text:
The Purest of Diamonds? (Harlequin Presents Series #3229)
Paperback(Mass Market Paperback - Original)
Temporarily Out of Stock Online
As the youngest of the famous Skavanga sisters, beautiful Leila has earned her reputation as the untouched Skavanga diamondand is tired of it! It's time to start living her life, and who better to teach her how than gorgeous Spaniard Raffa Leon?
Raffa has no problem mixing business with pleasure! Intrigued by her shy purity and enticed by her request, he'll ensure Leila enjoys everything life has to offer. But as her frosty facade gives way to an unleashed passion, Raffa realizes that there are consequences to playing with fire!
Product Details
|Publication date:
|Harlequin Presents Series , #3229
|Edition description:
|Product dimensions:
|4.70(w) x 7.00(h) x 0.60(d)
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
Tension coiled in Leila's stomach as she peered out of the cab window to weigh up the party guests pouring into the hotel. This time of year wasn't great for holding an event in the frozen north. Leila's home town of Ska-vanga was beyond the Arctic Circle in the land of the midnight sun, but when her sister Britt threw a party no one cared about the weather. Sky-high heels and body-con was the order of the day for the women, while the men rocked formal suits beneath their silk scarves and alpaca overcoats. The mantra for the packs of girls heading up the steps to the hotel appeared to be: if you're going to freeze, do it on the way to Britt's party.
Leila was the only one of three Skavanga sisters who didn't shine at parties. Small talk wasn't her strength. She was happiest in her office in the basement of the mining museum, gathering and recording fascinating information-
Relax, Leila instructed herself firmly. Britt had lent her a gorgeous dress with a pair of spindle-heeled sandals to match, and she had a fleece-lined jacket sitting next to her in the cab. All she had to do was run up the steps of the hotel, breeze into the lobby and get lost in the crush.
'You have a good time now!' the cabbie insisted as she paid the fare, adding a hefty tip because she felt sorry for him having to work such a filthy night.
'Sorry I couldn't get you any closer to the hotel,' he added, pulling a long face. 'I've never seen so many cabs here before-'
The Britt effect, Leila thought as she smiled. 'Don't worry. This is fine for me-'
'Careful you don't slip, love-'
Too late!
'You all right?' The cab driver leaned out of his open window to take a look at her. 'Fine, thank you.'
Liar. She had just performed a series of skating moves that would have done any ice star proud-if that ice star were a clown, that was.
The cabbie shook his head with concern. 'The roads are really icy tonight.'
She'd noticed. She was currently lodged in an inelegant squatting position at the side of his cab, her tights were ripped, and her dress was thankfully not completely ruined after a close encounter with the side of a mud-streaked cab. Thank goodness her dress was blue-black. Navy was a great colour. It could be sponged.
Picking herself up, she stood waiting for a gap in the traffic. The cabbie was also waiting for the cars to clear. 'Aren't those the three men in the consortium that saved the town?' he said, pointing.
Leila's heart lurched. Sure enough, heading in arrow formation up the steps of the hotel were her elder sister Britt's husband, the Sheikh of Kareshi; her middle sister Eva's fiancé, the impossibly handsome Italian Count Roman Quisvada; and the third man in the consortium, who drew her gaze like a heat-seeking missile to its target. Powering up the steps ahead of the other men, Raffa Leon. Dangerously attractive. Currently single.
Turning away from more trouble than most women could handle, Leila shook her head with impatience for allowing herself to indulge in a moment of sheer fantasy. She was the shy, virginal sister in a family of out-there go-getters, and Raffa spelled danger in any language. Even the most experienced woman would think twice before falling into his lap, and she was more of a smalltown mouse.
But the cabbie was right in saying the three men had saved the town. Leila and her two sisters, Britt and Eva, along with their long-lost brother, Tyr, had used to own the Skavanga mine outright, but when the minerals ran out and diamonds were discovered, they couldn't afford the specialized equipment required to mine the precious stones. The town of Skavanga had always depended on the mine for its existence, so the future of everyone who lived there had been at stake too. It had been such a relief when the powerful consortium had moved in, saving both the business and the town.
'There's one billionaire left, if you hurry,' the cabbie commented with a wink. 'The other two are married- or about to be, I heard.'
'Yes.' Leila smiled. 'To my sisters-'
'So you're one of the famous Skavanga Diamonds,' the cabbie exclaimed, clearly impressed.
'That's what they call us,' Leila admitted. She laughed. 'I'm the smallest stone with the most flaws-'
'Which makes you the most interesting in my book,' the cabbie cut in. 'And you're still in with a chance, seeing as there's one billionaire left for you.'
She loved his sense of humour and couldn't stop herself laughing. 'I've got more sense than that,' she assured him. 'And I'm definitely not Raffa Leon's type.' She gave a theatrical sigh. 'Thank goodness.'
'He has got a bit of a reputation,' the cabbie agreed. 'But you don't want to believe everything you read about people in the press.'
Remembering how the glossies made out that all three Skavanga sisters were currently monopolising the world stage, at least as far as celebrity went, Leila was inclined to believe him. The only stage she stood a chance of monopolising was the bus shelter on her way to work.
'And remember this,' the cabbie added, giving Leila an appraising look. 'Billionaires like to marry down. They want a quiet life at home. They have enough excitement in the office. Don't take offence,' he said quickly. 'I mean that as a compliment. You look like a nice, quiet girl, is all.'
By this point Leila was convulsed with laughter. 'And no offence taken. Now you be careful of the icy roads. I'm guessing you've got a long, cold night ahead of you.'
'Too right, I have. Goodnight, love. You have fun at that party.'
'I will,' she promised. Just as soon as she had visited the restroom to sort out her dress. Parties might not be her thing, but she had no intention of letting down her glamorous sisters by arriving at their celebration looking as if she'd been mud wrestling before she arrived.
Picking her way carefully across the icy road as soon as there was a gap in the traffic, she launched herself into the shadows. Raffa Leon was standing at the top of the steps scanning the street, probably waiting for some glamorous socialite to decant from a limo.
God, he was gorgeous!
But bang went her plan for an anonymous entrance- Not necessarily All she had to do was choose her moment and scoot past him. He wouldn't even notice her- Wrong.
Everything was going so well. Raffa was looking one way while she was running up the steps on his blind side. But then she hit a patch of ice, and while her heels went one way she went the other. With a shriek, she prepared to hit the stone hard.
Wrong again.
'Leila Skavanga!'
She was shocked into silence for a moment as the most impossibly handsome face in the world hovered inches from her own.
'Raffa Leon!' She faked surprise. 'Goodness! Please forgive me. I didn't see you standing there-'
Surprise? Make that deeply embarrassing. If there was one lap she didn't want to land in tonight, it was this lap. And Raffa was holding her so firmly she had no option but to remain exactly where she was, with him shooting heat through her veins, and quite a lot of other places too. Trying not to breathe in case the cheese sandwich she'd chomped down earlier overrode the smell of toothpaste, she remained immobile, while he while he just smelled amazing. And those eyes
'Thank you,' she said, recovering her senses as he lifted her and steadied her on her feet.
'I'm glad I caught you.'
His voice was deep and sexy, and faintly accented in a way that would have made the call of a corncrake sound melodious. 'I'm glad you did too.' He had just performed a save that would have earned him a standing ovation if she'd been a rugby ball.
'You didn't twist your ankle, did you?'
The man for whom the phrase tall, dark and handsome had been invented was looking at her legs. Deeply conscious of her ruined tights, she made a big play of brushing herself down. 'No. I'm fine.' She shook both feet in turn as if to prove the point and then felt stupid. He made her feel so gauche.
'We have met before,' he said, easing his big, sexy shoulders in a shrug.
'In the reception line at Britt's wedding,' she confirmed. 'It's good to see you again.'
Not only did he smell divine, and he was unreasonably compelling in a swarthy, piratical way, but those wicked eyes and that energy flying off him, both were off the scale. This encounter was so far out of her comfort zone, it was embarrassing, and she was longing to escape, but Raffa seemed in no hurry to get away. In fact he was studying her face as if she were one of the exhibits in the museum. Was her mascara smudged? She wasn't very good at applying make-up. Worse! Did she have sandwich stuck in her teeth?
Closing her mouth, she checked discreetly with her tongue.
'Not only did we meet before, we're almost family, Leila.'
'Sorry ' When Raffa's eyes smiled into hers, she couldn't think straight. 'Family?'
'Si,' Raffa insisted in his addictive Spanish drawl. 'Now the second member of the consortium is marrying a Skavanga sister, there's only us two left. There's no need to look so shocked, Señorita Skavanga. I only meant that perhaps we can get to know each other a little better now.'
Did he really want to?
Why did he want to?
Instantly suspicious of why such a devastatingly successful, good-looking man would want to get to know her better, she blurted, 'I don't have many shares in the company.'
Raffa laughed then forced a gasp out of her as he bowed over her hand. 'I don't have any intention of stealing your shares, Leila.'
How could someone brushing his lips over the back of her hand cause so much sensation? She'd read about things like this. Before they were married or engaged her sisters had talked incessantly about romantic encounters, but this was a whole new world for Leila. Not that Raffa meant to be romantic. It was just his way of putting her at ease.
So why was it having the opposite effect?
People were still pouring up the steps to the party, pressing in on them from every side, making conversation impossible, let alone making it easy to move away from each other. And she was hopeless at small talk. The weather? It was always cold in Skavanga. That would keep them talking for all of ten seconds. But this was a Skavanga sisters' party, and Raffa was their guest, so it was up to her to make him feel welcome.
Bracing herself, she launched in. 'I hope you're enjoying your trip to Skavanga.'
He seemed amused by her opening sally. 'I am now.'
This was accompanied by a slanting smile that would bring Hollywood to its knees.
'It's been back-to-back business meetings for me before tonight,' he explained, his face turning serious, which was another great look for him. 'I just finished another meeting.'
'So you're staying here at the hotel?'
She blushed as Raffa held her gaze and frowned slightly. He probably thought she was coming on to him, when that was a typical example of Leila Skavanga out of her depth and swimming frantically to reach the shore. Or, to put it another way: she had zero small talk.
Fortunately, Raffa had turned to assess the logistics of making it through the door without being trampled on. 'It seems to have quietened down a bit. Shall we go in?'
'Oh, I can make it from here,' she insisted, guessing he was longing to get away.
'Don't look so worried, Leila,' he said, smiling. 'You're going to love the party. Trust me '
Trust Raffa Leon? When everyone knew his reputation? 'I'd better find my sisters, but thank you for your assurance-and for your great save,' she added as an afterthought, smiling.
'Don't mention it.'
His eyes were warm and luminous, and they plumbed deep, considering Raffa Leon was practically a stranger. This only made her more determined to stick to her original plan, which was to share a quick drink with her sisters, eat dinner-without spilling food down her, if possible-and then indulge in a little non-controversial chit-chat before shooting off as soon as she politely could.
'You're shivering, Leila-'
Oh. She was, she realised now.
'And you're laughing?'
She bit her lip, to stop thinking about the Raffa effect, and how her shivering had nothing to do with the freezing cold.
'Here-put my overcoat on.'
'Oh, no, I-'
Too late! She might have a perfectly good jacket, but Raffa's reflexes were too fast for her and now she had his coat draped round her shoulders. It was hard to pretend she wasn't distracted by his residual heat in the coat, or by the fact that it still carried the faint imprint of his cologne.
'How did you get all this mud on your dress, Leila?'
As he noticed everything she decided to make a joke of it. 'I.um.slipped away for a minute?'
He laughed. 'And I thought I saved you.'
'Next time I'll have to do better.'
'Hopefully, there won't be a next time. It was my fault for chatting to the cabbie instead of looking where I was going.'
Raffa's mouth kicked up at one corner as his eyes lit in a conspiratorial smile. 'The landing wasn't too hard, I hope?'
It was hard not to laugh. 'Only my pride got bruised.'
'I think we'd better go inside before you have another accident, don't you, Leila?'
His smile was indefensibly sexy, she concluded, dragging her gaze away, but it was nice to have a man take care of her for once, especially when she was Ms Independence-not that she was going to make a habit of it, but for a few short minutes on this one special night, it couldn't hurt to lap up his aura, and she was quite sure Don Leon would find some excuse or other to part company as soon as they were inside the hotel.
So, he'd finally met the third Skavanga sister. And for longer than a ten-second handshake in a receiving line. She had turned out to be quite a surprise. Tense, but funny, Leila Skavanga was hugely lacking in self-confidence for some reason. He didn't blame her for not relishing the prospect of a party-false smiles and meaningless chit-chat weren't his favourite form of recreation either.
It was hard being the youngest in a family, as he knew only too well, though he'd broken free of the constraints imposed on him at a young age. When he'd been young, with absentee parents, and three older brothers to kick him around, not to mention two older sisters, who took great pleasure finishing the job, it was no surprise he'd turned out to be a handful. In his experience you went one of two ways as the youngest child: determined and driven, as he was, or retiring and apologetic, like Leila Skavanga.
'Let's find the restroom first, to sort out your clothes,' he suggested as soon as they were inside the hotel. He was feeling unusually protective towards this woman, he realised as Leila glanced at him.
'That was my plan,' she confirmed as if to let him know that she was setting the ground rules-and she could look after herself, thank you very much.
'Before I intercepted you?'
'Before I landed in your lap,' she corrected him.
He laughed into her eyes. He liked the defiance he saw there. There was more to Leila Skavanga than met the eye. But then her cheeks flushed red and she looked away.
Why was she embarrassed? Too much physical contact? Too much physical contact with him?
Could Leila really be that innocent? His ingénue radar-rusty from lack of use-said yes. Her sisters weren't noted for being shy and retiring, which only made Leila all the more intriguing. And when she turned to look at him with eyes that, apart from being very beautiful, were wide and candid, he registered a most definite physical response.
'Come,' he said, forging a passage for her through the crowd. 'Let's get you sorted out so you can enjoy the party.'
Customer Reviews
Average Review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews


