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Breaking a six-year streak, Georgia State's research saw a drop in total award amounts in the 2018 fiscal year due to budget cuts stemming from the Trump administration.
Georgia State is among the nation's leading research universities. The university's total award amount steadily rose to $66 million in 2012 and to a peak of $147 million in 2017. However, the award amount has since fallen to $122.9 million in 2018.
The Georgia State University Research Foundation is the nonprofit corporation that plays the role of securing grants from external sources for supporting the research activities at the university.
James Weyhenmeyer, the university's vice president for research and economic development, said, "We have not released official information about the university's research funding number for [the 2018 fiscal year]. However, it's true that this past year was challenging due to budgetary constraints placed on many federal funding agencies."
This cut in federal funding is due to the 2018 U.S. Government Budget as proposed by the Trump administration. This budget includes an 11 percent cut to the National Science Foundation (NSF) which provided 24 percent of all federally funded basic research in American universities in 2017.
Additionally, there was a complete removal of funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The National Institute of Health (NIH) provided $8.4 billion in grants in 2017 but saw a 22 percent cut for 2018.
At Georgia State, in the 2017 fiscal year, the NIH provided $34.3 million in grants. The following year, after budget cuts, it provided only $29.4 million to Georgia State.
"We were not the only university to feel the effects of these budget issues," Weyhenmeyer said. "That said, our faculty's research is still earning investment from a wide range of external sources, including federal agencies, state agencies, nonprofits and others. We are also proud that our research expenditures—or how much the university spends on research each year—continues to grow."
Weyhenmeyer emphasized the importance of research funding on all levels.
"Research funding is tremendously important not only to the university but to the lives of all Americans. That's because investment in research is investment in the future of our country," he said.
"Research universities are responsible for training the next generation of scientists; for finding solutions to global problems, ranging from housing affordability to health disparities to terrorism to disease outbreaks; for fueling both the local and national economy; and for helping produce tomorrow's life-changing inventions and technology."
The Georgia State Research Portal provides in-depth data on research project funding awards and grants for each fiscal year.
Fiscal Year 2017 was an especially productive year for Georgia State research funding. A Georgia State press release touted this record, stating, "Externally funded research activity at the university has climbed 81 percent over the past three years."
Several Georgia State colleges stood out in total funding amounts, receiving a significant portion of the whole. The colleges, in order of least to most funding, are: the College of Arts and Sciences, the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, the College of Education and Human Development and the Institute for Biomedical Sciences.
Ann-Margaret Esnard is the associate dean for research at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies (AYSPS), which received $19.6 million in grant funding in 2018.
"The decline in federal awards affected our College as well. However, we have a diverse portfolio of sponsor types which is an important aspect of our College," Esnard said.
She noted that a goal would be to continue diversifying their funding portfolio.
"The Georgia Health Policy Center (GHPC), based in the AYSPS, led in grant funding," she said.
The GHPC received approximately 52.3 percent of all AYSPS funding, or $11.2 million.
One of the larger single donations to the AYSPS was a $1 million grant to the Urban Studies Institute (USI). The grant came from the NSF to lead international research on urban resilience.
A press release from Georgia State stated, "The grant brings Georgia State into a five-year project joining social scientists, planners, engineers, ecologists, climate scientists, policymakers and the public with team members from 25 institutions."
Moving forward, Esnard has a few goals for 2019. She said, "Another interdisciplinary initiative for FY19 focuses on the new economy." Esnard elaborated on this initiative.
"New Economy means many things, and among them are: artificial intelligence, data analytics and a digital world," she said. "We will use this year to strategize on how to craft complementary research and curricula initiatives as we prepare our next generation of policy scholars and professionals."
Walt Thompson is a Regents' Professor and the associate dean for graduate studies and research in the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD).
"Our college has received grant funding across a wide range of disciplines, from teacher preparation to human development and service-related fields," Thompson said.
The CEHD received $19 million in 2018.
"Assistant Professor Brett Wong received a $1.5 million grant from the NIH to better understand health disparities in the black population in the United States," he said.
The study focuses on blood vessels and sensory nerve functions.
"The main goal is to understand what may be predisposing non-Hispanic blacks to higher rates of hypertension and nerve dysfunction if they were to become hypertensive or diabetic," Wong said in a press release.
Another high-dollar grant was given to the coordinator of Georgia State's Best Practices training for Pre-K teachers.
"Sherry Howard also received $1.6 million from the Georgia's Department of Early Care and Learning to continue offering professional development opportunities for Georgia Pre-K teachers," Thompson said.
Thompson is looking forward to 2019.
"Even though we saw a slight decrease between FY17 and FY18, we've already received $2.4 million in research funding so far in 2019 and we're optimistic that we'll be up to about $20 million by the end of the fiscal year," he said.


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The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) or Bingtuan:
1. Exercises State & Police Powers
2. Serves as a Colonizing Force
3. Commits Brutal Abuses
4. Profits from Uyghur Forced Labor
5. Operates a Global Business Empire
The Uyghur Human Rights Project releases a report on the limits placed on environmental activism among Uyghurs
For immediate release
July 20, 2016 10:30 am EST
Contact: Uyghur Human Rights Project +1 (202) 478 1920
Without land, there is no life: Chinese state suppression of Uyghur environmental activism, a new research report by the Uyghur Human Rights Project, is a detailed examination of Uyghur environmental activism and the response by the Chinese state. Based on interviews and extensive research in Chinese, Uyghur and English, UHRP has compiled a full length report analyzing environmental dangers in East Turkestan and widespread suppression of Uyghurs' environmentalist activities.
The intimate connection between the Uyghur people and the land of East Turkestan is celebrated in songs and poetry written and performed in the Uyghur language. Proverbs in Uyghur convey how the existence of the Uyghur people is tied to the availability of land and that an individual's identity is inseparable from the land from which they came.
