text:
Born To Die
Lindsay was staring outside of the airplane windows. She could already see the snowy roads and the landing strip of the Irkutsk airport and her eyes started filling up with tears. She felt Connor's hand sliding into hers and his warm fingers entwined with hers. She turned her gaze from the window and looked into his eyes. He drew her lips for a kiss. She didn't want him to accept this investigation and not even to ever travel to Russia in his life, but he insisted and he made her promise him that she'll do everything he tells her to do throughout this investigation.
"During this case, you are like every other member in the team." He said. "And like the rest of them, you'll follow my orders." He also made her promise that she will never in her life tell the other members of the team about Magda's prophecy. It seemed that the kiss released Lindsay's tears and they started flowing down her face. Connor wiped her tears with his sleeve and wrapped his arm around her head, drawing her head towards his chest.
"What am I gonna do without you?" She mumbled.
"You'll live and you will be happy again." Connor replied. "I want you to be happy again. You're only 27 years old and you have your whole life ahead of you." He caressed her face with the back of his hand. She raised her head from his chest.
"What are you saying exactly?" She asked with tearful eyes.
"I don't want you to spend your whole life mourning. I want you to love again and to have children and to be happy again." He said.
"No." She said and a painful expression spread across her face.
"I know that now it seems like an impossible thing, but I don't want you to be dead from the inside just because I'm not living anymore." She looked like her life already ended and Connor's heart quivered inside his chest. "Come here, kiss me." He said and felt her lips covering his immediately. Peter and Claire watched them from the other side of the aisle and exchanged grins.
"Those two still feel like a couple of honeymooners." Peter said to Claire.
"To be honest, I wish I ever had such love in my life." Claire replied.
"Are you jealous, Claire?" Peter asked.
"Yeah, a little. Not that I want Connor specifically…" She said. "But look at them. They can barely let go of each other. I want this kind of love that can't let you go." She said. "Don't you?"
"Uh, I don't know. I never felt so strongly about any girl since Annie." He sighed. "And she insists on staying in Bell Island."
"That's too bad. She seems like a nice girl." Claire said. "Oh, look, it looks even colder here than in Canada." She pointed out of the window.
Connor and Lindsay were completely oblivious to the fact that their colleagues were gossiping about them just a moment ago and even if they weren't, they couldn't care less. Their tongues could not let go of each other and the only thing that eventually made them break the kiss was the airplane landing in Irkutsk.
The truck drove slowly on the rocky, yet snowy road that led to the plant where they were supposed to investigate and even though both Lindsay and Connor tried to take an active part in their colleagues' conversation, they were both distracted. They held hands throughout the entire drive and Lindsay leaned her head on Connor's shoulder and tried to sleep. She was so tired after crying for most of the flight and all the way to the airport. She already made up her mind to try saving his life, but she knew that if she couldn't, dying with him would be much better than living without him. She knew he would disagree with her if she told him. He wouldn't even let her come with the team. Therefore, she decided to hide it from him.
Their ability to get any privacy together faded the moment they went into the plant. For the first time since they were told about the investigation in Russia both of them were able to forget the forthcoming miserable event that was going to separate them forever and focus their attention on the investigation.
Lindsay was desperately looking for the toilet. Her stomach was turning upside down and she eventually found it, at the end of the hall. The toilet was old and wasn't very clean, but Lindsay collapsed on the floor and started throwing up as soon as her knees touched the white tile floor. Unfortunately, the toilet room also had the only shower in the building and Claire was busy taking a shower exactly at the same time. The moment she realized that someone entered the room, she grabbed her towel and went out of the shower, looking at Lindsay for a couple of seconds.
"What's wrong with you?" Her initial thought was that Lindsay had seen something very disgusting, her second thought was that Lindsay might have been infected with the parasite they were investigated. Only then it occurred to her that none of these were the reason for Lindsay's vomiting. "Oh, my God." She said.
"What?" Lindsay wiped her mouth with a piece of toilet paper.
"Connor doesn't know, does he?" Claire asked.
"Know what?" Lindsay gave her a confused look.
"Oh, jeez!" Claire replied. "You don't know either." She said as she dressed up.
"I'm not infected, am I?" A horrified yet hopeful expression spread all over Lindsay's face.
"No. At lease I don't think so. There are no symptoms that we know of." Claire calmed her. "When was your last period?"
"I don't know…" Lindsay mumbled. "A bit more than a month ago." She tried to cast her mind back to the last time she menstruated.
"You better check if you're pregnant." Claire suggested.
"Oh yeah, I'm just gonna go to the nearest pharmacy and buy myself a pregnancy testing kit." Lindsay replied sarcastically. "Get a grip, Claire. We're in the middle of nowhere."
"Well, it happens to be your lucky day." Claire replied. "I always carry a few home pregnancy tests in the first aid kit on long trips. You never know when it comes in handy." She pulled her sweater over her bodice and put on her shoes. "Wait, I'll get it for you." She said and left the bathroom. She came back a couple of minutes later and handed Lindsay a pregnancy test. "I'll give you some privacy. I'll be right outside if you need me." She said and left the toilet.
Ten minutes later, Lindsay opened the door and looked at Claire with confused eyes. The whole situation seemed so unreal to her. She wouldn't believe she was taking a pregnancy test in a freezing power plant in Siberia, of all places, and considering the situation she was in.
"I'm not sure what it means." She handed the test to Claire. Claire inspected the stick for a couple of seconds.
"It's positive." She declared. "You're most definitely pregnant." Lindsay stared at her with shock for a few seconds and her chin was shaking. Claire expected Lindsay to accept the news with a smile, but instead Lindsay burst out crying. She buried her face in her palms and sobbed bitterly. Claire wrapped her arms around Lindsay's body and gently rubbed her back to soothe her. "It's alright." She said. "I don't know how you feel about it, but it's normal." She truly wasn't sure if Lindsay was happy or upset about it. She would expect Lindsay to be thrilled and be running down the halls to tell Connor about it, but she knew from her past experience that some women are very emotional when they learn that they're pregnant. She cut a piece of toilet paper and handed it to Lindsay, who wiped her tears.
"You can't tell Connor." She said as she pulled away from Claire.
"Of course I'm not gonna tell him. You should be the one telling him, not me." Claire replied. Lindsay threw the toilet paper into the toilet bowl and flushed the water. She dried her face with the end of her sleeve and sniffled.
"I think I'm gonna get some sleep." She said and walked out of the toilet.
Connor was lying in bed when she entered the room and she lied down next to him. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close, relishing the warmth of her body. She turned in bed a few time and the mattress squeaked. Finding out about the pregnancy really shook her up. She came to Russia, knowing that she was going to lose her life for Connor, but how could she do it when she had a baby growing inside her?
"You're restless." Connor whispered into her ear. She turned in bed again, to face him.
"You can't die in here." She whispered back. "You have so much to live for." She looked into his eyes and put her palm on his cheek, gently caressing it. "I'm pregnant." Her voice was choked. Her words made Connor's eyes fill up with tears. "You can't leave us like this. I want this child to have a father. A living father." She said. He kissed her and his fingers brushed through her hair.
"I love you, Lindsay. Don't ever forget that." He whispered. They fell asleep together.
Connor woke up in the middle of the night. His stomach was hurting. In fact, it felt like something was crawling under his skin. He looked at Lindsay who was sleeping next to him and got up of bed, being careful not to wake her up. He walked out of the room and lifted his shirt, looking down at his stomach. He blinked a few times when he saw that something was indeed crawling under his skin. It looked like a thick and short snake. He gasped as he realized what it meant. He had the parasite inside his body.
Connor walked to the toilet and closed the door behind him. His whole body was shaking and beads of sweat started forming on his forehead. It caught him off guard. After Lindsay told him about the pregnancy, he started thinking of ways he could save himself. Only now he realized that no matter what he does his fate will still catch up with him. How will he be able to look into Lindsay's eyes and tell her that he's infected?
It was early in the morning when he came back to bed. Lindsay would never agree to leave him there if she knew he was dying. She would stay with him and would rather dying with him. She could not know that he was infected.
Claire screamed in horror as the parasite broke through Dolf's chest and attached itself to Cooper's chest. Connor rushed to Cooper's side and stabbed the parasite, trying to avoid the lime green goo that oozed out of the parasite's body. It was smeared all over his hands and he wiped it in his pants as he commanded the team to evacuate the power plant and rush Cooper to a hospital. Lindsay came to his side and grabbed his arm. He knew this would happen and prepared for this.
"Lindsay, you have to leave. You can't stay here." He said calmly.
"No, I'm not leaving you behind." She said. "I don't want you to be a hero. I want you to be alive." She called out.
"Lindsay, I'm giving you an order. Leave, now!" He said. She nodded her head. "You have to evacuate this building. Cooper needs to get to a hospital." He insisted.
"The team can handle without me. I'm staying with you." She replied mulishly. He sighed as she wrapped her arms around his body.
"Why are you being so stubborn?" He sighed and kissed the crown of her head.
"I want to make sure you won't get hurt. We came here together and we'll leave this place together." She said. Connor knew it was the completely wrong time to do it, but he drew her for a deep kiss and refused to let go of her lips for a couple of long moments. He knew it was going to turn out okay. Magda had promised him that Lindsay will survive this investigation and so will Cooper. Suddenly, they saw Peter running back towards them.
"Peter, what's going on?" Connor asked.
"The electricity. The doors at the loading dock are locked. We need to turn it on." Peter called out. The three of them ran to the operation hall, where all the switches to all the machinary were located. Together, they all started pulling the levers on the left side down and they could hear the buzzing of the electrical current going through the machine. Connor looked at Peter and motioned his head towards Lindsay. Gently, he grabbed her by the shoulders.
"Lindsay, can you run?" He asked. She nodded. She was glad that they could finally leave this horrible place. "Good. You need to listen to me now." He continued and she nodded again. "I want you to run as fast as you can and leave the plant. Don't look back and don't turn around. Do you understand?"
"I'm not leaving unless you're coming with me." She replied.
"Peter and I will be right behind you." Connor reassured her.
"Promise me that you will leave this plant." She said.
"I promise." He replied. "I love you, Lindsay." He drew her for another kiss.
"I love you too." She said.
"I'll meet you outside. Run, now!" He said. Lindsay started running. Connor never broke any promise and that was a known fact. She was convinced that she heard his feet hitting the floor, right behind her and so she didn't feel the need to look back. She ran outside the plant and joined her teammates who gathered near the exit from the loading dock, trying to open the doors.
Back in the operation hall, Connor heavily sank to the floor and grabbed the tranquilizer gun. Peter could see that he was in a great pain. His eyes widened as he realized that Connor was infected.
"Go, Peter, get out of here." Connor panted heavily.
"You're coming with me," Peter replied. Connor let out a moan. "We'll get you back to headquarters and get that thing outta you." He tried to help Connor up, by pulling Connor's arm. Connor stood up, leaning on Peter's shoulder. He flung himself against the other wall of switches and started pulling them down.
"No, Connor, remember what Dolf said about the compressor." Peter warned him.
"I know." Connor replied. Suddenly the motion detector Peter held in his hands started beeping.
"I've got movement." He said and turned around. "There," He pointed at one of the corners of the room. "There," He pointed to another spot. "There…" He sighed. "They're trying to surround us."
"I'll hold them off, give you cover. Now go. That's an order." Connor recruited all the strength he had in him.
"No!" Peter said and took one step towards Connor, who was standing with his hand on the lever, ready to pull it down.
"I'll never survive the trip." Connor's voice held a tone of sadness. He lowered his gaze to the floor, but then raised it back and looked into Peter's eyes. "But this thing might."
"Connor…" Peter's hand shook. What was he supposed to tell Lindsay? That Connor broke his promise?
"They're starting to breath outside their hosts. Somebody has to take that information out." Peter shook his head, his eyes begging Connor to give himself a chance. "I refuse to let anyone else die under my command. Now go." He said. Peter put his arm on Connor's shoulder. "Go!" Peter stared at him for a long moment. He could see Connor was determined to stay and blow the entire place up. He turned around and started running, hearing explosions behind him as the power overloaded. A few of the generators exploded right next to him as he ran through the halls.
Peter was already outside when he heard a gigantic explosion behind him. He turned his head to see a huge flame coming out of the building and heard his colleagues calling out his name the moment they spotted him. He kept on running as fast as he could towards them. Suddenly he heard a louder explosion and the earth shook under his feet. Dust started falling on his head and he stumbled on the frozen ground, running the rest of the distance that seperated him from the team. Lindsay ran to him and grabbed his coat.
"Where is Connor?" She cried out, "Where is he?" Peter held her arm, just above the elbow. He couldn't bear looking into her eyes, but he did it anyway. He slowly shook his head. Her eyes filled up with tears. She turned to look at the burning power plant and let out a soft cry. Peter gently wrapped his arm around her shoulders and made her take a few steps back. She collapsed to the ground, sobbing bitterly into Peter's shoulder.
"Guys, I'll stay with her here." Peter told his teammates when he saw that Lindsay won't leave her spot.
"Are you crazy? You'll freeze!" Anton said.
"We have to get Cooper to a hospital." Claire reminded them.
"Give us something to cover ourselves with." Peter said. Anton took two thick wool blankets out of the truck and handed them to Peter. "Now leave. Send someone to pick us up as soon as possible." He said. The rest of the team climbed into the truck. Peter wrapped one blanket around Lindsay's body and then wrapped the other blanket around himself. The engine roared as Ray started the truck and drove away from there. A few minutes later, Peter and Lindsay remained on their own, shivering in the Siberian cold and gazing at the burning building with tearful eyes.
Morning came; the silence around them became disturbing. The fire extinguished itself during the night and Peter's limbs were hurting from the cold. Lindsay's head was rested against his chest, her eyes were closed and Peter could see that her tears froze on her lashes. The roaring of a motor was heard from afar.
"Lindsay, wake up." He shook her gently. "Wake up, they're coming for us." Her skin was cold and bluish. "Lindsay, come on. Wake up." Peter called out. He saw a black truck coming closer and closer. Lindsay opened her eyes and stared at him with ice-covered gaze and Peter understood. Lindsay was still alive, but her soul was frozen, numb and dead.
Choose your last words
This is the last time
'Cause you and I
We were born to die…
Note: Lyrics at the end are from a song called "Born To Die" by Lana Del Rey.


