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By Mawlānā ʻAbd Allāh Patel Kāpaudrī
Translated by Mawlānā Mahomed Mahomedy
Foreword: The following article is a section of a transcript of a speech delivered by the honourable Mawlānā ʻAbd Allāh Kāpaudrī at the Jāmi'ah Riyād al-'Ulūm, Leicester, on 5th April 2005, entitled: "The need to strive for acquiring knowledge". Herein he mentions the method of teaching of the great hadith scholars of Dār al-'Ulūm Deoband and how their teaching differed and changed over time as the calibre of learning of the students changed. At the end he provides pertinent advices to students which is extremely beneficial. With the introduction to these advices being the example of the pious and learned of the past we sincerely pray the Allah instills these qualities of studying and learning in us and every student of the sacred sciences ie. Qur'ān and Ḥadīth. Mawlānā Kāpaudrī begins by mentioning the manner of Shaykh al-Hind's teaching:
Hadrat 'Allāmah Balyāwī rahimahullāh said to me: "Maulwī Sāhib! Our Hadrat was not in the habit of lengthy explanations." He then asked me: "Do you know who I am referring to when I say 'Our Hadrat'?" I replied: "Hadrat, I do not know." He said: "When I say 'Our Hadrat', I am referring to Hadrat Shaykh al-Hind rahimahullāh." Hadrat 'Allāmah Ibrāhīm Balyāwī rahimahullāh studied under Hadrat Shaykh al-Hind rahimahullāh. He continues: "Our Hadrat was not in the habit of lengthy explanations. He used to teach Tirmidhī Sharīf, Abū Dā'ūd Sharīf and Bukhārī Sharīf. He had very capable students, and they used to read the text ('ibārat). Hadrat Shaykh al-Hind rahimahullāh will have the book in front of him and listen to the student reading. One two pages would be read. This is why it is called daurah – to turn, to repeat. At times, Hadrat would say: 'Bhāi! Hold on a bit. There can be an objection to this Hadīth because it is against the Hanafīs. But here is the reply to it. A conflicting Hadīth is found in such and such book. You must refer to that book, and whatever is written there is our proof. Okay, let us proceed.'"
If you were to look at the taqrīr of Hadrat Shaykh al-Hind rahimahullāh which has been printed, you will find it to be very concise. When I first saw it, I could not understand why it was so concise. But when 'Allāmah Balyāwī rahimahullāh related this to me, I understood the reason.
Hadrat Shāh Sāhib's manner of teaching
When Hadrat Shāh Sāhib – 'Allāmah Anwar Shāh Kashmīrī rahimahullāh – began teaching in Dār al-'Ulūm Deoband, he made it a point to explain Ahādīth in detail in order to reconcile the madhāhib (plural of madh-hab), and to prove Hanafī fīqh through proofs. The main objection of the Ahl-e-Hadīth against the Hanafīs was that they do not have authentic Ahādīth, and the Hanafī madh-hab is weak. In order to repulse this accusation, Hadrat Shāh Sāhib rahimahullāh used to support the Hanafī madh-hab by quoting different Ahādīth, and saying: "Look, this Hadīth supports our view." As a result of this manner of teaching, his lessons used to be lengthy. This is how Hadrat 'Allāmah Balyāwī rahimahullāh explains the change in the style of teaching which came into Dār al-'Ulūm Deoband.
Hadrat Shāh Sāhib's sincerity
There came a time when Hadrat Shāh Sāhib rahimahullāh had some disputes with the authorities in Dār al-'Ulūm. He became unhappy and left. Maulānā Ahmad Buzurg Sāhib rahimahullāh brought him to Dhābel. The question arose as to who would take Hadrat Shāh Sāhib's place in Dār al-'Ulūm. Look at his sincerity. People went to him and said: "All you have to do is start conducting your lessons in Jāmi' Musjid [Deoband], all these students will leave Dār al-'Ulūm and come to you."
They said this because there was no Muhaddith (Hadīth scholar) in the subcontinent who could compare with him in that era. He was a walking library. People used to refer to him as khātam almuhaddithīn (the seal of Hadīth scholars). But Shāh Sāhib rahimahullāh said: "It is not permissible for any Muhaddith to start an opposing class in a place where Hadīth is already being taught. I cannot do this. If I teach Hadīth, I will do somewhere far from here."
This shows his sincerity. If it was any 'ālim from our times, he would have sat down in the musjid opposite the road and said: "Come! I am going to see who is going to teach Hadīth in opposition to me." But these traits were not in the elders of the past.
Together with knowledge, their hearts were very pure, and they were on the highest levels of taqwā.
Hadrat Shāh Sāhib's striving in Dhābel
Anyway, Hadrat Shāh Sāhib rahimahullāh came to Dhābel, and in those days there were no comforts to be found. When Maulānā Buzurg Sāhib brought him, there was no solid building there. He housed in a house in Simlak. Hadrat Shāh Sāhib rahimahullāh would walk from Simlak to Dhābel to conduct his lessons. There were no solid roads. He used to walk in the mud, and there was an excess of mosquitoes. In short, it was a tough life, but Shāh Sāhib rahimahullāh still gave preference to remaining in Dhābel.
Hadrat Madanī's style of teaching
In the meantime, Dār al-'Ulūm Deoband started looking for a Muhaddith to take Hadrat Shāh Sāhib's place. Hadrat Shaykh al-Hind rahimahullāh had another student by the name of Hadrat Maulānā Husayn Ahmad Madanī rahimahullāh who was teaching in Calcutta at the time. So he was brought. He had taught Bukhārī Sharīf in Musjid-e-Nabawī for ten years. While conducting his lessons there, he used to point towards the blessed grave of Rasūlullāh sallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam and say:
قال صاحب هذا القبر هكذا…
"The inhabitant of this grave said…"
Many people from the Arab countries became students of Hadrat Madanī rahimahullāh. Hadrat was very fluent in Arabic, and possessed excellent capabilities. When he came to Deoband and had to take the place of Hadrat Shāh Sāhib rahimahullāh, he had no alternative but to go into lengthy explanations as well. Hadrat Madanī rahimahullāh used to place all the Sihāh Sittah (the six most authentic collections of Hadīth) on the desk in front of him. I saw this with my own eyes. I was in the early years of my study at the time, but we would occasionally pass the Dār al-Hadīth, and we used to see an entire pile of books in front of Hadrat Madanī rahimahullāh. He used to conduct his lesson by constantly showing proofs from the different books. [For example, he would say] "Here is this narration. This is what Abū Dā'ūd has to say about it." In this way, the lessons used to be very lengthy.
Then came the era of Hadrat Maulānā Fakhr ad-Dīn Sāhib rahimahullāh. He used to speak in idiomatic language and had a very strong memory. He used to conduct a very powerful Bukhārī lesson. He used to teach Bukhārī daily for five hours at a time. Anyway, because of the differences in the capabilities of students, the 'ulamā' began lengthening their explanations and lessons. Previously, students would come fully prepared to class. These days, they merely walk in without any preparation whatsoever.
Once I was sitting with Qādī Sajjād Husayn Sāhib in Fatahpūrī Musjid in Delhi. He was teaching Bukhārī Sharīf. I saw a few students of Daurah Hadīth sitting in front of him. He said to me: "Maulānā! Look at how times have changed. You have to first teach these students to read the text correctly, then teach them to translate it, and then explain the meaning and sense to them. I have to do all this myself. And these are residents of Delhi – they merely eat and drink, and come and sit down here." He himself was from Delhi and so he spoke in that special way of those who live there. The same is happening today – students do not strive at all.
What must our students do?
If you spend the night going through your books, looking at the marginal notes and commentaries; then when you go to class the next morning, all you have to do is pay attention to solve whatever problems you encountered at night. If you then look at the book one more time, it will settle in your mind. If we want a solid foundation and capability, we will have to work very hard with absolute focus and concentration. Focus is essential for the acquisition of knowledge. This focus is no more found in us. We have started to read too many other side issues, and move around here and there in the holidays.
The fruit of hard work
Our elders of the past were not like this. They used to study in small rooms. Allāh ta'ālā conferred a very high rank to Hadrat Maulānā Yūnus Sāhib Jaunpūrī dāmat barakātuhum. He did not receive this position just like that. Rather, what we see is the result of his hard work. During his student days, he never left Sahāranpūr to go home. He remained there in Hadrat Shaykh's rahimahullāh service.Consequently, when he qualified, Hadrat Shaykh rahimahullāh said: "Give Yūnus to teach Bukhārī." He said this although many old and senior teachers of Mazāhir al-'Ulūm were available. But Hadrat Shaykh rahimahullāh said: "No. Yūnus will teach." This is because Hadrat saw how Maulānā Yūnus Sāhib made himself free [for knowledge]. And so, he deserved this honour.
I want you to try this and see it for yourself. When you get holidays, do not go home. Remain in the madrasah and continue going through your books. Do this for a few years and see how your knowledge will progress from one level to the next. Any student can try this and see for himself. When a person remains focussed on one particular line of action, he acquires perfection in it.
The need to remain focussed
What I am trying to tell you is that if you want to acquire firmness in knowledge and to progress in it, you must remain focussed. This is essential. You must become so engrossed with your books that you have nothing to do with anything besides your books. Read a single book several times. When we were studying in Dār al-'Ulūm Deoband, we had a Kashmiri student with us. He studied the books of each subject three times. The teachers used to ask him: "For how long are you going to remain in Dār al-'Ulūm [if you are going to study each subject three times]?" He would reply: "Hadrat! I will not stop studying until I am fully satisfied. Consequently, when he completed studying all the subjects, the Majlis-e-Shūrā of Dār al-'Ulūm Deoband decided to appoint him as a teacher from the following Shawwāl. The members of the Shūrā felt they will not find a better teacher than him. Unfortunately, he was not destined for this because he passed away soon thereafter. He used to live in a musjid where he used to call out the adhān, and for which he used to receive his meals.
We saw a few students in Dār al-'Ulūm Deoband having just one set of clothes. Every Friday we would see some students walking around with only a lungī (sarong type loin cloth which covers the lower half of the body). I asked someone one day: "I see that one student from Peshawar like this every Friday. What is the reason for this?" The person said to me: "He has just one set of clothes which he washes on Fridays, dries them, and then wears them." You will not see him drinking tea. The moment the fajr salāh is performed, he would carry his books and proceed directly to his classroom. He would then sit and study long before the arrival of the teacher. All the students were in the habit of going for tea after fajr salāh, but these poor students would not have any tea. So we saw students of this nature as well. Their academic capabilities used to become solid because they directed their entire minds towards knowledge. They would neither go to Sahāranpūr nor to the shops. A person can only go to the shops if he has money. Because we have money in our pockets, we will go out of the madrasah, walk around in the bazaars and shopping places. Our students in India have become very desirous of moving about and walking around. This has destroyed knowledge. And no sooner they complete Daurah Hadīth (the final year of the 'ālim course), they make demands on their parents to get them married. Once the wife comes, they go out shopping and visiting places together.
An echo from the heart, Vol. 3, p. 270-8


