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04/23/2009 (09:31PM - 10:00PM) (Thursday) : JACK (ALEC BALDWIN) AND ELISA (GUEST STAR SALMA HAYEK) THINK SERIOUSLY ABOUT THEIR ENGAGEMENT AND JACK SEEKS ADVICE FROM TRACY (TRACY MORGAN) ABOUT THE REALITY OF MARRIED LIFE.
Jack (Baldwin) decides his commitment to Elisa (guest star Hayek) is serious enough to go shopping for an engagement ring with Liz (Tina Fey). Tracy (Morgan), ironically, is the one Jack turns to for advice on how to deal with the pressures of married life. Meanwhile, Elisa divulges to Liz she is keeping a secret. When a prank results in an injury back at "TGS," Jenna (Jane Krakowski) loses her cool over an attractive EMT. Also stars Jack McBrayer, Judah Friedlander and Keith Powell.


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subset: commoncrawl


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2-channel power amp delivers 1510W at 4 Ohms, 2250W at 2 Ohms per channel.
Part of Peavey's new IPR Series, the IPR2 5000 Power Amp utilizes an advanced design that allowed Peavey engineers to dramatically reduce weight (less than 7lb) while increasing output power, reliability, and thermal efficiency. The rackmount power amp has a resonant switch-mode power supply and a high-speed class D topology that yields the supremely high audio resolution and productivity.
The Peavey IPR2 5000 features two channels with independent 100Hz crossovers. It produces 1510W per channel at 4 Ohms, or 2250W per channel at 2 Ohms. Peavey's exclusive DDT speaker protection with multi-point clip sampling leads a protection-circuitry suite that also includes DC, Temp, Signal, and Active safeguards, all referenced on the front panel with LED indicators. It also features a variable-speed fan housed in a lightweight aluminum chassis.
- Class D topology
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- LED indicators
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Planning to lose weight? Here's how! Order today.
IPR2 5000 Power Amp Specifications:
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- 890W RMS x 2 at 8 ohms
- 2 channel independent, fourth-order Linkwitz-Riley crossovers


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The Piano Guys are to return to the UK for a short tour in June, including a date at Nottingham's Royal Concert Hall on June 10.
The Piano Guys began as an internet phenomenon: four Utah dads who created a series of strikingly original self-made music videos with a quirky-yet-virtuoso take on making classical music hip with a rock 'n' roll style.
With over 500 million views and 3.6 million subscribers of their YouTube videos, their staggering online popularity has resulted in four chart topping albums, and sold-out concerts around the world.
The history of the group began with Paul Anderson, who owned a piano shop in a small Utah town.
This is where successful solo pianist Jon Schmidt came in to practice. Eventually Paul and Jon collaborated with Al Van Der Beek and cellist Steve Sharp Nelson.
A thriving team of songwriters, producers, editors, and musicians, together the four men created sensational hits broadcast on their YouTube channel and secured a record deal with Sony.
Call the box office for ticket availability on 0115 989 5555.


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Alternatives: REITs
Security Capital Research & Management Incorporated
Founded in 1995, Security Capital is a registered investment adviser with an exclusive focus on investments in securities of U.S.-based real estate companies.
Our record reflects a rigorous investment process directed by an experienced team of investment professionals. Our process provides a strong foundation for our conviction-oriented investment style by integrating exhaustive, comprehensive research and analysis on real estate sub-markets, company cash flow potential and market-pricing trends for all capital tranches.
Our REITs strategies
- All-Tranche, Core Real Estate and Risk-Aware
- Diversified and Focused Common Equity
- Income-Focused
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[Produced by Kanye West]
[Verse 1: Common]
Victory won, in a world of Henessey and guns
Too young for the marches but I remember these drums
The stark reality of wars and battles
We fought for ours, caught in ghetto tragedy
I talk to my aunt named Mattie Lee
And recognize the importance of family
Hand me a joint, good music, and room to breathe
Those that doubt Com' will soon believe
Can't judge the weave, my lady had one
I'm more like a fool for soul and passion
The price of gas rises, street life is pumpin' fast, lives is
I watched Crash and realize that we all survivors
No religion or race could ever describe us
My guys do dirt, move dirt, but never really talk about it
Forever begins just because I thought about it
[Chorus: Bilal]
Living once again
We live
Then you're gone
Living once again
We live
Then you're gone
Living once again
We live
Then you're gone
Living once again
We live
Then you're gone
[Verse 2: Common]
Ashes and snowfalls
I wonder when the roll call for heaven gon' come
Forever gon' come
It's a cold world and I can never go numb
Look fear in the eyes, say I never gon' run
Sooner then later, I know the cheddar gon' come
For now I write the world letters to better the young
On tree by jury, together we hung
Now we let our chains hang and gang bang to maintain
'Ghanistan goin' through the same thing
It trickles down, at each other we aim pain
I shoot for stars, peace and exclusive cars
Through the ride I learned to earn hard
Watch gangstas turn God in the midst of war
No matter how much I elevate, I kiss the floor
It was in the wind when she said Dilla was gone
That's when I knew we'd live forever through song
[Chorus: Bilal]
Living once again
We live
Then you're gone
Living once again
We live
Then you're gone
[Outro: Pops]
Origin is forever
Well, well well
Here we are back in the studio again
Look at that
Hey I don' need no cue cards
They got the engineers holdin up the cue cards
What that say?
Oh they say, just talk, don't sing
Son, I bet you feel like you and I've been here forever
Through these red eyes, beholding red eyes
I see my world's tears
Yeah, origin is forever
Every peak will have 2 valleys
Hopeful eyes in the comfort
Of true protection and admiration of a child
That's forever
Forever is to strive
A place of endearment
Forever is what I leave
My I-self contribution
Damn, what I'm gon' leave?
I'll leave my one and only grain of spiritual sand
To universal scales of humanity, all humanity
Forever is finding a solution to a solution
Tsunamis, hurricanes
Following the trails of the African slave ships
War, war, and more war
Floods, Columbine, global warming, earthquakes
Another somebody done me wrong, son
Virginia Tech, is not an, "Oh, what the heck?"
We're still, did you place your one grain
Of spiritual sand forever?
Confusion need a solution
Blend and stir, stir and blend
The pot of humanity; sift the ingredients
Of acknowledgment, apology, amendment, atonement
We gonna work with the four A's here
Forever Pops
Common good is forever...
God's memory is forever...
Com talks about civil rights and, most memorably, reminisces on the late J Dilla, a celebrated producer who was a close friend of Com's.


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Things sure were soggy for gardeners this past year. But there's always 2010.
With just a few days left in the year, let's reflect on what happened in 2009 and make resolutions for the upcoming season.
You can view 2009 as an extension of 2008. Nature continued trying to wash away something by bringing on the rains. And more rains. Most people can't remember a wetter fall, particularly farmers who had to wait until this month to harvest most of their crops.
Most gardeners love rain. Most plants love rain. Occasionally, though, there may be too much rain, and people and plants get bothered.
One look at the plants, and you can see how the extra water was a benefit. It's hard to remember a time in the last 30 years when lawns were as green going into December. It's hard to imagine when they were as lush throughout the growing season.
Of course, this does mean more mowing. Correct fertilizing caused turf to develop more shoots and retain a richer green color that can be leached with too much water. With a thicker turf, there's less weed competition. From the standpoint of weedkiller use, that can't be praised enough.
Grubs didn't disappear with the rain. They were still chomping on the roots, only moving below the frost line now to re-emerge next April.
But the grub damage was barely noticeable. If the grub eats one turfgrass root but the plant produces three new roots due to moisture and fertilizer, the plant is two roots ahead. Throw in phrases such as integrated pest management, aesthetic thresholds and a few others, but it amounts to money in the bank instead of the lawn. Gardeners love money in the bank.
2009 seemed warmer than 2008, at least in terms of number of days the air-conditioning kicked on. However, some vegetables still wanted warmer conditions. Tomatoes seemed to thumb their noses at the water and waited for warmer temperatures that never seemed to materialize. You can't have everything.
If you are an arboreal gardener, you noticed trees and shrubs grew more this year, and grew for a longer length of time. Usually by August, most growth has ceased and plants start hardening off for the winter.
Yet clear into September — due to the moisture — the plants still were sending out more leaves and expanding their shoots. Plants still realized light intensity was decreasing, so they stopped growing.
This could mean two things: more flowers on the crabapples, magnolia and other blooming trees next spring. Or less.
The rain was ideal for keeping plants in a growth state and not switching to flower bud formation in September and October. Or, if the plants were at the "Enough growth!" stage, they could have started producing an overabundance of flower bud, which means 2010 could be a dynamic showcase, barring prolonged cold temperatures, early spring warm-ups followed by a hard freeze or drying winter winds.
Most spring flower shrubs are in the same boat. Come January, you could cut some of the plants, bring the limbs indoors and try to force them to bloom. Then you can gauge what spring might hold in store.
Surprisingly, few people reported heavy mosquito populations, which was the opposite of what was expected with all the rain. It's possible there was too much, or that predator populations increased at the same time the mosquito wrigglers were hatching.
Other so-called "bad" insects didn't seem as numerous, but alas, some of the "good" insects were down. For every decrease in yellowjackets and grasshoppers, there seemed to be a decline in butterflies, moths and ladybugs. Even the increase of soybean aphids flying around in September and October didn't correlate to an increase in ladybugs.
Japanese beetles showed up about on time, stayed their four weeks and then took off, leaving behind their destruction of lindens, roses and other plants.
Coupled with the decline of insect and weed problems, diseases also seemed less this year, though it could be that gardeners are planting more disease-resistant plants or just pulling up plants that show fungal or bacterial problems. Many have learned it is not illegal to euthanize a declining or even healthy plant.
That brings us to next year's resolutions, which all gardeners should follow.
1. Do not overplant. Plants are like a smorgasbord, and our eyes can be bigger than our yards.
2. Start more of your own seeds. Share extra plants with gardening friends.
3. Use fewer chemicals. Encouraging plant diversity helps. Having more than 200 plants in the typical yard cuts down on the need for chemicals.
4. Plant something new. Get rid of something old. Getting rid of a healthy plant in your yard is not a crime.
5. Visit garden centers and nurseries in the spring, but don't buy anything. Look around. Take notes. Come back and research. If you truly want the plant the next couple of days, it was meant to be.
6. Keep the hoe and shovel sharp, and a container of water handy.
7. Use sunscreen more often outside.
8. Exercise and loosen up before starting out in the spring. Bend the knees more often.
David Robson is a horticulture educator for the University of Illinois Extension. For more gardening information or for your local extension unit office, go to www.extension.uiuc.edu/mg.


