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Having opened in 2005, we were the very first luxury tour operator and DMC in Vietnam. Based in Hanoi, with offices throughout Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand, we also have our own luxury vehicles, and representative offices in California, London, Berlin, and Sydney. Our company speaks your language having a polyglot team. We operate with confidence from our 20 years of experiences and solid partnerships fulfilling the most sophisticated client.
We specialize in custom-made holidays. We provide high-end services for leisure travel, business travel and MICE serving a wide range of luxury travelers from 1 to 1000 people.
We can set up the perfect tailor-made holiday for couples and honeymooners, families, group tours, foodies, golfers or wellness and spa enthusiasts as well as many other travel interests. We take into consideration every little detail such as mobility issues or dietary restrictions and choose the most appropriate accommodation for every type of travelers.
We invest a lot in product development, and constantly keep you up to date on the latest tours and trendiest products available in the region. Each tour is designed to capture the crème de la crème of culture and food in each region, allowing travelers to really get a feel of the places they visit. We live in the countries that we serve, and love Southeast Asia, which is why we strive to ensure that travelers experience the best of each country we specialize in.
We serve today's most sophisticated travelers that seek the best of the best when traveling. We have long-established relationships with our local luxury suppliers, ensuring not only competitive prices but also a tested and approved quality service. To ensure the comfort of our travelers, we always use private transport when traveling by road.
We are a 100% fully registered and privately-owned Vietnamese company. Our industry and consumer awards are the testimony to our excellent reputation and unbeatable experience in the region, and much of our business comes from referrals and business network recommendations. We'll help travelers satisfy their passion for travel by sharing our insider knowledge, while our connections will get them access to unique places and one-of-a-kind experiences. Our customers have given us great feedback, and you can tell by our reviews on TripAdvisor. The company is proud of its 99% satisfaction rate and we have a repeat client rate of over 60%.
Responsible tourism is defined as: "Travel conducted in such manner as not to harm or degrade the cultural or natural environment of the places visited." Acting as a local and responsible tour operator, we aim to create better places for people to visit and better places for people to live. We are committed to making our business more sustainable and responsible in every way we can. By taking measured steps to reduce the negative effects of the travel industry on our environment, and accentuate the positive impact of tourism. We make sure that our tours don't harm the environment and promote local business to help the community. We also support all business partners towards more sustainability and create more sustainability awareness among our guests.
In Brief
Sustainable tourism is based on 6 main pillars: protecting ecological resources, maintaining social and cultural responsibility, creating good jobs for local people, contributing to economic development, satisfying customers, and operating a profitable business.
We define sustainable tourism as protecting the environment together, creating a more beautiful place for people to live, and crafting a more beautiful place for travelers to visit and experience. We ensure cultural preservation by promoting local heritage, customs, and practices.
We are committed to conducting business with professional ethics, promoting the culture and lifestyle of the local people, and introducing the quintessence of local heritage, history, fine arts, and cuisine to the local community and domestic and international travelers.
We use local human resources, train and develop working standards, pay stable salaries, and ensure social security for local people. We contribute to local and national socio-economic development in order to create jobs, reduce poverty, and provide the best possible working conditions.
As the first high-end tour operator in the luxury tourism industry in Vietnam, we not only want to capitalize on our position, but also develop and grow from it. Through joint ventures and acquisitions of small niche companies in the luxury services industry, we strive to provide world-class luxury services in Vietnam and elsewhere. Our vision is to become the leading tour operator and DMC in Vietnam and one of Asia's leading luxury tour operators by our 20th anniversary in 2025, with a possible IPO thereafter.
Lux Travel DMC.
International Trading Name in English: Lux Travel DMC.
Company Name in Vietnamese: Công Ty TNHH Du Lịch Sang Trọng Việt Nam.
Company Licence: 0102019356 issued by The Hanoi Department of Planning and Investment.
Tax Identification Number: 0101622092
Account Name: LUXURY TRAVEL CO., LTD
Account No: 6276881
Name of Bank: ANZ Bank Ha Noi
Bank address: 14 Le Thai To Street, Hanoi, Vietnam
Swift Code: ANZB VNVX
International Luxury Tour Operator License: 01-074/TCDL-GPLHQT issued by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.
"Luxury Travel" is our branding name, registered by the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam.
Lux Travel DMC., Vietnam's First Luxury Tour Company, offers you carefree luxury travel so you and your family can focus on the fun, not the details. Challenge your skills at the country's most spectacular golf courses. Soak up the sun while being soothed by the sound of breaking surf. Hunt for high-fashion couture in the most elegant cities of Vietnam. Envision any vacation experience you want; name it, we deliver it in style.
Beaches, signature golf, spa destinations, fine cuisine, adventure, romance, tours to magnificent cities, family-friendly retreats, and sublime cultural experiences- the world of travel awaits you. Fly on a chartered plane or by helicopter, stay in an exclusive resort, a private-charted junk cruise in Halong Bay, luxury vacation home or a private residence club.
Lux Travel DMC, with head office in Hanoi, Vietnam is a 100% fully registered and privately-owned Vietnamese company. It was founded by luxury travel specialists since the 1990s when Vietnam had just opened its doors to worldwide tourism.
Our company is a fully-licensed and accredited full-service travel agency and inbound and outbound luxury tour operator. We are Vietnam's First Luxury Tour Company. Our company excels in business and leisure travel. We offer services not only for tour operators and travels agents, MICE planners but also for leisure-free independent travelers worldwide.
Our Main Operations are:
For your reassurance, we are partners with numerous travel agencies and tour operators around the world, serving discriminating travelers. Many of them become our referrers or repeated clients.
We have won numerous travel awards, are proud of being a member of PATA, PATA, VITA, VECOM, and being designated by (VNAT) Vietnam National Administration of Tourism as their International Luxury Tour Operators and independent full travel service agency under the license 01-074/TCDL – GPLHQT.
We value and welcome all opportunities to work with travel colleagues around the world as their exclusive local tour operator in Indochina and the neighboring countries.

subset: commoncrawl


text: Michael Bien has finished an OpenCL pack for NetBeans. Features include an OpenCL Editor with syntax highlighting code completion and CL reference pages integration, OpenCL compiler integration, In-editor annotations of compiler warnings and errors updated as you type and JOCL project template. Java 7 is required so you will need the Java 7 package on Google Code.


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Rates: €55 pp. Bed and Breakfast
Open. Easter until 1st. October.
Mallmore Country House is a 4 star, family run Bed and Breakfast. It is one of the few remaining, true country house properties, available to stay in. Mallmore is listed as a Protected, Historic Home and dates back to the late 1700's. The property is surrounded by 35 acres of ancient woodland on the shores of Clifden Bay , which is teeming with native wildlife and offers some splended walks. Our home provides luxurious accommodation with individually decorated, spacious rooms, with beautiful views over Clifden Bay and our gardens. Award winning breakfasts are served in our elegant dining room to give you a perfect start to your day.
In the heart of Connemara on the, just one mile outside of Clifden and on the edge of Clifden Bay, we are ideally located for visiting the exceptional beaches, mountains, rivers, lakes and the bog lands all of which are unique to this wonderful area.
Fine Country House accommodation
A unique bed and breakfast experience…
combining the graciousness of our past with the
hospitality keyed to the present.
Awarded 4 Stars
We are on the "Wild Atlantic Way" from Clifden to Roundstone.


text:
We've got a ton of NAHBS 2012 content still to come. Check back often for more eye candy and new cyclocross products, and view our published NAHBS 2012 coverage.
Bruce Gordon Cycles has a long history building bikes and tires that are capable for mixed terrain riding and touring, and some consider him one of the earliest 29er pioneers, developing the 700x40c off-road capable Rock 'n Road tire that was designed by mountain bike legend Joe Murray and manufactured by Cheng Shin. Gordon sold quite a few Rock 'n Road bikes built around that tire, and may have ushered in a line of early 29er bikes and tires including the Diamond Back Overdrive, Bianchi Project (Project 1,3,5,7 models) and tires like the 700x45c Panaracer Smoke.
Bruce Gordon said he only made the Rock 'n Road tire, originally in a 700x37c width for about a year, but fast forward twenty four years, and with the incredible popularity of the 29er, wide 700c off-road capable tires have nearly become extinct. While there still are tires like the Panaracer Fire XC 45c tire and some narrower Specialized and Bontrager 29er tires, Bruce Gordon has recognized an opportunity and commissioned Panaracer to recreate the original Rock 'n Road tire.The tire returns with a folding bead, a slightly wider 43c casing and a $50 MSRP. Availability should be mid-April. It might be a nice option for taking bigger-clearance cyclocross bikes into rougher terrain, or for the more adventuresome, a mountain bike race. Stay tuned as we put an early set to the test.
Gordon also showed off a number of touring and dirt-capable bikes, with drop bars and flat bars and 26″, 650b and 700c wheels. Our favorite was also Gordon's personal favorite bike, a titanium-lugged carbon tubed 650b creation, a bike he says is "the best bike he's ever ridden" due to its smooth ride quality. It's a two-of-a-kind creation, and not on his list of models, but he said a customer can buy one, but it's prohibitively expensive. "Take what you think it'll cost, and multiply by five or ten," he said.
Photo Gallery:


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The wildly unlucky, unhappy season for the Carolina Panthers isn't likely to include an in-season coaching change.
Panthers coach Ron Rivera said Monday that he has been led to believe after conversations with team owner Jerry Richardson that he will keep his job the rest of the season.
"I don't know what's going to happen, and I won't know until after the season. I know that much," said Rivera, whose Panthers are 2-8. "And I know that nothing's going to happen until after the season. So what our guys have to understand is that they're playing for now. They're playing for each other."
Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer spoke to a team source who also expects Rivera to finish out the season. But it sure sounds like the end is near.
"I'm not concerned about me, I'm really not. I'm concerned about them," Rivera said about his coaching staff. "Whether I'm here next year or not, I will be A-OK."


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Cross-posted from JohnFeffer.com. John is currently traveling in Eastern Europe and observing its transformations since 1989.
The Serbian elections in May 2012 shocked many liberals in the country. They assumed that the electoral coalition that coalesced around former President Boris Tadic – the Democratic Party, the Social Democratic Party, the Christian Democratic Party, the Green Party, the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina – would handily win the election. Instead, Tomislav Nikolic, a former ultra-nationalist known widely as "The Undertaker," squeaked out a victory in the presidential poll while his party coalition beat out the Democratic Party in the parliamentary elections as well.
Many of the people I interviewed in Serbia in October expressed dismay at the return to power of many of the same people who had been prominent in the Milosevic era. "The middle management people, who helped the Milosevic apparatus do all those terrible things, are now back," a prominent civil society activist told me. "The current prime minister used to be the president of the youth wing of the Serbian Socialist Party and then the spokesperson of the party. First Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic was the minister of media and propaganda for Milosevic during the late 1990s."
Even more dismaying perhaps to liberals has been the enduring popularity of the new government. The Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), a more moderate offshoot of the far-right-wing Radical Party, can now count on the support of around 40 percent of the population, compared to only 16 percent for the Democratic Party (DS). The SNS has increased its support by 11 percent since the beginning of 2012, while the DS has lost 7 percent.
One reason for this polarization, the activist continues, has been the deep vein of disenchantment with the Democratic Party that can be found among Serbian liberals as well. "During the DS period, the government didn't resolve the political conflict with Kosovo, and they could have done this: they controlled parliament, government, all the significant positions," he says. "They never solved the killings of the journalists of the 1990s, like Slavko Äuruvija. We know it was done by the secret police on the order of Milosevic or his wife. But these people are still somewhere in the structure. This is how the assassination of Djindjic happened, because these people were still in the structure. Not deconstructing the Milosevic regime — that was the biggest problem."
The Progressive Party continues to maintain a pro-EU accession policy, to negotiate with Kosovo authorities over freedom of movement and other bilateral issues, and to placate Serbs in Kosovo with a "platform" that preserves their autonomy. It's quite a balancing act. Somehow Serbia is trying to move closer to Europe without quite giving up its claims over Kosovo.
Meanwhile, Serbian civil society continues to push forward on its efforts to make government transparent, support grassroots initiatives, and promote people-to-people exchanges between Serbia and its neighbors. Working at a humanitarian organization with offices around the world including Belgrade, the activist works hard on all the incremental changes that take place across the election cycles. On the condition of anonymity, he spoke with me about the disturbing political continuities with the Milosevic era, the people known as the "losers of the transition," and the achievements of civil society organizations in Serbia.
The Interview
When you look back to 1989 and everything that has changed or not changed until today, how would you evaluate that on a scale of one to 10, with 1 being most dissatisfied and 10 being most satisfied?
On a scale from 1 to 10, I'd say 2-3. It's easy for citizens to forget what they had and to forget what has changed for the better. I don't remember much from 1989. But I remember from the late 1990s. Since then we have achieved some kind of stability: of the dinar, of the system. These structures are devastated, obviously, but we're building them up. We have more trust in banks, for instance, and we now have savings. In those terms, things are better.
Unfortunately, during the mandate of the Democratic Party (DS) in 2006-7, former President Boris Tadic made an agreement with the Serbian Socialist Party to reconcile with the Milosevic regime and to forget everything that happened during the 1990s. That was one of the biggest mistakes ever made. The middle management people, who helped the Milosevic apparatus do all those terrible things, are now back. The current prime minister used to be the president of the youth wing of the Serbian Socialist Party and then the spokesperson of the party. First Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic was the minister of media and propaganda for Milosevic during the late 1990s. The historical momentum is different now and they can't do the same things, but the kind of hegemonic policy is still in place: toward Kosovo, toward Republika Srpska. That's why I give such a low mark of 2-3.
The biggest problem is that the Serbian people never actually faced the past, never faced the role their representatives played during the wars of the 1990s. Even in 2012, if you go out on the streets and ask people about Srebrenica, a significant number of people will denounce it, but a huge number of people will say, "Even if it happened, the number of dead wasn't that high and anyway, what does that matter in 2012?"
But it is important — because of the reconciliation process. My friends in Bosnia tell me that it's not any more a question of if but when: when some serious incident will happen again. I doubt it will be a civil war like the 1990s. But it's a very important indication that we're still trapped in the 1990s.
The Serbian economy is in really bad shape. Although the government says that it's because of the global economic crisis that resulted from the collapse of the U.S. economy, the professional economists and analysts are saying that we would be in the same position even if there were no economic problems at the world level or the European level. We are not dealing with these problems. We are only dealing with the "hot topics," and we are creating those hot topics, like Kosovo, because the politicians are using these topics to distract attention from the main problem. Every time the government has wanted to do something controversial, like selling the oil company NIS, they raised tensions in Kosovo to shift focus away from this other, controversial issue.
Right now we're able to watch these famous investigative reports called Insider on B92 that are now focusing on the political and corrupt mechanisms behind the Kosovo issue, especially concerning trade and the grey economy. That's actually the bottom line of the government policy: a few people are enriched by these policies but the poor and uneducated are being fooled. That's why we say that we don't have an accountable government.
The Open Parliament initiative attempts to open up parliament and make parliamentarians more accountable to their constituents. But the real nest of evil is in the executive branch. Even some organizations, like the National Democratic Institute, tried unsuccessfully for years to open up the executive branch. This means that we are still preserving the same model of governance, without the participation of citizens or professional associations. The majority of processes are done just between two or three people. And there's a big influence from tycoons, the couple of people who own everything in Serbia, from land to the processing of food to the chains of stores selling that food. Monopolies control the most important goods and services here in Serbia.
You will quite often hear that we never really had an October 6, 2000, the day after the Milosevic government fell. Why? We had a great opportunity. But the level of skepticism among citizens was pretty high. The new democratic wave ended with the assassination of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, and with that assassination was killed the opportunity for Serbia to move forward.
That saying was confirmed in 2012 with the election of Tomislav Nikolic and the victory of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and Serbian Socialist Party (SPS). We could have followed the Croatian example. The Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), Franjo Tudjman's party, lustrated itself and changed its policy views. At a national level, all the political parties agreed to several key issues around which they built a consensus. And HDZ made more progress toward EU accession than the SDS did. I would have been really supportive if this similar process happened here, if the SNS and SPS transformed themselves into strong, conservative European parties. But they didn't do that. The same figures lead those political parties as they did in the 1990s. That's why I don't actually think they will be able to produce any change.
The only difference is that now the EU is much more involved in Serbia's business. If something good happens here, it will be because of international pressure or EU influence. We're waiting right now for the EU progress report on Serbia's progress toward EU accession. It will be a bad one. It will be one of the first signals that we are not on a good path. We always make one step forward and two steps back here in Serbia.
The second quantitative question is: same time period and same spectrum, how would you evaluate the changes in your own personal life?
2 or 3.
In 1989, I was only eight years old. I graduated high school in 1999, when at least one-third of the classes couldn't actually attend because of the situation. Only a handful of my generation actually ended up in good positions in the professions we wanted. The majority of my friends from high school or the law faculty ended up without any prospects. Some tried to go overseas or to Europe, mainly to work, not to study. Just yesterday, I heard new data on the news that the biggest Serbian export is people: our brain drain.
During the 1990s, we were in a really bad economic situation. My parents are middle-class people. My mom is a doctor, my father a lawyer. We had a decent life during the 1980s, and I'm not just speaking about financial circumstances. My father was the CEO of a huge company that had a chain of stores, like Wal-Mart, but it didn't deal with its employees like Wal-Mart or have Wal-Mart values. But it was really big, in the third place of successful companies in Yugoslavia. It was called Angropromet, and it was centered in Kikinda, in the north of Serbia, in Vojvodina, where I come from.
But during the 2000s, my father ended up without a job because he was labeled in his small community as politically active. He's now too old to be employed by these new companies. And his financial potential to start some office of his own was ruined in the 1990s. On the other hand, my mom reached retirement level, if we can call that success.
My father often says that he's a "loser of the transition." That's a phrase we often use here to describe all the people who couldn't find a place in the new circumstances. They didn't want to work in businesses outside the borders of the law. They didn't want to use the new opportunities just to make some profits. They didn't want to join some political parties just to get jobs. He didn't want to suddenly become an Orthodox believer and to denounce all of his beliefs just to be popular, because it's popular to be a believer these days. All of the people who stood by their beliefs, who found it so hard to adapt, they were eaten by the dragon in the end.
Finally, looking into the near future, how would you evaluate the prospects for Serbia, on a scale of one to 10, with one being most pessimistic and 10 being most optimistic?
That's really hard. If I give a high score, then I could be seen as giving good scores to the government, which I don't want to do.
For the first time, I didn't vote in these last elections, at any level. I couldn't find a person or a group that I could actually stand behind. Actually, at some level, I wanted to see the SPS in government. To see what they can offer? No, I know what they can offer. I wanted actually to see the process of catharsis in the Democratic Party (DS). I thought, and I still think, that if the DS had won another election, it would have become even worse than the Socialists. Because the DS actually showed that it could do even worse things than the SPS did.
For instance, during the DS period, the government didn't resolve the political conflict with Kosovo, and they could have done this: they controlled parliament, government, all the significant positions. They never solved the killings of the journalists of the 1990s, like Slavko Äuruvija. We know it was done by the secret police on the order of Milosevic or his wife. But these people are still somewhere in the structure. This is how the assassination of Djindjic happened, because these people were still in the structure. Not deconstructing the Milosevic regime — that was the biggest problem.
I don't think the Serbian Progressives will do any significant good for the people — on the contrary. We are now witnessing the internal elections inside the Democratic Party. We can expect some new people with some new ideas who are going to lead Serbia after these guys go away. Maybe we won't even have the Serbian Progressive Party in power for the full four years.
So, if I need to give a number, I would give a 5, because some processes are hard to stop. They can be slowed down to the point where you can't actually see the difference between slow and stop, and we've witnessed that happen. But some things can never be undone, like extraditing war criminals like Mladic and Karadzic to the ICTY. European Union accession cannot just be canceled. We cannot just turn toward the Russians, which this government is doing its best to do. From this perspective, we'll see some micro-progress in different spheres of life and society, which is why I give it a 5, which is much better than 2 or 3.
You said you graduated from high school in 1999 and that it was a difficult period. You went directly to university. That was a great time to be at the university, because things were just beginning to change, yes?