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The Believer's Guide to Legal Issues by Stephen Bloom
By Jeanne Dennis
The Believer's Guide to Legal Issues by attorney Stephen Bloom is a fantastic book that I think every Christian should read. In this day of extensive and frivolous litigation with so many people trying to make sure they "protect their rights" or "receive all that is due them," Bloom's book offers a refreshingly honest and biblical perspective on the legal issues Christians may face.
Based on his experience as an attorney and his life as a believer in Jesus Christ, Bloom discusses litigation, divorce, prenuptial agreements, criminal defense, estate planning, living trusts, Medicaid, living wills, bankruptcy, business ethics, taxes, real estate, and Christian conciliation. In each chapter, he demonstrates both unwise and wise decisions through the stories and life lessons of fictional characters, making it a good read as well as a great resource.
According to the back cover, this book "promotes a system of Christian legal ethics that restores relationships, values integrity, and promotes peace." Follow Bloom's advice by obeying God's plan for both relationships and legal issues and experience joy and sanity even in the midst of difficult legal problems.
Jeanne Dennis

subset: commoncrawl


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As a journalist for nearly half a century, Neal Ascherson has written from, and about, countries all over the world. Most often he has dealt with nations in extremis; from the decolonisation of Africa in the late 1950s to the break up of the Soviet empire in the 1990s. He is probably still best known for his accounts of the Solidarity phenomenon in early 1980s Poland, but with the exception of the Vietnam war he has written on most of the major international news stories of the period.
Recently an article on the postwar constitutional settlement in Iraq and the necessity of "a new invention of nationhood" provided a welcome dose of far-sighted clarity among so much ill-informed bluster. In another piece Ascherson pertinently noted the importance of shaping America's public memory of the war: "The course of the 21st century, containing the lives of all our children, depends on that," he wrote before noting "after all, it has taken nearly a century for the British to suspect that it was a blunder to fight the Boer war."
However, while Ascherson's patch is global in scale, throughout his career he has also made periodic returns to his native Scotland, not only as a commentator but as a participant in political life, most visibly around the long-running nationalist debate. In 1997, in the run up to the Scottish devolution referendum, Ascherson became concerned by the lacklustre nature of the "yes" campaign, arguing that "the terrible danger was that too few people would vote 'yes' to register a morally convincing majority". His response was to draft a cast of political, artistic and cultural luminaries who set off on a hastily arranged bus tour of provincial Scotland, holding meetings in small halls. Ascherson got the idea when he reported, as the Observer's correspondent in Bonn, on the writer Günter Grass's exuberant intervention into the 1965 German general election. Grass was also frustrated by the banalities of a lifeless campaign and gathered together a busload of like-minded writers and intellectuals. At impromptu meetings they lambasted the incumbent conservative chancellor, Ludwig Erhard, through a mixture of polemic, performance and satire. Ascherson was so taken with the "flair and high spirits" of this enterprise that, despite the fact that Erhard was comfortably re-elected, three decades on he proposed a Caledonian version.
If Grass was, and indeed is, a model of the engaged artist, Ascherson has long been a model of the engaged journalist. When Scotland duly voted yes and the parliament was established, he even stood, albeit unsuccessfully, as a candidate. "His sympathy for nationalism is unusual in a man of the left," says the writer Timothy Garton Ash, who like Ascherson has written extensively on eastern Europe. "It comes from his Scottish and his Polish experiences and you find it with many Polish leftists over the past 100 years. His nationalism has a strong element of culture and history and he is also very conscious of how nations are imagined and traditions are invented. All this has made his writing particularly interesting in the 1980s and 1990s as nationalism re-erupted all over Europe. He sees nationalism as not always the opposite of liberalism and that sometimes the freedom of the nation and the freedom of the individual do march together."
As Scotland gears up for the second elections to its parliament on May 1, one of Ascherson's contributions to the campaign has been the publication of his book, Stone Voices (out in paperback this month) which, surprisingly, is his first major work about his native land. The book, subtitled The Search for Scotland, is a lucidly discursive autobiography as well as an opinionated cultural and natural history of Scotland that draws on Ascherson's lifelong fascination with archaeology as much as it does on his knowledge of history and politics.
"Scotland is an example of what is now called cultural landscape," he explains, "but it is also, and this sounds pompous, an example of the oneness of what human beings do and the environment in which they grow up. In some ways the distinction between what is living and not living isn't quite as absolute as we would like to think it is."
The Scottish cultural commentator Pat Kane describes Ascherson's approach as like a "beautifully written embrace: an arm round the shoulder in an Argyll pub". Nationalist writer and academic Tom Nairn says: " Stone Voices is about the significance of the past for the present - and the past in this case is very much longer and broader than people usually take for granted. He shows that there are much deeper issues and roots involved and he accosts this by the study of old stones."
The book was well received in Scotland, but not universally so. Pro-union Scots obviously disagreed with his nationalist-friendly analysis, with some even sniping at his credentials. "Neal Ascherson is undeniably a Scot," admitted Allan Massie in a review before going on to note that Ascherson had spent little time actually living in Scotland, which Massie claimed rather undercut "his recommendation in his years of exile of a parliament that would impact on the residents but not the expatriates".
Ascherson says he has often asked himself in what sense he is a Scot and come up with the answer "partly". The name Ascherson is German-Jewish, but by the time his father was born in London the family tradition was evangelical Christian. He didn't have a Scottish education and has indeed lived in the country for comparatively short periods of his life. "It is ridiculous to deny that a large part of me is culturally English," he says. "But for a whole series of reasons Scotland is a country in which I feel at home. And Scotland is a mongrel nation anyway. The Scots have never pretended to be an ethnically homogeneous mass."
In fact Ascherson was born in Edinburgh in 1932, but his early life was a peripatetic one and he says there was no real family home. Ascherson says his 1995 book Black Sea "is a sort of salute to my father," who in 1920 was a young Royal Navy midshipman and participated in the evacuation of the defeated White Russian Army from the Black Sea port of Novorossik. "Some of the most exciting parts of his life were spent there so it was by way of writing about him as well as the place."
In the same way Stone Voices is in part a salute to his mother, "a deep romantic patriot of the Walter Scott type", who he says imprinted on him from the womb that Scotland, and in particular the area of Argyll where her family originated, was home. But despite this, the young Neal was first sent to a boarding school on the English south coast - where he was made to canvass for the Conservative candidate in the 1945 election - and then, aged 13, to Eton where he had won a scholarship. As one of 70 Eton scholars he says he was regarded with some suspicion by the 1,000-strong main body of Etonians. "They thought we were probably Jewish, of uncertain social origin and worst of all intellectuals," he recalls. The television journalist and expert on antiquities Robert Erskine, a schoolfriend, backs this up. "On the whole people didn't talk to scholars much because they were thought to be too brainy," he says. "Eton isn't awfully keen on brainy people but we struck up a friendship because of a shared interest in archaeology." (In recent years Ascherson has lectured on archaeology and since 1999 has edited the journal Public Archaeology ).
Ascherson describes his Eton education as mostly "shambolic", but despite being beaten by fellow pupil Douglas Hurd for various transgressions, still praises its "extraordinary negligent freedom. There were some completely irrational rules about waistcoats and not walking on certain bits of grass, but if you kept clear of those obstacles you were pretty much free to pursue your own interests."
His early literary ambitions focused on being a novelist, but after school he began his national service with the Royal Marine commandos with whom he saw action in Malaya. "When you do what you are trained to do, this extraordinary experience of shooting at people and being shot at, it is a huge high when you are 18 years old. But afterwards it dawns on you. You remember the dead bodies and think: 'I'm responsible for that.' You reflect, rather self-consciously, why am I not considered worthy to vote in the British election [the age of franchise then was 21], but I'm not too young to take somebody's life?" He says he became increasingly affronted by the fundamental injustice that the Chinese majority population enjoyed few civil rights. "I used to write to MPs asking 'what are we fighting for?' It wasn't so much colonialism as what I understood to be wrong, but more this injustice under one's nose. By the end of it I felt quite disaffected."
After national service Ascherson went up to Cambridge to read history. His tutor was Eric Hobsbawm, who says his opening remark to Ascherson was: "'How does it feel to have won your medals in a colonial war?' But we've remained friends ever since." Hobsbawm describes Ascherson as "perhaps the most brilliant student I ever had. I didn't really teach him much, I just let him get on with it." Ascherson's friend and Cambridge contemporary Karl Miller noted in his memoirs that Ascherson was a striking figure who "went about in jungle-green with a Thai girlfriend, and kept an inscrutable piece of weaponry on his hearthrug at King's. He was himself inscrutable."
Ascherson was awarded a triple-starred first but declined offers to become an academic saying that he wanted to see the world, although by then he had already turned down one invitation to travel. "Which was just as well," he now recalls. "It would have been a one-way ticket to the gallows." While at Cambridge he had been approached by the intelligence services. In the traditional manner he was invited to lunch at a St James's club where he remembers a drunk Maurice Oldfield, later head of MI6, telling stories about how he tortured Jews in Palestine. "I wondered whether it was some sort of test," he says, "but in fact they all thought it was perfectly acceptable." Eventually it was revealed that they wanted Ascherson to go to Hanoi - "Do you like eating dog?" - where he would pose as a biographer of Ho Chi Minh and get the people round him, "to see our point of view". At a follow-up meeting an increasingly perplexed Ascherson was served a meal in a private house before his contact suggested they move to a sofa. "I thought this is where he will start talking business," recalls Ascherson. "But instead he put out his hand and grasped me by the cock. I was completely staggered and so bolted out and that was it."
After Cambridge he had his first experience of nationalist struggle when he went to Uganda where some of his Cambridge friends were agitating for independence. He was briefly propaganda secretary of their movement because white printers had refused to deal with black people. On his return in 1957 he began work at the Guardian and his first foreign trip was three weeks in the Canadian arctic organised by Nato. Ascherson by this time had taught himself Polish and asked to go there. When the paper refused to pay he used 100 Canadian dollars he had left over from his arctic trip and travelled under his own steam, "and I lived like an emperor. I could talk about Poland in October 1957 forever. It was one of the best times of my life."
