artists, faithful to tradition and local products, with the initiative called Maestri del Gusto di Torino e provincia.
From the heroic viticulture of indigenous vine varieties to breweries, from cheese to certified meat industry, from gastronomy to pasta factories, from fishmongers to farms, from traditional pastry shops to creative chocolate: multiple ideas for peculiar purchases and out-of-town destinations, looking for that taste always harder and harder to find.
The 149 Maestri, who safeguard and value the wine and food excellences of our territory, are selected by the Chamber of Commerce and gathered in a volume whose goal is not only a trip to discover the real flavours of our area, but most of all an opportunity to put in contact food producers and consumers. For this reason it is not a simple list of names, but it tells the story of experience, style and personality of every single Maestro, revealing the dedication behind every gastronomy product. It is a story about people working, taking care and loving the job they are doing. In every reader a degustation curiosity for real artworks will arise.
The selection to become Maestro del Gusto is biennial. Very strict, 3 levels must be attended:the taste, judged by Slow Food association; the torinesitˆ, meaning the qualification of remindingof Turin and its traditions; the hygienical sanitary point, evaluated through the expertises of the Chamber of Commerce Chemical Lab.
The guide in the Italian /English and Italian/French versions is freely available at the Public Relations Office at the Chamber of Commerce, 24 via San Francesco da Paola, Turin. It is possible to download it on the website www.to.camcom.it/maestridelgusto as well.
Since 2012 our business has achieved the Organic Certification by the ICEA authority, for what it concerns honey production, spreadable creams, beehive products, jams and fruit juices.
Safeguard Slow food pres"diconsists of projects thought tosafeguard small high quality productions realized by traditional practices. We have 3 high mountain honey: la MelatadÕAbete (fir honeydew), Rhododendron Honey and Millefiori (a Thousand Flowers), rigorously integral and virgin, exclusively produced with nectars harvested above 1200 metres of altitude (almost 4000 ft). Fir honeydew is dark, almost black, it has a slight resin smell and it can remind burnt wood and caramelized sugar. In mouth it is less sweet compared to other nectar honey and it has malt and balsamic marks. Rhododendron and Millefiori high-mountain honey are light, fresh and really delicate. This presidio was born to value the activity of beekeepers who bring their beehives at high altitudes in the summer period. Production area: Alpine arch above 1200 metres of altitude. Seasonality: honey production at these altitudes takes place only in summer.


text:
Beverage group sues S.F. over soda warnings, advertising ban
The American Beverage Association sued the city of San Francisco on Friday, claiming new legislation requiring health warning labels on sugary beverages and prohibiting advertisements of them on city property violates the First Amendment.
"The city is free to try to persuade consumers to share its opinions about sugar-sweetened beverages," the lawsuit says. "Instead, the city is trying to ensure that there is no free marketplace of ideas, but instead only a government-imposed, one-sided public 'dialogue' on the topic — in violation of the First Amendment."
The legislation, unanimously passed by the Board of Supervisors in June, imposes some of the strongest laws in the country related to sugary beverages.
One of the ordinances being challenged is a first-of-its-kind measure to require warnings on advertising on billboards, buses, transit shelters, posters and stadiums. The label would read: "WARNING: Drinking beverages with added sugar(s) contributes to obesity, diabetes and tooth decay."
The second ordinance bans soda advertising on city property.
The American Beverage Association is joined in the lawsuit by the California State Outdoor Advertising Association and the California Retailers Association. They aren't challenging an ordinance banning the spending of city money on soda.
— Emily Green
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com, firstname.lastname@example.com Twitter: @sfcityinsider, @emilytgreen
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com, email@example.com Twitter: @sfcityinsider, @emilytgreen


text:
77 Shadow Street
Audio Other(Other - Unabridged)
Temporarily Out of Stock Online
The Pendleton stands on the summit of Shadow Hill at the highest point of an old heartland city, a Gilded Age palace built in the late 1800s as a tycoon's dream home. Almost from the beginning, its grandeur has been scarred by episodes of madness, suicide, mass murder, and whispers of things far worse. But since its rechristening in the 1970s as a luxury apartment building, the Pendleton has been at peace. For its fortunate residents—a successful songwriter and her young son, a disgraced ex-senator, a widowed attorney, and a driven money manager among them—the Pendleton's magnificent quarters are a sanctuary, its dark past all but forgotten.
But now inexplicable shadows caper across walls, security cameras relay impossible images, phantom voices mutter in strange tongues, not-quite-human figures lurk in the basement, elevators plunge into unknown depths. With each passing hour, a terrifying certainty grows: Whatever drove the Pendleton's past occupants to their unspeakable fates is at work again. Soon, all those within its boundaries will be engulfed by a deadly tide from which few have escaped.
Dean Koontz transcends all expectations as he takes listeners on a gripping journey to a place where nightmare visions become real—and where a group of singular individuals hold the key to humanity's destiny. Welcome to 77 Shadow Street.
Praise for the narration of 77 Shadow Street by Dean Koontz, performed by Peter Berkrot:
"Narrator Peter Berkrot opens the creaking door and invites listeners inside with a gentle, unassuming voice. Ignore that dark thing you saw out of the corner of your eye—it's just a trick of the light. Berkrot performs with skill and assurance as strange voices, eerie sights, and inexplicable things take over the posh mansion." —© AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine
Product Details
|Brilliance Audio
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|7.12(w) x 6.50(h) x 1.00(d)
About the Author
The books of Dean Koontz are published in 38 languages, and worldwide sales top 400 million copies. Eleven of his novels have risen to number one on the New York Times hardcover bestseller list, and several have been adapted into feature films and TV miniseries. Dean and Gerda Koontz live in southern California with their golden retriever, Anna, grand-niece of the famous and beloved Trixie.
Hometown:Newport Beach, California
Date of Birth:July 9, 1945
Place of Birth:Everett, Pennsylvania
Education:B.S. (major in English), Shippensburg University, 1966
Read an Excerpt
77 Shadow StreetA Novel
By Dean Koontz
Random House Large PrintCopyright © 2011 Dean Koontz
All right reserved.
The North Elevator
Bitter and drunk, Earl Blandon, a former United States senator, got home at 2:15 a.m. that Thursday with a new tattoo: a two-word obscenity in blue block letters between the knuckles of the middle finger of his right hand. Earlier in the night, at a cocktail lounge, he'd thrust that stiff digit at another customer who didn't speak English and who was visiting from some third-world backwater where the meaning of the offending gesture evidently wasn't known in spite of countless Hollywood films in which numerous cinema idols had flashed it. In fact, the ignorant foreigner seemed to mistake the raised finger for some kind of friendly hello and reacted by nodding repeatedly and smiling. Earl was frustrated directly out of the cocktail lounge and into a nearby tattoo parlor, where he resisted the advice of the needle artist and, at the age of fifty-eight, acquired his first body decoration.