I was at the law faculty, and I was really involved in politics in those days. There were some professors who were in line with democratic politics, and it was a good opportunity to hear those clever guys and learn something from them. But on the academic side everything was still in chaos. Our academia could not be transformed into a system to educate professionals in needed professions. We failed to transform our educational system according to the Bologna standards. We made some significant progress during the Dzindzic period. But after that, we had an awful minister of education under Kostunica who even wanted to ban computers in schools and enforce creationism as a simultaneous doctrine preached alongside Darwinism. These were tectonic differences. All the Bologna processes were wasted.
Now you have some kind of a mixture. You still finish the faculty without learning the necessary skills by graduation. And you probably won't find a job. On the other hand, the students who are above average go away for their masters and Ph.D. studies abroad. They are getting scholarships.
What motivated you to become involved on these issues?
I was always socially active, first as an activist and then as a functionary of a political party, the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina (LSV), the strongest regional party in Vojvodina. It's a leftist party, with social democratic values and regional patriotism. We had a strong opponent in Milosevic. LSV was the strongest anti-war party and the strongest voice against Milosevic. It never had any secret deals with Milosevic.
Then, at a certain point in 2005 or 2006, I became disappointed with some internal party processes. I realized that a political party — all political parties but that one especially — exists just for the political benefits of a few people at the top. This is also confirmed by the fact that the leaders of all the parties have been pretty much the same for the last 22 years. The Democratic Party is different because it has had several splits in the party.
I was always in pretty good contact with civil society activists. And I was active in some initiatives led by civil society. I started to work with human rights organizations, like the Youth Initiative on Human Rights (YIHR). After a couple years there, I worked with the OSCE (Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe) in Sandzak. My job was to do monitoring activities and work with civil society. So, I was pretty much doing the same job as here, providing support and developing new projects together with civil society.
When you worked with YIHR, you were doing exchanges with Kosovo?
You were working with a regional party in Vojvodina, with OSCE in Sandzak, and on youth exchanges in Kosovo. So you've been working in different regions. What was it like when you arrived in Sandzak after spending that time in Vojvodina?
It was a shock for me in those regions. In Sandzak, what I realized is that the biggest problem is that they're forgotten. No one cares about those people. At that time in Sandzak, there was a division between the leaders of two different political parties, Rasim Ljajic and Sulejman Ugljanin. They supported different religious communities. The divisions went so deep that there were even store chains divided by political affiliation to Rasim or Sulejman. Over time, things changed, and they are now in the same government for the second time. But the central government could cultivate these divisions. If needed, it could pick a side to make whatever impact it wanted.
At the personal level, people there were very hospitable. I was well accepted there. Maybe I was lucky. But I jumped into a circle of open-minded people in Novi Pazar, a place that was witnessing all the same problems and conservatism faced by other parts of Serbia where the Orthodox Church is increasing its influence and people are dealing with religion in a populist way. Except that it's the Islamic community in Sandzak.
Serbia introduced fiscal receipts and value added tax (VAT) for the whole country. In Novi Pazar, however, most stores didn't have to submit their VAT receipts. Maybe something changed last year, but that was the case a couple years ago, and it was unique for Sandzak. Our IRS here in Serbia justified it as some kind of positive discrimination toward endangered people. But the fact is, we don't treat the people there as equal citizens. The state is just not present in Sandzak. That's what allowed the Bosnian War or the Kosovo War to happen: we wanted everything for ourselves and we didn't want to accept other ethnic groups into the policy-making process.
Given that experience, what are your expectations of a multiethnic Serbia surviving?
It will survive because those people will survive. But if we are going to have multiethnic communities, Serbia will have to find a way to preserve those multiethnic communities. Unfortunately these days, the Serbian government is appointing only Serbs to the key positions, like the ministries of force — justice, police — especially in south Serbia. Until we see a representative of the Albanian community in some key position in government, we will not actually be a true multicultural society.
On the other hand, Rasim Ljajic has been in some important positions in past years. He was, and maybe still is, the head of the unit for cooperation with ICTY. He was at one point the head of the unit responsible for Serb-Albanian processes in south Serbia. He was in charge of the ministry of labor. He has all these difficult portfolios. But still, his people don't see him as a unique representative of their interests. Of course, he will win elections and will have good polling numbers because he now creates jobs for a lot of people. A majority of the employees in Serbia are working for public facilities. Only an estimated 300,000 people are actually employed in some other branches of industries of the economy.
So, we really do have lessons that we can learn from. The bad part is that we never started a serious process of facing the past. We never had an opportunity to start the reconciliation processes. One of those initiatives is the Regional Conference on Peace and Conciliation (REKOM), started by the Fund for Humanitarian Law and YIHR and their peers in Bosnia and Croatia and Kosovo. This is the only organized effort to establish processes to build a sustainable peace in this area.
I doubt we'll have any escalation of violence in Sandzak and in south Serbia. But still, the Serbian state can choose to use those tensions if it wants to.
Your institute was founded in…?
2006. The aim is to build the capacities of local groups to advocate for their own interests, to organize themselves to increase their influence, and to participate in making decisions that are now made completely without their input. We have a methodology of making change at various levels: at the level of law, process, and system. We are still at the level of small changes: in procedures, bylaws, laws. We are still far from making changes at the level of the system. But by equipping CSOs in Serbia, they will be better able to make those changes sooner rather than later.
Your partners are civil society organizations.
Do you work with both NGOs and informal organizations?
We cannot work with informal groups because 95 percent of our activities implement USAID's civil society program. We are attached to the bureaucratic process of awarding, monitoring, and reporting. By those rules, we need to work with entities that are recognized by the law so that they can make a contract, open an account, receive money, report back.
We recognize the value of supporting informal groups, which are sometimes more influential and have a bigger impact than some well-established NGOs with multi-million-dollar budgets. One of our partners — we have five partner organizations – is the Balkan Community Initiative Fund. BCIF has a re-granting component in their program, and through that we are able to support smaller initiatives.
Can you give me an example of a civil society organization that you've worked with to build up its capacity so that it has more impact?
That's the goal. Unfortunately, here in Serbia, everything is tied to politics. You can work with a group of people, build up their capacities, invest the time and resource in some idea, and then you witness the shift of political parties in power and everything is cancelled. But one civic initiative, which is also one of our partners, has for years worked on building up the framework for how civil society organizations operate in Serbia. We have created the laws and bylaws that provide a clear foundation for the work of civil society organizations.
We have also worked with people who are now becoming leaders, even in governmental bodies. The Office for Cooperation with Civil Society, for instance, is led by a really progressive person. She has formed a team of really good young professionals who are adding a different color to the spectrum of colors in government.
There's also the Open Parliament initiative. For the first time in our multi-party system, our parliamentary sessions are open to the citizens. From 1997 to today, 15 years of transcripts, 150,000 speeches, are now available to the public and to researchers. After we started to disclose that information on our website, parliament also started to put transcripts on their website, although their transcripts are not in a form that allows other organizations to download and analyze them. But these are steps. In a period of two years, we hope we'll have a completely different situation regarding the transparency of parliamentary procedures.
One key issue is sustainability. It's great that USAID is providing assistance to Serbian civil society. But American money will not be available forever. So what are the steps being taken to ensure financial sustainability?
Especially through a new USAID initiative, we're trying to help organizations find alternative sources of funds. One step is to develop the culture of philanthropy in Serbia, which was really endangered by the embezzlement by some organizations of money raised for humanitarian actions. We just supported a small community foundation in eastern Serbia. We'll see how that model functions and whether it can fundraise from the local community: from businesses, from individuals, through the Internet. We just supported a small research project on venture philanthropy. We also have a business forum of the leading international companies. Unfortunately, there aren't many examples of Serbian companies that are socially responsible and investing in these funds and initiatives.
We are trying to find the best models to implement in Serbia in order to support the small grassroots initiatives. The bigger players will be able to fundraise from EU funds, but the small and medium-sized organizations don't have that capacity. Obviously, many of the smaller initiatives will not continue when the donor community withdraws. But the most valuable will continue, I hope.
Most of the CSOs you work with are in Belgrade?
About 52 percent of initiatives are outside of Belgrade. A large number we support are in Belgrade, but 2 million people live in Belgrade, so that represents a large population in Serbia. One of the criteria we use to deal with the huge level of applications is to support as geographically diverse a set of organizations as possible.
Do CSOs develop outside of Belgrade and then migrate here?
There are strong leaders, and organizations built around those leaders, in key municipalities, like Novi Pazar, Nis, Novi Sad. These guys develop not just one but several organizations, and those organizations are pretty successful. I'm not seeing them move to Belgrade. They are staying in their communities. They studied in Belgrade or Novi Sad, and they realized the value of their communities and returned to fight the numerous problems there. They are the heroes of civil society, because they are working in much more difficult circumstances than here in Belgrade.
Can you give me an example of a particularly successful initiative outside of Belgrade?
In Serbia, much of civil society is funded by the state. Local governments determine cooperation with civil society organizations through a particular budget line. From that line, they'll support Red Cross, political parties, the church, and so on. If there's money left over, they give it to some of the organizations that are close to the ruling political party. There's a huge movement in Serbia to change this practice.
In the city of Pozega, we succeeded in changing the way local government funds civil society organizations. The local assembly adopted a procedure for announcing a request for proposals, establishing a committee to evaluate the proposals, and then hiring a person to monitor the projects. This is unique. Now organizations in Pozega are aware of competing ideas and the fact that only the most useful ideas for the citizens will be supported. Eventually the benefit for citizens will be great.
DveriSrpski, the nationalistic organization, is also part of civil society. To what extent has there been a growth of such organizations that challenge the liberal conception that USAID has promoted?
There are a couple of those organizations, but there hasn't been a big growth in number. Most of these organizations are tied to conservative political parties or the church. Dveri is actually funded through the faculty of philosophy, and they have close ties to the Orthodox Church. I don't see them as a civil society organization because they are now registered as a political party and are now in the Novi Sad assembly. One local council member actually left Dveri to join the SPS in order to form the new majority in Novi Sad.
These organizations never wanted to cooperate with us or USAID because, if they did, they could no longer criticize other civil society organizations for being mercenaries that take orders from the American government. Some of these organizations should be banned because they are promoting hatred. There have been some initiatives to close some of them down, and some are still in the process of being banned. Unfortunately this is where our state shows a lack of strength to oppose these dark forces –and they really are dark forces! Because of these right-wing organizations, the pride parade was banned for the second year in a row, and that was a strong indication that the Serbian government has no capacity or will to oppose them.
To return to the issue of Kosovo, Sonja Biserko told me that the future of relations between Belgrade and Pristina depends not so much on official dialogue but on civil society dialogue between groups there and here. Do you see signs of hope at that level?
I don't believe that the kind of initiatives that put representatives of Albanians and Serbs at the same table just because they are Albanians and Serbs will show any progress. First of all, why just Serbia and Kosovo and not Croatia and Kosovo? We should be making these exchanges more interesting. Also, unless there is interest from concrete professions and sphere of interests for cooperation, none of these efforts will be successful. Obviously the official negotiators should overcome obstacles for normal life, such as communication or travel. But unless there is actual motivation for travel and cooperation, the official negotiations will just be political and won't directly affect people's lives.
Is there a particular vector that looks promising in terms of cooperation?
Cultural exchanges. Academic exchanges. Obviously, economic exchanges, which actually never died out. Those links have remained, they've just been under the table. Also sports exchanges, though those can sometimes be a problem. The groups of fans can be fascistic. That's true everywhere, but especially here in Serbia, and there are nationalistic elements in Kosovo as well.