text:
- Home
- About Us
- Advertising
- Make an Announcement
- Special Sections
- Bridal Showcase
- Conservation Section
- Tri-County Spring Farm Edition
- Senior Living
- Spring Home & Garden Edition
- Summer Recreation Guide
- Health & Wellness Edition
- Antiques Directory
- Tri-County Fall Farm Edition
- Annual Restaurant Guide
- Fall Home Improvement Edition
- Fall Car Care Edition
- Holiday Shopping Preview
- Contact
Unilever employees donate toys, more to Love INC
Thursday, December 6, 2012 7:52 AM
Employees of Unilever's Good Humor-Breyers plant in Huntington have donated hundreds of toys and personal care items to Love INC, which will distribute the items to area residents in need.
Approximately 120 Unilever employees participated in the giving effort organized by fellow Unilever employee Cheryl Coles.
Dana Meyer, toy distribution coordinator for Love INC, supplied Unilever with a list of toys that are most often requested by children but not often donated. The biggest request last year, Meyer says, was for anything related to the Indianapolis Colts.
As part of this year's project, the Unilever employees contacted the Colts organization, which donated a variety of Colts items to be given to Love INC.
Individual Unilever employees purchased toys off the Love INC list and made monetary donations to purchase personal care items.
Approximately 910 personal care items and 150 toys were delivered to Love INC on Friday, Nov. 30, by Unilever employees Sharon Aluma, Mark Gehrke and Dave Getman.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The latest thriller from the New York Times best-selling author of Twelve Days, Alex Berenson.
John Wells has just barely managed to stop an operation designed to drive the United States and Iran into war, but the instigator himself disappeared behind an impenetrable wall of security. Now it's time for him to pay, and Wells has made it his personal mission. There are plenty of crosscurrents at work, though. The White House doesn't want anybody stirring the pot; his old CIA bosses have their own agendas; and other countries are starting to sniff around, sensing something unusual. It is when Russia and China enter the mix, however, that the whole affair is set to combust. With alarming speed, Wells is once again on his own...and the wolves are closing in.
©2016 Alex Berenson (P)2016 Penguin Audio
"Narrator George Guidall provides another outstanding listen in this tenth John Wells mystery. Guidall has perfect-pitch timing and pacing for this type of thriller. He imbues the characters with distinctive voices by adding powerful unwritten features such as a gravelly undertone or a tone of coarse indifference.... Guidall's extensive experience with the main character, John Wells, doesn't hurt either." ( AudioFile)
There are no listener reviews for this title yet.
"Best Yet!"
I got hooked on John Wells after the first book. The author has taken the time to create a full character instead of an action hero. While Wells loves his country deeply, he knows the things she asked of him having taken a huge toll on him. Wells takes the time to consider the emotional impact of his actions, but he also has developed the capacity to stuff his feelings into a compartment and move forward with his job when necessary. As Wells has matured over the series, I love that he now trust his own judgment and moral compass to take action, instead of following the lead of his mentor or even the presiding president. Good for him. I won't rehash the story line, its covered in the book summary. Not entirely plausible but then it is called fiction for a reason.
"This book needs a warning: contains graphic harm against children"
I'm a fan of the author, but feel the need to flag this particular book for the gratuitous and graphic pedophilia and rape scenes. The amount of detail was so disturbing, if it had been a movie it would have been rated X. Totally unnecessary, these horrid and haunting scenes distracted from an otherwise solid John Wells book.
"Great book / love series, but..."
Discovered Alex Berenson a year or so ago when looking for more books read by George Guidall. Alex Berenson's books are in the same genre as many of the other spy / espionage books that Guidall likes to read - I've enjoyed them all. The Wolves is my least favorite of the series as it's more revenge and less espionage - a departure from his prior books. It's hard to give a proper review without giving away the plot but I think I can safely say that unless you read the prior book in the series then you really won't understand what's going on in this one. While I enjoyed this book, I look forward to Alex's next in the series and hope that he gets back to having the main character, John Wells, fighting the bad guys.
The writing is good but George Guidall carries this book. If you're considering this as your first Berenson book, pick a different one. If you're like me and have already listened to his other works, you can't not read this. You just may not enjoy it as much.
"Good spy thriller!"
The Wolves is Book 10 in the John Wells series. It starts exactly where Book 9, Twelve Days, finished. I have rated all prior books in the Wells series either 4 or 5 stars. I'm rating this one 4 stars although is is clearly the weakest novel in the series. The plot is simply not as credible as the others.
George Guidall is one of my favorite narrators. I believe this is the first time I have rated him less than 5 stars.
I've been waiting to see if Alex Berenson is going to break into the elite group of espionage thriller writers (authors like Brad Thor, Daniel Silva, Brad Taylor, Ben Coes, Brett Battles, Brian Haig, Mark Greaney, Vince Flynn, Mark Dawson, Tom Wood, Nelson DeMille, and Tom Clancy). Berenson is not there yet, but he does show promise of the capability in his best John Wells novels. The Wolves is not one of his best.
I was half way through listening to this before I came up for air. I enjoyed it a great deal. Suggestion - don't read this book until you've read TWELVE DAYS. This one picks up right where the previous one ends.
This is vintage Alex Berenson. I have been a bit disappointed in a few of his latest works but TWELVE DAYS and this one are back to what I've enjoyed about the John Wells books. The story was interesting and full of enough suspense. Wells is his normal self and this time he actually gets some Agency help. I just wish he'd figure out what's going on with his feelings about Anne and deal with it. He needs her.
I have a feeling we'll see at least one of the characters from this book in another one.
George Guidall is, as usual, brilliant!
"Good Read, Good Storyline"
Although is Guidall is a good narrator, you sometimes can't tell which character is speaking. But the story is good enough to keep you going.
Berensen does a good job of location description, so much so, that when I travel to the places he's written about, I can almost navigate from it.
Plot was such that it kept me listening. I wouldn't exactly call it a nail biter, but it was good.
Guidall has to identify with Ellis the most. You can just tell when he speaks that he would be Ellis.
I've finished his series in about 4 months....it's going to be a long long time until The Prisoner in Jan 2017. :-(
"Very good!"
My only complaint isn't with the book, but with the publishers and audible. I had no idea this was out until weeks after it was released. I am a die heard Wells fan, and was pissed that it had been out and I didn't know.
Every time I look up mundane items online some mind reading algorithm advertises that thing to me on random websites for weeks, but audible somehow missed the fact that I own every one of these books and listen to them all several times a year. Rant over. Good book!
"Wonderful, Awesome and totally righteous!"
A must John Wells. A great addition to the series. I hope John Wells doesn't stop.
"Cleaning up loose ends"
Alex Berenson's The Wolves is the third installment of a pseudo-trilogy where John goes after the mastermind of the plot he disrupted in the previous two installments. After putting up with a bit of political dithering, John takes matters into his own hands only to be further stymied and hamstrung until finally being let loose.
Tradecraft is minimal with John frequently expressing serious reservations about his ability to continue. At the same time, this is a tale more about revenge, rather than espionage with action more in line with street brawling, rather than a master assassin.While major national security disaster is averted, it is more accidental or circumstantial, rather than intentional. John is angry at himself for tiring of the game and he's taking it out on any convenient punching bag.
The narration is superb with a great range of voices and perfect pacing. Although the setup for the next installment is likely to be a bit closer to home, John is gradually easing into retirement.
"Berenson does not disappoint"
What could be better than an Alex Berenson thriller on the edge of ridiculous with flinty John Wells and the wonderful narrator George Guidall?
Report Inappropriate Content
If you find this review inappropriate and think it should be removed from our site, let us know. This report will be reviewed by Audible and we will take appropriate action.


