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March 5, 2013
TED Fellow Eddie Huang was kicked out of the organization for refusing to follow its cult-like orders. WARNING – explicit language.
"I just went through a whole week of people telling me what to do, where to be, and it was like being at a f***ing scientology summer camp," he said. "It was horrible."
RELATED: Bill Gates' TED Speech: Reduce Global Population Through Vaccines – http://www.infowars.com/bill-gates-use-vaccines-to-lower-population/
Taken from the Joe Rogan Experience podcast – http://joerogan.net/
By the way, people who know what's coming are taking advantage of our healthy & delicious storable food!


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Susan Brewer
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Further to my previous post about the use of human rights in "lawfare" against Israel, I came across the following well-researched article by Eli E. Hertz from the excellent "Myths and Facts" website, which explains the inappropriate use of the Fourth Geneva Convention as a weapon against Israel.
Here are some excerpts:
The language of Article 49 was crafted in the wake of World War II and the Nazi occupation – an occupation that led to a war of aggression in which Nazi Germany attacked its neighbors with impunity, committing a host of atrocities against civilian populations, including deportation and displacement of local populations in occupied Europe. Millions were sent to forced labor camps and those of particular ethnic origin, most notably the Jews, were sent to their deaths in the gas chambers. The drafters of Article 49 were concerned with preventing future genocide against humanity.
Critics and enemies of Israel, including members of the UN and organs such as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) have come to use the Geneva Convention as a weapon against Israel, even when statements by authoritative analysts, scholars and drafters of the document contradict everything said by those who distort history for politically motivated reasons.
"Occupied Territory"
The term "occupied territory," which appears in the Fourth Geneva Convention, originated as a result of the Nazi occupation of Europe. Though it has become common parlance to describe the West Bank and Gaza as "occupied territories," there is no legal basis for using this term in connection to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Professor Julius Stone, a leading authority on the Law of Nations, categorically rejected the use of the term "occupied territory" to describe the territories controlled by Israel on the following counts:
(1) Article 49 relates to the invasion of sovereign states and is inapplicable because the West Bank did not and does not belong to any other state.
(2) The drafting history of Article 49 [Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War] – that is, preventing "genocidal objectives" must be taken into account. Those conditions do not exist in Israel's case.
(3) Settlement of Jews in the West Bank is voluntary and does not displace local inhabitants. Moreover, Stone asserted: that "no serious dilution (much less extinction) of native populations" [exits]; rather "a dramatic improvement in the economic situation of the [local Palestinian] inhabitants since 1967 [has occurred]."
Deportation and Forced Transfer
Arab opposition to Jewish settlements is based on the last paragraph of Article 49. The "Occupying Power" may not "Deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies."
One can hardly believe this baseless ICJ assertion that Israel, the only free and democratic country in the Middle East used "deportation" and "forced transfer" of its own population into "occupied territories."
Article 2 of the Fourth Geneva Convention
Article 2 of the Fourth Geneva Convention applies only to conflicts that "arise between two or more high Contracting Parties," which is not the case at hand, as Israel is the only High Contracting Party (or state) in this conflict, and Jordan never was. Thus, the Fourth Geneva Convention is inapplicable!
Professor Eugene Rostow, past Dean of Yale Law School, U.S. under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, and a key draftee of UN Resolution 242, concluded that the Fourth Geneva Convention is not applicable to Israel's legal position and notes:
"The opposition to Jewish settlements in the West Bank also relied on a legal argument – that such settlements violated the Fourth Geneva Convention forbidding the occupying power from transferring its own citizens into the occupied territories. How that Convention could apply to Jews who already had a legal right, protected by Article 80 of the United Nations Charter, to live in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, was never explained." It seems that the International Court of Justice never explained it either.
UN Article 80 was specifically created in San Francisco on 26 June 1945 to protect the Jewish right of settlement in Palestine under the mandate against erosion in a world of ambitious states. Jews legal rights of settlements survived the British withdrawal in 1948.The International Court of Justice [ICJ], Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court [ICC), and the Fourth Geneva Convention lack the authority to affect ownership of the Territories of Judea and Samaria known also as the West Bank.
The article is well-worth reading in its entirety and should be bookmarked for use whenever one comes up against the tired old argument that Israel is in contravention of international law.


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The HBO® New York International Latino Film Festival presented its 2011 awards at a ceremony this past Sunday. The NYILFF feature documentaries and films in English and Spanish, which reflect "America's cultural diversity as well as the global urban experience."
If I could pick which films I'd like to show up in my Redbox machine, here are the ones I would choose. (Because seriously, as much as I love Redbox, I would love them even more if they took out some of the mindless movies and added some more films and documentaries.)
Description: "After a decade of living in New York, 30-year-old Antonio returns to his native Costa Rica for a short visit. When events force him to stay, he is confronted with everything he has desperately struggled to put in the past: a broken family, an ailing father and a violent country. Unable to run away as usual, Antonio must come to terms with his past in order to take hold of the present and build a better future."
After coming back from El Salvador and knowing friends going through the same thing – this film really resonates with me. Plus the trailer made me literally laugh out loud when he said, "Deje de comer papaya y vaya emprima mi pasaporte!"
Description: "Hector, a troubled teen from the Harlem projects, forms a surprising bond with Lilly, a lonely girl who feels trapped in the restrictions of her Upper East Side life."
Description: "Fewer than six in ten Latino adults in the United States have a high school diploma. Precious Knowledge is the unbelievable and inspiring story of high school seniors in the Mexican American Studies Program at Tucson High School. 82% of the students in the program will graduate and go on to college. Their journey will astound you."
Description: "In the ancient cobblestone streets of Cuzco, Peru, a postcard-selling street kid, Pablo, encounters a 12-year-old American girl, Mary. Her fascination with the Andean culture, alongside his desire to understand a life beyond his own, helps them transcend the language barrier. As their innocent curiosity grows into young love, their lives will intertwine in ways that will alter them forever."
Description: "A coming of age story reflective of our cynical times, Blacktino gives an honest — and hilarious — depiction of high school life as seen through the imaginative eyes of a bi-racial computer nerd, Stefan Daily, and his misfit friends, Laura Vega and Matt Miyamoto. Raised by his black grandmother in an Austin suburb, Stefan struggles to find his place in a mostly white high school, finally finding sanctuary among the eclectic mix of social outcasts in the theater department."
Description: "A Mexican immigrant, recently arrived in America, visits a flea market. He spots Lupita, the most beautiful girl he has ever seen. Lupita reminds him of Mexico, of the Virgin Mary, of his mother. With no money in his pocket, he decides to steal a gift and win her heart."
Description: "When their daughter runs away, America's abusive lover unleashes his rage against her. Fleeing her home in the Caribbean, America escapes to New York City hoping for a new life. There she works as a nanny for a wealthy family. She befriends three nannies — a Mexican, a Colombian and a Dominican –and with their help, as well as support from relatives in the Bronx, America is determined to bring her daughter back to her. But as she dares to dream of a life without violence, reality hunts her down."
I remember reading this book and this looks like one of those rare instances when the film is just as good.
Description: "In the airport of some Western nation, a group of Ecuadorians are pulled out of line and arrested. Among the group waiting to be deported is Prometeo, a young man in possession of a trunk filled with magic — which is fortuitous, since illusion may be their only way out."
(I wish they'd make a Salvadoran version of this one. It looks hilarious though I don't know much about Ecuadorians.)
Many more amazing films at the New York International Latino Film Festival website. Chécalo!


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- For this Follow Friday post I would like to share a link to the blog of my friend Shelley Bishop, A Sense of Family. She wrote about her preparations for attending the Genealogy Research Institute of Pittsburg (GRIP). She will definitely get the most out of her course on Bridging the 1780-1840 Gap: From New England to the Midwest with D. Josh Taylor because she has put the effort in to prepare for the course. You can read Shelley's post at Getting a GRIP on New England Ancestors in July.
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Follow Friday -- Getting a GRIP
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The Best PG-13 Thriller Movies
List Rules Add your favorite movie to the list if it's missing, but only if it's the correct rating.
List of PG-13 thriller movies, ranked from best to worst with movie trailers when available. This list takes the best PG-13 thriller movies and pits them against each other to see once and for all what the greatest PG-13 Thriller movie of all time is. This list of popular PG-13 thriller movies includes information like who directed the film, when it was released and which actors starred in the movie. If you think the top PG-13 Thriller movie isn't as high as it should be then be sure to vote it up so it can take its rightful place among the other great PG-13 Thriller films on this list. If you're trying to find a specific PG-13 Thriller film you can search this list and filter to find what you're looking for.
With movies ranging from The Dark Knight to Inception, this is a great starting point for a list of your favorites.
If you're trying to find out "What are the best PG-13 thriller movies?" and "What are the most famous PG-13 thriller movies?" then this list is the perfect resource for you.
Use this list if you're looking for some new thriller movies that are rated PG-13. Between Netflix, Hulu and other services there are thousands of great thriller movies rated PG-13, so get out there and start watching.Re-rank the page to fit your opnions then make it votable so you can share it with your friends and get only their input on this whole thing. (226 items)
What kind of directors have worked on Thriller PG-13 movies in the past? Clint Eastwood and Kevin Costner both have, as have other great directors.


