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Make the most of May by booking a family getaway in Europe. It doesn't matter how far you choose to roam - from home shores to foreign climes, there are a wealth of holiday options to suit your budget. When travelling in May, you'll want to pick a destination that's reasonably close; after all, the less time you spend in the air, the more time you can spend enjoying your Bank Holiday weekend.
May Bank Holiday ideasHomeAway have a host of holiday rentals situated across the UK and mainland Europe. Whether you crave sunshine, adventure or a bit of both, we've assembled some great destinations that offer good value for menu and plenty to do at this time of year. Get away in May and experience an unforgettable holiday.
Scotland May bank holiday ideas
Pack some warm clothes and head to Scotland to explore its celebrated landscape. Set the GPS to the Isle of Skye, where the beautiful Loch Duich and the jagged ridges of the Cuillins await. After exploring the island's quaint villages, inlets and bays, prepare your senses for a culinary treat at award-winning restaurant The Three Chimneys. Alternatively, holiday in Edinburgh and feast your eyes upon the capital's beguiling architecture. Vibrant bars, cosy eateries, chic coffee shops and guided tours are all part of the fun.
Normandy bank holiday ideas
From William the Conqueror to the D-day landings, the vestiges of Normandy's tumultuous past can still be seen today. 400 miles of coastline include the open beaches of Cotentin as well as lively rock pools where children fish for crabs. Good wine, bread and cheese are cornerstones of Normandy's cuisine; visit the boulangerie and stock up on rustic rolls, cakes and sweet pastries. If you're happy to cook the bulk of your meals instead of eating out, a short trip to Normandy can easily be enjoyed on a budget.
Algarve bank holiday ideas
The Algarve starts to get warm around May - great news for British families clamouring for sunshine. Boasting three of Europe's top beaches, the Algarve is perennially popular for good reason. Head here in May to beat the crowds. The region's water parks will keep the kids happy, while adults will relish a round of golf or a walk around the Old Town of Faro. With the blue blossom of jacaranda trees and the turquoise ocean, the Algarve is a beautiful sight to behold in May.
Wales bank holiday ideas
Wales is another May Bank Holiday destination that can be enjoyed on a budget. Don't come here because it's cheap though - come here because it's beautiful. Take the kids canoeing and fishing; set off on a mountain hike or hit the beach at Broad Haven. Dip a toe in the shallow water and dredge a bucket through the rock pools. Wales is blessed with a number of free family attractions including the enchanting Dryslwyn Castle and Llanddwyn Island, which is actually joined to the mainland most of the time.
View Welsh holiday homes
Costa Brava May bank holiday ideas
Just two hours by air, the Costa Brava is a world away from the UK - especially during May, when things start to heat up in Spain. Family holidays in Costa Brava are all about the beach of course, and what a beach, indeed - miles of clean sands flanked by pines and jagged pink rocks. The food here is also exceptional, with Catalonia combining inventive cuisine with excellent locally-produced wine. Swim, dive, snorkel and sail or explore the ancient city of Girona.


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In 1993, Cboe created and launched the first FLexible EXchange Options®, (FLEX Options). Designed to broaden institutional investor access to customized derivative products, these contracts are similar in structure to privately negotiated, "over-the-counter" (OTC) options, however, Cboe FLEX Options offer the surety and convenience of exchange-traded options.
FLEX Options provide important features such as:
Index FLEX options are available on any of the Indexes listed at Cboe, including:
FLEX Options have features that may appeal to institutional investors, hedge funds, and others with particular risk management requirements. For example, FLEX options are particularly useful for designing and implementing large-scale equity portfolio hedges with specific time horizons or performance objectives.
Although FLEX Options are not fungible with standard listed index options, they generally are eligible for margin offset against conventional options on the same underlying index provided certain conditions are met, and are also eligible for portfolio margin accounts in most instances. Please refer to "Customer Margin" below for further information.
FLEX allows users to trade standard listed options before they are available for trading. For instance, if SPX had no October options listed, a user could create a FLEX option with standard listed terms (i.e. 3rd Friday expiration, European style, AM-settlement, standard strike). Once October options become available for trading, your FLEX option will automatically become a standard listed option.
FLEX Options are the only listed options that allow users to select option contract terms. Users may specify any of the following terms:
FLEX options have been designed to allow each customer order to be exposed to a competitive auction process for price discovery. The process occurs under the rules of Cboe which means that customer transactions are effected according to the principles of a fair and orderly market following trading procedures and policies developed by Cboe.
The submission of a Request for Quote ("RFQ") through a Cboe member or member firm is the first step in the FLEX process. Upon submission, the RFQ is disseminated to market participants, including on-floor market makers, Remote Market Makers (trading electronically), and member firm traders. This text message contains all of the contract specifications-underlying, size, type of option, expiration date, strike price, exercise style and settlement basis. During a specified amount of time, responses to the RFQ are received and at the end of the period, the initiator can decide to make a trade, or not.
For more information on the mechanics of executing a FLEX trade, go to the "Trading Index FLEX Options" section below.
As issuer and guarantor of all FLEX Option contracts, The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) becomes the counterparty to each FLEX trade, providing the financial guarantee that results in the substantial elimination of counterparty credit risk. OCC, founded in 1973, is the world's largest derivatives clearing organization. OCC operates under the jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
The substitution of OCC as the counterparty is achieved through a legally binding novation process that has withstood the test of time. Further, this novation process provides fungibility and helps facilitate secondary market liquidity for FLEX Options.
FLEX options are cleared in the same manner as standardized listed options. However, as previously stated, OCC determines prices on a daily basis for all outstanding FLEX positions. These prices are available to OCC Clearing Members, and on the OCC website at www.theocc.com.
For strike prices specified in other than index values, premiums specified in other than a dollar amount per contract, and size specified in other than a number of contracts, Cboe calculates actual strike prices, premium prices and number of contracts for submission to the OCC.
There are two methods of determining the settlement value for Index FLEX options-- customers can prescribe either Opening Settlement or Closing Settlement.
Opening settlement value is calculated using the opening price in the primary market for each component security on the specified expiration date of the FLEX Option. If a security in the index does not open for trading on expiration day, the last reported sales price for that security will be used in calculating the settlement value. Opening settlement value ticker symbols:
Closing settlement value is calculated using the closing price in the primary market of each component security on the specified expiration date of the FLEX Option. If a security in the index does not open for trading, the last reported sales price for that security will be used in calculating the settlement value.
For American-style Index FLEX Options, settlement value determination only applies to the expiration day of the option. Exercises tendered prior to the expiration date are settled against the closing value of the index on the day of the exercise.
Procedures for trading in FLEX Options differ in many respects from those employed for conventional option transactions. Quotes for FLEX options are generally only generated in response to a Request For Quote (RFQ). No FLEX option series, new or established, is continuously quoted, (although orders may be entered into the FLEX electronic book on a daily basis). The Options Clearing Corporation establishes daily prices for series with outstanding open interest, and a Request for Quote can be submitted to determine a current quote.
All options series to be created within the FLEX system must follow the procedures outlined in the steps described below. The ultimate result will be to expose all transactions to the competitive process for price discovery.
For more information on creating a FLEX option or the mechanics of trading FLEX options send an email to email@example.com, or call the CFLEX Helpdesk at 312-460-1941 during trading hours.
In 2007 Cboe launched CFLEX, the first internet based, electronic system for trading Index and Equity FLEX options available in the U.S. CFLEX 2.0, released in 2012, was built entirely in house and , provides the speed, convenience and anonymity of a fully electronic trading platform and allows for a fully automated FLEX trading procedure. Features of CFLEX include:
The first step in creating and trading any FLEX option is the Request For Quote (RFQ). The RFQ is a solicitation of user interest to trade a particular option, whether it is a newly created option or an existing FLEX series. The specific details for the contract, including the underlying, type of option (call or put), expiration date, strike price, exercise style and settlement basis must be described in the RFQ. The RFQ may request either a market, a bid, or an offer.
All RFQs must be submitted by a member of Cboe or a non-member that is sponsored by a Cboe member to have direct access to FLEX (referred to as a "Sponsored User").
Click here for more information about CFLEX.
FLEX trades may also be conducted on the Cboe trading floor through open-outcry trading. FLEX trades executed in open-outcry are reflected on the CFLEX system upon completion.
The RFQ sequence for open outcry FLEX trades is as follows.
Market Makers, Trading Permit Holders and Floor Brokers acting on behalf of customers will provide Responsive Quotes that are not bound by affirmative quoting obligations.
FLEX quotes are generated in response to an RFQ rather than from an order. The Submitting TPH is under no obligation to accept the best bid or offer. If the best bid or offer is not promptly accepted, the quotes are no longer valid.
1- If the Submitting TPH decides not to accept the BBO made in response to the RFQ, any Market Maker, TPH Organization, or Floor Broker on behalf of a customer, may accept the best bid or offer up to the size currently represented, or;
2- If the Submitting TPH accepts the best bid or offer, but there is excess size available at that best bid or offer, any Market Maker, TPH Organization, or Floor Broker acting on behalf of a customer, may trade the balance available. The Submitting TPH has priority over any party wishing to trade the requested option series up to the full notional amount specified in the RFQ (subject to the requirements of Section 11(a) of the Exchange Act). If a party other than the Submitting TPH wishes to trade that option series, and none of the above conditions are met, the other party must submit a new RFQ in order to generate Responsive Quotes upon which a transaction may occur.
Quotes are only available upon submission of an RFQ and secondary trading is conducted under the same procedures as series-creating transactions. However, for secondary trading, RFQs can only specify the strike price in the existing numerical format for that FLEX Option series, not a percentage format. Size may be specified in dollars, or number of contracts.
FLEX Options with a settlement value based on the opening prices of the index component stocks in their primary market are not traded on the day the settlement value is determined. For example, if an S&P 500 call, that is European-style and has an opening-settlement basis, expires on a Wednesday, the last trading day for that option would generally be Tuesday. Please refer to "Exercises" for further information.
To see FLEX options that have been created and have open interest, check the OCC website: www.theocc.com.
The trading hours for Index FLEX Options are from 8:30 A.M. to 3:15 P.M. Central Time (Chicago time). However, no RFQ may be presented to the FLEX Official for open outcry trading unless there is sufficient time prior to the close of trading for the entire trade process to be completed.
There are no position limits for FLEX DJX, OEX, RUT, SPX or XEO option contracts. However, there are reporting requirements for positions that exceed certain thresholds.
The position limits for broad-based Index FLEX Options other than DJX, OEX, RUT and SPX are 200,000 contracts on the same side of the market on a given index. There are position limits on narrow-based, industry sector and micro-narrow based Index FLEX Options which generally coincide with the position limits for the standard options on those indexes, though some exceptions apply.
Index FLEX Options will not be aggregated with options on any stocks included in the index underlying the FLEX Options, nor will FLEX Options on a given index be combined with FLEX option positions on another index. However, special aggregation requirements apply for Index FLEX Options with expirations that coincide with standard listed Quarterly and Weekly index options.
For more information on position limits and reporting requirements, refer to Cboe Rules 24A.7 and 24B.7.
On expiration day, all Index FLEX Options in the money by .01 of the index are automatically exercised. There are no exceptions to this policy. This policy holds for all opening-settled and closing-settled contracts. All FLEX Option customers should notify their brokers about their desire to exercise. FLEX Options exercise procedures follow Cboe exercise rules for conventional options.
For all American-style Index FLEX Options, regardless of the method of settlement value determination (opening or closing), exercises tendered prior to the expiration date are only against the closing value of the index on the day of the exercise. In addition under Cboe Rules, no exercise notice may be tendered for less than $1,000,000 in underlying value or the remaining underlying value in the position.
Like conventional index options, exercises of FLEX Options result in delivery of cash on the business day following expiration or following the day on which the exercise notice is tendered. The amount per contract is equal to the difference between the settlement value and the exercise price of the option, multiplied by $100.
There are no exercise limits for broad-based FLEX Index Options on DJX, OEX, RUT, SPX, and XEO. For all other broad-based, industry or micro-narrow FLEX Index Options, the exercise limits are equivalent to the FLEX positions limits prescribed in Cboe Rules 24A.7 and 24B.7.
The minimum value size for FLEX Index Option exercises is $1 million underlying equivalent value or the remaining underlying equivalent value of the position, whichever is less (as described in Cboe Rule 24A.8 and 24B.8).
FLEX Options are not taken into account when calculating exercise limits for non-FLEX Options (e.g. FLEX SPX options positions are not netted with standard non-FLEX SPX positions).
Index FLEX Options are generally subject to the same customer margin rules that apply to conventional listed index options, and are eligible for portfolio margining accounts.
Margin offsets are allowed for Index FLEX Options on the same index and with the same index multiplier, but with differing exercise styles (American or European), which otherwise meet the standard requirements for offset treatment.
Please be aware that pricing patterns may differ between European and American style options. Under certain circumstances, it is possible that the spread margin held by a carrying broker could become insufficient to cover the assignment obligation on the short option if the customer is unable to exercise the long European-style option and that option is trading at a discount to its intrinsic value. This can also occur between two European-style options with different expirations. Therefore, the carrying broker-dealer will most likely require higher margin for such spreads.
In addition, margin offsets are allowed for Index FLEX Options on the same index and with the same index multiplier but with differing settlement value determinations (open or close) which otherwise meet the standard requirements for offset treatment.
It should also be noted that although Cboe allows margin offsets between Index FLEX Options that use different settlement value determinations, if both options expire on the same day, two days before that expiration day both options must be margined separately because of the possibly significant differences between the final settlement values of the offsetting options. Index FLEX Options can be offset against conventional options on the same underlying index provided it otherwise meets the requirements for offset treatment. Under no circumstances can Index FLEX Options on one index be offset with options on any other index for customer margin purposes.
The following is a short, non-exhaustive summary of margin treatment for various strategies applying only to broad-based index options:
For questions concerning customer margin treatment or more details concerning the margin required for various trading strategies, please contact Jim Adams in the Cboe Department of Member Firm Regulation at 312-786-7718 for assistance.
The matters discussed in this section are subject to detailed rules, regulations, and statutory provisions which should be referred to directly for additional detail and are subject to changes that may not be reflected in this material.
The following vendors currently display on-line updates of FLEX information. Each terminal currently enabled for options data will display FLEX information. The format currently provided by vendors is in a news headline format.
Type NH FLEX [Go]
For more information on FLEX® products, click here, call Cboe at 1-877-THE-CBOE, or contact:
Institutional Marketing
Matt McFarland
Updated 02/01/2010
Futures questions? Get answers at TD Ameritrade.Free futures education and specialists available day and night.
New TradeStation Pricing. $5/Trade + $0.50 Per Contract for Options. Open an Account.