text:
South-South Expo showcases successful solutions to food insecurity
Countries eye innovation, share ideas at week-long event
The theme of the GSSD Expo is 'Solutions, Solutions, Solutions!' as a concrete response to the strong
commitment made by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to help the Global South realize its shared aspirations of achieving sustainable and equitable development.
"We have already seen great progress thanks to southern solutions," stressed the Secretary-General in his statement. "We must now confront interlinked challenges through a broader campaign for sustainable
"Recent price hikes in world food prices are threatening to reverse decades of hard-won development gains in the South," said Macharia Kamau, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kenya to the United Nations and President of the UN General Assembly High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation in his opening statement. "But," he added, "despite these growing concerns, there is reason for optimism in success stories of countries in the South that have transformed themselves from basket cases to bread baskets."
Rebecca Grynspan, Associate Administrator of the UN Development Programme said increased capacity and regional integration have fueled economic progress, and South-South flows of finance, technology, and trade have grown significantly, with large emerging economies playing a particularly strong role.
"These factors have contributed to the significant progress made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals in many developing countries, as evidenced by the steep reductions in poverty and extreme hunger, improved child health and education, including for women and girls."
Manoj Juneja, FAO Deputy Director-General, said that a time when nearly a third of the world's population remains unable to adequately feed itself, the world also has the technological capability, and is actually producing enough food to feed everyone. "Sadly," he said, "while one in seven people on earth go hungry and are unable to consume even a basic meal, it is estimated that approximately a third of all food that is produced is wasted through either post-harvest losses or once it has reached the meal plate."
"We know a farmer's productivity increases nearly nine percent with four years of primary schooling," said Getachew Engida, Deputy Director-General of UNESCO. "We estimate that investing in girls' education could boost sub-Saharan Africa agricultural output by 25 percent."
Since its inception in 2008, the GSSD Expo has featured contributions from hundreds of partner countries, UN agencies, private sector enterprises and civil society organizations. The six thematic areas of GSSD 2011 are: (1) Agriculture, Food Security and Capacity Development; (2) Social Protection and Food Security; (3) Climate Change, Environment and Food Security; (4) Nutrition and HIV/AIDS; (5) Global Health and Food Security; and (6) Agribusiness, Renewable Energy and Food Security.
"It is not that we don't have the right policies and strategies," said Yiping Zhou, director of the UNDP Special Unit for South-South Cooperation. "It is that these are not where they are most needed!"