Given the physical survival and cultural integrity attributed to the land of East Turkestan, Uyghurs have developed sustainable practices in order to live in a fragile environment composed of deserts, oases and mountains. For example, the underground water transportation system of the Turpan area called karez has provided drinking water and water to grow crops for centuries to communities living in an exceptionally arid part of the region.
Since the early 1990s, the Chinese government has targeted East Turkestan with a series of economic development initiatives demonstrating a cumulative effort to exploit the region's strategic location in Central Asia to boost China's political and economic presence in the wider region. These centrally led campaigns have transformed East Turkestan bringing Chinese migrants and increased economic activity to the region that have had a profound effect on the environment. In addition to economic motives for regional intervention, the Chinese authorities exploited the vast landscape of East Turkestan to conduct nuclear weapons testing from 1964 to 1996. The full consequences of these tests are unknown, but credible evidence suggests a health catastrophe has occurred due to nuclear fall out and polluted land.
Without land, there is no life: Chinese state suppression of Uyghur environmental activism reports on three aspects of the environment in East Turkestan that indicate clear violations of the Uyghur people's democratic rights to voice concerns over environmental degradation and to contribute to the development of sustainable regional policies. The three topics explored are: government policies and their impact on the purity of water, air and land; nuclear testing, the development of other types of weapons and related health issues; and Han Chinese migration to East Turkestan, predominately in the south of the region.
Following an examination of these topics, the Uyghur Human Rights Project concludes the following concerns with environmentalism in the region:
Public participation in environmental affairs is an internationally acknowledged right and protected in Chinese law. Participation in the decision making process is understood to be a contributing factor to equitable environmental policies and recognizes the integral role of grassroots communities in solving environmental problems. Public participation provides a means with which individuals and civil society groups hold the state and private enterprise accountable for obligations in regard to sustainable development and ensures transparency in environmental governance. Accurate and complete information is essential to effective and meaningful public participation in environmental affairs. Therefore, respect for the principle of access to and freedom of information is necessary for the public to evaluate environmental policy and to seek forms of redress. Public participation allows for the development of a democratic form of governance that places individuals and communities as key stakeholders in environmental matters thus forming a broad legitimacy for policy formation.
Without land, there is no life: Chinese state suppression of Uyghur environmental activism concludes with the following key recommendations for the Chinese government:
Without land, there is no life: Chinese state suppression of Uyghur environmental activism can be downloaded at: https://docs.uhrp.org/pdf/Without-land-there-is-no-life.pdf

subset: commoncrawl


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Microbial composition in different gut locations of weaning piglets receiving antibiotics
Article information
The aim of this study was to examine shifts in the composition of the bacterial population in the intestinal tracts (ITs) of weaning piglets by antibiotic treatment using high-throughput sequencing.
Sixty 28-d-old weaning piglets were randomly divided into two treatment groups. The Control group was treated with a basal diet without antibiotics. The Antibiotic group's basal diet contained colistin sulfate at a concentration of 20 g per ton and bacitracin zinc at a concentration of 40 g per ton. All of the pigs were fed for 28 days. Then, three pigs were killed, and the luminal contents of the jejunum, ileum, cecum, and colon were collected for DNA extraction and high-throughput sequencing.
The results showed that the average daily weight gain of the antibiotic group was significantly greater (p<0.05), and the incidence of diarrhea lower (p>0.05), than the control group. A total of 812,607 valid reads were generated. Thirty-eight operational taxonomic units (OTUs) that were found in all of the samples were defined as core OTUs. Twenty-one phyla were identified, and approximately 90% of the classifiable sequences belonged to the phylum Firmicutes. Forty-two classes were identified. Of the 232 genera identified, nine genera were identified as the core gut microbiome because they existed in all of the tracts. The proportion of the nine core bacteria varied at the different tract sites. A heat map was used to understand how the numbers of the abundant genera shifted between the two treatment groups.
At different tract sites the relative abundance of gut microbiota was different. Antibiotics could cause shifts in the microorganism composition and affect the composition of gut microbiota in the different tracts of weaning piglets.
Antibiotics are becoming an essential component of modern agricultural to improve the feed efficiency of animals, treat disease, and kill harmful germs [1]. Colistin sulfate and bacitracin zinc are commonly used growth-promoting antibiotics in farm production and are rarely assimilated by animal intestines. Antibiotics were shown to have an important effect on the growth of bacteria by suppressing bacterial wall synthesis [2], thereby improving the growth rate or reducing the incidence of diarrhea in piglets. A previous study showed that colistin sulfate could increase the activities of amylase, lipase and protease in broiler chickens [3]. Supplementation with bacitracin zinc can change the intestinal microbiota and improve the growth performance of broiler chickens challenged with Eimeria acervulina and E. tenella [4]. However, how these two antibiotics work in weaning piglets has not been measured. Performance-enhancing antibiotics used at low levels in feeds can enhance the efficiency of feed utilization, thereby improving the growth performance of animals. Antibiotics are also used at higher levels to prevent and treat diseases in the livestock and poultry industries [5]. Improvement in the growth performance of piglets may be due to changes in the composition of the bacterial community that provides nutrition and performs defensive functions in the host [6,7]. Growth-promoting antibiotics also benefit protein metabolism and reduce growth-depressing microbial metabolites.