When Earl strode through the front entrance of the exclusive Pendleton, into the lobby, the night concierge, Norman Fixxer, greeted him by name. Norman sat on a stool behind the reception counter to the left, a book open in front of him, looking like a ventriloquist's dummy: eyes wide and blue and glassy, pronounced marionette lines like scars in his face, head cocked at an odd angle. In a tailored black suit and a crisp white shirt and a black bow tie, with a fussily arranged white pocket handkerchief blossoming from the breast pocket of his coat, Norman was overdressed by the standards of the two other concierges who worked the earlier shifts.
Earl Blandon didn't like Norman. He didn't trust him. The concierge tried too hard. He was excessively polite. Earl didn't trust polite people who tried too hard. They always proved to be hiding something. Sometimes they hid the fact that they were FBI agents, pretending instead to be lobbyists with a suitcase full of cash and a deep respect for the power of a senator. Earl didn't suspect that Norman Fixxer was an FBI agent in disguise, but the concierge was for damn sure something more than what he pretended to be.
Earl acknowledged Norman's greeting with only a scowl. He wanted to raise his newly lettered middle finger, but he restrained himself. Offending a concierge was a bad idea. Your mail might go missing. The suit you expected back from the dry cleaner by Wednesday evening might be delivered to your apartment a week later. With food stains. Although flashing the finger at Norman would be satisfying, a full apology would require doubling the usual Christmas gratuity.
Consequently, Earl scowled across the marble-floored lobby, his embellished finger curled tightly into his fist. He went through the inner door that Norman buzzed open for him and into the communal hallway, where he turned left and, licking his lips at the prospect of a nightcap, proceeded to the north elevator.
His third-floor apartment was at the top of the building. He did not have a city view, only windows on the courtyard, and seven other apartments shared that level, but his unit was sufficiently well-positioned to justify calling it his penthouse, especially because it was in the prestigious Pendleton. Earl once owned a five-acre estate with a seventeen-room manor house. He liquidated it and other assets to pay the ruinous fees of the blood-sucking, snake-hearted, lying-bastard, may-they-all-rot-in-hell defense attorneys.
As the elevator doors slid shut and as the car began to rise, Earl surveyed the hand-painted mural that covered the walls above the white wainscoting and extended across the ceiling: bluebirds soaring joyously through a sky in which the clouds were golden with sunlight. Sometimes, like now, the beauty of the scene and the joy of the birds seemed forced, aggravatingly insistent, so that Earl wanted to get a can of spray paint and obliterate the entire panorama.
He might have vandalized it if there hadn't been security cameras in the hallways and in the elevator. But the homeowners' association would only restore it and make him pay for the work. Large sums of money no longer came to him in suitcases, in valises, in fat manila envelopes, in grocery bags, in doughnut-shop boxes, or taped to the bodies of high-priced call girls who arrived naked under leather trench coats. These days, this former senator so frequently felt the urge to deface so many things that he needed to strive to control himself lest he vandalize his way into the poorhouse.
He closed his eyes to shut out the schmaltzy scene of sun-washed bluebirds. When the air temperature abruptly dropped perhaps twenty degrees in an instant, as the car passed the second floor, Earl's eyes startled open, and he turned in bewilderment when he saw that the mural no longer surrounded him. The security camera was missing. The white wainscoting had vanished, too. No inlaid marble underfoot. In the stainless-steel ceiling, circles of opaque material shed blue light. The walls, doors, and floor were all brushed stainless steel.
Before Earl Blandon's martini-marinated brain could fully absorb and accept the elevator's transformation, the car stopped ascending—and plummeted. His stomach seemed to rise, then to sink. He stumbled sideways, clutched the handrail, and managed to remain on his feet.
The car didn't shudder or sway. No thrumming of hoist cables. No clatter of counterweights. No friction hum of rollers whisking along greased guide rails. With express-elevator speed, the steel box raced smoothly, quietly down.
Previously, the car-station panel—B, 1, 2, 3—had been part of the controls to the right of the doors. It still was there, but now the numbers began at 3, descended to 2 and 1 and B, followed by a new 1 through 30. He would have been confused even if he'd been sober. As the indicator light climbed—7, 8, 9—the car dropped. He couldn't be mistaking upward momentum for descent. The floor seemed to be falling out from under him. Besides, the Pendleton had just four levels, only three aboveground. The floors represented on this panel must be subterranean, all below the basement.
But that made no sense. The Pendleton had one basement, a single underground level, not thirty or thirty-one.
So this could not be the Pendleton anymore. Which made even less sense. No sense at all.
Maybe he had passed out. A vodka nightmare.
No dream could be this vivid, this intensely physical. His heart thundered. His pulse throbbed in his temples. Acid reflux burned his throat, and when he swallowed hard to force down the bitter flood, the effort brought tears that blurred his vision.
He blotted the tears with a suit-coat sleeve. He blinked at the indicator board: 13, 14, 15. . . .
Panicked by a sudden intuitive conviction that he was being conveyed to a place as terrifying as it was mysterious, Earl let go of the handrail. He crossed the car and scanned the backlit control board for an emergency stop button.
None existed.
As the car passed 23, Earl jammed a thumb hard against the button for 26, but the elevator didn't stop, didn't even slow until it passed 29. Then rapidly yet smoothly, momentum fell. With a faint liquid hiss like hydraulic fluid being compressed in a cylinder, the car came to a full stop, apparently thirty floors under the city.
Sobered by a supernatural fear—fear of what, he could not say—Earl Blandon shrank away from the doors. With a thud, he backed into the rear wall of the car.
In his storied past, as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, he had once been to a meeting in the bunker far beneath the White House, where the president might one day try to ride out a nuclear holocaust. That deep redoubt was bright and clean, yet it impressed him as more ominous than any graveyard at night. He had some experience of cemeteries from his earliest days as a state lawmaker, when he had thought that in such lonely places, from earth and graves and dust, no one could be raised up to witness the paying of a bribe. This quiet elevator felt far more ominous than even the presidential bunker.
He waited for the doors to open. And waited.
Throughout his life, he'd never been a fearful man. Instead, he inspired fear in others. He was surprised that he could be so suddenly and completely terrorized. But he understood what reduced him to this pathetic condition: evidence of something otherworldly.
