text:
Far Infrared Saunas
And How Yours Can Make You Feel Amazing!
An infrared sauna in your home is like having your own personal retreat, wellness center, and de-stressing zone!
Save hundreds off retail and get FREE shipping, PLUS all the healing properties of Health Mate's full spectrum models when you join the GreenSmoothie Group Buy.
We cannot publish these Group Buy prices on the internet.
Listen to Robyn's webinar on the benefits of a Far Infrared Sauna
I studied far infrared sauna treatment for detoxification for six months before I finally decided on a company and bought their sauna to test—long before recommending one to you. (This report explains to you why it's important to own one, and I tell you how to get a phenomenal price on an excellent sauna for yourself.) Your own sauna is a valuable tool to achieve health and vitality. Every heart disease, cancer, weight loss, or diabetic patient should own one and use it as often as possible, even daily!
Your body is the unfortunate repository of hundreds of the 80,000 chemicals and metals currently in use in our air, water, food, cosmetics, and soil, many of which have a half-life of hundreds of years and are transferred from mother to baby.
Symptoms caused by toxicity:
- Alzheimer's
- muscle and joint pain
- fatigue
- fibromyalgia
- infertility
- digestive problems
- frequent viral or bacterial infections
- acne
- depression and anxiety
- insomnia
- allergies
- eczema
- cancer
The best way to eliminate metals and chemicals is through SWEAT. When your body temperature is increased 2 to 3 degrees in a sauna session, cancer cells are slowed down and can die, and white blood cells and killer T cells are produced and hyper-mobilized. The natural healing mechanisms of the body are optimized through hyperthermia or an "artificial fever" that raises body temperature 2 or 3 degrees. The heart is strengthened, and calories are burned at about the rate of a moderate run! Let me tell you more about how exciting this tool is, for your home or office, and how you can get a quality one, with freebies, at a better price in the GSG group buy than anywhere!
What Is Far Infrared (FIR)?
This very special type of sauna uses the same type of "radiant" energy the sun produces that gives life to the entire plant kingdom; it's the wavelength that allows plants to make energy. It is NOT ultraviolet radiation. It's the positives of the sun without the dangerous effects of solar radiation. (In fact, some evidence indicates it heals sun damage on the skin, including diminishing wrinkles and fine lines.)
FIR is a narrow band of energy that travels up to 3" into the body to increase blood flow and, thereby, regenerate damaged tissues, as well as activate immune cells.
Far Infrared Sauna Benefits
Preventing and Treating Cancer
Dr. Nobuhiro Yoshimizu, M.D. states that a 2% increase in body temperature results in a 40% increase in immunity. At 109 degrees, cancer cells die. And in repeated sauna treatments, resistance of cancer cells becomes weaker and weaker and immune function gets stronger as tumor cells die away.
In his book The Fourth Treatment for Medical Refugees, which is about helping cancer patients who have failed traditional medical treatment, Dr. Yoshimizu lists these advantages of thermotherapy:
- Body defense mechanisms strengthened
- Immune functions improved (against infection)
- Blood flow improved (aids drug efficacy)
- Physical capacity improved
- Body temperature increased (higher metabolism, healthier cells, more breakdown of fatty acids)
- Increased detoxification as waste materials are excreted with sweat
- Endorphin production is stimulated (pain is alleviated)
- Prevents aging
- Far infrared heat penetrates deeply into the body, which affects skin but also organs, blood vessels, lymph, nerves, and more
Dr. Yoshimuzo references reports of cancer cured after a high fever, as well as research that one-third of people whose cancer is cured naturally showed symptoms of high fever.
My grandmother always said, "Give me a good enough fever and there's no illness I can't cure." It seems that it's a powerful tool and we can use simple healing technologies to leverage it anytime we need it.
Calories Burned, Cardiac Benefits, Weight Loss, and Conditioning with Far Infrared Sauna
Most people lose weight drinking green smoothies. A few people complain that they don't. But a doctor I work with closely said that he has had good success when weight loss "plateaus," even when the patient is drinking green smoothies and cutting out junk food, if he helps them even begin to detoxify. Suddenly they move out of the plateau and begin to lose weight.
Infrared Sauna Detox To Lose Fat
Heavy metals and toxic chemicals accumulate primarily in fat cells, and those toxins can keep the body from eliminating the fat itself. Possibly the best way to quickly eliminate chemicals, through the body's largest organ of elimination, plus other pathways such as lymph and blood circulation, is through infrared sauna treatment! Heart rate is increased, and blood flow increases which pushes blood to capillaries and extremities.
Reduce Stress
Sauna treatment is excellent for reducing stress levels – high stress levels cause cortisol production that results in belly fat. You will feel calm and peaceful after a sauna session, especially if you use essential oils as aromatherapy.
Calories Burned In An Infrared Sauna Session
A 30-minute FIR sauna session has been documented to burn 300 to 600 calories! How many other ways can you sit still and read a book and burn as many calories as you would in a 45-minute jog? In August, 1981, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) stated,
"Many of us who run do so to place a demand on our cardiovascular system, not to build leg muscles. Regular use of a sauna imparts a similar stress on the cardiovascular system, and its regular use may be as effective a means of cardiovascular conditioning and burning calories, as regular exercise."
A reasonably fit person will perspire about 250 grams in a 20-30 minute FIR sauna session, which is approximately as much as she would sweat in a 6-mile run! Of course you will drink water to replace what is lost, but that's not the point: the cardiovascular system has worked hard to produce that amount of perspiration, yielding passive conditioning.
Cardiovascular Benefits
Dr. Imamura in Japan put 25 men with heart disease in a FIR sauna 15 minutes a day for two weeks. The results were: significantly lowered blood pressure, significant weight loss, significantly lowered blood sugar, significantly increased blood flow, lowered cholesterol, and lowered triglycerides. These results were published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology in 2001.
FIR treatment is perfect for those who cannot exercise or don't have time, but it has many additional benefits for those who do exercise. (Note from Robyn: I'm a big believer in exercise whether you use a sauna or not—for muscle tone, which is not provided by sauna treatment even though cardiac benefit and detoxification is.)
Far infrared sauna treatments improve cardiac performance by varying the rhythmic beating of the heart, according to Mark Hyman, M.D. in UltraMetabolism: The Simple Plan for Weight Loss. The heart is the organ where many of the heavy metals human beings are invariably exposed to, are stored, causing many of our cardiovascular problems.
Dr. Hyman states,
"Saunas and heat therapies are an ancient method of cleansing. The Native American sweat lodge was a tool for physical and spiritual purification. Today the Environmental Protection Agency has shown that sauna therapy increases excretion of heavy metals (lead, mercury, cadmium, and fat soluble chemicals- PCB's, PBB's HCB's). It seems that science has finally caught up with these historical practices for maintaining health."
Sherry Rogers, M.D. explains in Detox or Die, why FIR is a phenomenal tool for heart health. Two renowned medical journals, Circulation and Journal of Cardiology, published studies from the Mayo Clinic demonstrating how congestive heart failure patients, maximally medicated and unable to comfortably walk across a room or even take a warm bath, were dramatically benefited by the FIR sauna. They tolerated it well and experienced improved heart function that surgery and drugs were unable to accomplish.
Dr. Rogers says,
"Even though medicine had nothing more to offer, congestive heart failure was reversed the far infrared sauna. The FIR sauna literally saved their lives. During the sauna, no patients had dyspnea (shortness of breath), angina (chest pain), or arrhythmia (irregular heart beat), nor complained of excessive heat."
Are Infrared Saunas Safe To Use?
The American Journal of Medicine conducted a meta-review of all the studies on sauna use from 1966 to the present and concluded that sauna use is safe and has therapeutic value for healthy people as well as heart disease patients.
Why I Chose to Work with This Company
One company positions itself as the "low EMF" manufacturer and, in fact, has really high-end design detailing in their saunas. Others are inexpensive but have high EMF and have other toxicity problems. (For instance, glue in the wood might not seem like a big deal, but it is, when the whole point of your sauna experience is to detox, and that toxic glue will be seriously off-gassing at 155 degrees!) I even researched the difference between ceramic and carbon heaters.
I also insisted on finding a price point that is affordable and impressive—with low EMF (damaging electromagnetic frequencies), and with excellent workmanship. I refused to make the decision until I obtained documentation from the companies regarding their EMF. Then I contacted an expert on EMF and received documentation from him on his own testing of this company's saunas. Then I bought my own expensive meter, my own sauna, and confirmed the testing when it was heated to 155 degrees!
I chose to work with this company because:
- The EMF is extremely low.
- There are no toxins in the manufacturing.
- The Canadian cedar smells like heaven.
- The price is much better than the other high-quality units (the company I chose to work with manufactures for all the OTHER companies!)
- The units are well constructed and easy to assemble, with an excellent warranty and great company reputation
- They are including an exciting, expensive accessory in the form of healing L.E.D. lights in every unit.
I now have mine and am madly in love with it. I have worked out a deal for those of you who have a bit of space and the money to put a powerful healing tool in your home. (If you're a business owner, put it in your office for the employees' health and write it off!)
How to See the Group-Buy Prices
We cannot publish these wholesale prices on the internet. Price and Order Info for the deal GreenSmoothieGirl has negotiated for you. (The company will call you for credit card information, to avoid a security issue, as we do not SELL saunas here in our store and your transaction is with them.)
But I want to tell you about why saving up and obtaining your own sauna is worth every penny, for your health. (Don't spend your health obtaining wealth, and then have to spend all your wealth trying to get your health back—like so many people I know are doing. Invest in your health as early as you can!)
The effect of far infrared is not something you have to take on faith, as you do with many treatments, because the detoxification is so easily felt. When you get out, of course, you'll be covered with salt. But after you shower, and the next day, your skin will GLOW and feel like soft baby's skin. It helps my kids go right to sleep afterward (at night) — for me, it supplies energy.
Artificial Fever, Immune Function, and Healing
You will sweat as you have never done before, as the infrared rays heat you, rather than the air. When I run 5 miles in the summer heat, I don't sweat as much as I do with 30 minutes in my sauna. This mimics the body's healing, protective mechanism of a fever, which burns out viral and bacterial cells. It's fabulous to have a sauna in your home, so you can jump in at the first symptom of cold or flu, and rapidly accelerate the body's healing. Studies have documented that colds and flu rapidly diminish if treated with FIR heat therapy, and this is an example of why it's important to have it in your home.
You can get an aromatherapy cup to hang in your sauna to use your essential oils, which in the heat will disperse into the air, providing a variety of unique health benefits.
In the GSG wholesale buys, you get an L.E.D. light panel in the sauna roof that changes automatically to different color lights that have many healing properties—very exciting, particularly for anyone who suffers through winter months with Seasonal Affective Disorder. The company I chose is the only company installing this expensive accessory FREE—in the GreenSmoothieGirl group buy.Your sauna treatment opens clogged or malfunctioning pores and heals skin, acne and scars. One source I read claims that far infrared is the only antidote to sun damage (excess ultraviolet radiation). And Japanese researchers concluded that the radiant heat is also an antidote for the negative effects of EMF. I have read papers describing the positive clinical effects tested on people with depression.
Dr. Thomas Lodi, M.D., with whom I have studied, says that while regular cells function optimally at 98.6 degrees—everyone knows this—immune cells go into hyperdrive and function optimally at 103.5 degrees! With the increase in body temp in the sauna, imagine your white blood cells speeding up and energizing, to gobble up macrophages! That includes cancer cells, and many practitioners have patients doing far infrared therapy multiple times a day. Dr. Lodi's patients get in the sauna as often as possible.
Detoxifying Chemicals
The waves penetrate 1 ½" to 3" deep, which means even deep muscles, and organs, can detoxify. You're loosening and releasing, through various organs including the dynamic organ of the skin, heavy metals, sodium, cholesterol, dozens of pesticides, cleaning agents, endocrine disruptors mimicking hormones, alcohol and nicotine.
Mysterious joint pain and many other symptoms in war veterans exposed to Agent Orange disappeared using FIR, according to Sherry Rogers, M.D. And Schnare, of the EPA, showed that PCBs and HCB in electrical workers were reduced, even though they were constantly exposed at work.
Dr. Rogers says,
"...the far infrared sauna is the closest we can probably get to the fountain of youth... sweat is the only proven method for getting the most damaging toxins out of the body."
How is a FIR different than a regular sauna?
A traditional steam sauna just heats the surface of your skin, and it's hard to breathe in them, as the temperature is so high and can make the lungs feel like they're burning. (I personally find myself claustrophobic and terrified in a regular sauna.) You won't experience this in an infrared sauna, which is very comfortable, as the heat is dry and lower temperature, but deeply penetrating. The amount you perspire is just phenomenal, much more than in a steam sauna where most of what you see is just condensed steam vapor—and the infrared waves are so good for you in releasing the chemical toxins stored in your fat cells and organs!
Other health benefits—energy, pretty skin, injury healing, dental, endometriosis, more...
Holistic dentists sometimes use far infrared treatment for gum inflammation and tooth pain, and Japanese and Chinese doctors use it for asthma, bronchitis, colds, flu, and congestion. Other papers and clinical trials I studied reported impressive improvements in arthritis, sleep disorders, mood disorders, diabetes, Crohn's Disease, strokes, radiation-related illnesses, menopause, hepatitis, ulcers, cold hands and feet.
Using the sauna to heal is highly effective. (My son and his athlete friends—with their sore muscles and injuries—crowd into our 3-man unit for some bonding time: they call it the Bro-Zone!)
Sauna treatment increases blood flow, hyper-oxygenates, and amplifies the activity of Killer T cells and white blood cells. Therefore, it decreases joint stiffness and muscle spasms, relieves pain, and decreases inflammation.
An unexpected benefit I discovered in my literature review as I studied FIR is that endometriosis was unheard of before 1900. Now, 20 percent of American women of childbearing years suffer with it and the figure goes up every year. Chemical dioxins are directly related to endometriosis, and dioxins are in tampons, diapers, thousands of products—the only way out that it has isthrough our sweat.
One of my favorite things, besides how relaxed I feel after 30-45 mins. in my FIR sauna, is how soft and pink my skin is after! Matthew texted me the day after we used it for the first time: "Feel the skin on your face!" It's a wonderful treatment for acne, eczema, and psoriasis.
One strange thing: If I do the sauna right before bed, I do feel relaxed, but so rejuvenated and energized, I can't go to sleep! If you're like me (my friends have the opposite experience), using it in the morning might be a better idea!
Healing Benefits of L.E.D. Lights
The company I chose to work with is including the expensive L.E.D. light panel in every sauna they provide to GreenSmoothieGirl.com readers, free. It is powerful phototherapy utilizing the properties of all 7 colors of the healing spectrum.
The most-known benefit of light therapy is to relieve Seasonal Affective Disorder. Many people who suffer with its symptoms don't know they have it, but its main symptom is depressed mood in the winter months due to lack of sunlight. Phototherapy resets the internal biological clock (Circadian rhythms) which results in sleeping well and enjoying a positive, stable mood.
Many people buy expensive phototherapy lights for their workplace to combat S.A.D., and in your FIR sauna you have that therapy at the same time as your sauna conditioning.Color light therapy balances the elements of the universe and, in various modalities, has been used by Indian Ayurvedics, Egyptians and Greeks, and traditional Chinese medicine. It decreases inflammation and pain and accelerates wound healing and after-surgery recovery.
Another popular use of light therapy is treating anti-aging, as people often notice a reduction in the appearance of fine lines, crow's feet, age spots, and wrinkles.
These are some of the healing properties of the different colors that you can have automatically cycle through, in your sauna session:
- Red: Promotes cellular growth and circulation, very helpful for lymphatic movement, colds, arthritis, anemia, liver problems, low energy, or pneumonia. It stimulates the adrenal glands and improves strength, stimulates hemoglobin production (helpful for anemics), and activates hearing, taste, smell, and metabolism.
- Yellow: Encourages mental clarity, nervous system, and digestive tract. It heals pores and scar tissue. Stimulates inspiration and is used to treat gas, diabetes, eczema, and constipation.
- Green: The universal healing color, relaxes thoughts and muscles and nerves. Encourages peace and harmony, lowering blood pressure and soothing the autonomic nervous system and helping heal heart problems, ulcers, cancer, headaches, and flu.
- Blue: Mentally relaxing, helpful for sleep problems, communication and speech problems. Reduces nervous problems and increases feelings of being positive and well.
- Orange: Frees the mind, combines physical energy with mental wisdom. Cheering, warm, non-constricting, helps us embrace and assimilate new ideas. An emotional stimulant, helps us lose inhibitions, bringing joy and zest for life. Helps repair kidneys, cough, seizure disorders, cramps, and sinus infections.
- Violet: Heals diseases of the scalp, sciatica, tumors, meningitis, cramps, concussion. Nourishes brain cells, purifies thoughts and feelings and encourages inspiration and spirituality. Helps us tap our own wisdom and inner strength, artistic talent and creativity. Da Vinci said you can increase power of meditation tenfold by meditating under violet rays, such as in stained glass church windows.
Available Models
- Essential Mate
- Classic Mate
- Renew Mate
- Enrich Mate
- Restore Mate
Sources documenting the healing effects of FAR Infrared Sauna Treatment:
The Detox Strategy, by Brenda Watson
UltraMetabolism: The Simple Plan for Automatic Weight Loss, by Mark Hyman, M.D.
The Fourth Treatment for Medical Refugees, by Nobuhiro Yoshimizu, M.D. Ph.D. (former director of Yokohama General Hospital, Japan)
Detox or Die, by Sherry A. Rogers, M.D.
Practitioners using FIR sauna treatment I am studying with include:
Dr. Thomas Lodi, M.D. (An Oasis of Healing, Mesa, AZ),
Dr. Francisco Contreras, M.D. (California and Mexico, Oasis of Hope Hospital),
Dr. Lloyd Jenkins (The Budwig Clinic in Malaga, Spain),
Dr. Leigh Erin Connealy, M.D. (and colleagues at Center for New Medicine),
Dr. Brian Clement (Hippocrates Institute).
Also Dr. Oz, David Wolfe, and many more.