The microbiota of livestock and poultry ITs is an essential "organ" than can comprise up to one thousand species in a dynamic environment [8]. Previous studies have also shown that the intestinal microbiota could influence many metabolic steps and affect many aspects of host physiology, such as nutritional status, host behavior and stress responses [9]. The gut microbiota could carry out the following functions for its host: acting as a physical barrier by competitive attachment, digestion of nutrient sources, and the production of antimicrobial substances. However, which bacteria of the microbiota play beneficial or harmful roles remain largely undefined. Previous cultivation technology has limited our capacity to separate strictly anaerobic bacteria members or members needing complex nutrient substances. It should be observed that different diets affect the intestinal ecology of piglets, mainly by transforming the circumstances in the proximal gastrointestinal tract, leading to a more stable environment and reduced reproduction of pernicious bacteria in the gut [10].
The weaning period, corresponding to changes in diet and the gut environment, is a stressful period, therefore, it can easily lead to low growth performance, a high incidence of diarrhea and imbalanced intestinal flora [11]. The number and species of microorganisms living in the mammalian gut shows variation among the jejunum, ileum, cecum and colon [12]. For example, the contents of the small intestine were abundant in members of the Proteobacteria and Cyanobacteria phyla, but Bacteroidetes were more prevalent in the large intestine samples. Colistin sulfate and bacitracin zinc are commonly used in broiler chickens but rarely used in weaning piglets [13]. Previously, there were limited techniques for the measurement of the effects of antibiotic supplementation on pigs. In this research, high-throughput MiSeq platforms were used to give us an efficient method for understanding the complex relationship between the two antibiotics and weaning piglets' core microbiome in the different tracts.
Animals and sample collection
A total of sixty weaning piglets at 28 days of age were randomly placed into two growth trials. The following dietary treatments were carried out: i) Control (basal diet based on corn and soybean meal without antibiotics) and ii) Antibiotic (basal diet supplemented with colistin sulfate at 20 g per ton and bacitracin zinc at 40 g per ton). All of the pigs were housed in a controlled environmental room for 28 days. At the end of the experiment, three pigs were randomly selected for euthanization by a method approved by the Animal Care and Use Committee of Zhejiang University. The sections of the gastrointestinal tract were immediately removed from the carcasses. The luminal contents of the intestinal tracts were collected from the jejunum, ileum, cecum, and colon sites. The samples were placed on ice and immediately transported to the laboratory.
DNA extraction
Total genomic DNA was extracted from each of the luminal content samples containing the microbial communities using the QIAamp DNA Stool Mini Kit (QIAGEN, CA, Hamburg, Germany) according to the manufacturer's instructions. The quantity of DNA was measured using a NanoDrop 1000 Spectrophotometer.
Polymerase chain reaction amplicon production and high-throughput sequencing
The V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene was amplified and sequenced. The polymerase chain reactions (PCRs) were carried out in triplicate in a total volume of 25 μL containing 5 μM of each primer, 10 ng of DNA template, 4 μL 1× FastPfu buffer, 2.5 mM dNTPs, and 0.4 μL of FastPfu polymerase (TransGen Biotech, Beijing, China). The PCR protocol included 30 cycles. PCR products were separated by electrophoresis in a 2% (w/v) gel, and the band was purified using the AxyPrep DNA Gel Extraction Kit (Axygen, Union City, CA, USA). Amplicons produced from different luminal content samples were sent to a commercial company (Majorbio, Shanghai, China) for sequencing on the Illumina MiSequencing platform.
Data analysis
First, all of the raw reads with one or more ambiguous nucleotides or with incorrect barcode or primer sequences were discarded. Illumina sequencing produced a pair of reads from each end for each DNA fragment. A self-written script was developed to generate the reverse complement of one of the paired-end reads and then compare it with its matching read. Then, the tagged sequences were classified into different individual files according to the barcodes of the samples [14]. Richness and diversity indices were produced using Mothur, and sets of sequences with ≥97% identity were defined as operational taxonomic units (OTUs). The representative sequences were distributed into phyla and genera according to the SILVA bacteria database (SILVA version 108, Silva, Bremen, Germany) following the Bayesian approach and using a cutoff of 97%. Clusters were generated using a dissimilarity cutoff of 3% and served as OTUs for constructing predictive rarefaction curves and for calculating the Shannon and Simpson diversity indices, Chao1 richness, abundance-based coverage estimators and coverage percentage by Good's method. Principal component analysis was carried out at the genus level [15].
Effect of antibiotics on the growth performance of weaning piglets
Antibiotics have obvious effects on feed intake and growth performance. The ADG (average daily gain) (263.81) of the antibiotics group was significantly higher (p<0.05; Table 1) than the ADG of the control group (193.33). No obvious differences in the F:G (feed rate: gain rate) (p>0.05) were observed between the two groups. Throughout the experiment, the incidence of diarrhea in the antibiotic group was lower than in the control group but no significant difference was observed (p>0.05). This difference was indicated by the ADG and average daily feed intake of the antibiotic group. In this study, the results suggested that colistin sulfate and bacitracin zinc could promote piglet' growth performance by increasing the rate of the development and maturation of the microbiota to the form found in adults [16].
Core bacteria of weaning piglets
Although antibiotics are an important dietary supplement with many positive effects, data about their characteristics from an ecological perspective are limited. Therefore, a more qualitative and quantitative method is necessary to monitor intestinal microbial communities. In this study, high-throughput sequence technology was adopted, and a total of 812,607 valid sequence reads that corresponded to 855 OTUs (97% identity) were generated from the 24 samples as indicated (Table 2). The 38 OTUs that existed in all of the samples in the two groups were defined as core OTUs in our study. Although core OTUs composed only 4.44% of the total OTUs, they contained 60.7% of the total sequences. These observations reveal that weaning piglets share a core set of bacteria that are represented by a small number of dominant species in different individuals. In addition, 97% of the core sequences were from members of the Firmicutes phyla. The other two core phyla were the Cyanobacteria and Actinobacteria. The bacterial composition at the phylum and class levels are shown in Figure 1 and 2.