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Jerry Seinfeld is selling his ski home in Telluride, Colorado, reports the Wall Street Journal. The 26-acre property, just south of the Telluride ski resort, includes a "manicured trail system," a 14,200-square-foot main home with 11 bedrooms and 14 bathrooms. A creek runs through the property.
There's also a hot tub, steam shower, and 5,500-square-foot deck for warm-weather entertaining. The four-car garage is heated.
Seinfeld recently renovated the home, which was built in 1991.
Read the full story on the Wall Street Journal.


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text:
We would like to welcome Atalina Homan into our membership and Imagekind's print-on-demand marketplace.
Atalina Homan can use this personal profile to post their bio, resume or statement. It's an ideal space to post a show calendar, make announcements, add links and inspire Imagekind wall art shoppers to purchase Atalina Homan's fine art prints.
If you want to return to Atalina Homan's Imagekind profile, just save this link: http://atalinamarie.imagekind.com


text:
Page 58: The Path Forward/
HELM updates with a new page every Tuesday and Thursday. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for sneak peeks, sketches, and other behind-the-scenes goodies.
While you're here, please also vote for us on Top Web Comics by clicking here (you can vote once a day) -- it only takes a second and helps promote HELM to new readers.


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According to market analyst, Michael Pachter, who recounted a meeting he had with Tretton at E3.
"He said, 'for the record, I'm totally opposed to blocking used games. I think it's great for the consumer that they can buy those. We have a customer that buys our console late in the cycle, pays less, is looking for value priced games, and I think it would be anti-consumer for us to do that'," Pachter told GameTrailers.com
Good, i need somewhere to trade my old games into.
Jack said this many times before though i did not like Uncharted 4 MP online pass.
As always Kotaku is full of it
"desperate for hits"- Hideki Kamiya
Im looking forward to the day when this is confirmed. I have used gamefly for the last 2 years & i have gotten used to having a new game to play every week & really dont want to go back to buying games!
While this information is cool and all, all I want is for Pachter to SHUT UP -.-


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Perspectives of a doctor becoming a patient – Part 2 – Doing nothing option
One day, when I was 27 years old, suddenly, out of the blue, I noticed a breast lump.
I went to the doctor, who sent me to get an ultrasound to determine if the lump was solid or cystic. It was solid. Again, the same worry…what if?? I was really scared and it didn't matter that I knew the facts, that the doctor and medical texts told me the facts, I was panicking inside. It was the first time in my life I had something physically wrong and I did not like the unsettling feeling.
Still, I had my wits about me enough to go see a surgeon. At the appointment he told me I could decide if I wanted surgery or if I wanted to wait and see what the lump did. Because of all my fear, I jumped at the idea of what seemed to me the "doing nothing option." I went home telling my husband and family that if a surgeon says he doesn't want to operate that means I don't need surgery.
Now I realize that this isn't want the surgeon meant at all. He was saying the lump did not have to come out right away and that observation was a safe option provided we continued to watch it clinically and with ultrasound; but I interpreted it as "ignore the problem so it goes away" and used the excuse that "the surgeon doesn't want to operate" as my scapegoat. The reality was I was afraid of the surgery and because I had never had one I did not want to deal with it.
I continued to ignore the problem, until I noticed one or two weeks later that the lump had changed and it was more visible under the skin. This was my triumphant moment when I finally conquered my fear and realized that for me and that point in time the only thing to do was to be proactive and to take it out. Now, that isn't to say that I made the right decision. As a doctor I know there are many decisions. Things are not necessarily absolutely right or absolutely wrong; things are just right and wrong for that particular person and that particular clinical scenario. For me it was right to take it out. Fear was the only thing stopping me from surgery, not sound medical judgment. Once I realized that it was only fear prevented me from making the right decision, I called the surgeon back and told him I wanted surgery.
The happy ending is the surgeon removed the lump and the lump was diagnosed as a fibroadenoma by pathology. The tumor was benign! The surgeon did an excellent job and I as a patient did an excellent job in conquering my fear. As a doctor, I would recommend not panicking, not ignoring the problem and not letting fear decide what is best for you; but as a patient I understand—it's not that easy! What we can strive for when we are patients or when our loved ones are patients is to have an eye of calm that allows us to be cool, composed, and rational. Together with doctors we can make the best medical decision once we realize that "the worst thing to fear is fear itself."


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Billionaire David Einhorn's Top Stock Picks
MarketWatch's Laura Mandaro looks at Billionaire David Einhorn's top stock picks as of December 2012. (Photo: AP/Getty Images)
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
I ... the ... she's got that hedge funds like ... sounds like the planning can be ... IMI Mandela MarketWatch a common meaning ... that if any has been guiding ... the thirteen have ... those and utterly filing ... investor David Einhorn figuring out ... ways to buying that has ... a low ... price to earnings multiple ... we now love that I know is holding at the end of December ... and told them for any that had a trailing a forward PE ... of ten are low and that's that's the low valuation ... they consulting was our Feinberg actually ... increase it's a ... sign that the price anyway it's been falling and rents play with Apple ... in keeping the bike twenty percent since a fairly sizeable stake to one point three million shares ... Einhorn has another one then consumer branding his portfolio ... that's General Motors ... a trailing PE of ten thousand required rents rates are pretty low rates mean and ... at the Value Investing Congress in Munich activist named as one of its top long ... Greenlight Capital that Einhorn's fund with buying and then beat in October and December ... yell son's sake no ... health insurance typically carries relatively low fee is probably due to concern over government regulation ... Seagate Technology Einhorn land bottom fishing the hard drive maker has said he arranged a forward PE ratio ... six times earnings ... it's also a favored holding of Renaissance technologies ... Einhorn is team also own about twenty six million shares of the air at ... the pretty in an insane cunning plans thing going to the changes and industry ... it's for a key and seven ... when it happened on the other hand spend has ... also a big share in the company until its enchanting state ...