text:
Another Emraan Hashmi movie by Mahesh Bhatt as a Directory. Guess the name...... Murder 2. I think you will surely remember the name because it is one of the hit movie by Emraan Hashmi as a actor with co-star hot Mallika Sherawat. It was the movie which the fans will not able to forget and now another Murder movie with the same name Murder 2 coming the screens. But this time instead of Mallika you will find a new co-star Jacqueline Fernandez. Lets see how this movie going on and how it make a mark on the fans.
Murder 2 Movie Release Date: July 8, 2011
Murder 2 Movie Wallpapers Photos Videos
Murder 2 Movie Wallpapers Photos Videos
Banner: Vishesh Films
Status: Under Production
Release Date: July 8, 2011
Language: Hindi
Genre: Thriller
Shooting Studios: Filmcity
Producer: Mukesh Bhatt
Executive Producer / Co-Producer: Kumkum Saigal
Director: Mohit Suri
Cinematography: Ravi Walia
Choreography: Raju Khan
Editor: Devendra Murdeshwar
Screenplay: Shagufta Rafique
Sound:Kunal Mehta,Parikshit Lalwani
Dialogue: Shagufta Rafique
Media Relations: Glitterati Entertainment Solutions Pvt. Ltd
Story / Writer: Mahesh Bhatt
Cassettes and CD's on: T-Series
Star Cast:
Emraan Hashmi
Jacqueline Fernandez
Yana Gupta...... Special Appearance
Prashant Narayanan
Sudhanshu Pandey
Sandeep Sikand
Shweta Kawatra...... Guest Appearance
Harshit Saxena
Sunidhi Chauhan
Kshitij Tarey
Mohd Irfan
Sangeet Haldipur
Roshni Baptist
Sayeed Qadri
Music Director:
Harshit Saxena
Sangeet Haldipur
Siddharth Haldipur
Murder 2 Movie Trailer:
Video 1
Video 2
Video 3

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Sunday, 25 January 2009
Already 52 Days
He's on the regular post transplant drugs -- antibiotics, antifungals, antivirals and Tacro - the anti rejection drug. All that stuff in his system can be hard on liver enzymes so the home care nurse drops by daily and hooks him up to IV fluids for a couple of hours.
His blood counts bounce around a bit -- kind of like gas prices. They drop a point or two for a few days then shoot up for no reason. The drops are nerve-wracking. The sudden jumps are a relief. Doing blood counts twice a week rather than daily is giving all of us a welcome break from the breath-holding while we wait for blood counts to come back.
And we had another Christmas dinner this weekend! Yum! Turkey and stuffing and all that good stuff - what a difference a month can make.
5 comments:
- Veronica said...
Awwww Kathy - it's just so lovely to 'hear' you sounding so relaxed and happy. I'm so glad that all is heading in the right direction for Eric - sounds like he's enjoying feeling better and being out of hospital!!
Your 2nd Christmas dinner sounds great too - happy family times :0)
- 25 January 2009 at 13:42
- Gail said...
wonderful news!!! Enjoy your dinner tonight and the celebrate Eric's outstanding progress. :)
- 25 January 2009 at 17:31
Wonderful News Kathy. Eric, I'm glad to hear you are begining to feel better!!!
S xoxo
- 26 January 2009 at 10:10
- Bekah said...
Here's to eating LOTS, hockey games, Wii, and good blood counts!
I can't imagine the rollercoaster, you all are on -- doing blood counts so often. But, I'm hoping things begin to balance out in the next few weeks.
Sending you guys so much love,
Congrats Eric, on everything.
- 26 January 2009 at 17:55
- Adrienne said...
I'm so happy to hear that Eric is getting back to NORMAL. There's nothing better. Hugs, Alison (Adrienne's mom)
- 31 January 2009 at 06:12


text:
Xerox Receives $557 Million Of Additional Financing From GE Capital
Thursday, March 28, 2002
Press release from the issuing companySTAMFORD, Conn. -- March 27, 2002--Xerox announced today that it has made further progress in transitioning equipment financing to third parties. Designed to significantly restructure Xerox's balance sheet through the reduction of debt, Xerox's vendor financing strategy also ensures that customers continue to quickly and easily obtain the Xerox equipment they need through flexible financing arrangements. In the past month, the company has taken the following steps to move forward this key element of its turnaround strategy: * Received $266 million of financing from GE Capital, secured by portions of Xerox's lease receivables in the United States. This securitization is in addition to the approximately $1.2 billion of U.S. financing received last year from GE Capital. The $266 million amortizes over a period that extends into 2005. * Received $291 million of financing from GE Capital, secured by portions of Xerox's lease receivables in Canada. This arrangement too amortizes over a period that extends into 2005. * Completed an agreement with Banco Itau, S.A to become the primary source of equipment financing for Xerox customers in Brazil. It is expected that beginning April 1, Banco Itau, S.A will provide the equipment financing for all new activations. * Completed an agreement with CIT Group affiliates in Mexico to become the primary source of equipment financing for Xerox customers in Mexico beginning in the second quarter of this year. * Activated the previously announced joint venture with De Lage Landen to manage equipment financing, billing and collections for the financing of Xerox equipment in the Netherlands. DLL owns 51 percent of the joint venture and provides the funding to support all new customer leases. Xerox owns the remaining 49 percent. * Secured a preliminary agreement to transfer Xerox's equipment financing operations in Italy to a financing partner for $230 million. In addition to purchasing Xerox's existing lease portfolio in Italy, the partner will also provide ongoing, exclusive equipment financing for new activations. Pending final regulatory approval, this agreement is expected to be complete in April at which time more details will be disclosed. With the recent receipt of this funding from GE Capital, Xerox's worldwide cash balance has increased to approximately $4.8 billion.
Industry News
Copyright © 2019 WhatTheyThink. All Rights Reserved


text:
Free download or read online free Urdu novel "Tum Meri Kon Ho" and enjoy a very romantic Urdu story in Pdf written by a female Urdu novelist Ms. Rashk-e-Habiba. "Tum Meri Kaun Ho" is the title name of this Urdu novel authored by Rask-e-Habiba who is a famous Urdu writer in Pakistan. The story of this Urdu novel is full of romance, love, emotions, feelings and relationships, written according to the Pakistani society. Tum Meri Kon Ho is an excellent romantic Urdu story and a masterpiece novel of Rashk-e-Habiba who describes the loving and romantic feelings and relationships of two lovers. Every partner confronts different problems in the way of love. Read online or Download this Urdu novel and read how two lovers fight with the difficulties to get each other. Rashk E Habiba has also written some romantic Urdu poetry in this Urdu novel Tum Meri Kon Ho. All lovers should read this heart touching romantic Urdu story.
Tum Meri Kon Ho Urdu novel story is here in an excellent clear Pdf. You can free download and read online this Urdu Book from the table below the following sample pages.
Sample Pages of the Urdu Romantic Novel "Tum Meri Kon Ho" By Rashk-e-Habiba
Download the complete book from the table below
|Brief Information about the Pdf eBook
|Book Name:
|Tum Meri Kon Ho