The community of bacterial phyla in the intestines of weaning piglets
At the phylum level (Figure 1), we identified a total of 21 phyla, and the majority of the classifiable sequences (approximately 90%) from all four intestinal tract regions belonged to the Firmicutes. The others represent less than 4% of the total bacteria. We have confirmed that there are differences in the compositions of the microbiota in different locations of the piglets' guts. For example, Proteobacteria and Cyanobacteria were more abundant in the jejunum and ileum but were rarely found in the other regions. The reasons for these variations may be related to the GIT's functional and anatomical diversity by location. The effect of antibiotics on the shift in Firmicutes was different from the jejunum to the colon. Their relative abundance was slightly increased in the jejunum and ileum but reduced in the cecum and colon (p>0.05). The percentages of bacteria in the Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, and Actinobacteria phyla decreased from the jejunum to the colon; however, the percentage of bacteria in the Bacteroidetes phyla increased. Similar shifts were observed in both groups. However, there were no significant differences between the control and antibiotic groups within the different regions of the tract (Figure 1).
The Firmicutes are typically divided into three classes: the Clostridia, which are anaerobic, the Bacilli, which are obligate or facultative aerobes, and the Mollicutes. The Firmicutes also represent the largest proportion of the mouse and human gut microbiomes [17] and are involved in energy resorption and obesity [18]. The proportion of Proteobacteria and Cyanobacteria in the antibiotic group was reduced but not significantly. Cyanobacteria can produce cyanotoxins and obtain energy through photosynthesis. They are the most genetically diverse bacteria, they occupy a broad range of habitats across all latitudes, and they can survive in harsh environments [19]. Actinobacteria contains one of the largest bacterial genera, Streptococcus, which was one of the dominant bacterial genera (Figure 3). Streptococcus are recognized as producers of many bioactive metabolites, such as antibiotics, which provide useful medicine for humans [20]. Only one class of Bacteroidetes, Bacteroidia, are abundant organism in the feces of animals and humans. However, the Bacteroides and Porphyromonas genera were not detected in the intestinal tracts of weaning piglets.
The community of bacterial classes in the intestines of weaning piglets
We identified a total of 42 classes dominated by the Clostridia and Bacilli, which are the most common classes of the phylum Firmicutes. The numbers of Clostridia increased, but the numbers of Bacilli decreased from the jejunum to the colon. The other classes also showed variable distributions among the four regions of the intestinal tract. The proportion of Gammaproteobacteria and Cyanobacteria was higher in the small intestinal regions, whereas the numbers of Bacteroidia, Actinobacteria, and Erysipelotrichia were greater in the regions of the large intestine. These seven classes accounted for almost 96% of the total sequences.
The community of bacterial genera in the intestines of weaning piglets
We identified a total of 232 genera from the 24 samples. The most abundant genera including Clostridium, Lactobacillus, Ruminococcus, Streptococcus, Subdoligranulum, Peptostreptococcaceae_incertae_sedis, Escherichia, Lachnospiraceae_unclassified, and Cyanobacteria_norank were identified as the core gut microbiome because these genera were found in all regions of the intestinal tracts in piglets (Figure 3). Among the nine core bacteria, the proportion of Ruminococcus, Subdoligranulum, and Lachnospiraceae_unclassified showed increases from the jejunum to the colon, whereas the other genera decreased. To understand how the number of core bacteria shifted between the two treatment groups, a heat map was used to identify differences in the abundance of genera (Supplementary Figure S1). We also found that Streptococcus, Escherichia, and Cyanobacteria_norank were more abundant in the small intestine and that their relative abundance tended to decrease after treatment with antibiotics.
It was obvious that Clostridium dominated the piglets' gut tracts and that bacteria of this genus were reduced during treatment with antibiotics. Previous studies have shown similar frequencies of Clostridium in the ileum of pigs [21]. The unifying feature of the species C. botulinum is the production of neurotoxins [22]. C. difficile, the other important species of Clostridium, can flourish when other germs in the gut are killed during antibiotic treatment [23]; this result is similar to our results in the colon. Ruminococcus is the genera frequenting the colon of piglets. Lactobacillus is a major part of the lactic acid bacterial group and can produce energy through glycolysis and fermentation without oxygen [24].
Most Lactobacillus species are considered to be harmless and is possibly effective at preventing bacterial infections. Lactobacilli can also be used in animal feeds to restore particular aspects of physiological balance and improve the growth of piglets [25] because some Lactobacillus species can generate lactic acid, which may produce an acidic environment that could restrain the growth of many pathogenic genera [26]. Many Streptococcus species are not harmful and form part of the commensal bacteria of animal intestinal tracts. Escherichia was more abundant in the regions of the small intestine than in the large intestine and decreased significantly (p = 0.07, p = 0.12) after antibiotic experiment. Many species of Escherichia are the most common causes of intestinal tract infections and cause serious food poisoning in their hosts [27]. Virulent strains of E. coli can cause gastroenteritis, diarrhea and sometimes bloody bowels within 24 hours. Antibiotics have been shown to markedly decrease the number of E. coli in the jejunum; therefore, they could reduce the incidence of diarrhea in piglets as shown in Table 1. Many bacterial species can metabolize dietary fiber to SCFAs, which accounts for a significant part of the animal's energy source [28]. These core genera of weaning piglets should be studied more precisely and quantitatively associated with the host's genome, metabolome, and growth performance.