text:
NEW YORK — On a cramped stage at the Cherry Lane Theatre, a historic off-Broadway venue tucked away on one of the quaintest streets in the West Village, Vanessa Redgrave is offering her costar Jesse Eisenberg an education not even the world's finest drama school could provide.
Eisenberg, an actor best known for his Oscar-nominated portrayal of Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg in the film "The Social Network," happens to be a budding dramatist. His new play, "The Revisionist," is one of the scarcest tickets in New York right now, thanks to Redgrave, who is making an American stage appearance away from the bright lights of Broadway (though rumor has it the show may be heading there).
At the moment, even the city's more jaded theatergoers seem to be agog at the opportunity of seeing British theatrical royalty up close in an intimate venue, though they can't be half as excited as Eisenberg himself.
He not only gets to witness one of the greatest thespians in the English-speaking world incarnate a role he has written but he gets to do so as a fellow performer. (His Playbill bio acknowledges how "extremely honored" he is to be sharing the stage with her.)
Playing Maria, the elderly Polish cousin whom David, Eisenberg's self-absorbed American character, comes to visit, Redgrave does more than turn in another of her majestic watercolor portraits of the human soul. She supplies historical gravitas for Eisenberg's play, filling in meaning where the author has left only a suggestion.
Props are portals to hidden worlds in her hands. Look at what she does with a cooked chicken. Re-heating the dinner she had prepared for David, who has arrived three hours later than expected, she asks him to join her at the table for their first meal together. Annoyed by her anxious hospitality, he declines the invitation, gruffly explaining that he's not hungry and doesn't eat meat.
As Maria picks up the hot dish she has prepared especially for him, the disappointment weighs heavily on her. Redgrave imbues the moment with shame — shame for not pleasing her visitor, shame for his rejection of her company and shame for the waste of expensive food. She's only staring at a modest chicken, but her eyes reveal hunger during the Second World War, food lines during the Communist era and limited income as a senior citizen.
Maria is also ashamed for feeling ashamed. She is his host — she shouldn't be dwelling on her own humiliation. There's a modesty to Redgrave's character that is at once uniquely personal and distinctly Polish. Psychology and sociology mesh as biography settles into its national context.
"The Revisionist," which is still a few revisions away from realizing its vision, deals with secrets from the traumatic past. Maria, a Jew who survived the Holocaust by giving up her Jewish identity, feels a deep kinship with the American relatives she barely knows. Her immediate family was killed during the war. David, a writer who has come to Poland to finish his book, is curious about her history but feels no special connection to her as a person.
Maria, on the other hand, reveres David. She has framed the New York Times review of his first book. The novel was panned, but to her the mere fact that it's mentioned in the paper constitutes a rave. Her distant American cousins, whose portraits hang in the bedroom, reassure her that the future wasn't destroyed in the death camps.
But the worshipful image she carries in her mind is at odds with David's angry, strung-out personality. He acts like he's withdrawing from drugs. The only thing that seems to bring him any relief is the weed he keeps smoking on the sly in the bedroom.
Unfortunately, the contrast between these characters is so exaggerated by Eisenberg's writing that the play often has a sitcom ring. In "4000 Miles," Amy Herzog similarly brings together characters of different generations and sensibilities, yet the interaction between them feels more unpredictable, less stagy.
A major shortcoming is that David's agitated state is left undefined. (Kip Fagan's direction doesn't effectively modulate Eisenberg's antic performance.) David may be unconsciously registering the tremors of the European catastrophe that engulfed his ancestors or he may just be a narcissistic American writer with a mood disorder and a substance abuse problem. Perhaps both of these possibilities are true. But the material lies inchoate in Eisenberg's play and portrayal.
Redgrave, however, is a source of illumination. She doesn't simply interpret "The Revisionist" — she extends its meaning.
Good actors are adept counterfeiters of human behavior. Great actors go one step further, elucidating the implications of the actions they perform with painstaking verisimilitude. Carefully arranging outward appearances, they make transparent the interior spark. More valuable still, they connect the thematic dots of a script while never forgetting that their primary task is the truthful realization of their character.
When Maria switches from English to Polish while speaking on the phone or to her helpful friend Zenon (Daniel Oreskes), the play's third character, Redgrave's accent certainly seems authentic to a non-Polish speaker. But equally impressive is the way she inhabits Maria's humble environment. This isn't a theatrical legend slumming off-Broadway — this is an actor living another day onstage in Szczecin, Poland.
Eisenberg recognizes that there are experiences too difficult for our conscious minds to fully process. Overwhelming violence leaves gaps; tragedy gives rise to lies, fantasies and ghosts. Artists fill in the space that life has mutilated and rendered mute. Eisenberg doesn't have the skill at this point as a writer to fulfill this task. But Redgrave shows him the way through her acting. Her gift to him goes well beyond her superlative performance — she's guiding a young talent to artistic maturity.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Study Abroad
Studying abroad allows students to become more independent and confident. It helps them improve their communication skills, learn new languages, and experience cultural differences first-hand. Students can build a strong resume as well as earn credits, all while traveling the world!
The Global Citizenship Council is chaired by Professor Joshua Idjadi. During the Academic Year 2013-14, the Council awarded $30,000 to Eastern students participating in Study Abroad and Global Field Courses.
A Global Field Course at Eastern is a one to five week-long experience carrying Eastern course credit, taught in part or entirely on-site in a location away from Eastern.
Why take a Global Field Course? You can travel while earning college credits, try new food, experience new cultures, increase confidence, and learn to adapt to a different environment. A global field courses experience looks good on a resume and demonstrates a success-oriented view toward a global economy.
Questions? Call (860) 465-0206.
Please, click on the blue globe with
arrows to learn more about Study
Study Abroad allows students to experience the world and the global community. They can gain cultural insight while living and studying along with students of a host country for a full semester or academic year, while earning ECSU credits.
We invite students to explore ECSU's many programs throughout the world – there is one that's right for everyone!
For full-semester or academic year study abroad, call (860) 465-5066. Please, click on the gold globe to learn more about Global Field Courses. Thanks.