text:
28th Legendary Banked Slalom
Check out the DAKINE snowboard team as they visit one of the most legendary contests in the industry: The Mt. Baker Legendary Banked Slalom. Watch as Wolle Nyvelt, Shayne Pospisil, Johnnie Paxson, Curtis Ciszek, Bryan Fox, Leanne Pelosi, Jason Robinson, Josh Dirksen, Shaun Mckay, and more enjoy this unique contest in Washington


text: hi guys I've got this reseller named as "resller" under admin group in reseller folder which I am trying to delete, and I've deleted all elements from packages to site and clients but its sell gives following error on deleting, i've even emptied all recycles but the same thanks error: The reseller was not deleted. The reseller can only be deleted if all sites and customers of the reseller have been deleted. Also make sure that the waste-paper basket of the reseller is empty.


text:
Justin Bieber is in Miami, living large. Or trying to. Yachts, girls, beers…
It's the big boy lifestyle. It goes with his muscles.
Did you read the NY Mag article about JB that was posted this week, written by Vanessa Grigoriadis? She's the one who was supposed to do the Gwyneth Paltrow "take-down" or Vanity Fair last year. And the one who once described Britney Spears as an "inbred swamp thing" for Rolling Stone. It wasn't meant to be malicious at the time. It was, rather, a reflection on an era. And the girl who represented it.
Grigoriadis's piece on Bieber is well-researched and well-observed. Well worth your 10 minutes if you haven't already. It's a portrait of a person who's been arrested by fame and misguided by parents and mentors. She is objective but also sympathetic, almost hopeful. There's a sense of optimism, or perhaps wishful thinking, that he won't implode. What I appreciate too is her point that we, collectively, have created him too. Them. That includes us, the audience, and also those who create our present and future stars. It's a precarious life, that of a celebrity, a mega pop star. And yet, our friends, our colleagues, our neighbours, we keep trying to produce them.
So can Justin Bieber save himself…from himself?
Well, for the time being, he's enjoying the Fourth, tanning himself in his underwear. The other day he had his arms around a new girl. Which basically means he and Selena will be getting back together next week.
Click here to read the Grigoriadis article.


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• elect •
ê-lekt • Hear it!
Part of Speech: Verb, transitive
Meaning: 1. To choose for a specific function or purpose by voting, as to elect a new president. 2. To freely choose from a variety of choices, as to elect a college course outside one's major.
Notes: Today is Election Day in the United States, a good time to take a look at the verb on which election is based. This verb has given us plenty of offspring: the action noun election and the personal noun elector. This word's adjective, electoral, is prominent in the name of the Electoral College (pronounced Electoral not Electoral) that makes the final choice of presidents in presidential elections. The electorate is the body of electors or voters as a whole. The verb has its own adjective, too, elective, which comes with an adverb electively. Beyond that, the verb itself may used as a postpositional adjective in expressions like president-elect and senator-elect, referring to an elected official who has not yet been sworn into office.
In Play: Elect differs from select in referring to selecting someone for a specific position: "In a democracy, the people always elect the government they deserve." This verb also bears the connotation of selecting freely among an array of choices: "If I elect to shave the top of my head and grow hair on the bottom of it, that is my decision to make."
Word History: Today's Good Word is another Latin gift, taken this time from electus "chosen", the past participle of eligere "to choose". This verb was originally ex "out of" + legere "choose, appoint, read". The root of this verb, leg-, seems to have originally meant "to collect" and "to speak". No one knows why this root bears these two seemingly unrelated meanings. We find the root, though, in Latin lex, legis "law" (a collection of rules), a word curled up inside English legislator. Legislator was originally the Latin phrase legis lator "bearer of laws". But then we also see it in lexical and lexicon, which come from Greek lexis "speech", from legein "to speak".
P.S. - Register for the Daily Good Word E-Mail! - You can get our daily Good Word sent directly to you via e-mail in either HTML or Text format. Go to our Registration Page to sign up today!
Come visit our website at <http://www.alphadictionary.com> for more Good Words and other language resources!


text:
DFX Audio Enhancer 13.027
DFX dramatically improves the sound quality of Internet and digital audio.
What's New
Similar to 2
Whether you're listening to downloaded audio tracks or live Internet radio streams, DFX will greatly enhance your listening experience. DFX enhances Internet-oriented audio listening experiences by correcting for the sonic limitations of nearly all the popular data compressed Internet audio formats. Data compressed audio suffers from two major problems: loss of high frequency fidelity and loss of stereo separation and depth. DFX compensates for the loss of high frequency fidelity by carefully regenerating the missing high frequency harmonics in the audio. DFX then compensates for the reduced stereo imaging and depth by carefully generating ambience and stereo depth. Typical PC-based multimedia playback systems and even home stereo playback systems also suffer from limited dynamic range and headroom. DFX compensates for this limited headroom by carefully processing the audio to increase the perceived loudness of the audio without altering the perceived dynamic range. This can dramatically increase the undistorted playback level available when listening to MP3 and other streaming audio files.
- 3D Surround Sound - Immerse yourself inside the music
- Stereo Ambience - Renew lost stereo depth
- Dynamic Gain Boosting - Pump up the volume
- Headphones Optimization - Hear more pleasant, natural sounds with headphones
- Customizable Music Presets - Select finely-tuned settings for many styles of music
- Booming HyperBass - Produce deeper, richer bass
- High Fidelity Restoration - Eliminate that "muffled" sound
- Spectrum Analyzer - "See" DFX enhance your sound
- Music and Speech Modes - Get optimized sound for any type of audio
- Customizable Skins - Choose from hundreds of amazing skins
What's New
- Fixed: performance improvements with iTunes integration
- Fixed: Other miscellaneous bug fixes
- Fixed: Installation timeout issue for some users
- Fixed: Updated user manuals


text:
The U.S. Women's Soccer team got off to a record-setting start to the World Cup with an impressive 13-0 victory over Thailand, which included a record-tying five goals from Alex Morgan. Thailand could barely get anything going and managed just two shots on goal during the game.
Not everybody was happy with how the game played out. Many people felt the U.S. players should not have continued to pour it on and celebrate their goals once the game got out of hand. Retired soccer player Taylor Twellman blasted the team on Twitter for showing up their opponents as they ran up the score.
"0.0 problem with the score line as this is THE tournament BUT celebrating goals (like #9) leaves a sour taste in my mouth like many of you. Curious to see if anyone apologizes for this postgame.
Other fans agreed with him, pointing out that it was in poor taste to have a team celebration after scoring their 12th goal of the game.
The team's manager Jill Ellis told reporters after the game that she had no problem with how her team played or with their goal celebrations.
"This is a world championship, so every team here has been fantastic to get to this point. And I think that to be respectful to opponents is to play hard against opponents. It's a tournament where goal differential is important," Ellis said. "When you get a deluge of goals like that, it's a good feeling. It builds confidence."
The team will continue the defense of their 2015 World Cup championship against Chile on Sunday (June 16) and then finish off the first round with a match against Sweden on Thursday (June 20).
Photo: Getty Images