Antibiotics have been used for sixty years to improve the growth of pigs. We can expect that advanced modeling and analysis, including sequence platforms, will help us to gain a much better understanding of the microbiomes in different regions of the gut and due to different diets and stages of development, in various geographical regions, and in response to various environmental conditions. Although there is still much controversy surrounding the overuse of antibiotics in agriculture, antibiotics have improved piglet growth performance and altered the proportions of bacteria in the microbiome, as this study has shown. This research is important because the microbiome is a cornerstone of health and productivity, and it will enrich our knowledge of the microbiome's role in piglets' health and disease. Future research should focus on gene expression or the proteins and metabolites of the gut microbiota while reducing underlying risks to animal or human health.
The research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31402083) and Key project of Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (LZ15C170001).
We certify that there is no conflict of interest with any financial organization regarding the material discussed in the manuscript.


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1950s Creature Feature with 1980s Gore
Author: Gregory A. Douglas
Something is festering in the peaceful New England town of Yarkie. Foul winds are blowing; mutated roaches, horrific in their alien menace, now stalk the woods, having been spawned and transformed by a mixture of time and chemicals in the town's fetid dump. One by one, these creatures find the hapless residents, both the criminals and the innocent, devouring them until at last the carnage can no longer go unnoticed. By then, it might be too late. The woods are alive with the restlessness of millions of moving, thinking, organized mutations, and the remaining humans are both outnumbered and outsmarted.
Combining 1950s-like B-monster action with the lurid tastes of the 80s, The Nest is a novel that knows it's in the worst kind of taste and runs with it from the gushing gore to the unfortunate attempts at humor. Normally, this description in and of itself would be the equivalent of praise from me. Corny horror and creature features, a staple of my teenage years, remain both nostalgic and oddly appealing. When I first discovered The Nest then, in a random lot of eBay finds, I tucked in for a treat. Cockroaches and death – the icky and the endless all rolled into one unassuming paperback. What I didn't expect was that the novel thought it was somewhat stylish, rolling around words like phantasmagoria in the midst of sequences where large bugs (not giant, alas) gouge out the eyes of their prey while drilling into the soft brain tissue. Gregory Douglas then wants to combine the immortal language of Shakespeare with major roach carnage and overdone nautical themes. Please, God, no. It's just so bad that . . . that it's bad.
There are so many flaws from the pretentious writing style with its flaunted and out-of-place vocabulary to the stale roach bate (oops, sorry, characters) to the hmmm-should-I-go-into-the-dark-and-menacing-woods-utterly-defensless-to-learn-about-those-blood-curdling-screams plot holes to the attempted faux-science lectures to the endless rough-old-sailor routine. It's enough to make you want the roaches, a mere six inches and only really scary in their mass and with their overpowered bone decimating mandibles, to win. It's so lame it's not even fun anymore, and guess what, there are over three hundred pages of tediously attempted and failed characterization alongside an eye-rolling romance with the usual misunderstandings, plus a really unique and surprising scientist because (gasp) she's a woman and (double gasp) she's pretty.
The roach action, at least, does start early and while the oddly hokey atmosphere has a certain innocence to it (queue the old timey black and white movies such as The Blob and – most excellently – Godzilla) the gore is all out 80s. Mind you, it is repetitive gore but here, at last, the book delivers on its back cover blurb. You know it's going to be rough when an adorable dog is the first victim. What you don't expect is the disturbing sequence of the roaches vs a beached boat full of children. You think that Douglas will pan away here, but he knows you came for horror and bad taste, and he gives it to you. So, the novel has guts. Quite a lot of them, actually.
What it doesn't have is a sense of fear or characters who are remotely intriguing. The characters are just too dumb and too easily lumped together. The cast is huge, mostly composed of Old Salt sorts who are interchangeable and annoyingly worshipful of the two Harvard scientists who are called in to secretly save the day.
The scientists are somewhat better characterized (we can, at least, remember their names) but they make the usual mistakes. Peter Hubbard, the main scientist, after seeing the roaches decimate pretty much everyone and everything, suddenly has a desire that, for science, he must now save the roaches, at least long enough to document the nest itself. But, of course, he will do this with no backup and a plan that's about as air tight as a dried out Swiss Cheese. Wanda Linstrom, the other scientist, is merely eye candy for the men in the book who marvel that she is intelligent and does more than the two other female characters, who spend the entire damn book making chowder, cleaning, and staring ahead bleary eyed from their various crushes and the jealousies the sexy female scientist inspires. The men, meanwhile, are being all manly by making no plans, antagonizing the roaches, and then being quite shocked that the roaches have eaten yet another of their slow moving, unprotected entourage. In the end, we even get a bit of Friday the 13th thrown in . . . the villain is dead . . . wait is he . . . let's just cut to a sex scene and hope that he is . . . . also, let's throw away ALL the weapons and split up too. Infuriating.
And so, while the characters are still trying to figure out an alternative to a really big can of bug spray, we readers are left with no doubts whatsoever why this story is out of print. It's a pity too since cockroaches are scientifically quite fascinating and I was looking forward to a blend of science and campy horror. But I got all camp, too much camp, and in the end mourned the time I'd spent slogging through these tediously repetitive pages. Run, don't walk.
– Frances Carden
Follow my reviews on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/xombie_mistress
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- Book Vs Movie: The Shining - April 6, 2020
- Thankful For Great Cozy Mysteries - December 13, 2019
- Cozy Mysteries for a Perfect Fall - October 20, 2019


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Carpenters - Christmas Portrait Vinyl Album
Christmas Portrait is the first Christmas album recorded by The Carpenters (and the only one issued during Karen Carpenter's lifetime), originally released on October 13, 1978. The album sold one million copies and included a revised version of the group's signature Christmas song, "Merry Christmas Darling". It also includes one of two versions of "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town". (A slower version, recorded in 1974, as well as other unused songs recorded during this album's sessions, were issued on the Carpenters' later Christmas album, An Old-Fashioned Christmas.) In December 2011, the album re-entered the Billboard 200 album sales chart at No. 150 and eventually achieved a new chart peak position of No. 126. In December 2012 and then in December 2013, the album again re-entered the Billboard 200 album sales chart and attained a new chart peak position of No. 114, and then of No. 113.