By this stage he says he was "rooting" for Polish socialism. "The British new left of the time reasoned that if Poland got some control away from Russia there would be a new type of socialism. It was an intoxicating dream, and for a couple of years there was more freedom, but ultimately not a lot came of it and in retrospect I paid those regimes more attention then I should have done."
In 1958 he was sent to Paris on assignment where he met up again with Corinna Adam, who was working as a secretary in the Observer office there. They had first met two years earlier at an anti-Suez demonstration in Whitehall when Ascherson helped save her then boyfriend from the police. They married later in 1958 and had two daughters, Marina, who is a professional viola player, and Isobel who is a criminal barrister.
Following his marriage Ascherson left the Guardian when the paper wouldn't move him from Manchester to London where Corinna was working. He worked briefly for the Spectator and the Scotsman as a Commonwealth correspondent before joining the Observer in 1960 where he remembers helping Kim Philby carry his typewriter up the stairs. In 1963 he drew on his Africa experience for the publication of his first book, The King Incorporated, about the creation of the Congo, perhaps the template for today's failed states. The book is a fascinating account of Leopold II of Belgium and his extraordinary attempt to integrate the rapacious exploitation of a personal colony with a version of 19th-century European kingship. "Anyone who still believes in the white man's burden should read this story of the Congo," wrote the historian AJP Taylor. "It is a story of unmitigated evil."
In 1963 Ascherson's career as a foreign correspondent began when the Observer posted him to Germany. As the decade progressed he reported on the key events on the continent culminating with the 1968 Paris évènements, the Prague Spring and its suppression by Russian tanks. "But one of the blights of my professional life," he explains, "is that when things reach a certain level of intensity my memory seems to go, which is extremely inconvenient. My memory of Paris in May 1968 is just a series of strange snapshots. I can't remember a narrative or what I did. The same thing happened some years later in Chile following the Pinochet putsch. I remember some episodes extremely vividly and others not at all."
Ascherson says while he still gets twitchy to get on a plane when a big international news story breaks he ultimately found this type of journalism destructive. "You get involved in these awesome and agonising scenarios and meet marvellous, interesting people stretched almost beyond endurance," he says. "You say you will never forget them and what they stand for. But you actually have a return ticket and a few weeks later you are on to the next story and you begin to forget the names of these people you vowed to remember forever."
Instead he says he remains a "great supporter of the foreign correspondent as an institution - someone who lives there and tries to understand things from the local point of view. Like the old correspondents used to be for the Times: a gentleman living abroad who favours the paper with his correspondence about what he has done and what he has seen."
Garton Ash says Ascherson "represents the absolute best of a generation of foreign correspondents which unfortunately is passing. Britain has become so much more international in so many ways, but our coverage of foreign affairs rarely has the sort of breadth and depth of sympathy that those great Observer pieces had 25 years ago. And Neal is a beautiful writer who has this ability to evoke a scene or a historical moment with a flick of the pen. He is a wonderful writer of classical reportage."
Ascherson says that while he had the "odd joint" when in Berlin, he essentially saw the 1960s through German eyes. "The whole of the drugs, fashion and music scenes were considered unimportant to these highly politicised people," he explains. He came into contact with several activists who later became associated with the Red Army Faction - including Ulrike Meinhof - and when back in London he briefly let "one or two contacts" stay at his home. "I thought their way of dealing with things was catastrophically mistaken but you often come across this situation as a foreign correspondent. By letting them stay I wasn't making a commitment to their cause. I was interested in them and wanted to talk to them and find out who they were."
In the early 70s the television producer Jeremy Isaacs drew on Ascherson's subtle appreciation of central European history for his landmark series The World at War. "For Neal nothing is glib," Isaacs explains. "He understood the complexities of what different combatant and victim nations went through during that war and he was the only person who could write the words that started the series. The visual was an utterly destroyed French village, but his opening line: 'Down this road the soldiers came', transformed that image from the specific to the universal."
Ascherson continued as eastern Europe correspondent until 1975 when he returned to Edinburgh as Scottish politics correspondent at the Scotsman. By this time he and Corinna had drifted apart and Ascherson had met the journalist and broadcaster Isabel Hilton. They married in 1984 and have two children who are at school, Alexander, 18, and Iona, 14. In 1985 Ascherson and Hilton, along with the journalist Magnus Linklater, collaborated on a book about the Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie.
The mid-70s were heady days for pro-devolution Scottish opinion as the country prepared for the 1979 referendum. Ascherson, despite the reservations of his editor, joined the breakaway, pro-devolution Scottish Labour party although he laughingly acknowledges that "based on experience in several countries", most journalists he has known who have gone into politics "are comically inept. They all become totally intolerant of criticism, deeply secretive, dictatorial and extremely short-tempered."
In fact the SLP imploded after a tumultuously chaotic first annual conference in Stirling, at which the London-based International Marxist Group attempted to infiltrate. The usually mild-mannered Ascherson remembers things getting so fraught that even he pulled one man up by his lapels so he could more easily scream in his face. Jim Sillars, SLP leader, remembers Ascherson as a valuable member of the party who contributed considerable intellectual weight, "but the great problem intellectuals like Neal face is that they find the raw side of politics very difficult to cope with. They are such reasonable people and you can't necessarily say that politics in this form is about the application of reason and logic. But he's a lovely man, perhaps too lovely for his own good and I suspect he was rather relieved when he departed from full-time active politics."
That said, two decades on Ascherson claimed he actually enjoyed standing in the 1999 Scottish parliamentary election. "I loved all the hand shaking and baby kissing." Some people were surprised that he stood for the Liberal Democrats but he says: "In the Scottish context it seemed that the Lib Dems were well to the left of the Labour party. And they were obviously going to be the junior coalition partner so they could push Labour on to do things that London might not want them to do." Ascherson was a late candidate for the election and Ross Finnie, Lib Dem minister for the environment and rural development, says: "The biggest regret we had was that we didn't get the chance to project him in a way that might have helped him more. Dealing with the local media he was head and shoulders above anyone else, but you don't get into elections of that nature and get a projection in a three or four week period."
After the 1979 referendum vote was lost, Ascherson and Hilton moved to London, escaping "the gloom and failure and sterility which had settled on Scotland". He rejoined the Observer and rekindled his relationship with Poland at a crucial moment in its history. He was in Gdansk in 1980 when Solidarity so dramatically emerged and wrote a series of articles and later books on the subject.
Garton Ash says Ascherson's approach to the story was interesting. "Neal discovered Poland after '56 and the Polish reform movement and so his Poland was different to mine. His youthful friends and com rades were the old reform communists of the 1950s and 1960s whereas mine were the out-and-out anti-communists of Solidarity. But his book on Solidarity [ The Polish August ] is wonderful and I learned a lot from his writing about that history. Not only did he know it so well, he felt it so well because he had lived it."
As the 1980s progressed Ascherson became a columnist for the Observer and as the decade closed he watched the cold war world in which he had done most of his work disintegrate. "I realised by about 1992 that everything I knew and had accumulated was no longer useful," he says. "Working in eastern central Europe you build up this enormous mental manual of how to arrange things and who to talk to and how to talk to them and all that. I had to throw it away and the fact that it had taken half a lifetime to put together didn't make it any more relevant."
Nairn says Ascherson's response to the end of the cold war "has been to go back in time and rediscover human nature in the wake of the disappearance of communism and under the assault of neo-liberalism with its own narrow, demented view of human nature. In these terms both Black Sea and Stone Voices are important books and a positive response to the new zeitgeist."
As Ascherson's father had witnessed the establishment of the Soviet empire on the Black Sea in 1920 with the defeat of the White Russian army, Ascherson was there to witness its death knell in 1991. By chance he was in the region when the die-hards of the Soviet regime mounted their failed coup against Gorbachev in his Crimea holiday home. Five months later the mighty Communist party was abolished. Hobsbawm called Ascherson's subsequent 1995 book, Black Sea, "a wonderful piece of writing. It's not like a book by a journalist at all. It's partly fiction, archaeology, history and psychology". He has employed a similar wide-ranging approach in Stone Voices . "Many of the things that came up were not easily accommodated in a straightforward book," Ascherson explains. "Both these books are partly about what people had imagined had taken place rather than what did take place and I was very interested in the awareness of Scottish past among Scottish people. History seemed to consist of a deck of gaudy cards showing appalling tragedies and heroic failures you could shuffle through."
He says he prefers to see history as a rubbish tip. "You stalk across it looking at the bits you fancy and out of that you create a narrative." And while he is almost uniformly called a "romantic" nationalist by both friend and foe alike, the story he sees for Scotland's future is defiantly prosaic while remaining hopeful. "If I ever was a romantic nationalist who believed that independence would change everything and in one bound Jock would be free, well, I don't believe that anymore," he says. "I'm not afraid of an independent Scotland and would be proud to be a citizen of it. But while I think it is quite probable, I don't see it as an historical necessity. And I now don't think it will come from 100,000 people in Princes Street demanding freedom. I suspect a number of second-rate politicians and civil servants won't be able to work out what the next step will be when they squabble over the text of the Scotland Act. There'll be a bit of a muddle and then, all of a sudden, that'll be that."
Charles Neal Ascherson
Born: October 5 1932, Edinburgh.
Education: Eton; King's College, Cambridge.
Married: 1958 Corinna Adam (two daughters Marina and Isobel), divorced; 84 Isabel Hilton (one son Alexander, one daughter Iona).
Career: 1950-52 Royal Marines; '56-58 reporter and leader writer Manchester Guardian; the Scotsman '59-60 Commonwealth correspondent, '75-79 Scottish politics correspondent; The Observer '60-63 reporter, '63-75 European correspondent, '79-85 foreign writer, '85-90 columnist; '90-98 Independent on Sunday columnist.
Books: 1963 The King Incorporated; '81 The Polish August; '87 The Struggles for Poland; '85 The Nazi Legacy (with Magnus Linklater and Isabel Hilton); '88 Games with Shadows; '95 Black Sea; 2002 Stone Voices.
Some honours and awards: 1987 journalist of the year; '89 James Cameron award; '91 David Watt memorial prize; '92 Polish Order of Merit; '93 George Orwell award; '95 Saltire award for literature.
Stone Voices is published in paperback by Granta on April 24.