text:
Malay Indian party IPF fighting for its survivalJuly 28th, 2008 - 2:11 pm ICT by ANI
Kuala Lumpur, July 28 (ANI): Two months after the death of Indian Progressive Front (IPF) president M.G. Pandithan, the party is fighting for its survival.
Thousands are believed to have left the party while others want transparency and are calling for elections for a new president and not to give the post on a platter to Pandithans widow.
Partys former secretary-general, K. Panjamurti, who now leads IPF Bersatu, said P Jayashrees leadership was weakening IPF. The NST Online reported.
She is from India and with no experience. For the partys solidarity, Pandithan, in his dying days, should have rallied round party veterans, including those outside the party, to take over, Panjamurti said.
He said members were unhappy with the appointment of Jayashree as acting president.
By appointing her, it shows the late Pandithans self-interest in safeguarding the RM3 million building housing the party headquarters.
Panjamurti felt that the only way out for IPF was to reunite the 380,000 members and former members under one roof.
Panjamurti, who claimed to have 200,000 former IPF members in his party, said: The members want the two factions within the party to rejoin to restore their confidence in the partys struggle. IPF Bersatu extended its hand of friendship to IPF but the acting president did not respond.
IPF deputy president V. Senggutuan agreed that several hundred had left the party but could not say what the exact number was. He said some had joined Parti Keadilan Rakyat, Pas and DAP. (ANI)
Tags: acting president, appointment, confidence, deputy president, dying days, exact number, factions, former members, jayashree, kuala lumpur, malay, new president, nst online, parti keadilan, party headquarters, progressive front, secretary general, self interest, solidarity, transparency


text:
Az álláshirdetés lejárt.Aktuális állást talál az aktív állásajánlatok között: új keresés indítása itt
Technical Claims Advisor - Lanarkshire, Glasgow, G32 0
Technical Claims Advisor (Disaster & Restoration) - Glasgow: 14718
£excellent Salary +Benefits
As a technical reviewer dealing with Disaster & Restoration (DR&R) losses, you will review digital evidence live from the Insured's home, with an on site technician. You will agree immediate actions to be made on site, taking steps to mitigate the damage and to minimise, as much as possible, the disturbance caused to our policy holder.
You will authorise works, design and agree a drying scope with the contractor. You will then produce a building scope with the on site technician acting as 'your eyes and ears' to enable you to compile fulfilment options on all aspects of the claim, discussing this with Insured.
As the file owner, you will be responsible for pro active management of the claim, providing excellent customer service whilst maintaining control of the indemnity cost and speed of settlement for your own portfolio, processing all activities required in a timely manner.
All successful applicants will be expected to enrol in the BDMA (British Damage Management Association) training and pass their examsat basic level within 3 months of taking up the role.
Key Accountabilities
• Ownership & accountability for Disaster & Restoration claims, utilising digital evidence including video and photographs to create a scope for repairs to facilitate settlement negotiation.
• Continue to manage claims on a delegated authority basis, following a claim through to completion and settlement, as the claim owner where assigned to them.
• Negotiating a settlement with customers and arranging payments, appointing suppliers where necessary.
• Determine rectification works necessary and act as point of technical referral.
• Point of contact for updates, progress and co-ordination of the claim with close management of the customers expectations.
• Support Home Claims, involving a subrogated recovery element, by carrying out investigations and providing information relevant to possible recovery opportunities.
Key Objectives
• Take ownership & accountability for the claim.
• Ensure appropriate handling of the claim and effective control of claims spend.
• Manage instruction of fulfilment suppliers within service level agreements.
• Manage customer expectations.
• Keeping the customer experience at the heart of everything we do, ensuring adherence at all times to the principles of Treating the Customer Fairly.
• Successful achievement of all business targets asset out within departmental measures.
• Identify & support both subrogated and dual indemnity recovery opportunities.
Skills & Experience Required
• Experience of Claims, including; Initiation & Liability Investigation, Negotiation and Settlement, Claims Quantum, Assessment & Reserving and/or Claims Recovery.
• Knowledge of Regulatory Compliance.
• Customer Service experience.
• Knowledge of insurance principles & practice.
• Knowledge/experience of fraud investigations.
• The ideal candidate will currently be operating in a similar capacity, as a Loss Adjuster, Claims Incident Manager or Technical Claims Handler/Manager.
Who we are
Direct Line Group is an organisation with a clear vision: to be Britain's best retail general insurer. We have market leading positions in the UK in personal lines motor and home insurance. We're home to some of the nation's best-known brands, including Direct Line, Churchill, Privilege, Green Flag and NIG.
Külföldi munka
|Aktiválás időpontja


text: On 11 Mar, Alan Cox wrote:> I wrote the driver, tried the theory. The AC97 codec is not being> initialised by the hardware and the DMA stuff seems to need some kind> of support setup doing that isnt documented. Is this "DMA stuff" the "distributed DMA" support the documentation is referring to?-- Servus, Daniel-To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" inthe body of a message to email@example.com read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/


text:
Results 1 to 1 of 1
- Join Date
- Aug 2012
- Location
- Merced, CA 95348-1422
- Posts
- 2,379
- Blog Entries
- 3
- Downloads
- 1
- Uploads
- 0
Recall: Garden Highway Fresh Fruit Island Medley Net Wt. 1 lb (454g)
Product Detail
Product Description Garden Highway Fresh Fruit No Preservatives Perishable Keep Refrigerated Island Medley Net Wt. 1 lb (454g) Renaissance Food Group LLC Rancho Cordova, CA 95670 Renaissance Food Group Ingredients: Pineapple, Mango, Papaya Packed in its own juice, UPC Code: 826766201044
Recall Number F-1605-2013
Classification Class I
Code Info Best if Sold By 9/8/12, 9/13/12. and 9/15/12
Product Distributed Qty 1741 lb. total for recall
Reason For Recall The product has the potential to be contaminated with
Salmonella. Contains mangoes sourced from Agricola Daniella.
Event Detail
Event Id 63233
Product Type Food/Cosmetics
Status Ongoing
Recalling Firm
City Houston
State TX
Country US
Voluntary / Mandated Voluntary: Firm Initiated
Recall Initiation Date 2012-09-15
Initial Firm Notification of Consignee or Public Telephone
Distribution Pattern FL, LA, and TX


text:
NEW YORK (AP) -- Bayer HealthCare said Thursday it completed its purchase of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.'s U.S. animal health business.
Bayer agreed to buy the business in September for as much as $145 million. The deal includes a $60 million upfront payment, and as much as $85 million in additional payments based on manufacturing and sales targets.
Teva is the biggest maker of generic drugs in the world, and it said the sale would allow it to concentrate on its human health business. Bayer AG is based in Germany.
Shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries rose 50 cents to $37.69 in afternoon trading.


text:
Chervon Alexander, 29, loved her boyfriend, Devin Bickham, and reportedly wanted to marry him within a few weeks. Alexander, a recent college graduate, was seeking a job in law enforcement.
Bickham, 39, a former police officer, was already married and prosecutors charge that Bickham and his son paid a hit man $400 to kill her last week because Alexander was pressuring him about their wedding.
The official statement from the River Forest Police Department stated:
"On Thursday, July 14, River Forest detectives filed charges including first-degree murder against three men in the shooting death of 29-year-old Chervon Monique Alexander of the 1300 block of Mayfield in Chicago. Alexander was shot to death Monday night (July 11) at approximately 10:22 p.m. while she was sitting in a car parked in the 7200 block of Division Street.
The three men charged in this case include 39-year-old Devin A. Bickham Sr. and 20-year-old Devin Ardvell Bickham Jr., both of the 12800 block of Division in Blue Island, and 35-year-old Cardell Taylor of the 9400 block of South Lowe in Chicago."
In this day and age when marriage is avoided like the plague, Alexander wanted to walk that aisle, recite those vows and go forth in her life as a married woman with Bickham at her side. Alexander had her reasons for assuming that Bickham would make a good husband.
She did not deserve to be ambushed and shot to death.
This is perhaps one of the most heartbreaking and harrowing murder cases I've seen because Alexander could have been any sister looking for love who, instead, met foul play.
Her plight could have just as easily been mine or my sisters' or girlfriends because it's just so damn easy to be misled when you're in love.
A woman thinks that she knows all there is to know about "her man," but it just isn't true, no matter how many relationship books she reads or messages she covertly checks or conversations she has with him. She just doesn't know what's on his mind or in his heart.
When it comes to protecting yourself, the best that a woman can do is observe.
We can observe who he associates with, we can observe how he behaves around different sets of people, we can observe what he wears when he's "hanging with the boys." We can observe how he treats his mother, his aunt or other significant women in his existence.
We can observe how he treats his children. We can observe his spiritual core, or lack thereof.
We can observe how he responds to our needs.
We can observe what he says he'll do and weigh that against what he actually does.
We can take stock in what our eyes, ears and gut tells us: Is he husband material? Or, is he married and dating? Does he respect human life? Or does he brag about how quickly he can snuff a n*gga out? Does he want relationship stability? Or, does he seek a sidepiece at his beck and call? Does he appreciate women? Or are we all b—— and hos?
We should observe our potential mate for as long as it takes. There's no rush when it comes to determining if he's the one.
When you take the time to observe a man, you are likely to find the answers you seek.
If he has a history of violence, if he's in-between marriages, if he's a deadbeat, and, if he's not willing to enter into a serious relationship — and that is what you want — then the observation period should end. Now is the time for you to take action, and move on.
–zondra hughes