text:
Pakistani police today released a sketch of a person believed to be involved in the abduction of an American citizen in Pakistan, even as local investigators and the FBI admit they have no solid leads as to the whereabouts of 70-year-old Warren Weinstein.
The black-and-white sketch shows a young man with a boyish round face, dark stubble and medium-length dark hair. The FBI is investigating the case along with no less than six different groups of Pakistani officials, both police and U.S. officials admit they do not even know whether the American development expert is still alive. Investigators said they will be administering lie detector tests on Weinstein's local guards and drivers, who provided initial details of the kidnapping.
Weinstein was snatched out of his home in Lahore, where he has lived for the last seven years, over the weekend but no group has come forward to claim the kidnapping or issue demands in exchange for Weinstein's release in the following days -- an unusual development which nurtured fears by some officials over Weinstein's fate. But one Pakistani intelligence official told ABC News there was no evidence to suggest the abductors had intended to kill Weinstein or that he had been accidentally killed.
The intelligence official said there was evidence of a struggle and likely a head wound, but the amount of blood found in the home was not unusual following a kidnapping.
Weinstein, who worked with USAID in the 1990s, has been living privately in Pakistan and working for the U.S.-based J.E. Austin Associates, a company that "assists businesses and governments to achieve sustainable, equitable, business-led economic growth," according to the company's website.
Weinstein's friends and colleagues describe him as a diligent worker and dedicated to helping Pakistani people.
"He is a tireless worker for development in Pakistan," said Geoff Quartermaine Bastin, who worked with Weinstein after meeting him six years ago. Bastin said Weinstein "worked 18-hour days, three phones at once while talking to a fourth person at the table."
"He is very smart, very motivated and loved Pakistan and its people. He is careless of his health and safety going everywhere to push his projects," Bastin said.
Weinstein suffers from a heart condition, and his employer released a long list of medications that he takes, appealing to his abductors to provide them for him.
Some in Pakistan have speculated privately that Weinstein was not a development worker and worked in intelligence for the U.S. Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah publicly announced his suspicions, telling local media that Weinstein was involved in "quite suspect" intelligence-gathering for the U.S. government and compared him to Raymond Davis, the American CIA contractor who was jailed in Pakistan earlier this year for shooting two men on the streets of Lahore.
U.S. diplomats said Weinstein is not connected to any U.S. intelligence groups, and no Pakistani official has publicly said so other than Sanaullah.
America to Work Through 'Very Difficult Problems' With Pakistan
Weinstein's kidnapping comes as U.S. and Pakistani officials are attempting to mend a rocky relationship strained first by the Raymond Davis affair and later by the U.S.'s unilateral raid of Osama bin Laden's compound deep in Pakistani territory in May.
"We consider our relationship with Pakistan to be of paramount importance," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday at the National Defense University. "We think it is very much in America's interest. We think it is in the long-term interest of Pakistan for us to work through what are very difficult problems in that relationship."
Weinstein is the first American working privately in Pakistan to be kidnapped since Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal reporter who was abducted in January 2002 and later beheaded by al Qaeda operatives.


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Target: Me
I spent the last 37 years writing about guns. Then my career as a firearms journalist came to an abrupt end.
I started shooting at age five. By the time I turned 12, my parents gave me an NRA Life Membership. I've studied, written and taught about firearms law and the Bill of Rights since the 1960s, helping to enact concealed-carry laws in states across the country and authoring numerous other pieces of pro-firearms legislation. I'm a competitive shooter who's hunted on five continents, and I founded a 150-acre shooting park in my home state of Illinois. All told, I've written more than 1,700 articles for firearms publications over the last four decades, as well as hosting and producing several firearms television programs.
Yet today I am labeled a "gun control collaborator," a "Bloomberg supporter" and a "modern-day Benedict Arnold"—not to mention a "decrepit, mentally defunct self-important old fart." And on Nov. 6, 2013, my 37-year career as a firearms journalist came to an abrupt end.
Story Continued Below
Why? Because I wrote an 800-word column for Guns & Ammo magazine exploring the distinction between regulation and infringement as it applies to constitutional rights. As discussions of the Second Amendment go, the column was innocuous. I did not call for any new regulations, but merely noted the Second Amendment was already regulated and that such regulations had been validated even in recent Supreme Court and federal appeals court rulings affirming an individual's right to keep and bear arms. "Way too many gun owners seem to believe any regulation of the right to keep and bear arms is an infringement," I wrote. "The fact is, all constitutional rights are regulated, always have been, and need to be."
Other heresies on my part? I wrote that I personally had no problem with state laws requiring training for those seeking licenses to carry a concealed weapon and that I did not consider training requirements in and of themselves to be an infringement on my rights (though I'd like it to be good training). I mentioned the 16-hour training mandate in Illinois's recently enacted concealed-carry statute and said that in spite of the time it requires, I much preferred to carry a firearm for defense legally than carry one illegally and risk prison. What I did not go so far as to say (though I now wish I had) was that compared to the previous Illinois law completely banning concealed carry, I viewed the new law not as an infringement but as a liberation. A first step.
The backlash from Second Amendment Fundamentalists—and I used to think I was one of them—was immediate. Outraged emails and web posts poured into Guns & Ammo's website, as well as many independent firearms forums, all demanding my head. Firearms manufacturers received threats of boycotts if they continued to advertise in Guns & Ammo or sponsor TV shows with which I was associated. I was lambasted for my "patently absurd misreading of the Constitution" and my ignorance of what the language of the Second Amendment really meant. The most succinct messages took the form of, "You're a bad person and I hope you die and go to Hell," and the eloquent, "Someone should regulate your mouth!"
Someone did. Under pressure from advertisers, it took Guns & Ammo's parent company, Intermedia Outdoors—a conglomerate that owns more than 40 shooting and hunting magazines and produces nearly 20 television programs—just three business days to inform me that my association with all InterMedia publications and the Sportsman Channel TV programs I was producing and co-hosting was terminated. At the same time, IMO's vice president/editorial director, Jim Bequette, was removed from his position as editor of Guns & Ammo, where he had assigned and approved the column. He retains his larger role in the company.
For some commenters, the ax wasn't enough. "He got off lucky," wrote one. "Tar, feathers, a fence rail, and a long, bumpy ride out of town would have been a much more appropriate way to effect his exit from the gun enthusiast community!" A more common theme was that anything less than fierce, absolute opposition to any regulation amounted to treason. "Anyone who says 'I believe in the Second Amendment, but–' does not believe in the Second Amendment," one commenter posted. Or, as another wrote: "Compromise is what the Jews tried with Hitler."
The hijacking of our movement by these radical extremists causes me to fear for the future of the right I have spent my adult life fighting to defend. At present, we defenders of the Second Amendment have the American mainstream voters on our side. Nearly two-thirds of the 109 new state firearms laws enacted in the year following the Newtown shooting actually eased gun restrictions and expanded gun-owners' rights. During that same period there was no significant federal firearms legislation at all. But when we engage in noisy, extremist rhetoric rejecting all firearms regulation whatsoever, or refuse to acknowledge the plain fact that constitutionally validated regulations and statutes already exist, we risk alienating the American mainstream . And if we lose that mainstream, we will lose this war.


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Restructuring deal will be managed by the head of another state-linked firm
Dubai Group's $10 billion debt restructuring will be managed by the head of another state-linked firm while two banks will have a monitoring role to ensure more oversight from creditors, sources aware of the matter said.
Dubai Group, a unit of ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum's personal investment firm Dubai Holding, was one of several of the emirate's state-linked entities forced to restructure debt after the global financial crisis in 2008.
The group, hit by excessive use of leverage in its investments and a sharp decline in asset values, has been in debt talks for two years.
David Smoot, chief executive officer of Dubai International Capital (DIC), which itself agreed on a $2.5 billion debt deal in 2012, has been asked to manage Dubai Group's assets as part of the restructuring plan, the sources said speaking on condition of anonymity as the matter is not public. DIC is the private equity arm of Dubai Holding.
Dubai Group declined to comment.
In addition to Smoot's appointment, two banks will be named to a post-restructuring creditor committee to provide oversight of Dubai Group's business to ensure the interests of creditors are protected for the duration of the debt deal.
"There's going to be significantly more oversight from the creditors, given what has happened before," said one source aware of the matter.
It is not the first time creditors on a Gulf restructuring have insisted on an oversight role in the firm once the deal is struck. Kuwait's Investment Dar, which restructured 1 billion dinars ($3.53 billion) in 2011, agreed to a four-lender liaison committee who would ensure best practices at the firm.
Of the group's $10 billion total debt, $6 billion is owed to banks and the remaining $4 billion is classed as inter-company loans.
Documentation for the full restructuring has already been agreed with secured creditors and French bank Natixis, who are in a separate group of creditors, while it is still being completed for unsecured lenders.
In January, Dubai Group settled with banks who brought legal action to secure repayment of their share of the debt and this deal was signed on Thursday, two of the sources said.
The creditors included the four lenders who brought legal action in London: RBS, Standard Bank, Commerzbank and Commercial International Bank .
British Arab Commercial Bank joined them after the 18.5 cents on the dollar offer was extended to the other banks who are part of the unsecured creditor committee.
Most of the debt restructurings in Dubai are predicated on asset disposals to fund future repayments. But the emirate has not sold any of its major assets, blaming tough market conditions and a slow recovery in value.
Under Smoot, DIC agreed a $2.5 billion restructuring with lenders last April. Smoot, an American former investment banker, took the top job at DIC in 2010. Since then, he has turned around the firm, sold several assets under difficult market conditions and reached a debt agreement which saw liabilities extended for up to five years.
Smoot will manage the assets within the Dubai Group structure and they will not be transferred to another entity, three of the sources said.
Dubai Group cut half its staff of about 30 people late in 2012, including its chief investment officer, as part of cost-cutting measures and as executives were fired for failing to speed up asset sales.
Last month the group sold its 41 percent stake in Oman National Investment Corp Holding (ONIC) to an Omani sovereign wealth fund. [ID: nL6N0BS2B5]
That followed the sale in September of its Turkish insurance arm jointly to a company owned by former AIG chief executive Maurice Greenberg and to a unit of Dubai lender Mashreq Bank.
But such disposals have been minor in value and the group is yet to divest some of its larger assets.
It owns a 14.7 percent stake in Oman's top lender, Bank Muscat, holds an 18 percent stake in Egypt's EFG Hermes and has 17 percent ownership of Cyprus Popular Bank, formerly Marfin.For all the latest banking and finance news from the UAE and Gulf countries, follow us on Twitter and Linkedin, like us on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube page, which is updated daily.