A strict materialist, Earl believed only in what he could see, touch, taste, smell, and hear. He trusted nothing but himself, and he needed no one. He believed in the power of his mind, in his singular cunning, to bend any situation to his benefit.
In the presence of the uncanny, he was without defense.
Shudders passed through him with such violence that it seemed he should hear his bones knocking together. He tried to make fists, but proved to be so weak with dread that he could not clench his hands. He raised them from his sides, looked at them, willing them to close into tight knuckled weapons.
He was sober enough now to realize that the two words tattooed on the middle finger of his right hand could have made his insult no clearer to the clueless third-world patron in the cocktail lounge. The guy probably couldn't read English any more than he could speak it.
As close to a negative self-judgment as he had ever come, Earl Blandon muttered, "Idiot."
As the car doors slid open, his enlarged prostate seemed to clench as his fists would not. He came perilously close to peeing in his pants.
Beyond the open doors lay only a darkness so perfect that it seemed to be an abyss, vast and perhaps bottomless, into which the blue light of the elevator could not penetrate. In this icy silence of the tomb, Earl Blandon stood motionless, deaf now even to the pounding in his chest, as if his heart were suddenly dry of blood. This was the quiet at the limit of the world, where no air existed to be breathed, where time ended. It was the most terrible thing he had ever heard—until a more alarming sound, that of something approaching, arose from the blackness beyond the open doors.
Ticking, scraping, muffled rustling: This was either the blind but persistent questing of something large and strange beyond the power of the senator's imagination . . . or a horde of smaller but no less mysterious creatures, an eager swarm. A shrill keening, almost electronic in nature yet unmistakably a voice, quivered through the blackness, a cry that might have been of hunger or desire, or bloodletting frenzy, but certainly a cry of urgent need.
As panic trumped Earl's paralyzing dread, he bolted to the control panel, scanning it for a close door button. Every elevator offered such a feature. Except this one. There was neither a close door nor an open door button, neither one labeled emergency stop nor one marked alarm, neither a telephone nor a service intercom, only the numbers, as if this were an elevator that never malfunctioned or required service.
In his peripheral vision, he saw something loom in the open doorway. When he turned to face it directly, he thought the sight would stop his heart, but such an easy end was not his fate.
From the Hardcover edition.
Excerpted from 77 Shadow Street by Dean Koontz Copyright © 2011 by Dean Koontz. Excerpted by permission of Random House Large Print, a division of Random House, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Customer Reviews
Average Review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
I purchased this book even though there seemed to be many people who posted negative feedback about it. I am glad that I did not listen to them. Each story an author writes is always different than the one before it. I have never read a book hoping it will be just like all the others by a writer. The joy of reading is finding a story that is different, one that takes an imagination on a journey. This one does just that. A really good book.
Not up to par for Koontz....and im a big fan. Not enough banter between characters that Koontz is famous for. I found myself just skimming through pages looking for excitement. On the Dean Koontz scale of 1 to 10....I rate 77 Shadow Lane maybe a 5 at most. Sorry......just saying.......
This is the Best Koontz Book since THE FACE ten years ago, (maybe not counting ODD THOMAS). Longer than his recent books, and more detailed (meaning longer and juicier chapters/paragraphs), Koontz piles up characters without ever losing a grip on their intricate stories and relationships, all while building the suspense to a massive crescendo from the very first chapter. He goes for some solid scares with this one, and scores big time after time, right up to the point where this book can be ranked as one of those that can keep a person up late at night with the bedside light on, and "armpits like sweat faucets." I was shocked and chilled as equally as I was delighted and intrigued. I say this is "Classic-Style Koontz" because he goes back to some supernatural thriller/horror roots with this, but then puts his signature "plausible twist" on the whole thing and weaves in a bundle of flawless social themes and commentary, all through great dialogue and internal monologues from his biggest cast of characters since STRANGERS, back in the 80's (or maybe ever). This book is a big accomplishment and should not be missed by any fan of Koontz, from any era of his long and successful career. Hopefully this also signals a shift in direction, and there will be more books like this one to come.
I've read just about everything Dean Koontz has written and have loved them all. What I love about his books besides that they freak you out is his character development. He makes you care about the people in his books because they have such in depth personalities. So, skipping the fact that this book didn't freak me out in the least, I was highly disappointed in the characters. They were all flat and I didn't connect to any of them. I pretty much finished the book because I paid for it and was therefore going to darn well finish it. In "Strangers" Koontz also has multiple characters but in that book he took the time to develop them and you could connect with the many different people in the book. To me this was a waste of my money and I'm so disappointed that he didn't bother to take the time to flesh out the characters. Save your money and hope the next book is back up to his usual standards.
I have been a Dean Koontz fan as far back as The Watcher, and I have only one question about 77 Shadow Street: where is Dean Koontz and what have you done with his word processor? This book is absolutely TERRIBLE!! When I got to page 234 and realized there was still almost another 153 pages to read, I almost screamed. I kept reading, thinking, "This has to get better; this is Koontz!" But, it just never did. There is no cohesion in this book. The device of multiple narrative viewpoints can be often an effective one, but in this case, it just served to pull the story apart. I never knew which character to invest in, interest-wise. I found myself scanning several pages at a time, looking for plot development, engaging dialogue, heck...anything even resembling a plot at all, but to no avail. Instead, I was treated to endless, repetitive exposition. Okay, I GET that the Pendleton was rumbling, I GET that there was weird, almost snakelike stuff growing all over everything that was pulsing and undulating, and (in Sally's case) nasty-flavored. I even get that there is some nasty entity called the One who hates humankind's guts and has something diabolic planned for the world. But pages and pages of the same descriptions, the same thoughts, the same wandering from floor to floor, apartment to apartment while all the while staying clear of the elevator was SOOOOOOO tedious. Even the bad "thing's" periodic riffs on how much it despises our kind left me thinking, "Here we go again...yawn!" Reading this made me think it was sort a cross between the often-remade horror film classic "The Thing" and Stephen King's The Shining, with all the faults and none of the good stuff. The only way a Koontz fan might enjoy this would be if they had partaken of some of those mushroom things that were growing all over the walls of the Pendleton. Do yourself a favor: skip this one and instead, re-read one of your favorite GOOD Koontz's novels. Time much better spent.
I love dean koontz and i adore most of his work, but this one just bored me. There were so many characters that you never really connected to any of them. I ended up skimming most of the second half because i just wasnt interested in the paragraphs of details describing how hideous the creatures were. Definately not what i expected...