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Bhut Jolokia, The World's Hottest PepperI've received several inquiries about seed from a couple of plants I grew this past year. The bhut jalokia, also known as the naga jalokia, is still relatively hard to find in the U.S. Originally from Sri Lanka, tested by the Univ. of New Mexico prior to being listed in the Guiness Book of World Records as the world's hottest pepper, I have seed to sell for anyone interested. $5 for approximately 25 seed.
Also I have seed of the fat baby achocha, from the Bumthang Valley of Bhutan. These make a great vine for arbors and produce hundreds of fruits during the season. Best if started indoors then transplanted out after danger of frost. They're used like green bell peppers in stir fries, but the traditional method is to stuff them and bake in tomato sauce. Each pod has 6 - 8 seeds and I'm charging $2 a small packet of approx. 8 seed. Prices include postage and you can order with check or money order, sending it to me at P.O. Box 127, Blue Eye, MO 65611. I have a limited supply of seed so if you're interested, order now.
Here's a recipe from my recipes blog, for a great tasting crab dip (it's actually from my book, Easy Dips Using Herbs) and you can use some of the chopped, fresh fat baby achocha, and just a tiny bit of bhut jalokia in the recipe if you're adventurous. Enjoy it with chips.
Baked Crab Dip
Serve this while hot with your favorite crackers or toasted bread pieces.
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 6 1/4-ounce can crab meat, drained, flaked
2 tablespoons onion, grated
1 tablespoon half and half, or milk
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Dash salt and black pepper
Few drops hot sauce
1 green onion, sliced
Combine everything except green onion and mix together. Place in an ovenproof serving dish and bake at 350 degrees F. for 15-18 minutes. Remove from oven and top with sliced green onion and serve. Makes about 1 3/4 cups.


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AUSTIN �The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) has added Santos Francisco Sanchez, 45, to the Texas 10 Most Wanted Sex Offender list, and a $5,000 cash reward is now offered for information leading to his capture.
The Texas Syndicate gang member has a violent criminal past and is wanted for Parole Violation and Failure to Register as a Sex Offender. All tips can be offered anonymously.
Sanchez was born in Brown County, but has primarily resided in the Tarrant County area, where he also has relatives. He was convicted in the sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl in Fort Worth in 1996, and was required to report to a halfway house after his release from prison in 2003, but he never registered with the La Villa Police Department in Hidalgo County. He has been known to work carpenter jobs. (Please note the photos above are from 2003.)
Sanchez is 5 feet 10 inches tall and was last known to weigh approximately 205 pounds. His tattoos include: dragon/skulls/devils on his left forearm, a heart on his upper left arm, a peacock on his upper right arm and heart/rose on his right forearm.
Texas Crime Stoppers, which is funded by the Governor�s Criminal Justice Division, offers cash rewards to any person who provides information that leads to the arrest of one of the Texas 10 Most Wanted fugitives or sex offenders. There are four different ways to provide anonymous tips:
Call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-252-TIPS (8477).
Text the letters DPS�followed by your tip�to 274637 (CRIMES) from your cell phone.
Submit a web tip through the DPS website by selecting the fugitive you have information about, and then clicking on the link under their picture.
Submit a Facebook tip at http://www.facebook.com/texas10mostwanted by clicking the �SUBMIT A TIP� link (under the �About� section).
All calls, texts, e-mails and Facebook messages are anonymous.
DPS investigators work with local law enforcement agencies to select fugitives for the Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitive and Sex Offender lists. You can find the current lists�with photos�on the DPS website at http://www.dps.texas.gov/texas10mostwanted/.
Do not attempt to apprehend these fugitives; they are considered armed and dangerous.


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As used in this subsection, the terms "training" and "technical assistance" shall include training or technical assistance and the cost of necessary travel for participants in such training or technical assistance, by or to officials and employees of the Department and of public housing agencies, and to residents and to other eligible grantees.
42 USC § 1437g(h)
Scoping language
None identified. Default scope is assumed to be the entire title.
Is this correct?


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I am trying to make a code that has multiple buttons, but the only way i know how to make action listeners are to either use inner classes (which require variable to be final, which isnt good for me), or to use AddActionListener(this), which only allows for one action listener.
Ive heard somehting about getSource(), but cant find any good examples of how its used... Are there any other ways to use multiple action listeners?
This is a code i was experimenting with getSource on, but i kept on getting an error:
import java.awt.*; import javax.swing.*; import java.awt.event.ActionListener; import java.awt.event.ActionEvent; public class FindAddPage implements ActionListener { public static void main (String[] args) { int counter = 0; //set up frame GridLayout myLayout = new GridLayout (2,1); JFrame myFrame = new JFrame ("Add/Find"); myFrame.setSize(400,200); JPanel myPanel = new JPanel(); myPanel.setLayout(myLayout); //make buttons JButton add = new JButton ("Add A Tutor"); JButton find = new JButton ("Find A Tutor"); if(event.getSource()==add){ counter++; } myFrame.setVisible(true); } }


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Chipotle Back To The Start
Chipotle's online film "Back To The Start" has won the 2012 Grand Prix for Film and Grand Prix for Branded Content and Entertainment Cannes International Festival of Creativity. Back to the Start depicts the life of a farmer as he slowly turns his family farm into an industrial animal factory before seeing the error of his ways and opting for a more sustainable future. The soundtrack of the short film is Coldplay's haunting classic 'The Scientist' as performed by country music legend Willie Nelson. Both the film and the soundtrack were commissioned by Chipotle to emphasize the importance of developing a sustainable food system.
Click on the image below to play the Back To The Start video
Jesse Coulter of Creative Artists Agency gives a behind-the-scenes look at Chipotle's "Back to the Start" campaign. Click on the image below to play the behind-the-scenes video.
Back to the Start Credits
The Back to the Start film was produced at Creative Artists Agency, Los Angeles, by Nexus Productions director Johnny Kelly, director of photography Matthew Day, camera assistant Max Halstead, producer Liz Chan, production managers Claire Thompson and Alistair Pratten, gaffer Aldo Camilleri, compositors Alasdair Brotherston and John Taylor, 3D previs lead Mark Davies, art department Gorden Allen, Ben Côté and Joe Kirton, studio manager Elizabeth Day, production designer Graham Staughton, set animator Matt Cooper, character animator Gary Cureton, puppet wrangler Joe James, set designer Gee Staughton, rigger Gary Faulkner, executive producers Cedric Gairard, Chris O'Reilly and Charlotte Bavasso Sound was designed by Barnaby Templer at Fonic. 3D models were produced by Bob Thorne and tea at Artem. Music was produced by Justin Stanley and Doyle Bramhall, and supervised by David Leinhardt at Duotone Audio Group.
The Campaign
Chipotle is known for its burritos, but few know that Chipotle has radically changed fast food: from cooking fresh food daily, to building a supply chain of 7,000+ farmers, to sourcing more local produce and sustainably raised meat than anyone, anywhere. All while becoming the most profitable restaurant concepts of our time. Chipotle asked Creative Artists Agency to find a way to tell this story and to inspire a broad audience to care about their food. Believing that the more people know Chipotle is a business doing good, the more likely they will become passionate and loyal customers. Creative Artists Agency created the platform 'Cultivate' to celebrate the people changing food culture and invite customers to join that journey, launching it with "Back To The Start". The film asked fans to download The Scientist on iTunes, with their own money, to raise funds for the Cultivate Foundation and FarmAid. The song was distributed on radio stations across America to add to people's awareness of the song and film.
Distributed using a digital-first strategy, the film first launched on YouTube with no paid media support. The launch was supported with an earned media plan and the social media assets of Chipotle, Willie Nelson and Coldplay to a collective audience of 21m Facebook fans. Next, the campaign added paid digital while shifting to the big screen with Back To The Start spending eight weeks running on over 10,000 theatrical screens across the nation. Finally, the campaign took Chipotle into TV advertising. Back To The Start ran in its entirety, during the 54th Annual Grammy Awards to an audience of over 40m viewers.
Back To The Start ingnited a conversation in pop-culture. In only 9 days, the film had 5,071 relevant mentions across blogs, Twitter, news, forums, Facebook and earned 11,024,870 impressions via Twitter alone. With each stage awareness and engagement grew as fans viewed and shared the film, making Chipotle the 'no.4 Most Buzzed about Ad Online' and 'no.1 for Positive Brand Sentiment' according to NYTimes/Zeta. To date, the film has been viewed over 6m times on YouTube and earned 300MM+ media impressions. Finally, the Grammy's catapulted The Scientist to no.1 on the Country iTunes chart.
See the Inspiration Room story on the Chipotle Abandoned Film, the next part of the campaign.
Filed under: Chipotle, Commercials
Tagged: Artem, Coldplay, Creative Artists Agency, Duotone Audio Group, Johnny Kelly, Matthew Day, Nexus Productions
Location: USA


text: Pardon Le Dopeness is proud to announce that we are the official exclusive fashion line collaborator with Digital Dreams Music Festival 2013. We have designed a unisex bamboo cotton tank top called "Pills" in collaboration with the Digital Dreams Music Festival. The collaborative piece is a white tank top with photo-realistic pills printed all over the tank top using a spot process screen print method. The tank top can be purchased through our online store or during the festival on June 29th and 30th, 2013.


text: Over the past half century, the University of Alaska Fairbanks has built the largest collection of archival films in and about Alaska. The collection combines hundreds of donations of film and videos to UAF by individuals, organizations and institutions. Materials range from professional productions to amateur home-movies, made in and about Alaska from the earliest days of filmmaking through today. Since 1993 these materials have been held by the Alaska Film Archives, a unit of Alaska and Polar Regions Collections & Archives in the Elmer E. Rasmuson Library. Films and videos selected for this portal project are a sampling of the thousands available for checkout on DVD through the Rasmuson Library. Unless otherwise noted, items are presented here in their entirety, unedited and uncut. Short, popular clips from the collection can be viewed on our YouTube channel. Read more about the Alaska Film Archives.