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On Thursday, MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell celebrated five years of her 1 p.m. ET hour show, Andrea Mitchell Reports, with highlight reels and congratulatory messages from her NBC colleagues. The accolades for Mitchell followed five years of her using the program to routinely praise liberals and bash conservatives.
Here is a sampling of how Mitchell's supposed news show often devolved into left-wing commentary:
"Michelle Obama says she does not want to distract from her husband's campaign. She instead wants to be part of the solution. This in an exclusive interview with USA Today. Barack Obama's wife says that one of her biggest balancing acts is keeping the focus on the campaign while staying true to who she is....She's Princeton, she's Harvard, she's so smart and so beautiful and you know a mom and a wife and a partner and yet people get caricatured."
– Mitchell, June 30, 2008. [Read full item]
"How do you, as a deficit hawk, justify going along with a larger tax cut, for those who really don't need it? And it's been argued it's not stimulative. The upper income people, it really doesn't add to the stimulus that you get from the lower income people....I mean the issue is, what is the rate of the tax going to be? And you've had Warren Buffett and Bill Gates and other high earners, to say the least, saying at a time of deficit crisis that they don't need these tax breaks."
– Mitchell to then-Senator Judd Greg, December 7, 2010. [Read full item]
"It's incredible, Martin, it just seems as though it were yesterday, but it's really four years ago that she was – that historic moment, taking up the gavel with all the children and grandchildren, you know, collected around her. We were anchoring from the Hill that day. And it was such a big step. And now – how things change in politics....It's got to be painful, but she's doing it with class."
– Mitchell to Politico's Martin Kady about Nancy Pelosi stepping down as House speaker after Democratic losses in the 2010 midterm election, December 21, 2010. [Read full item]
"It was three days of hell. It must have been excruciating for you to do through that, excruciating for everyone involved, on both sides. And unresolved in the end....How did you feel at the time about the way the hearings treated you?...How is it to live with this, this history? You are now part of history. You have been for 20 years. Do you get past that, just personally?...Anita Hill, a living legacy."
– Mitchell's softball interview with Anita Hill marking twenty years after Hill testified before Congress about her claims that then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas sexually harassed her, October 12, 2011. [Read full item]
"And maybe this was Mitt Romney's supermarket scanner moment, but I get the feeling, take a look at this, that Mitt Romney has not been in too many Wawa's along the roadside in Pennsylvania."
MITCHELL [LAUGHING]: "It's amazing."
– Mitchell introducing a deceptively edited clip of Romney that made his comments seem like a gaffe, June 18, 2012. [Read full item]
ANDREA MITCHELL: And this is Mitt Romney with CNBC's Larry Kudlow yesterday.
MITT ROMNEY: It's a very strange, and in some respects, foreign to the American experience type of philosophy. If you have a business and you started it, you did build it, and you deserve credit for that. It was not built for you by government.
MITCHELL: Without getting into the argument as to whether he is taking the President out of context over the "build it" business, he is still using the term "foreign" and I'm telling you, this is happening every day, it is a dog whistle....Foreign is suggesting somebody who grew up in Indonesia...
– As Mitchell slammed Romney, NBC political director Chuck Todd and The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza both dismissed her assertion as simply being what she wanted to hear, July 24, 2012. [Read full item]


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Optical Assistant
- Recruiter
- Inspired Selections
- Location
- Ringwood
- Salary
- £16,000
- Posted
- 08 Sep 2019
- Closes
- 05 Oct 2019
- Ref
- Job Role
- Optical Assistant
- Sector
- Multiple Practice
- Contract Type
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full Time
My client is a chain of opticians, who have been established for 75 years with over 150 practices across the UK. They are now looking for an Optical Assistant to join one of their busy practices in the Ringwood area.
You will be working with a small team and you will expected to provide excellent customer service while working towards targets and offering any support to fellow colleagues.Responsibilities of the Optical Assistant
You will work within a busy practice in an all around role. You will be helping patients with all their eye and hearing care needs, including contact lenses, designer frames, NHS eye care and hearing health checks. You will be dispensing spectacles and making sales as well as undertaking pre-screening, contact lens teaches and associated admin work.Requirements for the Optical Assistant
You will need a minimum of 1 years experience as an Optical Assistant and it's essential you can dispense spectacles to all levels. You will be pre-screening patients, delivering contact lens teaches and will be very focussed on delivering the highest levels of customer service.
Desirable if applicants for this role are able to drive
On offer for the right person is a competitive salary of up to £16,000 as well as a generous bonus scheme and the opportunity to further your career. You will have 28 days holiday. NO Sundays
Working hours are 9:00am – 5:30pm Monday to Saturday with a day off in the week
To apply for this Optical Assistant position in Ringwood or other Optical roles in the South Coast area then please call Inspired Selections on 0121 778 6999 or join us at www.inspiredselections.co.uk


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Good move if temporary, the players need to know the Everton ethos, Koeman has no idea what Everton stands for or its tradition, koeman has made us very un Everton like.I'd be up for Moyes and Unsworth... see how they get on.. im pretty sure they will turn the team around..
Is the source as good as mine which says Wagner of Huddersfield and Silva of Watford are top of our shortlist? It will be revealed next week with Silva ahead. The Moyes link is rubbish, unlike mine which comes straight out from the front lobe of my crystal ball. Imagine two krauts managing on Merseyside!
Id rather shave my bollocks with a blunt Stanley knife and then moisturise with salt and vinegar
Id take him back right now
Why would you take back someone who's spent 11 years here?There are other managers out there. A lot are actually better than David Moyes.
Because hes better than Koeman. Name me some of these better managers who are out there
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Break Dancing for Kids Level 1
Full Session // $60
Drop-in // $15
Apr 10 ¦ Apr 17 ¦ Apr 24 ¦ May 1 ¦ May 8 ¦ May 15
A beginner break dancing class teaching the basic foundation of the dance along with history of the Hip Hop culture. This class will cover basic toprocking, footwork, freezes, transitions, and power in a fun and safe environment.
About the Artist: Anthony San has been break dancing for over 5 years, since March of 2008, after being influenced by local dancers in Floor Spiders Crew. His group Harding Breakerz went to Washington DC to perform at The White House on May 25th. They were the only Iowa school representing at Turnaround Arts talent show. They were invited to DC after their performance last year for the President of Turnaround Arts and actor Kal Penn when they visited Harding Middle School, which is one of the few Iowa schools for Turnaround Arts program
He has performed in break dancing competitions in cities all over the Midwest since 2009, and performing locally at events such as CelebrAsian 2010-2011, IMMAWII 2011, Iowa Youth Congress 2011, ISU Latin Fest 2011, Convoy of Hope 2011, ArtFest 2012, and Minorities on the Move 2012-2013. He has also street performed in Leipzig, Germany and competed in Chemnitz, Germany.