subset: commoncrawl


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Le Smoking Jacket & Black Lace Dress
Added Feb 21, 2014
South Bend, Unit...
We all know the most interesting man in the world drinks Dos Equis, but do you know what he wears? It's a shame smoking jackets are no longer popular and rarely seen on men today. These mid thigh-length velvet & silk robes are bad ass! Just imagine how luxurious & relaxing life would be if men wore smoking jackets during their morning coffee or evening reading by the fire. Perhaps, that's an unrealistic expectation since we're accustomed to our fast lives and easy-wash garments. But heck, who knows – maybe they'll make a come back!
Read more on my blog here: http://bit.ly/1eMnYT1
I made both the smoking jacket and black lace dress!
- Season
- Fall, Winter
- For
- Men
- Garment Type
- Jacket/Blazer
- Style
- Classic, Evening Wear, Vintage, Victorian
- Material
- Lace/Sequins, Velvet
4 Comments Sign in to add a post
Feb 22, 2014, 02.04 PMby sewing fanatic
nothing like a vintage… you might reignite the style ;P
Feb 21, 2014, 08.29 PMby Mary Athey
Both of these items look fab and what great photos as well. I love the smoking jacket and dress x
Feb 21, 2014, 09.06 AMby Ellen Hatteland
Impressive! You have done a great job! It looks fabulous and comfortable :)
1 Reply
Feb 21, 2014, 02.01 PMby Marusya Grace
Thanks Ellen!
Feb 21, 2014, 08.30 AMby cchristie
That smoking jacket is just so luxurious for relaxing in. 'Relaxing jacket' could be the new smoking jacket. Fab velvet fabric
1 Reply
Feb 21, 2014, 02.03 PMby Marusya Grace
True! Good way to put it too! Thanks!
Add to Favorites 3 people added it


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Trumarcar's Freebies Updated 18th December 2017
This is where all new freebies will go in future!
Gumdrop Scientist with labcoat, pens, clipboard, anemometer, rain gauge, thermometer, compass, "weather wall" and stickers.
On the Gumdrop page (scroll down) at Treasurechest.
atticanne Posts: 2,999
I am so happy. Thank you for the Scientist. I've got them downloaded and they make a great addition to the gummies' occupations.
Alisa Uh-Lisa Posts: 1,281
So adorable - thanks, my friend!!
I'm glad you both like them. Hugs.
If there are any other science bits and pieces anyone would like to see, let me know!
mininessie Posts: 216
love it my friend...thanks you soooo much! :D
Thank you very much, Mininessie - you are welcome! Hugs.
Wilmap Posts: 2,859
Lovely. thank you trumercar
Thank you Wilmap (Wendy) - you are very welcome! Hugs.Post edited by trumarcar on
Leilana Posts: 16
So sweet! Many thanks :)
Thank you Leilana! Hugs.
There is Gewellery for Gumdrops at Treasurechest!
Diamond, heart and star necklaces and three different styles of matching earrings for each. Chain belt, bracelet, necklace and earrings. Also a charm bracelet.
On the Gumdrops page at Treasurechestgumgewels_600.jpg600 x 563 - 215KPost edited by trumarcar on
mininessie Posts: 216
Gummy looks great in her jewelry...thanks so much!
Thank you, Mininessie! Hugs.
DollyGirl Posts: 2,152
Thank you trumarcar. I don't have gumdrops but I do have Sadie. I think your charm bracelet will be perfect for her as well.
Thank you, Dollygirl. I think it might fit quite a few characters with a bit of scaling!
RCTSpanky Posts: 782
The scientiest are beautiful ...unfortunately there are only grey clouds ion the screen. No sunny view for the next days? :)
Your Gewellery-Set is also very nice. The charm bracelet is so detailed. I love it.
At last ... thanks for the first post in the new 3D Toon board. ;)
Thank you, Spanky. You will notice that in the pic North America has glorious sunshine and the stickers are moveable so you can have glorious sunshine anywhere in the world!
Glad you liked the Gewels - Glam Gummie!
It is really good to see Spanky's Sweet Shop up and running - the site looks great and I hope it will be a centre for Toon-addicts everywhere. Hugs.
There are two new items, elf shoes for Pippin and sneakers for K4 at KCTC Freebies this week.
At Treasurechest on the Pippin page.k4sneakers_500.jpg500 x 500 - 129Kpip_elfboots_500.jpg500 x 500 - 159KPost edited by trumarcar on
Wilmap Posts: 2,859
Thanks again for the freebies.Post edited by Wilmap on
Chohole Posts: 29,386
Love the Sneakers, thanks. What outfit is that one? I think I should recognise it but it is not geling.
Thank you, Chohole!
It's a combination of several outfits - free Paperboy cap from Poser Freestuff http://poserfreestuff.zenryokuhp.com/detail/aglwb3Nlcml0ZW1yEgsSCUZyZWVTdHVmZhi-3-IBDA.html
Pants from Kids4 Playset by RPublishing at Rendo, which doesn't seem to be available any more.
Top and character Kaity by 3D Universe from DAZ, all recoloured to match by me!.Post edited by trumarcar on
Chohole Posts: 29,386
Thanks, and of course I have the Paper boy hat, which is why it seemed sort of familiar. Typical.
Alisa Uh-Lisa Posts: 1,281
Total cuteness :)
You are welcome, Chohole and thanks, Alisa! :-)Post edited by trumarcar on
DollyGirl Posts: 2,152
Thank you Trumarcar for the sneakers. They are wonderfull.
Thank you, Dollygirl - glad you like them!! :-)
robkelk Posts: 3,259
Echoing the thank-you for the sneakers! I do like being able to put kids in different outfits, and that includes the shoes...
It's good to think of these being used, Robkelk! Thank you. :-)
RCTSpanky Posts: 782
I like the elf boots for Pippin. Very cute.
I can also imagine that the sneakers for K4 will also look great on other characters too. Too bad, that all this figures have different meshes, which would made it easier to convert them.
Thank you, Spanky. Yes, it is a pity.
There are versions at KCTC Freebies for Gumdrops, Pippin and Pranx. http://kctc.francemi.net/
At Treasurechest there are sneakers for Hein, Cookie and Chip (in the tennis outfits), Kiki (with the jeans) and Kit (in Kit Cosy Part1).
mmalbert Posts: 312
Thanks for the K4 sneakers freebie!
So subscribing to this thread. :lol:


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Do you have hops like Michael Jordan? Most likely not. That means that nerf bars, running boards or truck steps are a necessity in your life. Getting into a truck or SUV is no easy task if you don't have anything helping you get up there.
Luverne offers many different styles of nerf bars and running boards that are unique and one of a kind. They have nerf bars with drop-down steps, regular everyday nerf bars and even 7" round step bars. Any of these would be great for you depending on what you're interested in. If you have a huge truck and don't want tiny nerf bars attached to it, you'll either go with Luverne stainless steel side entry steps, Luverne Grip Step running boards or Luverne Regal 7" oval step bars. If you just want a little help getting into your truck and don't want anything fancy, then you might be more interested in Luverne 3" or 4" nerf bars.
Luverne is a great company that offers limited lifetime warranty on all their American made parts. Luverne has 50 years of experience so they know what they are doing when it comes to truck accessories. They offer quality, long lasting truck accessories that you can be proud of.
We're passionate about what we do and the products we sell here at RealTruck.com. We understand that your truck is more than just a truck, it's your life. It's the vehicle that gets you around and helps you get work done right. You need high quality accessories to help get the results you're looking for, and that's why we only bother stocking first rate products from reputable vendors we respect.
If you ever have questions or need any help, our customer service team is here to assist you. To get in touch, give us a call toll-free at 877-216-5446!


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YouTube Restricts Access To Anti-Islam Movie Trailer In Egypt And Libya
from the head-meet-sand dept
Today we learned that YouTube has taken the step of restricting access to the video in question in both Egypt and Libya. When asked about it, YouTube responded with the following statement.
"We work hard to create a community everyone can enjoy and which also enables people to express different opinions," YouTube said by e-mail. "This can be a challenge because what's OK in one country can be offensive elsewhere.
This video -- which is widely available on the Web -- is clearly within our guidelines and so will stay on YouTube. However, given the very difficult situation in Libya and Egypt we have temporarily restricted access in both countries."
While I understand why YouTube is doing this, I think it's misguided for two reasons. First, stupid and hateful as the video in question reportedly is, blocking access (potentially seen as taking it down in Egypt and Libya) can be interpreted to mean that the fault for what's happening is in part with the video itself. It isn't. The guilt for this violence is not in some stupid video. It isn't even in the massive protests in the Muslim world against the video (though I'd probably suggest they learn about the Streisand Effect). The guilt for the violence and death belongs on the thugs and murderers who committed it. End of story. This is especially true when the company has acknowledged itself that the video does not violate YouTube's terms of service.
The EFF agrees.
It is easy to understand why YouTube might feel compelled to act in response to the rioting over this video, especially after three U.S. embassy employees were killed in the Libyan city of Benghazi, but the blame for the violence lies not with the video, but with the perpetrators. Once YouTube has made the decision to pro-actively censor its content, they start down a slippery slope that ends in YouTube Knows Best moral policing of every video on their site. It is disappointing to see YouTube turn its back on policies that have allowed it to become a such a strong platform for freedom of expression. We hope that this new-found enthusiasm for pro-active censorship is a temporary aberration rather than a sign of things to come.The second reason is that YouTube's move is almost certainly equal parts too late and ineffectual. As the company's statement itself noted, this video is and already was all over the internet. Censoring the video now is a bit like covering your ears and eyes as your house burns around you. The problem of religious intolerance and violent reactions to it is going to exist whether you acknowledge it's there or not. Nobody is served by trying to pretend the hateful attitudes in the video don't exist. And it isn't like the protests have ceased now that YouTube has restricted access in those countries. The cat is already out of the bag. All you've done now is open the door to blocking videos based on people deciding to be offended with little to no effect on the violence at hand. So what was the point?
I'll be clear again: every description of the video in question suggests that it is cartoonishly crafted and inflammatory bigotry. But it doesn't violate YouTube's TOS, it is speech, and taking it down was a poor decision made in fear. That isn't the way I expect a company like YouTube to behave.


text:
Security DepositOne Month Rent
Lock in PeriodNA
Property StatusVacant
No. of Floors1
Available From2018-03-30
This 3bhk furnished house is available for rent and located in Sector 15 Gurgaon , it is easily accessible and well connected with all type of traffic centers & marketplaces, the house is full of all type of amenities.
Tell us your preferred date and time for house visit
Refer a friend to this house and earn ₹ 500.00REFER NOW
Renting from Room Soom was a great experience! They are quick with any maintenance and very attentive. I highly recommend them.HARSH SINHA
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Room Soom provides outstanding service. They dealt with problems in a timely manner. I highly recommend renting with Room Soom.ANJALI SHARMA


text:
The new Escalade Limo is reportedly much fancier and luxurious than any other limos.
(PRWEB) January 13, 2014
The most anticipated new 2015 Escalade limo will become a part of Global Limos fleet in March, 2014. The company has a reputation of offering the best ground transportation solutions to its customers. The company manages a large fleet that includes limousines and party buses. The newest addition of Escalade limo in their fleet will give them an edge over other limousine service providers.
The new Escalade Limo is reportedly much fancier, and luxurious than any other limos. It has state-of-the-art technologies like Gull Wing door, decorative lighting, strobe lights and phantom grill. The interior of the limo has more leg room, shoulder room and hip room than its previous model. The new specially designed leather seats by master craftsmen of Cadillac promise to provide the much-needed comfort for the passengers. The customers will find many high-end features such as Flat-Screen TVs, MP3 player, DVD player, iPod hookup, blue-tooth audio streaming, and powerful stereo in the limo. The accessible rear controls, large ice coolers and smoke machine are available in the limo for the additional benefits.
"We are excited to introduce the new 2015 Escalade Limo to our customers. It is not just a simple limo; it is more like a mini nightclub with the disco floor and ceiling to provide the enchanting ambiance to complement the party mood. In terms of technology, the customers will find it amusing and enthralling. We have always believed in the philosophy of providing the cutting-edge technology to our clients. We are sure that the new Escalade Limo will become the hottest limo in our fleet." – said Ruben, a manager of Global Limos.
This new limo can be used for a variety of chauffeur-driven limousine services like wine tour, night on the town, casino tours, airport transportation, corporate travels, concerts, and sports events. This luxury SUV will be a great choice for ground transport for the weddings, birthday parties, bachelor parties and proms. "The company chauffeurs will be trained to provide customer with information about the super sophisticated features of this new luxury SUV", said Moe Kakar, CEO of the company.
The staff members of the company are polite and always ready to assist the customers in renting the most appropriate vehicle. The company has a website that provides complete information about this new SUV and all available fleet. To find more information on the new 2015 Escalade limo, the customers can visit: http://www.globallimos.com.


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WASHINGTON -- Americans cut back on their purchases in April for the first time in nearly a year as their income remained flat, a potentially bad sign for an economy that depends heavily on consumer spending.
Consumer spending dropped 0.2% last month, and March's initially reported increase was cut in half to a revised 0.1%, the Commerce Department said Friday.
Personal income failed to grow for the first time since falling 4.4% in January.
Analysts had expected consumer spending to be unchanged last month and that personal income would rise 0.1%.
Falling gas prices in April were part of the reason for the drop in spending. Purchases of gas, electricity and other energy goods and services dropped 4.4%.
Excluding volatile energy and food prices, spending was unchanged last month after a 0.1% increase in March.
Consumers are a crucial factor in U.S. economic growth, and April's drop signals the second-quarter slowdown most economists have projected as automatic federal budget cuts begin taking place.
Consumer spending increased at a 3.4% annual rate in the first three months of the year, nearly double the pace of the fourth quarter, the Commerce Department reported on Thursday.
That spending helped the U.S. economy grow at a 2.4% annual rate in the first quarter despite higher taxes and the looming threat of federal spending cuts.
Lower energy costs helped keep inflation in check last month.
The Commerce Department's personal consumption expenditure price index dropped 0.3% in April after dropping 0.1% the previous month.
The core price index, which factors out energy and food costs, was up less than 0.1% in April compared to an increase of 0.1% in March.
Year over year, the core price index, a key measure of annual inflation, was up just 1.1% in April. That's well below the
Consumers continued to save in April at the same 2.5% rate as the previous month.