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Dotted with towering coconut trees, the inviting wide sandy beaches in Punta Cana are what most bone-chilled northerners image when they think of escaping to a Caribbean paradise. Whether you want to languish on the beach all day, play golf on picturesque courses or go horseback riding on the beaches, you'll find Punta Cana has something for every recreation whim or desire. To fully enjoy this unparalleled beach experience, consider staying in a spacious, amenity-laden holiday rental instead of a small, mundane hotel room. In Punta Cana, your options range from gorgeous condos with balconies, swimming pools, kitchens and other amenities to luxury villas with postcard-like panoramas just outside your window.
Punta Cana has a seemingly endless line-up of activities. If you've always wanted to try surfing, Punta Cana is a great place to make the attempt with the Macao Surf Camp, where the entire family can enjoy the experience. For the shop-till-you drop set, the main shopping areas are Artesany Centre, Bavaro Shopping Centre, Plaza Bavaro, Plaza Punta Cana, Palma Real and the beachside El Cortesito Flea Market.
Divers and snorkelers love Punta Cana because there's a long coral reef in front of the beaches. Big game fishing is a major draw to Punta Cana as well, which is one of the world's best places for white marlin fishing. Other catches include dorado, wahoo, yellowfin, tuna, bonito and barracuda. The best fishing in Punta Cana is from March till the end of September.
Tee it high and watch it fly is the mantra in Punta Cana, which has eight golf courses, including the P.B. Dye designed Iberostate Golf Course and the Cocotal Golf & Country Club.
After a full day sunning and funning at the beaches or roaming the fairways, you'll savor the entry to your spacious holiday rental where you can spread out, relax and enjoy your tranquil surroundings. Better still for families, the fully equipped kitchen allows you to prepare money-saving meals at a fraction of the cost at island restaurants. If you love to cook, why not prepare Dominican delicacies like Moro de guandules, a rice dish made with pigeon peas or Sancocho, a stew made with tropical vegetables and either pork or beef. Deals on Punta Cana holiday rentals
Available in a variety of beachside and near beach settings, holiday rentals in Punta Cana offer lots of amenities, ample storage space and easy access to all recreation activities. We have special deals and discounts on a varied selection of properties in different settings in Punta Cana, and we'll provide you with several unbiased user reviews to assist in your decision making process.
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Struggling to find the best buy-to-let mortgage in Didcot? speak to one of our buy to let mortgage advisers today
The term 'buy to let' generally refers to either the practice of buying a property to be let for profit or to the type of mortgages used to purchase a property for such letting. Many countries, both in the western world and in the developing nations, have seen a surge in the growth of the buy to let property market in the last 2 decades and this has fuelled a growth in amateur landlords and the but to let mortgage providers who are keen to encourage and profit from them in turn. In addition, this growth has generated a lot of commerce in other related sectors such as buy to let insurance.
What Is A Corporate Buy To Let?
Many countries, both in the western world and in the developing nations, have seen a surge in the growth of the buy to let property market in Didcot the last 2 decades and this has fuelled a growth in amateur landlords looking for quality mortgage advice, this is why mortgage brokers in Didcot who specialise in Buy-to-let are so important and the but to let mortgage providers who are keen to encourage and profit from them in turn. In addition, this growth has generated a lot of commerce in other related sectors such as buy to let insurance.
Didcot Buy to let mortgages have been available in the UK since the mid-nineties and they are specifically designed for investors to borrow money to purchase property in the private rental sector. The amount that a prospective but to let investor can borrow is generally determined by the rental valuation of the property. The annual income for a rented property has to cover a certain percentage of the mortgage repayments, the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) states that landlords should seek to be able to obtain gross rent returns equivalent to between 130 per cent and 150 per cent of the rental property's mortgage repayments, this takes into account the surplus rent to cover costs of property maintenance and slack periods when the property may be vacant of tenants.
Didcot Buy To Let Mortgages.
Some buy to let mortgage lenders in Didcot will lend you a maximum sum based on a multiple of your salary (usually a multiple of three) plus a percentage of the forecast rental income on the property. So if your annual salary is said 30,000 Franks and the forecast rental income is 10,000 Franks they will lend you 95,000 Franks. Other mortgages, in addition to factoring in your salary, will include any existing loan commitments you have, and then apply what is known as the 'deduction rule'. This rule relates to the annual mortgage payments worked out at a pre-set level of interest.
Buy to let mortgage interest rates are generally fairly close to residential mortgage rates but will generally be slightly higher and typically charge higher fees. This is due to the fact that buy to let loans are considered by the financial sector to represent a greater risk than residential owner-occupier mortgages, and they generally are.
The Situation in the UK About Buy To Lets
The buy to let market literally 'exploded' in the Didcot around the beginning of the millennium with rising property prices and the increasing availability of buy to let funding fueling a surge in would-be investors trying to cash in on the trend of the market. One reason for their popularity is the tax advantages that are available to the UK buy to let investors. Rental income is treated just like a salary by the Inland Revenue, and is therefore often taxed at 22% or even 40%. However, landlords are allowed to deduct costs from the taxable portion of their rental income, and these costs can include the interest of the buy to let mortgage repayments as well as maintenance costs on the property. These tax incentives made the buy to let market very attractive for both professional investors and amateurs looking to make the most out of their savings.
Would-Be Buy-to-let Investors
The market peaked around 2007 and now the market is saturated in many areas across the country with too many properties available to tenants. While buy to let is generally not a good idea for people who do not possess some extra budget there are a lot of remortgage deals which will fund a deposit for a home. If you are worried about losing money during void periods many companies will provide insurance which can deliver as much as six months mortgage payments in the event of a property in Didcot remaining unoccupied.
You may still be lucky, and find a hotspot but you need to do your homework and the figures correctly. Buy to let trends differ from town to town and literally from street to street. Good advice for potential investors is to visit the local letting agents who should be able to tell you who is renting what at the moment so you can define your target audience. It could be students, young professionals or families, for example. Look for areas that do have a shortage of properties and for indicators that people will move there, such as new business developments.
Buy to let mortgage deals are still rife and the rates are almost as competitive as with conventional deals. The mantra with your buy-to-let must be 'don't expect to get rich quickly'. You need to look long-term: an absolute minimum of five years – but probably nearer to ten years.
Welcome to MFB-TV on Wednesday 14th January.
as is our first broadcast of the year let mewish you much prosperity and success in the year ahead we think you'll be an excitinginnovative and productive year for all aspects ofthe property market and especially the financing there of.
So let's start off first of all with our Complex Buy to Let index resultsfrom the last quarter of 2014 that is available on our website today.
Inparticular I draw your attention to the fact there are now over 800 buy to let mortgage productsout there giving plenty of choice and variety for landlords of all types and needs.
We include now a new lender Fleet Mortgages who have just launched in the marketperhaps better known as the old management team from CHL Mortgage's of yesteryear.
and we are one of six appointed distributors at outset.
remortgaging continues to outstrippurchase activity but actual transaction numbers have goneup in both sectors yields yet again have increased for thevanilla HMO and more complex property typesbut interestingly enough many of you seem too boring slightly less withaverage loan to values coming down across all sectors it doesn't mean you can't borrow moreis just a conscious decision you appear to be making it's a mixed bag for loan amounts acrossall the property types so do dip into the report that's available on the websitetoday now in product news today is the launchof the first 10-year fixed-rate in the buy to let space for some timecoming out to those industry stalwarts at the mortgage works is the headlinerate of 4.
99 percent and a flat arrangement fee of £995 but with some quite eye watering ERC's so by the time you get this news itemour Sales director Steve Olejnik will have published a blog highlights the pros and cons of such anarrangement but it is innovation and well done tothe team down at The Mortgage Works for leading the field so our rate of this week is actually out of Fleet Mortgages with anew product range which is at sixty-five percent loan to valuewhich does seem too suit he lower borrowing parameter that some of you are acting to a two-year fixed at an eye wateringor a very low eye watering 2.
79 percent it's available for purchase and remortgages andis as available to individuals they also have some very good limitedcompany products albeit at a slightly higher rate a slightly higher arrangement fee this onehas a fee of 1 percent it's available on ex local authorityhouses multi-units, leasholds and free holdconversions showing flexibility in the property categories that some other lenders don't choose tooffer.
You don't have to be limited by a maximum number of properties inthe background and while they have an income threshold£25,000 that can be drawn from property and canbe on untaxed property income there is an ERC as you'd expect with such alower rate of 5 percent in the period and this runs until the28th of February 2017 so it's a fixed rate period regards to when you draw it down.
For details of that product, TMW and the whole Fleet product range dospeak to our consultants on 0845 345 6788.
Buy To Let Deal of The Week
Hello and welcome to Property InvestmentsUK and today we're going to be looking at a couple of client questions.
This one inparticular is looking at what areas maybe they should focus on around the Manchesterarea, if they're looking at both capital growth and also rental yield.
The question is from Raj and it's, "Dear Rob,I watched some of your videos and thought they were quite thorough and very thoughtprovoking indeed.
" That's alright, thanks Raj.
"I am looking to invest for yields andcapital gains in England.
Since house prices in London have soared, I started looking atthe Manchester area.
My budget is just below 200,000 pound in cash.
Would appreciate someadvice.
Thank you.
Best, Raj.
" Okay, perfect.
There's a few things to consider,Raj, in terms of which locations or what areas of Manchester you should consider.
For a budgetfor 200,000 pound, that's quite a healthy budget.
You'll get a lot of rentin the Manchester location for that, so what I'd probably suggest is instead of just thinkingon the headline amount is to look a little bit deeper in terms of what rental yieldsor what return, what cash flow, you're looking to achieve in the property.
Also, the trade-offthere for is what kind of capital growth you're potentially aiming for with the property aswell.
I can then guide you some more on giving youa bit of an idea in terms of what locations might fit, so if you're looking for a rentalyield of, say, 8%, there are only certain locations around Manchester that are goingto fit that criteria.
Likewise, if you're looking for a particular tenant profile, ifthat's working tenants or a local housing allowance tenants, or maybe students,again there will be locations or pockets around Manchester that will fit that criteria better.
So as a rough rule of thumb, South Manchesterat the moment is performing very well for capital growth and has performed very wellin the past as well and should continue to do that in the future, because a lot of reasonsbut there's investment going on in the area and with employment, business parks.
There'salso the metro-link, which is going through south Manchester at the moment and a few otherareas as well.
The yields, though, in south Manchester currently are only about 6, 6-1/2%.
When you compare that to other locations around Manchester, you might get 7, 7-1/2, even 8%plus in other locations.
It's important to try to strike that balance between growthand yields.
In south Manchester, you'll probably get more capital growth in the next 5 to 10years than in some of those higher yield, lower value locations around Manchester.
It's a case of trying to sit down initially,work out your kind of individual aims and goals.
What's your priority, whether that'scash flow and income coming in on a monthly basis, in which case yields are probably goingto be a bit more of a priority, or alternatively, if your potential is pension plan, growth,then maybe capital growth is an area you should be focusing on more and south Manchester mightbe a better location.
If yields are your target, then probably maybethe east, north and also west of Manchester are going to give you the slightly higheryields, so see which is most preferable for yourself, Raj, and then kind of look at theareas around there.
There's lots of other links that we can introduce you to at thebottom of this video as well which will show you how to work out the yields in the differentlocations across Manchester.
Also, how to check out which areas that may be performingbetter in growth and property prices as well.
Look to those in the videos, but hopefullyyou found that helpful.
Thank you for watching this video.
If youlike this content and you'd like to join our free online property training course, we'vegot a link for it on this page.
In there, we cover a range of different property strategiesto help you get started in building the long term property portfolio, or creating cash-flowingproperty business.
We also look at ways to increase your return on investment with anyof the properties you may be considering, and we also have a couple of cheat sheetsand downloadable documents in there as well.
Simply click on the link to join the freetraining course today.