Both the album cover and the vinyl album are used but in great condition. The inner sleeve is the original generic sleeve that came with the album.
Songs on Album:
|Side One
A Medley including:
O Come, O Come Immanuel
Christmas Waltz
Sleigh Ride
It's Christmas Time
Sleep Well, Little Children
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
Christmas Song
Silent Night
|Side Two
A Medley including:
Jingle Bells
First Snowfall
Let It Snow
Carol Of The Bells
Merry Christmas Darling
I'll Be Home For Christmas
Christ Is Born
Winter Wonderland
Silver Bells
White Christmas
Ave Maria
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Chronic pain affects a person emotionally, physically, financially and socially. This additional stress can affect our physical and emotional well-being. Chronic pain can leave you feeling isolated and hopeless. Learning how to educate your loved ones is a critical step in taking control of your pain management plan. Twin Cities Pain Clinic offers our top tips for the pain patient. You are not in this alone.
Pain might be part of your day, but it is not part of your identity. There are so many great and unique qualities that make you, YOU! Do not let yourself identify as someone who is held back or disabled by your pain. Focus on all of your strengths and talents to encourage and empower others. Focusing on your pain does not diminish it. Focus on the things that make you feel good about yourself, not on how your pain holds you back.
Consider professional help. If you are struggling to discover ways to decrease stress and understand your chronic pain it might be time to seek counseling. Counseling can be a very good tool for you and those closest to you. Chronic pain does not need to be isolating, you will need many players on your team to find treatment options that work for you. Families can learn how to support each other while finding ways to manage your pain.
Make an honest effort with family and friends. Answer phone calls and accept invitations. Be open and honest with how you are feeling. If you need to cancel plans due to your pain, make sure to reach out to them. Can you change your plans to accommodate your needs for that day? Did you make plans to go for a walk with a neighbor, but your back pain is flaring up the day before? Try inviting them over for coffee instead, small things will show you care and that you are invested in your relationship.
Patients who have caring family and friends, are usually better able to cope with their chronic pain. These patients are less likely to experience depression and tend to be more independent. Keep the lines of communication open. If you or a loved one is suffering from chronic pain call (952) 841-2345 to schedule a consult with one of our experts.


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›UN-SPIDER Bonn International Conference "Space-based Solutions for Disaster Management in Africa
UN-SPIDER Bonn International Conference "Space-based Solutions for Disaster Management in Africa: Challenges, Applications, Partnerships"
Natural and man-made disasters cause tremendous damage to societies around the world. They lead to loss of lives and property, displace people from their homes and destroy livelihoods, and disrupt sustainable development efforts worldwide. Developing countries are particularly susceptible to the impact of disasters as societies are more vulnerable and exposed, and less resilient to recover when disasters strike.
Convinced that space technologies can play a vital role in supporting disaster management, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) established the United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER) in 2006 as a programme to be implemented by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA). The General Assembly mandated UN-SPIDER to provide universal access to all countries and all relevant international and regional organizations to all types of space-based information and services relevant to disaster management to support the full disaster management cycle.
In recent years, the quality of satellite sensors, access to and use of satellite imagery and Earth observation services has significantly improved, with more and more space agencies embracing open data policies that facilitate access to archived and up-to-date imagery. Such remotely-sensed data can be combined with in situ information from a variety of sensors and with other data sources such as crowdsourced geotagged images to generate relevant information. Through Big Data approaches, diverse data sources can be used synergistically to create insights that would not be possible through the exploitation of a single source. The increasing presence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques in remote sensing, such as deep learning, helps mine the massive amounts of big space data more efficiently, for instance to quickly determine whether a road is still passable or not following a disaster.
Taking note of these advances in space technologies and other technological advances, the African Union outlined in its 2017 African Space Policy that space represents a unique opportunity for cooperation in using and sharing enabling infrastructure and data towards the proactive management of responses to natural hazards and disasters, amongst other fields. In this way, the African Union aims to promote the use of space applications for improving weather forecasts and to develop a range of early warning systems, as Africa is subject to various extreme weather, climate, ecosystem and geological events.
Strengthening technical skills and setting up institutional and inter-institutional structures is important to ensure that the benefits of space-based information reach civil protection agencies and other actors involved in disaster management activities. Partnerships can facilitate access to data, for instance through emergency mechanisms such as the International Charter Space and Major Disasters. Recently, the European Union and the Government of Germany identified international cooperation with Africa as one of the priorities as highlighted in the Marshall Plan with Africa of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Africa Strategy 2014-2018 of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the G20 Compact with Africa.
This International Conference will take up the issues raised above and continue identifying challenges, highlight solutions and encourage partnerships for using space technologies for disaster management in Africa.
Objectives and expected outcomes
The International Conference aims to contribute to an increased use of big space data approaches and satellite-based application in African countries to respond to challenges posed by natural hazards. More specifically, the event aims to:
Showcase recent advances and identify challenges to the use of space-based information, big data approaches and artificial intelligence techniques such as machine learning in disaster management in Africa.
Present and provide a hands-on experience of space-based applications through tutorials on technical solutions ranging from standalone desktop packages to cloud computing environments that facilitate the access to and use of space-based data and information products for disaster management.
Build on the outcomes of UNOOSA international conferences and symposia to identify capacity-building needs and opportunities regarding full use of the increasing amount of space-based information and new techniques to access, combine, process, analyze and present the data.
Provide a forum to discuss partnerships to facilitate access to data and applications tailored to the needs of disaster management stakeholders in Africa.