text:
Oct. 11, 2002 - The US Congress votes overwhelmingly to authorise President George W. Bush to use force against Iraq, giving him a broad mandate to act against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. The Bush administration had argued that Iraq's weapons of mass destruction posed an immediate threat to U.S. and global security. Bush said that "the gathering threat of Iraq must be confronted fully and finally."
Feb. 6, 2003 - US Secretary of State Colin Powell sought international backing for military action against Iraq in a presentation before the UN Security Council, using satellite photos and communications intercepts to try to show Iraq's deceptions over weapons of mass destruction.
March 20, 2003 - US-led forces invade Iraq from Kuwait to oust Saddam Hussein. The US-led effort crushes the Iraqi military and chases Saddam from power in a span of weeks.
April 9, 2003 - US troops seize Baghdad. Saddam goes into hiding. Lawlessness quickly emerges in Iraq's capital and elsewhere, with U.S. troops failing to bring order.
May 1, 2003 - President George W. Bush declares that ''major combat operations in Iraq have ended'' and that ``in the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed.'' As he spoke aboard the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, a banner behind him stated, ``Mission Accomplished.''
Summer 2003 - An insurgency arises to fight US-led forces. US forces fail to find weapons of mass destruction.
Dec. 13, 2003 - US troops capture Saddam, bearded and bedraggled, hiding in a hole near Tikrit.
Jan. 28, 2004 - Top US weapons inspector David Kay acknowledges to the U.S. Congress that "we were almost all wrong" about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.
Spring 2004 - Insurgency intensifies with violence in Falluja and elsewhere in the mainly Sunni Muslim Anbar province as well as violence by followers of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in major Shi'ite cities in the south. The United States also faces international condemnation after photographs emerge showing abuse of detainees at the Abu Ghraib jail.
Feb. 22, 2006 - Bombing of a Shi'ite shrine in Samarra sparks widespread sectarian slaughter, raising fears of civil war between Iraq's majority Shi'ite and minority Sunni Muslims.
June 7, 2006 - Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al Qaeda's leader in Iraq, is killed by U.S. forces.
Dec. 30, 2006 - Saddam Hussein hanged by masked executioners after receiving a death sentence from an Iraqi court for the killings of 148 men and boys in a northern Iraqi town in 1982.
January 2007 - Bush formulates and announces a new war strategy including a "surge" of US troops into Iraq to combat the insurgency and pull Iraq back from the brink of civil war.
June 15, 2007 - US military completes its troop build-up to around 170,000 soldiers.
Aug. 29, 2007 - Moqtada al-Sadr orders his Mehdi Army militia to cease fire.
Nov. 17, 2008 - Iraq and the United States sign an accord requiring Washington to withdraw its forces by the end of 2011. The pact gives the government authority over the US mission for the first time, replacing a UN Security Council mandate. Parliament approves pact after negotiations 10 days later.
Feb. 27, 2009 - New US President Barack Obama announces a plan to end U.S. combat operations in Iraq by Aug. 31, 2010.
June 30, 2009 - All US combat units withdraw from Iraq's urban centers and redeploy to bases outside.
Oct. 4, 2011 - Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki wins support from political blocs on keeping U.S. troops as trainers, but they reject any deal that would grant US troops immunity as Washington had requested.
Oct. 21, 2011 - Obama says the United States will complete a withdrawal of all its remaining troops in Iraq by the end of 2011 after the two countries failed to reach a deal to leave several thousand US troops behind. The Pentagon said there have been more than 4,400 US military deaths in Iraq since the 2003 invasion.


text:
King Size Dunlopillo Firmrest Mattress
Ref. #2049
All Dunlopillo beds & mattresses are individually made for you. Delivery is typically 4 weeks. Once your order is ready you will be contacted to arrange FREE delivery.
Free Disposal offer must be added to basket
+ Show full details
+ Show guarantee & more


text:
YMPG series speed reducers come in torque ratings from 1500 to 500,000 N-m; most have four planet gears surrounding a sun gear. Modular system permits combining subassemblies. Configurations include in-line male or female spline output, angle drive male or female spline output, in-line or angle drive shrink disc output, special interchangeable, in-line or angle drive foot mounted spline output, and in-line or angle drive shrink disc shaft mount.
Young Powertech Inc.
(888) 465-3561


text:
Please wait...
LOGOSOL gives you a 2-year warranty on all machines. Consumable items, such as belts, guide bars and chains, are not covered by the warranty.
LOGOSOL gives you a two-months money back guarantee on all machines. You can test whether the machine meets your requirements before you make your final decision.
Peace of mind
LOGOSOL's peace-of-mind package provides you with a 2 year warranty and the right to return products within 2 months from date of delivery if they fail to live up to your expectations.
Quick delivery
Very speedy delivery of accessories and spare parts.
Unlimited support
Unlimited telephone support when it comes to product know-how and product use.
Long experience
Access to over 25 years' experience as market leader in the field of small-scale timber processing.
We provide service and support on our products. Skilled technicians answer your questions by phone, +353851395457 from 8.00 am to 4.00 pm all weekdays. You can also get support by email. We are happy to help you!