text:
After last night's pregame at Fenway Park, I am DONE with Kevin Millar as a Baltimore Oriole.
And I'm thisclose to ending my lifelong rooting interest in the Orioles.
Look, I know it's Monday following another (predictable) road loss for the Ravens, so maybe I should concentrate my anger towards them and Brian Billick for that awful display. But I'm sure all of you have read and talked plenty about that by now.
So instead, I'm going to vent again about this laughingstock of a baseball franchise and the incredibly poor PR decisions they continue to make. For those who may have missed it, before last night's ALCS Game 7 in Boston, Kevin Millar cut a promo for Fox Sports remembering the Red Sox 2004 World Champions. Then he was introduced to a roaring crowd of Bostonians and threw out the first pitch! No, this really happened!
This raises so many questions for both the Orioles and Millar that it makes my head swim. I honestly don't even know where or how to begin. Is Millar a total phony and a media/Boston whore? Undoubtedly. Should the Orioles have allowed this to happen (and they were officially requested by the Red Sox for permission and gave it their blessing)? Absolutely, positively NOT! Do the Orioles have any pride left in that joke of a front office? Obviously not. Should you or I or anyone who's been a lifelong fan/sufferer of this tragicomic franchise be pissed as hell? YOU BETCHA!
See, this is what it means to be a fan of the Baltimore Orioles for the past decade. It's bad enough to have to watch this team devour anybody who's unfortunate enough or gullible enough to sign with them for over market value. But YOUR team's management sees NO PROBLEM with allowing a player who's currently UNDER CONTRACT to go back to his "old stomping grounds" and act as a quasi-cheerleader for them before the biggest game of their season? Ridiculous. Embarrassing. Out of touch. Shameful.
But this current Reign of Error, brought to you stubbornly year after year by Angelos & Sons, has no shame. No sense of what it means to have any proffessional pride. No idea that the Red Sox are making a national joke of their mismanagement and ineptitude (which truly has no boundaries). Nope, they'll probably try to explain it away with some cockamamie legalese bullcrap like, "Kevin Millar is a fine player and representative for the Baltimore Orioles. We are well aware of Mr. Millar's previous employment and subsequent success with the Boston team. We gave our blessing because we respect Mr. Millar's championship experience in Boston and recognize his contributions to that team and city."
Just once I'd like this team to understand how painful it's been to try and get interested in them again. Just once I'd like those morons to appreciate the history of this franchise in this city. Just once I'd like them to remember that the legacy and tradition of the Baltimore Orioles was built long before they purchased the team. Just once I'd like to not be embarrassed to be a fan. But no. They're so inept and lowly regarded that they have allowed a divisional rival to "borrow" one of their players, again, UNDER CONTRACT AS A PLAYER FOR THE BALTIMORE ORIOLES, to be a cheerleader at Game 7 of an ALCS.
As for you and me and the rest of the fans? No Baltimore on the road jerseys. No cartoon bird with the white-paneled hat. No high definition for that network. No hope on the near horizon for a better team.
I may not have much energy left to try and remain a fan, but I know this: If Kevin Millar is on this roster next year coming out of Spring Training, NO will be my answer when people ask me if I want to go to an Orioles game. Because I still have some principles, unlike that joke of a management group.
Now go ice down some champagne for your old buddies, Kevin Mill-AH. You big, fat, millionaire phony.
But don't ever expect me to cheer for you again. Sellout.


text:
I'm rarely ahead of the curve, particularly when it comes to social media. However, when Mark Zuckerberg shared his 10-year plan for Facebook, it didn't sound like science fiction. I was nodding along. Excited even. He wants to transform Facebook Groups into a meaningful platform for connecting people with shared values. The word "community" was used a lot.
In real life, I'm a pathologically introverted person. In Facebook Groups, the anxiety and inhibitions tied to social interaction diminish. I'm able to connect with people I never would have met otherwise. New people with fascinating stories, some of whom are nearly are crazy as I am. It's miraculous when you stop to think about it.
Facebook Groups is not a new thing.
Approximately 1 billion people have tried FB groups. However, according to Zuckerberg, only 10% are in what he calls "meaningful" groups. The other 90% rely primary on personal newsfeeds to stay connected with friends and family. After discovering the magic of several "meaningful" Facebook Groups, my personal newsfeed feels like the muggle version of social media. I can still get my social media fix, but it's unlikely to help me summon my Patronus when the Death Eaters come calling.
Muggle Facebook vs. Facebook Groups
The muggle version of Facebook is a social platform to share with friends and family. Most active Facebook users form "friendships" with hundreds, if not thousands. Unless you're willing to devote hours to scrolling through an endless loop of posts, you're bound to miss your best friend's wedding announcement somewhere between Uncle Ray's record-setting bass catch, or a screaming goat video from your spouse's coworker's grandmother. On the other hand, Facebook Groups remove the pressure to Like every post. We're free to engage (or not) without risking the stigma of being a bad friend. Similarly, when your post in a FB Group doesn't receive a great response, it is not a reflection of your virtual worth.
Our muggle Facebook friends also follow us for different reasons. Hiking buddies don't want to endure another rant about the political issue of the day. It's almost cruel to subject former professional colleagues to the results of my latest art therapy project. Nobody wants to feel compelled to follow the link to my latest blog post. Because Facebook Groups are usually centered around a specific topic, you know what you're getting into when you join. So, when you share a post that's relevant to the group, it's likely to get a better response.
What is a "meaningful" Facebook Group?
Most Facebook Groups are vast empty chasms filled with the virtual equivalent of unheard echoes. Support groups with thousands of members have requests for help or advice that go unanswered. Countless promotional/networking groups, whose aim is to spread the word about blogs or services or products, are littered with links that are unseen and unshared. Topic groups dedicated to specific places, activities or causes tend to either host an overwhelming number of posts, or minimal activity.
There are hidden gems to be found beneath these daunting debris fields of FB trash. Within the closed confines of these rare groups, we are free to share pieces of our lives with virtual friends who have common interests. Successful group administrators, who control access to closed and secret groups, maintain that careful balance between vigilant gatekeeping and open conversation.
Here are a few that I've found so far:
Support Groups
- Bloggess Pals– Bestselling author/blogger Jenny Lawson is our spirit animal. Despite being plagued by myriad physical and mental health issues, she has dedicated her life to living Furiously Happy. In this amazing oasis, we can vent over our struggles with depression/anxiety/PTSD/life, celebrate a new unicorn tattoo, and remain socially active when peopling is not an option.
- Insecure Writer's Support Group– Guess I'm not the only one that's ever felt like they were losing the fight against the blank page.
- Big Up Your Blog– one of the few blogger communities filled with members eager to share and engage with one another. Aside from helpful feedback from veteran bloggers, blog-sharing posts routinely garner over 700 comments. The group is currently not accepting new members so we can get to know each other better, but I suspect this will change soon.
*Update: The admins are now accepting applications to join! Clicking on the image below will send you to the Facebook Group page.
- Blog Support Group– I'm not very active here, but whenever I stop in, I've been impressed with the level of participation. Not necessarily a social community, but for those strictly interested in increasing their stats, this is a well-moderated promotional Facebook Group.
Topic groups:
- Appalachian Trail– a very active community of hikers who share a love for most things that grow or crawl in the dirt and make you sweat.
- Introverts– a group that fully embraces the difference between being an introvert and being shy. Caution: when commenting on a post, you might want to turn notifications off. Things can get crazy in a hurry.
How do I find these active and meaningful communities?
It's not easy. I primarily use the "suggested groups" section on the side of group pages. It's populated by my interests, my friend's interests, and other groups I've joined. Most groups are "closed," which means only group members can see posts and engagement, so it's difficult to tell which groups are active from the overview. However, once you've been accepted into a group and have a chance to look around, if it's not for you, leaving the group is socially acceptable (unless Uncle Ray invited you to join his catch-of-the-day group because you keep missing his muggle posts, then you're stuck).
A word of caution about searching for a new group: size matters. Currently, group search results are prioritized by the number of members. However, as with our personal pages, those groups that have 10's of thousands of members are not necessarily meaningful groups. Support groups in particular are more likely to be successful when membership is low enough that most members get the chance to know one another.
It's going to get easier to find the right groups
One of Facebook's reported aims is to improve the "suggested" and "related" groups algorithm. Really looking forward to the day Facebook realizes I'm not interested in joining another knitting community (I'm strictly into cross-stitching).
Facebook has also introduced an expanded set of tools for group administrators. Removing inactive (or inappropriate) members (along with their posts) and screening prospective members will become easier. Admins can also recommend related groups to members. For us little people, this will make our search for new group homes much more effective. But this feature has an enormous potential to turn group administrators into the next social media influencers. (I can already see successful group admins getting flooded with requests to "promote" another group.)
Hopefully these updates will lead to a transition away from the "Drop a GIF and go" approach to Facebooking, and towards meaningful connection within our virtual communities.
Are you active in Facebook Groups too?
I'd love to get hear your recommendations. Still looking for a househusbanding-hiker-living-abroad support group that will let me share my latest sketches. In the meantime, I'm willing to be flexible…


text:
Science & Engineering
KU in the news
The Kansas City Star — Wed, 02/20/2019
The New Yorker — Wed, 02/20/2019
ICYMI, @kufms Professor Kevin Willmott recently earned an Oscar nomination for @BlacKkKlansman ! Willmott co-wrote t… https://t.co/wRmwBc3WTN
Why KU
One of 34 U.S. public institutions in the prestigious Association of American Universities
44 nationally ranked graduate programs.
—U.S. News & World Report
—U.S. News & World Report
Top 50 nationwide for size of library collection.
5th nationwide for service to veterans —"Best for Vets: Colleges," Military Times
KU Today