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Those that are from the region that are educated are in self preservation mode so they exist but they need to keep sanity, employment and frankly it is just easier to get along with the tribe as they are very tribal here. The outsiders arrive and most are young, few are registered to vote and are disengaged from the political process. So the voting population is largely the elderly, the angry and the disenfranchised religious right who have an agenda to bring hell on earth to fruition by electing one asshole over another. Here in Tennessee it begins with the Plumber we have as Governor and his henchman, Glen Casada. The strong arm tactics and bullshit that has led these two to push through bill after bill that targets the poor, minorities and that includes those whose sexual identity leans left of standard hetero normal identities.
It is times like these I wish I was Gay but alas it is not a choice it is not an option as I was not born that way. Nope, pretty damn dickly but if I switched my gender I would be a great Gay man! Another problem solved!
The current bill regarding the toilets appears to have been flushed but the issues surrounding adoption not so much and like all the anti-gay bills that have passed and failed nothing is ever off the table here in the Bible Belt. There are plenty of hate bills that should be crimes in the rest of America. And to that Glen Casada has two words: Fuck off. Well no not those exact two words as those are curse words and we cannot use them here which may explain that I now employ the word "Fuck" as a noun, verb, adjective and adverb in almost every sentence. Remember when Dennis Miller used to and was liberal? No, me either.
Don't get 'involved in politics,' Casada tells businesses opposed to Tennessee's anti-LGBT bills
Joel Ebert, Nashville Tennessean Published April 30, 2019
As an increasing number of businesses speak out against a series of bills critics say would hurt members of the LGBTQ community, House Speaker Glen Casada says the companies should stay out of politics.
Casada's remarks are markedly different than his Senate counterpart, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, who has expressed concerns about the financial implications that could come in response to the legislation.
Over the weekend, the Tennessee Titans said they opposed a slate of bills and questioned whether Nashville could host another NFL Draft in the future if the measures were enacted.
The bills in question include one that would allow adoption agencies to deny same-sex couples service on religious grounds and another that requires the state's attorney general to defend school districts determining bathroom use for transgender students. Another measure would enhance the state's indecent exposure laws and was originally written to target transgender people.
In addition to the Titans, businesses including Amazon, Ikea, Nike, Marriott, Lyft, Hilton, Warner Music Group and AllianceBernstein have signed onto a letter criticizing the various bills. The Nashville Predators and Nashville SC have also come out in opposition to the bills.
Casada, R-Franklin, said Monday he was not concerned about the potential financial implications of such businesses being opposed to the various bills.
"I don't. Tennessee provides a fertile ground for them to make money and be prosperous," Casada said. "And that's what they should do. They should take care of their stockholders and not get so much involved in politics."
Throughout the current legislative session, Casada, along with other members of the General Assembly, have participated in various events hosted by businesses, including the Titans and Comcast.
Lawmakers also receive significant campaign donations from businesses every year.
Casada said he had no concerns that Tennessee could face a backlash similar to what occurred in North Carolina in 2016 when lawmakers there approved a law that restricted bathroom use for transgender people.
As a result of the law, which was rescinded in 2017, North Carolina was boycotted by many businesses and saw the NCAA and NBA move previously scheduled basketball games to different states.
As he said earlier this year, McNally, R-Oak Ridge, took a different approach Monday.
Adam Kleinheider, McNally's spokesman, said the lieutenant governor was concerned about the economic impact of the various bills.
"While economics should not be the guiding principle in all things, Lt. Gov. McNally prefers to focus on legislation that advances economic growth rather than distract from it," Kleinheider said.
Either way, he is hopeful that businesses will continue to be attracted to Tennessee's pro-business environment and top-notch workforce regardless of politics."
In early April, McNally offered a similar assessment, saying the state needed to be sensitive to the business implications of the various bills.
Several measures critics say target the LGBTQ community have failed to gain adequate support this year. But several more remain in play this year.
With the legislature eyeing the end of session, the two bills pertaining to restrooms and the adoption measure were scheduled to be considered by both chambers Tuesday.
The Senate approved the bill to enhance the state's indecent exposure law with a 21-5 vote. Sen. Paul Rose, R-Covington, who is sponsoring the same-sex adoption measure, opted to delay its consideration until 2020.
A spokeswoman for Gov. Bill Lee declined to comment on the various bills.
Now this again explains how the city of Nashville courts and blows (figuratively of course as there is no gay sex here) white collar companies as Alliance Bernstein, Ernst and Young, and the big ole man river, Amazon, to set up shop here. The idea is to add educated, white and well off individuals to the population and in turn the tax rosters. So while they tout no income tax and seriously few other taxes applicable to the rich, they will find ways to tax you from food, newspapers and magazines (which is why no one reads here), exercise studios (better to make you fatter), and any other means to make Tennessee the most regressive tax structure in the nation.
Meanwhile the seat-filler Mayor seems to come up with one more bewildering idea to balance the City budget without raising taxes as that is the death knell here in the Volunteer State. Meanwhile all of this as residents across the city are finally starting to express dissatisfaction with the way the City is growing without any real substantial gains to the city residents, such as transit, infrastructure and of course schools. Well shit be damned, bless you're heart we solved that with another convoluted plan for vouchers!
This all comes at a time when the City is now leveled off with the population growth and the stagnant real estate market coincides with this as once again what people earn and what people can afford seems to have finally hit a reality. As I have said that my building going condo is ludicrous and the cost per square foot is absurd, it follows the reality that being declared an opportunity zone is not beneficial to build affordable housing, the real crisis here. And as I hear one more lie about how they are selling these off at a clip I find it funny that I can find no actual closed sale transaction in the assessors office. Wow bank financing is slower than I thought! Lying here is the second largest past time, next to praying which is praying about money and then they can lie about that without guilt.