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Janet Jackson has confirmed a rumored split with her husband and says she plans to resume the world tour she called off more than a year ago during her pregnancy with her son, who was born in January.
Jackson says in a video posted on Twitter that she has separated from husband Wissam Al Mana. She says, "we are in court and the rest is in God's hands."
The 50-year-old singer has also announced a return to the road on Sept. 7, 18 months after postponing her "Unbreakable" tour.
U.S. & World
Stories that affect your life across the U.S. and around the world.
The new "State of the World" tour is set for a 56-city run, and tickets for the previous "Unbreakable" tour events will be honored at the new dates.
Jackson "has taken the past year to enjoy pregnancy and motherhood, and is now ready to return to the live stage to give Janet fans everything they could hope for in one epic concert event," according to a press release from LiveNation.
"The 'State of the World' tour is a continuation of the 'Unbreakable' tour and will include fan favorites from her chart-topping 'Unbreakable' album, an array of her socially conscious music she's released throughout her career, and other smash hits and soon-to-be released new tracks with a state of the art live production," the press release states.


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We have moved!!!
After fifteen years in West Melbourne we ran out of space and have now moved to our nice new place in Reservoir. Please come and visit.
Over the years we have built up an enviable reputation for manufacturing motorcycle leathers of the finest quality, due to constant product development and excellent customer feedback.
Our team of professional staff are the best in the business and are proud of the products they make.
We have embraced modern technology with enthusiasm and our computer aided design and manufacturing system enables us to bring you technically sophisticated leathers for reasonable prices.
I hope you enjoy our products as much as we enjoy making them.


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The 2009 Kitespeed Worlds will be hosted in Port Saint Louis du Rhone from 29.03.2009 till 05.04.2009. Plage Napoleon offers nuking winds during spring, last year up to 60 knots blasted the riders down the 500m course. Registration is open from now on at this link.
The elite of kitespeed is expected to take part in this battle, including world record holder and local Alexandre Caizergues, Sebastien Catellan, the first man over 50 knots ever, and hotshot Robert Douglas from the USA.
On the womens side, the battle will be close between world record holder Sjoukje Bredenkamp (RSA) and defending world champion Charlotte Consorti (FRA).


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Our Group organises 3000+ Global Conferenceseries Events every year across USA, Europe & Asia with support from 1000 more scientific societies and Publishes 700+ Open Access Journals which contains over 50000 eminent personalities, reputed scientists as editorial board members.
Bipolar disorder is a mental disorder characterized by periods of elevated in mood and depression. This is also known as maniac- depressive illness because the patient is characterized by both mania and depression. This bipolar disorder is mainly observed due to changes in excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters secretions. During this that patient will be abnormally active, irritable or energetic (mania) and also feels like depressed and always thinks negatively (depression).
Causes: The causes vary from individuals and they maybe Genetic, Physiological, Environmental, Neurological, Neuroendocrinological and Evolutionary. Symptoms: The major signs and symptoms of this disorder can be categorized into various episodes like maniac episodes, Hypomanic episodes, Depressive episodes, Mixed effective episodes.
Treatment: This can be treated be a number of pharmacological and psychotherapeutic techniques. Physicians advice is most preferred.


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The Hennepin County Law Library has launched a new website so patrons and subscribers can find information more easily. The new site works well on mobile devices and complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Please update your links and bookmarks to the new site.
Go to the updated Law Library Home Page.
The address you have entered has produced the following error:
Cannot open srchhelp template file
Please verify your URL and try again.


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Weekly Web Series Review: The Handlers
Be sure to check out our most recent interview with Bryan Cranston, the star of "Breaking Bad," where he discusses "The Handlers" and a host of other topics!
The absurdity of political maneuvering is ripe for comedic satire, and the Comedy Central original web series "The Handlers" takes full advantage of this. our most recent interview with Bryan Cranston, star of TV's best show, "Breaking Bad," plays Jack Power, a state senate hopeful with a team of spin doctors (or "handlers") watching his every move in order to spin his blunders to the campaign's advantage. Sarah (Andrea Cansler), Miles (Matt Braunger), Tim (Josh Dean) and Goodman (Gary Anthony Williams) are experts in the field of bullshit, and when they're not busy covering Jack's ass, they're twice as hard at work covering their own.
The series starts strong with its first episode, "The Focus Group," in which Jack's boring speech delivery style is hurting his poll numbers as well as his team of handlers watching the speech from campaign headquarters. However, when Jack experiences a slip of the tongue pronouncing a certain state name, his polls soar, and the handlers land on a brilliant strategy for the campaign. Ending with a jaunty theme song briefly introduced at the beginning, this episode nicely sets the tone for what's to come, and the series continues strongly with a similar idea in its second episode, "Prostitute." An innocent mistake in which Jack tries to help a woman in need, only to be railroaded by the media when she turns out to be a hooker. Perhaps the best moment of the episode comes when Jack asks his handlers, "Is a good person helping out a stranger so hard to believe?" and the answers comes back as a resounding "Yes!"
After the third episode, "Poster," which features a really well-done sight gag at the end, the series takes a slight dip in quality. The fourth episode, "Mustache," is well-played but basically just builds to a very predictable joke, and the same could be said of the fifth episode, "The Announcement," which is even weaker. This is sort of the problem with the web series format, at least for this series; the characters and situation are strong enough to build an actual, full-length sitcom from, but the two-to-four minute episode format of the web series only leaves room for essentially one joke per episode. Some of the jokes work better than others, but Cranston and company always give it their best, and "The Handlers" is worth a look, especially in its first three episodes.
You can follow us on Twitter and Facebook for content updates. Also, sign up for our email list for weekly updates and check us out on Google+ as well.
Posted in: Entertainment, Humor, Videos
Tags: Andrea Cansler, Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston, Comedy Central, Ezra Stead, Gary Anthony Williams, Josh Dean, Matt Braunger, mustache, Poster, Prostitute, satire, sitcom, The Announcement, The Focus Group, The Handlers, web series, Weekly Web Series Review


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Star Tribune.com's "On the Job" blog will take a break for a spell as I temporarily cover the manufacturing beat while we figure out a few staff changes. Stay tuned for exciting announcements in the coming weeks and know that it's been an honor talking to all of you jobseekers, employers and economists who are rooting for better days ahead.
- Dee DePass


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#TZ88K - Financial and insurance activities
Towards a talent explosion for sustainable development
What we mean with a talent explosion is explained in the Interaction dictionary. The content in below tables has the purpose to clarify the challenges and calls to actions for #TZ88K - Financial and insurance activities actors in Tanzania.
Monitoring & Evaluation
See the curated open data at World Data Atlas (Tanzania) (Knoema)
M&E on the sector in the country
Interaction Dictionary: Monitoring & Evaluation Realm
Objectives & options
List the feasible local development objectives & initiatives to reach them.
Interaction Dictionary: Change Realm
Interaction Dictionary: Operations Realm
Class-level sector maps and other resources
- A general description of the sector's scope is available from ISIC Rev. 4 description of #TZ88K - Financial and insurance activities
- Actor Atlas section-level sector map: #TZ88K - Financial and insurance activities
|Resource links (national & local)
|national and local resources