text: On Thu, Apr 01, 2004 at 04:00:32AM -0500, Nathanael Nerode wrote: > Matthias Urlichs wrote: > > > Hi, Nathanael Nerode wrote: > > > >> I always thought > >> that "best practice" was for maintainers to make new uploads to unstable > >> when there's a security update, which they do -- but *also* to make > >> security uploads to testing-proposed-updates. This doesn't seem to > >> actually be done very often, unfortunately, even by otherwise very > >> diligent > >> maintainers. :-P I'm not sure why -- maybe testing-proposed-updates > >> simply isn't well-known or well-understood? Or maybe it isn't processed > >> efficiently? > > > > If there are no dependency issues, Priority: high (or even "emergency", > > which doesn't seem to be that well-known either) works just as well. > Yeah; there often are dependency issues, of course. And not to forget the build dependency issues. The testing scripts ignore build dependencies - and how would you do an upload of a fixed package to testing if the package's build dependencies can't be fulfilled in testing? cu Adrian -- "Is there not promise of rain?" Ling Tan asked suddenly out of the darkness. There had been need of rain for many days. "Only a promise," Lao Er said. Pearl S. Buck - Dragon Seed


text:
Westside Day Nursery
Catchment Area
Academic Results
Parents Forum
Buy & Sell
About Westside Day Nursery
Westside Day Nursery is a Private school located in Hull. The Manager is Lyndsey Stephenson.
Contact Information
Westside Day Nursery 10 Sykes Street, Freetown Way , Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, HU2 8AZ
01482 606645
Other Info
- Type: Private
- Manager: Ms Lyndsey Stephenson
- Gender: Co-ed
- Total on roll: 97
View the official OFSTED report for Westside Day Nursery
School Catchment Area
Academic Results
Parents Forum
New and exclusive to School Reviewer is our new parent's forum. Join other parents to discuss issues and topics that are relevant to your school, or join our national forum to discuss, ask or give advice on topics that matter to all parents. Get involved and start the conversation!
Buy & Sell
School Reviewer's new and unique Buy and Sell section Sell your child's outgrown uniforms, no longer needed books or any other items on your local selling platform. Welcome to the new and simple way to buy and sell unwanted school items.
Category Name: ALL
No reviews yet


text:
Original URL: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/11/30/tzu_chi_foundation/
The Tzu Chi Foundation – the world's largest Buddhist charity
Monks, cadavers, typhoons and earthquakes
Posted in Science, 30th November 2008 08:02 GMT
Taiwan might be best known to Reg readers as the home of the major DRAM manufacturers and other computer component makers but it is also home to the world's largest Buddhist charitable foundation.
The Tzu Chi Foundation was founded in 1966 by a 30 year-old female monk called Dharma Master Cheng Yen. It runs international emergency relief operations, longer term aid programmes, as well as recycling centres, a TV and radio station and magazines within Taiwan.
It has very few paid staff, but thousands of volunteers give some, or all, of their time each week. They are expected to pay all their own expenses.
The Register went to Taiwan to see the Tzu Chi Foundation in action, courtesy of Stan Shih, a founder of Acer, a major supporter of the foundation. A big thank you to him, and to all the Tzu Chi volunteers who made our visit possible.
Starting with the support of 30 housewives contributing a few cents a day, the Tzu Chi Foundation now brings in millions of dollars in donations. It is the largest organisation which embodies "socially-engaged Buddhism". Several broadly similar organisations have emerged in Taiwan in recent years. They call for Buddhists to actively engage in improving society rather than just seeking personal, religious enlightenment.
It does this with next-to-no paid staff but with the help of around 100,000 full and part-time volunteers. Even the 170 female monks at the Tzu Chi monastery are expected to support themselves. They make crackers and other foodstuffs which are sold around the country. This means the Foundation, and monastery, have minimal overheads, which is one reason they attract support from so many Taiwanese business people.
Tzu Chi volunteers work all over the world – from providing free medical care to illegal immigrants in the US, distributing emergency supplies in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, to work in Afghanistan, Myanmar and mainland China. Its, and Taiwan's, unique international position mean it is often allowed into places where traditional Western NGOs would not be welcomed.
International relief is based on the principle of "direct giving" – Tzu Chi does not just chuck around sacks of rice but, where possible, prepares hot food for people in need. The foundation aims to maintain the dignity of victims of natural disasters in the way that food is distributed and also by getting the victims help in helping each other.
A senior figure in Tzu Chi's international volunteer programme, an ex-financial consultant at Merrill Lynch, told us the group tries to buy food and fertiliser locally for emergency relief operations - if it can do so without inflating prices. He said this was usually possible in areas where the UN's World Food Programme was not working.
If local buying begins to increase prices then supplies are brought in from Taiwan and elsewhere. Tzu Chi has successfully negotiated direct donations in some surprising countries like North Korea, Myanmar and Iran. After long talks North Korea allowed the group to distribute food in some areas. Myanmar also relented, for some areas, after six days of negotiating to allow Tzu Chi in to help people left hungry after Cyclone Nargis in May 2008. As well as emergency food aid the group provided fertiliser and seed to get fresh crops planted.
Tzu Chi always aims to provide long-term help not just a few days of food. They try to treat recipients with respect and dignity - haircuts and perms are organised alongside more practical help. There is, we were assured, no attempt at evangelising or pushing the Buddhist message except by example. After the Ban earthquake in Iran in 2003, after providing 2,500 tons of rice, blankets and medical care, the group built five schools for 2,000 pupils which were then handed back to the Iranian government.
Taiwan's largest recycler
The Foundation became interested in environmental protection in 1990 and now runs 4,500 recycling centres across Taiwan, all run by volunteers. We started our trip in Taiwan with a visit to a centre in Taipei run by Mrs Chow:
Paper is divided by hand into white or coloured - shiny covers and book spines are recycled separately. The centres provide almost a third of the running cost of Tzu Chi radio and TV stations.
Video cassettes are dismantled by hand – they contain eight different recyclable materials.
Copper wire stripped of its insulation.
Apart from helping Taiwan reduce its need for landfill sites the centres aim to provide fulfilling work for the mostly elderly volunteers. This considered as true in the recycling centres as it is for Tzu Chi's international relief work – it is considered an honour to be able to give.
In 2007 Foundation centres recycled 95.7 million tons of paper, one million kilos of aluminium, 13 million kilos of iron and 7.1 million kilos of plastic bottles.
Some of the plastic bottles are made into blankets and shirts, using volunteered time, expertise and equipment from local textile firms. Whether this was really an environmentally positive process bearing in mind the amount of energy presumably required was not entirely clear. The blankets are distributed as part of Tzu Chi's emergency relief efforts. The seven stage process was perfected by the Foundation with the help of several different textile companies.
The revolution will be televised
Da Ai Television station, and Rhythms Monthly magazine, is the main way the Foundation promotes its work and beliefs. The TV station, founded in 1995, costs $35m a year to run and some $10m of this comes from the recycling business. The rest comes from understated corporate sponsorship – direct promotion of products is not allowed, and from donations.
Its most popular show is The Sunshine of Life, a medical soap opera. It also broadcasts a fifteen minute daily message from Dharma Master Cheng Yen along with documentaries and news programmes. The station is run by 500 paid staff and 2,000 volunteers.
Da Ai Television's main gallery
Medical care, from old to new - acupuncture to brain electrodes
After a day in Taipei we flew to Hualien on Taiwan's east coast. Historically one of the poorer areas of Taiwan, it is home to what is left of the country's aboriginal population. The grey-granite city used to suffer from poor medical services – people were expected to travel to Taipei or elsewhere for treatment of serious conditions.
It was an incident here that led to Master Cheng Yen setting up the medical foundation in 1972. The Foundation headquarters and temple are right next door to the Tzu Chi Hospital, which provides a full range of care – from traditional Chinese acupuncture to the most modern treatments. It runs the world's largest non-government database of bone marrow donors. It treats the symptoms of Parkinson's by using deep brain simulation via implanted electrodes. And it has one of Taiwan's only palliative care wards for terminally ill patients. It also functions as a teaching hospital.
Steve Chen, a marketing guy from Acer who helped show us around, volunteered for a bit of acupuncture for a sore shoulder.
He said it hurt.
The machine behind him can be used to zap the needles with a bit of electricity to increase the flow of chi - the fundamental energy within all living things.
The hospital also provides rather more modern treatment for Parkinson's disease. Patients are first assessed by walking on a touch sensitive floor surface – Parkinson's patients tend to walk on tip-toes, take small steps and topple forward. The treatment involves inserting an electrode through a hole in skull into a part of the brain called the subthalamic nucleus – an MMR scanner is used to get it into the right place because it varies from person to person.
A wire from the electrode leads to a battery and pacemaker unit which is usually inserted under the skin of the chest. It releases a 4-6 volt intermittent current which over-rides the abnormally frequent firing of nerve pulses which is believed to cause Parkinson's. The battery unit can last as long as six years and can be controlled by the patient using a remote control – it can be switched off at night to prolong battery life. There's a BBC video of a banjo player getting a similar implant under local anaesthetic here.
Electrode and pacemaker unit
Bone marrow register
The hospital also runs the world's largest non-government database of bone marrow donors – it started work in 1993. There are 314,000 people on the database which has helped match 1,700 donations. Most of these went to mainland China, but 64 went to the US and nine to the UK, among other countries.
Working on the bone marrow database
Donations are usually collected by giving people drugs to increase marrow production which is then harvested from the blood. The older technique involved cutting open pelvic bones to extract marrow. The hospital also has an umbilical cord blood bank with 13,000 entries. These have been used for 35 transplants worldwide.
Bone marrow storage flasks
Cadavers for medical research
The Tzu Chi hospital came up against a problem in the late 1990s – a lack of bodies to teach students basic anatomy and practise surgical techniques. Although Taiwan is not a very religious country Buddhist, or Chinese, cultural beliefs mean that people do not like the idea of body donation.
This belief led eunuchs in imperial China to carry their testicles around in a small bag in the hope they would be buried with them when they died and so they would be restored to them in the afterlife. The remnants of these beliefs meant the only bodies available for medical students were from people whose bodies were not claimed by friends or family.
Dharma Master Cheng Yen started a campaign to get more people to donate their bodies by starting the "silent mentor" programme – repurposing body donation for local tastes. Parts of the scheme might seem outright weird to some readers but it has led to over 20,000 people signing up – the hospital's 60 students only need a maximum of 14 bodies a year.
Admittedly the majority, 60 per cent, of the volunteers are Foundation members. They use the cadavers not just for basic anatomy but also, because the bodies are frozen, for practising minimally invasive surgical techniques.
Silent mentors: better than Burke and Hare
The Medical Simulation Centre opened just two days before we arrived for our tour but the Silent Mentor programme has been running since 1995. It differs in some major ways from medical school practise in the UK and US. Firstly because medical students visit the silent mentor, or body donor, before they die. They go on several visits to the family of the person they will be practising their surgical techniques on. Photos are taken and the students encouraged to see the mentor as a person. After they die the mentors undergo a rapid freezing process developed with the help of a German company.
The body is rapidly cooled – the core temperature needs to get down to -30C within two hours or the flesh becomes spongy. They are then stored until needed. After defrosting the bodies will only last four days, unlike in Western universities where bodies are stored and preserved in formaldehyde.
The room for simulated surgery is almost identical to a real theatre and students use new instruments but the room is not pressurised as a real surgery would be. One major difference is that the room contains eight operating table rather than one. Also different from a typical theatre, at the head of each is a flat screen TV showing a picture of the deceased and three paragraphs in English and Chinese about their life.
So students are not going to forget their meetings with the body donors. Medical simulations are run from Thursday to Sunday because more doctors and surgeons are available to demonstrate operating techniques. Family members are also free to watch the sessions.
After having the scheme explained to us the press were hussled into a room - which we understood to be empty. In fact it was a viewing room looking into the theatre where eight bodies were having various simulated operations carried out on them. More shocking was the middle-aged woman standing next to me watching her husband being operated on about three feet from where we were standing. She watched the process through her fingers and was accompanied by her daughter. While we gawked at her husband, students and the Foundation PRs took pictures, it felt like we were intruding on what should have been a private moment.
The bodies, we were told, are very nearly as good as the real thing. They've proved particularly useful for practising Minimal Invasive Surgery – using endoscopy techniques, or keyhole surgery. This is a medical student's blog post about the scheme.
Once the students have finished the bodies are reassembled and stitched back up. Families often choose to watch this process too. The mentors are put in coffins and handed back to the families for cremation. Some of the ashes are then put into the hospital's Room of Great Giving. There is also an annual ceremony of thanks in November for the surviving family of body donors. Our visit coincided with the annual conference for medical volunteers from around the world - the Tzu Chi International Medical Association.
Identically dressed medical volunteers watch simulated surgery on cadavers via video link
Tzu Chi Monastery and the Dharma Master
The final part of our trip was to the Tzu Chi Monastery and a meeting with Dharma Master Cheng Yen. We arrived at 7am, in time to see her deliver her daily talk, which is broadcast on Da Ai TV. She spoke mostly about the day's events – Taiwan was in the middle of a typhoon which killed several people – and about what the Foundation was doing to help. The monastery consists of a small cluster of buildings and a temple, just outside Hualien. Monks grow much of their own food and also produce crackers and bean powder for sale. The place is home to 170 tonsured (shaven headed) monks who must spend at least two years as probationers. We were shown round the various buildings by a monk who grew up and was educated in the US – she graduated from Stanford before joining the order.
Two monks working on their laptops
The monks are surprisingly techno-literate - even the Dharma Master is no techno-slouch. She uses the internet and email to keep in touch with the group's international work – a heart condition means she is unable to leave Taiwan. She even uses PowerPoint to create notes for her speeches – but does not inflict the slides on her audience. Then we were taken into meet the Dharma Master – slightly unnerving after a week spent in the company of people who prefaced almost every answer to a question with "Dharma Master says…".
She answered our questions gracefully, despite not normally talking to the press. She kept half an eye on a flat screen TV which had the news on in one corner of the room. Her every word was written down by one of the monks, several of whom crowded into the room to hear her speak.
She has a quiet, slightly sing-song voice which is quite hypnotic - especially after four days talking to her followers. I'm not going to attempt to summarise her views here – the Tzu Chi website is a good place to start.
Or how about a couple of Cheng Yen's aphorisms:
Believe in yourself but do not be attached to your own point of view.
or The hardest thing for people to see is themselves.
Whatever you think of her there is something amazing about the scale of the organisation she has created in forty years. And so is the enthusiasm and dedication of the Tzu Chi volunteers and the way they attempt to help and humanise victims of natural disasters. From a Western perspective more used to charity professionals or aid tightly tied to political motives the idea of an international force of volunteers is more than impressive.®
Dharma Master Cheng Yen.
Next page: More pictures
More pictures
Volunteers at the recycling centre take a tea break. Those wearing blue shirts are "certified volunteers" with at least two years' service. Probationers, or those who choose not to become certified, wear grey shirts.
Da Ai TV studio in Taiwan
The Still Thoughts Hall at Foundation headquarters in Hualien
Monks and volunteers preparing food at the monastery
Monks and volunteers preparing ingredients for soda crackers
The temple at the Tzu Chi monastery outside Hualien
Two of the volunteers who acted as translators and showed us round the Foundation
Monks' living quarters and workshops on the ground floor