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Actor | Soundtrack | Writer
STARmeterSEE RANK
Down 2,814 this week
One-of-a-kind nightclub comedian/singer Dick Shawn (ne Richard Schulefand) was as off-the-wall as they came and, as such, proved to be rather an acquired taste. Way ahead of his time most say, it was extremely difficult indeed to know how to properly tap into this man's eclectic talents. Shawn began inching toward the forefront during the be-bop ... See full bio »
Born:in Buffalo, New York, USA
Died:(age 63) in San Diego, California, USA


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Over in Aberedow, South Wales "Llewelyn's Cave, is said to have been occasionally used as an asylum by that brave, but unfortunate, prince, Llewelyn ab Grufydd, the last royal defender of Welsh liberty and independence, against the overpowering army of Edward I." [2]CITATION[CLOSE]
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of Wales. Institute of Historical Research, 1849, Print.
|Popular Products
|Armorial History With Coat of Arms
|Coat of Arms & Surname History Package
|Family Crest Image (jpg) Heritage Series - 300 DPI
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Laptop for Grandma - Cloud Ready operating systems
Comments (2) Visits (22897)
Thanks to all the readers who responded to my bleg for help for the [Laptop for Grandma]!
I've gotten suggestions to upgrade the memory and disk storage, and how to fine-tune the Microsoft Windows XP operating system. Others suggested replacing the OS with Linux, and to use the Cloud to avoid some of the storage space limitations.
But first, I have to mention the latest in our series of "Enterprise Systems" videos. The first was being [Data Ready]. The second was being [Security Ready]. The now the third in the series: the 3-minute [Cloud Ready] video.
So I decided to try different Cloud-oriented Operating Systems, to see if any would be a good fit. Here is what I found:
(FTC Disclosure: I work for IBM and own IBM stock. This blog post is not meant to endorse one OS over another. I have financial interests in, and/or have friends and family who work at some of the various companies mentioned in this post. Some of these companies also have business relationships with IBM.)
I contacted grandma to ask if she has Wi-Fi in her home, and sure enough, she doesn't. Her PC upstairs is direct attached to the cable modem. So, while the Cloud suggestion was worthy of investigation, I will continue to pursue other options that do not require being connected. I certainly do not want to spend any time and effort getting Wi-Fi installed there.
technorati tags: IBM, Thinkpad, Cloud, Cloud Ready, Jolicloud, Jolibook, Joli OS, Google Chrome OS, Android, PeppermintOS,
Busting Four Myths About Tape
Comment (1) Visits (20393)
This week, I am in beautiful Sao Paulo, Brazil, teaching Top Gun class to IBM Business Partners and sales reps. Traditionally, we have "Tape Thursday" where we focus on our tape systems, from tape drives, to physical and virtual tape libraries. IBM is the number #1 tape vendor, and has been for the past eight years.
(The alliteration doesn't translate well here in Brazil. The Portuguese word for tape is "fita", and Thursday here is "quinta-feira", but "fita-quinta-feira" just doesn't have the same ring to it.)
In the class, we discussed how to handle common misperceptions and myths about tape. Here are a few examples:
Next month, IBM celebrates the 60th anniversary for tape. It is good to see that tape continues to be a vibrant part of the IT industry, and to IBM's storage business!
technorati tags: IBM, Google, Microsoft, EMC, Brazil, LTO, TS2900, TS3500, Space Shuttle, Challenger
On Android, Java, and Innovation - My new Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant
Visits (18029)
In preparation for my [upcoming trip to Australia and New Zealand], I decided to upgrade my smartphone. My service provider T-Mobile offered me the chance to try out any new phone for 14 days for only ten dollar re-stocking fee. For the past 16 months, I have used the Google G1 phone. This is based on a storage-optimized Android operating system, based on open source Linux, with applications processed in a storage-optimized virtual machine called Dalvik, based on open source Java. According to Wikipedia, Android-based phones have #1 market share [outselling both BlackBerry OS and Apple iOS phones]. There are over 70 different companies using Android, driven away from the proprietary interfaces from Apple, BlackBerry and Microsoft.
Since I was already familiar with the Android operating system, I chose the Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant. I liked my G1, but it had only a small amount of internal memory to store applications. The G1 supported an external Micro SDHC card, but this only was used for music and photos. There was no way to install applications on the memory card, so I found myself having to uninstall applications to make room for new ones. By contrast, the Vibrant has 16GB internal memory, plenty of room for all applications, and supports Micro SDHC up to 32GB in size. My model can pre-installed with a 2GB card, of which 1.4GB is consumed by James Cameron's full-length movie Avatar. On the G1, swapping out memory cards was relatively easy. On the Vibrant, you have to take the phone apart to swap out cards, so I won't be doing that very often. I will probably just get a 32GB card and leave it in there permanently.
(FTC disclosure: I work for IBM. IBM has working relationships with Oracle, Google, and lots of other companies. IBM offers its own commercial version of Java related tools. I own stock in IBM, Apple, Google. I have friends and family who work at Microsoft. My review below is based entirely on my own experience of my new Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant phone. Samsung has created different models for different service providers. The T-Mobile Vibrant is an external USB storage device with telephony capabilities, comparable to the AT&T Captivate, Verizon Fascinate, or Sprint Epic 4G. The majority of mobile phones in the world contain IBM technology. This post is not necessarily an endorsement for Samsung over other smartphone manufacturers, nor T-Mobile over other service providers. I provide this information in context of storage optimization, state-of-the-art for smartphones in general, and disputes related to software patents between companies. I hold 19 patents, most of which are software patents.)
When Oracle acquired Sun Microsystems, it inherited stewardship of Java. Java is offered in two flavors. Java Standard Edition (SE) for machines that are planted firmly on or below your desk, and Java Micro Edition (ME) for machines that are carried around. Most Java-based phones limit themselves to Java ME, but Google decided to base its smartphones on the more powerful Java SE, but then optimize for the limited storage and computing resources. These two levels of Java have radically different licensing terms and conditions, so Larry Ellison of Oracle cried foul. On The Register, Gavin Clarke has an excellent article with details of the Oracle-vs-Google complaint. Daniel Dilger opines that Oracle [might kill Google's Android and software patents all at once]. Fellow blogger Mark Twomey (EMC) on his StorageZilla blog, argues that [it's not about Android phones, but Android everything].
My Vibrant is roughly the size of a half-inch stack of 3x5 index cards in my hand. In my humble opinion, the problem is the grey area between mobile phone and the desktop personal computer. Laptops, netbooks, iPads, tablet computers, eBook readers, and smartphones fall somewhere in between. At what point do you stop licensing Java SE and start licensing Java ME instead?
Let's take a look at all the stuff my new Samsung Vibrant can do, and let you decide for yourself. I have 140 applications installed, which I can access alphabetically. I also have up to seven screens which I can fill with application icons and widgets to simplify access. The screen measures about 4 inches diagonally. Click on each image below to see the full 480x800 resolution.
Just in case I switch to a local SIM card while abroad in another country, I asked T-mobile to unlock my phone, which they happily did at no additional charge. For example, while I am in Australia, I can either leave my T-Mobile USA chip in the phone, and pay roaming charges per minute, or I can purchase a SIM chip from a local phone company with pre-paid minutes. This often includes unlimited free incoming calls to a local Australian phone number, and voicemail.
Unlocking the phone to use different SIM cards is different than "jailbreaking", a term that refers to Apple's products. For Android phones, jailbreaking is called "rooting", as the process involves getting "root" user access that you normally don't have. The only reason I have found to have my phone "rooted" was to take these lovely screen shots, using the "Screen Shot It" application. This is another application that I paid for. I used the free trial for a few screenshots first to check it out, liked the results, and bought the application.
So, this new smartphone looks like a keeper. I got a screen protector to avoid scratching, and a two-piece case that snaps around the phone to give it more heft. All my chargers are "Mini USB" for my old G1 phone, and this new Vibrant phone is "Micro USB" instead, so I had to order new ones for my car, my office, and for my iGo (tip A97).
This review is more to focus on the fact that the IT industry is changing, and what was traditionally performed on personal computers are now being done on new handheld devices. Android provides a platform for innovation and healthy competition. Let's all hope Oracle and Google can work out their differences amicably.
Day3 Keynote Session on the Megavendors
Visits (16087)
Continuing my coverage of the 30th annual [Data Center Conference]. here is a recap of Wednesday morning sessions.
It's Wednesday, Day 3, and I can tell already that the attendees are suffering from "information overload'.
technorati tags: IBM, HP, Cisco, Megavendors, Oracle, SAP, Apple, Google, Chris+Molloy, Cloud Computing, x86, virtualization, IT Service Management, Follow-the-sun, Follow-the-moon, CRAC, Free Cooling
Back To School Time Again
Visits (14458)
Well, it's that Back-To-School time again! Mo's thirteen-year-old reluctantly enters the eight grade, still upset the summer ended so abruptly. Richard's nephew returns to the University of Arizona for another year. Natalie has chosen to move to Phoenix and pursue a post-grad degree at Arizona State University. They all have two things in common, they all want a new computer, and they are all on a budget.
Fellow blogger Bob Sutor (IBM) pointed me to an excellent article on [How to Build Your Own $200 PC], which reminded me of the [XS server I built] for my 2008 Google Summer of Code project with the One Laptop per Child organization. Now that the project is over, I have upgraded it to Ubuntu Desktop 10.04 LTS, known as Lucid Lynx. Building your own PC with your student is a great learning experience in itself. Of course, this is just the computer itself, you still need to buy the keyboard, mouse and video monitor separately, if you don't already have these.
If you are not interested in building a PC from scratch, consider taking an old Windows-based PC and installing Linux to bring it new life. Many of the older PCs don't have enough processor or memory to run Windows Vista or the latest Windows 7, but they will all run Linux.
(If you think your old system has resale value, try checking out the ["trade-in estimator"] at the BestBuy website to straighten out your misperception. However, if you do decide to sell your system, consider replacing the disk drive with a fresh empty one, or wipe the old drive clean with one of the many free Linux utilities. Jason Striegel on Engadget has a nice [HOWTO Erase your old hard disk drive] article. If you don't have your original manufacturer's Windows installation discs, installing Linux instead may help keep you out of legal hot water.)
Depending on what your school projects require, you want to make sure that you can use a printer or scanner with your Linux system. Don't buy a printer unless it is supported by Linux. The Linux Foundation maintains a [Printer Compatability database]. Printing was one of the first things I got working for my Linux-based OLPC laptop, which I documented in my December 2007 post [Printing on XO Laptop with CUPS and LPR] and got a surprising following over at [OLPC News].
To reduce paper, many schools are having students email their assignments, or use Cloud Computing services like Google Docs. Both the University of Arizona and Arizona State University use Google Docs, and the students I have talked with love the idea. Whether they use a Mac, Linux or Windows PC, all students can access Google Docs through their browser. An alternative to Google Docs is Windows Live Skydrive, which has the option to upload and edit the latest Office format documents from the Firefox browser on Linux. Both offer you the option to upload GBs of files, which could be helpful transferring data from an old PC to a new one.
Lastly, there are many free video games for Linux, for when you need to take a break from all that studying. Ever since IBM's [36-page Global Innovation Outlook 2.0] study showed that playing video games made you a better business leader, I have been encouraging all students that I tutor or mentor that playing games is a more valuable use of your time than watching television. IBM considers video games the [future of learning]. Even the [Violent Video Games are Good for Kids]. It is no wonder that IBM provides the technology that runs all the major game platforms, including Microsoft Xbox360, Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation.
(FTC disclosure: I work for IBM. IBM has working relationships with Apple, Google, Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony. I use both Google Docs and Microsoft Live Skydrive for personal use, and base my recommendations purely on my own experience. I own stock in IBM, Google and Apple. I have friends and family that work at Microsoft. I own an Apple Mac Mini and Sony PlayStation. I was a Linux developer earlier in my IBM career. IBM considers Linux a strategic operating system for both personal and professional use. IBM has selected Firefox as its standard browser internally for all employees. I run Linux both at home and at the office. I graduated from the University of Arizona, and have friends who either work or take classes there, as well as at Arizona State University.)
Linux skills are marketable and growing more in demand. Linux is used in everything from cellphones to mainframes, as well as many IBM storage devices such as the IBM SAN Volume Controller, XIV and ProtecTIER data deduplication solution. In addition to writing term papers, spreadsheets and presentations with OpenOffice, your Linux PC can help you learn programming skills, web design, and database administration.
To all the students in my life, I wish you all good things in the upcoming school year!
technorati tags: IBM, Linux, Bob Sutor, BestBuy, Ubuntu, Video Games, erase, hard+disk, Google Docs, Windows Live, Skydrive, Linux Foundation, OLPC, Google, Summer of Code, Firefox, xBox360, Nintendo, Wii, Sony, Playstation