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|Instrument: AMSU-A : Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-A
Instrument Category:
Earth Remote Sensing Instruments
Instrument Class: Passive Remote Sensing
Instrument Type: Profilers/Sounders
Associated Platforms
Spectral/Frequency Information
Wavelength Keyword: Microwave
Number Channels: 15 Channels (13 for AMSU-A1, 2 for AMSU-A2)
Spectral/Frequency Coverage/Range: 23 - 90 GHz (50-90 GHz for AMSU-A1, 23-32 GHz for AMSU-A2)
Related Data Sets
View all records related to this instrument
The objectives of the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU) instrument are to (1) provide atmospheric temperature sounding from the surface up to 40 km, (2) obtain estimates of total column water vapor in the atmosphere, and (3) detect the presence of precipitation. AMSU-A is a 15-channel microwave sounder that obtains temperature profiles in the upper atmosphere and provides a cloud-filtering capability for the AIRS infrared channels for increased accuracy of tropospheric temperature observations. The fifteen AMSU-A channels have a 3.3° beam width, resulting in a nominal horizontal spatial resolution of 40.5 km at nadir.
Channels 3 to 14 on AMSU-A are situated on the low-frequency side of the oxygen resonance band (50 ~ 60 GHz) and are used for temperature sounding. Successive channels in this band are situated at frequencies with increasing opacity and therefore respond to radiation from increasing altitudes. Channel 1, located on the first (weak) water vapor resonance line, is used to obtain estimates of total column water vapor in the atmosphere. Channel 2 (at 31 GHz) is used to indicate the presence of rain. Channel 15 on AMSU-A, at 89 GHz, is used as an indicator for precipitation, using the fact that at 89 GHz ice more strongly scatters radiation than it absorbs or emits radiation.
The AMSU is currently operational on the NOAA-15 polar orbiting satellite (launched 13 May 1998), the NOAA-16 polar orbiting satellite (launched 21 September 2000), the NASA EOS Aqua (formally PM-1) spacecraft (launched 4 May 2002), the NOAA-17 polar orbiting satellite (launched 21 May 2002), the NOAA-18 polar orbiting satellite (launched 20 May 2005), the NOAA-19 polar orbiting satellite (launched 06 February 2009), and the METOP-B satellite (launched 17 September 2012). The NOAA AMSU configuration consists of the 15-channel AMSU-A and a 5 channel AMSU-B for a total of 20 channels.
Key AMSU-A Facts
Heritage: Microwave Sounding Unit (MSU)
Aperture: 13.2 cm on AMSU-A1 (two apertures); 27.4 cm on AMSU-A2 (one aperture)
Swath Width: 1690 km
Coverage: Global coverage every 1 - 2 days
Spatial Resolution: 40.5 km at nadir
Dimensions: 72 cm x 34 cm x 59 cm for AMSU-A1; 73 cm x 61 cm x 86 cm for AMSU-A2
Mass: 91 kg (49 kg for AMSU-A1, 42 kg for AMSU-A2)
Power: 101 W (77 W for AMSU-A1, 24 W for AMSU-A2)
Duty Cycle: 100%
FOV: ± 49.5° cross-track from nadir
Instrument IFOV: 3.3° (40.5 km at nadir) for both units
Scan Period: 8 s
Scan Sampling: 30 x 3.3°, in 6 s
Design Life: 3 years
Online Resources
Instrument Logistics
Data Rate: 2.0 kbps (1.5 kbps for AMSU-A1, 0.5 kbps for AMSU-A2)
Instrument Start Date: 2002-08-31
Instrument Owner: USA/NASA


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What Execs Don't Get About Office Romance
- Research Feature
- Read Time: 23 min
Sexual harassment — and how to deal with it — is well understood by most companies. But now new dangers are being recognized in the ways an office romance affects the people around it. "Hostile work environment" claims, and their financial costs, are just the start.


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Repairing the bodywork of a Porsche is a job that requires an exceptional level of understanding, care and skill.
To that end we have a network of Porsche Recommended Repairers in the UK whose facilities meet strict Operating Standards. These standards are updated as technical developments are made within the vehicle range and are based on the qualitative processes and workmanship expected by Porsche.
Porsche Recommended Body Repairers:
Porsche Dynamic Repair by our service team offers repair methods to keep your vehicle in perfect showroom condition for aesthetic and minor concerns.
Whether you have a stone chip on the screen, a dent in a panel, a scratch in the paint or a split in the leather, our Porsche Centre can offer a range of repair solutions, only replacing parts when absolutely neccessary. This saves on time, costs and resources.Contact us
First impressions count. We are as proud of your vehicle as you are. Our service team can detail your vehicle as if it were going on display in our showroom. Using experience, expertise and premium quality products our Porsche Centre can transform the appearance of your Porsche to the highest standard.
The detailing process includes a full interior and exterior treatment including engine bay, wheels, wheel arches and door shuts. Specialist techniques including a multistage machine polishing process will give your vehicle a fantastic finish.Contact us
© 2020 All rights reserved to Porsche Centre Aberdeen and its licensors.
*Data determined in accordance with the measurement method required by law. Since 01 September 2018 all new cars are approved in accordance with the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP). You can find more information on WLTP at
. From 01 January 2019, all fuel consumption figures are shown as determined in accordance with WLTP. CO₂ figures will be shown as NEDC-equivalent values, as CO₂ based taxation will continue to be based on an NEDC value (derived from WLTP) until 06 April 2020. For Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) range and Equivalent All Electric Range (EAER) figures are determined with the battery fully charged, using a combination of both battery power and fuel.
Values are provided for comparison only. To the extent that fuel and energy consumption or CO₂ values are given as ranges, these do not relate to a single, individual car and do not constitute part of the offer. Optional features and accessories can change relevant vehicle parameters such as weight, rolling resistance and aerodynamics which may result in a change in fuel or energy consumption and CO₂ values. Vehicle loading, topography, weather and traffic conditions, as well as individual driving styles, can all affect the actual fuel consumption, energy consumption, electrical range, and CO₂ emissions of a car.
**Important information about the all-electric Porsche models can be found here.


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The web of life is illustrated in a series of exhibits exploring complexity from DNA to Ecosystems, with a focus on Utah's extraordinary biological diversity.
This exhibition is rich with images, sounds of the landscape, hands-on experiences, live animals, and research stories.
Credit: Exhibit sounds and sound design provided in part by Jeff Rice and Dr. Kevin J. Colver in association with the Western Soundscape Archive at the University of Utah J. Willard Marriott Library. Additional recordings by Lang Elliott, John Neville, David Dunn and Andrew Spencer.


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Captive power from biomass, Bataan, Philippines
Bataan 20:20, near Manila, is the first South East Asian power facility built and commissioned by Thermax generates 12.5 MW of power and 30TPH of process steam.
Recycling sewage and conserving water, Mangalore, India
Thermax commissioned a 22.5 million litre per day sewage treatment and recycle plant using Moving Bed Bio Reactor (MBBR) technology along with ultra filtration membrane.
Heat recovery systems for a power plant PT Bekasi Power, Indonesia
The heat recovery steam generators supplied by Thermax are now an integral part of the 130 MW combined cycle power plant set up by PT Bekasi Power, Jakarta.
Eco-friendly chillers, Industrielle Werke Basel, Switzerland
Thermax vapour absorption chiller installed by the Swiss company, IWB (Industrielle Werke Basel). The initiative won Switzerland's prestigious Watt d'Or Award.
ESPs that control emissions Vale Pellisation Company LLC, Oman
Thermax designed and installed five electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) for Vale Pellatisation Company LLC, Oman. The ESPs meet international emission norms.


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csakon necesitaba un nuevo diseño de página web y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 26 diseños de 13 diseñadores freelance.
Require layered Photoshop or Fireworks file for final design.
Desired Color Scheme:
garnet and gold / burnt orange
Desired Style:
Web 2.0, simple, blog, clean
Accepted File Formats:
Layered Formats (.psd or .tiff)
My student organization needs a simple / professional design. I really like the simplicity and format of stevepsharpe.com especially with the area at the bottom. The site will be run by a CMS so there needs to be login/register/etc information at the top of the page separated from the right nav bar (preferably along the same horizontal or above the logo area). The colors of the organization (primary colors) are garnet and gold while the colors of the university are burnt orange and white(secondary colors if it works). I also enjoy dark gray as a neutral color if it fits.
While the colors mentioned above are the colors required, this does not mean you have to use them literally. Gold doesn't come out right so try a pastel yellow. Garnet can be any deep red that looks right. I care less about the exact colors and more about being pleasing to the eye.
The page design you provide will be for blog pages as well as static pages so keep that in mind with your design. The final design must be a layered Photoshop or Fireworks design so our guy can easily convert the file into CSS.