text:
Dear WG, This is a comment on http://www.w3.org/TR/sparql11-update/#deleteInsert, specifically this bit: "Deleting triples that are not present, or from a graph that is not present will have no effect and will result in success. Blank nodes are prohibited in a DELETE template, since using a new blank node in a DELETE template would lead to nothing being deleted, as a new blank node cannot match anything in the Graph Store. It should be noted that this restriction is not in the EBNF for the DeleteClause itself, but made explicit in Note 9 to the grammar." I am completely mystified as to why this restriction is at all necessary. It seems trivial to me to interpret blank nodes in DELETE patterns as anonymous variables (similar to how they are interpreted elsewhere in SPARQL queries). In fact, Sesame currently implements it this way, and I only found out that this is apparently wrong when I failed a conformance test in the test suite. But it seems a useful thing to allow a shorcut like: DELETE {?y foaf:name [] } WHERE {?x ex:containsPerson ?y } Or indeed: DELETE {?x ex:containsPerson [ foaf:name ?n ] } WHERE { ?x ex:containsPerson [ foaf:name ?n. ] FILTER(str(?n) = "Bob") } Meaning "DELETE all foaf:name properties on subject ?y, no matter what the value". I know this can be reformulated to: DELETE {?y foaf:name ?n } WHERE {?x ex:containsPerson ?y. ?y foaf:name ?n. } of course, but this is a larger query to write, and I see no technical obstacles to allowing the first form. Especially since enforcing the restrictions means our current parser has to do post-processing on the parsed query tree (which is expensive). I'd appreciate it if this restriction could be taken out, or alternatively, an explanation as to why this is necessary. Cheers, JeenReceived on Sunday, 17 June 2012 21:44:22 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.1 : Tuesday, 6 January 2015 20:52:12 UTC


text:
Toyota to finance million 'intelligent' vehicle project
1967 Toyota 2000GT. No, this isn't self-driving, but it's Friday before Labor Day weekend and this reporter thinks it's pretty. The folks at Stanford will concentrate on computer vision and machine learning. Pratt headed up DARPA's robotics challenge, among other projects. These research centers are going to work on projects that are related to the use of A.I.in driving. Pratt was quoted as saying that, whereas Google and Tesla have created "serial" cars that replace what humans do, Toyota has created a "parallel" system that watches the driver and, like "guardian angel" steps in when necessary. Semi-autonomous technologies are starting to hit markets today, from adaptive cruise control that maintains a safe following distance behind a lead auto, to lane-departure prevention that steers and directs a vehicle to stay between…
Link to Full Article: Toyota to finance million 'intelligent' vehicle project
Toyota to finance million 'intelligent' vehicle project


text:
Media Contact:
February 11, 2009
Vincent Jones, (213) 252-4552
Lending Shrank By Twice The National Average Among Banks That Received Bailout Funds,
A Recently Released California Common Cause Report Finds
As CEOs from the largest banks that received bailout funds prepare to testify Wednesday in front of Congress, Common Cause released a report today describing how bank recipients of bailout funds have failed to increase lending to California residents.
"The financial industry bailout was intended to help stem foreclosures, free up credit for consumers, and help local communities," said California Common Cause Executive Director Kathay Feng. "What's happening right here in our own state is indicative of a nation-wide problem."
The Common Cause report, The Financial Bailout: Your Tax Dollars Gone Missing, found that lending shrank as the bailout money flowed to banks. Loans from U.S. banks fell by one percent in the last three months of 2008. The decline was more than twice as large among banks that received bailout money.
"There were 837,665 foreclosure filings in California in 2008 and banks are holding onto taxpayer money that could help keep families in their homes yet some recipients of bailout money have no problem spending billions on executive bonuses or lobbying expenses," said Feng.
The California Common Cause report is available online at www.commoncause.org/ca/bailoutreport and calls on state and local political leaders to do more to hold banks accountable for helping local communities with the public tax dollars they have received.
"State and local government have a role to play during this financial crisis," said Feng. "Our local officials should also be holding both local banks and local branches of national banks accountable for how they are spending our tax money they received from the financial bailout."
Common Cause has already heard from thousands of people with personal stories about how the bailout is not working for them and their neighbors, and with questions for their political leaders.
"This economic collapse began with American households and communities, and it needs to be treated as much like a local problem as a national one," said Common Cause national President & CEO Bob Edgar.
"We are in the midst of an economic crisis of historic proportions and we need to know our public dollars are being spent to help real people."
California Common Cause is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to restoring an open, honest, and accountable government, also working to strengthen public participation and ensuring that political processes serve the public interest, rather than the special interests.
Office: California Common Cause
Common Cause is a nonpartisan grassroots organization dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy. We work to create open, honest, and accountable government that serves the public interest; promote equal rights, opportunity, and representation for all; and empower all people to make their voices heard in the political process.