text:
Monday, June 25, 2012
Claude Chabrol's Violette is a fascinating, ambiguous study of a young woman who might be a sociopath, a victim, or both. Based on the real case of Violette Nozière (Isabelle Huppert), who poisoned her parents in 1930s Paris, the film is curiously ambivalent about its titular anti-heroine. Huppert's Violette is impenetrable and deliberately contradictory. Sexy, desperate for attention and affection, disturbingly cool about her crimes and her violence, she's an intriguing character who's all but unknowable in the end. Violette is a willful girl who presents a charming, innocuous demeanor to her rather gullible parents, who buy her repeated and flimsy lies without much debate, while outside of the home she prostitutes herself — while vociferously resisting the label of a "whore" — and steals and lies habitually.
Violette switches between two very different looks throughout the film, embodying her contradictions in her appearance. At home with her parents, she wears no makeup and dresses in demure, youthful clothing. But once out of the view of her parents, she immediately puts on heavy makeup, coating her lips with bright red lipstick and painting her nails red as well. Her age is ambiguous, just like everything about her, since her childish clothes sometimes make her look like a little girl — albeit one with Huppert's already-world-weary face — while when she's made up she looks like she could be anywhere between twenty or thirty years old. The effect is especially disorienting when Chabrol cuts in flashbacks to Violette's childhood in which Huppert is made to look even younger, the effect somewhat disturbing and disorienting, a grown woman playing a child, as though even as a girl she was older than her age.
Outside the house, Violette dresses all in black, with a very distinctive look, a hat perched at an angle atop her curls, often all but obscuring her eyes so that only the red smirk of her mouth peeks out from beneath the shadowy brim. With her black furs wrapped tightly around her, her collar high around her face, she's often reduced to a few cartoonish features: the black-rimmed eyes, the bright lips, the rouged cheeks, a caricature of threatening beauty, the ultimate femme fatale, her sexiness infused with a sense of danger and darkness.
She's like a black widow, but there's also a sense of vulnerability in her, a closely guarded secret hurt. She accuses her father (Jean Carmet) of abusing her, but Chabrol makes it very ambiguous whether Violette was lying or not. In Violette's flashbacks, she remembers strange scenes from her youth that suggest her disconnection from her parents, and in one of these flashbacks her father is bouncing her on his knee, an innocent fatherly gesture made sinister by Violette's accusations. There does seem to be more than a hint of inappropriate desire between father and daughter, especially when he watches her bathing herself topless in the bathroom, just a thin, gauzy curtain separating them and failing to obscure her body from the eyes of her father. This incestual subtext is counterbalanced by some seemingly idyllic flashbacks to Violette's childhood, in which she fondly remembers her father as a shouting, waving figure flying by on the locomotive he drives, yelling out her name as he passes, his face stained with grease. At what point did Violette's life go wrong, at what point did this sweet girl, so excited to see her father, become the chilly, money-obsessed monster she is when she's older? By having Huppert play Violette even in these childhood flashbacks, rather than substituting a child actress, Chabrol adds a weird, unsettling vibe to the girl's memories that suggests something dark lurking unseen in her past.
Other than these hints and insinuations, however, Violette mostly just seems like an ordinary young girl with an ordinarily overbearing family. Her father is clueless and dotes on her, while her mother (Stéphane Audran) snoops through Violette's things and treats her with cynical suspicion. Violette is also involved with the handsome young Jean (Jean-François Garreaud), who she clings to desperately as her ideal man for undefined reasons, even though all he does is pump her for money and skips out on her at any opportunity. Violette seems desperate for affection, desperate for some kind of life outside her home and her family, and despite her superficially cool demeanor she's very clingy with the distant, obviously manipulative Jean.
Chabrol is gradually building towards the especially unsettling conclusion, which does little to clear up Violette's character, while setting her alongside a prison cell mate played by Bernadette Lafont, who'd been the sexy bad girl at the center of some of Chabrol's earliest films. The film's final narration, recounting Violette's eventual redemption, accompanies a shot of the girl staring blankly back at the camera, as though daring the viewers to judge her, to try to understand her, to probe the darkness and strangeness lurking behind those glassy, black-rimmed eyes.
Posted by Ed Howard
Labels: '1970s, 1978, Claude Chabrol, French cinema
3 comments:
- DavidEhrenstein said...
One of Chabrol's very very best. Huppert starts here, with an incrediblt detailed and delicate performance. Violette's relatioship to her parents is mind-boggingly ambiguous -- particularly her mother as played by the great Stephane Audran.
It should be noted that the real,Violette became a major anti-heroine to the surrelaists.
- June 25, 2012 at 8:23 AM
- Ed Howard said...
Yeah Huppert is amazing here, especially since, as you say, so much about her character, her motivations, her relationships, is left purposefully ambiguous by Chabrol. It's a fascinating, unsettling film and performance.
- June 25, 2012 at 12:46 PM
- sreeram prabhu said...
your your article is simply superb you say the character was really nice
- July 20, 2012 at 5:44 AM
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
It's time to call the family to pay their last respects. Manitoba Hydro is done.
Eight months ago we reported that Hydro was on its deathbed, based on the testimony of the utility's own witnesses at a hearing of the Manitoba Public Utilities Board.
Since then the patient's condition has deteriorated rapidly. It's time to call the family to pay their last respects.
Last week the Bank of Canada announced that the years of low interest rates are officially over. The Bank raised the bank rate by one quarter of one percent. It was the third rate hike within a year. It's just the start.
Hydro lawyer Patti Ramage told the PUB last August that Manitoba Hydro "is today borrowing cash for interest annually on the debt being borrowed to build (Bipole III). It's a huge number. We're talking 150 million, 175 million."
"... we are borrowing money to fund our core Basic operations. That is an unsustainable practice...".
".. interest expense will soon consume 70 odd percent of every domestic dollar. 70 percent of every domestic dollar is going to go to interest expense."
"It doesn't take much of an error on the interest rate forecast for that to move up to a hundred percent or more."
"And we still have a business to run. We have to pay our operating costs, power purchases, water rentals, capital taxes, and by no means least of all, we have to replenish aging infrastructure."
She added: "... Manitoba Hydro has $12 billion to borrow over the next five (5) years. Extremely modest increases in borrowing costs against plan can quickly reduce Manitoba Hydro's income by fifty (50) to even a hundred million dollars per year."
Have you been outside lately? Did you notice something missing?
Hint: there's hardly any snow.
That's very, very bad news for Hydro. The PUB was told last year that only two things were keeping Manitoba Hydro from insolvency. One was low interest rates (see above.) The other was high water levels which were bringing Hydro unexpected revenue. No snow, means no water, means no power to sell, means no bonus revenue.
But its worse. The last drought in Manitoba was 14 years ago. Weather cycles call for a drought roughly every 14 years. Uh oh.
Hey, you professional journalists: Start asking Hydro what they've done with the $1.5- to $2 billion they squeezed out of rate payers following the last drought to be the contingency for the next drought.
The world price for oil is climbing again, which is good news for Canada. The Canadian dollar is a petrocurrency, so every increase in oil prices boosts the value of the Canadian dollar. But Manitoba sells its hydropower in American dollars. So every rise in the value of Canadian money, means we earn less for our power from our American customers.
You may have read somewhere that the U.S. is about to become the world's biggest exporter of oil and natural gas. The reason is fracking. You know, fracking, the process that Manitoba Hydro "experts" dismissed ten years ago as a fad that wouldn't affect the prices Hydro was going to get from the Yankee buyers of our green energy.
Today, the price they pay for hydroelectric power is linked to the price of natural gas which, thanks to fracking, is near all-time lows.
So, reading the patient's chart:
* interest rates up, Hydro's costs way up
* precipitation extremely low, a drought more than likely, sales evaporate, revenue disappears
* the exchange rate rising, profit margin squeezing daily
* fracking boom, hydroelectric sales only at bargain basement prices
And that's without saying a word about rising costs.
On Monday, Manitoba Hydro finally confessed that the cost of the unnecessary Keeyask generating station could climb to $9.9 billion, although they still pretend to believe they can deliver the megaproject at a cost of more than $1 billion less. Ha ha ha. Injecting levity into a grave situation is not always a good thing.
A company hired by the PUB to review Hydro's runaway dam building projects predicts that at the rate construction is going the Keeyask station will be a year late and will cost $10.5 billion.
Here's how they arrived at that conclusion: they looked at the amount of work done already at Keeyask and compared it to the amount of work that should be completed on a project of this size at this stage of construction.
http://www.pubmanitoba.ca/v1/nfat/pdf/hydro_application/appendix_02_4_developing_the_keeyask_and_conawapa_capital_cost_estimates.pdf Page 23.
We reported Hydro's confession eight months ago that it doesn't have the money to pay for Bipole III, or for Keeyask, and they will need a billion dollars more in revenue within 5 years just to cover the annual borrowing costs of these megaprojects. That's a billion dollars every year more than they raise now.
And that was determined before the interest rate increases--past, present and future---and the pending drought and the escalating cost of construction.
The next sound you hear will be the squeal of flatlining as credit rating agencies pull the plug.
Labels: boondoggle, Hydro, Keeyask


text:
Randy Emerson captures the harmony of nature and light in his latest collection of landscape photography with a unique perspective. A protégé of Jerry Ulesman, Emerson is a Master Photographer and Printer who blends his love of music and photography into a symphonic crescendo of imagery with his recent work.
© R. Emerson Photography. All Photos and Content are the property of R. Emerson. All rights reserved.
Designed by