text:
Texas Legislature, House of Representatives, Committee of the Whole in the Investigation of Charges Made in the House of Representatives Against S.H. Terrell, Comptroller:
An Inventory of Proceedings at the Texas State Archives, 1930
Agency History
The first report of the Texas State Auditor and Efficiency Expert, filed in the Legislature, made serious charges of official misconduct against certain Texas state officials. The Comptroller of Public Accounts, S.H. Terrell, was particularly singled out and charged with 24 violations of the laws of the state and duties of the Comptroller, including inadequate and improper accounting, refusal to secure approval for accounts before presenting them to the State Treasurer for payment, and misappropriation of public funds. On February 7, during the Fourth Called Session of the 41st Legislature, 1930, Representative Alfred Petsch offered House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 18 proposing an investigation of these charges by means of a joint committee composed of two Senators and three Representatives. A quorum call was made for the purpose of voting on the resolution but a quorum was not achieved until February 10. By this time House members had decided on a different method of investigation, offering 18 counts of impeachment, authored by Representatives Petsch, Joseph McGill, and Coke Stevenson, against Comptroller Terrell. Representative McGill then offered an unnumbered simple resolution that the House resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole to take up the impeachment charges. McGill's resolution was adopted that day and HCR 18 was tabled.
The Texas Legislature's House Committee of the Whole in the Investigation of Charges Made in the House of Representatives Against S.H. Terrell, Comptroller, met for the first time at 5:30 in the evening on February 10, 1930. Representative Phil Sanders was appointed Chair, Representatives McGill Petsch, and Stevenson were appointed lawyers for the House, and Judge Sinks was appointed to decide on the admissibility of evidence. Terrell was allowed to select his own legal representation. The committee met to consider the impeachment charges on February 13, 17, 19, 20, 22, 24, and 25 (through the end of the Fourth Called Session and into the Fifth Called Session that began on February 19th). During the hearings on the 25th it was brought to the committee's attention that Comptroller Terrell had submitted his resignation to Governor Moody. Representative McGill immediately sent up a motion proposing that the House indefinitely postpone further consideration of the issue, since Terrell was now out of office and legal questions had arisen concerning the Legislature's continuing jurisdiction over the matter. McGill's motion passed unopposed.
Scope and Contents of the Records
Records consist of a transcript of the proceedings held in February of 1930 by the Texas Legislature's Committee of the Whole in the Investigation of Charges Made in the House of Representatives Against S.H. Terrell, Comptroller. The record contains testimony and mimeographed copies of financial documents collected by the Committee as evidence in the impeachment hearings held for S.H. Terrell, due to his alleged mismanagement and misappropriation of public funds.
The proceedings are not complete. The transcripts were compiled into six volumes, one for almost each day of the proceedings; the first volume is missing. The missing volume, most likely the record of the Committee's first meeting on February 13th, seems to have been 31 pages in length and contained copies of the Committee's authorizing legislation, the impeachment charges, and initial organizational planning.
To prepare this inventory, the described materials were cursorily reviewed to delineate series, to confirm the accuracy of contents lists, to provide an estimate of dates covered, and to determine record types.
Restrictions on Access
Restrictions on Use
Related Material
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
(Identify the item), Proceedings, Committee of the Whole in the Investigation of Charges Made in the House of Representatives Against S.H. Terrell, Comptroller, House of Representatives, Texas Legislature. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
Accession Information
Accession number: 2000/178
These records were transferred to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission by an unknown agency during the 20th century. An accession number was assigned on August 2, 2000 for purposes of control.
Processing Information
Nancy Enneking, August 2000
Other Formats for the Records
The entire record of the proceedings has been printed in the House Journal of the Fifth Called Session of the 41st Legislature.
Detailed Description of the Collection


text:
Questions? 800.462.2263
View your full shopping cart for taxes and shipping.
This product is so awesome, that it is temporarily out of stock or no longer available. With over 100,000 products, I'm sure we have something else that you would like.
Please contact our Customer Service Department at (800) 462-2263 or email us at
email@example.com for current product availability, ordering, or any questions you may have.
You may also want to try our Frequently Asked Questions Page or the options below:


text:
Jim Feuille and Mike Stark Know Their Stuff
Fund: Crosslink Capital
Posted by stealthguy on 2007-09-23
I recently pitched to Jim Feuille and Mike Stark for my startup in the consumer Internet space. They both are straight shooters that understand the sector. Jim has made investments in consumer companies such as Omniture, Pandora and Ancestry.com. There was a comment on here that said that Jim Feuille could be brutal. I agree that he had very focused questions, but I didn't think they were brutal at all. His questions actually showed that he understood the sector and got me thinking about things we could implement. As any entrepreneur should be, just be prepared when you pitch the firm. Overall, very positive experience. We are still waiting to hear back on the amount they are looking to invest in our seed round.PRIVATE: Members Only


text:
Or Login using BecomeGorgeous
Please fill the form below and follow the further instructions.
You are about to receive a email from us please make sure to check your spam or junk folder and add our email [email protected] to your contact list.
Thank you!
Lauren Conrad has definitely managed to make a new name for herself as a talented fashion designer. Her collaboration with Kohl's seems to be extremely fruitful as the famous department store released the LC Lauren Conrad for Kohl's Holiday 2011 Lookbook. In addition to looking utterly pretty, the collection is functional and versatile, perfect for fall chilly days. The beautiful tailored pieces in LC's new line have a girly vibe with a slight elegant touch and trust us when we tell you that it is impossible to resist its bewitching... Read More


text:
Interested in Language
1) We should make arrangement to meet up. Lets set/arrange a time,day and location for the meet up/ to meet up.
2) Since I have a flexible schedule, we should arrange the day, time and location according to your schedule.
3) My little brother always wants me to do everything according to his schedule/time.
4) My little brother always wants me to follow his schedule in everything.
* Are the above sentences correct? I'm learning how to writes sentences regarding scheduling a meet up and schedule. Hope somebody will help me. Thanks
Your best bet would be to post them one at a time. People are more likely to respond if you limit yourself to one sentence per thread. This is probably the reason why your thread hasn't attracted any comments.


text:
Convicted Murderer Steven L. Robbins Back in Custody After Mistakenly Released
(CHICAGO) -- A convicted murderer who was mistakenly released from a Chicago jail is back in custody Saturday, after authorities used leads and interviews with his family and friends to successfully track him down.
Steven L. Robbins, 44, of Gary, Ind., was rearrested without incident late Friday night in northeastern Illinois, and is in the custody of the Cook County Sheriff's Office, said Sheriff Thomas J. Dart in a news release.
Robbins was improperly released from jail as a result of what Dart had called "a clerical error" that was chalked up to an outdated paperwork system.
Robbins was serving a 60-year prison sentence after being convicted of shooting a man who tried to break up an altercation Robbins was having with his wife in Indiana in 2002.
He was brought to Chicago by Cook County sheriff's deputies on Wednesday for 20-year-old outstanding criminal warrant involving drug charges -- but unbeknownst to authorities, the case had actually been dismissed in 2007, reported ABC News Chicago station WLS.
Following the court appearance, Robbins was taken to a jail on the South Side of Chicago, and was subsequently released later in the day, rather than returning to Indiana to continue serving his murder sentence.
Robbins walked out of jail in civilian clothing given to him by the jail, according to ABC's Chicago affiliate WLS.
The Cook County Sheriff's Office launched a campaign to apprehend Robbins on Friday.
Sheriff Thomas Dart pointed to the office's paper records system for the serious slip up.
"Because no paperwork had gone to the jail about him coming from Indiana, all the people in the records room saw was a guy whose court case was dismissed," he said. "And so he -- like another 200 people a day we release -- was released...out the front door of the jail.
"It's all a paper system," Dart said. "And so when people start thinking it's maybe an inside job, the unfortunate reality is all these different detainees that we're dealing with every day -- and we move 1,500 a day -- the entire trail is a paper trail. It's not a computer message from the courtroom to the jail saying, 'Keep him for another 30 days or release him.' It's a piece of paper. We're not happy that it's that way. We've been trying to get it computerized, but it's not there."
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio


text:
Expand Your Portfolio, Help Increase Acquisition and Maximize Results
Prescreen combines the power of our credit-active consumer database with the precision of prescreened target lists built around credit based attributes and various scoring models. Increase acquisition by honing in on the markets and customers with greater propensity to benefit your portfolio. Prescreen creates the ideal target list by leveraging more than 1,500 credit attributes, including event and behavior based triggers, and allows you to create your own credit based attributes.
Gain access to the data depth that Equifax is known for while harnessing the agility to build specifically-targeted affinity campaigns to help your business:
- Drive higher acquisition rates with deeper consumer insights
- Help maximize revenue by focusing resources on the right targets
- Support customized account strategies by understanding credit profiles
- Identify stronger cross-sell and up-sell opportunities within your portfolio
Prescreen delivers pre-approved, valuable consumer prospects tailored to meet your credit profile criteria. Begin your campaign by using intuitive pre-packaged attributes based on credit risk, capacity and industry-specific propensity or take advantage of Prescreen's flexibility to use your existing custom scoring models and create custom credit based attributes.
Prescreen is a consumer report and its use is regulated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
Refine campaigns and prospect lists to fit precise marketing objectives with the powerful data perspective and tailored targeting Prescreen delivers.