Can't believe this is a Koontz book! I have read them all. Would not have anyone else read! Sad!!
I almost didn't buy this book after reading the numerous negative reviews on this web site, but I am SO glad I did! It is quietly terrifying and subtly nuanced with the complexity and consistency of a game of 3D chess. It reminded me over and over of one of my favorite Koontz books, "Seize the Night" (by the way Mr. Koontz, where IS that next Christopher Snow book?). I am astounded by the reviewers who repeatedly said they didn't find it exciting enough. Well, I suppose we are completely over stimulated by today's entertainment. Anything that requires time and thought and reflection doesn't get good press. This book may not be "in your face", but I will long remember many of it's scenes, often in my dreams. Well done, as usual, Mr. Koontz! I can't wait for your next book!
I hope it pained him as much writing this book as it did me reading it.
Nope, can't read this while watching TV, cooking dinner, working on the computer or participating in any other mundane task---you have to focus! If you do, you will find a story that will transport you to the scary scenes of tension, fearful anxiety and astonishing complexity, rooting for the good guys. Hope this makes it to the big screen with its very imaginative environment and astounding but not so crazy concept regarding the 'improvement' of mankind with nanotechnology.
I am a die hard Koontz reader. I have read everything of his. I had a lot of trouble with this book. There were too many characters to follow, and lots of them were not very important to the story. Sure they all played a part, but it was tedious trying to fit them all into the story. The radio couple, the blind guy, the senator, the autistic girl and her mother, the landlord, the girl who works the lobby, the security guards...you could have moved the story without them. The premise was ok. I found myself skipping paragraphs of useless detail about the characters and trying to get back to something, ANYTHING that would further the story. One thing I really dont get is that The Moonlit Mind was advertised as "a taste of what's to come in his new novel 77 Shadow Street" I dont see the correlation between the two. Read if you have to read everything he rights, but skip it if you occasionally enjoy the stuff he writes.
This book is scary. It was scarier than expected. I have read lots of scary books that have not put me on edge the same way that 77 Shadow Street did. Koontz can really write unique stories that keep the reader turning the pages. Yes, the one fault I have with this book is that Dean Koontz can get "wordy." He tends to over-describe which lots of readers hate. It does not ruin the story, but it can be distracting. The book probably deserves a 4 due to the "wordiness" but the abundance of scary moments earns the book a 5.
One of the best books dean has put out. very spooky, and fast paced. must read this one you wont be sorry you did
For Dean Koontz fans this is a good book. You get more characters and he keeps track of them - none fall off the radar at all. He does stress and describe the fungus repeatedly BUT it makes it more realistic to one's mind. The story is futuristic to a degree and I find that interesting. He takes the story full circle so you really don't have any unanswered questions except did they live happily ever after? And for most, this was answered. This is an excellent book - read it when you have time it's not a quick read. While it helps to answer some questions from the short novella it doesn't answer all of them.
I'm not a fan of horror novels but I mostly enjoyed this one. I missed the usual Koontz character development but feel he did well with so many characters involved. I don't hold the number against him because the story takes place in an apartment building with both tenants and staff. For someone who doesn't have children, Koontz writes them beautifully. I loved the social themes and the subtle way he handles them. I also loved the greater page count in this novel. My main criticism is the varied forms of the "monsters"; seemed like he was trying too hard there. Just a couple of variations would have sufficed.
I've read almost every Koontz book written but didn't enjoy this one. Could not get into the characters. Hope his next one is back on this author's track
,i love dean koontz but this was a big misstep for him. He moved more into the "heavy" science fiction/meta-physical area (similar to recent king novels) and it just did not work. No comraderie among the characters, the plot was so convoluted i could barely follow it - but yet it somehow also managed to be not exciting or scary either. Just a miss, all around. A real shame, because koontz is typically great. Just feels like he never had a clear vision for this book.
Never disliked a Koontz book before. Stopped reading at page 256, and it has been months since I tried to start up again. I hate not finishing a book, but this book is not good. Does not have the feel of a Dean Koontz book to me. Very disappointed. Hopefully will start reading it again so can finish. Hopefully will find out it has a great ending but not likely.
I never rate & review a book. But I'm so mad for how much of my time I lost reading this horrible book I had to tell others. I had to skipped so many pages that went on about nothing just to get through it. Worst book I've ever read. I forced myself to read it because I feel guilty not finishing a book, and I kept hoping it would get better. It never did!!! As I said DON'T BOTHER!!!
I'm a huge fan, read all his books (and re-read), and have never posted anything negative about any of them. I didn't hate this book, but I didn't love it either. There are too many characters all doing their own thing for most of it. The story drags until the last quarter of the book. The novella to go with this book was so good, I was expecting a great story, and was disappointed. It was hard to get into the story. The ending was good, but overall just an ok book.
Must read to like
Way too many people are ignorant of the word review on here. Review not preview. Had lots of high marks but didn't think to look at the dates so I guess that's my fault but the only good reviews were before the book was out. Way to give a bad book decent reviews when you've never read it and before it's out. Last Koontz book I'll buy every year same disappointment.
Sadly, I had to "borrow" this from the Amazon site: Product Description I am the One, the all and the only. I live in the Pendleton as surely as I live everywhere. I am the Pendleton's history and its destiny. The building is my place of conception, my monument, my killing ground. . . . The Pendleton stands on the summit of Shadow Hill at the highest point of an old heartland city, a Gilded Age palace built in the late 1800s as a tycoon's dream home. Almost from the beginning, its grandeur has been scarred by episodes of madness, suicide, mass murder, and whispers of things far worse. But since its rechristening in the 1970s as a luxury apartment building, the Pendleton has been at peace. For its fortunate residents-among them a successful songwriter and her young son, a disgraced ex-senator, a widowed attorney, and a driven money manager-the Pendleton's magnificent quarters are a sanctuary, its dark past all but forgotten. But now inexplicable shadows caper across walls, security cameras relay impossible images, phantom voices mutter in strange tongues, not-quite-human figures lurk in the basement, elevators plunge into unknown depths. With each passing hour, a terrifying certainty grows: Whatever drove the Pendleton's past occupants to their unspeakable fates is at work again. Soon, all those within its boundaries will be engulfed by a dark tide from which few have escaped. Dean Koontz transcends all expectations as he takes readers on a gripping journey to a place where nightmare visions become real-and where a group of singular individuals hold the key to humanity's destiny. Welcome to 77 Shadow Street. Sounds like a good read....had to choose a rating...haven't read it yet (obviously) just wanted to post the correct product description for everybody who's interested.