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Kitchen & Bathroom remodeling services are all available from SD Kitchen and Bath Remodeling, a full-service remodeling company situated in San Diego, California. The remodeling company has been providing exceptional service to the local community for many years.
Visit https://sandiegokitchenbathremodeling.business.site/ for more information.
SD Kitchen and Bath Remodeling, according to their website, works with both local households and businesses who want kitchen and bathroom remodeling. SD Kitchen and Bath Remodeling can help with entire service installation regardless of their project aims.
Despite the presence of other remodeling companies, SD Kitchen and Bath Remodeling stands out because they constantly prioritize the customer. As part of this commitment, the staff makes every effort to be completely honest at all times.
Customers may contact us with confidence, knowing that they are dealing with professionals they can rely on. SD Kitchen and Bath Remodeling can assist them with the remodeling of their kitchen and bathroom on their residential and commercial locations.
One of the most important advantages of remodeling for the home is that customers can rest assured that their lawn will look great at any time of year. Customers will save money on costly remodeling and will no longer need to worry about any design or creativity issues as the company does it all.
"When you acquire SD Kitchen and Bath Remodeling's remodeling service, you will save a lot of time and money on upkeep," the company claims. Most importantly, you'll rest easy knowing that you've chosen San Diego's best remodeling service providers to give your home or business a beautiful interior look all year without breaking the bank."
Professional remodeling services has a number of advantages, including the fact that it can last up to years without any wear and tear. It's also sleek, stylish, contemporary and modern.
Their remodeling services are also resistant to both hot and cold areas and can handle any temperature. The URL above provides extensive information on the services available or visit: https://www.google.com/maps?cid=17179063544213610910
Release ID: 89059872


text:
Whenever I want to feel fearful and depressed I usually visit one of the news websites. Earthquakes, murder, war, theft, snoops, kidnappers, recession, depression, corruption, and all other sorts of horrible news. When I read the news sites I'm reminded of how unsafe the world is. Soon I tire of the bad news and move on to investigate the net for news on tech and design. Today Foxnews.com had the audacity to remind me that I am unsafe even on the web. The site highlighted the news from Microsoft that thousands of Hotmail passwords had been exposed. It scared me to death. I nearly jumped to my Hotmail account before I even finished the article. Reading on I discovered that Microsoft had deactivated all the affected accounts until true control could be restored. Why do I care? Hotmail only collects my spam from sites that demand an email address. Hotmail lets through all the other spam anyway! But I digress.
The point of all this is: we are never safe. Their is no safe haven in the world or the web. Every company does it's best and so must we. Yet, sometimes problems may come. If we live with that understanding we can truly do our best to protect ourselves. When we react in panic there is not a clear path of thinking. So with this reminder of our web-identities fragility, what should we do? Let's refresh four basic email and online account rules:
- Always use a secure password. Your birthday, name spelled backwards, address, mothers name, dog's name, middle name, favorite food, and initials hardly qualify. Use one of the many free random password generators on the web or if you insist on an easier to remember one then create a mixture of information that you can remember. For example and purely fictitious: !S1eP99t9 This could be a combination of the month and year you and your spouse were married. Now while I would only call this a basic password it sure beats "Fluffy". Of course if you want your bank account to be protected by Fluffy, then more power to you.
- Never use the same passwords for multiple accounts. For that matter don't do what I did at the start and use the same password with just the last letter different! Why would you want someone to have a free-for-all with all your accounts? Use different passwords and find an open-source or free password vault. I personally love 1Password for the Mac.
- Change your passwords periodically. I must admit it takes the misfortune of someone to remind me to do this.
- Don't use a public computer. Many public computers are not adequately protected against the installation of malicious password key logging applications. Just don't log in on a public computer. Just say no. And certainly don't buy something online with your credit card information! Browse the web on it, read the news, just don't give any information.
I understand these are basic tips, but sometimes we just need to be reminded to stay alert and on guard. Kind of like reminding our kids to wear their helmet when they ride a bike. Resist the urge to become lazy online. I don't want to read about you on Foxnews.com.


text:
The Strategic Plan for Expanding Late Bus
In 2009, a committee made up of
school personnel, community members,
and parents worked together to develop
a plan that would help create a culture
of participation that ensures equitable
access to academic and extra curricular
activities for students. One of the action
items for accomplishing this goal was to
expand late-bus service to students
involved in academic support and extra
curricular activities at campuses for
grades 1-12. Our program has been successfully running for 12 years and counting. AHISD is very appreciative of the AH
School Foundation for its financial
support of this initiative!
Frequently Asked Questions:
The Alamo Heights Independent School District, the heart of our community whose passion is excellence, will educate and empower every student to excel academically and as a confident, compassionate citizen with impeccable character and a global perspective through engaging, personally challenging, and relevant experiences that inspire learning for life.


text:
Question: Upgrading to most recent development release
I installed BuddyPress out of the combo package – all is running well. I'm doing this on a test server so I'd like to do a bit more testing to help the community along. Can anyone tell me how to best go about upgrading frequently to the latest in trunk?
In addition to downloading files from trunk and copying them over (I got that part), I am assuming the database needs an upgrade whenever I move to a new version as well. Can anyone provide some pointers on how to do this?
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text:
• Easily Velcros around any shoulder strap or hip belt.
Why choose a Tough Traveler bag?
Our bags are handmade in Upstate New York, where we've been making great luggage, backpacks & other bags since 1970. They are well-made and durable, with unique designs & high-quality material.
"I acquired [a Tough Traveler duffel] in 1985-6?, it has flown almost a million miles, sailed for several years' worth of days and is still in use nearly every week for packing and traveling. ....... Thank you for the most amazing piece of luggage I own." - Peter Corsi, Richmond, CA
See what other customers have to say!
Related Products


text:
CaribbeanFever / FeverEyes / CaribFever
Caribbean Fever - Your ONLY destination to all things Caribbean and more
Six women from the Essex County area who wanted fuller bottoms ended up in hospitals after receiving buttocks-enhancement injections containing the same material contractors use to caulk bathtubs, officials said.
The women checked into hospitals in the county after their procedures, apparently administered by unlicensed providers, went horribly wrong, state health officials said. The women underwent surgery and were given antibiotics. No arrests have been made.
Different from medical-grade silicone, the substance used in the botched procedures was believed to be a diluted version of nonmedical-grade silicone.
"The same stuff you use to put caulk around the bathtub," said Steven M. Marcus, executive and medical director of the New Jersey Poison Information and Education System, who learned about the bizarre procedures through a committee he sits on that monitors outbreaks in the metropolitan area.
"What a tragedy," said Gregory Borah, chief of plastic surgery at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick.
Using over-the-counter silicone can cause abscesses that he said resemble "a big zit."
Borah, also president of the New Jersey Society of Plastic Surgeons, said the botched procedures underscore the need for patients who seek augmentation to have it administered by a licensed professional in a sterile setting.
A plastic surgeon doing buttocks augmentation would make an incision to develop a pocket underneath the muscle and shape the buttocks with inert medical-grade silicone, Borah said. He noted it is a relatively uncommon procedure in most practices and that he has done only two in his 24-year career.
By the time he tells patients of the potential risks — from anesthesia, scarring and silicone shifting when patients sit down — they often change their minds.
Breast and cheek augmentations are the most common procedures, he noted. Borah said buttock augmentation is more popular in some cultures than others.
The state Department of Health and Senior Services did not identify the women or release any details about their ethnicity. It also did not say where the "unlicensed medical provider or providers" performed their procedures.
"Fortunately, these women are being treated and are recovering," said Tina Tan, the state epidemiologist. "But there is the potential for more serious complications if these infections are not treated early and properly."
Investigators have not determined if the six cases, which began to be reported in mid-February, are related, but they have stoked concern among officials that such injuries are more common than previously thought.
Health officials issued an alert to state hospitals and doctors about the cases and the potential for more victims.
Marcus said there have been other incidents over the past couple years of providers providing implants of nonmedical-grade silicone, then getting put out of business — only for other shady providers to surface.
"Caveat emptor: Buyer beware," Marcus said. "If it looks too cheap, there's probably a reason it's too cheap."
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text:
Tuesday, September 7
My Baby Wears A...
69 comments:
congratulations! how sweet :)ReplyDelete
congrats!! :)ReplyDelete
Lovely! How exciting - congratulations!ReplyDelete
eeeee! congrats.ReplyDelete
that is so so exciting (:
oh wow! Congrats! I'm excited to see all the lovely little outfits and accessories you doll her up with! :o)ReplyDelete
congratualtions doll!! I am so excited for you! :]ReplyDelete
xo. Mandy
Awh! Congrats. That's so exciting! You are too cute.ReplyDelete
Congrats~ it's always wonderful either way!! happy Shopping!ReplyDelete
so utterly happy for you.
wow, so happy for you it all turned out as dreamed of :)! congratulations!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousSeptember 7, 2010 at 5:00 PM
YAY congratulations to you and your family!ReplyDelete
How sweet! Any colors in mind for the baby? I might just make you a present!ReplyDelete
Awwww congrats!!! SO excited for you!!!ReplyDelete
Awwww!! That is so exciting, congratulations! I am slightly jealous :) (just don't tell my husband that)ReplyDelete
Yay! Congrats. :)ReplyDelete
- AnonymousSeptember 7, 2010 at 5:27 PM
Wow, I'm so happy for you. Congratulations!ReplyDelete
so exciting! congrats to you! baby girl stuff is so much cuter than boy stuff. but good luck with two teenaged daughters! yikes! haha <3ReplyDelete
YAY Katie! I am so excited for you :)ReplyDelete
wooo hoooooo!! i'm so excited for you katie!!! that's so exciting!!ReplyDelete
♥ allisterbee.blogspot.com
Oh, the shopping!!! And the making!!! I bet Renegade has some fancy stuff for that little one.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousSeptember 7, 2010 at 5:46 PM
Sweet sisters :)ReplyDelete
Congrats to you all!
Eeee congrats sweetie!ReplyDelete
Congrats - how exciting! :)ReplyDelete
yay!!! congrats for you and your family!ReplyDelete
3 ring circus!
Naww! Congrats :):)ReplyDelete
yay! i knew it! congrats katie! can't wait to hear the little one's name and see what you dress her up in! I know Hope's excited!:)ReplyDelete
Aw, yay! Congrats! :)ReplyDelete
- AnonymousSeptember 7, 2010 at 6:18 PM
She will be so pretty! I can't wait to see her! Excited for you. Congrats!ReplyDelete
Congratulations! Shopping for girl clothes is the best...ReplyDelete
- AnonymousSeptember 7, 2010 at 6:53 PM
yay mama! 2 girls are so great! :) xoxo.ReplyDelete
AHHHHH! Congrats! :)ReplyDelete
congrats! so exciting!!ReplyDelete
Congrats Katie!!! :)ReplyDelete
So happy for you!ReplyDelete
Congratulations! That is so exciting! From Miranda your blog lurker :)ReplyDelete
congratulations!! i'm excited for you :)ReplyDelete
lucky lady! now you don't have to worry about trucks in the blythe house after all ;)ReplyDelete
i already said congrats, i think, but CONGRATS! be sure to share all the cute baby stuff you're buying!ReplyDelete
Congratulations! Another little girl- cute.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousSeptember 7, 2010 at 8:23 PM
Congrats!! :)ReplyDelete
- AnonymousSeptember 7, 2010 at 8:27 PM
yay! girls are so much funner to shop for! congrats!ReplyDelete
Congrats to you and yours!ReplyDelete
awesome, girls are the best!ReplyDelete
Congrats, congrats, congrats!!ReplyDelete
Hey! That's great! Congratulations Kaite, what an adorable family you are growing!ReplyDelete
Congratulations! I am 28 weeks preggo with a girl, too..and naming her was so much fun!ReplyDelete
What fun! Having two boys and one little girl (and a little girl on the way!), I can definitely say that either would have been awesome. But, sisters... Aww... Sisters are special :) Congratulations. Oh, I can also say that shopping for a girl... SO MUCH EASIER AND MORE FUN!ReplyDelete
Congratulations! Another cute crafter on the way! Your "gang" is growing!ReplyDelete
I wish for you a healthy and beautiful baby girl! I'm sure she'll be lucky with a mom like you!
Yay for little girls!ReplyDelete
Congratulations girl!!ReplyDelete
pink bows, dresses and mary janes,
Aaaaaw! girl stuff is just adorable, I can't wait to see all your shopping and projects, congrats♥ReplyDelete
yay for girls!! i'm excited for you.ReplyDelete
YAYAY!!! congratulations on knowing it's a girl! woohooo!ReplyDelete
awww a baby girl! :)ReplyDelete
Congrats....get ready to GO broke!!! Ha.ReplyDelete
Congratulations! This was a very cute way to reveal it to everyone, too! :)ReplyDelete
congratulations! :)ReplyDelete
Fantastic!! Congratulations!!ReplyDelete
congrats babeReplyDelete
So exciting! Congratulations! :)ReplyDelete
I can't wait to see all the pretty things you buy!
so happy for you !!!!!ReplyDelete
dommie x