text:
UBS news
UBS reports second quarter 2006 result of CHF 3,147 million
- Net profit attributable to UBS shareholders of CHF 3,147 million, up 47% from a year earlier-Attributable profit from continuing operations of CHF 3,088 million in second quarter, up 49% from a year earlier-Financial businesses contributed CHF 3,032 million to attributable profit, up 51% from the same period a year earlier (from continuing operations) - just 0.5% short of the record achieved in first quarter 2006 -Diluted EPS of CHF 1.48 in second quarter 2006 was up 51% or CHF 0.50 from CHF 0.98 a year earlier. Annualized ROE reached 29.6% in first half 2006-Overall new money was healthy at CHF 36.3 billion in second quarter, with CHF 31.2 billion inflow from wealth management businesses worldwideIn first half 2006, attributable profit from financial businesses was CHF 6,080 million, up 34% from CHF 4,538 million in the same period a year earlier
UBS reports net profit attributable to its shareholders ("attributable profit") of CHF 3,147 million in second quarter 2006, up from CHF 2,147 million in the same period a year earlier.
Financial businesses contributed CHF 3,032 million to attributable net profit, up 51% from a year earlier (from continuing operations). The result was close to the all-time record set in first quarter 2006. In first half 2006, attributable profit from the financial businesses was CHF 6,080 million, up from CHF 4,538 million in the same period a year earlier.
UBS's industrial holdings, which now comprise only the private equity portfolio, contributed CHF 115 million, or 3.7%, to UBS's second quarter attributable profit.
"Our performance was strong - and achieved despite the market reversal in the middle of May. Recurring income continued to benefit from the high levels of invested assets. Underwriting fees were at a record. Corporate finance and brokerage fees rose, as did revenues from trading activities," said Clive Standish, Chief Financial Officer.
Total operating income from the financial businesses rose to CHF 12,057 million in second quarter 2006, up 33% from the same period a year earlier. Asset-based revenues, such as fees from investment funds or portfolio management, continued to benefit from the high levels of invested assets. Underwriting fees were at a record on growth in equity underwriting across the globe. In investment banking, UBS did especially well in Asia, including acting as joint global coordinator and bookrunner in the initial public offering of the Bank of China. Corporate finance fees were up from the same period a year earlier in the brisk merger and acquisition environment. Brokerage fees from institutional and private clients rose, with activity being especially vigorous at the beginning of the quarter. Revenues from trading activities rose in all products. In equities, the rise was led by derivatives and the expansion of prime brokerage. Fixed income saw increases in mortgage-backed securities and derivatives. Foreign exchange trading revenues also rose. Net income from interest margin products rose due to growing margin lending volumes in the wealth management businesses.
Overall performance was further helped by gains on the disposal of financial investments held in the Investment Bank.
Total financial businesses operating expenses rose 25% to CHF 8,017 million. The increase is due to higher personnel expenses and general and administrative costs as UBS continued to expand its business in all key markets. Personnel expenses, reflecting continued hiring, rose on higher salary expenses and increased performance-related accruals. General and administrative expenses increased with higher professional fees, increases in IT and other outsourcing, travel and entertainment, occupancy, marketing and public relations expenses. The same period a year earlier saw general and administrative expenses reduced by the release of provisions. Overall performance was further helped by another quarter of credit loss recoveries.
The number of personnel in the financial businesses was 71,882 on 30 June 2006, up 2,313 from 69,569 on 31 December 2005, with staff levels increasing across most businesses. In the Americas, personnel levels rose by 3% to 27,874 compared with the end of 2005, in Asia Pacific they were up 18% at 6,388 and in Europe they gained 6% to 11,716. In Switzerland, staff numbers fell by 0.5% to 25,904 because of the transfer of UBS facility management activities to Edelweiss in first quarter. Excluding the impact of Edelweiss, Swiss staff numbers rose by 525 or 2%.
BIS Tier 1 ratio, risk-weighted assets
The BIS Tier 1 ratio was 12.2% on 30 June 2006, down from 12.9% on 31 March 2006. Risk-weighted assets stood at CHF 315.9 billion, up CHF 4.1 billion from 31 March 2006. Off-balance sheet positions rose, mainly due to undrawn credit facilities provided to corporate clients in the Investment Bank's syndicated finance business.
BIS Tier 1 capital on 30 June 2006 stood at CHF 38.4 billion, down from CHF 40.3 billion on 31 March 2006. It was driven by the announced acquisitions of Banco Pactual, Piper Jaffray and ABN Amro's global futures and options business, which reduced Tier 1 capital by CHF 3.9 billion and the Tier 1 ratio by 1.2 percentage points. Dividend accruals, currency impacts and share repurchases further reduced BIS Tier 1 capital. These effects were largely offset by strong quarterly net profit. UBS also issued USD 1,000 million in trust preferred stock in May, more than offsetting redemptions of USD 300 million made later in the quarter.
DRCM launched
Dillon Read Capital Management (DRCM), UBS's new alternative investment management business, started operating in early June. The business, with 156 employees, was transferred from the Investment Bank to Global Asset Management on 5 June 2006. The DRCM business manages alternative investment vehicles, initially on behalf of the Investment Bank. Outside investor funds will be launched later this year.
The more difficult trading conditions that developed towards the end of the second quarter have continued. Growing geopolitical concerns, combined with worries about the pace of future economic growth, inflation and the implications for monetary policy and interest rates, continue to affect investor activity and invested asset levels. This could indicate a return to a more normal seasonal pattern for financial firms, where a strong start to the year is followed by softening performance in the second half.
On the other hand, corporate sector balance sheets and profits remain robust, merger and acquisition activity strong, and the secular growth drivers for the wealth and asset management industry remain intact. The deal pipeline of the Investment Bank remains healthy.
"When market conditions become more difficult, the trust that clients have in our advice becomes especially important. We believe this will be another year of strong results," said Peter Wuffli, Chief Executive Officer.
Performance against targets
UBS focuses on four key performance indicators, designed to ensure the delivery of continuously improving returns to shareholders. The first two indicators, return on equity and diluted earnings per share, are calculated on a full UBS basis. The cost/income ratio and net new money indicators are limited to the financial businesses. Results show:
Annualized return on equity from continuing operations at 29.6% in first half 2006, up from 26.9% in the same period a year earlier, and well above UBS's target of 20% minimum over the cycle. Higher attributable net profit was offset by an increase in average equity from retained earnings.
Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of CHF 1.48, up 51% or CHF 0.50 from CHF 0.98 in the same quarter a year earlier, reflecting the increase in net profit and a 2% reduction in the average number of shares outstanding on further share buybacks. These figures reflect the 2-for-1 share split made on 10 July 2006.
A cost/income ratio in the financial businesses of 66.7%, down from 71.2% in the same quarter last year. The improvement reflected higher revenues in all businesses, outpacing the increase in personnel and general and administrative expenses.
Net new money of CHF 36.3 billion, up from CHF 31.0 billion a year earlier. Inflows remained strong. The wealth management units recorded inflows of CHF 31.2 billion this quarter, up from CHF 20.2 billion in second quarter 2005. Inflows in the international and Swiss wealth management business rose to a record CHF 30.5 billion, driven by all-time high inflows from Asian and European clients. Annual client tax payments and the negative market environment, however, depressed inflows into the wealth management business in the US. Global Asset Management inflows fell to CHF 3.6 billion, down from CHF 8.9 billion a year earlier. Inflows from institutional clients in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and alternative and quantitative products were partly offset by equities outflows in the US. The wholesale intermediary business recorded equities and fixed income outflows, due to market volatility, which were partly offset by inflows into asset allocation funds. The Swiss retail banking business recorded net new money inflows of CHF 1.5 billion.
Invested assets
Invested assets totaled CHF 2,657 billion at the end of June, down 4% from 31 March 2006, with the effects of the US dollar's decline against the Swiss franc and market movements being greater than net new money.
Results from the Financial Businesses
Global Wealth Management & Business Banking
Global Wealth Management & Business Banking achieved pre-tax profits of CHF 2,094 million in second quarter 2006.
Pre-tax profit for the Wealth Management International & Switzerland businesses rose to another quarterly record of CHF 1,283 million, advancing 1% from first quarter 2006. Total operating income was up 3% from first quarter 2006. Recurring income increased, benefiting from higher interest income as a result of the increased lending portfolio and the high asset base at the beginning of second quarter. Weaker markets and a falling US dollar meant that the asset base was lower at the end of the quarter than at the beginning. Non-recurring income fell slightly on lower client activity levels.
Operating expenses were up 6% from first quarter 2006. Personnel expenses rose, mainly because of increasing staff numbers. General and administrative expenses were up from first quarter due to continued business expansion.
Net new money in second quarter 2006 was a record CHF 30.5 billion, up 23% from CHF 24.7 billion in first quarter 2006. The international clients area reported inflows of CHF 28.8 billion, driven by record inflows into the domestic European business and another quarter of strong contributions from Asian clients. The Swiss clients area showed an inflow of CHF 1.7 billion, down from a very high CHF 2.9 billion in first quarter 2006.
Income in the European wealth management business in second quarter 2006 rose 7% from the previous quarter, reflecting the increase in average invested assets. The record CHF 7.2 billion inflow of net new money was due to a strong performance in all five target countries, especially the UK and France.
In second quarter 2006, Wealth Management US reported a pre-tax profit of CHF 179 million, down 4% compared with CHF 186 million in first quarter 2006. On the same basis but in US dollars, the operating result was a record USD 146 million and 2% higher than first quarter 2006. Total operating income in second quarter 2006 was CHF 1,380 million, down 7% from the CHF 1,478 million in first quarter 2006. In US dollar terms, operating income was down 1% from the first quarter, which included a reported gain on NYSE membership seats. A record recurring income result offset the decline in trading commissions, which reflected declining markets. The cost/income ratio was 87.0% in second quarter 2006, down from 87.4% in first quarter 2006.
In second quarter 2006, Business Banking Switzerland reported a pre-tax profit of CHF 632 million - CHF 73 million or 13% higher than in first quarter 2006. Total operating income in second quarter 2006 was CHF 1,357 million, up CHF 46 million from first quarter 2006. Net interest income, which rose CHF 24 million to CHF 843 million in second quarter 2006, mostly reflected the further expansion of the loan portfolio. Non-interest income increased to CHF 463 million in second quarter 2006 from CHF 442 million a quarter earlier, mainly due to revaluation gains from equity participations and a slight increase in fee income.
The loan portfolio, at CHF 143.2 billion on 30 June 2006, was CHF 1.3 billion above its level on 31 March 2006. Increased demand for private client mortgages more than offset the continuing workout of the recovery portfolio, which fell by CHF 0.2 billion to CHF 2.9 billion on 30 June 2006.
Global Asset Management
Global Asset Management achieved pre-tax profits of CHF 334 million in second quarter 2006, down 11% from CHF 374 million in first quarter 2006, but 52% higher than CHF 220 million in second quarter 2005. Performance-based fees fell from first quarter, especially in alternative and quantitative investments. Investment management fees, however, continued to rise on the back of the strong net new money inflows in the first quarter and the higher asset base in the first part of the second quarter.
Net new money in the institutional business was CHF 4.9 billion, down from CHF 7.1 billion in first quarter 2006. The decline reflected outflows in equities, mainly in the US. Inflows were seen in alternative and quantitative investments' multi-manager products, fixed income, real estate and asset allocation mandates. In the wholesale intermediary business, net new money outflows in second quarter were CHF 1.3 billion, compared with a CHF 5.5 billion inflow in first quarter 2006. Excluding outflows related to money market funds, the inflow of net new money was CHF 0.2 billion. Inflows were into asset allocation funds while there were outflows in equity and fixed income funds.
Investment Bank
Pre-tax profit in second quarter 2006 was CHF 1,754 million, up 57% from second quarter 2005. Higher revenues in all three business areas more than offset the increase in expenses. Cost levels rose due to higher personnel and general and administrative expenses, mainly reflecting business growth. Compared with first quarter 2006, pre-tax profit was almost unchanged.
Total operating income in second quarter 2006 was CHF 5,715 million, up 50% from the same quarter a year earlier.
The equities business posted revenues of CHF 2,280 million in second quarter 2006, up 59% from the same period in 2005. While the quarter started well, investor concerns about the direction of interest rates and higher inflation prompted market conditions to turn less favorable as the quarter progressed. UBS saw significant growth in its derivatives business, particularly in the Americas. Primary revenues increased partly from UBS's role as joint global coordinator and bookrunner of Bank of China's IPO. Cash equity revenues saw solid growth across all regions as volumes increased in the first part of the quarter. Prime brokerage services continued to grow strongly, reflecting the increase in client numbers and customer balances. Equity linked products also had a good quarter, benefiting from the continued recovery in convertibles markets. Revenues were further enhanced by gains on the sale of UBS's stakes in the London Stock Exchange and Babcock & Brown. Compared with first quarter 2006, equities revenues were down 20%. Most businesses, except for prime brokerage, experienced declines.
Fixed income, rates and currencies revenues were CHF 2,626 million in second quarter 2006, up 50% from the same quarter a year ago. The rates business saw strong performances in mortgage backed securities and derivatives, offsetting a decrease in revenues in energy trading. The credit business saw a year-on-year increase driven by structured investment grade credit trading. UBS recorded a loss of CHF 30 million relating to Credit Default Swaps (CDSs) hedging its loan exposures, compared with zero in second quarter 2005. Municipal securities revenues were down due to a drop in overall market origination activity, which fell from a very strong prior year quarter. Metals, in particular precious metals, performed very well in volatile markets. The business activities managed by DRCM on behalf of the Investment Bank recorded higher revenues in second quarter compared with the same period a year earlier. The quarter also saw record results in the foreign exchange and cash and collateral trading businesses as UBS successfully converted the larger volumes into higher revenues. The gain on the sale of its stake in EBS Group (formerly Electronic Broking Services) also contributed to the result. Compared with first quarter 2006, fixed income, rates and currencies revenues were up 7%, with revenue increases seen in most businesses.
Investment banking revenues, at CHF 795 million, rose 33% from second quarter 2005. This reflected revenue growth in all regions, particularly in Asia Pacific where UBS's role in the Bank of China IPO was a highlight of the quarter. Revenues from the advisory business showed solid increases. Equity capital markets and leveraged finance saw very strong improvements, while debt capital markets revenues were down from the record result achieved last year. Compared with first quarter 2006, investment banking revenues were up 19%, with growth seen in all businesses.
Total operating expenses in second quarter 2006 were CHF 3,961 million, up 48% from the same period last year. Personnel expenses were CHF 2,988 million, up 48% from a year earlier, driven by increases in salaries and the continued growth of the business, which resulted in higher personnel numbers and increased recruiting costs. In addition, accruals for cash bonuses were up compared with second quarter 2005, reflecting revenue growth. General and administrative expenses increased by 52% to CHF 713 million. Professional fees rose, driven by litigation and project expenses, which included costs for DRCM's transfer. In second quarter 2005, UBS also reversed a previously made provision for operational risks. IT outsourcing costs also rose, partly due to investments in the equities infrastructure and the continued offshoring capability buildup.
Market risk for the Investment Bank, as measured by the average 10-day 99% confidence Value at Risk (VaR), fell to CHF 408 million in second quarter 2006 from CHF 429 million in first quarter 2006. Quarter-end VaR was also lower at CHF 390 million compared with CHF 436 million at the end of the previous quarter. Interest rate risk remained the largest contributor to overall Investment Bank VaR while the contribution of equities fell in significance over the period.