Best book ever well one of them
I don't know what book the other reviewers were reading ,but I Really liked this story,it does take some getting use to with all the jumplng around ,but well worth it, Great book Koontz does It again as always


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Former clients of a B.C. consultant convicted of one of the biggest immigration scams in Canadian history insist they had no knowledge of his fraudulent activity, but the federal government says they are "far from being victims."
The legal battle currently brewing in Federal Court could have huge implications for potentially hundreds of Chinese immigrants who had hired Xun "Sunny" Wang, an unlicensed immigration consultant, to obtain Canadian citizenship or permanent resident status.
Wang, who operated New Can Consultants Ltd. and Wellong International Investments Ltd. out of offices in downtown Vancouver and Richmond, B.C., was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2015 and fined $900,000 after pleading guilty to multiple fraud-related charges. The scam involved making it appear as if his clients had spent the requisite number of days in Canada when, in fact, they had not.
To pull that off, clients' passports were altered — typically by adding fake exit and entry stamps. To further the impression some of his clients were living in Canada, fake letters of employment or school admission letters were created.
Three of Wang's staff also received jail time and fines for their involvement in the elaborate scheme.
At the time, the Canada Border Services Agency said it was "the single largest investigation of immigration fraud in British Columbia's history" and noted that some 1,600 clients had paid Wang about $10 million for fraudulent services.
In the aftermath, investigators with CBSA's Inland Enforcement Section pored through the list of Wang's clients to identify those who misrepresented themselves in order to obtain or maintain permanent resident status in Canada. More than 500 were flagged for possible inadmissibility.
According to immigration lawyer Lawrence Wong, many subsequently received removal orders, some living outside Canada simply gave up their permanent resident status, while others are awaiting hearings or appeals. Only a handful have successfully appealed on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.
Wong believes the government has been unfairly lumping together individuals who knowingly conspired with Wang to deceive the government and those who were unaware of the fraud.
"You treat all his victims as if they were complicit? That doesn't make sense," Wong said Wednesday. "Effort has to be made to separate those that were complicit and weren't complicit."
Earlier this year, Wong went to Federal Court to file an application on behalf of two of Wang's former clients — Chao Yuan Lin and Xiang Zhou — whose admissibility to Canada are being challenged. (Lin and Zhou, permanent residents of Canada since 2000 and 2004 respectively, had hired Wang to help them renew their permanent resident cards).
You treat all his victims as if they were complicit? That doesn't make sense
Wong, who is seeking to certify the case as a class action, is asking the court to declare that the government has misapplied the law.
"Despite the mountain of evidence of Mr. Wang's fraudulent activities committed against his clients," the federal government chose to treat those clients "as no less culpable and has been seeking to remove them from Canada by alleging they committed misrepresentation," he wrote in the application.
If the government is successful at removing Lin, Zhou and other former clients of Wang from Canada, "the consequences could be devastating as many of these clients have Canadian spouses or Canadian-born young children."
But in an aggressively worded response filed this month, federal lawyers said the applicants were "clearly complicit in the fraud against the immigration system and as such, do not come to this court with clean hands."
They allege the applicants "chose to retain an unscrupulous consultant expressly for the purpose of misleading Canadian immigration authorities into believing that they maintained the required two years out of five residency … while they resided actually in China."
"Whether they knew the consultant's actual machinations or the exact nature of his scheme is irrelevant; they stood to benefit significantly from them, and now seek to maintain that benefit by suggesting that they are innocent victims."
At the very least, the applicants were wilfully blind to what was going on, the government's lawyers write.
Meanwhile, Wang, who is in late 40s, is no longer in custody after being granted full parole in late 2017, records show. In its decision, the parole board said while it was concerned about the "depth and breadth" of his offences and suspicious that he was hiding money and avoiding paying his fines, Wang was a first-time federal offender with no known ties to organized crime or violence.
He was released on these condition: that he not associate with anyone believed to be involved in criminal activity; allow his parole supervisor to keep tabs on his finances; and remain gainfully employed or go back to school.
"You must learn to earn legitimately for yourself," the parole decision said.
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Report's assets
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As you may know, the report's view contains widgets which are the component to display your data. Widgets can be Table, charts, graphs or any form of data representation.
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class MyReport extends \koolreport\KoolReport
protected function settings()
return array(
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Please have a look at our free packages for Laravel Framework and CodeIgniter Framework. More packages for other frameworks will come in near future!


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Updated: Jul 29, 2019
You can try every trick in the book when it comes to falling asleep, but you won't stay in slumberland for long if your body isn't able to regulate its temperature. But a great bed sheet can save even the sweatiest sleeper. This summer, instead of waking up in a puddle, try these cooling and oh so comfy sheets. And while you're at it, check out our roundup of the best cooling pillows and summer comforters, too.
Keep scrolling for FIRST's picks for the best summer bed sheets so you can stay cool all night.
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Why this story matters:
Social networks and online media users are increasingly exposed to hate speech, and previous legislative practices to stop it have been inadequate. As a result, the Croatian Central State Office for Digital Society is calling for a special law banning hate speech online.
Journalists are a popular target for hate speech and threats. Last month, several journalists from Croatia received death threats and insults on social media for criticizing Croatia's involvement in the Bosnian war. The journalists had reported about a trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) against six Bosnian Croats who were charged for war crimes.
The threats included one saying, "I will f*** your treacherous mother. You are a dead man," and another saying, "There will be time when your 18-year-old daughter will be walking alone around the town."
It might take a long time for Croatia to deal with the hostile online environment, one in which journalists are especially vulnerable.
While the Croatian government is at least considering new strategies for fighting hate speech, other Balkan countries are doing little to make journalists feel safe.
According to the BH Journalists Association, there have been 91 physical attacks against journalists or threats of death in the last 10 years. While 14 cases are still under investigation, 37 others have been ignored by police or judicial institutions.
Freedom House reported that the the government has shown growing hostility toward independent and critical media in recent years. Investigative journalists or those critical of the government encounter aggressive rhetoric from senior officials, and are smeared in pro-government media as criminals or members of foreign intelligence agencies.
In Serbia, nine journalists were physically attacked in 2016, according to Serbia's Independent Association of Journalists. Such incidents are rarely investigated.
In neighboring Macedonia, attacks and harassment against journalists are increasing, with many violations taking place as journalists cover the news, according to the Freedom House. Security forces are accused of committing several such violations.
The fact that Balkan countries have failed to adequately investigate and prosecute attacks on journalists was confirmed by other sources such as the Human Rights Watch 2015 report on media freedom and IREX Media Sustainability Index.