text:
Need help finding the perfect solution or services to fit your company's needs?Please contact our technical support team:
CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA -- Integrated Photonics Technology (IPITEK), a leading designer, developer, manufacturer and supplier of Video-Optimized Intelligent Broadband Networks, announced today that its 10 Gigabit MSP-10GE Ethernet Platform will now feature tools that enable proactive monitoring and maintenance of broadband networks. The new tools will assist cable and data communications distributors in overseeing the health of their networks by helping them to anticipate and remedy problems before they negatively affect network service.
IPITEK's monitoring tools have been optimized for the robust operation of critical network operations essential for business and video applications, both of which are growing exponentially via the Internet, cable networks, telco networks, and mobile devices. The new tools continually check for problems with network traffic with configurable alarm thresholds based on various statistics and traffic utilization. The product supports industry-standard protocols for network and element management, making it possible for network administrators to monitor for alarms whenever error thresholds are crossed using their current and future management system. These tools will be standard issue on all new shipments of IPITEK's MSP-10GE Ethernet platform. Current IPITEK customers will simply need to perform a software upgrade to access the new features.
"Our MSP-10GE product has been successfully deployed by several major cable operating companies and is carrying live network traffic, helping carriers manage and expand their broadband networks and deliver the high-bandwidth services of tomorrow," said Michael Salour, chairman and chief executive officer of IPITEK. "These new monitoring tools will assist service providers in maintaining compliance with service level agreements, which improves customer satisfaction and increases network uptime."
Since 2006, IPITEK's MSP-10GE Ethernet platform has offered a high bandwidth, scalable and easy to manage switch so network administrators can completely control how the traffic flows through their network. The platform presents an excellent choice for business services, video services, back office, and any other applications where low-latency, flexible configuration, and extensive monitoring are essential for smooth network operation. The switch assures customers a rich feature set and interoperability in any network, allowing providers to deliver services based on the actual needs of their customers. With the capacity to handle the demanding requirements of data centers, access networks, and business services now and into the future, its compact and low power consumption design makes it an ideal solution for operators who require a small footprint and have tight power budgets.
About IPITEK
Founded in 1982, IPITEK is a leading designer, developer, and manufacturer of advanced technology products and services that enable cable and telecommunications companies to process high quality analog and digital signals and better manage and expand their broadband networks. IPITEK offers cost-effective products that are manufactured domestically in top-notch production facilities, and provides a high degree of personalized service and customer care. The company's premiere MSP-10GE Optical Ethernet platform offers flexibility, efficiency and the convenience of technology interoperability, bandwidth-on-demand and remote monitoring. IPITEK (www.IPITEK.com) is ISO-9001 certified and based in Carlsbad, CA.
IPITEK 24/7 Support Team
Tel: +1(760) 207-7675
© 2023 Integrated Photonics Technology, Inc. All rights reserved.


text:
Pre-Order Anniversary Sorcerer's Stone, New Interview with Cover Artist
May 30, 2008
Previously we told you Scholastic, the US publishers of the Harry Potter novels were issuing a special 10th anniversary edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone that would contain new material from author J.K. Rowling. You can now pre-order the book, here via our Cauldron Shop for a reduced price of $19.80. The book will be released on September 23, 2008.
As part of the anniversary edition, the book will contain this new artwork (also here in our galleries) from Mary GrandPre and Time magazine has a new interview online, where the artist discusses this piece and illustrating the beloved Harry Potter series. She says that drawing for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was her favorite and she relished the opportunity to revisit Harry for the 10th anniversary edition saying "It was really a nice opportunity. As Harry grew, I always wished I could go back and make a new piece for each book. So when the anniversary cover idea came up, I was really excited to do that. It's like getting to do a new portrait of this old soul you really know."
She also noted that before the final book she had never watched any of the Harry Potter films but now she is enjoying them now because she doesnt have to worry about them influencing her creations. Mary GrandPre also confirmed that the colors of the covers were a hint of things to come in the book.
"Your cover art often seems to contain hints of what's to come without spoiling the plot. Is that a difficult line for you to walk?
A little bit, but that's the fun part too. You're teasing the readers with something that piques your interest. It's fun to design that into the cover, and show hints and shadows. The mood in the book is often set by suggesting things�a sound, a soft color, a shadow. I try to do that with the illustrations, too, to give that sense of mystery to it when I can."
Thanks Jamie!