text:
Michaels Coupon 50% Off 2015
Here is some savings for the arts and crafts store with everything you need for your next project. The most common Michaels coupon we've seen is for 50% off which works even into 2015. In fact they have locations all across the country and even some in Canada. This makes it a great place to find what you need.
In fact we've come up with not one, but three possible ways t o save on your next purchase so don't miss out.
4 50% Off Michaels Coupons - October 1, 2015 – They've got their usual offers here like 50% off one item in store. They have about 4 different ways to save all on one link.
50% Off Michaels Coupons - October 05-08-2012 - This is their second offer that generally works for even more savings so don't miss out on this great offer.
6 Michaels Coupons – Canada - 2015, Ongoing – Don't live in the USA? They even have a few offers for those living in Canada as well.
More Offers From Our Site
Offers from Other Sites
Deals Found On Other Sites
Related Results
- Michaels Coupons 50% Off In 2013 | Free Printable Coupons for 2012
- Looks like Michaels does it again with several new offers available for next year. This has been our go to place to buy craft essentials and with the newest
- michaels coupon 50% 2013, Michaels 50% Off Coupon 2013
No Comments
No comments yet.
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI


text:
A Sunday Horse (2016)
Biography, Family2016 Year 108 Mins 6.2 Imdb
Nikki Reed, Ryan Merriman, Cassi Thomson
After a near-fatal accident, on a horse the experts thought was nothing special, a determined rider from the wrong side of the tracks defies all the odds to pursue her dreams of winning a national jumping championship.
Movie Information
- Production Co: Sunday Horse II, The
- Released: 4 July 2016
- Imdb Rating: 6.2
- Runtime: 108 Mins.
- Writer: Fred T. Kuehnert, Fred T. Kuehnert
- Director: Vic Armstrong
- Cast: Nikki Reed, Ryan Merriman, Cassi Thomson


text:
I love the idea of personal car sharing, which has been legalized in California since January and now has three companies in the field signing up customers and cars. Since most cars sit idle more than 90 percent of the time, it's an idea whose time has come. When one of the San Francisco-based companies, Getaround, announced its launch, more than 1,600 people signed up to have their cars shared on the first day.
The basic idea is pretty simple: Make your car, which is just sitting around anyway, work for you by going on cellphone-app-enabled trips for customers of personal car sharing services. The major advantage for operators over regular car-sharing models like Zipcar (which went public in April) or Daimler's Car2Go is that there's no need to own and maintain car fleets.
For consumers, personal car sharing means a) finding a cheap alternative to car ownership; and b) making money from your most expensive asset. RelayRides, with backing from August Capital and Google Ventures, says that an average person can make $250 a month renting out their car.
The three companies list around 200 cars each, with rates that are around $45 a day for a small compact. By the hour, that typically means $5 to $8, but a Tesla Roadster from Getaround is $50 an hour, and a BMW Z4 $15.
The smart phone is key, because it enables not only the transaction but also getting the customer into the car. Getaround has an iPhone app and a "Carkit" that installs in the shared vehicle and combines GPS, Wi-Fi and keyless remote technology.
When I first heard about personal car sharing, I thought that insurance was the big hang-up. What would happen if a car sharer crashed because the personal car she borrowed had bad brakes? And, indeed, it required changing California's insurance laws to even allow this new form of car rental to happen. But Getaround now has signed up with industry giant Berkshire Hathaway, and RelayRides has a $1 million policy that covers both the car lender and the driver.
There's going to be some major adjustment here, because this isn't how we're used to renting cars. Ali Fenn, a Bay Area resident who is lending out her big Jeep, told NPR's Marketplace that she was "slightly awkward" for the first transaction. "The person was like, 'How does this work? What do I do?' I said, 'I guess I just give you my keys and you drive away.' It was very easy."


text:
Why Men Needs Escort Services?
If you are planning to visit a country or a place for business purpose or holiday purpose, you may want someone to show them around the city or you need simply someone for a companion to refresh your mind. For this purpose, you can choose a beautiful woman who has strong knowledge about the local area where you stay and who actually support you during your visit physically and mentally. Presently, escort service is one of the popular and famous services in India. If you are planning to come to India for business purpose or other purposes, you can try here escort services.
Advantages of escort services
If you will hire an escort, then you will get some advantages. They are professionally trained and well educated, smart and presentable. You don't need to stay with them only night but you can go any places socially or corporate party as well with them. They will support you at each step and help you. A professional trained escort always provides complete pleasure at night. They have a power of using their well formed professional skills in order to satisfy all your desires.
They are fully dependable and they don't have any type of restriction. Today, the escort girls are playing a very crucial and necessary part in amusing the city population with their varied range of erotic services. So, if you are looking for Escorts services in Mumbai, then search the net now. There are several Mumbai based escort services available. You can choose any reputed escort service provider for you. But before selecting any agency, you can visit their website and choose any girl if you want or you can call them to know more details.
Due to the growing competition in the escort industry, most of the escort agencies are trying to provide complete satisfaction and they guard their reputation very carefully so that it won't effect on their reputation. This positively guarantees a better service from the expert escort agency. Even if you don't get satisfaction with the escort they provide for you, complain them and they can replace or provide you another escort to entertain you for the weekend or evening. But it's always essential to choose a right person for these purposes.
Currently, most of the escort service agencies have their own website and they also provide strong customer care service. But before selecting any agency makes sure they don't need your private information more and the cost of per night. A reputed agency always provides you security and confidential. They will keep all the information of your secret and they also provide strong safety and security. So, you don't need to worry about the security. Just a click of the mouse you will get a woman who will fulfill all your desires completely. It will save your time and cost and provide you complete pleasure.
So, if you are in Mumbai ad enjoy a night or weekend with a sexy lady or a girl, just search the net and choose a best and reputed escort agency and make fun now!


text:
$4,700.00 1 year ago
'02 Toyota Celica GT *trade for razor, Ranger, 4x4 quad, or Harley* - $4700 (Slatington)
'02 Toyota Celica GT, auto air, power. 106,000 miles meticulously maintained by same family for the last 12 years. No rust, no issues great tires, no pets, and non-smoker, inspected till 7/17. Asking 4700.00 call
1 year ago
Allentown, PA


text:
Sequencing alone 'not enough' to ensure food safety management
While the technology has advantages over the multiple traditional culture-based methodologies in food bacteriology it does not replace epidemiology, health surveillance and food monitoring, they said.
Comments were made at the ninth Global Microbial Identifier (GMI) meeting at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome.
It was attended by 175 participants from 50 countries including 26 developing nations.
Foundation needed
Sequencing alone, described as the 'simplest part of the process', was not enough, said participants.
The importance of collaboration among clinicians, laboratory experts, epidemiologists, food/environment inspectors was needed to benefit from the technology and achieve the goals of food safety management, which are to save lives and reduce economic losses.
Many developing countries are still creating basic functional surveillance and monitoring systems.
If there is no isolate to analyze the implementation of WGS has no usefulness, said participants.
Equally important is functional authorities/agencies to act on data produced through WGS, they added.
In countries where there is no such infrastructure, establishing systems that include routine collection and analysis of food and environmental samples is a key pre-requisite to doing WGS.
Where there is no facility or equipment for WGS, and/or no sufficient capacities in use/interpretation, implementing it requires a high cost of initial investment in setting up and maintaining the working environment for routine use.
"If a given country already has an effective food control system, WGS will likely reduce the cost of food safety management, and if the country still needs to strengthen the basic food control system, it can be expensive."
Participants from developing countries also expressed the need to discuss capacity, regulatory and resource implications prior to considering the new technology.
If some countries use WGS for food safety management, they are likely to apply the same system for imported food.
However, many developing countries with limited capacity and resources may not be able to provide the same level of WGS-based data on food products they export.
Multi-use WGS
Participants recognized benefits of using WGS not only as a regulatory tool but applications including supply chain management, quality assurance and process evaluation.
Use is likely to help competent authorities ensure they are in compliance with relevant international trade agreements and practices and results in trade partners having increased confidence in a nation's food control system.
WGS provides a basic common language suitable for electronic exchange globally. This is an added value over current methods of data sharing, because it provides context for local investigations, using globally available data, said participants.
It is cost effective, because routine use will eventually replace multiple traditional subtyping methods necessary to characterize pathogens, which vary according to the target of interest.
The cost of sequencing and analysis is declining over time, even though the cost of reagents and initial investment are still too expensive for many countries.
Interpretation of WGS data (bioinformatics)
Relying solely on WGS data to make food safety management decisions is not yet recommended as sequencing results can contain errors, including sequence-specific ones.
Also errors during the interpretation process, including human ones should be considered. False negative results due to poor analysis could lead to bad decisions which could damage the credibility of a country's food control system.
The sensitivity can lead to detecting trace level of microorganisms, in every environment, and possibility to share such results in a public domain can make some hesitant to use WGS and openly share relevant data.
The WGS data, generally stored in the FASTQ format in the data repositories, are very big with accumulated file size in the range of tera- and peta-bytes.
Challenges will also emerge around the trust of data producers, generators and collectors regarding the use of their data.
GMI 10, organized by Technology and Food Safety Services (TECSIA) and the GMI Steering Committee, will be at the Sheraton Hotel, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, 15-17 May 2017.