This is how self censorship becomes a reality.
Details from the story:
- The Western Balkan's Regional Platform for Advocating Media Freedom and Journalists' Safety has registered several death threats against Bosnian journalist Dragan Bursać.
- Bursać was forced to leave Banja Luka in July last year out of fear for his safety.
- In recent years, Mapping Media Freedom has documented cases of threats to journalists in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo and Macedonia. Media workers were threatened, intimidated and bullied for questioning nationalistic dogmas.
- Dostajemrznje.org is a website created by Croatian association GONG which citizens can use to report hate speech and discriminatory messages published on Internet and by media.


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What Is Supply Chain Management?
In spite of the current hype, supply chains aren't really that new. Entrepreneurs have been buying things from suppliers and selling products to customers for almost as long as people have inhabited the earth. However, supply chain management is new. In fact, the basic principles of supply chain management only began to take shape in the 1980s, at about the same time that personal computers came onto the business scene. You can see the trend clearly by using Google's N-Gram Viewer, shown here, which shows how often the term "supply chain" has been used in book titles.
Supply chain management is the planning and coordination of all of the people, processes, and technology involved in creating value for a company. Managing a supply chain effectively involves coordinating all of the work inside of your company with the things that are happening outside of your company. In other words, it means looking at your business as a single link in a long, end-to-end chain that supplies something of value to a customer.
The word "value" shows up a lot when people talk about supply chain management. Basically, value means "money." If a customer is willing to pay for something then it has value.
Negotiating prices, scheduling manufacturing, and managing logistics all impact the value equation for a company, and they are critical to a supply chain, but because they are so interdependent, it's a bad idea to manage them separately, in silos. As companies grow larger, supply chains get longer, and the pace of business gets faster, which means it becomes more important to keep the various functions in a supply chain aligned. Ironically, many of the strategies and metrics that businesses relied on in the past, and that managers have been taught to use, can actually drive the wrong behaviors. For example, a sales rep might hit her quota by landing a huge deal with a customer, but the deal might be unprofitable for the company because of the costs it will drive for the logistics and manufacturing functions. So sales, logistics, manufacturing, procurement, and all of your other functions need to be aligned to ensure that the business is pursuing profitable deals.
The difference between the amount of money your company brings in (revenue) and the amount of money that you spend (costs) is your profit. In other words, your profit is simply the amount of value that you have captured from your supply chain.
On the other hand, companies that do a good job of managing their supply chain are better able to take advantage of value-creation opportunities that their competitors might miss. For example, by implementing lean manufacturing, companies can reduce inventories. By being responsive to customer needs, they can build stronger relationships with their customers and grow their sales. By collaborating closely with their suppliers, they can get access to the materials they need, when they need them, at a reasonable cost.
In most companies today, more than 70 percent of the costs and 100 percent of the revenues are dependent on how the supply chain is managed. So keeping all of the parts of the supply chain aligned is key to running any business successfully. That is why supply chain management has become so important, so quickly.


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-- Another from Lou Beach's 420 Characters
While AV Club reviewer Rowan Kaiser appreciated what Beach did within the character limit, s/he thought it wound up being somewhat gimmicky and fell short of being satisfying -- maybe it would have been better if it were geared more towards jokes. On my end, I liked how clever and funny he could be, but I also really fancied the in medias res ones, which tended to have more heft to them.
420 Characters provides a nice accompaniment to the following: waiting in post office lines, taking a hot bath, eating bi bim bop. Con: speed readers are done before their tea has cooled.


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Tag Archives: best stylist los angeles
DIY-Halloween Hairstyles
From the hairstyles of Frida Kahlo, Karl Lagerfeld, to Downton Abbey's character Lady Mary Crawley, stylist Gareth Bromell shares with us easy how-to tips to get each of these looks on Refinery 29. Check out the full step-by-step picture tutorial here.
Grow Out Your Hair: The Right Way
Although regular scheduled trims seem counter-intuitive for those wanting to grow out their hair, stylist after stylist will tell you that this is the correct method. Expert stylist Allie Paronelli looks at this as the 'one step back, two steps … Continue reading
Make The Cut: 12 Inches of Hair
Stylist Allie Paronelli shares with us a long hair before and after she did for Pantene Beautiful Lengths charity. Her client had the perfect head of hair for this donation, free from all dyes and chemical processing, and literally almost … Continue reading
Pixie Fix
A long pixie, just 'hit refresh'. Cut and style by Neil George Salon stylist Alessandra Saman. AFTER
Real Style
Staying busy, our stylists share take their work beyond their chair in Beverly Hills. Neil George Salon stylist Gareth Bromell recently worked on Marie Claire magazine's May 2012 'Real Style' article featuring Revenge actress Ashley Madekwe and Chateau Marmount hotel gatekeeper Anya Varda. See … Continue reading


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The site has appointed a 'Cancer Champion', David Armstrong, who is a cancer survivor. David recognised that construction is still a male dominated industry, and believes that men are reluctant to seek medical attention until it is often late.
At the National Horizons Centre, Wates launched an on site Cancer Awareness Course, a course which Wates will soon be introducing on all of their sites.
The four hour course put on by HealthWORKS saw 10 attendees from Wates and the supply chain become the next generation of Cancer Champions. As a result of the course, attendees are now much better informed about:
The course looks at the issue from a completely different perspective. It is much more than just a presentation or information course, it looks at how to tackle these difficult issues with colleagues, family members and friends, and it can really save lives. The attendees learned how best to spread the information they received to others in their workplaces and to their family and friends.
The National Horizon Centre Cancer Champions feel confident in their ability to:
Monitor Report. Wates. Durham. November 2018.
The Scheme does not promote or endorse any products, goods or services. For more information, click here.


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Republicans on this year's August recess continue to flirt with the idea of impeaching President Barack Obama, if only to appease constituents angry over what they consider an administration that has repeatedly forsaken the U.S. constitution.
During a Wednesday town hall in Muskogee, Oklahoma, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) told a member in the audience that while he didn't "have the legal background" to know whether Obama carried out any high crimes and misdemeanors, the president certainly was getting "perilously close."
"I think there's some intended violation of the law in this administration, but I also think there's a ton of incompetence of people who are making decisions," Coburn said in a video flagged by BuzzFeed on Thursday.
"Even if there is incompetence, the IRS forces me to abide by the law," a constituent responded.