text:
Samstag, 9. Juli 2011
Spencer 1815
It is absolutely gorgeous. :)AntwortenLöschen
Sehr schön!!!AntwortenLöschen
Sabine- Lovely detail work on your spencer! When you have time, here is another take on the beautiful red and white color combination.AntwortenLöschen
Gorgeous! This one has always caught my eye in the KCI book, too. You did such a perfect job!!!AntwortenLöschen
Bravo! A splendid spencer! I love it with the ruffled chemisette, and the white dress. Absolutely stunning!AntwortenLöschen
Your work is exquisite, again! I love how red looks with the white dress.AntwortenLöschen
Tolle Photos, Die angefertigte Kleidung ist super geworden!!Gratuliere.AntwortenLöschen
You did a fantastic job! And I love the fabric.AntwortenLöschen
Wow, it looks GREAT! It must be so fun to wear. :DAntwortenLöschen
Ist sehr schön geworden!AntwortenLöschen
Absolutely brilliant. It looks great!AntwortenLöschen
Der Spencer ist wirklich großartig geworden. Wunderschön!AntwortenLöschen
- Anonym12. Juli 2011 um 21:58
Oh my! This is my new favourite. I think I say this every time you make something new :) congrats on your final product. Lovely!AntwortenLöschen
~Mme Theo
WOW - Thank you all very much for your lovely comments and the input for new projects.AntwortenLöschen
I am unfortunetly quite slow at sewing this summer (due to the almost daily change of temperatures and me feeling quite weather weary), but started a new project on Monday...hopefully I can share a few pictures of the progress soon!
Sieht absolut genial aus!!! Bravissima!!AntwortenLöschen
Dear Sabine,AntwortenLöschen
Congtratulations on another project so beautifully done.
Might you tell us a little about how you decided to pattern it?
Many spencers I do not find particularly handsome, but this one is adorable.
Very best,
Dear Natalie,AntwortenLöschen
thank you for appreciating the spencer...and thank you for asking!
It's mainly done through trial & error.
My first garments were made with commercial patterns (which are good to get a sense for sewing and assembling pieces), but I had always issues with sizing and measurements and perfect fit, because my body simply isn't "perfect"!
I (being a "self taught-don't-know-exactly-what-I am-doing-but-it-works" and always aiming an easy way to finding solutions) made a "body block pattern" using an old snug t-shirt, ripping it apart at the seams, transferring it to cotton (without stretching) and pinning and marking the cotton according to my real measurements, then taking a pattern from it (front part (two pieces) side part and back part (one piece)). I guess there are many other ways explained on the net – like the calculating method etc.
I leafed through lots of patterns and especially books like Janet Arnold's, Jean Hunisett's and the Bassermann-Jordan collection, getting to see as many variations of patterns as possible and trying to transfer this to my body block pattern. It's fun, as you can move all the seams and shape so many different looks, nevertheless I often have to make several patterns and mock-ups until I'm finally done.
And do not forget to add seam allowance and extra wide for outer garments!
I always keep the paper patterns of my different garments, because often you can work with them in your next project instead of starting anew with the body block pattern.
Der Spencer ist ja zum Verlieben!AntwortenLöschen
Und wo hast Du denn diesen wunderschönen Stoff gefunden?? Vielen Dank für's Teilen Deiner Projekte! LG Hertzwerk
@Hertzwerk: Merci:))) Den roten Seidenrips gab es im sale bei stoffamstück. Ich glaube, er ist noch in champagner zu haben, allerdings zum regulären Preis.AntwortenLöschen


text:
I had started this project weeks ago and finally have finished and framed the piece. It reminds me, so much, of my mother. She has always taken care of others - physically (because she was a wonderful, dedicated nurse), emotionally (because she is a compassionate woman) and spiritually (she always has forgiven those who have hurt her).
Happy stitching - Cheers!


text:
Ups and Downs of the Tully Valley Brine Field
The Ups and Downs of Post-Closure Subsidence Monitoring at the Tully Valley Brine Field, New York
Peter Briggs and Kathleen Sanford
Presented at fall 2000 meeting of the Solution Mining Research Institute October 2000
The Solvay Process Company's solution mining operations in Tully Valley, located approximately 18 miles south of Syracuse, New York, commenced in 1888, flourished for one hundred years and resulted in the drilling of 167 wells. Allied Chemical Company and its successor, AlliedSignal, continued operations started by The Solvay Process Company and produced more than one billion gallons of brine annually for the half-century ending in 1986. In 1988, all of the abandoned wells were ordered plugged at the direction of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's ("NYSDEC") Division of Mineral Resources.
A formal subsidence monitoring program for the brine field was instituted by Allied Chemical Company in 1959 and continued until 1991. A post-closure subsidence monitoring program, required by the State in conjunction with the well plugging agreement, started in 1993. Results to date have been both unexpected and interesting. Questions persist as to the validity and value of the post-closure monitoring data, requiring a retrospective analysis of the short and long-term objectives and methods of post-closure subsidence monitoring at the Tully Valley brine field.
This paper is available as a pdf link The Ups and Downs of Post-Closure Subsidence Monitoring at the Tully Valley Brine Field, New York (PDF, 1149 kB).


text:
- Living Room
- Bedroom
- Mattresses
- Dining
- Accents
- Entertainment
- Office
- Flooring
- Gun Safes
- Shop By Brand
Welcome to our website! As we have the ability to list over one million items on our web site (our selection changes all of the time), it is not feasible for a company our size to record and playback the descriptions on every item on our web site.
However, if you are an American with a disability we are here to help you. Please call our disability services phone line at (320) 589-3911 during regular business hours and one of our kind and friendly personal shoppers will help you navigate through our web site, help conduct advanced searches, help you choose the item you are looking for with the specifications you are seeking, read you the specifications of any item and consult with you about the products themselves. There is no charge for the help of this personal shopper for any American with a disability. Finally, your personal shopper will explain our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, and help you place an order if you so desire.
Search Results Items 1-5 of 5 Products - Page 1 of 1Compare Products
Liberty Safe
Ammo Can~Key LockModel # AMMOCAN
Regular Price $598.99
$499.96Add To Cart
Liberty Safe
Centurion 12-Manual Lock by Liberty SafesModel # CENTURION12MANUAL
Regular Price $598.99
$499.96Add To Cart
Liberty Safe
Centurion 18~Digital Lock~4-in-1 Flex InteriorModel # CENTURION18DIGITAL
Regular Price $898.99
$749.96Add To Cart
Liberty Safe
USA 30~Digital Lock~3-in-1 Flex InteriorModel # USA30DIGITAL
Regular Price $1,198.99
$999.96Add To Cart
Liberty Safe
USA 48~Digital Lock~3-in-1 Flex InteriorModel # USA48DIGITAL
Regular Price $1,534.99
$1,279.96Add To Cart
Items 1-5 of 5 Products


text:
"A couple of weeks ago, The Huffington Post published a piece called "Here's How the World's Most Brilliant People Scheduled Their Days." Because I'm a writer — a creative person — I began to peruse the poster of "creative routines" to see how my schedule stacked up against those of brilliant people. I quickly saw that I fell short.
Victor Hugo visited his barber daily; I haven't had a haircut in 15 months. Balzac consumed as many as 50 cups of coffee per day; I recently switched to iced green tea. Every day, Charles Darwin built in three walks and some idleness; I forgot to exercise this week. The visualizations of others' schedules marked so much "real work" in dark green that I wondered whether my "real work" is writing, teaching or a mish-mash of loosely-related life tasks that includes laundry. I posted the link on Facebook so that I could go back to it after I'd recovered from my initial discouragement over being not very brilliant, mismanaging my time or both." For more, visit: http://huff.to/RoOtuq
Write it Now!


text:
Washington: Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump has said as US President he would make an exception for London's first Muslim mayor Sadiq Khan in his proposed temporary ban on the entry of Muslims to the US and hoped that the Labour leader would set an example.
"I was happy to see that. I think it's a very good thing, and I hope he does a very good job because frankly that would be very, very good," Trump told The New York Times when asked about the election of Khan as the new London mayor.
Khan, who has been critical of Trump's policies, had earlier said he would not be able to travel to the US if the 69-year-old tycoon was elected as the president of the US.
But Trump stated otherwise, when asked about it.
"There will always be exceptions," he said. "Because I think if he does a great job, it will really -- you lead by example, always lead by example. If he does a good job and frankly if he does a great job, that would be a terrific thing," Trump said.
On Sunday, Pakistani-origin Khan had accused British Prime Minister David Cameron's ruling Conservative party of using "fear and innuendo" in a bid to turn religious and ethnic groups against each other during the mayoral campaign and said the tactics were straight out of the "Donald Trump playbook".
"They used fear and innuendo to try to turn different ethnic and religious groups against each other -- something straight out of the Donald Trump playbook. Londoners deserved better and I hope it's something the Conservative party will never try to repeat," the Labour leader had said.
Firstpost is now on WhatsApp. For the latest analysis, commentary and news updates, sign up for our WhatsApp services. Just go to Firstpost.com/Whatsapp and hit the Subscribe button.
Updated Date: May 10, 2016 17:35:39 IST


text:
Tuesday, 6 March 2012
Indigo in London
A quick heads up;
true denim heads will know about Jenny Balfour-Paul, probably the world's foremost expert on the history of indigo. Her definitive book on indigo has recently been republished as Indigo: Egyptian Mummies to Blue Jeans.
Blue Alchemy, on which Balfour-Paul was a consultant, is a movie on the history of indigo, and how people around the globe are reviving it in their various communities. Jenny will be signing books after the screening and there will be a Q&A with director Mary Lance.
Screening is 7 March, 2012 at the Great Hall, City University, St Johns EC1V. There is another screening for students at the London College of Fashion on the 12th. I hope to see you there.
Personally, I've learned huge amount from Jenny's book - it's a landmark in the study of the subject, and I suspect the movie will be the same.
I plan to interview Jenny at the beginning of next week; I'm canvassing for questions, so if there's anything you've always wanted to know about Indigo, email me by clicking on the link on my home website.
Labels: indigo
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
Every year, on Remembrance Sunday, we recognise the contributions of British and Commonwealth military personnel who have sacrificed their lives to ensure we never have to experience those same horrors. Countless men and women honour these individuals – and hope that those serving in the armed forces eventually return safely to their families.
Although soldiers are employed in a very hazardous occupation, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) should also recognise the contributions of these individuals. Consequently, where possible, military personnel should be provided with the best equipment possible, adequate training, and be reasonably prevented from experiencing harm.
However, it has been claimed that the MoD is failing to adequately prevent accidents on military bases, while officers could be demonstrating "significant weaknesses" in following health and safety procedures.
Although the idea of preventing army accidents may seem strange during a combat zone, the MoD should strive to stop its personnel from suffering non-combat injuries. Otherwise, if the organisation fails to do so, those adversely affected may be entitled to receive compensation through a Seth Lovis & Co military claims solicitor.
MoD figures make troubling reading
According to data released by the Ministry of Defence, around 5,000 army infantry personnel were described as "unfit for frontline combat duties" in 2010 – making up approximately 20% of the military's total infantry forces.
Of these individuals, the majority of non-deployable soldiers appeared to be in an inadequate state of fitness or suffering from a physical or psychological problem. Although this figure likely includes non-combat injuries, some personnel were also unable to carry out duties on the frontline due to pregnancy, being underage, undergoing disciplinary action, or objecting for compassionate reasons.
Regardless, when one in five British infantry soldiers is apparently unable to carry out tasks on the frontline, this suggests that the MoD is failing to adequately ensure their physical and mental wellbeing.
However, if they were adversely affected during an accident which was not their fault, these individuals might be able to claim compensation with Seth Lovis & Co.
Contacting a military claims solicitor
If you suffered personal injury while working in the armed forces, you might be entitled to make an army accident claim through the services of one of our specialist solicitors – providing the incident was not your fault.
Our team possess extensive knowledge of this subject area and have helped numerous military personnel claim compensation. To find out if you could benefit from Seth Lovis & Co, please complete an online enquiry form or call our department today on 0370 218 4025.