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Hey this is an urban Legend that I cooked up due to a real experience that happened to my brother itgoes like this:
An 18 year old guy gets off work one night to find a high school couple waiting at his car. The girl is cold and clutching her sweetheart's black letterman's jacket. The couple needs a ride back to their car because they got in a crash and had to walk the long walk back to town to call a tow truck. So the worker (let's call him Ben) agrees to take them back. They drive along 522 and at mile marker 119 the couple ask to be let out. Ben sees no sign of a car but he figures they could just have snuck out and needed a ride back close to home, so he lets them out. The next day Ben's at home watching the news when he hears that two serial killers had commited a murder at Ben's work. He runs out to his car and pops the trunk, to find a bag. He already has an idea of what's in it. He drives back to 522, back toward mile marker 119 when he sees a letterman's jacket lying on the road. But it's too late. He runs over it, and for some odd reason it causes his car to skid off the road, into the forest. In the forest he sees a crashed car that he's rapidly approaching, and right before his fatal impact he sees the couple in the car, dead as doornails.
HIghway 522 Urban Legend
Started by three_sided_dice , Jun 15 2003 11:47 AM
6 replies to this topic
Posted 15 June 2003 - 11:47 AM
The biggest and scariest ghost of all of them is the imagination
Posted 15 June 2003 - 03:24 PM
what was in the bag?how did it get in the trunk?
Slainte mhor agus a h-uile beannachd duibh Good health and every blessing to you
Posted 16 June 2003 - 03:01 PM
the bag part is fictional but the inkling is that the body of the person killed is in the bag and the couple were the ones that put it in the trunk before he got off work, which is why they were waiting by the car.
The biggest and scariest ghost of all of them is the imagination
Posted 18 June 2003 - 11:51 AM
OH thats kinda what I was thinking ???
Slainte mhor agus a h-uile beannachd duibh Good health and every blessing to you
Posted 06 July 2003 - 07:36 PM
oooo forgive me (newbie :-/ ) I got a little confused, I kinda thought that it would turn out that the couple were just ghosts! The body in the trunk threw me off! So umm were they ghosts, killers or killer ghosts ???? Hey I admitted, I'M A NEWBIE :
"Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense." Buddha (563BC-483BC )
Posted 08 July 2003 - 11:23 PM
Maybe I'm just ignorant, but why did "Ben" look in the trunk? ???
#7 Guest_Ghostbuter20_*
Posted 21 June 2004 - 02:21 PM
So, basically what your saying is that these two people killed a bunch of other people, hitchhiked a ride with 'Ben' to their car, and the couple, in turn, smashed into a tree?Or maybe it's because 'Ben' saw these people, and they knew he'd be able to identify them for whatever reason, and when he drove over the jacket and ran into the tree, he was the last one to be killed. But if the couple was already dead.......doesn't sound much like an urban legend. Sounds like the beginning (middle or end) to a bad horror movie. But that's just me.
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OpenXava 4.2.3 released
Noobeek 2017.05
May 30, 2017
Noobeek gives some of the power behind OpenXava to end users.
This new 2017.05 version includes:
- Password recovery.
- If you have not entered your email yet, Noobeek ask for it.
- You can edit your personal data.
- It's possible to remove any query from the combo of recent queries in list mode.
- New description field in roles.
- Fields one below other in simple views.
- Saving a record does not clear the data in the screen.
- Fix: Queries names in list have some incorrect ).
- Fix: It's needed to click twice for opening combos inside a dialog.
- Fix: Images gallery shows the content of the rich text field in the same form if it is called "description".
- Fix: The reference to parent is shown creating a new element from a list.
- Fix: If the list has many columns the icons for edit and delete are one below other.
- Fix: In lists with many columns the detail/list/both links are outside of viewport.
- Fix: Impossible to remove columns in list, the x is missing.
- Fix: Comparator combo and filter value textfield in list do not fit all the available space.