"No, I agree," Coburn said. "My little wiggle out of that when I get that written to me is I believe that needs to be evaluated and determined but thank goodness it doesn't have to happen in the Senate until they've brought charges in the House. Those are serious things but we're in a serious time. I don't have the legal background to know if that rises to high crimes and misdemeanor but I think they're getting perilously close."
Rep. Kerry Bentivolio (R-MI) said Monday it would be a "dream come true" to impeach Obama, while Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-TX) claimed earlier this month that Republicans have the necessary votes in the House to do so.
Coburn made the TIME 100 in April, the magazine's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world, and a fellow nominee and friend, President Barack Obama, took the opportunity to describe their unlikely friendship in the Senate.
"[After] we entered the Senate at the same time, our wives, Michelle and Carolyn, hit it off at an orientation dinner," Obama wrote. "Pretty soon, we did too. Since then, we've bonded over family and faith. And we've harnessed our friendship and mutual respect to find places where we can agree and work together to move this country forward."
Full video via BuzzFeed:


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Blue Frost Fox Blanket with black, sheared Kolinsky Backing
This super cuddly blue frost fox blanket with black, sheared Kolinsky backing brings a touch of luxury to your home. On the one side, this real fur blanket has the high-quality blue frost foxes, and on the other, our master furriers used sheared black kolinsky fur. The Russian kolinsky is first-class wild furs from Russia. Due to the shearing process, the kolinsky fur is extraordinarily warm and soft. By using only genuine fur skins, all our products are naturally heat-regulating. Enjoy pleasant hours at your home with this blue frost fox blanket and enjoy the perfect warmth regulation on cold days. If you have questions or individual requests, you can contact us anytime!
|Type of Fur:
|Bluefrost Fox
|sheared Weasel lining in black
|Size (+/- 3%):
|ca. 195 x 139 cm (2.7 qm) - 76.8 x 54.7 inches
|Black, Grey, Natural
|Back Lining:
|Black Sheared Kolinsky Lining, Fur on both sides
|German producer, Soft wadding/inlay (100% wool)
|Quality Label:
|Origin Assured (OA), SAGA Fur, Sojuzpushnina
|Dressed within the European Union - by European standards
|colored, natural, Sheared
|Finland, Russia, Scandinavia
|Farmed Fur, Wild Fur
|Latin Name:
|Alopex Lagopus Forma Domestica (Fox), Mustela Sibirica - (Russian Weasel)
|CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora):
|Required - but available, The article is freely tradable
Scandinavian Bluefrost Fox
The blue frost fox (alopex lagopus forma domestica) belongs to the farmed Scandinavian foxes. Blue frost foxes have a grayish-black hair color with a darker stripe in the back of the fur skin. The hair of the blue frost fox is very full, dense and a little shorter compared to other farmed foxes. Responsible handling of the natural product Fur is our concern, which is why we only purchase our blue frost fox skins from well-known fur sources such as the SAGA Furs auction in Finland and the Copenhagen Fur in Denmark. If you decide to buy a product from Scandinavian blue frost fox, you can be sure to receive a first-class product from guaranteed excellent fox farms according to high European standards. We produce blue frost fox fur blankets, fur pillows, and accessories. If you have any questions regarding our blue frost fox fur blankets, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Do you have questions?
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This documentary takes the viewer on a journey to discover the origins, evolution and quintessential stylings of the cowboy hat. From John B. Stetson to today's most revered custom hat makers, this film explores the western hat from beginning to end, including Hollywood's Golden Age that solidified this iconic expression of the enduring American West.
Production began in March of 2018 and has taken us from the Stetson headquarters in New York City, to the ranches and collectors deep in the heart of the south, to the best of the best in custom hat makers in the country.


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Inclusive bathrooms and kitchens can be beautiful!
One of the UK's leading providers of accessibility solutions, AKW, is noticing an increasing demand for inclusive bathroom and kitchen adaptations. This is partly driven by the UK's ageing population and also by a desire from home owners to future-proof their houses for their older years. With this in mind, there are now a wide range of solutions that bring beautiful adaptations to any home.
According to Stuart Reynolds, Head of Product and Marketing at AKW, one of the reasons that more homeowners are wanting to incorporate inclusive bathroom and kitchen adaptations into their new builds or refurbishments, is due to their desire to live at home for as long as possible. With an ageing population, this is a logical progression in home-building.
The structure of the UK's population is undergoing a seismic shift, with people aged over 65 now outnumbering those aged 16 and the number of retired people set to grow by 2050 to 34.2 million. The number of households headed by a person aged 65 and over is also predicted to rise to more than seven million by 2021 and these property owners have high expectations when it comes to what they want from their homes.
In the past, home adaptation solutions, particularly those aimed at the bathroom, were only available in a limited design style and colour palette. However, following demand from end users for more design-led solutions, there are now more options available. An example for bathroom adaptations is AKW's stylish Onyx range of bathroom products and for the kitchen, the company's extensive range of finishes and accessories, all of which ensure any adapted space is in keeping with the rest of the home.
Taking a fresh look at adaptation equipment
Wet rooms, in particular, are continuing to grow in popularity, as they provide a safe, level access alternative to traditional shower cubicles and baths that are also stylish and remind the user of hotel-level luxury. While they offer multi-user households a truly inclusive open-plan showering area, the latest wet room technologies are also now quick, easy to install, watertight solutions. For instance, the latest generation of wet room formers feature a built-in gradient to ensure correct drainage levels and are simply fitted beneath the floor of a room. These durable, high load-bearing devices also offer maximum flexibility, as the leading products, such as those from AKW, have offset waste positions and are strong enough to fit straight onto joists.
The 'Bathroom for Life' option
Although wet rooms are proving popular, some homeowners are not prepared to do away with the possibility of a bath altogether. In such cases, many are choosing the 'Bathroom for Life' option. This is where a wet room former is installed during the construction or renovation of a bathroom and the waste positioned for connection to a bath. Then, as the needs of the homeowner changes, the bath can be removed and the room quickly converted – typically in half a day – to a wet room with minimal adaptation costs and disruption. It can also be converted back to a family bathroom at any time just as easily if and when required.
Onyx – design-led inclusive bathroom products
For those homeowners who want bathroom adaptations such as grab rails and shower seats, yet are looking for products that blend seamlessly into the style of their home, AKW has been working with occupational therapists to design a range of design-led adaptation products. The Onyx range brings contemporary design to inclusive bathroom solutions. With minimalist design, tactile finishes and chrome, black and white colour options, these mobility aids can be incorporated in a stylish, inconspicuous way into any home. Space saving details such as rails and shower seats that fold away when not in use have also been included.