text:
Jewish hospital decries bid to ban religious garb in Quebec
November 15, 2013
The Jewish General Hospital in Montreal has announced that it would defy a proposed law to ban distinctively religious apparel in public institution in Quebec.
Noting that the law would prohibit health-care personnel from wearing Jewish religious garments and symbols, the Jewish General Hospital denounced the proposal as "patently discriminatory."
The legislation, known as Bill 60, would ban "objects such as headgear, clothing, jewelry or other adornments which, by their conspicuous nature, overtly indicate a religious affiliation." Archbishop Christian Lépine of Montreal has criticized the measure.
For all current news, visit our News home page.
Further information:
- Jewish General Hospital vows to defy Bill 60 (Montreal Gazette)
- Proposed ban on religious garb introduced in Quebec parliament (CWN, 11/14)
All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!
Posted by: mario.f.leblanc5598 -
Nov. 17, 2013 9:08 PM ET USA
The interested reader should note that no catholic hospital whatsoever is left here in Quebec. Not because of a forced government takeover, but rather because the religious institutions were more than happy to surrender the keys in the sixties. As for the attitude of the Jewish General Hospital, every Christian in the Province of Quebec should commend it and feel inspired by it.
Posted by: wsw33410 -
Nov. 15, 2013 9:32 PM ET USA
... and where are the Canadian Catholic Institution and the Church prelates??? ... perhaps participating in homosexual celebrations of other "elevated" individuals ...


text:
Status: Closed
Know more about this business than we do? Cool! Please submit any corrections or missing details you may have.Help us make it right
One of the nation's leading providers of full-service real estate. View over 2 million real estate listings & homes for sale.
Our office of real estate professionals will service all your real estate needs.
Be the first lehighvalleylive.com user to add photos or videos of Weichert, Realtors
Frank is always courteous and always available to answer any questions you may have about your transaction.
FRANK CHIAVERINI is an Excellent real estate agent. Listens and helps; always reachable and available; easy to work with and he has a wonderful disposition; very knowledgeable; I would definitely recommend to all others.
Residential & commercial real estate sales and rentals; Strong expertise with relocation clients, first time buyers, and those people downsizing and upsizing.
Buyer's Agent, Seller's Agent


text:
I was sitting with my back to the door, watching the deer consume urban gardens, when she entered.
"Mr. Marcus?" she asked, in a voice that suggested the lower range of a clarinet.
"Yes," I replied, swiveling in my swivel chair.
"You don't know me," she said. "My name is Arlene Amour."
"I can understand that," I said, examining her with my eyes as would an eagle swirling over his prey. I liked what I saw.
"I want you to write about Gov. Mitch Daniels' plan to privatize state government," she pleaded. "He's going to ruin the state."
"Have a seat. I think you're straining your restraints," I growled softly. "I don't happen to agree with you about privatization. Except for a few government services (police, the judicial system and legislative functions), privatization can make lots of sense. Even the governor's office could be privatized, if it were done properly."
A tear started to form in her eye. She dabbed at it with a delicate hankie. "I had so hoped you would blast Daniels for his privatization efforts. You're known as a critic of most everything."
"What do we want?" I began. "We want a government that offers the highest quality of services for the lowest cost possible. Right?"
"Right," Arlene sniveled.
"Then why do we care whether a private company or a public agency delivers the service? The question is, 'Does the same highquality job get done at the lowest possible cost?' That calculation must include the cost of inconvenience to customers/citizens.
"The Daniels administration has taken some important steps toward figuring out what state agencies should do. You'll find a report right on the governor's Web site that spells out performance standards and achievements in 2005 for three dozen agencies.
"You and I can argue easily that they are not measuring the right things, that their metrics are a mess. We certainly can contest the sycophantic writing style."
"That's what I mean," she interrupted. "They are sick, almost psychotic in wanting to tear down government."
"No," I insisted, "the report flatters the governor and reads like a campaign document rather than an objective study. Nonetheless, this process and the resulting document are necessary first steps to improve government services. We cannot run government (with public or private employees) unless we have a clear understanding of what they are expected to do.
"Once we can make that known, clearly and publicly, we can move on to asking, 'Who can do the best job at what cost?' It might be a private company, a government agency or a not-for-profit corporation. All must be given an opportunity to compete for the task.
"If I have a disagreement with the Daniels administration, it is that his officials are drawing up contracts that extend over too long a time. Yes, we want stability in services. Yes, it takes a while to get up to speed and that should be an advantage for existing government agencies. But the state must be able to change performance standards and get out of contracts easily. If we have long contracts, it might not cover changing circumstances and could allow succeeding governors to say, 'Hey, not my fault. It was the other guy'."
"I'm disappointed," Arlene pouted. "I was depending on your reputation as a contrarian."
"Listen," I said, "let's go to Miles Archer's Bar and I'll tell you all about me and you can tell me all about you."
"No. I've a reputation to preserve," Arlene said as firmly as she closed the door. I went back to studying the deer.
Marcus taught economics more than 30 years at Indiana University and is the former director of IU's Business Research Center. His column appears weekly. To comment on this column, send e-mail to email@example.com.


text:
ALAMEDA, calif. — The fine jar in the defensive meeting room fills up with bills, suggestions pour in from fans and coach Hue Jackson's voice gets hoarse from yelling.
Despite plenty of effort to cure the Oakland Raiders' age-old penalty problem, this year's team is on pace to shatter the NFL record for penalties and yards penalized in a season.
"I don't have the answer, obviously," Jackson said. "I talk to the team about it all the time. I don't just talk. I yell, I scream, I threaten. I've done everything. I get a bunch of letters of people telling me other things I should try too. And please don't send any new ones because those things don't work."
The Raiders head into their season finale against San Diego needing four penalties for 11 yards to break both records held by the 1998 Kansas City Chiefs.
Considering the Raiders have committed at least four penalties in 27 straight games and have had at least 11 yards in penalties in all but three games since moving back to Oakland in 1995, it seems like a safe bet those records will fall.
Oakland has committed at least 100 penalties for 12 straight seasons and have ranked in the top five in total penalties in the NFL for five straight seasons.
There have been quite a variety of penalties with 58 being pre-snap calls, including 20 offsides calls and 19 false starts. There have also been a league-worst 29 personal fouls, and 39 holding calls. The Associated Press


text:
Meet Ivy, our talented poet of the week! Here's a bit about her… Hi, I'm Ivy. I'm 13 and I'm from Korea. I've been in New Zealand… Read more "Poet of the Week – April 25"
Month: April 2017
The Secret Book of Poetry is Here!
The Secret Book of Poetry is here and it's absolutely overflowing with talent.
This anthology reveals the vitality and imagination of young New Zealand poets. These poems will delight and inspire readers of all ages.
Poet of the Week – April 3
This week's poet is the wonderful Seb. He's super-creative and is amazing at science and engineering. Here's a bit more about him… Hi! My name is Seb… Read more "Poet of the Week – April 3"