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No Gods, No Masters - Part 1
- (1) Go to the Control Room in Hoover Dam and install the override chip.
- (2) Activate the eastern power plant to power the Securitron Army.
- (3) Exit out of the east side of the Dam.
- (4) Head to the Legate's camp and deal with the Legate and Caesar's Legion.
- (5) Confront the NCR.
Important Items...[edit]
Once you've accepted Yes Man's offer to go to the Hoover Dam to head-off the Legion's advance from the east, and once the game itself prompts you that you've basically reached the point-of-no-return (a similar kind of prompt to the one you received in Doc Mitchell's house at the beginning of the game about Hardcore Mode), you'll be automatically transported to the Hoover Dam itself, where the battle is well underway. This is it. You're stuck on this path through to the end of the game, and you won't be able to quick-travel anywhere else. So we hope you properly prepared. If not, load up an old save and go about your business, and then reconvene with Yes Man when you're ready. When you arrive at the Hoover Dam, you'll find a grisly scene. The Legion and NCR are already doing battle. If you're following our walkthrough and our particular permutation through the game's main events, then the NCR should be your friends. Don't attack NCR soldiers, and they'll help you fend off Legion adversaries as they appear.
Your first task at the Hoover Dam is to reach the Hoover Dam Control Room, where a new Override Chip can be used. Getting to that location will require you to go through some hostile territory first, however. As you begin to cross the dam, small bands of powerful Legion soldiers will begin to show up, usually in crews of no more than three each. When they do, take cover behind some of the plentiful sandbags strewn all around, and return fire on them from afar. Naturally, your followers will help immensely here, as will your NCR friends. These particular elite Legion soldiers are no joke. They have powerful armor and weapons, and can both pack quite the punch, as well as take one. So don't take them lightly. You should be certain to scour their bodies for any goods you need as you move forward, too.
As you get further and further across the top of the Hoover Dam, explosions will rattle you, aircraft will screech by overhead, and Legion adversaries will continue to confront you. You can ignore the first tower you encounter on your right (unless you really want to explore it, though that's not covered here). The second and final tower you encounter near the far end of the dam, however, is another story entirely. You'll need to continue into and through this tower to proceed with the task at hand. If you continue down to the far end of the dam, you'll find a door there. This is the door that the Legion have been using to storm the dam, but you can't go through it, so you might as well ignore it. Instead, bear into the aforementioned tower to continue with the plan.
Once inside the building, things should be quiet for the time being. Don't bother going up the stairs, but instead take the nearby elevator up through the tower to a floor above. If you take a look at the map on your Pip-Boy, you'll find a location marked. This is the computer control room, which is your next target. You don't have to make a beeline straight there if you don't want to, however. You could very well take the time to explore all of the extraneous areas of the tower if you hadn't yet done so during an earlier visit. There are beds to rest on, some curative items to find, and more. You'll no doubt run into Legion and NCR corpses alike on the ground on some corridors as well. If you run into any Legion foes en route, remember to take them out, but for the time being, stay friendly with the NCR if you can. It will make your continuing voyage through their territory all the more easy.


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A recent tweet by Marc Andreessen got me thinking about our culture:
"Silicon Valley is nerd culture, and we are the bro's natural enemy."
It got me thinking: what is nerd culture?
An interest in programming? Computers in general? Does it exist anymore? As a guy who could most certainly be viewed as a nerd (I started programming on a Commodore 64 as a kid and I could probably give you the rundown of every single game released in the N64/Playstation era), the whole 'nerd culture' thing always kinda jarred with me.
There are cultures around music, sport, film etc. Nerd culture is different to these in that its viewed as an exclusive membership. If you liked computers then you spent Friday nights at home playing Dungeons and Dragons, not out catching a game of ball.
When people learnt you had interest in computers they quickly assumed you didn't have any interest in pursuits outside of technology.
This is understandable. Computers have only had widespread adoption in the past two or three decades. Tech culture is super young in the grand scheme of things. "Outsiders" built stereotypes due to a lack of understanding.
But my issue isn't with outsiders pigeon-holing us. That happens for every culture eg. Football fans being seen as yobs, art fans seen as snobs etc. My problem is when we start viewing it this way ourselves.
If we ourselves start labelling each other as either "geeks", "brogrammers" or whatever then we do a disservice to ourselves, to the person we're labelling and to our industry.
Why? Because nobody is just one thing. I know plenty of people who are crazy sport fans who make great coders and I know plenty of self-proclaimed super-nerdy types who can't hack for shit.
Here's why it's important to kill off these stereotypes now: because we're at an important changing point in our industry and our culture. A career in tech is possible for more people (and more types of people) than ever before. The vast, vast majority of people considering a career in tech won't fit into the nerd/brogrammer archetype.
For some people that won't matter but for others it will make them reconsider pursuing an interest in which they have a very real passion.
Caricaturing the roles in our industry will reduce diversity and will mean that we'll miss out on some really talented people who could do special things in technology.
What you can do
1. Realise that stereotypes add nothing positive to anything and try to wipe them from your mind.
2. Don't fit yourself around a stereotype. Are you a programmer with bad social skills? Well then work on it – becoming a good conversationalist isn't that hard. Are you a sales guy who just "doesn't get" tech? Work on it. Again, it isn't that hard.
3. Encourage as many people as you can towards our industry. The days of programmers being almost exclusively neck-bearded white males are coming to an end, people. This is a good thing.
Screw the stereotypes. Encourage people to code. Watch our industry blossom.


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Another update of UFO. During my secondary school days, I was addicted to reading Animorphs books from Applegate, still my favorite books series till now. Why? Because it is a series based on Aliens and Technology which I feel is highly possible. Although author of the series Applegate mentioned all are ficition, but it seems amaze me.
Anyway, check out the consolidated video from YouTube on all the UFO sighting for the past few years, it excites me, honestly because I always feel that aliens are real:


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Updated to OpenSim 0.8.2 Dev
- Updates brought in from OpenSim 0.8.1 and 0.8.2 (Dev)
- Script changes -- two new OSSL functions (osForceOtherSit, osGetGender) plus new and improved LSL functions (llCastRay, llGetGeometricCenter, llGetBoundingBox, llGetEnv)
- Other notable changes -- change to how terrain updates are handled; performance metrics; World managers can "kick" a user via the Estate Management dialog; "Grab" objects via control+drag to move them and control+shift+drag tp rotate them; etc.
- "This change will make it much easier to pick up items in other grids and be sure that they will be allowed to enter and leave Kitely freely."
- Updated list of supported OSSL functions to reflect new functions and permissions
- Bug fixes -- Transfer Stations work again (fixes bug that came in 0.8.2); Group access to worlds now works for Hypergrid users too; short form kitely.com:8002 allowed in World Map search, but using the full form grid.kitely.com:8002 is recommended
August 2015
New Tools for Fixing Slow Scripts
- How to fix slow worlds
- Find and fix slow scripts
- New script features will be contributed to OpenSim
- Other improvements -- continued work on picking up items from other grids and having them remain Exportable; Group lists now show online members, or the last time members were online; OSSL function osKey2Name now returns the full name (including grid) for HG users
- New "Active World" panel charts the world's performance while it is active, in terms of:
- Active Time – how long the world has been active in the current session.
- Visitors – the current number of avatars in the world.
- CPU (Number) – the current CPU usage of the world.
- CPU (Graph) – a history of the CPU usage.
- Packets (Graph) – the number of networking packets sent between the world and the viewers that are connected to it.
- "Stop world" link added
- Guide for Optimizing World Performance
September 2015
Maintenance Release
- Added confirmation dialog when "Stop World" is clicked
- Default viewer updated to Firestorm 4.7.3
- YouTube and Flickr links now allowed in Kitely Market listings
- HGing Home to Kitely megaregion from other grids now works
November 2015
Improved Offline IMs and Friend Requests
- Bug fixes that solve several problems people reported in forums
- Kitely Market analytics now show for a maximum of 3 years, instead of original 2
December 2015
Big Kitely Worlds Will Soon be Converted to VarRegions
- Historical background: Multi-region mode, Megaregions, Kitely Advanced Megaregions -- VarRegions
- What will change and what will stay the same
- What users might need to do
- Upgrade to OpenSim 0.8.2 Release
- changes to format of compiled scripts
- value for Physics FPS changed back
- #Kitely Market folder moved near bottom of inventory
- new OSSL function: osGetAvatarHomeURI (gets the address of the avatar's home grid)
- All multi-region and Advanced Megaregion worlds changed to VarRegions
- Kitely optimisations result in 10 times faster loading of an object's contents
- Additional fonts can be used in scripts, including Zapf Chancery, Arial Black, Comic Sans MS (if it's good enough to announce the Higgs...), Impact, and Webdings
- Can now search for world names with "of" and "in" in them
- Default viewer changed to Firestorm 4.7.5
- Updated to OpenSim 0.8.2.1
- Improved Kitely's inventory system for users with very large inventories
- Big worlds now properly displayed on the viewer map as online
- Teleport bug fixed for big worlds
- Testing two versions of llCastRay -- see this forum thread