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The Obameter
Require more energy-efficient appliances
"The current Department of Energy has missed 34 deadlines for setting updated appliance efficiency standards, which has cost American consumers millions of dollars in unrealized energy savings. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will overhaul this process for appliances and provide more resources to his Department of Energy so it implements regular updates for efficiency standards. They will also work with Congress to ensure that it continues to play a key role in improving our national efficiency codes."
Rules reforms made, funding secured
When we last updated this promise, President Obama had issued a memo that ordered the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to speed up its promulgation of new rules regarding federal appliance energy efficiency standards.
The DOE is tasked with issuing such standards on appliances to ensure that such devices use energy efficiently and thereby save U.S. consumers money. The DOE now issues standards for over 50 different categories of appliances. During the 1990s the DOE fell drastically behind in updating its energy standards. Congress sought to address these deficiencies through legislation such as the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT), and the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA). The DOE also is subject to a consent decree that came out of a 2006 court case. The decree established a schedule that the DOE must follow for the publication of standards for all backlogged products.
Despite these efforts, by the time President Obama took office in 2009, there was still a significant backlog.
In his February 2009 memo, Obama requested:
(a) the DOE take all necessary steps, consistent with the consent decree, EPACT, and EISA, to finalize legally required efficiency standards as expeditiously as possible and consistent with all applicable judicial and statutory deadlines. Such standards include, most immediately, those covered by the five energy efficiency rules with deadlines prior to and including August 8, 2009;
In September 2009, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced that the DOE had met this deadline, with the last of the fives rules being published in the Federal Register on August 7, 2009. Taken together, the DOE estimates that these regulations will prevent the emission of approximately 1.1 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide. These five energy efficiency standards included:
• Dishwashers and incandescent lamps.
• Microwaves and kitchen ovens.
• Fluorescent and incandescent reflector lamps.
• Air conditioning equipment
• Beverage vending machines.
In November 2010, the Department of Energy outlined a plan to speed up its approval process. This included dropping unnecessary steps in the rulemaking process, shortening rulemaking documents and establishing a negotiating committee. This last reform is meant to foster an agreement with stakeholders and the public to speed up the establishment of rules and mitigate delay.
Have these changes made the approval process faster? Yes, according to the Department of Energy. An October 2010 DOE report stated: "Since President Obama came to office, DOE has issued or codified new efficiency standards for more than twenty different products, which will save consumers between $250 and $300 billion on their energy bills through 2030." The DOE also contends that it has met all of its appliance efficiency deadlines since President Obama took office.
Likewise funding has increased for the program. In his FY2012 budget request, President Obama requested $70 million for the office of appliance energy standards. This is up from $35 million in FY2010 and 2011 and up from $22 million in FY2008.
We interviewed Steven Nadel, Executive Director of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), to get an outside opinion on the issue. He agreed that the Department of Energy has been doing a generally good job of issuing standards and meeting deadlines.
This is not to say, however, that the Department of Energy still doesn't run into delays in issuing standards. Regulations can sometimes be delayed under Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). A division of the Office of Management and Budget, OIRA's job is to analyze regulations before they are published in the Federal Register. Regulations for all agencies must go through this process. Nadel pointed out that refrigeration standards were submitted to OIRA last fall and were set to be issued in January 2011. Yet, as of the end of July 2011, nothing had happened on this issue. Similarly the Department of Energy was supposed to issue standards for for external power supplies and battery chargers by July 1, 2011. According to Nadel, the Department of Energy did not submit the standards to OIRA until July 19.
Under Secretary Chu the Department of Energy not only met the requests made by President Obama, but also implemented reforms to hasten the issuance of regulations. This goes a long way toward requiring more energy efficient appliances. There are some hiccups in the process, but generally speaking the DOE seems to be getting the job done. We rate this Promise Kept.
White House, "MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY SUBJECT: Appliance Efficiency Standards," February 5, 2009.
U.S. Department of Energy press release, September 1, 2009.
U.S. Department of Energy press release, November 16, 2010.
Multi-Year Program Plan, U.S. Department of Energy, October , 2010.
Interview with Jennifer Stutsman, Office of Public Affairs, U.S. Department of Energy.
Interview with Steven Nadel, Executive Director of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE).
Obama signs appliance efficiency standards memo
On Feb. 5, 2009, President Obama issued a memorandum telling the Energy Department to hurry up already with setting standards for appliance efficiency.
The memo begins with a brief history of energy policy law and a description of a lawsuit against the DOE, forcing it to set required energy standards.
"In November 2006, the DOE entered into a consent decree under which the DOE agreed to publish final rules regarding 22 product categories by specific deadlines, the latest of which is June 30, 2011. ... The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) directed the DOE to establish energy standards for additional product categories," the memo states.
The memo then directs the DOE to take "all necessary steps ... to finalize legally required efficiency standards as expeditiously as possible and consistent with all applicable judicial and statutory deadlines."
After signing the memo, Obama said, "This will save consumers money, this will spur innovation, and this will conserve tremendous amounts of energy. We'll save through these simple steps over the next 30 years the amount of energy produced over a two-year period by all the coal-fired power plants in America."
The memo is a first step toward new appliance requirements. We rate this promise In The Works.
White House Web site, Appliance Efficiency Standards , Feb. 5, 2009
White House Web site, Remarks by the President to the Department of Energy Staff , Feb. 5, 2009