text:
Having found his love for photography deep in the tropical waters of the Caribbean, Mike found a great drive to share the wonders of the world with those who aren't so fortunate to see it for themselves. Now, he uses that same passion to drive into the dark of the night in his home state of Colorado and beyond - still with the same underlying mission to share the wonders of the world with those who aren't so fortunate.
Join Mike on a photographic adventure - whether through one of his images or on one of his night photography workshops. That's right, you can share the passion and see the techniques that result in magnificent nightscape images. Either way, you're sure to pick up some inspiration along the way!
For those interested in learning more about his night photography techniques, be sure to check out his Night Photography Blog where he posts articles that supplement the content he teaches in his night photography workshops including 'How To' Articles and Tutorials, Product Reviews, and Recommended Photo Gear. Of course, let him know if you run into any questions. He's happy to help.
Englewood Colorado United States


text:
• Park, seeking 4th straight major, opens with 69: ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (AP) — Inbee Park began her pursuit of an unprecedented fourth straight major with a 3-under 69 on Thursday in the Women's British Open.
For 10 holes, it looked as though Park would be tough to beat. After a ragged back nine, she was happy to break 70.
Park made five putts from 15 feet or longer in an amazing display with the putter. She made six birdies in 10 holes to get her name atop the leaderboard at St. Andrews. But the 25-year-old South Korean began missing fairways, and she took double bogey from a pot bunker in front of the 16th green.
Park wound up three shots behind Morgan Pressel and Camilla Lennarth of Sweden, a solid start to what should be a fascinating week at the home of golf.
Stacy Lewis, the former No. 1 player in women's golf, shot 31 on the tougher back nine for a 67 to be part of a large group that included former U.S. Women's Open champion Na Yeon Choi and Nicole Castrale. Another shot behind were Paula Creamer, Catriona Matthew and Lizette Salas.
• Simpson makes most of his 1st Bridgestone round: AKRON, Ohio (AP) — Webb Simpson shot a 6-under 64 on Thursday in his first competitive round at Firestone Country Club to take a one-stroke lead in the Bridgestone Invitational.
The 2012 U.S. Open champion had six birdies in an eight-hole span to get the upper hand on seven-time Bridgestone winner Tiger Woods. Woods, with top-10 finishes in 11 of his 13 starts on the course, shot a 66 in the World Golf Championships event.
Henrik Stenson was alone in second with a 65. Defending champion Keegan Bradley, Ryan Moore and Chris Wood, another first-time entrant, matched Woods at 66.
Phil Mickelson had a 72 in his return from winning the British Open two weeks ago at Muirfield.
The Bridgestone also serves as a tuneup for next week's PGA Championship at Oak Hill.
• Shields sets US Open meet record in 100 butterfly: IRVINE (AP) — Tom Shields broke the U.S. Open meet record in the 100-meter butterfly, finishing in a personal-best 51.65 seconds Thursday.
Shields, sixth at 50 meters, swam a 27.05 on the final length at William Woollett Jr. Aquatic Center to take the title. He had the fastest time of the year by an American and fourth-best in the world.
Tim Phillips was second in 51.78.
Felicia Lee won the women's race in 58.94. Australia's Christina Licciardi followed in 59.27.
In the women's 400 individual medley, Australia's Keryn McMaster won in 4:39.97, and Celina Li was second in 4:39.47. On the men's side, Sebastien Rousseau of South Africa set a U.S. Open meet record at 4:11.11, the fourth-best time in the world this year. Gunnar Bentz was second in 4:15.81.
• NCAA taking flexible approach to tourney games: INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The NCAA tournament selection committee will have more flexibility next year.
One change announced Thursday eliminates the prohibition of placing more than two teams from the same conference into a regional bracket unless nine or more teams from that conference were chosen. The new policy allows teams that met once during the season to play as early as the third round. Teams that play twice during the season could not meet until the regional semifinals, and teams that played three times cannot meet until the regional final.
• Sensitivity training set for Eagles WR Cooper: PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Eagles are setting up Riley Cooper with sensitivity training after the wide receiver was caught on video making a racial slur.
"In meeting with Riley yesterday, we decided together that his next step will be to seek outside assistance to help him fully understand the impact of his words and actions," the team said in a statement Thursday. "He needs to reflect. As an organization, we will provide the resources he needs to do so."
Cooper apologized profusely Wednesday after a video of him using the N-word at a Kenny Chesney concert last month surfaced on the Internet. The Eagles immediately fined him.
Cooper, an Oklahoma City native, was selected in the 2010 fifth round by the Eagles out of the University of Florida. He had 248 yards receiving and three touchdowns last season.
• Bulls' Rose could suit up Oct. 5 at Indiana: DEERFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Former NBA MVP Derrick Rose could suit up for the first time in more than a year when the Chicago Bulls visit the Indiana Pacers for the preseason opener on Oct. 5.
The preseason schedule released Thursday also has the Bulls playing Washington in Rio de Janeiro on Oct. 12 and hosting Detroit on Oct. 16. The regular-season schedule comes out Tuesday.
Rose is expected to be ready after sitting out last season while recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. His status became an ongoing soap opera, with neither he nor the team publicly ruling out a return.
Without him, the Bulls won 45 games and bowed to Miami in the second round of the playoffs.


text:
8 Achievements and Trophies that deal with poop
Feature These Achievements are a pile of crap (in a good way)...
Feature These Achievements are a pile of crap (in a good way)...
Wading through the world of hot new DLC so you don't have to
Are we mad? Are we over-excited? Here's why we think not
Four editors sit back and explain/defend/complain about our massive list
Somehow pen and paper Gordon Freeman is better than the real thing
Sorry console, we love you, but the PC is the ideas factory
Hollywood blips aside though, this looks brilliant
Now haunting: New holiday themed boss, map, gifts and achievements
The crappy conversions of great games that deserved a mercy killing
Gogsy gets the celluloid treatment in an amazing piece of fan art
See how gaming's biggest baddies scale up to each other in the internet's hugest image
Updated story! Some game characters never speak. But what if they could talk? We opened it up to Facebook and the forum and here are the results
12 famous films and games melded together in mashed-up movie posters


text:
The canine stars of the Pirates of the Caribbean films and Sherlock Holmes will be gracing the streets of Hemel Hempstead today (Saturday).
Steel pan players were out in force on Friday to start the opening celebrations of Metro Bank in Marlowes.
The new high street bank is also offering free manicures, face painting and refreshments between 8am and 6pm today.
In celebration of the bank's dog-friendly policy the doggy stars will be visiting from 11am-1pm and 2pm-4pm.


text:
Monday, October 24
Good morning, TexMessagers. Guess who endorsed Rick Perry's tax plan? (See Texas Tips for the details.)
Perry Watch
Every morning, we share the latest headlines from Hearst Newspapers' Perry Presidential website.
? Ron Paul inflicts the unkindest cut of all on Rick Perry
? Panelists say Perry remains the biggest threat to Romney
? Anita Perry puts faith first publicly
?Perry hunts Iowa birds, aims criticism at Romney
?The proof is in the polls: Debates do matter
?Perry's biggest church donation as governor came last year, tax return shows
Texas Tips
Every morning, we offer Texas news you may not have heard and insights from the Washington bureau staff.
?CORNYN DOESN'T THINK MUCH OF OBAMA WITHDRAWAL PLAN. Texas Sen. John Cornyn delivered a big "ditto" Sunday after hawkish independent Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut sharply criticized President Obama's decision to withdraw U.S. combat troops from Iraq by the end of the year. In a statement released by his office, Lieberman called Obama's decision "profoundly disappointing." Cornyn's view: "I agree with Sen. Lieberman on Iraq."
? STEVE FORBES BACKS GOV. RICK PERRY'S TAX PLAN. Steve Forbes, CEO of Forbes Inc., called Texas Gov. Rick Perry's tax plan "win-win all around." People will respond to the presidential hopeful's plan, Forbes said, because of its simplicity and because the economy has been recovering so slowly. Perry will unveil the plan on Tuesday. Said Forbes:
"I think what Rick Perry is going to unveil on Tuesday's going to be very exciting: a very low rate, generous exemptions for adults and for children, make it worthwhile to invest in America again; drastically simplifying the tax code, lowering the corporate rax rate. We now have the second highest in the developed world, we'll now have one of the best in the developed world."
? PERRY TOUTED AGRICULTURE LOAN-GUARANTEE PROGRAM THAT NEEDED BAILOUT. During eight years as the Texas agriculture commissioner, Rick Perry oversaw a loan-guarantee program that suffered so many defaults that the state had to stop backing bank loans to agriculture start-up businesses. Eventually the program became so bad that the program needed to be bailed out with taxpayer money. More >>>
Poll of the Week
Results of last week's poll
Tweets of the Day
@HCookAustin BREAKING: George W throws a pitch. The rest of America throws up.
@ScottBraddock Gov. #RickPerry didn't say he's a #birther any more than he said he's a secessionist. But, he got a lot of us talking.
kaybaileyhutch #rangers even the series 2-2! #MLB #worldseries
Reader Comment of the Day
In response to our story about Rick Perry's private meetings with lobbying groups in Washington, D.C., 3ways2win said:
Perry's starting to realize that not only will he lose the run as candidate but he'll now likely lose his next run for governor. He's probably looking for some contacts to find his next job.
Texas Watch
TxPotomac lets you know what stories to look out for later this week.
On Deck: This Week and Beyond
? Rep. Francisco "Quico" Canseco, R-San Antonio, hosts a Coffee With Your Congressman event at his South San Antonio office at 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. 1313 Southeast Military Drive, No. 101, San Antonio, TX.
On Deck: This Week and Beyond
? Tuesday, Oct. 25: Energy and Power Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on the Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act of 2011.
? Wednesday, Oct. 26: Texas Gov. Rick Perry hosts a fundraiser for his presidential campaign at Tradewinds Island Resort, 5500 Gulf. Blvd., St. Pete Beach, Fla.
? Thursday, Oct. 27: Texas Rep. Ron Paul attends a house party in Hollis, N.H.