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Backorder Status Page
Orders are filled on a first come-first served basis, so we recommend reserving backordered items by ordering them today. In-stock items will ship immediately (except International Orders which we hold to ship complete). We won't charge your credit card for an item until the item is shipped *(Refers to direct credit card orders ONLY. Payments made via Paypal are deducted from your account/credit card at the time your order is submitted).
Items Highlighted in YELLOW are new to our product line. Check them out and pre-order yours today!
The following items are currently out-of-stock due to higher-than-normal demand:
All items are currently in stock for immediate shipping!
This list is updated regularly. Last update on Wed Jan 02, 2019 12:39:09 ET.
The arrival dates above are our best estimates for delivery to our warehouse. Sometimes, delays occur which are beyond our control. This backorder page is always kept up-to-date with the best possible estimates available as information becomes available to us. Once tested, backordered items are shipped and regular shipping time of 7-10 business days applies.


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Soil Vapor & Groundwater Assessments
EE&G has conducted soil and groundwater assessments for a variety of contaminants ranging from fuels and oils to solvents and acids. Using a wide range of environmental technologies, our seasoned field technicians and highly qualified scientists ensure that the work is done correctly. It is our goal to collect the data necessary to characterize the site during the initial assessment and tackle the problem immediately. If any unexpected conditions should arise, we have the available resources necessary to adapt and modify the scope of services while the work is in progress, which results in significant savings for our clients. No matter the class of contaminants, we have the capabilities necessary to quickly identify and delineate the affected area.
Aquifer testing and Groundwater Assessments modelling may be integrated to provide a comprehensive site characterization and to facilitate remediation. Our interpretation of such data allows us to make recommendations on the most efficient and cost-effective alternatives for environmental restoration. Environmental impact measurement techniques have become increasingly sophisticated, requiring specialty services to assess such issues.
Soil Vapor
The process by which volatile chemicals and hazardous substances contaminate the indoor air quality of homes and buildings is known as "soil vapor intrusion". Soil vapor also referred to as soil gas, is the air found in the pore spaces between soil particles. Primarily because of a difference between interior and exterior pressures, soil vapor enters a building through cracks or perforations in slabs or basement floors and walls. It also enters through openings around sump pumps or where pipes and electrical wires travel through the foundation. For example, heating, ventilation or air-conditioning (HVAC) systems and/or the operation of large mechanical appliances (e.g., exhaust fans, dryers, etc.) may create a negative pressure that draws soil vapor into the building. This intrusion is similar to how radon gas enters buildings from the subsurface.
Chemicals are a part of our everyday life. They are found in the household products we use and in items we bring into our homes daily. Consequently, there are chemicals found in the indoor air of homes that are not affected by the intrusion of contaminated soil vapor, but by the purchase of everyday household items. Certain commercial and industrial facilities, such as gasoline stations, dry cleaners, and vehicle exhaust are examples of possible sources of volatile chemicals in the outdoor air that can enter homes or businesses.
Vapor Intrusion Studies
Chemicals used in commercial industries sometimes spill or leak into the soil and Groundwater Assessments. These chemicals, known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), often become gases or vapors, which can travel from contaminated Groundwater Assessments and soil into homes and buildings. The migration of VOCs from the subsurface to indoor air is known as vapor intrusion. At sites where volatile, hazardous substances are present in the subsurface, buildings in the occupied vicinity are at risk of contamination.
Since no two sites are exactly alike, the approach to evaluating soil vapor intrusion is dependent upon site-specific conditions. EE&G uses a thorough understanding of the site, including its history of use, characteristics such as geology, geography, identified environmental contamination, etc. and potentially exposed populations to develop an investigation plan. Existing information is reviewed to determine what data are available and what additional data must be collected. In addition, factors affecting soil vapor migration and intrusion and indoor air quality are considered when investigating and evaluating the results. EE&G also considers all information known about the site when determining what actions are appropriate to mitigate current or prevent future human exposures.
Vapor intrusion studies are evolving science. Over time, as sites continue to be assessed nationwide, our understanding of the relationship between subsurface contamination and indoor air impacts is improving. This will enable us to better predict the degree of vapor intrusion impact on any given building, and estimate the contribution of vapor intrusion to indoor air contaminant measurements.
Regulatory Compliance Audits
A compliance audit is a comprehensive review of an organization's adherence to regulatory guidelines. Audit reports produced by EE&G include a list of action items and recommendations that the client can use to achieve compliance with applicable environmental regulations. Each assessment takes into consideration the client's intended use of the site, the site's location as it relates to other industrial uses, jurisdictional requirements and the client's risk tolerance. Each assessment is tailor-made for each site to delineate the extent of contamination, identify the contaminants and compare them to regulatory standards.


text:
The Pacific Coast by Recumbent Trike
The Journey is the Destination
by Bill Freed
This is the price your customers see. Edit list price
About the Book
About the Creator
I was born in Chicago in 1942. We moved to California two year later. It was the classic Route 66 scene , but unfortunately I was too young to remember it. We lived in various parts of Southern California. In my senior year of high school we moved to Long Beach. I have lived the majority of my adult life in Long Beach or in near by Huntington Beach. I spent a few years in Santa Barbara as a graduate student at UC Santa Barbara. I have a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's degree in social psychology. I had a thirty year career as a research analyst with the State of California. My job required a lot of writing, but mostly of a technical nature. I retired in 2003. I live in a waterfront community that has easy access to beach bike paths, one runs north to downtown Long Beach and the other south to Huntington Beach. With time on my hands, I do a lot of riding and some reading. This book is an attempt to see what I can do with writing of a more creative bent


text:
It took only 36 hours for these students to solve Facebook's fake-news problem
Facebook is facing increasing criticism over its role in the 2016 US presidential election because it allowed propaganda lies disguised as news stories to spread on the social-media site unchecked.
The spreading of false information during the election cycle was so bad that President Barack Obama called Facebook a "dust cloud of nonsense."
And Business Insider's Alyson Shontell called Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's reaction to this criticism "tone-deaf." His public stance is that fake news is such a small percentage of the stuff shared on Facebook that it couldn't have had an impact. This even while Facebook has officially vowed to do better and insisted that ferreting out the real news from the lies is a difficult technical problem.
Just how hard of a problem is it for an algorithm to determine real news from lies?
Not that hard.
During a hackathon at Princeton University, four college students created one in the form of a Chrome browser extension in just 36 hours. They named their project "FiB: Stop living a lie."
The students are Nabanita De, a second-year master's student in computer science student at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst; Anant Goel, a freshman at Purdue University; Mark Craft, a sophomore at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; and Catherine Craft, a sophomore also at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Their News Feed authenticity checker works like this, De tells us:
"It classifies every post, be it pictures (Twitter snapshots), adult content pictures, fake links, malware links, fake news links as verified or non-verified using artificial intelligence.
"For links, we take into account the website's reputation, also query it against malware and phishing websites database and also take the content, search it on Google/Bing, retrieve searches with high confidence and summarize that link and show to the user. For pictures like Twitter snapshots, we convert the image to text, use the usernames mentioned in the tweet, to get all tweets of the user and check if current tweet was ever posted by the user."
The browser plug-in then adds a little tag in the corner that says whether the story is verified.
For instance, it discovered that this news story promising that pot cures cancer was fake, so it noted that the story was "not verified."
Nabanita De
But this news story about the Simpsons being bummed that the show predicted the election results? That was real and was tagged "verified."
Nabanita De
The students have released their extension as an open-source project, so any developer with the know-how can install it and tweak it.
A Chrome plug-in that labels fake news obviously isn't the total solution for Facebook to police itself. Ideally, Facebook will remove fake stuff completely, not just add a tiny, easy-to-miss tag that requires a browser extension.
But the students show that algorithms can be built to determine within reasonable certainty which news is true and which isn't and that something can be done to put that information in front of readers as they consider clicking.
Facebook, by the way, was one of the companies sponsoring this hackathon event.
Word is that many Facebook employees are so upset about this situation that a group of renegade employees inside the company is taking it upon themselves to figure out how to fix this issue, BuzzFeed reports. Maybe FiB will give them a head start.
Join the conversation about this story »
NOW WATCH: How the 'perfect body' for men has changed over the last 150 years
See Also:
- Facebook didn't block fake news because it was reportedly scared of suppressing right-wing sites
- Mark Zuckerberg: We will rid site of fake news, but 'identifying the truth is complicated'
- Some people are blaming Facebook for Donald Trump's surprising victory
SEE ALSO: Facebook is being blamed for Trump's election — but Mark Zuckerberg's response is tone-deaf
UP NEXT: Mark Zuckerberg: We will rid site of fake news, but 'identifying the truth is complicated'
DON'T MISS: Some people are blaming Facebook for Donald Trump's surprising victory