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This is the introduction to what's intended to be a recurring series that will pick up in the new year pending further research.
If you've been hanging out on Jalopnik/OppositeLock for any length of time, eventually you're going to see such stories as Teen Takes to Twitter After Mowing Down Grandma and Asshat Tweets "2 Drunk 2 Care" Before Causing Horrific Fatal Accident. Admittedly, these type of headlines aren't exactly the most popular on the FP/Jalopnik proper. I'll readily admit that I'm one of them. And you know what? You should feel this way too. A quick visit to Wikipedia reveals that just over 34,000 people died in car accidents last year. That's down from the previous year but still way too many. The CDC says motor vehicle accidents are the number one cause of youth fatalities. Or if nothing else this is what Google says when you search for "teen kills pedestrian." Maybe it's media sensationalism since "teen kills someone while driving" seems to be a very grabbing headline, but it still points to something being a problem.
The act of driving itself isn't the problem, as I (or for that matter, you) should be living proof of that. Safe attentive drivers are inherently safe drivers even when going fast.
Is distracted driving to blame? Yes, no, maybe...can you repeat the question? (yeah, I couldn't resist that).
There's one school of thought that says that distracted driving, or at least driving while using a cell phone specifically, may be overblown. In which case, it isn't to blame.
The "maybe" concerns distracted driving as being a symptom, not a cause. Teens are looking down at their phones because to them, driving isn't an activity, it's something that happens to get them from point A to B and, consequently, inefficiently eating into time that could be used for other activities. So they rectify that by multitasking. In other words, it's not a distracted driving problem. It's not a phone attitude problem. It's a driving attitude problem.
Many teens may care about cars insofar they want something cool and maybe even something Jalop - but relatively few teens actually care to drive their cars safely and effectively. I submit to you this is because, simply, relatively few people even care to bother to teach them how to drive effectively in the first place.
The massive fail that is the American Drivers' Education System
Maybe things have changed since I took my test, but my driver's education consisted of the following:
- A week long lecture-style class (quite literally a class, as it was right at my high school given by my own teachers) that lasts about one hour each weekday taken the June before I turn 16. In my case, it meant a full year from the time I took this class until I was age-eligible to take the driver's license test.
- A manual (actually, more like a glorified pamphlet) that goes over prescribed driving procedure in a very "by the book" (i.e., useless) style.
- Taking the actual written test which consists of a very simple, multiple-choice test that is arguably designed to allow testers to pass rather than actually evaluate their worthiness as drivers.
- Taking the practical portion of the testing process, which consisted of 2 miserable hours in a Honda with my freakin' gym teacher telling me to "slow down and obey the speed limit" every time I attempted to blend into the flow of traffic.
- Within the one year between taking the lecture course and when I was age-eligible for taking the written and practical test, 40 hours of day instruction and 10 hours of night instruction to be administered and logged by a parent, of which beyond those two hour-based stipulations is pretty much "anything goes."
And that's it. That's all that was between me and a shiny laminated piece of posterboard that gave me legal permission to operate a 2-ton road-bound kamikazie missile. Oh, wait. There was also a $25 fee and proof of residency to actually get them to take a picture, print and laminate said piece of posterboard too.
And people wonder why there are so many stories about teens or young adults killing themselves or other people in auto-related accidents.
There's a not-so-old saying that goes: You reap what you stupid. If you treat the drivers' education process as a punishing formality that needs to end as soon as possible, with long gaps between the useless instruction and useless testing, you end up with smug assholes who feel that teen girls and young women shouldn't be allowed to drive on the road and are just plowing over people left and right, and they'll have the statistical data to back them up because nobody bothered to properly teach them how to drive in the first place, so no duh they'll kill themselves and other people.
Oh, and congratulations, you've also pretty much institutionalized a very blazé attitude about the activity of driving right into the very mechanisms of drivers' education and its processes.
How it's done elsewhere
I know that, anecdotally at least, drivers' education is taken much more seriously in Europe. I also know that it's also much more expensive. What I don't know is the exact process or how it differs, so I'll leave other people to comment on it.
What I do know is how at least some aspects of motorcycle riders' education works in parts of this country, a process I went through in order to earn the letter "M" on my piece of laminated posterboard. Now as I understand it the "normal" process isn't much different:
- Pay some sort of fee
- Take a written test that is more or less designed to allow testers to pass rather than evaluate them as actual riders
- Take some sort of practical exam
- Get your picture taken and get your license handed back, except now it has the letter "M" on it.
If it sounds like I have at best a vague recollection of that whole process, it's because I didn't go through any of that in the first place. I went a drastically different route. taking a Motorcycle Safety Foundation-approved riders' safety course which consists of the following:
- Pay a much higher fee
- Go through one day that is nothing but lecture/video instruction - for three hours
- Go through another morning of lecture/video instruction for a few hours
- Get actual, detailed, demonstrated instruction on motorcycle riding for a few hours
- Actually practice and get evaluated on that same motorcycle instruction on an actual motorcycle for a few hours, not being permitted to move on until the motorcycle instructor clears you to advance
- Repeat for one more day
- Take what is pretty much the DMV's lousy written test
- Take a practical test in which you are scored by several instructors and not permitted to advance in the test until you have demonstrated a sufficient score
- Go to the DMV with paperwork proving that you have satisfied the passing conditions of this MSF-approved riders' safety course where they wave their own requirements and print you a new license right away because you just busted your ass doing something infinitely harder and more challenging than whatever worthless crap they require.
Note that a key element is missing from the riders' safety course that the standard new drivers' practicum admittedly has a leg up on: 50 hours of observed instruction and practice prior to eligibility. Unfortunately, there are practical limitations to this (I've yet to meet a motorcycle instructor willing to put his or her neck out in order to ride bitch with a clueless newbie rider for one hour, let alone 50). But many would-be licensed riders take their own initiative and go out and buy a little 250cc bike or less and ride around the neighborhood on that. Yes, this is technically illegal but as long as you stick to the slower neighborhood roads the cops won't pull you over (don't quote me on this).
How to make it not fail
The takeaway from this is that the MSF-sponsored course, as short as it is, is far more rigorous than what the DMV can provide and I really feel has made me a better-skilled, better-alert rider. If there was, say, an equivalent to this for new drivers, perhaps they can become better drivers better attuned to the act of driving and less likely to plow into people as well.
As a matter of fact, there is.
The Fayette County Attorney's Driver Education Course located near Lexington, Kentucky has been somewhat of a media darling in the past year (covered by both MotorWeek and The Truth About Cars) and is more or less exactly like the type of instruction and training you'd get at an MSF-sponsored course applied to cage drivers. Like the MSF-sponsored course it's also a bit more expensive than just going through the DMV - which you need to do as a prerequisite anyway as the course only accepts already licensed drivers (ideally ones who just got theirs laminated).
And that's part of the problem right there. Fixing the horrendous state of drivers' education in this country is going to take a bit of resources. Resources that will be met with some resistance, as cities and counties are always in budget battles. And perhaps resistance from the public as well who perhaps feel that there are enough impediments to licensed driving as well. After all, it's a birthright - being able to drive at the age of 16 is almost automatically given. Perhaps this is even reflected in the "designed to pass" nature of the DMV's written test.
But in the meantime, younger drivers are ill-equipped to even care about driving, let alone perform the actual act. In later installments, I'll look into what can be done to change that, one small step at a time.


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Presidents Corner
Ithaca College will lose two senior administrators to retirement in the span of a year. Brian McAree, former vice president of student affairs and campus life, retired this past August, and Carl Sgrecci, vice president for finance and administration, will retire next August.
Together they will leave quite a legacy at Ithaca College, contributing 75 years of service, including 50 as vice president.
Brian was a champion of the philosophy that students should always come first. He oversaw the graduation of 37,625 undergraduate students and 4,842 graduate students at 29 annual Commencements. Based on the testimony of dozens of e-mails I received in the months after his retirement, Brian was a friend and mentor to many of those graduates.
His legacy to the College centers on a vision of student engagement across the campus, with opportunities to learn life and leadership skills through participation in a rich array of clubs, sports, campus employment, and other activities.
Carl's familiarity with our campus dates back to its early days on South Hill. He has experienced the College from the perspective of a student as well as that of a member of the faculty, administrative staff, and senior leadership team. Carl has known five of the eight presidents in IC history, and he has had close working relationships with four of them. He co-authored the College's vision statement.
Carl's IC legacy will be the prudent financial management that has enabled the College to move forward steadily even in challenging times, as well as his understanding that our success is due entirely to the work of our dedicated faculty and staff. Carl believes that if you treat people right, their commitment to excellence will ensure a strong balance sheet.
In championing these ideals, Brian and Carl did not change the IC mission so much as live it during a time the College grew substantially in size and complexity. Today, the values that Brian and Carl brought to their leadership positions are encoded into the DNA of our entire organization. Their ultimate legacy is that we will continue to adapt and apply their values as circumstances and opportunities dictate.
I am thankful for the examples of commitment and leadership that Carl and Brian have set at IC over the years, and I am honored to have been among the cadre of presidents with whom they have worked. I expect to talk a lot about them one day in the future when I am briefing my own successor on the core values that make this institution what it is. At its heart, Ithaca College is an inter-generational community of students, alumni, staff, and faculty from the past, present, and future. As with any community, we are inspired by our history. We are also inspired by campus leaders who have made a difference through the clarity and consistency of their vision and by the way their actions aligned with that vision. We are inspired by Carl Sgrecci and Brian McAree, and I am thankful for that.
This feeling of gratitude leads me to ask: What are you thankful for? If you are reading this column, you most likely feel an enduring connection to the IC community. I hope you will take this opportunity to reflect briefly on what about this college and this community you feel thankful for. Reflecting on and documenting the most valuable parts of our legacy as a College are important. To name the focus of our gratitude is to create the surest possible guide for a future of sustained success.
Leave a comment, or Tweet using the hash tag #ICThanks.


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In Ithaca College's residential pre-college summer program, high school students experience college life and college-level courses while living in a safe environment.
The Summer College for High School Students has two program offerings, each with courses designed and reserved expressly for pre-college students.
ONE WEEK SESSION: June 28 - July 3, 2020
THREE WEEK SESSION: July 5 - July 24, 2020
Students love their classes, stay up late, and enjoy trips, picnics, movies, concerts, talent shows, and other events both planned and spontaneous. Most importantly, our summer college alumni report they were better prepared for a successful transition to college. And many students appreciate the opportunity to earn college credit in their academic courses.
Credits earned during the three-week summer college program are accepted at Ithaca College and normally transferable to other colleges. Students who attend the one-week session earn a certificate of completion.


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Hi everyone! Today I will be showing you how to draw highlighted punk rock anime hair. I know a lot of people out there, myself included, would love to draw their own anime rock star. Keep in mind, you can use any two colors that you like for this project. Black and red are just my favorites. =D This is my first ever tutorial, so please be kind and leave comments so I can know how I did. Thank you! Enjoy!
DragoArt members upload artwork and drawing tutorials! They are also allowed to leave comments on tutorials, profiles, etc. Many more features, as well; it's way better than just being a boring guest! Register Now!


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Add vehicles to compare. You can compare up to 3 vehicles at a time.
Prices do not include additional fees and costs of closing, including government fees and taxes, any finance charges, any electronic filing charges, any dealer documentation fees, any emissions testing fees or other fees. All prices, specifications and availability subject to change without notice. Contact dealer for most current information. Tax, title, license (unless itemized above) are extra. Not available with special finance, lease and some other offers.
For a great selection of Chevrolet Silverado 1500s in Pittsburg, head over to Winter Chevrolet. Here you'll find a large selection of Chevy trucks for sale in a wide variety of engines, trim options, and features.
The Silverado Chevy pickup truck is widely regarded as one of the most dependable and heavy duty trucks ever produced. This Chevy truck has multiple EcoTec Engines to choose from, including a V6 providing the most torque in its class. The Silverado Chevy pickup also has powerful V8 options, including a massive 6.2L V8 which provides the highest towing capacity in its class at 12,500 pounds. Whether you're looking for a highly capable truck for your travels or a truck capable of handling the heaviest loads out there, there's a Silverado truck with an EcoTec for you at Winter Chevrolet.
You'll find a variety of 4x4 trucks and Chevrolet Silverado trims at Winter Chevrolet. From the high performance Z71 to the High Country, there are Silverados with the features and visual look you want. Also be sure to check out the new Silverado Special Editions ranging from the all-black Midnight to the aggressively styled Redline and many more. There's a Silverado Special Edition for nearly everyone.
If you have any questions regarding the selection of the Chevrolet Silverado in Pittsburg above don't hesitate to give us a call at (925) 526-6071. We're here to answer all your questions and give you all the support you need before, during, and after your purchase.
Search new 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Vehicles in Pittsburg, Antioch, Brentwood, CA
Located in Pittsburg, CA we are just a quick drive from Brentwood as well as the neighboring communities like Oakley and Antioch in the Bay Area. Whether you are looking for a new Chevrolet Silverado or maybe a used car, you can find a vehicle that matches your personality and your budget.
YOUR new 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 VEHICLE RESOURCE SERVING THE BAY AREA
At Winter Chevrolet in Pittsburg, CA, we have an unbeatable selection of new Chevrolet for sale. Proudly serving Pittsburg, Antioch, Brentwood and all Bay Area customers, we are sure to have something for you whether it be a new Chevrolet car, truck or SUV.
Browse our inventory of new and used Chevrolet vehicles here at Winter Chevrolet or visit us at our Pittsburg location today. You can always get in touch with a sales representative by phone at (925) 526-6071 or email us.
We look forward to serving you at Winter Chevrolet in Pittsburg, CA today!