Beautiful, flexible kitchens
Sometimes the traditional design process needs to be turned on its head to ensure that kitchens suit the needs of users with mobility issues or other impairments. However, with the right knowledge and equipment it is easier than ever before to create safe and inclusive rooms that are responsive to everyone's daily needs. Through the inclusion of products such as AKW's Liberty and Independence kitchen ranges, it is possible to include features and finishes that match the existing décor of the home. Also, thanks to the company's made-to-order service, kitchen units are delivered fully assembled direct to any site.
From electric or manually operated rise and fall units, or deep recessed plinths to accommodate wheelchair footplates, there is something for any wheelchair user. In addition
AKW offers consultations to architects, installers and designers to help with the process of measuring up a kitchen for wheelchair users. During the initial visit they will take between 150 to 200 measurements to ensure that as much of the kitchen as possible will be accessible to them in the final design, including pull out work surfaces, drop down units and rotating corner unit shelves.
The shifting demographic and increasing consumer desire to future-proof their homes looks set to continue and now thanks to companies like AKW, there are a wide range of products available to accommodate this. Whether it is a homeowner looking for a competitively priced wet room, or a modern twist on traditional adaptation equipment, there is something to suit any customer's budgetary and style requirements.


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Hello & Welcome to our website!
This site is directed towards the prospective & current students of SJSM St. Vincent
We hope you find useful information, links, and suggestions about on life in St. Vincent & in Medical School.
Please, feel free to Browse through and if you have any helpful suggestions shoot us an email or leave a comment.
Disclaimer: This website is privately run by students of SJSM St. Vincent & SGA Board.


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To make life easier for you for Back to School, we have teamed up with School Supplies Direct so that you can buy all your stationery needs over the internet or by mail order.
Buying direct means that you will also support our school because we will receive educational supplies rewards for every dollar ordered from School Supplies Direct. All orders placed by the end of February will earn reward points.
The easiest way to buy online is at myschool.co.nz/claytonpark using your credit card. All you need to do is search for our school, click on the Order Using and Easy Grid button then follow the instructions on the website. Website orders over $55 qualify for free delivery. Delivery must be to your home and place of work not to the school.
To order by mail-order and/or pay by cheque, all you have to do is go to myschool.co.nz/claytonpark and when you get to the check out, click on the Mail Order Form button. This will build a customised mail order form for you to print.
Stationery List
Studio 1 + Maori Bilingual Unit – Year 0 – 2 students
Studio 2 – Year 2 & 3 Students
Studio 3 – Samoan Bilingual Unit
Studio 4 – Year 6 – 8 Students
Studio 5 – Year 4 & 5 Students
Studio 6 – Maori Bilingual Unit


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Europe's plan to stem the flow of migrants was under threat on Tuesday after Turkey rejected EU demands to overhaul its terror laws in return for visa-free travel. Omer Celik, Turkey's ambassador to the EU, said last month's coup attempt made reform "impossible" in the short term.
Ankara and the EU in March agreed a controversial deal to stop the tide of people coming to Europe through Turkey. The Turkish government agreed to clamp down on terror and smuggling networks and take back migrants in exchange for incentives that include visa-free EU travel for Turks and a €3bn aid package for the 2.7m Syrian refugees living in Turkey. (FT)
In the news
Trump security threat Fifty Republican security officials have warned that Donald Trump would be "the most reckless president in American history". In an open letter the party grandees said they would not be voting for their party's candidate. The warning came as Mr Trump presented his economic plan in Detroit on Monday, promising to slash regulation, cut taxes and revive manufacturing through an "America First" policy. (NYT, FT) Keep up with the 2016 race by signing up for our daily US politics email here.
China ties China has issued its sternest warning yet to the UK that bilateral ties stand at a "crucial historical juncture" over London's deferral of an £18bn nuclear power project. Liu Xiaoming, China's ambassador to the UK, drew a clear link between Beijing's desire to see an early go-ahead for the controversial Hinkley Point power project and the future of the UK-China relationship. (FT)
Rebel aid Foreign governments are helping Syrian rebels in the strategic city of Aleppo. A ragtag coalition of opposition militias, including the former al-Qaeda affiliate Fatah al-Sham, have broken a weeks-long siege of the city in recent days, and fighters claim that truckloads of weapons from neighbouring countries have made the difference. Opposition figures say the US has turned a blind eye to the participation of jihadis in the operation. Meanwhile, pictures appear to show British special forces operating on the ground in Syria patrolling near the scene of an attack by Isis. (FT, BBC)
China's power projection New satellite images show the construction of what appear to be reinforced aircraft hangars on disputed islands in the South China Sea. The buildings throw into doubt promises by Chinese President Xi Jinping not to militarise the region. (NYT)
Marcos to be buried Twenty-seven years after he died, disgraced former Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos is to be buried in a cemetery reserved for war heroes. During his tenure, Marcos was accused of plundering billions in public funds and abusing human rights. Rodrigo Duterte, current Philippine president, says his burial will heal political divisions. (NAR)
It's a big day for
Turkish-Russian relations President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visits Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg in his first foreign trip since surviving last month's coup attempt. (FT)
Keep up with the important business, economic and political stories in the coming days with the FT's week ahead.
Food for thought
Ship of fools Andrew Hill on how superyachts magnify billionaires' worst traits: hubris and a disregard for costs and public opinion. (FT)
Date of the Pharaohs The dates in Egypt's remote Siwa Oasis — famed as a place of pilgrimage for Alexander the Great — have been loved since Pharaonic times. The best way to stop the unique variety from going extinct is to eat them, say scientists. (Scientific American)
Surveillance: taking liberties? The UK is set to legislate to allow security services to hack phones and trawl browsing histories. How far will the spectre of terrorism allow the security state to go? (FT)
The global democratic recession Gideon Rachman on how the politicians who captured the spirit of democracy in the early 1990s — Nelson Mandela, Václav Havel and others — have been replaced by men such as Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, "autocrats with scant respect for democratic values". (FT)
Wallenberg revelations One of the biggest mysteries of the second world war was the 1945 disappearance of Raoul Wallenberg — a Swedish diplomat who saved thousands of Hungarian Jews from Nazi gas chambers. The mystery endured through the glasnost era but a diary hidden between the walls of a dacha outside Moscow could finally explain what happened. (NYT)
Video of the day
Trump appeals to car workers Donald Trump's trade message is resonating with car workers in Michigan, but is it enough to create a new generation of Reagan Democrats? FT reporters Sam Fleming and Patti Waldmeir test the political mood in Macomb County. (FT)
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