text:
I'm in total agreement with everything you said @AspenPaintingNC. I have the same resentments about this system as well. It makes no sense for people making inqueries and choose not to say anything to let us know what is going on. I make constant follow ups only to get either no response at all or we're still deciding. This is crazy!!
I also agree with everything shared here. The old system worked well for me. The pricing with the new system is way out of line with the job being quoted. There are some small jobs that I would have taken in the past but are no longer viable for me to quote. Most quotes I have sent out don't even get opened so the new system is useless to my business. Unless things change back I will not quote using Thumbtack - they've gone to a business model that does not work for their customers. There are too many other ways available to generate business that I no longer have any reliance on Thumbtack.
I agree with @Wah-Heed @AspenPaintingNC @AutumnElectric and many other "loyal" PROs
Thumbtack........where is the CEO? How about an ONLINE TOWN HALL?
OK so seriously...............I have an idea. PLEASE GO BACK to the OLD SYSTEM THAT WORKED. Ill not only SAVE MY BUSINESS, help my EMPLOYEES KEEP FOOD ON THEIR TABLES AS WELL but I will pay Thumbtack a $250 subscription fee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Yes, thats right. Ill pay a monthly flat fee
This Promote Your Business is a bad deal. Now I understand that TT has finally found a way to get our $$$$$$$ UPFRONT...............but seriously Thumbtack..........how long before we are all going to walk away completely?
HOW CAN THIS BE SUSTAINABLE? If homeowners are coming to TT to find a PRO.............dont you want PROs with awesome PROFILES, lots of REVIEWS.................or is more profitable to simply have new PROs with NOT- SO strong reviews that will just get fed up and quit?????????????????????????????????????????????????
I WONDER HOW LONG AND IF.............THUMBTACK IS LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS, THE $$$ but I know of exactly 6 local pros in my area that have all stopped with PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS.
TO BE BLUNT, I know this sounds tacky but other PROs that are not paying attention this community forum will get fed up being charged 500% per lead UPFRONT and maybe 1 out of 25 leads converting.
I agree with @AspenPaintingNC I have had just in last 6 leads I sent quoutes too show up as "CUSTOMER CANCELLED PROJECT" but on the APP shows they "HIRED A DIFFERNT PRO
VERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRY SUSPICIOUS. What is even more wierd is not only have the quality of leads been a complete train wreck, complete dead leads, zero responses from customers........but on this one particular lead I got, the customer's response was just absolutely rude.
She finally responded (I aggressively followed-up)......can you meet today between 9-12. As frustrating as it's been with Thumntack's quality of leads since Promote Your Business, I almost said yes and then I realized I had a commitment. I responded, "I can do between 1 and 3." The response was, "maybe next than."
JUST ADDS TO FRUSTRATION - Do not get me wrong. I have plenty potential customers in the past message back and ask to meet the same day. Its just recently with all these business-suicide changes made by Thumbtack, the PROs feedback that the changes are impacting their businesses............the frustration keeps building.
NOT TO CONTRADICT THAT I SAID - this one lead I just referred, I did not realize there is one category (PORCH REMODEL) I still have TURNED-ON the Promote Your Business.........so Thumbtack got $8. Thank God not a single penny more.
SO ANOTHER DREADED 48 HOURS - I have ZERO doubts the business-killer changes have to be making an impact at Thumbtack. There are suddenly a modest uptick in a few leads that have been coming through. Since I do not have to pay unless they respond, I decided to give Thumbtack and myelf a chance. Boy oh boy............same as soooo many tother PRos complaints as of late. Myelf too....NO REPSONDED, DEAD LEADS, what else is new though I guess.
SOMETHING GOING ON - There must be a "disconnect" in the way the customers/homeowners are coming into the Thumbtack, and how they are sort of presented their PROs (or selecting) because I know this
AFTER MY FIRST CHANCE WITH "Promote Your Business" and the other way of choosing leads that still come through........................................MY RESULTS ARE AS FOLLOWS
26 leads pursued, as always "quick repsoneses, an awesome profile, 53 REVIEWS, 4.7 rating, over 70 pictures my PROFILE PAGE, includeds BEFORE AND AFTER PICS.................................................
NOT ONE JOB SOLD. ZERO. NADA. NOTHING How can this be?????? I, like so many other PROs smartened up and I refuse to keep that horrific Promote Your Business turned on due to the RESULTS and the EXTREME FEES...........but still,
I NEVER EVER went through 26 leads and sold ZERO JOBS. Hell, I can beat these numbers with Home Advisor.
Thumbtack............are you listening. Come on! Were telling you our experiences here. Help us. We want to make it work!!!!!!!! We PROs bay your bills, right? But it is more than that to us. Our hard work and AWESOME REVIEWS are something to show for. Something that keeps us going everyday.
I agree completely. There is a serious disconnect between Thumbtack's new system and what the pros are now experiencing. Leads cost me around $75 each (they used to be around $18 each). I am currently getting fewer leads and those I do get are "no starters". I contacted Thumbtack about this and they refunded $15........seriously!! I would hope that Thumbtack is listening and can respond in a positive manner. Very frustrating.
I too have seen a significant drop in leads and it is killing my business. The new system where you can no longer see who is searching for your type of business is awful. All I can see is folks who request my bid I think - it's all a mystery, not transparent whatsoever.
I've been using TT since August 2015 when I moved here from Europe, and first I was pretty satisfied with how it worked. I am a music teacher; I left a decent studio behind when I moved to the States. I would not have dared to dream to build a new studio that quick, but with the help of TT, it grew above 30 students in 3 years!
since they have changed something (I don't know exactly, what - maybe they have this so-called "Promoted Services"? ) at the end of November (?), the requests stopped coming! I have not received a single request for music teaching since November! I have the settings for being promoted - shouldn't I receive more leads???
I still have some capacity for new students, and the beginning of a new year used to be a good time when people start doing new things. But now I feel I am shut out of the competition because of TT's new system! I loved to write personalized quotes to the requests because requests aren't the same! Now not only this was taken away from me, but also I cannot see whether anyone is looking for a music teacher.
If TT doesn't change things back how they were, I am going to switch to another company: bark.com. Seems to work like TT used to back in 2015 and 2016. I loved that credit system much better!
Agreed...i viewed their platform and it is just like TT used to be. At least I can actually talk to my potential clients and quote within their budget. Thank you @Zsofica


text: China's rise as a tech powerhouse has dovetailed with Silicon Valley's growing, and often vividly expressed, distrust toward democracy itself. Always steeped in libertarian pique—not long ago, technologists expressed hope for floating ad-hoc nation-states or, as Larry Page put it, referencing Burning Man, "some safe places where we can try out some new things"— Silicon Valley now toys with Californian secessionism and Singapore-style authoritarian technocracy. That new horizon, that place of raucous experimentation with a frontier-like possibility at striking it rich, they believe, is in China.


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Certificate in Teaching Business English (Cert TBE)
If you already have a TESOL or TEFL certificate and, ideally, some experience of teaching English, then you are in a good position to consider Teach Business English. If you also have had some experience working in business, in whatever capacity, this will be even better.
Why get a TBE Certificate?
One great advantage of getting into teaching Business English is that the rewards (i.e. the pay rates) are much higher. In many cases, they are two are three times the hourly rate that a regular English teacher will receive. Where people have set up their own consultancy to teach Business English, then the rewards can be higher still. There is a growing demand of BE training in the UK, and also especially in Europe and the far east.
Is it important to get a certificate in teaching Business English before venturing into teaching Business English? Absolutely, yes! In many ways, it is very different from teaching more regular ESOL / EFL classes. Preparing yourself is vital if you want to do a professional job. Your certificate will give your clients more confidence in you.
What are the main differences between teaching regular English and teaching Business English?
- In many cases the standard of English of your clients will be at a reasonable level already. They will not be (in most cases) beginners and they will be seeking to improve their existing skills. Many of your clients will be at intermediate level or above.
- Your classes are likely to be small. In some cases, they will be one-to-one classes and it is unlikely that you will have more than ten participants at a time. If you do have, say ten, then they may well all come from one firm.
- The classes may well be held at the company paying for the training. In other words, you will go to the participants rather than the other way around. If so, you will need to ensure that everything you need for your classes is on hand.
- You will need to be very clear about the work environment of your clients and the main times when they need to use English. For some clients, their need will be for writing reports, with others it may be taking part in meetings, while with others it may mainly be on the telephone. With some, it will be all of these.
- You will need to be 100% clear about what your clients want from their course. This will involve prior discussions with them and, perhaps, their employers. This will require a thorough needs analysis so they you can pinpoint precisely what your clients want from the programme. This needs analysis is likely to involve both a form to be completed as well as face-to-face discussions. Once you have decided what you think they need, prepare an outline plan and go through this with them very carefully to ensure it meshes with what they feel they need.
- For many of your clients, having good English skills will be vital for them in terms of their career path and promotion. In other words, they will be demanding customers and will not want to feel that any time is being wasted. They will want to feel that every minute of their course has been well planned and well delivered. This will put pressure on you as the course designer to provide them with a lively, efficient, dynamic and effective programme. They will not respond well to trainers who waste time or give them irrelevant tasks to do.
- While you can draw some of your material from existing course books and ancillary materials, your clients will expect you to prepare materials yourself designed specifically for their course. They will not respond well if you plough steadily through a general BE course book. They will want to see that you have their precise needs in mind and that you have tailored their course to meet those needs.
- You will probably find that your clients will want to cover all four language skills. However, listening and speaking are very likely to be of central importance on many courses. When you have a class of participants, pair work, group work, role play and case studies are ways in which you can enable them to practice those two skills. Provide your participants with realistic tasks and encourage discussion. Give them the opportunity to report back afterwards, but be cautious about asking any of them to stand at the front to 'perform'. This could be awkward for those with less proficient skills.
- As with other courses, keep your eyes firmly on the outcomes. Should there be a need, be prepared to modify the scope or style of your course in agreement with the participants. Those of us teaching BE know that it is very important to be flexible as a course progresses so that programmes can be modified when it is necessary.
- Overall, demonstrate knowledge and a highly professional style to give the participants confidence in your ability to improve, and perhaps even transform, their English language skills. This can be personally a very rewarding experience for both you as a trainer, as well as for the participants.