text:
Prospecting Small Trout Streams
Leave Montana's famous rivers to the teeming hordes. Creeks and minor tributaries are where an angler can find fly-fishing solitude these days.
This story is featured in Montana Outdoors May-June 2010 issue
One June day many years ago, a cousin and I were floating the Bitterroot near Missoula when we saw a good-looking little stream flowing into the river. We paddled my canoe to the bank and worked our way up the creek, casting dry flies onto the pools and deeper riffles. A quarter mile upstream, the creek flowed next to a gravel road. We were drifting our flies along the limestone riprap, where there just had to be a nice trout, when a pickup came down the road and pulled over above us. A middle-aged guy in a cowboy hat rolled his window down and asked, "Doing any good?"
I shook my head. "Nothing."
Learn more:
He smiled. "That's not surprising. This crick goes dry toward the end of July."
He rolled up his window and drove off; I didn't hear him laugh, but imagine he did. I waded into the middle of the creek, the water almost up to my wadered knees, and grabbed a good-sized rock from the bottom. The only thing on it was clean water, no algae or insects. I dropped the rock into the stream and we hiked back to the canoe.
Like any sort of prospecting, the search for small-stream trout doesn't always pan out. But over the decades I've become more attuned to the signs of a possible find. In many cases, the least productive streams have super-clear water, exactly like the water in that beautiful little stream. The best trout streams usually have translucent, greenish water. That's because they're loaded with nutrients and organic matter, the microscopic meat and potatoes that feed aquatic insects that trout eat. On many streams, if you can clearly see all the rocks in the bottom of a pool, it isn't going to hold many trout—and sometimes none.
Streams don't have to go seasonally dry to have transparent water the rest of the year. Some feel the pain of acid mine drainage and other industrial pollution. The two upper forks of a small river near my home in Townsend illustrate the point. Both look pretty good, but one flows as clear as turpentine, the result of industrial pollution. The other fork has the telltale greenish water of a fertile stream, along with other indications of potential trout such as more bankside grass and brush. I test-fished the clear fork many years ago, mostly out of curiosity. It does contain some trout, but a 9-incher is a big one, and even the rainbows that size are like supermodels: skinny, with swelled heads.
The other fork is full of fat trout up to a foot long, occasionally bigger. Yet far more people fish the clearer fork, probably because it flows close to a highway and they can see it from their vehicles. The more productive fork can be reached only by a gravel road, and even then it rarely flows near the road. After getting permission from the landowner, you have to park, hike across a pasture, and then fight some willows to reach the bank. This is a little too much work for most anglers.
Accepted wisdom is that 90 percent of the fish are caught by 10 percent of the anglers. In Montana, I suspect this is partly because 90 percent of the anglers fish the same places everybody else does. They fish where they don't have to walk far from where they parked, and they park where everybody else does. You can usually find more (and less-educated) trout by hiking at least a half mile from any popular parking area before starting to fish. If you have to plow through some willows, so much the better.
Willows are always a good signpost for decent fishing, and possibly great fishing. They shade small streams, cooling the relatively shallow water, and their roots create little still-water rooms where trout hide without much effort, close to the main current where food floats by. Willows also make casting more difficult, keeping average anglers away.
Some of Montana's very best small-stream fishing is in willowed-up waters miles from the nearest mountain. As the land gradient eases, the streams start to wind slowly back and forth. Apparently a lot of people think no mountains or riffles means no trout. It's true that often there are fewer trout than farther upstream in the "classic" water. But in many cases, flatland trout grow bigger. Almost all the 15- to 20-inch trout I've caught from small streams came from slow willow creeks.
A favorite stretch of stream I often fish with my wife, Eileen, flows right next to a public Bureau of Land Management campground. This may seem like a strange place to find good fishing, because the campground is pretty full all summer long. But most of the hundreds of anglers fish the same stretch of water day after day. The campground is fenced from surrounding pasture, meaning that cattle can't graze down the streambank, which is lined with a wide zone of willows, alders, and (perhaps most important) wild rosebushes. Most people don't like to bust through thorns. There's only one place where the bank can easily be reached, a clearing next to the main cluster of camping spots. Judging from the Styrofoam worm containers and empty snelled-hook packages on the bank, the pool by the clearing is the only place anybody else fishes on the entire half mile of stream. It's also the only pool where we've never caught a trout. Eileen and I rarely see a wading boot track along the rest of the creek's banks.
In addition to the campground stretch, the upper reaches of that creek hold quite a few trout. The best fishing is in a mile-long stretch of canyon not visible from the road. The canyon isn't really deep, but evidently it's deep enough to keep most people from hiking down and then hiking back up again. The steeper creek gradient in this mountain stretch produces fewer pools than stretches along the campground, but the pools are deeper. Many contain big conifer deadfalls. The fallen timber protects young trout from kingfishers and other predators while providing places for large fish to lurk. It also makes casting a little more difficult. Fortunately, accuracy isn't essential. Those fish see flies so rarely that they'll often come up through 2 or 3 feet of water to grab an elkhair caddis. A general rule of thumb for this and most other small streams: the bigger the log over the pool, the bigger the trout.
Often some sections of a creek hold a lot of trout, while other stretches are almost barren. Sometimes the best stream section is farther upstream, above an overgrazed stretch of water down in the valley; other times it's farther downstream. Don't give up on a stream just because you don't catch fish in one spot. Try other stretches. One classic piece of meadow trout stream I fish in late summer is only a few hundred yards long. It's the lower end of a creek flowing into a big reservoir, and the only section of the creek that holds many trout is trapped between the reservoir and an irrigation head gate. Above the head gate the stream is essentially a ditch, but below the head gate the water meanders under willows and grassy banks. I stumbled upon this stretch while hunting Hungarian partridge one fall in grain fields along the stream's grassy corridor. As my bird dog and I were wading a riffle between two pools to reach wheat stubble on the other side, a half dozen rainbows spooked up into the shallow water. I came back the next day with a fly rod and caught several trout that were fat from eating grasshoppers blown down from the grassy banks.
Some of Montana's best creeks to fish for trout are near famous rivers. One reason is that famous rivers tend to grow big trout because the water is fertile, and their feeder streams contribute to this fertility. Another is that famous rivers attract anglers—but only to the rivers themselves. Drift boats of hatch-matchers float down the renowned blue-ribbon waters in long lines like freight trains, while local tributaries are almost empty of anglers—and full of nice trout.
Sometimes feeder streams are even more fertile—and thus produce more and bigger trout—than the main river. Rock Creek is an example. Bigger than some rivers, Rock Creek flows into the Clark Fork 20 miles upstream from Missoula. As one of Montana's designated blue-ribbon trout streams, Rock Creek is by no means a secret. But most anglers drive upstream from I-90 and fish the upper stretches, usually right next to the road. What's not so well known is that Rock Creek's incredibly fertile water also bumps up the quality of the Clark Fork. Hardly anybody fishes the lower half mile of Rock Creek, or the Clark Fork just below the mouth of Rock Creek. That's their loss.
Similar things happen on a smaller scale at the mouths of many small streams flowing into rivers. Some of these are rarely fished because the stream is on the other side of a river from the road. Reaching them requires heavy-duty wading or a canoe, and most people just don't bother.
The easiest time to prospect any small stream is during grasshopper season, which peaks in August. If any trout are in a stream, they'll come up to a hopper pattern and will also come farther from fly-snagging cover to grab your fly. The weather is often so warm in late summer that the best fishing will be early in the morning or late in the evening. But hey, that's when most of us aren't working.
While fishing is usually a social sport, I grew up in Montana when going fishing meant getting away from town and "lots" of people (lots of people always being a very relative thing in Montana). I always enjoy fishing with Eileen and some friends, but our famous rivers start to lose their allure when somebody's edging closer to where I'm casting, or when drift boats resemble barge traffic on the Mississippi. Both make prospecting for creek trout seem ever more desirable—even if occasionally all I find is a dry hole.
John Barsness is a writer and co-owner of Deep Creek Press in Townsend.


text:
Hip Hop School in Frosinone is quickly becoming the place to be for lovers of street dance in the area. They offer classes for all ages and levels and recently widened their offering with break dance classes.
The logo needed to be very eye catching and memorable, and to convey the burst of energy invariably linked to street dance.
How we helped:
Submit your review


text:
Neurotherapeutic Pediatric Therapies, Inc
610 High St
Oregon City, OR 97045
(503) 657-8903
503-650-4302 (fax)
Mon-Fri 9AM to 5PM
Pediatric Occupational and Physical Therapy. We are a non-profit clinic dedicated to providing cutting-edge therapy for children and their families through state of the art treatment techniques.
Take I-205 South from I-84. Take OR-99E exit (#9), Downtown Oregon City/Gladstone. Turn left onto McLoughlin Blvd. Turn left onto 10th Street. Go up hill, veer right onto High St. We are on left.


text:
On Trading Items
Would you lend your car to a coworker? A friend? A cousin?
I personally would not. But what if you would lend your car out? What if, instead of a car, it was something that could not be replaced? Something priceless and irreplaceable.
Here's another question for you. Would you sell everything you own? Would you then take that money and buy armor and weapons? Would you then take mercenary contracts in active war zones with an eye towards looting the dead in the hopes of earning a few weeks salary?
Would you lend your car to someone who does those things?
Fundamentally, your characters are not you.
These people in games that you are pretending to be did not have a formal state funded education. In some games knowing how to read is a class feature. Their world is fundamentally different than yours.
It is a delicate situation, for we are playing a game and would be well advised to stay away from the non-mechanical interface of what one character would or wouldn't do. But perhaps having this perspective can shed light on rules such as why it takes so long to move safely through a dungeon, why there are rules against trading magic items, and maintaining formation during travel.
14 comments:
- AnonymousOctober 30, 2012 at 8:29 AM
Well, disclaimer, I personalty would lend my car to a good friend (and have had friends offer me the use of their car when I had car trouble)... everything else would depend on how well I knew and liked the individual.ReplyDelete
That said, as far as loaning/trading items I don't see why it wouldn't be allowed. I look at it less like "giving a coworker a car", and more like if I'm a merc in a battle and have an extra weapon I'm not using that an ally could use to help save our asses, of course I'm going to loan it to them.
And all hat said I don't play any games where there are rules for the things you mentioned so I can only comment based on what I infer from your post.
A lot of this has to do with culture. I used to live on a reservation, and "giveaways," where a person would celebrate a major event in their life (such as retiring, winning an important event, or even a birthday) would be accompanied by the person who was celebrating giving away a large amount of items to any who had come to celebrate the event with him or her. Its origins appear to go back to the pre-Western tribal period where a person's meager possessions would be divided up among the tribe upon their death.ReplyDelete
I could easily see a person retiring from adventuring keeping most of the "liquid" assets: coins, gems, etc. but giving the adventuring gear to someone else.
Another way to look at it is that a party is in a dangerous spot and their lives are in each other's hands. They would want to maximize their chances of getting out alive.ReplyDelete
I get the feeling no one actually read the post.ReplyDelete
Their lives are not in each other's hands. You are working with people who sold everything to risk their lives. The instant you hand them a literally priceless artifact like a vorpal sword, they cut your head off with it and leave you for dead.
You are not in it together, because not only does community not exist as you know it, the only thing they have ever known is the rule of the strong in a post-apocalyptic wasteland that is dungeons & dragons.
So it does have to do with culture, and the players complete misunderstanding and complete inability to imagine a culture different then their own.
You can't read. You avoid people who hit you. You look for people weaker then you to dominate. Your job involves risking your life and killing things to steal them. Everyone around you is an arrogant self-centered, narcissist who would as likely leave you for dead as help you out. This is all either directly implicated or stated in the source material.
For all the people that "would" do these things, your basic assumptions that the characters would do these things takes away your entire upbringing of safety from literal eldricth horrors that can slay you and raise your dead body as a servant.Replies
- AnonymousOctober 31, 2012 at 10:31 PM
If you really believed that your adventuring partners would shiv you for your magic, why in the world are you risking your neck alongside them?Delete
Especially if you are, say, a Cleric who can cast Know Alignment, or a Paladin who can Detect Evil. Seems like those guys would only team up with people who they could be reasonably sure wouldn't turn on them at the drop of a hat.
I feel your reading of the "source material" (which is undefined, but I presume to mean the game books themselves and the novels listed in Appendix N of the DMG) is incredibly narrow. Certainly the works of Tolkien, Burroughs, and Howard are filled with loyal friends.
The 'source material' isn't really accurate to what actually happens in a D&D session.
The source materials are all resources for fantastical elements. They also often feature singular, paired or solo protagonists, and rarely follow the form or shape of a D&D game (which is blatantly post-apocolyptic).
In the original game, there was no evil alignment, but there was 'protection from evil', because evil was defined as actively hostile or inimical to you at that moment.
Frodo betrays the company and refuses to throw the ring in mount doom. Conan strikes off the heads of those who speak things he dislikes near him. John Carter is a single man, taking advantage of alien peoples for his own benefit. None of these examples speak to the loyal friendship you mention.
I would say that "evil" was defined as enchanted or otherworldly.Delete
From Men & Magic, page 23:
Protection from Evil: This spell hedges the conjurer round with a magic circle to keep out attacks from enchanted monsters. It also serves as an "armor" from various evil attacks, adding a + 1 to all saving throws and taking a — 1 from hit dice of evil opponents. (Note that this spell is not cumulative in effect with magic armor and rings, although it will continue to keep out enchanted monsters.) Duration: 6 turns.
I was working from the B/X cleric 'not of your alignment' definition and extrapolating.Delete
I bet you'd lend your car out to your friend if your life depended on it. While it can come back to bite you, I'm fairly certain one's survivability decreases when he or she refuses to trust anyone, particularly that guy who's been working with you for months toward the same goal.ReplyDeleteReplies
Don't forget the part where it's not a car, it's literally a priceless, non-replaceable artifact. And it's just some dude you work with.Delete
Also, the goal you have as players, may in fact be different than the individual goals of characters, which are more akin to, "I'ma hitchin' my cart to this horse cause it looks like it's goin' places."
Certainly your own survivability decreases when you hand away the very priceless irreplaceable things that are keeping you alive.
Classic prisoners dilemma. Empirically, people do in fact work together in many cases though. See also:ReplyDelete
I think your assumption of zero-sum ruthless adventurers need not hold for all campaigns, not even for all post-apocalyptic treasure hunter games.
- AnonymousOctober 31, 2012 at 10:27 PM
Isn't what you say here (which basically amounts to "put yourself in an adventurer's shoes") completely at odds with what you said in a prior post (http://hackslashmaster.blogspot.com/2012/10/on-confusion-of-role.html)?ReplyDelete
Personally, I do believe you should strive to put yourself in your character's shoes and act in a fashion appropriate for someone in their place/culture...but from the point of view of "player skill", something you laud on your blog, doesn't lending magic items make logical sense?Replies
You are playing a game. The game is designed. You are the ones making decisions.
So soon it occurs to you, why risk your fifth level fighter when you can just roll up a first level fighter and have him take the chance to win the powerful item. Then he can just lend it to the fifth level fighter, see?
It is then pointed out that this is explicitly proscribed by the rules.
"But," the player says, "But it only makes sense that he would trust his very best buddies and give away all his priceless artifacts."
Don't forget the part where it's not a car, it's literally a priceless, non-replaceable artifact. And it's just some dude you work with.ReplyDelete