text: RussiaFeed News Business Russian airline cuts trade operations from 14 days to 23 seconds Published 1 year ago on July 28, 2017 By Anna Lutskova 0 Views Share Tweet Alfa-Bank: "Implementation of the blockchain platform ethereum opens the door for optimization of business processes for both the carrier and its partners. Speed of computation has revved up from 14 days to 23 seconds. Thus, the airlines don't delay payment to an agent which receives the money shortly after the ticket is processed." Agents do not have to deal anymore with the termination payment security (TPS) typically used to eliminate the risk of non-payment. Automation of the procedures speeds things up and reduces the paperwork for the airline and the agent. Before drawing a payment, the new system makes sure there is a balance in an account. Moreover, blockchain eliminates the human factor and boosts system reliability and transparency of trade operations. Deputy CEO of IT Solutions at S7 Group Pavel Voronin: "We have made the world's first flight ticket purchase through an open api (application programming interface) blockchain to a bank. I'm sure that the system will soon be used by most companies globally." S7 Airlines is an airline headquartered in Ob, Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia, founded in 1992. As of 2008, it was Russia's biggest domestic airline. Today, S7 planes take passengers to 87 destinations – both in Russia and internationally. S7 is a member of the Oneworld alliance from 2010. And it's a choice of RussiaFeed! 🙂 S7 Airlines destinations Liked it? Take a second to support The Duran on Patreon! Related Topics:RussiaAlfa bankS7Pavel VoroninOneworldimgx Up Next Russian airline cuts trade operations from 14 days to 23 seconds Don't Miss Russia invites BRICS to unite against terrorism Advertisement You may like The Integrity Initiative and the British Roots of the Deep State: How the Round Table Infiltrated America Fake news media FREAK OUT over Trump and NATO (Video) Turkey prepared to take Syria's Manbij, won't let it turn into 'swamp' like N. Iraq Click to comment Leave a Reply This comment form is under antispam protection This comment form is under antispam protection Subscribe Notify of new follow-up comments new replies to my comments Latest Is the Violent Dismemberment of Russia Official US Policy? Neocons make the case that the West should not only seek to contain "Moscow's imperial ambitions" but to actively seek the dismemberment of Russia as a whole. Published 4 days ago on January 20, 2019 By The Duran Authored by Erik D'Amato via The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity: If there's one thing everyone in today's Washington can agree on, it's that whenever an official or someone being paid by the government says something truly outrageous or dangerous, there should be consequences, if only a fleeting moment of media fury. With one notable exception: Arguing that the US should be quietly working to promote the violent disintegration and carving up of the largest country on Earth. Because so much of the discussion around US-Russian affairs is marked by hysteria and hyperbole, you are forgiven for assuming this is an exaggeration. Unfortunately it isn't. Published in the Hill under the dispassionate title "Managing Russia's dissolution," author Janusz Bugajski makes the case that the West should not only seek to contain "Moscow's imperial ambitions" but to actively seek the dismemberment of Russia as a whole. Engagement, criticism and limited sanctions have simply reinforced Kremlin perceptions that the West is weak and predictable. To curtail Moscow's neo-imperialism a new strategy is needed, one that nourishes Russia's decline and manages the international consequences of its dissolution. Like many contemporary cold warriors, Bugajski toggles back and forth between overhyping Russia's might and its weaknesses, notably a lack of economic dynamism and a rise in ethnic and regional fragmentation.But his primary argument is unambiguous: That the West should actively stoke longstanding regional and ethnic tensions with the ultimate aim of a dissolution of the Russian Federation, which Bugajski dismisses as an "imperial construct." The rationale for dissolution should be logically framed: In order to survive, Russia needs a federal democracy and a robust economy; with no democratization on the horizon and economic conditions deteriorating, the federal structure will become increasingly ungovernable… To manage the process of dissolution and lessen the likelihood of conflict that spills over state borders, the West needs to establish links with Russia's diverse regions and promote their peaceful transition toward statehood. Even more alarming is Bugajski's argument that the goal should not be self-determination for breakaway Russian territories, but the annexing of these lands to other countries. "Some regions could join countries such as Finland, Ukraine, China and Japan, from whom Moscow has forcefully appropriated territories in the past." It is, needless to say, impossible to imagine anything like this happening without sparking a series of conflicts that could mirror the Yugoslav Wars. Except in this version the US would directly culpable in the ignition of the hostilities, and in range of 6,800 Serbian nuclear warheads. So who is Janusz Bugajski, and who is he speaking for? The author bio on the Hill's piece identifies him as a senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, a Washington, D.C. think-tank. But CEPA is no ordinary talk shop: Instead of the usual foundations and well-heeled individuals, its financial backers seem to be mostly arms of the US government, including the Department of State, the Department of Defense, the US Mission to NATO, the US-government-sponsored National Endowment for Democracy, as well as as veritable who's who of defense contractors, including Raytheon, Bell Helicopter, BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin and Textron. Meanwhile, Bugajski chairs the South-Central Europe area studies program at the Foreign Service Institute of the US Department of State. To put it in perspective, it is akin to a Russian with deep ties to the Kremlin and arms-makers arguing that the Kremlin needed to find ways to break up the United States and, if possible, have these breakaway regions absorbed by Mexico and Canada. (A scenario which alas is not as far-fetched as it might have been a few years ago; many thousands in California now openly talk of a "Calexit," and many more in Mexico of a reconquista.) Meanwhile, it's hard to imagine a quasi-official voice like Bugajski's coming out in favor of a similar policy vis-a-vis China, which has its own restive regions, and which in geopolitical terms is no more or less of a threat to the US than Russia. One reason may be that China would consider an American call for secession by the Tibetans or Uyghurs to be a serious intrusion into their internal affairs, unlike Russia, which doesn't appear to have noticed or been ruffled by Bugajski's immodest proposal. Indeed, just as the real scandal in Washington is what's legal rather than illegal, the real outrage in this case is that few or none in DC finds Bugajski's virtual declaration of war notable. But it is. It is the sort of provocation that international incidents are made of, and if you are a US taxpayer, it is being made in your name, and it should be among your outrages of the month. Liked it? Take a second to support The Duran on Patreon! Continue Reading Latest At Age 70, Time To Rethink NATO The architect of Cold War containment, Dr. George Kennan, warned that moving NATO into Eastern Europe and former Soviet republics would prove a "fateful error." Published 5 days ago on January 19, 2019 By Patrick J. Buchanan Authored by Patrick Buchanan via The Unz Review: "Treaties are like roses and young girls. They last while they last." So said President Charles De Gaulle, who in 1966 ordered NATO to vacate its Paris headquarters and get out of France. NATO this year celebrates a major birthday. The young girl of 1966 is no longer young. The alliance is 70 years old. And under this aging NATO today, the U.S. is committed to treat an attack on any one of 28 nations from Estonia to Montenegro to Romania to Albania as an attack on the United States. The time is ripe for a strategic review of these war guarantees to fight a nuclear-armed Russia in defense of countries across the length of Europe that few could find on a map. Apparently, President Donald Trump, on trips to Europe, raised questions as to whether these war guarantees comport with vital U.S. interests and whether they could pass a rigorous cost-benefit analysis. The shock of our establishment that Trump even raised this issue in front of Europeans suggests that the establishment, frozen in the realities of yesterday, ought to be made to justify these sweeping war guarantees. Celebrated as "the most successful alliance in history," NATO has had two histories. Some of us can yet recall its beginnings. In 1948, Soviet troops, occupying eastern Germany all the way to the Elbe and surrounding Berlin, imposed a blockade on the city. The regime in Prague was overthrown in a Communist coup. Foreign minister Jan Masaryk fell, or was thrown, from a third-story window to his death. In 1949, Stalin exploded an atomic bomb. As the U.S. Army had gone home after V-E Day, the U.S. formed a new alliance to protect the crucial European powers — West Germany, France, Britain, Italy. Twelve nations agreed that an attack on one would be treated as an attack on them all. Cross the Elbe and you are at war with us, including the U.S. with its nuclear arsenal, Stalin was, in effect, told. Hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops returned to Europe to send the message that America was serious. Crucial to the alliance was the Yalta line dividing Europe agreed to by Stalin, FDR and Churchill at the 1945 Crimean summit on the Black Sea. U.S. presidents, even when monstrous outrages were committed in Soviet-occupied Europe, did not cross this line into the Soviet sphere. Truman did not send armored units up the highway to Berlin. He launched an airlift to break the Berlin blockade. Ike did not intervene to save the Hungarian rebels in 1956. JFK confined his rage at the building of the Berlin Wall to the rhetorical: "Ich bin ein Berliner." LBJ did nothing to help the Czechs when, before the Democratic convention in 1968, Leonid Brezhnev sent Warsaw Pact tank armies to crush the Prague Spring. When the Solidarity movement of Lech Walesa was crushed in Gdansk, Reagan sent copy and printing machines. At the Berlin Wall in 1988, he called on Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall." Reagan never threatened to tear it down himself. But beginning in 1989, the Wall was torn down, Germany was united, the Red Army went home, the Warsaw Pact dissolved, the USSR broke apart into 15 nations, and Leninism expired in its birthplace. As the threat that had led to NATO disappeared, many argued that the alliance created to deal with that threat should be allowed to fade away, and a free and prosperous Europe should now provide for its own defense. It was not to be. The architect of Cold War containment, Dr. George Kennan, warned that moving NATO into Eastern Europe and former Soviet republics would prove a "fateful error." This, said Kennan, would "inflame the nationalistic and militaristic tendencies in Russian opinion" and "restore the atmosphere of the cold war in East-West relations." Kennan was proven right. America is now burdened with the duty to defend Europe from the Atlantic to the Baltic, even as we face a far greater threat in China, with an economy and population 10 times that of Russia. And we must do this with a defense budget that is not half the share of the federal budget or the GDP that Eisenhower and Kennedy had. Trump is president today because the American people concluded that our foreign policy elite, with their endless interventions where no vital U.S. interest was imperiled, had bled and virtually bankrupted us, while kicking away all of the fruits of our Cold War victory. Halfway into Trump's term, the question is whether he is going to just talk about halting Cold War II with Russia, about demanding that Europe pay for its own defense, and about bringing the troops home — or whether he is going to act upon his convictions. Our foreign policy establishment is determined to prevent Trump from carrying out his mandate. And if he means to carry out his agenda, he had best get on with it. Liked it? Take a second to support The Duran on Patreon! Continue Reading Latest Photos of new Iskander base near Ukrainian border creates media hype But research into the photos and cross-checking of news reports reveals only the standard anti-Russian narrative that has gone on for years. Published 6 days ago on January 18, 2019 By Seraphim Hanisch Fox News obtained satellite photos that claim that Russia has recently installed new Iskander missile batteries, one of them "near" to the Ukrainian border. However, what the Fox article does not say is left for the reader to discover: that in regards to Ukraine, these missiles are probably not that significant, unless the missiles are much longer range than reported: The intelligence report provided to Fox by Imagesat International showed the new deployment in Krasnodar, 270 miles from the Ukrainian border. In the images is visible what appears to be an Iskander compound, with a few bunkers and another compound of hangars. There is a second new installation that was discovered by satellite photos, but this one is much farther to the east, in the region relatively near to Ulan-Ude, a city relatively close to the Mongolian border. Both Ukraine and Mongolia are nations that have good relations with the West, but Mongolia has good relations with both its immediate neighbors, Russia and China, and in fact participated with both countries in the massive Vostok-2018 military war-games earlier this year. Fox News provided these photos of the Iskander emplacement near Krasnodar: Fox annotated this photo in this way: Near the launcher, there is a transloader vehicle which enables quick reloading of the missiles into the launcher. One of the bunker's door is open, and another reloading vehicle is seen exiting from it. [Fox:] The Iskander ballistic missile has a range up to 310 miles, and can carry both unconventional as well as nuclear warheads, putting most of America's NATO allies at risk. The second deployment is near the border with Mongolia, in Ulan-Ude in Sothern Russia, where there are four launchers and another reloading vehicle. [Fox:] Earlier this week, Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of Russia's Security Council, said authorities of the former Soviet republic are being "controlled" by the West, warning it stands to lose its independence and identity as a consequence. "The continuation of such policy by the Kiev authorities can contribute to the loss of Ukraine's statehood," Mr Patrushev told Rossiyskaya Gazeta, according to Russian news agency TASS. This situation was placed by Fox in context with the Kerch Strait incident, in which three Ukrainian vessels and twenty-four crew and soldiers were fired upon by Russian coast guard ships as they manuevered in the Kerch Strait without permission from Russian authorities based in Crimea. There are many indications that this incident was a deliberate attempt on the part of Ukraine's president Petro Poroshenko, to create a sensational incident, possibly to bolster his flagging re-election campaign. After the incident, the President blustered and set ten provinces in Ukraine under martial law for 30 days, insisting to the world, and especially to the United States, that Russia was "preparing to invade" his country. Russia expressed no such sentiment in any way, but they are holding the soldiers until the end of January. However, on January 17th, a Moscow court extended the detention of eight of these captured Ukrainian sailors despite protests from Kyiv and Washington. In addition to the tensions in Ukraine, the other significant point of disagreement between the Russian Federation and the US is the US' plan to withdraw from the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF). Russia sees this treaty as extremely important, but the US point of view expressed by John Bolton, National Security Adviser, is that the treaty is useless because it does not include any other parties that have intermediate range nukes or the capability for them, such as Iran, North Korea, and China. This is an unsolved problem, and it is possible that the moves of the Iskander batteries is a subtle warning from the Russians that they really would rather the US stay in the treaty. Discussions on this matter at public levels between the Russian government and the US have been very difficult because of the fierce anti-Russia and anti-Trump campaigns in the media and political establishments of the United States. President Putin and President Trump have both expressed the desire to meet, but complications like the Kerch Strait Incident conveniently arise, and have repeatedly disrupted the attempts for these two leaders to meet. Where Fox News appears to get it wrong shows in a few places: First, the known range for Iskander missiles maxes at about 310 miles. The placement of the battery near Krasnodar is 270 miles from the eastern Ukrainian border, but the eastern part of Ukraine is Russian-friendly and two provinces, Donetsk and Lugansk, are breakaway provinces acting as independent republics. The battery appears to be no threat to Kyiv or to that part of Ukraine which is aligned with the West. Although the missiles could reach into US ally Georgia, Krasnodar is 376 miles from Tbilisi, and so again it seems that there is no significant target for these missiles. (This is assuming the location given is accurate.) Second, the location shown in the photo is (44,47,29.440N at 39,13,04.754E). The date on the "Krasnodar" photo is January 17, 2019. However, a photo of the region taken July 24, 2018 reveals a different layout. It takes a moment or two to study this, but there is not much of an exact match here: Third, Fox News reported of "further Russian troops deployment and S-400 Surface to air missile days after the escalation started, hinting Russia might have orchestrated the naval incident." It may be true that Russia deployed weapons to this base area in Crimea, but this is now Russian territory. S-400s can be used offensively, but their primary purpose is defensive. Troops on the Crimean Peninsula, especially at this location far to the north of the area, are not in a position strategically to invade Kherson Oblast (a pushback would probably corner such forces on the Crimean peninsula with nowhere to go except the Black Sea). However, this does look like a possible defense installation should Ukraine's forces try to invade or bomb Crimea. Fox has this wrong, but it is no great surprise, because the American stance about Ukraine and Russia is similar – Russia can do no right, and Ukraine can do no wrong. Fox News is not monolithic on this point of view, of course, with anchors and journalists such as Tucker Carlson, who seem willing to acknowledge the US propaganda about the region. However, there are a lot of hawks as well. While photos in the articles about the S-400s and the Russian troops are accurately located, it does appear that the one about Iskanders is not, and that the folks behind this original article are guessing that the photos will not be questioned. After all, no one in the US knows where anything is in Russia and Ukraine, anyway, right? That there is an issue here is likely. But is it appears that there is strong evidence that it is opposite what Fox reported here, it leaves much to be questioned. Liked it? Take a second to support The Duran on Patreon! 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|Episode Description
|Thursday, May 23, 2013 - 7:00 AM
"Airmen and the Headhunters"
Dayak tribesmen of Borneo, known for taking the heads of their enemies, rescue a U.S. bomber crew, shot down over the Japanese-occupied island during World War II. The tribe feeds and protects the crewmen, then leads them to the base of a British special ops officer and Australian commandos. The program features interviews with a surviving crew member, Dayak tribespeople, and Japanese and Australian veterans. G
|More on WORLD (MT)
|No upcoming shows in database