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VideoHive Clean Black & White Reversed 2084394
After Effects Project \ Logo Stings \ Corporate
After Effects Project - Clean Black & White Reversed 2084394 by zanimotion @ VideoHive
After Effects Project \ Logo Stings \ Corporate
After Effects Version: CS4, CS5; File Size: 60mb; Requires Plugins: No; Resolution: 1280x720.
Here's my Brand new Project Template, "CLEAN BLACK & WHITE REVERSED ". The animation is based on a nice depth of field setup, it supports text, logo or placeholder.
It's meant to be usefull, elegant, classy, corporate, clean and universal.
Project Main Features
- Runs for 27 sec
- HD720 /Web Resolution Ready Made composition
- Support Text, Logo, PlaceHolders
- Ready Made project Black on white, white on Black – Both Text and Logo version
- Universal Black & White Theme
- Original Soundtrack from great audiojungle author "Music Premium" (not included,check info below)
- No Plugins required – Prerendered version included
- Well detailed user guide included
Important note
Font used can be donwloaded here
- Music used in the preview is from talented artist Music Premium.
The soundscore is available for sale on audiojungle, You can get it here.
- Trapcode Particular 2 is required to use the project.For those who don't have the plugins, A PRE -RENDERED VERSION IS INCLUDED WITHIN THE ARCHIVE .
- For any additional request on the files, or for any questions please contact me via my e-mail only, use the contact form on the right of my videohive profile page.
Please don't forget to rate it, If you like it
Make it Good from Concept to Completion
Keywords: black & white, classy, clean, close up logo, corporate identity, depth of field, elegant, logo opener, universal.
Create VideoHive Clean Black & White Reversed 2084394 style with After Effect, Cinema 4D, 3DS Max, Apple Motion or Flash. Audio or music for VideoHive Clean Black & White Reversed 2084394. Full details of VideoHive Clean Black & White Reversed 2084394 for digital design and education. VideoHive Clean Black & White Reversed 2084394 desigen style information or anything related.


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ELL with Jan Dormer
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live,
even though they die; ~John 11:25 NIV
Announcement for Everyone
ONE DAY SALE!! Pre-order your yearbook at its cheapest - P600 only on December 16. The Campus store will be open all day. Buy one, you're not going to regret it! ~Love, Tiwalan
In a galaxy far, far away… The new Star Wars movie is coming out, and the Girls Varsity Rugby Team is hosting a special showing just for us! Come watch it with all your friends, and help send the rugby team to Australia. Robinsons Antipolo, 2pm on Friday, December 16 (half day of school that day). It's the perfect way to start the Christmas break! Prize will be awarded for best Star Wars costume. Tickets on sale for P260 in front of the HS office during HS lunch TODAY until they sell out. Seats sold out quickly last year so don't miss out on this chance to watch a great movie with your friends and help out the rugby team too! ~Mrs. Hagen
Faculty Staff
Willing to share your talents? Sign up at the high school office for Talent Night auditions and share your greatness with us. Auditions are on December 9. Make Talent Night great again. If you have any questions, please contact Courtney Castro (firstname.lastname@example.com) Gracias. ~Talent Night Committee
High School
Today at lunch there will be a recruiting organization sharing about studying in Canada. If you have an interest in studying in Canada please come to Mr. Hong's room during lunch. ~Mr. Bunting
Attention all soccer ladies! We are going to have a friendly soccer game on Thursday, December 15 after school starting at 2:35. Senior/alumni against underclassman. Seniors wear white underclassman wear blue. Come on out and celebrate the end of exams with a fun soccer game! ~Miss Hannah Stroud-Lusk
If you would like to change your 2nd semester schedule, please see me before Christmas break. (Although, you do have the first 6 days of 2nd semester to make a change.) ~Mr. Bunting
Middle School
OE Logo Contest: This year, our theme for OE is "In The Beginning." So you must include these words on the Logo: "In The Beginning" and "Taal 2017" All ideas for our logo must be submitted to the MSD office by 7:10 am, Monday, December 12.
Other details: We hope that our OE shirts are a slate gray (medium gray with white specks in it). Only use three colors on the logo, and each contestant may only submit one or two entries. Do not hesitate to ask if you have questions. Working with you. ~Mr. Spicer
Miles, Jude (A)
Grade 2
Knight, Joshua (A)
Grade 3
Woo, Bryan (A)
A - Absence
AE - Absence Excused
AU - Absence Unexcused
HE - Half Absence Excused
HU - Half Absence Unexcused
LE - Late Arrival Excused
LU - Late Arrival Unexcused
FT - Field Trip
TRAV - School Travel
HLTH - Health Office
PE - Planned Excused
PU - Planned Unexcused
PHE - Planned Half Excused
PHU - Planned Half UnExcused
Grade 4
Knight, Sarah (A)
Grade 7
John, Albert (A)
Jung, Gloria (A)
Grade 8
Choi, Cindy (A)
Grade 9
Son, Cedric (AE)
Grade 10
Joung, James (HU)
Ross, Cannon (HU)
Grade 11
Asprec, Susan (HU)
Reyes, Melissa (HU)
Suzuki, Michelle (HE)
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Wellcome Genome Campus Advanced Courses and Scientific Conferences fund, develop and deliver training and conferences that span basic research, cutting-edge biomedicine and the application of genomics in healthcare.
Spotlight events
Lastest from our YouTube channel
Keynote lecture by Athena Aktipis (Arizona State University, USA) at Evolution and Ecology of Cancer (July 2019). To view the other event's keynotes by Mel Greaves (Institute of Cancer Research, UK) and Ken Pienta (John Hopkins University, USA), as well as many more videos, visit our Youtube channel.
Latest news
Championing Inclusion and Diversity at Biomedical Research Meetings
How can conferences encourage a supportive research culture where all can thrive?
Genomic surveillance of antimicrobial resistance
New train-the-trainer course aims to improve global capacity and skills in low- and middle income-countries
Building valuable connections with the scientific world
Why partner your business with a scientific conference?


text: Far-reaching mountain quests – aka peak bagging – are universal. Scotland famously has its Munros (mountains above 3000 metres in height), Colorado has its 14ers (peaks above 14,000 feet) and Japan has its 100 Famous Mountains. Even tiny Tasmania has a stake in this world of mountain missions, with its own list of chart-topping peaks known as the Abels. Continue reading


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It can be very tough to build your muscles. You will be pleased when you start noticing an improvement in your health and may consider the hard work a more muscular physique. The following article offers advice as to how you can accomplish just that.
A common mistake people make when working out is focusing on speed. Performing an exercise with care and deliberation, and will increase the effectiveness of your workout.
Don't forget about carbohydrates when you are working out. Carbs are vital for energy so that you can last an entire workout, and if you do not get enough, you will waste your protein on energy instead of building muscle.
Muscle Compartment Syndrome
If you are going to use creatine supplements to assist with your muscle gain, you should use caution, particularly when using them for a long time. These supplements should not be used if you have any sort of kidney problems. They can also cause cramping, muscle compartment syndrome, and even something called muscle compartment syndrome. Adolescents using this supplement are particularly at risk. Be sure you are using these supplements exactly as they are recommended.
You must consume enough protein in order to build muscle. A good way to consume protein is to drink protein shakes and supplements. These are really important after you workout and before you hit the sack. You must consume about one shake per day if you're trying to lose weight.If you wish to gain mass along with muscle, on the other hand, you can have up to three servings of these products per day.
After you workout, so that your muscles can build and repair themselves well.Someone who is under forty should stretch at least thirty seconds. People over the age of 40 should hold stretches for a full minute is recommended. This can ensure your muscle building for positive singles exercises.
Upper Chest
It is possible to make yourself look larger than you may actually be. You can do this by focusing your training on your upper chest, upper back and upper chest.
Try including plyometric exercises to your workout regimen. This type of exercise develops the fast-twitch muscle fibers and develop your mass quicker. Plyometrics are considered ballistic moves in that they utilize acceleration. For instance, when doing plyometric push-ups, you let your hands jump from the floor to explode as high as possible.
You can always cheat a bit when lifting. Make sure your reps at a controlled speed. Do not let your form under any circumstance.
It is important to limit your workouts to three to four times a week. This will help to give your body the time it needs to repair and regenerate itself between workouts.
To increase muscle mass, watch how many calories you ingest. A bad diet makes you growing fatter instead of more muscular.
Cardio Workout
Even if you aren't concerned about adding bulk to your body, strengthening exercises will benefit your body in many ways. It can raise your self-esteem, improve your joints, add more strength and when associated with a simple cardio workout, and even strengthen your lungs when combined with a light to medium cardio workout.
Try to make your bicep curls.During the usual biceps curl, you don't receive the most benefit from the upper part of the curl because you failed in moving the bar or the dumbbell past the parallel point. You can fix this problem by doing barbell curls while sitting down.
Adults who wish to quickly build muscle can add a creatine supplement. Creatine will give you more energy levels in your body and weight training. This supplement has been use by weight lifting community for quite some time. If you are a high school student and your body has not finished growing, avoid all supplements.
Consume no less than 20g of a whey protein about 30 minutes prior to your workout. This gives your muscles are used to fuel your workout.
Healthy Fats
Healthy fats are crucial to the process of building muscles. Healthy fats can also help lubricate your joints lubricated and raise your testosterone. This can equal effective and healthy gain of mass all over. Just remember to stay away from saturated fats, and will not help your body at all.
Stretching is a very important part of your weight training regimen. There are two major benefits to your muscles by incorporating stretching before you work out.
Use a combination of free weight exercises and weight machines in your weight training sessions. Free weights are typically better for building bulk. If you're a beginner, include both so that you do not get stuck on only weight machines forever out of habit.
Building muscles can be hard to do. If you are confident the techniques you are using are correct, you will not have to worry since positive results will become evident. By using the suggestions here, you are on your way to building the body you desire.