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Last modified: Friday, June 24, 2011
Insights into infidelity: Study examines influence of sexual personality characteristics
June 24, 2011
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- In a new study, men and women were more likely to report infidelity, or cheating -- often a marriage or relationship deal-breaker -- when they also experienced an increased sensitivity for sexual performance problems and a decreased likelihood to lose their sexual arousal in the face of risk or danger.
The study, by researchers at Indiana University's Center for Sexual Health Promotion, The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction, and the University of Guelph, is the first to look at the influence of lovers' sexual personality traits on infidelity. Their findings, published online this month in the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior, show that these sexual personality characteristics carry more sway than factors typically studied, namely demographic information such as gender and marital status.
Consistent with previous studies, the IU study found little difference in the rates of infidelity reported by men and women (23 percent and 19 percent, respectively). However, there were difference between the sexes in reasons related to infidelity. The propensity for sexual excitation, or the ease with which one becomes sexually aroused by all kinds of triggers and situations, played a bigger role for the men compared to the women, for whom lower relationship happiness and poor compatibility with their spouse or partner in terms of sexual attitudes were more important to the prediction of infidelity.
"With women, they might seek feelings of closeness elsewhere if they aren't happy with their relationship," said Kristen Mark, lead author and researcher at the Center for Sexual Health Promotion, in IU's School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation.
And while the idea that an increased sensitivity to sexual performance failures would make men and women more likely to cheat might sound counter-intuitive, Mark said other Kinsey Institute studies have tied higher levels of inhibition such as this with risky sexual behavior.
"People experiencing this might seek out high-risk situations to overcome arousal problems, or might feel less pressure to impress someone outside of their primary relationship than they do with their partner," Mark said. "A new partner also wouldn't know your history of having performance concerns or other issues."
The study, conducted online, involved 506 men, average age 33, and 412 women, average age 28, who indicated being heterosexual and in a monogamous sexual relationship. They provided demographic information, such as religiosity, education and income, and were asked about their sexual behaviors, relationship quality, and whether they had cheated on their current spouse or partner. The study participants reported monogamous relationships lasting from three months to 43 years. Approximately half reported being married at the time. Infidelity was defined as engaging in sexual interactions with someone other than their partner and that this interaction could jeopardize or hurt their relationship.
More about the study:
- Neither marital status nor how religious study participants were was predictive of having had or not having had sex outside of the relationship.
- For both men and women, another predictor of infidelity was a tendency to engage in regretful sexual behavior when in a negative or positive mood state.
- Study participants completed the Sexual Excitation/Sexual Inhibition Scales (SIS/SES), a questionnaire developed at The Kinsey Institute that considers sexual personality characteristics. It measures propensity for sexual excitation (SES) and for two types of sexual inhibition: Sexual inhibition due to the threat of performance failure (SIS1) and sexual inhibition due to the threat of performance consequences (SIS2). The men and women also completed the Mood and Sexuality Questionnaire. The SES/SIS, which is used by researchers all over the world, is based on the dual control model of sexual response, developed by researchers at The Kinsey Institute. This model proposes that sexual desire, arousal and associated behaviors depend on a balance between sexual excitation and inhibition, and that people vary in their propensities for these processes.
- Concerning sexual inhibition due to the threat of performance consequences (SIS2), for every one unit increase, with higher scores representing higher inhibition, women were 13 percent less likely to have cheated and men were 7 percent less likely to have cheated.
- Concerning inhibition due to the threat of sexual performance failure, women were 8 percent more likely to cheat for each one unit increase on the scale that measured this inhibition (higher score means greater inhibition). Men were 6 percent more likely to cheat with each one unit increase on the scale.
- Women reporting low relationship happiness were 2.6 times more likely to report having engaged in infidelity. Women who perceived low compatibility in terms of sexual attitudes and values were 2.9 times more likely to cheat.
Erick Janssen, co-author of the study and senior scientist at The Kinsey Institute, said the study provides "another piece in the puzzle" of why people behave as they do sexually. Mark said the findings could have therapeutic uses. The findings concerning sexual personality characteristics could help intuitive people navigate relationships in such a way to help them avoid potentially risky situations.
Co-authors of "Infidelity in Heterosexual Couples: Demographic, Interpersonal and Personality-Related Predictors of Extradyadic Sex," are Mark, Janssen and Robin Milhausen, University of Guelph, Canada.
For a copy of the study or to speak with one of the researchers, contact Jennifer Bass at 812-855-7686 and firstname.lastname@example.com, or Tracy James at 812-855-0084 and firstname.lastname@example.com.


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In this drought year, it's my only hope. Yet I can't see it, hear it or feel it. It lies hidden deep beneath my farm. Without it, my farm and my neighbors go thirsty. All my senses focus on groundwater.
With a depleted snowpack in the Sierra and record low reservoirs, thousands of Central Valley farms will depend on water extracted from wells to keep their plants alive and to grow food. Hundreds of pumps in Valley cities and towns also supply water to tens of thousands of thirsty households. Farmers and city folks will pray our machines will continue to suck water from aquifers below our lands.
We are forced to visualize a new landscape. We will desperately learn how to read maps to determine groundwater depths under our homes and farms, and make educated guesses of how much longer our wells will provide us with the life-giving elixir.
Like an explorer of uncharted seas, I've spread out hydrology maps of groundwater levels on my kitchen counter, trying to make sense of the curving lines cutting across our Valley floor. It's a topography chart of the unseen and concealed treasure under my feet. I run my fingers over the lines, hoping to acquire a feel of this unknown landscape. I have to learn how to read this new terrain and see the invisible.
Location. Location. Location. Real estate with a twist: where a farm or city lies and their water deposits (or lack of) will determine survival or death.
My farm is just south of Fresno and happens to be in a good water zone. I think I'm lucky – this is all unexplored territory. My water table sits about 50 feet beneath the ground's surface. I have two wells, each dropping 200 feet, and good pumps. In the last 15 years, my water table has dropped 20 to 30 feet. I'm lucky. I thank my father who happened to buy this farm with unknown buried treasures of liquid gold.
Yet in the last few years, the water table has receded at a much quicker pace due to a lack of rainfall to recharge the underground aquifers and to farmers who were forced to tap underground pools because of very limited supplies of surface water. How long will our groundwater last? Who regulates this hidden asset? Who owns this fortune? These questions will haunt me for the future and will have an impact on my children's dreams of farming.
In California, groundwater operates with very little regulation. The next great debate will challenge private property rights vs. government regulation. I believe we must first explore monitoring systems and create local districts to establish protocols for reasonable and sustainable groundwater use. This will force cities and farms to adopt a regional approach to groundwater management – we all contribute to a liquid savings account.
Yet a challenge will arise – must regions cooperate with each other? Perhaps then a water marketing structure will be established with dollars as the determining factor. That troubles me, because then my worth as a farmer may be determined only by the price of water. Will I then become a prospector and miner, part of a modern-day film "There Will Be Blood"?
Twenty miles to the west, farms sit on a cliff. Literally. The aquifer crashes downward to 200 to 220 feet below ground level. The underground terrain radically shifts and aquifers collapse. Those farmers will struggle, forced to employ deeper wells with huge pumps and for very, very expensive water. Some of that water has high mineral accumulation and is not the best for irrigation. The landscape beneath those farms is not kind.
Yet in other parts of our Valley, like the Sacramento area, it is like living on another planet. Water tables are higher than in the San Joaquin Valley and have not collapsed with this drought. It's the luck of geography and planning, more rainfall and rivers that recharge the land, a land where two rivers, the Sacramento and San Joaquin, converge to form the Delta.
These aquifers are different, fed for eons by different flows of water. I can't read their maps – they don't make sense to an "arid" farmer in the south with my coarse soils. Groundwater acquires a different meaning for them. They are on Mars while I live on Venus.
We reside and farm in a groundwater oasis; the Central Valley Aquifer system blesses our lands. An aquifer is not a river but more like pools of water squeezed between layers of rock and earth. They are fed by rain, seepage from rivers and reservoirs, and snowmelt – also by irrigation. We forget that not all the water I apply to my fields is taken up by plants. In fact, when we furrow irrigate, the majority of the water is not lost but percolates into the earth and recharges the aquifer.
Just as surface water feeds our aquifer, the opposite is true: Pumping can deplete groundwater supplies. Overdrafting means more water is taken than given, and like a bank, we will pay for it in the long run. We think of this drought being a few years old, and quickly ignore decades-long droughts that are part of our history.
We live in a geography of hope. Hope for adequate rain and snow, hope for a short-term drought, hope our groundwater will last long enough to weather this thirst. At times, optimism blinds us; already I anxiously read long-range weather reports and the potential for El Niño next year – which can mean rain.
But the hidden landscape beneath us will quickly become visible, dividing our lands and landowners into the haves and have nots. Water will gradually be depleted – not just on farms but also in small towns and cities. When we turn on our taps and pumps and only a trickle flows, the curse of limited groundwater will be felt.
We are not dinosaurs who blindly faced a changing climate and environment. We can learn to read maps and see the future. We can begin to address this crisis with planning, policy and sacrifice. On our farm, we've retired 20 percent of the land and are experimenting with fallowing some of our perennial crops. We may all have to share in this solution. And the dreaded "C" word escapes from our dry lips and parched throats: compromise.