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Speed Week
Although the rain soaked the track, the participants and the fans, it did not dampen the enthusiasm of racing last week.
A late afternoon rain shower forced track officials to cancel the first racing night at Fairbury American Legion Speedway last Saturday night but fans will be hoping for the racing card to take place this week.
The track, in its 67th year of racing, will try again this Saturday with late models, modifieds, sportsman and street stock divisions in action. The 1/4-mile semi banked dirt oval, sanctioned by United Midwest Promoters, will have the 3rd Street gate open at 3 p.m. for pits only and 2nd Street gate for early arriving spectators. The 1st Street gate will open at 5 p.m. Hot laps start at 5:50, qualifying is at 6:30, and racing will follow. Gate admission is $10 for adults and children under 12 are free with a paying adult. Admission is $25 for a pit pass.
The "lock eight," used to determine the top eight starting positions for late models and modifieds, has been dropped for the 2013 season. The speedway has decided to implement the new "Fairbury Format" instead.
The new system will be used for all weekly events. Sportsman and street stock drivers will use the format when they have their specials.
Here is how it works. The fast qualifier will receive $50 from Warren Hartman Trucking of Normal, each week and spin a wheel located near the scale in the infield.
Numbers will be staggered equally between one through four on the wheel and the number the driver spins will determine the number of cars to be inverted in each heat race for the night.
Each heat race will be lined up by the invert number and staggered by their qualifying time.
Feature lineups will go back to qualifying times based on the finish position in each heat.
Lincoln Speedway
Saunemin's T.D. Burger claimed his first career modified feature on April 21 at Lincoln, holding off a persistent challenge from Lance Dehm.
"It feels good to get that first win in the modified," Burger said. "To beat the competition we had tonight and having Lance right behind me makes it even more special.
"Norm Horn and his crew do a tremendous job with the track. We are going to run for the track championship here. On Saturdays and Sundays, we are going to run for the U.M.P. Western Regional points."
Burger added, "I have to thank Mike Vallow and Mario Vietti at Vallow Body and Chassis. I have to thank my crew of Tim Burger, Jim Burger, Don Burger, Bill Davis and Joe Livingston. They put in some long hours and sacrifices to make this possible. And a special thanks to our wives, girlfriends, and the kids. I wish they could have been here tonight. They have to endure a lot and I am forever grateful."
The modifieds will take their tops off and run for $800 to the winner this Friday. Pro lates, street stocks, compacts and an appearance by the non-winged lightning sprints will highlight the show.
Farmer City Speedway
Jason Feger took the lead with two laps remaining to win the "Douglas Dodge 50" last Friday at Farmer City.
"I couldn't have done it without that caution flag with four to go," an emotional Feger said afterward. "It's been a rough week and I think the emotions got the best of me. I was spent there. I just manned up and got up on the wheel.
"They stuck it to me pretty good for telling the truth. I promise there wasn't anything on my tires, illegal or alternating. I would never do that to this sport or the people," Feger added. I have to thank all my sponsors, friends, and fans. The support everyone has shown me has been unbelievable. It's a little bit of sweet revenge."
Following Feger's win at Farmer City's "Illini 100," World of Outlaw officials found a tire Feger used in his heat race win to be chemically enhanced.
Although Feger changed tires for the 100-lap feature, officials stripped Feger of his $20,000 feature win.
Feger has appealed the decision and is working with World Racing Group officials to determine how, why and what chemicals were found. His penalties will not go into effect until the appeals committee makes a decision.
Farmer City has been reinstated into the UMP and the UMP sanction began with last Friday's race program. This week's racing will be held for late models, modified, sportsman, street stocks and hornets. Gates open at 3 p.m., hot laps start at 6:30, qualifying is at 7 and racing will follow. Adult admission is $12 for adults and children under 12 are free. A pit pass is $25.
LaSalle Speedway
LaSalle Speedway got its racing program in last Saturday and Highland's Randy Korte made the long haul a successful one as he captured the late model feature. Kevin Weaver, driving Jay Morris's back up car finished second, followed by Morris, Richie Bell, and Scott Schmitt.
Jamie Lomax took the modified feature over Donovan Lodge, Cody Bauman and Vince Cooper.
This Saturday will be another weekly program of late models, modified, street stocks and 4-cylinders. Pit gates open at 4 p.m., spectator gates at 5, and racing starts at 7:30.
Kankakee Speedway
Kankakee Speedway begins its 62nd year of racing this Friday night. A full program of late models, pro lates, modified, street stocks, compacts and I-mods will take to the 1/3-mile dirt facility. Hot laps start at 6 p.m., qualifying is at 6:30 and racing starts at 7:30.
Route 66 Speedway
Pontiac's Route 66 Speedway will open its season this Sunday. Gates open at 10:30 a.m., practice is at 12:15 p.m. and racing starts at 1 p.m. The track is located on Route 66, between Pontiac and Chenoa. The 1/8-mile dirt oval will feature kart racing in several classes. Admission is free but a donation box will be set up to help offset the cost of running the track.


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Buy these new albums from Eden Brent and Kristin Mueller, say I.
Some highlights from my upcoming roundup of "Recent & Recommended" releases, in case you want to run right out and grab these:
Eden Brent, "Jigsaw Heart" (Yellow Dog Records) Eden Brent remains something of a small miracle, mixing traditional blues into a satisfying gumbo of Mississippi boogie-woogie piano, soulful Americana and Ella-esque jazz swagger. Her last album, 2010's "Ain't Got No Troubles," was darn near perfect, and she continues to roll on her latest release -- "Jigsaw Heart" is equal parts rollicking celebration and melancholy musing, each track pretty much as good as the next.
Brent's softer side is especially strong on this disc; the slow, sad album opener "Better This Way" beautifully captures the final throes of a doomed love affair, and the title track drips with a hard-nosed, bluesy realism about the challenges of gathering up "the scattered pieces" of a new partner's heart. But the album has plenty of winking fun too -- "Let's Go Ahead and Fall In Love" shows that Brent never met an innuendo she didn't like (spackling? really?), and "Locomotive" chugs along with buoyant verve. LISTEN TO: "Opportunity," a sultry Joan Armatrading cover
Kristin Mueller, "Deserts & Long Trails" (bandcamp.com) Much of "Deserts" seems to take place in that drowsy limbo between sleep and awake -- there's an echoey vibe that can be hypnotic but also surreal, and not a little bit spooky. Mueller's tremulous vocals, meanwhile, recall Stevie Nicks at her witchiest. Buoyed by layered harmonies, twinkling keyboards and intertwining strings and banjos, it's a moody masterpiece.
The album's smoky charms are its greatest strength; on "Old Records," Mueller's purr evokes the din of nostalgia and the weight of time's passing, and lilting album closer "Forgiveness" betrays a melancholy sweetness. Not that Mueller, a drummer by trade, can't turn things up when she wants to -- "Holy Bastard" builds slow before the horns and guitars kick in at the halfway mark, and Mueller lets loose with a fiery, Grace Potter-like verve. LISTEN TO: "Radio," stirring electo-folk with an alternative '90s feel.
- Email Pete


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Pax Jolie, the newest addition to the rainbow Brangelina tribe, was snapped in Los Angeles while being shuttled from day care.
The tot gazes at paparazzi with the same curiousness seen on faces of children at a zoo.
Pax's sister Zahara seems to enjoy the attention a little more than the rest of the family.
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The system_fopenWA function opens the file identified by path in write-append mode and returns a valid file descriptor. Use this function to open those files to which your program will append data.
SYS_FILE system_fopenWA(char *path);
The system-independent file descriptor (SYS_FILE) if the open succeeded, or 0 if the open failed.
char *path is the file name.
system_errmsg, system_fopenRO, system_fopenRW, system_lseek, system_fread, system_fwrite, system_fwrite_atomic, system_flock, system_ulock, system_fclose


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Hit TV quiz show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire ends after 15 years
AN emotional Chris Tarrant hosted his last Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? TV show last night. His final answer? "I've loved every minute."
ITV axed the series after a 15-year run.
Tarrant, 67, had no need to phone a friend to find out it was time to call it a day, saying: "I'm leaving the show with sadness but I think it's run its course."
Last night's celebrity special saw Olympic track cyclist Sir Chris Hoy, 37, and comedian Kevin Bridges, 27, win £20,000 for charity.
Actor James Nesbitt, 49, and TV star Dom Joly, 46, won £1,000 as did Countdown's Rachel Riley, 28, and her Hairy Biker partner Dave Myers, 56.
Tarrant bade a tearful farewell after he was handed a huge bouquet of flowers by his production crew, telling viewers: "Bless you, it's been a fantastic 15 years.
"There have been lots of magical moments. All that remains is for me to thank all of our splendid guests who have braved the hot seat tonight – and over 15 years.
"And all the millions of you at home for watching. From all of us on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, good night and goodbye."
I'm leaving the show with sadness but I think it's run its course
Launched in 1998, the show became an instant ratings hit, with Tarrant's catchphrase "Final answer?" a byword for suspense. The three options available to contestants stuck for an answer – phone a friend, ask the audience and 50/50 – became part of everyday speech.
The show was not without scandal. Contestant Charles Ingram, 50, an Army major, tried to cheat his way to the jackpot in 2001 aided by an accomplice who sat in the audience and coughed at the correct answer. The show, devised in the UK, has been exported to 100 countries including Afghanistan, China and Uruguay.
It was the inspiration for director Danny Boyle's 2008 Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire, based around the Indian version.
During its British run, only five contestants won the top £1million prize.
One other big winner was comedian Jasper Carrott, thanks to his shareholder stake in the show's makers, which he sold for just under £17million.
A programme of golden moments from the show will be screened on ITV next Tuesday at 8pm.