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Brooklyn Gospel Tour- Bedford Stuyvesant
BROOKLYN GOSPEL TOUR: Tour of Bedford Stuyvesant Brooklyn. Culture History Architecture and Art.
English Italian and French.
Take in a local Sunday Gospel service and feel the beautiful culture in this historic area. This treelined area of Brooklyn was an enclave to the first African Americans to own property and reside freely in New York,
From its brownstones to its restaurants and local history you will experience The New Bed Stuy Brooklyn NY
Group minimum 12 and max limit 55.


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It looks like the layoffs at Sony London earlier today was sadly just the beginning of Sony's busy day. The company confirmed to Polygon that there have been "a reduction in headcount" at Sony Interactive Entertainment San Diego. An employee affected by the layoffs estimates that 40-50 people were let go from the MLB: The Show developer.
It seems that the layoff stems from two projects being either terminated or significantly downsized at SIE San Diego. This includes Kill Strain, which will continue to receive support despite the layoffs, and an unannounced project. It's worth noting that none of the MLB: The Show or Drawn to Death teams has been impacted by these reductions. So fans of those two games can rest easy.
Check out Sony's official statement on the matter (via GamesIndustry.biz):
The team working on MLB The Show have not been affected. We continually evaluate teams and programs at SIE Worldwide Studios to ensure we have the proper resources in place to deliver innovative products within a competitive landscape. As projects are completed, it is natural to review and restructure teams around current and future needs. We wish our departing team members success as they pursue new opportunities and we have nothing but heart-felt thanks for their contributions to PlayStation.
Hopefully all of the talented former employees at Sony Interactive Entertainment San Diego will land on their feet. It's never good to see layoffs happening, although it's becoming a common occurrence in the industry. Downsizing regularly occurs after projects are completed, as studios don't need as many hands while they are in-between projects.
(Source: Polygon, GamesIndustry.biz)


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December 18, 2009 (Toronto, ON) – Canada Health Infoway (Infoway) and Agfa HealthCare, a leading provider of diagnostic imaging solutions, have reached a Preferred Solution Agreement (PSA) providing preferential conditions and pricing for Agfa HealthCare's IMPAX™ 6 Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) and Viewer as well as its IMPAX™ Data Center and Diagnostic Imaging Repository (DI-r). This is the second time Infoway and Agfa HealthCare have achieved a Preferred Solution Agreement.
The Canada-wide PSA provides reduced prices for Canadian hospitals and jurisdictions who join together to implement a common PACS and DI-r infrastructure. The agreement provides the advantage of lower pricing for these groups than if they negotiated terms individually, while also encouraging regional inter-operability through shared services.
Diagnostic imaging and PACS refer to systems that allow X-rays, MRIs, ultrasounds and CT scans to be captured, viewed and transmitted electronically from one site to another. These systems replace conventional X-ray film and greatly improve access to patient information. Diagnostic imaging repositories provide a secure environment for the storage and retrieval of diagnostic images and reports. Patients directly benefit from DI-r and PACS by the elimination of duplicate exams and unnecessary patient transfers, as well as better treatment for residents of remote communities thanks to improvements in distance reporting for radiologists.
"Diagnostic imaging and picture archiving and communication systems bring great value to the Canadian health care system, allowing physicians to instantly access, share and store images anytime, anywhere with anyone who needs them," said Richard Alvarez, CEO of Canada Health Infoway. "We're happy to re-establish this agreement with one of the leading companies in this space. Agfa HealthCare has consistently shown its capacity to get the job done and they have a solid track record of successful projects with Infoway and its partners."
Previous Agfa HealthCare projects that have received Infoway funding include the implementation of a province-wide DI and PACS network in Nova Scotia and the Ontario-based Hospital Diagnostic Imaging Repository Services Incorporated (HDIRS) a partnership of hospitals, the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and Infoway, that allows diagnostic images to be shared electronically among a network of 35 participating hospitals.
Agfa HealthCare has also worked on Infoway-funded PACS and DI-r projects across Canada in areas such as the Northwest Territories, Manitoba and New Brunswick.
"Agfa has seen great value in our relationship with Canada Health Infoway and we're pleased to achieve a Preferred Solution Agreement once again," said Dave Wilson, vice president of Agfa HealthCare in Canada. "Our PACS and DI-r systems are proven solutions that significantly benefit both the clinical user as well as the patient, so we look forward to continuing to support and drive Canada's effort in connecting digital diagnostic images and reports, regardless of manufacturer."
In 2008, Infoway commissioned an independent study to evaluate the benefits of DI-r and PACS. The Diagnostic Imaging Evaluation Benefits Report found evidence that digital DI and PACS result in faster diagnosis times, less duplication of exams, improved remote reporting for radiologists, and increased productivity and efficiency for radiologists, technologists and referring physicians. The report concluded the full implementation of digital imaging, PACS and DI-r would add the equivalent of 500 radiologists to the health care system and eliminate up to 17,000 unnecessary patient transfers annually.
Once fully implemented across Canada, it is estimated that PACS and DI-r will generate between $850 million and $1 billion in health system efficiencies including increased clinical productivity and reduced patient transfers, duplicate exams and films costs.
For More Information:
Dan Strasbourg
Director, Corporate Communications
Canada Health Infoway
Tel.: (416) 595-3424
Carolyn Hurley
Agfa HealthCare
Tel: (416) 644-2239


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Twelve Trees – PEC's newest waterfront community
Situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in Wellington, Twelve Trees is being billed as Prince Edward County's premium waterfront community. Made up of a combination of boutique-style condominium suites and townhomes, this little piece of heaven combines an unsurpassed location with sophisticated architectural design.
Glass-railed balconies and terraces, as well as a roof-top patio, provide a bird's eye view of parkland and the lake. Within the community, residents have access to an elegant lobby, a sky-lit party room, a fully equipped fitness room, secure underground parking and manicured grounds.
A solid reputation
Building on a strong foundation of 60 years of excellence, Royalcliff Homes has created a lasting legacy. A dedication to uncompromising quality, as well as outstanding customer service, has awarded them an enviable reputation. They have been well-recognized by more than 3,000 buyers in Mississauga, Brampton, Caledon, Aurora and other southern Ontario areas.
The condos
Now available for pre-construction purchase, Royalcliff presents their exclusive collection of 36 Lake Ontario waterfront condominiums at Twelve Trees. Choose from 30 luxurious suites. Each space is meticulously designed with sleek, modern features. This boutique-style, three-level building provides an intimate oasis with the indulgences of upscale living.
In order to take full advantage of the sweeping views, large windows and natural light were a high priority in the architectural design. The handsome, exterior facade complements the established neighbourhood in which it is a part of.
The townhomes
Gracious floorplans are evident on the six townhome designs. These homes possess a wonderful balance of charm and innovation. Spacious interiors provide oversized windows with park perspectives, private garages, and full, walk-out lower levels.
The village of Wellington
Prince Edward County is known for its artistic soul, its fabulous wineries and local history. The village of Wellington is a hot spot for tourists, with quaint boutiques, galleries, fine dining, beaches and boardwalks. An extensive network of amenities are also available, as well as golf, water sports, live theatre, and the arts and millennium trails.
Meet friends for a coffee, or visit the historic library and farmers' market. Come evening, explore a host of dining options, including East & Main, Pomodoro and the trendy Drake Devonshire. Enjoy a simpler way of life at Twelve Trees in Wellington.
Twelve Trees is located at at 411 Main Street in Wellington, Ontario.


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- Satisfy your taste buds at Italian Night Benefit Dinner (Local News ~ 04/17/09)
DNR: Planting season adds to spill concerns
(Local News ~ 04/17/09)
The mix of soft roads and heavy equipment can be a hazardous one for the environment, according to Iowa Department of Natural Resources officials. The state agency issued an advisory from its Spencer field office after noticing a series of mishaps in its 16-county service area...
Spencer gets ready for 'An explosion of kindness'
(Local News ~ 04/17/09)
An explosion of kindness. That's the idea behind Saturday's Love Spencer community project. Jean Blok, a worship coordinator at Hope Reformed Church is among those organizing the event. A total of 450 people from eight participating churches will take on 30-plus betterment projects within the community from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday - serving both private and citywide interests...
Norma Anderson
(Obituary ~ 04/17/09)
Funeral services for Norma Anderson, 87, of Spencer, will be held Friday, April 17, 2009, at First Baptist Church in Spencer. Rev. Jon Pausley will officiate the 10:30 a.m. service. Burial will be at Riverside Cemetery in Spencer. Mrs. Anderson passed away Tuesday, April 14, 2009, at St. Luke Lutheran Home in Spencer...
Spencer Hospital narrows CEO search
(Local News ~ 04/17/09)
Board of trustees chairman John Rahn said Spencer Hospital could be less than two weeks away from naming its next chief executive officer. Rahn and Neal Conover are the board representatives on a committee that reviewed eight resumés supplied by the executive search firm Witt/Kieffer, from a field of 130 prospects...
Stories from Friday, April 17, 2009
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Why Sen. Scott blames Schumer for stalled disaster relief
Clip: 05/16/2019 | 7m 54s
More than 200 days have passed since Hurricane Michael hit Florida with devastating Category 5 force -- but a corresponding disaster relief bill is still yet to be passed. Amna Nawaz talks to Florida Sen. Rick Scott, who was the state's governor during the storm, about the "frustrating" months of gridlock, funding Puerto Rico's recovery and why Scott blames Sen. Chuck Schumer for the stalemate.
Aired: 05/16/19Video has closed captioning.
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