text:
|Watertown, MA
|High School:
2010: Appeared in four games, making three starts before losing rest of the season to injury...Named to 2010 Gladiator by SGI/NHHCA National Academic Squad (3.30 GPA or better).
2009: Appeared in all 19 games and made nine starts for the Pioneers...Registered two assists in 4-3 overtime win against Bucknell (9/13).
2008: Started all 19 games for the Red & White.
2007: Appeared in nine games off the bench for the Pioneers in her rookie season...Named to Zag/NFHCA All-Academic Team.
High School: Played four years of field hockey and girls ice hockey at Watertown high school...Served as field hockey captain senior year...Member of three time Middlesex field hockey league champions...Field hockey league all-star...Two year assistant captain for girls ice hockey team...Two year captain of girls ice hockey team...Named most valuable defensive player as a freshman...Won girls ice hockey sportsmanship award senior year...Named 2007 Watertown High School Outstanding Female Athlete...Selected as 2007 Senior Academic Athlete.
Personal: Hannah Robinson. Born: 7/7/89. Parents: Scott and Patricia Robinson. Siblings: Jerry and Morgan. Major: Finance and Economics. Hobbies: Waterskiing, skiing, swimming, ice hockey, shopping. Favorite Teams: Boston Red Sox, Bruins, and Celtics. Favorite Athlete: Rajon Rondo. Favorite Book: The Twilight Series. Favorite Movie: Office Space. Favorite TV Show: Glee. Favorite Food: Steak Tips.


text:
About Us
Contact Us
You are here:
Home »
BBQ Grills
» The Best Weber BBQ Grill
Popular posts
Is There Really Any Difference In The Weber Genesis Grill Series?
Gas Grills
May 18, 2016
The Best BBQ Grills Review
BBQ Grills
May 02, 2016
The Best Weber BBQ Grill
BBQ Grills
May 02, 2016
Review of Dyna-Glo 3-Burner Gas Grill, DGB390SNP-B
Gas Grills
May 03, 2016
Notice This website or its third-party tools use cookies, which are necessary to its functioning and required to achieve the purposes illustrated in the cookie policy. If you want to know more or withdraw your consent to all or some of the cookies, please refer to the cookie policy. By closing this banner, scrolling this page, clicking a link or continuing to browse otherwise, you agree to the use of cookies.
Read more


text:
Challenges facing the Australian diamond industry
Michelle Smith — Exclusive to Diamond Investing News
After five years of declines, primarily attributed to low production, poor prices, and a high Australian dollar, IBISWorld's "Industries to fly and fall in 2012" report forecasts a "revenue rebound" for Australia's diamond and gemstone mining industry that will involve five years of growth with industry revenues climbing to $947.3 million by 2016-17.
Expectations for a rebound should be balanced with the realization that this industry has faced years of declines, which include falling export volumes and export values. Efforts are being made to improve the situation, but there are still risks and challenges ahead.
While there is an insignificant degree of small-scale mining for other gems, such as sapphire and opal, Australia's gem and diamond mining industry almost exclusively consists of Gem Diamonds (LSE:GEMD) and Rio Tinto(NYSE:RIO,ASX:RIO,LSE:RIO).
Rio Tinto production and plans
Of the two companies, Rio Tinto mines the most diamonds, producing the majority at its Argyle mine, where 90 percent of the world's pink and red diamonds are mined.
At its prime, annual production at the mine reportedly fluctuated between 20 and 30 million carats, but it has been years since Rio has produced anything close to that amount. Argyle's production in the past five years has tumbled from double to single digits, with fewer than eight million carats coming from the mine from 2010-11.
Rio Tinto reported that 2011 production declined 24 percent compared with 2010, citing heavy rains, lower ore grades, and maintenance shutdowns.
IBISWorld's projections are largely based on the expectation that Argyle will again be good for 20 million carats per year once Rio Tinto's underground development project is completed.
In 2005, Rio Tinto decided to extend Argyle's lifespan by transitioning from open pit to underground mining, a plan that included an open pit cutback project to facilitate production during processing. This project, which aims to allow mining at least through to 2019, has faced a number of challenges.
In December, the company adjusted its assumption of the costs, and approved another $0.5 billion, deeming it necessary because of a record 2010-11 wet season and adverse exchange rate movements. The project's budget has swelled to $2.1 billion, and full production is not expected until 2014.
Falling production volumes have been associated with this type of transition in the past, but this year Argyle is expected to produce about 13 million carats.
Gem Diamonds production and plans
Gem Diamonds owns the Ellendale mine, which is the source of half the world's rare yellow diamonds. Like Rio, the company has also faced challenges over the past several years, including production struggles.
In Q4 2011, Ellendale's rates of ore mined and carats recovered were down compared with Q4 2010. However, the company reported that production improved compared to the previous 2011 quarters.
Gem Diamonds began taking steps to improve operations in the latter half of last year, including major wet front end modifications. Though all planned improvements are not expected to be completed until the end of this month, the efforts appear to be paying off, as the company reported "significant improvement in production performance" in the final quarter, with the highest carat recovery of 2011 occurring in November.
But, while the company was raking in substantially more per carat from its yellow diamond agreement with Tiffany and Co. in Q4 2011 than in Q4 2010, Gem Diamondsreported that rough diamond prices had taken a hit due to the Eurozone crisis.
Money problems
A strong Australian dollar acts as a weight on diamond mining profits because diamonds are priced in US dollars. When the US dollar is stronger, sales result in more Australian dollars in the bank. The opposite occurs when the Aussie dollar strengthens.
Some easing of the nation's currency is expected this year, but the Australian diamond industry still faces other money challenges, such as how much is being spent for its products. Achieving IBISWorld's forecast will require healthy demand and strong prices.
2012 diamond debut
The diamond market of 2012 is not replicating that of 2011, when prices soared for more than half of the year. Instead, this year's market is off to a lukewarm start following a correction that began unfolding in Q4 of 2011. These conditions are widely expected to remain, at least through the first quarter.
Emerging nations – especially India and China – are widely regarded as essential growth markets for diamonds, and are expected to be drivers for strong industry performance going forward. Yet there is some concern about a slowdown in these economies.
Almost all of Australia's diamonds are exported, with the majority of Argyle production going to India. The Indian diamond market, is not especially robust. Last year, while the prices were up, the value of India's diamond imports increased, however, the volume decreased, with Q4 showing severe weakness.
India has been grappling with inflation and a weak rupee, which has resulted in USD-priced goods becoming much more expensive. The rupee is recovering, but the Indian government is also looking for cash. One means of getting it is through the new two percent tax on polished diamond imports announced last month.
How this tax will impact the market remains to be seen. During the first eleven months of 2011, India's polished imports rose to $18.8 billion.
Since India is a manufacturing hub, much of what flows in heads back out to other other markets.
Asian buyers appear laid back recently. Chinese sales were steady for last month's new year festivities. However, concerns about a potential economic slowdown are believed to be behind cooling sentiments among suppliers and consumers there.
Likewise, the US is the largest diamond consumer. Demand was satisfactory for the December holiday season, but with festivities gone, enthusiasm for diamond purchases appears to have also simmered down.
The Luxury Consumption Index shows that luxury consumer confidence slid in January, and average spending was also reportedly down in Q4.
The Eurozone crisis has weakened the appetite for diamonds in that region.
Lately discussions about the diamond market are accompanied by the word "caution." The shakey demand picture illustrates a good reason why.
"Diamonds are a luxury product," IBISWorld says, and "demand tends to fall disproportionately heavily during times of economic downturn and rise sharply when economic conditions and consumer confidence improve. Investors should factor this into their decisions."
Diamond outlook
With increased production and rising prices, IBISWorld foresees a profitable turnaround for Australia's industry. Diamond and gemstone mining sits at the top of its list of growth industries, and is expected to rake in nearly $600 million this year.
Rio Tinto warns of significant risks related to the Eurozone crisis, the threat of contagion to developing nations – especially China – and the potential for financial crisis. However, the company also expects a revival in the diamond market as excess stocks are cleared, noting that medium run consumer demand looks positive.
Securities Disclosure: I, Michelle Smith, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Read at Resource Investing News.