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An independent obsession
The behind-the-scenes process that brings foreign and indie films to town
Molly Schlich knows movies.
She has organized the Springfield Art Association's annual film festival for the past 18 years. The event, she says, was started not as a fundraiser, but as a way to offer greater variety to Springfield's movie audiences. "We thought we could add a little more culture and a little more choice," she recalls.
Originally, independent and foreign films screened in 16 millimeter at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine — but the art association actually lost money on the endeavor. Even so, Schlich was encouraged to continue, buoyed by a belief that the festival would eventually catch on. Now, the annual event is in its 19th year and has a loyal following.
Schlich says the festival's film selection process initially requires the work of one person — her. She sees each and every film, and is the sole member of the screening committee. This year, however, marks Schlich's last as curator. "As much as I love doing it, I decided to reclaim my life and stop letting the festival take it over," she says, adding that she has mentored her successor: SAA executive director Betsy Dollar.
While Schlich ultimately picks the titles alone, she gets help from some of the world's best film critics via their New York Times reviews. She reads daily issues, looking for especially strong film remarks. Then Schlich hits the road, hunting down well-reviewed indie and foreign films at festivals in St. Louis or Champaign.
The film series moved to Kerasotes from SIU for the opportunity to show 35 mm prints. Movies were first screened at Fox, Esquire and White Oaks theaters, and then finally at Parkway Pointe. Once potential festival movies have been identified, Kerasotes reviews Schlich's list, removing titles they plan to show. A festival committee that includes Jim Huston, Paul Povse, Chris Chapman, Steve Rambach, John Bucari, and Philip Locascio votes on Schlich's nominees.
Next comes what Schlich calls the frantic part — locating each distributor, making inquiries, and negotiating rental agreements. Most movies rent for $350 to $700, and their availability must be guaranteed in time for the art association to advertise its lineup before Christmas.
When all is said and done, Schlich and her colleagues will have brought to Springfield 35 mm prints of seven remarkable films not often available to capital city viewers. And this year, the group has done exceptionally well, picking some of the most acclaimed films of 2009. The films are so good, in fact, that Schlich can't choose a favorite. "This year's films are an outstanding group. I cannot say enough about the excellence of every one of them," she says.
In the past, the film series has shown documentaries like the popular Man on A Wire. The industry, however, no longer offers docs in 35 mm — a fact that precludes their inclusion in the Springfield festival.
As she steps down, Schlich seems happy to have brought these films to central Illinois. She often distributes programs to patrons at the theater door, and has come to recognize returning faces each year. "Language students come for extra credit, UIS reimburses students who go, real estate agents use it as a selling point for Springfield," she says. "After 18 years, it seems like a tradition…as if in the cold, dark days of January, people have just been waiting for the festival to begin anew."
Zach Baliva is a filmmaker living in Springfield.


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GOP eyes Romney money machine
Now that Mitt Romney has categorically ruled himself out of the 2016 presidential race, the battle is on for the most enduring part of his legacy — his fundraising operation.
Romney teamed with the Republican National Committee to raise $1 billion in 2012 and still controls perhaps the pre-eminent donor list in all of Republican politics. The pro-Romney super PAC Restore Our Future raised $150 million almost entirely from massive six- and seven-figure checks.
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It's a perfect match for presidential prospects and their allies who have begun quietly building their own finance networks, seeking donors who can write large checks, bundlers who can collect scores of $5,000 contributions, and massive databases of phone numbers and emails from which thousands of smaller contributions can be wrung.
Personal fundraising pitches from Romney are considered a potential wellspring for the Republican Party and its 2014 congressional candidates, while the pieces of his network have become coveted assets for 2016 presidential aspirants.
( PHOTOS: Mitt Romney's celebrity supporters)
Candidates and committees in 2013 paid Romney's still idling campaign at least $675,000 to rent its fundraising lists, while prospective presidential candidates like Govs. Scott Walker and Chris Christie have cozied up to Romney's fundraisers and donors in closed-door meetings and fundraisers. Romney himself quietly slipped into Manhattan in December to headline a big-donor dinner for the RNC, where he was a huge hit, sources tell POLITICO.
And last month, Romney, for the first time as an ex-candidate, signed a fundraising letter sent to the Romney for President national direct mail list on letterhead bearing Romney's name asking for contributions to another candidate — his 2012 vice presidential pick, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, who is often mentioned as a possible 2016 contender.
"I selected Paul as my running mate for a reason — he has one of the sharpest minds of anyone I've ever met," Romney wrote. The letter, dated Jan. 17, sought contributions to Ryan's congressional reelection campaign. "I was proud to welcome him to my campaign last year. And now I am proud to join his," Romney wrote. "You were one of the Romney-Ryan team's most loyal and generous supporters, and both Paul and I are grateful for all you did for us."
Expect to see more mailings like that, along with fundraising appearances like the ones Romney did last year for Virginia gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli and the New Hampshire Republican Party, said Ron Kaufman, a top adviser to Romney's 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns.
( Also on POLITICO: Mitt Romney: 'I'm not running' in 2016)
"Mitt has been courted by lots of folks from the day we lost. People up and down the ticket have asked if he would do a letter, an email or an event — or if Ann [Romney] would — and that's only increased exponentially as buyers' remorse has set in," Kaufman said. "He could fill every day, every night three times over. And, that's only going to expand headed into 2016. Not just on the money side, but Mitt has a huge network of friends at all levels that have been helpful to people."
It's quite a turnabout from the days after Romney lost the 2012 election to President Barack Obama, when Republicans rushed to distance themselves from their dispatched nominee, whose sometimes clumsy campaign left his party vowing to chart a new course.
Yet even during Romney's most cringe-inducing moments, no one questioned his skill as a fundraiser.
He raised far more than any previous GOP candidate, utilizing a slickly produced major donor and bundler program, as well as aggressive direct mail, email and telephone solicitation programs.
The major donors and bundlers who rallied behind Romney have remained in contact with one another, and many were still holding out hope that he might be persuaded to give it another go in 2016, said Kent Burton, a lobbyist who bundled checks for Romney and served on his national finance committee.
( Also on POLITICO: The GOP's 2016 name game)
"The fact is that he is not going to run again, but there are still folks who are ardent supporters of his. And if I were out there as a candidate, I would make sure that I was in touch with the right people to be able to take advantage of that at the right moment," Burton said, adding that moment has not come yet because of the fluidity of the field.


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LLD's post on flute players with the GD got me thinking to the vexing question of the unidentified trumpet player on the Pure Jerry vol. 4 release (Keystone, "9/1/74"), which got me thinking to other unidentified guests on Jerry (non-GD) shows. So I figured I'd post a list and see what, if anything, turns up.
- NRPS 1970-07-07, Matrix, SF: "Kim" partners with Nelson (?) for the vocals on "Long Black Veil." Need to revisit.
- JGMS 1973-07-05, Lion's Share, San Anselmo: trumpet player for set II. DNC user "sl halper" says this: "The trumpet player is almost certainly the same guy who's on Pure Jerry 4; he pulls out all the same quotes and is especially heavy with his attempts to play John Coltrane's Resolution over the jam on d3t2 [Merl's Tune]."
- JGMS 1973-10-02, Winterland, SF: trumpet player. Wolfgang's Vault says this is Bill Atwood, based on a suggestion by Corry Arnold.
- JGMS 1974-02-16, Keystone, Berkeley: conga player. My guess is Armando Peraza.
- JGMS 1974-07-12, Keystone, Berkeley: guitar player. Grisman shows up on mandolin and Martin is absent, so the lineup is definitely funky this night. Also on the bill is Locomotiv G.T., about which I know nothing, but which could of course have supplied the guest. I also wonder about Paul Pena, who was on the bill a lot during this period. Corry doubts either of these possibilities, suggesting it might be someone close to Grisman, possibly David Nichtern.
- JGMS 1974-09-01, Keystone, Berkeley: trumpet player. The Pure Jerry release (#4) is almost certainly a composite of more than one show, so the date is a little hard to pin.
- JGMS 1974-10-27, Golden Bear, Huntington Beach: circulating tapes list the guests as Ringo and Maria Muldaur. I only know of one Ringo, but have no idea if this is him. Need to revisit.
- JGB 1977-01-29, 1977-01-30, Keystone, Berkeley: there is a rhythm guitar player.
- JGB 1977-04-09, Keystone Palo Alto: again, a second guitarist.
- Reconstruction 1979-01-30, Keystone, Berkeley: female vocal accompanist on "Do I Move You?"
- Reconstruction 1979-07-20, Rio Theater, Rodeo: female vocalist on lead vocals for an unknown song I call "Heart of Fire" and backing vocals on "Telling My Friends". Update: This is Maria Muldaur.
That's all I have got. The sad observation is that the more Jerry descended into the Persian, the fewer onstage guests he had. But that's a different matter for a different post.