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Ideal Noah's Ark Game
by Ideal
Please check your favorite toy retailer for availability. Prices may vary.
Noah's Ark Game
Buy Online:
Product Description
Perfect for preschoolers' first lessons about Noah! Teach your kids about God's miracles with the Noah's Ark Game from Ideal®! Spin the spinner and move your animals onto the ark. Be the first player to get all your animals safely aboard and win! This Christian board game is perfect for family game nights, bible studies, vacation bible school, and more! Noah's Ark includes a 3-D cardboard ark that kids are sure to love! Designed for 2 to 4 players, ages 3 and up!
Game includes:
- 3D cardboard ark
- 48 colorful die-cut animals with stands
- Spinning wheel
- Instructions on box
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My UI is a UI built not for just a healer, nor just for a feral druid. I made my UI with all roles in mind: I need to see everything, and I need to be able to see it quickly. I use the same UI for tanking, melee dps, caster dps, and healing, pve and pvp, solo and raiding. It took a lot of tweaking, but I am very happy with it, though would like to have the time to generate more of my own custom art for it :)
Below is an in-combat screenshot on my healer with no target. If I am targeting something, usually it is the boss to monitor threat using Omen in the lower right-hand corner. 4 of the circular buttons around the screen, including two around the sphere next to Omen, are menus that will open and close at a click or mouseover.
For a full in-combat screen with target, debuffs, threat, and castbars, I have a recent screen of a temporary turkey respec here.
The Mods:
Mods are something that I *can* play without, but really prefer not to. They tell me what I need to know in an easier to read format, so that I can make my choices quicker and more efficiently; they also make my UI much, much less cluttered to read by rearranging and rescaling things to my preference, and hiding things I don't want to see.
- Bartender 4 (action bars)
- Bindpad (hidden)
- Buffalo (buff rescaling/positioning)
- Button Facade (+styles)
- CaelNameplates
- Capping (PvP, auto-turnins)
- CastDonut (small cast bar + GCD circling the mouse pointer)
- Chatter
- Clearfont2 + Fontpack, (disabled, but accessed via SharedMedia)
- Cowtip - settings here
- Deadly Boss Mods
- Debuff Filter
- FacadeBuffs
- FuBar
- LocationFu
- FuTextures
- Gathermate
- Ghost Pulse
- Grid - settings here
- GridAutoFrameSize
- GridIndicatorCornerIcons
- GridIndicatorCornerPlus
- GridLayoutPlus
- GridManaBars
- GridStatusAFK
- GridStatusHots
- GridStatusLifebloom
- GridStatusMissingBuffs
- GridStatusRaidIcons
- GridStatusReadyCheck
- GridStatusRes
- GridUnitMenu
- Headcount
- Hear Kitty (audio combo points)
- IceHUD
- Inflight
- kgPanels (custom artwork)
- LootRollMover
- LunarSphere - details here
- Mapster
- Omen Threat Meter
- OmniCC
- Oomni
- oRA2
- Peggle!
- PitBull 3.0
- Power Auras Classic - settings here
- Quartz
- RecipeKnown
- Recount
- SendSelf (mail)
- SexyMap (minimap)
- SharedMedia
- SmoothDurability
- SquawkAndAwe
- SurfaceLib
- Surfaces
- TargetCharms
As can be seen by the minimal action bars in the screenshots, I have the vast majority of my actions keybound and memorized, but a finger-press away. These keybindings are the same on both of my druids, and for ease of reflex, I keep similar abilities bound to each key on my non-druid alts.
On the Lookout For:
I'm always on the look out for new mods that will make my UI a happier place to play in. Particular things I seek right now include:
- A way to apply OmniCC style cooldowns to my buff bar, rather than using text timers
- A better world map mod, cartographer was just too heavy and clunky.


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Your Body Needs Healthy Food!
A great place to grab a tasty, healthy meal or beverage.
Energy Café makes it easy to grab a tasty, healthy meal or beverage. We use only whole unprocessed ingredients and use organic products whenever possible.
At Energy Café we believe in the importance of good nutrition and its essential role in helping people enjoy active and healthy lifestyles. We are focused on fueling your body with clean foods to help you perform better throughout your day!
We strive to help people establish healthy eating habits early on so that they don't suffer the consequences later in life. Living a clean eating lifestyle is something we believe in because 80% of what you look like and how you feel is due to what you are eating. "Clean eating" is not only practiced by bodybuilders and elite athletes but health-conscious people alike.
Clean foods are natural, free of added sugars, hydrogenated fats, trans-fats and anything else that is unnatural and unnecessary. Used as a way of life, clean eating can make you feel healthy and full of energy.
Energy Cafe Charlotte
Bank of America Plaza
101 S. Tryon Street
Suite 1
Charlotte, NC 28280
Energy Cafe Charlotte
Duke Energy Center
550 S. Tryon Ste 120
Charlotte, NC 28202


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Bring the family together with your dream dining room. We have a fantastic collection of traditional and contemporary dining room tables, chairs and occasional furniture.
Accessorise with Roomes – choose from our thousands of accessories to finish your perfect vision in any room around the home.
Visit us in store or arrange a home visit for a comprehensive interior makeover. We will ask you about your vision for each room, what you like, dislike, and the overall look that you want to achieve.
We can guide you through the whole range of goods and services that we can offer, assisting you to choose textures and tones which work well together.
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Always FREE USPS ground shipping on orders over $75!
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
-Jeremiah 29:11
Regular price
$ 14.99
30 in with 3 in extender


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French artist Soasig Chamaillard has taken some standard images of Christian worship - statues of Mary - and jazzed them up a little, adding a pop culture focus to something that was once purely spiritual.
While some may rightly find these a little offensive (you have been warned), others will find them oddly charming. Except for the Sailor Moon one. That's just terrifying.
SOASIG CHAMAILLARD — APPARITIONS [Geek-Art]


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DETROIT (AP) — One win from the World Series. Rainy or not, the Detroit Tigers will have to wait.
Game 4 of the AL championship series between the Tigers and New York Yankees was postponed because of a stormy forecast Wednesday night — although Comerica Park was still dry when the decision was made.
"They kept saying it was going to come and it never came," Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer said. "So go figure."
About an hour later, however, heavy rain started to fall, soaking the tarp that was placed on the infield before the postponement.
With the Tigers seeking a sweep in the best-of-seven series, Game 4 was rescheduled for Thursday at 4:07 p.m. New York will send ace CC Sabathia to the mound against Scherzer. The Tigers will have lefty Phil Coke, who saved Games 2 and 3, available after a day of rest.
Game 5, if necessary, would be Friday in Detroit.
Under the original schedule, there was a good chance Sabathia would pitch a potential Game 7 on three days' rest if the Yankees rallied in the series. Now, he might be limited to one start — and New York might need to win four games in four days to advance.
"You cannot think about Game 7 when you need to win a game," New York second baseman Robinson Cano said.
Yankees center fielder Curtis Granderson, benched along with third baseman Alex Rodriguez by manager Joe Girardi on Wednesday before the game was called, said the unplanned night off might actually help him and his slumping team.
"It's definitely not going to hurt by any means," Granderson said. "We haven't played well to this point. Who knows? Change is always a good thing."
The first pitch Wednesday night was slated for 8:07 p.m. But shortly before the scheduled start, the crowd was informed of a delay. A radar forecast for the Detroit area was eventually posted on the scoreboard video screen, as if to explain to fans why there was no baseball despite what was still pleasant weather at the ballpark.
The postponement was announced after a delay of about 70 minutes. A misty rain finally began about 15 minutes after the postponement was announced and steady rain followed shortly thereafter.
The Tigers are no strangers to rain in the playoffs. Last year, ace Justin Verlander had two starts cut short by bad weather — although both were on the road.
"A lot of people were pretty upset that Verlander didn't get to finish his start," Detroit catcher Alex Avila said. "So, I think people would be pretty upset if they didn't get to see Scherzer and Sabathia finish their starts as well. Major League Baseball is trying to protect not only the pitchers, but also play a clean game without having to stop and stuff like that."
After Game 1 of the 2011 ALCS at Texas was delayed twice for a total of 1 hour, 50 minutes, Game 2 was called off well before the scheduled first pitch because of a forecast calling for more wet weather. Then, it didn't rain that night.
There is also a chance of rain in Detroit during at least parts of Thursday and Friday, but the forecast calls for mostly sunny and partly cloudy skies late afternoon and early evening Thursday that would allow the teams to play ball.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)