text:
Royals have more than one worthy of ASG
DETROIT -- The Royals haven't had a player elected to the American League's All-Star starting lineup in a dozen years. This might be the time.
Left fielder Alex Gordon and designated Billy Butler have built the kind of credentials that can appeal to voters nationally as, starting on Wednesday, they select the starters for the 2013 Midsummer Classic on July 16 at Citi Field.
DETROIT -- The Royals haven't had a player elected to the American League's All-Star starting lineup in a dozen years. This might be the time.
Left fielder Alex Gordon and designated Billy Butler have built the kind of credentials that can appeal to voters nationally as, starting on Wednesday, they select the starters for the 2013 Midsummer Classic on July 16 at Citi Field.
Fans can cast their votes for starters at MLB.com and all 30 club sites -- online or via your mobile device -- using the 2013 All-Star Game MLB.com Ballot until July 4 at 10:59 p.m. CT.
In addition, ballots will be available at Kauffman Stadium from April 26 through June 9.
Gordon has become a complete player, not only hitting a composite .301 over the last three years (through Tuesday) but winning Gold Glove Awards for fielding excellence in both 2011 and '12.
"He's a very, very solid Major League player, in all aspects of his game," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "He could play on anybody's team -- he's a championship-caliber player. I don't know what else to say."
Butler is more the one-dimensional type, but he's been acclaimed the American League's best in that dimension. Last year, he was voted winner of the Edgar Martinez Designated Hitter Award and also won the Silver Slugger Award as the AL's top DH.
In 2012, Butler had his best marks in the Triple Crown categories with a .313 batting average, 29 home runs and 107 RBIs. No wonder that, along the way, he was selected as the Royals' player on the AL team at the All-Star Game last July 10 at Kansas City.
"When you win the Silver Slugger as a DH, that [position] means pretty much the best hitters on the team, guys whose sole job is to hit baseballs, and he's the best of the best," Yost said.
The entire Royals' regular lineup is listed on the AL All-Star ballot. It includes two other players that Yost believed deserved serious consideration last year -- shortstop Alcides Escobar and third baseman Mike Moustakas -- and a catcher, Salvador Perez, who the manager says has All-Star potential.
Also on the ballot are center fielder Lorenzo Cain, who through the weekend ranked among the AL's top 10 hitters with a .368 average; right fielder Jeff Francoeur, second baseman Chris Getz and first baseman Eric Hosmer.
The voting is pretty easy.
Fans may submit 25 online ballots during the voting period, but also can earn a one-time bonus of 10 additional online ballots. To access these additional online ballots, you must be logged into your MLB.com account when you submit any online ballot. If you do not have an MLB.com account, visit mlb.com and register in accordance with the enrollment instructions for a free MLB.com account.
Fans can also once again participate in the Home Run Derby Fan Poll. Fans will have the opportunity to select three players in each league whom they would most like to see participate in the Home Run Derby. The 2013 Home Run Derby -- part of Gatorade All-Star Workout Day -- will be broadcast live on ESPN, ESPN HD, ESPN Deportes and ESPN Radio in the United States beginning at 7 p.m. CT on July 15.
The 2013 AL and National League All-Star teams will be unveiled on July 7 on the 2013 MLB All-Star Game Selection Show, televised nationally on TBS. Baseball fans around the world will then be able to select the final player on each team via the All-Star Game Final Vote sponsored by freecreditscore.com on MLB.com.
The voting doesn't end there. The final phase of All-Star Game voting will again have fans participating in the official voting for the Ted Williams All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet. During the Midsummer Classic, fans will vote exclusively online at MLB.com via the 2013 All-Star Game MLB.com MVP Vote, and their voice will represent 20 percent of the official vote determining the recipient of the Arch Ward Trophy.
Come to MLB.com for extensive online coverage of the All-Star Week festivities.
The 84th All-Star Game will be televised nationally by FOX Sports, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS, and worldwide by partners in more than 200 countries via MLB International's independent feed. ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide national radio coverage of the All-Star Game. MLB Network and SiriusXM also will also provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more information, please visit allstargame.com.
Oh, and the last Royals player to be elected to the AL starting lineup in the fans' vote? Outfielder Jermaine Dye in 2000, when the game was at Atlanta.


text:
House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer, a strong advocate of the U.S.-Israel relationship, issued the following statement regarding H.Res. 38 (Expressing support for the accession of Israel to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)), which passed the U.S. House today. In August, Hoyer led a Congressional delegation of 14 Democrats on a week-long visit to Israel that included presentations on the nation's economy and security challenges:
"This Resolution is a very important statement by the House of Representatives that we support equal treatment for our democratic ally, the State of Israel, which too often has been the target of unequal treatment in international bodies, including the United Nations.
"Israel has been trying to join the OECD since 2000, and it meets the economic and institutional criteria necessary to join this body. The bottom line is, Israeli officials believe that joining the OECD will help Israel attract foreign investment, and could enhance its status as a global market and within international financial institutions.
"I know from personal experience that the Israeli people are enterprising and resilient. And I believe the United States should assist our democratic ally in developing and strengthening its economy through participation in international bodies such as the OECD."