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Man wears same shirt in yearbook picture from 6th to 12th grade
Man wears same shirt in yearbook picture from 6th to 12th grade
Every year from the sixth grade to the twelfth grade, one man decided to stick with a tradition that is now going viral.
Justin Taylor tweeted a picture of several other pictures of himself, yearbook pictures to be exact.
In each photo, he said he is wearing the exact same shirt.
"So from 6th to 12th grade i wore the same shirt in every school photo. My parents weren't fans. I thought it was pretty hilarious," he tweeted.
The tweet has been shared around 4.9 thousand times and has over 22,000 likes.
In the thread of comments, Taylor even tweeted a photo of him wearing the same shirt today!


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In a comment on Pharyngula, Jerry Coyne notes:
I suspect that this snake ingested a lizard, and that the lizard's limb simply burst through the side of the snake. I may be wrong, and I hope so, because this is great evidence for evolution.
Some graphic images below the fold illustrate why this is not unreasonable speculation.
Snakes sometimes consider their prey choices poorly. Here's a snake with legs and two tails:
(Hat tip to Febble)
Oops! I sort of skipped the first comment at Pharyngula. This commenter noted first that it was probably something the snake ate. Moreover, they note a fact I forgot to mention in my haste: the limb is quite far from where we'd expect the hindlimb to be, if one were to show up. It would be much closer to the tail, not at mid-length of the body. It should be at approximately the same level as the cloaca. There's the unlikely case that it's an atavistic forelimb however, which would raise the issue of where a snake's neck begins or ends.
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San Joaquin Valley farmers have until June 17 to apply for part of $450,000 allocated by the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) to offset a portion of the cost of hauling to a toxic waste dump an estimated 225,000 tons of used, arsenic-treated grapestakes left over from the removal of more than 100,000 acres of vineyards over the past five years.
For years, grape growers burned wooden stakes along with vines of bulldozed vineyards. However, air quality officials put a stop to not only burning treated stakes, but to grinding them up as well. Treated grapestakes have been relegated to a toxic waste designation, leaving approved landfills as the only source of disposal.
Hauling off the stakes is expensive and many growers have left them piled in fields or in farm roadways, oftentimes still intertwined with the old vines and wire. Some growers were not aware of the no-burn edict and were forced to extract treated stakes from the tangled pile of vines, wire and stakes before they were allowed to burn the removed vines.
John Beyer, NRCS California air quality coordinator, said growers will can be compensated up to $60 per ton to remove as much as 312 tons of treated grapestakes to one of two approved disposal sites, Forward Inc. Landfill in Manteca or American Avenue Landfill in Tranquility, Calif. Beyer said the cost share is based on a $120 per ton estimate to load and haul the treated stakes to one of the two landfills.
Stakes from Kern, Kings, Fresno, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Tulare counties are eligible for the cost-share funds.
The money is being made available through the air quality enhancement portion of the NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).
Untreated or metal stakes are not covered. Treated end posts are.
Applicants must qualify as agricultural producers and provide evidence of ownership or control of the property which the application/contract will apply. The treated grape stakes must have been used or originate only the applicants own property and not any other agricultural operation.
e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com


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2010 Chevrolet Camaro Hamann Picture
The fine tuner Hamann of Laupheim from the German, of all the new Chevrolet Camaro would tune, probably no one believes, specializes in the tuner but more on BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche. Well, do not even need to think because this is the result of 8 hours of Photoshop, found on Deviantart. Serdo Miletic can be reached as a user with the nick Morfiuss here.


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Grand Theft Auto V
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Los Santos: a sprawling sun-soaked metropolis full of self-help gurus, starlets and fading celebrities, once the envy of the Western world, now struggling to stay afloat in an era of economic uncertainty and cheap reality TV. Amidst the turmoil, three very different criminals plot their own chances of survival and success: Franklin, a former street gangster, now looking for real opportunities and serious money; Michael, a professional ex-con whose retirement is a lot less rosy than he hoped it would be; and Trevor, a violent maniac driven by the chance of a cheap high and the next big score. Running out of options, the crew risks everything in a series of daring and dangerous heists that could set them up for life.
The biggest, most dynamic and most diverse open world ever created, Grand Theft Auto V blends storytelling and gameplay in new ways as players repeatedly jump in and out of the lives of the game?s three lead characters, playing all sides of the game?s interwoven story.
All the classic hallmarks of the groundbreaking series return, including incredible attention to detail and Grand Theft Auto?s darkly humorous take on modern culture, alongside a brand new and ambitious approach to open world multiplayer.
Three playable protagonists - Michael, Franklin and Trevor may live in different parts of town, have their own issues, attitudes, lifestyles, desires and goals - but they do know how to work together. They also each have their own unique skillsets to bring to the table when it's time to get the job done.
He's a veteran bank robber, and an expert with the kind of knowledge that only comes from years as a successful career criminal. Now retired and living comfortably in an unofficial sort of witness protection, Michael's not without his own problems though - he has a wife who can't stop spending money and two spoiled kids he doesn't understand at all. Michael made it out and got everything he wanted, and he's still miserable.
A former street gangster now looking for real opportunities and serious money, Franklin works as a repo man for an Armenian luxury car dealership that runs scams on ambitious young hotshots with new money, selling them expensive cars they can?t afford. When they can?t make their payments but want to keep their cars, it?s Franklin?s job to get them back.
Not interested in living by anyone else?s rules, Trevor's a habitual drug user and extremely volatile individual that's prone to destructive outbursts and violent rampages. A former criminal colleague of Michael's from long ago - the less that's said about him the better.
Los Santos & Blaine County
Our largest open world yet - by far - and spanning vastly diverse cultural and geographical areas, the entire world of Grand Theft Auto V is open from the very beginning of the game to explore. Visitors to the greater metropolis of Los Santos and the countryside of Blaine County will encounter faded celebrities, meth heads, party people, violent gangs, hikers, bikers and every other manner of colorful denizen. You'll be able to traverse everywhere from the tops of the mountains, through the streets of Los Santos and to the depths of the ocean floor.
'Recreational' Activity
The open world of Grand Theft Auto V is not just massive in scale, but will offer more to get into than ever before. For recreation, play a bit of golf or tennis, zen out with some yoga or cycle through the countryside... For adrenaline heads, parachute over the city, or customize your Cheetah and take it to the streets to race suckers for money... Or earn cash the old fashioned way, by taking it - whether by ripping off liquor stores or by buying and taking over businesses that will earn you dividends... Even minding your own business having a stroll you may meet one of Los Santos' weirdos, junkies, drunkies, or starlets and find yourself off on a wild misadventure you never expected...
Petty crimes, hustling and stealing cars can only get you so far in Los Santos. To score big, Michael, Franklin and Trevor will work together to pull off grand Heists - big, multi-part missions that require careful preparation, recruiting, and precise (and often explosive) execution. Cash is king in GTAV and while there will be plenty of ways to acquire and spend it - heists are the way to earn the big bucks.
Grand Theft Auto Online
Grand Theft Auto Online is a dynamic and persistent online world for 16 players that begins by sharing gameplay features, geography and mechanics with Grand Theft Auto V, but will continue to expand and evolve after its launch with new content created by Rockstar Games and the Grand Theft Auto community. Grand Theft Auto Online takes the fundamental Grand Theft Auto concepts of freedom, ambient activity and mission-based gameplay and makes them available to multiple players in an incredibly detailed and responsive online world.
In Grand Theft Auto Online, players have the freedom to explore alone or with friends, work cooperatively to complete missions, band together to participate in activities and ambient events, or compete in traditional game modes with the entire community, all with the personality and refined mechanics of Grand Theft Auto V.
Players can invest in their character through customizing their appearance, improving their stats, owning customized vehicles, purchasing personal property, and taking part in missions, jobs and activities to earn reputation and cash to open up new opportunities to rise through the criminal ranks. The world of Grand Theft Auto Online will constantly grow and change as new content is added, creating the first ever persistent and dynamic Grand Theft Auto game world.