text:
Our Story
Pioneering Beginnings
When we founded Nourish more than a decade ago, the words "organic" and "beauty" were never found together. We were concerned by numerous studies and research that shed light on the hazardous chemicals in existing beauty products, and by the lack of regulations in the personal care industry. Believing that what you put on your body is every bit as important as what you put in it, we became "organic beauty pioneers," determined to create the very first line of chemical-free, environmentally friendly skincare products.
We were the first beauty company to ever work with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to create a collection of products so pure they could be certified organic under the same strict standards the government uses to certify food. And in 2003, we launched Nourish—the world's first USDA-certified organic skincare collection.
Then, in 2012, we re-introduced the Nourish brand with an even more exciting line up of fabulous USDA certified organic products that you are sure to enjoy.
Good for You. Good for the Earth.
Today, from our headquarters in the rolling hills of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, we create and produce healthy, concern-free, eco-friendly skin care products that really work (and that are as pure and clean as the organic fruits and vegetables you find at your local market).
In addition to being completely natural and organic, our products are also cruelty-free, gluten-free, and mostly vegan. We display all of the following badges with pride on all of our packaging, so you can be sure that no product you buy is kinder to your skin, and to the earth and the animals with which we share it.
Our Seals
Did you know that the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) organic seal and certification is THE gold standard in organic skincare? This is the only seal that ensures that skincare products are 95-100% organic, up to the standard of food rulings. That means our USDA-certified Nourish products are as pure and clean as the organic fruit you buy in your local supermarket. The USDA does not differentiate between food or beauty products when inspecting products, so any product bearing its seal (whether food or skincare) must be made of 95-100% ingredients that were organically farmed with no pesticides or herbicides. The remaining 5% of contents are drawn from a small, select number of gentle ingredients (such as purified water) that are not organically grown, but which pose no risk to your health or the environment.
The reason it is so important to look for the USDA seal on your beauty products is because the beauty industry is not regulated by the government or FDA. That means that companies can write "organic" or "natural" on their beauty or skincare products, even if only 5% of the ingredients are really natural or organic and the rest contain potentially harmful chemicals like parabens, phthalates, petrochemicals or EDTA. Without the USDA seal on your beauty product, no government agency is ensuring its safety and purity.
An internationally recognized symbol of organic integrity, Oregon Tilth Certified Organic (OTCO) provides a system that combines strict production standards, on-site inspections, and legally binding contracts to protect the producers and buyers of organic products.
The Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics' (CCIC) Leaping Bunny Program administers a cruelty-free standard and the internationally recognized Leaping Bunny Logo for companies producing cosmetic, personal care, and household products. The Leaping Bunny program provides the best assurance that no new animal testing is used in any phase of product development by the company, its laboratories, or suppliers.
All of our packaging is made with at least 25% post-consumer recycled content, and everything is recyclable. On a day-to-day basis, we make a conscious effort to recycle, re-use, and re-think the use of resources needed to produce the Nourish products. To learn more about our efforts to live in harmony with the environment, please click here.
The "gluten-free" logo proves a company's commitment to a quality, gluten-free product for celiac-and gluten-sensitive individuals.
The "vegan" logo identifies products that do not contain animal products or byproducts and that have not been tested on animals.
Giving Back
As citizens of the world, we believe it's important to give back when and where we can, especially to our community and to what we believe to be some of the world's most important causes. We work closely with and contribute to a number of organizations and charities including The Women's Center, Association for the Blind, City Rescue Mission, Meals on Wheels, and the Salvation Army. We support local sports teams, schools, and Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and regularly donate our surplus materials and products to World Vision. We're particularly proud of our donations to overseas U.S. military personnel, and of our efforts to provide aid to the victims of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.


text:
Hong Kong people had mixed feelings when they watched the inauguration of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Friday.
They saw a leader, who was elected with 6.89 million votes, speak for all Taiwanese, especially on transnational issues that have impeded the island's development for decades.
On Monday, her government dropped charges against 126 people who occupied the legislature during a protest against a trade pact with China two years ago.
The protest, which came to be known as the "Sunflower Movement", grew out of frustrations among ordinary citizens who felt they got a raw deal.
The protesters took over the legislative building for 23 days and succeeded in forcing the previous government to shelve its implementation.
The movement helped propel the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party to victory in January, making it the largest bloc in the Legislative Yuan.
Premier Lin Chuan later said in a statement that the Sunflower Movement was a "political matter, not a simple legal matter".
"Under the principles of a little more harmony, a little less conflict, we will be as lenient as possible and withdraw this legal complaint," he said.
Lin said the protesters' demand for closer oversight of cross-strait deals is a commonly accepted principle, with lawmakers studying a transparent legal mechanism.
There's no doubt the Sunflower Movement was also a political campaign and could have been settled with a political solution.
But Tsai understood the core issue behind it — dark-room politics between then Taiwan's ruling Kuomintang and mainland China's Communist Party.
The Kuomintang government tried to bypass the legislature when it signed the trade pact, ostensibly to fast-track cross-strait relations under then President Ma Ying-jeou.
Tsai's landslide election victory was a repudiation of Ma's pro-China policies that relied on the mainland to sustain the economy.
It gave her administration a wide mandate to overturn the legal process, thereby allowing it to drop the charges against the protesters.
Not surprisingly, Kuomintang lawmakers are angry at the decision.
They are accusing the new government of disrespect for the law and of trivializing the illegal occupation of the legislature.
They conveniently ignore the fact that the protesters were forced to take action because the previous administration was blind to public demands regarding the trade agreement.
Now Taiwan people have a new voice they hope will reflect their interests to Beijing in a fair and judicious manner.
Hong Kong people can only watch Taiwanese democracy in action with a sense of wistfulness.
A regular, direct election of a leader every four years is no doubt a test of political maturity and strength of democratic institutions.
But that is not an option for Hong Kong people.
Theirs is a selection process done on a stage with a deep red background. The candidates have to be approved by Beijing.
Even the police have a political duty to Beijing to suppress all forms or appearances of dissent such as happened in the 2014 pro-democracy protests and this year's Mong Kok clashes.
Many were arrested during the course of the 79-day street occupation amid charges of police brutality.
Some charges were dropped but many protesters were prosecuted. All emerged from the ordeal less certain about their rights and freedoms.
The changes in Taiwan under a new leader show a government that is trying its best to create a harmonious and inclusive society that is free to voice its concerns.
Taiwanese will be keeping an eye on Tsai whether she lives up to her election promises.
And Hong Kong people will continue to have mixed feelings about their cousins across the water.
– Contact us at [email protected]


text:
Stacey's responsibilities as a dental assistant includes providing assistance to SVHC's dentist during procedures including handing instruments, materials, utilizing suction hoses and other devices. She also instructs patients on postoperative and general oral healthcare.
Stacey grew up in the Baldwin/Sebago area and graduated from Lake Region High School. She continued her education by receiving her Associate's Degree in Applied Computer Science from Andover College. She then persued her interest in dentistry by working in a dental practice located in Windham. She worked directly with the owner/dentist to learn everything she needed to about being a Dental Assistant by working there for almost 17 years. Stacey joined SVHC's Dental Team in November 2016 where she enjoys working with our patients and meeting new people every day.
Stacey lives locally and enjoys spending time outdoors and hanging out with her family and friends.


text:
"Volunteering is great because I learn something new every day about history and the National Park Service. I would recommend volunteering to all that love history and working with people."
-VIP Britt Brewer
Giving back to a place you love can be an incredibly rewarding experience. Your efforts enable us to maintain and improve our battlefields and the services we offer to visitors. Want to know how you can help? Follow our links to the many ways you can support your park.
Whether you'd like to volunteer with the park, spend a season as an intern, or shop in our bookstore, your support makes our battlefields great places to visit.