text:
During the course of two generations, the Buick LaCrosse has been a large, five-passenger sedan. That's really where the similarities end, though, as they are radically different cars indicative of much different eras for the Buick brand.
The first LaCrosse was the epitome of old Buick, in more ways than one. Bland to look at, blander to drive and with a cabin filled with subpar materials, it was a decade behind the times. Its large size and simple controls at least made it popular among senior car shoppers. The current-generation LaCrosse, however, is a far more modern, stylish and overall impressive automobile that is not only one of the better full-size sedans you can buy, but even gives certain luxury-branded large sedans a run for their money. Regardless of your age, it's definitely worth consideration.
Current Buick LaCrosse
The Buick LaCrosse is a large sedan that blends modern styling and surprisingly accomplished handling with traditional Buick traits like light-effort steering and a cushy ride. The base engine consists of a mild-hybrid setup dubbed "eAssist" that pairs a 2.4-liter 182-horsepower four-cylinder engine with an 11-kilowatt electric motor and a lithium-ion battery pack. Fuel mileage estimates for this roomy sedan are impressive, at almost 30 mpg combined. A 3.6-liter V6 with 303 hp is also available. A six-speed automatic is the lone transmission choice either way. Front-wheel drive is standard, though V6 buyers can also opt for all-wheel drive.
There are four trim levels: base, Leather, Premium 1 and Premium 2. Even the base is well equipped, with 17-inch alloy wheels, a power driver seat, dual-zone automatic climate control, OnStar, Bluetooth, a USB/iPod interface and smartphone integration. Moving up through the trims provides an ever-growing standard features list -- a rearview camera, heated and ventilated front seats and xenon headlights among them -- culminating in the Premium 2, which counts 20-inch wheels and a navigation system among its standard niceties. Packages are available that add options that include blind-spot, lane-departure and forward-collision warning systems.
In reviews, we've been impressed by the LaCrosse's appealing dual nature. Those looking for a traditional, plush Buick ride will be pleased. At the same time, so will those looking for a more engaging full-size sedan, as the LaCrosse is surprisingly nimble and sure-footed given its size. It's not a sport sedan, but it is on par with the Lexus ES 350, and gives up nothing in ride comfort. Spirited acceleration makes the 3.6-liter V6 the obvious choice for those who demand some old-fashioned grunt from their big sedan, though the high fuel efficiency of the eAssist powertrain makes its sluggish acceleration a lot easier to tolerate.
The LaCrosse also impresses in non-dynamic respects. The backseat is roomy and comfortable, and the front seats offer firm support that's more German sedan than American land yacht. The dashboard design is sleek and sophisticated, and materials quality is good except for some rough plastic edges and superfluous chrome here and there. Buick's Intellilink electronics control is dominated by a large touchscreen that does a fairly good job of controlling infotainment tasks both simple (changing a radio station) and complicated (entering a navigation destination). One of our few complaints involves the 13-cubic-foot trunk, which is unusually small for this segment. The hybrid's trunk shrinks even more -- down to 10.8 cubic feet -- to accommodate the battery pack.
Used Buick LaCrosse Models
The second-generation LaCrosse debuted for 2010 and was offered in base CX, midlevel CXL and top-of-the-line CXS trim levels. Initially, there were two V6 engines offered: a 255-hp, 3.0-liter V6 and a 280-hp, 3.6-liter V6. Later that model year, a 182-hp, 2.4-liter inline-4 became the base engine, but it's quite underpowered and we'd avoid it. The smaller V6 was dropped the following year and the four-cylinder version gained a new electric power steering system. The eAssist hybrid replaced the base four-cylinder for '12.
These LaCrosse models sold prior to 2014 had slightly different exterior styling and Buick's previous-generation interior electronics controls that featured a great many buttons and could be confusing to use. Intellilink's smartphone integration features as well as electronic safety features like lane change alerts and rear cross traffic alerts were also unavailable prior to '14.
The first-generation Buick LaCrosse was produced for the 2005-'09 model years. Its basic platform was similar to that of a few other General Motors products, including the Pontiac Grand Prix. Its highlights were available six-passenger seating (with a front bench seat), a large trunk and a soft, isolated and quiet ride.
There were three trim levels for most of the original LaCrosse's run: CX, CXL and CXS. The Super model joined the lineup in 2008. The CX and CXL were powered by GM's venerable 3.8-liter, 200-horsepower V6, while the CXS got a 3.6-liter V6 good for 240 hp, and the Super was motivated by a 5.3-liter small-block V8 providing 300 hp. All engines routed their power to the front wheels through a four-speed automatic transmission.
The CX came with basics like air-conditioning and full power accessories, while the CXL stepped up to leather upholstery, automatic climate control and more upscale exterior trim. The CXS added the peppier V6, 17-inch alloy wheels, a sport-tuned suspension, a quicker steering ratio and a split-folding rear seat. The top-of-the-line Super featured a broad-shouldered V8, a sport suspension, unique front and rear styling and dual chrome exhaust outlets.
In reviews, our editors found the first-generation Buick LaCrosse to be a mixed bag. On the plus side, the car offered Buick's traditional soft, quiet ride, and acceleration was fine, particularly with the Super's V8, a rarity in a front-drive luxury car. The gauges were easily read, and storage space was ample thanks to the roomy 16-cubic-foot trunk.
However, we thought the soft seats unsupportive on longer drives, and found the car's faux wood trim and standard "mouse fur" upholstery a bit hokey. Furthermore, there was an abundance of cheap plastics on the center console, and the backseat offered rather tight accommodations for a car this size. As you might expect, the LaCrosse was "LaConfused" when driven through corners with any gusto, displaying significant body roll and lazy steering response. The four-speed automatic was another liability, as competing cars typically offered more efficient five- and six-speed units.
Notable changes during the original Buick LaCrosse's run began in 2006, when head-protecting side curtain airbags and antilock brakes became standard on all models. The Super joined the lineup for 2008, while Bluetooth was added (and the CXS model dropped) for 2009, the last year of production.


text:
First, murderous foreign agents make a deadly attack on America's prewar defenses in "The Black Bat and the Trojan Horse," an action-packed thriller edited by future Batman editor Mort Weisinger!
Then, the Scourge of the Underworld foils the Dragon Master's nefarious plans in "The Black Bat's Dragon Trail," as Tony Quinn attempts to prevent the exploitation of China by a war profiteer!
Plus, the Mask returns in a Golden Age classic from Nedor's Exciting Comics #6.
Softcover. 128 Pages. Black & White. 7" x 10"


text:
Explaining the Illustration: Most of us are born with two kidneys as seen above. However, according to the National Kidney Foundation, one out of 750 people are born with a single kidney. This is more common in males with the left kidney being the one more often absent. Our oldest son, who is almost ten, was diagnosed with this condition two years ago.
The Story
A nagging fear that has been in the back of my mind for almost two years was erased yesterday by the wand of a sonographer at a local hospital. Since September 27, 2006, I've had this foggy memory of a long ago conversation with a sonographer who was perfoming the standard second-term ultrasound for one of my pregnancies.
"I only see one kidney. Do you either of you have a history of this in your family?" she asked my husband and I.
"No," I said, not expecting that question at all. My husband agreed that we didn't have a history of single kidneys in the family.
"It must be how the baby is positioned then," she said.
'Yes, it must be that," I thought.
And that was the end of the topic until eight years later (on the very day noted above) when a pediatric specialist told me that our eldest son had a single kidney, dysplasia, and renal reflux. I was by myself with my son, two hours from home when I heard the news from the pediatric nephrologist (kidney doctor) after he received the results from the renal ultrasound and the flouroscopy that was performed an hour earlier. The diagnosis devastated me.
'Why on earth wasn't this found sooner?' I thought at the time. Like I had at the ultrasound years earlier, I wanted to deny that my child had a single kidney. I also wanted to deny the newly acquired knowledge that my guy's single kidney had some scarring and that it was connected to the bladder by an ill-positioned urinary tract that caused a backwash of bodily fluid from the bladder to the kidney (renal reflux).
But I was there for both tests and couldn't deny a problem when staff members made emergency appointments with a nephrologist and urologist. I was strong until I called my husband to tell him why I was late. Then, the tears flowed and my voiced wavered as I reported the news to my husband.
He was shocked too. Although the tests were ordered after a fairly serious urinary tract infected that resulted in a two-day hospital stay, neither of us expected the results to turn up anything serious.
Days after those enlightening tests, I remembered that long ago conversation with the sonographer who monitored the progress of my unborn son.
But which unborn son was it? Was that sonographer looking at my first son, now known to have kidney problems or my seemingly healthy second son? Deep down I knew that my young one didn't have some of the outward signs (like irregular shaped ears) like my older one did. But still I couldn't help but wondering and worrying a little.
I never confided my fears to the doctors, but when the nephrologist suggested we have our second son checked out I agreed quickly. Because my little one is neurotypical and does fairly well with tests, we were able to schedule an ultrasound appointment at our local hospital rather than with the pediatric hospital in Grand Rapids.
Our appointment was yesterday (July 28) at 3:30 p.m. The conversation with the sonographer this time couldn't have gone much better. My little five year old cooperated fully and the technician didn't ask any distressing questions as she performed the tests. Here is what she said before we left at about 3:50 p.m.
"He was the best patient of the day. Not just because of how well he behaved, but for how well his kidneys looked. He has beautiful kidneys," the sonographer told me.
'Oh, whew," I thought. I will worry about this no longer.


text:
If Mohammadanism (let's not call it Islam) believes that all the apostates must be killed, then all Muslims are also apostates of other religions. What's wrong if others (Kafirs) are killing Muslims? Like Muslims cry victim, saying Muslims are being killed in Palestine, Kashmir, Afghanistan and in rest of the Middle East.
What do you guys say?


text:
No Vehicles Found.
Home .
Browse Inventory .
Advanced Search .
Apply Online Now .
Policy .
Contact Us .
Sold Inventory .
All Rights Reserved. © 2019 Auto Search Technologies Inc.
Auto Dealer SEO by Auto Search Technologies Inc
Marketing Technology by ApogeeINVENT
This page has been visited 815,452 times since August 09th, 2007
West 40 Auto Sales | Bad Credit Car Loan Specialists | Used BHPH Car Dealer has been visited 7,106,282 total times.


text:
JimNastic necesitaba un nuevo diseño de página web y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 58 diseños de 9 diseñadores freelance.
Pensionen Mit Charme
Pensionen-mit-charme features a handpicked selection of small, charming, highly personal B&Bs (pensionen) and small hotels in Germany. Our selection criteria include:
* Romantic locations, attractive surroundings, landscape, streetscape
* Max 20 rooms
* Attractive houses, either heritage or decorated with personal touch
* Friendly, personal service
Right now the site is German-language only, but soon we shall offer an English language site as well.
Tourists who are looking for a personal, unique holiday in Germany. They are sick of staying in "bed-mountains"! They want to stay somewhere special and until now it has been impossible to find the places they want in the typical mass-portals. They appreciate the selectivity and personal touch of pensionen-mit-charme. Our biggest fans tend to be woman over 30.
B&B and small hotel owners in Germany who have difficulty standing out from the crowd. They are passionate about their house and know they have something special, but they are finding it difficult to separate themselves from the tens of thousands of other B&Bs in Germany.
Deliverables ( multi-layer .psd format)
* Home page design
* Button design
* Pop-up contact form
Our existing website design can be seen online here:
Things we are happy about include:
* Large images
* Logo
* Simplicity and general approach.
Things we are not happy about include:
* Colors. At first we really liked the colors, then we found that some colors don't look nice on certain screens.
* Single column layout is becoming restrictive
* We would like more design detail which were beyond our CSS implementation skills first time around.
* Important conversions do not stand out.
Sources of inspiration
* http://www.andbeyondafrica.com/ :
Clean design
Brings out the beauty of of images
However, we would like to add a slightly more charming touch by using a small amount of color and design detail
Again, clean with great images
You can see our current colors online at http://www.pensionen-mit-charme.de. We are open to different colors. In particular, we dont like the solid blocks of color. Feel free to experiment.
More design guidance
* Not corporate style
* Not classic hotel-search portal style
* A touch of blog-like charming flair, but dont go overboard
* Avoid large radius rounded corners
More requirements
* 960 pixel wide (Optimize for screens of 1024x768)
* 2 column


text:
Game and Console: Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 on PC
Date and Time: December 10th starting at 8:30 PM EST
Bracket: Single Elimination
Players in Match: 2v2
Entry Fee: 5 MLG Credit Entry
For all Settings, Rules, Eligibility/Limitations, please visit the Rules and Prize tabs.
For issues in a Tournament Match, please use Tournament Live Support.
Upcoming Tournaments