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ATLANTA, GEORGIA -- I shopped for a couple items and on the way to pay saw a table with clearance priced merchandise. I checked the expiration date and then took 2 bottles of juice. The cashier said it was full price when I asked her about the higher price on the receipt. I showed her the bottle with the sticker and she said I had already paid. Go to the customer service. 4 people were in line for that (they must make a lot of mistakes that are caught).
I leave the store and when putting the groceries in the trunk, I always check the caps on liquids, both caps were almost off. I don't remember them being that way when I checked the expiration date before putting them in my cart. I open them to see if there was an inner seal. There wasn't. I left them in the parking lot. I feel cheated and tricked. Fool me once... I'm going to Krogers or Whole Foods from now on.
GROVELAND, FLORIDA -- Have asked several times to explain coupon policies and each time got a different answer. So I told the manager I hope he didn't mind if I recorded the conversation and he chases me out the store yelling, "I'm calling the police." The next time I go in the assistant manager started to call me names and say I was a cheap person that uses coupons and I left. A week later I go in to do my normal shopping and I get trust pass from the police. Reason given is they no longer wanted to entertain my business.
GREER, SOUTH CAROLINA -- In April 2006, I was living in Greer, SC and I've been a long-time Publix customer and was thrilled they were in SC as I was from FL. In April 2006 I went into the local Publix (located at 411 The Pkwy Greer, SC 29650-4522). Being a disabled individual, I had my Service Animal with me. Upon entering the store, we headed to the rear for the meat department. We were there for less than 1 minute when the Manager came running up to me asking if "that" was a seeing-eye dog. I stated "No, this is a Service Animal."
The response received from the manager was that I had to leave the store with "that" dog. I told him it was against the law for him to force me to leave. The manager then responded that he didn't know what the laws were but we had to leave, it was a violation of health laws. I was too shocked and stunned, went home and dialed the corporate office.
After many calls, I was promised by upper-level executives that I would receive a letter in the mail along with a gift card. Nothing was ever received. I did complain further which only got me a phone call from some idiot that left a message for me, not leaving his name or phone number. That was it. I forgave Publix because of the way my former store manager had treated me, always with respect.
Everything had been going well until this past Thursday when I went into my local Publix store (6001 N Nebraska Ave Tampa, FL 33604-6855). You know, when a store manager listens and takes the side of an employee over a customer, there is a definite problem there. I am on food stamps. I purchased a bakery item the night before only to return it the next morning (before 9 a.m.). Leaving my wallet at home and not thinking that would be a problem, I went to return this baker item.
The Customer Service Manager was called because the person behind the desk was unsure of what to do (regarding my food stamp credit). The CSM tried to push another identical cake off on me and when I continued to tell her I didn't like it, I asked for the store manager - getting NOWHERE with her. This CSM spoke in whispers to the store manager before he arrived to speak with me. His mind was already made up against me. This was on Thursday, April 22. I phoned Publix on Friday, April 23 advised of my trouble and stated I would like a phone call back from either a district or regional manager.
Publix is not slow to respond and now I am so very sorry that I didn't file an ADA complaint in 2006. The CSM made a huge ordeal of the fact that I am on food stamps which the manager did too. I will not and do not need to shop at Publix. Once again, I am so very sorry I did not file an ADA complaint when the first discrimination took place in 2006. Think before you shop at Publix!
TREASURE ISLAND, FLORIDA -- Today my wife and I did our usual routine. We went over to Treasure Island Publix and parked outside on the corner. We always bring our 2 greyhounds with us and take them across the street for a quick bathroom break. Then we go inside Publix to buy Sunday dinner. It takes no more than 10-15 minutes for the dogs to finish. When we turned around headed back to our car it was pulled out across the street by a towing company (Prestige Towing). The driver must have pounced on our car as soon as he saw us go across the street. I asked the tow driver to please stop and he said if I had $50.00 cash and could produce it in 5 minutes he would stop.
I ran inside Publix and spoke with the general manager. She told me they paged my license # on the loud speaker and when no one responded she ordered the tow. I explained we shop there almost every Sunday and bring the dogs for over 3 years. I asked her if she could help because I didn't have the $50.00 cash plus we had the dogs. She would not. Our car was towed with all my keys and the water for the dogs. We were so upset we forgot everything in the car. We were stranded for over a half an hour getting a ride and then paying $155.00 to get our car out of the towing yard.
We noticed the tow driver hiding behind a large bush embankment waiting for people like us with dogs to go across to the park. He calls the manager and tells her there is a car he has been watching for a while what should he do? They know we're not in the store but they go through the protocol by calling out the license # to cover themselves. Again, we were outside tops 15 minutes and our car was already on the tow truck which means Prestige Towing jumped on it and the Publix manager would not listen to "great customers" at all. What a horrible experience. Can you help us by telling our story?
MARIETTA, GEORGIA -- I presented a new prescription to the gentleman behind the counter at store 0122 and informed him I was self pay. In other words, I have no insurance. The prescription was for 90 pills and 3 refills. I asked the gentleman if he could price that for me and was told it would be 26.95. Because I had just given him a new prescription with 90 pills clearly written on it I assumed he was giving me a price for the 90 pill prescription. When I got home I noticed that there were only 30 pills with 5 refills but I still paid 26.95.
I called the Pharmacy to verify the Rx was for 90 pills with refills. They confirmed that for me but still never explained why they only gave me 30 pills and the quote they give was for the 30 instead of the 90 as the prescription was written. I informed that their competition across the street, Kroger filled the same prescription for me for 9.17. A 90 pill Rx with them has always been 27.51.Then I was informed that I could not bring the Rx back per federal law and that they would be happy to transfer the Rx to Kroger. Are you kidding?
I presented a new Rx to you with 90 clearly written in it. You quoted 26.95 and so I assumed that was for 90 pills. It was cheaper than Kroger and so I said OK. Never again! I'll not go back to Publix to have another Rx filled. You charged me 3 times what the Kroger has charged me for years. I stopped at your pharmacy only because I buy my groceries there and thought I try to centralize my shopping and Rx needs. Whoever really takes their prescription bottles out of the bag before you leave the pharmacy? No one I know. Terrible customer service.
So I'm doing some shopping in Publix this morning just picking up some odds and ends when I see something that really bothered me. A little kid around the age of maybe 4 or 5 was playing in the aisle and accidentally knocked some merchandise off the shelf onto the floor. The kid's mother sees this, grabs the child, and leaves the aisle to continue shopping, never bothering to even consider picking the stuff up off the floor that her kid just put there. Unbelievable. Just thought I would share, now onto my list.
Customer is just so important that they must do their entire register transaction while talking on their cell phone, never saying a word to the cashier. I especially hate when they take a pause from putting their items on the counter or delay paying because the phone conversation gets sticky or interesting. Customer picks up an item off a shelf, looks at it, decides not to buy it, and puts it back any old place without any concern for those who have to pick up after them. Is it that difficult to put something back where you find it?
Customer makes a mess in the restroom. It's rude and it's disgusting. Enough said. Customer tries to buy cigarettes, but forgets ID. The cashier, in compliance with federal law, declines the sale, and the customer gives the cashier a hard time. People, if you look young and you want to buy cigarettes you need to present ID, period. If you forget your ID, that is not the cashier's fault. Do not blame the help for your mistake.
Scumbag pays for his food order with food stamps. Right after proceeds to pay cash for a case of beer or carton of cigarettes. I will refrain from vulgarity, but that's the lowest form of retail scum I can think of. Like I would be completely embarrassed and ashamed to do something like that. If anyone out there can rationalize doing this, please respond.
So my wife has been an assistant manager for Publix Super Markets for several years, so as you can imagine I've heard many good "human interest" stories that cause me to laugh and shake my head. The latest one however kind of got to me so I thought I'd share it with everyone just to provide for some entertainment value.
The Publix she works at closes at 10 pm each day. The employees are usually there cleaning up and whatnot until about 10:45 before everyone goes home. So on a night she was closing the store, this couple knocks on the glass doors at 10:25 pm asking if they could very quickly grab a gallon of milk because they were out. Mind you this wasn't 10:00 or 10:01, this was almost a solid half hour after business hours. So being a compassionate person, my wife allows them into the store to make their purchase. The couple then decides to go shopping as though the store was open!
They are walking up and down the aisles taking their time and slowly adding items to their basket. This goes on for 10 minutes when finally my wife tells them they must check out because the staff is ready to leave for the night. Well apparently this didn't sit well with these two because today she gets called into the office because the couple had called corporate, informing them that they felt "rushed" and "under-appreciated" as customers. Of course I don't know the exact details of what they told corporate, but I'm willing to bet they didn't tell them they were in the store a half hour after closing.
Now anyone who knows me knows hell would freeze over before I would allow a customer into my store after business hours, regardless of their needs (which is why I couldn't work in retail). But being a kind person, my wife takes things like this pretty hard.
Like I don't think I'd even have the nerve to ask employees to let me into their store after hours, let alone take my time and on top of all of it complain about them! Not that it's my business, but I really hope the company doesn't give these people a gift card and make them feel like they were in the right, but unfortunately that is probably what will happen.
OCALA, FLORIDA -- All I will say is that someone in that pharmacy took 30 of my control substance pills. If you take control substance before you leave that store and pay for them have them count the pills in front of you. Once you leave there isn't a dang thing you can do. Someone in that pharmacy took them maybe a little at a time and but they used me to get what they stole back into stock--I assume a inventory was coming.
I don't care what the ones who didn't do it or believe me or not but I just know that someone in that place stole them and Publix has to monitor better. They will be caught and when they are I hope I get to hear about it, especially the ones who snickered at me when I complained. They were the rude ones and I really used to like them.
NORTH AUGUSTA, SOUTH CAROLINA -- I had place an order for Publix delicious calypso crunch cookies on 10/9/12 for a baby shower event for the following Friday. The order was place that day by a female employee. The following day there had been changes with my work schedule that wouldn't allow me to pick up the order. I call Publix back Wednesday to see if I could move my order from Friday to Thursday. The employee was nice and he assured me that it wouldn't be a problem to move the order a day ahead.
I arrived at Publix Thursday afternoon close to 5 because that's the time I had given to pick the order up. The male employee didn't take long at all to assist me. He look for my order and there was no order for my cookies!!! I was so hurt because I promise everyone I will bring these for the baby shower. What made my experience so amazing Mrs. ** and the male employee in the bakery area went way beyond to make sure I was happy before I left the store. They had both offer to bake the cookies plus had given me their secure apologies.
I didn't want them to bake the cookies only because it would have taken an hour for them to be ready. They had these beautiful petite fours in the bakery. Mrs. ** offer me to taste one of them. They were really good. Mrs. ** prepare petite fours for me in a nice clear tray to take to the baby shower. I would definitely return back to store because of great, secure customer service.


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About Hala Matar Choufany
In the last 15 years, Hala has worked on more than 850 hospitality projects, ranging from single to large scale mixed use developments and conducted numerous valuations, feasibility studies, operator search and contract negotiations, operational assessments, and general consultancy advisory work.
Hala has worked in more than 75 markets in Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia. Hala has in-depth expertise in regional hotel markets and a broad exposure to international markets and maintains excellent contacts with developers, owners, operators, investment institutions and government entities.
Hala has completed Executive Education at Harvard Business School and has an MBA from ESSEC & Cornell.
For more information contact Hala at [email protected]