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Tr-Ac-Net Inc.
This child in Eastern Sudan is severely malnourished. In good times this is a harsh environment, but with conflict the situation is made dramatically worse.
Kibera has grown over the past thirty years from a small community to one that now has a population exceeding 1 million.
The Church in Africa is engaged in pastoral care, including looking after AIDS orphans. The Carpenters Kid's program in Tanzania is a very good initiative helping over 2,000 children
This website is growing!
Please help! Join in!
Learn more about our goals.
There is a lot of concern about the state of the world, expecially poverty, hunger, disease, war, violence, injustice ... the list goes on ... most of what is being done is ineffective. We know there are problems.
Why? How?
What can a person do about it?
We have developed Community Impact Accountancy (CIA)
We are deploying CIA so as to have more knowledge about communities.
We are building a database so that critical information is more easily accessible.
Last, we are starting to mobilize funds so that high performance development opportunities can be financed.
Is it possible to have meaningful success? We believe so ... the technology to do all of this is available ... and there are enough good people and supporters to make this a great success.
Much information ... mostly unused!
There is a huge amount of information about relief and development, but it does not inform public policy, nor help a person do something useful. Global leadership seems to be concerned with wealth and power for an established elite ... and much less with solving problems that have been keeping much of the world destitute.
Tr-Ac-Net is developing a web based vehicle to get data together to serve the need for performance metrics for socio-economic progress. The basics of this initiative are that the cost should be low ... near zero ... and the value should be, as MasterCard might say ... priceless. This can be a dream come true for billions whose potential is constrained by a system that is controlled by people and organizations with wealth and power ... and a nightmare for those whose wealth and power is based on being the world's best at spin and misinformation.
The need for transparency has been on the agenda for ever ... but it has been rare for leadership to embrace it. This era is no different. While there is talk about the need for transparency, there are few organizations that do much about it. Worse, a large amount of information is merely designed to send a message ... little allows a transparent view of what is actually going on.
Without transparency, accountability is difficult, if not impossible. Decision makers have a virtual free hand to make decisions with or without taking into consideration the public interest ... knowing full well that there will be little or no accounting for performance and therefore no accountability. What is so serious is that few of the institutions that the public relies on behave in the public interest, and hardly anyone is paying attention ... and certainly not the leadership.
Community Progress Analysis
The development and deployment of Community Progress Analysis is a Tr-Ac-Net initiative to change the prevailing paradigm of socio-economic metrics. It has some elements of business accountancy but considers not only the money flows and profit, but also the value consumption and the value creation within an organization and within the community. Using the community as the reporting entity changes the perspective of socio-economic performance. The aim is to be doing activities that have a favorable impact on the quality of life in the society
Sports' fans know how a game changes when the statistics and the scoring system are changed. The same goes for socio-economics and decision makers in the corporate business community and government leadership. We know that corporate performance is organized around the rules for reporting and the calculation of taxes. Why not have metrics so that impact on socio-economic performance is part of the dialog and the decision making!
This website is being rebuilt. Much of the Tr-Ac-Net material is now available on the TrueValueMetrics.org website.
Go to TVM website
The ability for the public to see and understand what is going on.
The process that makes people responsible for the impact of their actions.
People around the world committed to faster, peaceful socio-economic progress.
Community Impact Accountancy (CIA)
A system of accounting that applies to society as a whole and not the organization alone
Tr-Ac-Net is raising funds to deploy CIA and to help get resources where they can do the most good.
The information on this website may only be used for personal information and not-for-profit
Copyright © 2005 Tr-Ac-Net Inc. All rights reserved.


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The Office of the General Counsel provides legal services to Tulane University in a variety of areas. In addition, the Office of the General Counsel provides legal advice and assistance to help the University achieve its mission as a leading institution of higher education.
Please note that the Office of the General Counsel does not provide personal legal services to members of the Tulane community. If you need to consult with an attorney about a personal legal matter, you may wish to contact the Louisiana State Bar Association through its web site at www.lsba.org.
Disclaimer: Material presented on this or any other web page maintained by or on behalf of Tulane University is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice from the Office of the General Counsel or otherwise. Please contact the Office of the General Counsel directly regarding any legal issue involving or affecting Tulane University.
Uptown Office
300 Gibson Hall, 6823 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70118-5698
Phone: (504)865-5783 Fax: (504)865-5784
Downtown Office
2417 Tidewater Building, 1440 Canal Street, New Orleans, LA 70112-2703
Phone: (504)988-5031 Fax: (504)988-3588


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AnnaCoelho video. More videos (2)Free chat with AnnaCoelho
Free chat with AnnaCoelho
Hello lovers!! I will help you to get out of your daily routine and relax your mind and body, I am here to make you happy and to show you what a real woman is, I am always in the right mood, I am able to be what you want me to be and do as much as you wa


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CADDO LAKE, Texas — At first glance, it looks like a beautiful addition to the water: a floating fern with small, bright green leaves.
But when Robert Speight saw just a few sprigs of the plant on Caddo Lake for the first time late last year, his heart sank.
"When I saw it here," Speight says, "I knew we were in for a long, tough battle."
The little fern, known as giant salvinia, is like something out of a science fiction movie. Biologists call it the world's worst weed. The plant has the uncanny ability to reproduce itself rapidly. One plant can become 60 million in less than two months. A handful today will cover more than 40 acres in just a few weeks time.
Left unchecked, the invasive plant forms giant mats on top of a water surface, smothering all life below.
"This is the most sinister aquatic plant I've ever dealt with," says Randy Westbrooks, an invasive species specialist with the U.S. Geological Survey. "It takes no prisoners."
Giant salvinia is native to the Amazon region of Brazil, where it's kept in check by natural forces, namely a Brazilian weevil. The invasive plant was first discovered in the U.S. in a pond in South Carolina in 1995. Biologists believe it may have hitched a ride in a shipment of Brazilian lilies. Without a natural enemy, the small fern began spreading exponentially. The plant has been reported in a handful of lakes and streams from the Carolinas to California. Anywhere it 's spotted it brings trouble, as some say, like a green creature from the deep.
"You have to take it seriously, just like a disease, and get rid of it as fast as you can," Westbrooks warns.
Robert Speight maneuvers his small boat through the chocolate-brown water of Caddo Lake, past the cypress trees covered in Spanish moss, until his boat is surrounded by a carpet of green. He turns off the boat motor before it becomes clogged by the giant salvinia floating on the water. "This is the mature plant," he says as he leans over, sticking his hand through the green layer to scoop up a handful. "It's starting to fold on itself and get to the clumping or matting stage," he says.
Speight looks out beyond his boat to the lifeless water around him. "It will actually block out the sunlight, block out the oxygen in the water. The fish and animals die," he says. "I've been on Caddo Lake all my life; I got my first boat when I was seven. This stuff scares the hell out of me."
Caddo Lake is the largest naturally-formed lake in Texas and, arguably, one of the most beautiful. It straddles the Texas-Louisiana state line. Giant salvinia has been found on the Louisiana side of the lake, where the water is generally more open. Speight, who is chairman of the Greater Caddo Lake Association, lives on the Texas side, where shallow bayous and sloughs would be the perfect breeding ground for the foreign fern. He and others would like to rid the lake completely of giant salvinia, but short of that, they want to keep it out of the Texas side.
Giant salvinia is already a problem for other Texas lakes.
"It's the poster child of aquatic weeds," says Howard Elder, an aquatic biologist with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Toledo Bend and B.A. Steinhagen Reservoirs are among the Texas lakes clogged with salvinia. "It will affect the fish populations and it will affect access to and from the resource," Elder warns.
Biologists theorize that giant salvinia is spread from lake to lake by boat trailers. As a boat is pulled out of water infested with salvinia, the plant can stick to the sides of a boat or trailer. Elder says all it takes is one leaf to survive the trip to the next lake and a new infestation is started.
"Almost every time we find a new infestation, it's at a boat ramp," says Elder, who warns boaters to clean their vessels thoroughly after leaving any salvinia-infested lake.
Such a warning is too late for many lakes across the South. Lake Bistineau is one of eight lakes in northwest Louisiana infested with the noxious weed. When the wind blows from the north, acres of the green matted plant surround marinas, boat docks and vacation homes.
Richard Elliott bought lakefront property on Lake Bistineau with dreams of running a profitable RV park. Then the giant salvinia arrived. "There goes my business," Elliott said one day last January when he first saw salvinia moving in, completely covering the water surface.
Elliott says he is losing customers because of the invasive weed. "They can't see the water," he says. "They don't even come in and check prices. They just turn around and leave."
Elliott complained to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. But the agency seems as helpless as everyone else to stop the spread of giant salvinia. The weed can be controlled with chemical weed killers, but at this late stage on Lake Bistineau and other lakes, that's a monumental task. Every leaf would have to be sprayed in every corner of the lake or the infestation would start all over again.
"We're spraying on Bistineau and Caddo as much as possible," says biologist Jeff Sibley of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. But the agency has only one boat with a hand chemical sprayer to service eight contaminated lakes in the region.
To keep Caddo Lake from becoming completely infested -- to keep the weed from floating into Texas from Louisiana water -- volunteers on the Texas side of Caddo are taking an unusual approach.
As Ken Shaw's boat makes its way across Caddo Lake, a thin, bright orange line begins to appear on the water's horizon. It's a fence stretching for more than two miles across the middle of Caddo Lake, symbolically not far from the Louisiana state line.
"The only conclusion we came to is we've got to put some kind of barricade up," Shaw says, bringing his boat to a stop near the nylon fence. "What we're doing here has never been attempted anywhere in the world that we know of."
The porous fence, which sits just above and below the water, acts as a giant strainer. It catches loose pieces of giant salvinia drifting across the lake from the large patches on the Louisiana side.
"It looks like it's doing its job," says Elder, the Texas biologist, who is impressed with the tenacious attitude of Caddo Lake residents.
Heading up the fight against giant salvinia on Caddo is Jack Canson, the lake's self-proclaimed "weed warden." He and others with the Giant Salvinia Task Force have raised $35,000 from local organizations and businesses to build and maintain the fence.
"What we're trying to do on Caddo Lake is draw a line in the sand – like at the Alamo – saying 'you're not going past us without a fight.'"
Texas and other states have tried letting a bug do the fighting. A Brazilian weevil that keeps giant salvinia under control in South America was set loose on Toledo Bend Reservoir, where nearly five thousand acres of the weed cover the lake. But biologists say the weevil doesn't survive well outside the Amazon.
Unfortunately, giant salvinia does.
For now, the best defense against this aquatic monster may be an ugly nylon fence separating two states.
Texas biologist Howard Elder says it beats the alternative. "Sacrifices have to be made," he says. "It's a lot prettier than looking at a field full of giant salvinia."


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