text:
Strawberry Marble Cake Recipe
4.5 2
Perfect for special occasions, this strawberry swirl cake makes a pretty presentation at the end of a meal. I also serve it with afternoon tea, and it's a quick sell at any bake sale.
Recommended: 55 of Our Favorite Berry Dessert Recipes
VERIFIED BY Taste of Home Test Kitchen
Popular Videos
- 1-1/2 cups egg whites (about 10)
- 1 package (10 ounces) frozen unsweetened strawberries, thawed and drained
- 1-1/2 cups sugar, divided
- 1-1/4 cups cake flour
- 1-1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- Red food coloring, optional
- Whipped topping and sliced fresh strawberries, optional
- Let egg whites stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. In a food processor, puree strawberries; strain puree and discard seeds. Set aside.
- Sift together 3/4 cup sugar and the flour twice; set aside. Add cream of tartar and salt to egg whites; beat on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in remaining sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, on high until stiff glossy peaks form and sugar is dissolved. Gradually fold in flour mixture, about 1/2 cup at a time.
- Transfer half of the batter to another bowl; fold in extracts. Fold 1/4 cup strawberry puree into remaining batter; add food coloring if desired.
- Gently spoon batters, alternating colors, into an ungreased 10-in. tube pan. Cut through with a knife to swirl. Bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until lightly browned and top appears dry. Immediately invert pan; cool completely, about 1 hour.
- Run a knife around side and center tube of pan. Serve cake with remaining puree; garnish with whipped topping and fresh strawberries if desired. Yield: 12 servings.
Originally published as Strawberry Marble Cake in Country Extra May 2008, p49
Reviews forStrawberry Marble Cake
My Review
Click stars to rate
Any changes to your rating or review will appear where you originally posted your review


text:
2. Naveran Brut Vintage (2009)
Previously available for $15.43
Gentle on the nose with a fresh floral top note over almost meaty citrus notes that flash hints of sweet peach, apricot and caramel. Very nicely balanced if a touch sweet on entry, this delivers tons of sweet peachy fruit with some candied citrus framing notes and solid depth of flavor. Air brings out complex notes of yeast, hazelnuts and candied apples. This is fairly dry, finely balanced and finishes with refreshing mineral and almost spicy herb suggestions over rich yellow apple fruit. A really nice and refined package. 89pts
Like this wine?
List It


text:
Our Contractor Sales Team
Kevin Luth and David Schmitz represent a commitment to excellence with our contractor sales division...
Wholesale fasteners are our core business and what we are famous for. Visit this page to learn more about our wholesale products and how to get a fast and friendly estimate.
Industrial Products
Hilti is one of the top manufacturers that we represent....
Welcome to Industrial Fasteners
"Industrial Fasteners has been providing wholesale distribution of quality fasteners and unique value added services at competitive prices since 1984.
We are recognized as a leader in fasteners, specialty engineered fasteners, and industrial products.
With our distribution hub in Salem, Oregon and multiple facilities throughout the US, we have the ability to get you the products you need when you need them. Give us a chance and we'll work hard to meet your needs."
- Don Klepfer, General Manager
Copyright 2017 Industrial Fasteners - All Rights Reserved
1510 McGilchrist St SESalem, OR 97302


text:
Call for About-Face bloggers!
Date: September 9, 2011 | Posted By:
About-Face is on the hunt for smart, sassy, talented bloggers to join our team. If you're a skilled, passionate writer dedicated to helping young women understand the media's effects on their body image and self-esteem, we want to hear from you!
What we're looking for in a regular contributor:
- Commitment: We ask that our bloggers submit a piece for publication every two weeks. Bloggers must be able to adhere to editorial deadlines.
- Communication: Because the About-Face blog team is located all over the world, we need people who can answer emails and communicate with the Blog Manager in a timely manner. This includes working with the blog manager across multiple drafts if necessary.
- Comfort: For us, blogging is practically second nature. It's something we look forward to with excitement, not something we approach like a school assignment. We're looking for the same from our blog team—we like to think of our blog as a series of conversations rather than a collection of reports.
What you get:
- Writing experience!
- An audience: About-Face's blog currently averages 4,500 readers per month! (If you become a regular contributor, your bio will be posted elsewhere on our web site.)
- A chance to make a difference: About-Face's web site is one of the three ways we equip women and girls with the tools necessary to understand and resist harmful media messages that affect their self-esteem and body image.
Interested? E-mail Melissa at firstname.lastname@example.com with a bit about you (age, location, why you want to write for us) and a topic suggestion.
Can't wait to hear from you!
Tags: About-Face
Related Posts
What Do You Think?
6 Responses to Call for About-Face bloggers!
Ashley on 09-09-2011Well this sounds right up my alley.
Elizabeth Archuleta on 09-10-2011Melissa,
I'm replying to your call for bloggers here, because today has been a day of computer problems, and now my email has decided not to send messages.
I saw your call for bloggers and am writing to express my interest in becoming a contributor. I'm a professor of Gender Studies at Arizona State University. I'm currently on a year's leave of absence and would love to engage your readers on the blog. My area of specialization is American Indian women, but I also work on issues of race, class, and gender with an interest in representation and popular culture. I checked out the blogs and was unable to find anything on American Indian women, so I think I could help fill a gap that currently exists. I can also blog on just about any issue of body and representation that peaks my interest and that I want to share. Let me just say that I see representation in just about everything, and it drives some of my family crazy! I look forward to hearing from you.
Me on 09-15-2011As a woman I have to say that I think that your message is far more dangerous than any media messages. Your message is that women are so stupid that they can be profoundly effected by Calvin Klein ads. Your message is that women don't have enough gumption to build self esteem by actually accomplishing something rather than expecting media messages to do it for them.
Any woman who is profoundly effected by media messages has way bigger problems than the media. I am middle aged. If I put too much stock in media messages, I would jump off the nearest bridge since there is no place in society for me. But you know what? I don't care. I understand that's the way things work and I see the media and fashion for what it is and I compartmentalize it the way a healthy person should. When I open a fashion magazine I go into a world that doesn't really exist and I know it. Then I shut the magazine and go have a beer.
You teach women to be weak and weak and it's weak minded women that are the problem. Not the media. Shame on you.
Rachael on 09-25-2011You are right in that many women do not see one ad of a provocatively splayed female and suddenly think "Oh boy, I should dress and act just like that!".
That's not the problem though. The problem is that the media creates a culture in our society. A culture where certain things are allowed and certain things are not. One of my friends was recently yelled at, literally yelled at by a complete stranger, because she dressed her baby girl in blue instead of pink. Even if this woman is an extreme example many, MANY people would find themselves thinking "Oh that's out of the norm." when they see a baby girl dressed in blue.
This is because media creates these norms. By selling people the idea that baby girls wear pink and baby boys wear blue, they are creating this as the societal norm. Even if you say "Oh I don't care if that person dresses their baby girl in blue" it is still something you notice as odd, even if only subconsciously because the media has taught you to define it as odd.
So if the media sells people on the idea that women must be thin, then even subconsciously when you see a fat woman you will think "oh that's not normal" and this is very destructive thinking especially if you yourself do not fit into the norm.
You say that when you open a fashion magazine you go into a world that doesn't really exist but that world does exist because the media is making it exist. To think that world doesn't exist is dangerous. Somewhere out there, there is that model who's picture was taken and put in that magazine. She was chosen over other models for specific reasons, maybe because she was thin or white or blonde. Which means there are women out there who were denied the opportunity based on these superficial characteristics because they did not fit into the norm. And they will probably go home and try to change themselves to be more thin, white or blonde so they too can be put in more magazines, which in turn will make other non-normal women go home and change themselves. It becomes a cycle and creates this norm of thin, white, blonde women until it no longer just applies to magazines anymore. Maybe a secretary will be hired over other secretaries because she is more thing, white and blonde or maybe she even isn't hired for those reasons but just happens to have those characteristics and the women who weren't hired will go home asking themselves why they weren't hired. And then maybe they'll start noticing things. Like that all the successful women in ads and on tv are thin, white and blonde. Even if they tell themselves that whole thing is preposterous because the media has created this norm it becomes a choice between either changing yourself to fit the norm or being outside the norm and being less successful. And the cycle will continue.
I know you think this website is telling people to get offended at every thing they see in the media but that is not what this website is trying to do. It's trying to get you to ask questions and look at the patterns in the media and think about the effects it may have on the world around them, instead of just mindlessly accepting the messages sent to you in magazines and on tv. Asking questions and looking at the effects of media on culture is not weak minded, even if you think the media has no effect on a culture.
Gail on 09-28-2011Wow, way off! The point is that most of the information girls receive about girls is from only one direction...from the media...girls have almost no choice but to accept and believe what they are being told, what is being inferred and implied. We have to balance out what they see and hear so that they can learn to view media with a framework of reference that can tell them to be careful about letting 'all that' seep in.


text:
Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus (2014)
Adventure, Comedy, Romance2014 Year 98 Mins 5.8 Imdb
Michael Cera, Gaby Hoffmann, Juan Andrés Silva
As Jamie travels in Chile, he invites an eccentric woman to join his group's quest to score a fabled hallucinogen, a move that finds him at odds with his new companion, until they drink the magic brew on a beach at the edge of the desert.
Movie Information
- Production Co: Diroriro
- Released: 24 April 2014
- Imdb Rating: 5.8
- Runtime: 98 Mins.
- Writer: Sebastián Silva
- Director: Sebastián Silva
- Cast: Michael Cera, Gaby Hoffmann, Juan Andrés Silva


text:
Arthur W. Brown is a leader in Real Wood Furniture design. We are headquartered in New York and all of our products are manufactured right here in the United States. We have successfully been marketing our quality products to retailers across the country for 20 years.
We have helped create and design many wall systems to suit the individual needs of our customers. In the Creative Concepts section we display many wall systems which can be used as you see them or as an inspiration to create your own personal designs using an array of AWB products. Remember, most of our products can be modified to accommodate any request. Our selection of products is diversified. From Entertainment Centers to TV Consoles, from Bookcases to Home Office. If you cannot find a standard size to suit your needs we can help you by providing you with a custom furniture solution. Custom Bookcases, Custom Cabinets, Custom Wall Units……..Custom Furniture