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If you live in the Midwest United States, you are probably aware of a chain called Culver's, where they have two main specialties: something called the ButterBurger, and frozen custard.
Here's a ButterBurger. It's served on a buttered bun. Oh yeah.
Now, I was already halfway in love with them based on this stellar roster of menu items, but the deal was completely sealed when I tasted their custard.
I opted for the caramel-cashew sundae, which was prepared to order, and was--I'll just say it--way better than I thought the custard would taste at a chain restaurant. Cold, creamy, and clearly fresh, the custard itself was a solid base for the buttery caramel and crunchy cashews. The sweet, slightly salty toppings atop the rich custard made for an extremely addictive combination--this sundae made me wish the ice cream weekend could be longer.
I wouldn't necessarily say this custard would rival that of some of the custardists I've come to know and love in different parts of the country such as Kopp's, Old School Custard in Seattle, or Scooters in Chicago, but as an on-the-road choice, Culver's would definitely be my pick for a sweet treat.
Culver's, multiple locations throughout the US (mostly in the midwest); online here.


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Cambridge's Paradise To Close on September 16
Paradise, the long-standing LGBTQ nightclub in Cambridge, closes its doors next week, it was reported in Bay Windows.
The club, located at 180 Massachusetts Avenue near the MIT campus, will close due to the fact that the building in which it is located was sold to Novartis Pharmaceuticals as part of the company's expansion plans. The company is said to have bought the space for 1.75 million.
The club, known for its go-go boys, porn videos and underwear parties, has been a Cambridge institution since the 1980s.
The rumors of its closing have been in the air for weeks and was confirmed, Bay Windows reports, by the club's principal owner Paul McCarthy.
The closing weekend events will be "The Last Dance - Paradise Closing Party" on September 15 and the "Paradise Customer Appreciation Night" on September 16.
The closing reduces the number of LGBTQ-designated nightclubs and bars to just a few in the Boston area.
For more information, visit the club's Facebook page.


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Graduates nationwide are bidding farewell to their alma maters during the graduation season and while many are looking to the future, some are seeking creative ways to encapsulate school memories.
Taipei Jingmei Girls' High School students are recognizable by their bright yellow shirts and black pleated skirts.
Inspired by artist Florentijn Hofman's iconic 16.5m tall inflatable yellow Rubber Duck, the school this year chose palm-sized yellow plastic ducks as graduation gifts.
The rubber ducks have proven popular with graduates and many had their photographs taken with them in their favorite parts of the school, with some saying that the gift symbolized their metamorphosis "from ugly ducklings into swans."
At Taipei Chenggong High School, students chose to remember their high-school days by designing a series of commemorative badges.
Meanwhile, graduates at Taipei Municipal Yu Cheng Senior High School were each given two cushions to remember their high-school years, one printed with pictures of the male students' green-collared school sportswear and another with pictures of the female students' orange-collared uniform.
"Most students prefer the school's sportswear to the official uniform because it is made with a softer fabric, but once they graduate, they often miss the uniform," the school's Academic Affairs Office director Chang Kuang-yuan (張洸源) said.
In an effort to incorporate charity into their big day, graduates at Taipei Municipal Jianguo High School designed an array of T-shirts and donated the profit — which amounted to about NT$30,000 (US$1,000) — to World Vision Taiwan.
Another highlight of Jianguo's graduation ceremony was a figurine of the school's Teacher-Parent Association chairman, Wang Ming-hsien (汪明賢), who handed out the figurine to graduates to remember him by and to celebrate his scheduled retirement this year.
However, three young entrepreneurs — Cheng Yi-shan (鄭宜珊), Cheng Yi-hsiang (鄭宜湘) and Cheng Hsiao-chun (鄭小群) — have not only sought to capture their own high-school memories, but also helped others to hold on to theirs by turning their high-school uniforms into pillows.
The students are the proprietors of a fledging studio — named Pillow Hug (制服抱抱) — which produces pillows made from the uniforms of Jianguo High School and Taipei First Girls' High School and offers customized services to customers who order more than 50 pieces.
Spurred on by a whiteboard they found on the streets, the three started the business three years after they graduated from college.
Cheng Yi-shan said she had always kept her high-school uniform after she graduated from Taipei Municipal Yongchun Senior High School, although she never had a chance to wear it.
"Then one day, it suddenly occurred to me that I could make a pillow from my old uniform," Cheng Yi-shan said, as she took out her "Yongchun pillow" that was covered with the signatures of her high-school classmates and drawings by her then-boyfriend.
"Whenever I'm upset, I hold the uniform pillow in my arms, cry on it or punch it to vent my frustration. It still smells like me in high school," Cheng Yi-shan said.
A graduate from Shih Chien University's fashion design department, Cheng Yi-hsiang, was chosen as the face of Pillow Hug because of her experience starring in a number of television commercials and short films.


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Opinion: Not Your Grandfather's Democratic Party
Wonder Land columnist Dan Henninger on how the Democratic Party's old national-security problems have reemerged.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... why focus in this country on the splits within the Republican party ... the also some interesting debates going on in the left side or on the left side of politics too ... and here to talk about is Wonderland Columnist Dan Henninger can ... bite you focus your column this week on the Net reads nation conference ... in in the reaction to Nancy policy Nacional like are very much Why twelve that unlike are very much when she started talking about Edward Snowden and is stealing data from the National Security Agency she actually stood off the netroots ... nation conference is the ... it's a collection of the progressive activist is the most ... activist group in the Democratic Party and she stood before them and said I understand that a lot if you think that whatever Snowden did his heroic ... but it was a direct threat to this nation's national security and those of us who have to protect the nation Security ... have to try to strike a balance between that and privacy ... and in fact Edward Snowden she told them ... committed a crime he broke the law ... with that ... the place to rights and the bull was dense creamy and their Sperling vilification and Nancy policy ... leave them alone that's a lie you might like you ... a friend and a while so this is the former speaker the house a separate Cisco Democrat getting hammered by her on people dissect it and in she's not really known for her mother station she is on the very left hand side of the party so why ... is she feeling to the middle because it is the right thing to do national security really isn't a partisan issue ... or issues using a danger here that the party is moving so far the laughs that it is alienating a lot of ... the traditional base the interesting question I think she may have been trying to put some balance their because she understands and I think is that boost R to cascade or her she ... saw kind of the ... ghosts of the party passed rising from the crypt the old San Francisco Democrat ... the point Mary is that for the longest time the Democratic Party in the post Vietnam era has had a reputation for being soft on national security or soft on defense against the Vietnam war ... against the Central Intelligence Agency and now this suggests that maybe they are antagonistic course the National Security Agency's which are trying to protect us from terrorist bombers ... this can be a liability for the Democratic Party as it moves toward selections or is it was Port's twenty sixteen ... especially if the world which are shaking in so many places now erupts and the American people get nervous ... and they often find that they need national security ... I think for the ... pool of Democratic left to be that far off base on this issue ... could be a vulnerability can really do Americans really vote on national security and in the only really National scary election that we had here was ... what two thousand and four in three years after ... nine eleven ... on it or are there other ... nations there and they're potentially worrisome or is it the legendary hell right now it might not matter so much what I'm suggesting that with the continuing threat of terror the realities and Asus polo Seib recognize them and understands ... in with what is going on in the Middle East and South China Sea with China Japan and so forth ... and with Barack Obama himself giving a speech before the National Defense University which was interpreted as whiny down the war on terror ... and the president in his dealings with ... PP over Snowden and so forth ... feeling kind of distance or Syria as well ... distancing himself from the problems of the world creates potential for an opening for the Republicans to say ... these people are not interested in the dangers of the world and if you wanna be protected from it you're going to have to go with the Republican candidate what does this mean for Hillary presidential run ... if that is moving so far to the left for their brewing Nancy policy was in for about ten days ago Bill Clinton that the McCain Institute quote unquote privately said that he thought Barack Obama should be doing something more to help the Syrian rebels ... because if it went bad ... two years from now on always don't care what the opinion poll said now they're going to blame him ... by extension if they blame them ... they're going to blame the next potential nominee and that's his wife Kalahari clan ... I think he was trying to set things up in a way to push the Obama administration ... a little bit more forward into the area of foreign affairs so that didn't create a potential future liability for Hillary as candidates me think that that that that the Democratic party though ... is Beazley's lacking the moderate center mounted that even if she were to move to the center and it isn't there anymore well that s freak show is that it happened so far this is not your grandfather's Democratic are ... married and all other is known of national security center in the Democratic Party anymore there's no salmon under snow scoop Jackson ... this is not the party of Harry Truman and JFK ... it is a party that has moved to laugh on these issues ... in an insulated themselves some in recent years by saying we support the troops but we don't support Bush and Cheney's war ... and I think incidents like this the were so emotional and so vitriolic ... threaten to undermine this ... redefinition of them sell Alan especially scary if you've got the isolationist writes of the Republican