I think this Governing article: What Kind of Place does Nashville Want to Be? is still relevant a year later. I thankfully will gone within in the year, ending the worst seven year cycle in my life I have ever experienced. And ending on high note will be flying out of this shithole as who would drive out? You can't and I don't want to see this in my rear view mirror, I just hope it is not on a Seattle export a Boeing 737. Oh wait none of those deadly planes were built there in a union town with a skilled and compensated workforce. No it is built in the South, as in Carolina, with a workforce poorly supervised, poorly trained and not unionized. You get what you pay for in the South and you pay a lot to be conned, abused and robbed. And that is by the white collar criminals I am not addressing the ever increasing crime and violence largely committed by the youth here.
The Plumber went to Chattanooga where VW has set up shop and despite the company's willingness to unionize the workforce it has been systemically blocked by our former moron Senator, Bob Corker, and the now current dimwit, Marsha Blackburn, to make sure you keep the wages systemically down and the voice of the working class silent. A workforce of largely faces of color and of course poorly educated. Just the kind of people who need a lift into the working class; however, they are building things that need to be carefully monitored to address safety and health concerns. Whoops, too late!
I write about this as the media just lather rinse and repeats varying press releases and quotes the same sources repeatedly. Even the most cursory check, such as websites with company info, seems to be out of their depth and responsibility. It is why when the News 5 Reporter, Phil Williams, who seems to unveil scandal after scandal, from the Mayor's affair to the School Director's negligence, is often lumped into the Trump classifications for Journalists - fake, racist, threat to society.
So come to Tennessee, experience for yourself the name calling, the abuse, the neglect, the endless lying and the culture of oppression and institutional racism that has enabled the South to be the South - hot and sticky, like the Chicken. Utterly tasteless and sickening.


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Applying to the Sixth Form
Year 12 students in the Greenshaw Sixth Form study three A level courses. The entry requirement is a minimum of five full GCSEs at grade 6 (or grade B) or above. The grade profile must also contain grade 5 or better in both mathematics and English language. Individual subjects may have specific requirements, e.g. to start a geography course, a GCSE in geography at grade 6 or above is required. Please read our course booklet for the full details of our available courses and the entry requirements.
Subjects on offer for 2020-21 are as follows:
3D Design Technology, Art, Biology, Chemistry, Classics, Dance, Drama and Theatre, Economics, English, Fashion Textiles, Food and Nutrition, French, Geography, Graphic Design, History, Mathematics, Further Maths, Media Studies, Philosophy, Photography, Physical Education, Physics, Politics, Psychology, Sociology and Spanish.
How to apply
The application form for entry in September 2020 is available to download below.
Please open and save the form in Adobe Acrobat and email your completed form to firstname.lastname@example.com.
In some cases, we may be able to support a student's move from studying Year 12 in one school, to taking Year 13 at Greenshaw. This will be dependent on the exam boards that the student has followed, a record of excellent attendance and excellent progress in the student's subjects.
The 2020 course booklet is available for download below.
The Greenshaw Sixth Form prospectus is available here.
A copy of our admissions arrangements can be downloaded here.
To keep up to date with all the latest sixth form news, follow our twitter feed @GHSSixthForm


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Men's slim-fit five-pocket jeans in 11.5oz medium-wash black stretch denim. Sharp colour contrasts given by the aged-brushing treatment. Regular waist, slightly tapered leg, zip fly with button fastening. Combining lycra, polyester and cotton, the innovative Hyperflex® technology prevents the fabric from stretching out or losing its shape with wear, ensuring full freedom of movement and a real denim look.
EXTERNAL CLOTH : 88% Cotton,8% Polyester,4% Elastane
Anbass Hyperflex slim fit jeans
Hyperflex Anbass slim-fit jeans
Hyperflex slim fit Anbass jeans


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- Daimler Trucks
- Fleetboard
- Isuzu
- Microlise
- Paccar
- Tata
This study aims to analyze the global connected truck (commercial vehicle telematics) market for 2018. To start with, it offers a brief discussion on the global economic overview (predictions, growth index, fastest-growing economies, GDP growth). The focus is on market trends, and the key trends under study include the entry of non-traditional telematics companies; telematics shaping the future of smart cities; the significance of video safety systems; open platform telematics; disruption within the value chain; platooning for commercial applications; and efforts to improve data privacy and enhanced cyber security. In addition, business and technology drivers for logistics innovation are discussed, with an emphasis on regulations/mandates.
The study also analyzes regional trends (Europe, North America, Latin America, China, Republic of South Africa, India, Russia, Turkey, Australia, Japan) in services, solutions, and technologies for specific segments, such as light commercial vehicles, medium commercial vehicles, and heavy commercial vehicles. Key takeaways from Voice of Customer Research for Europe and the Americas are highlighted, along with revenue opportunities created by fleet management systems (FMS), digital freight brokering, platooning/autonomous trucks, Big Data, and video safety systems. The FMS market is further analyzed by segment, application, and region. Moreover, the study covers the prospect of business software solutions integrated into mainstream FMS packages as well as a 2018 growth/revenue analysis for vendors and regions.
Market measurements have been analyzed for 2017, 2018, and 2025: global telematics installed base snapshot, telematics penetration by segment, and year-on-year growth rates by region. Strategies, growth analysis, competitive landscape, and future focus are discussed for after-market vendors (Verizon Telematics, Fleet Complete, Omnitracs, TomTom Telematics, Geotab, OnCommand, Microlise, Masternaut, RIO, and Trimble Navigation, for example) and OEMs (Volvo Trucks, Daimler Trucks, Fleetboard, MAN, DynaFleet, Scania, Paccar, Hino, Isuzu, and Tata, for example) pertaining to 2018 and 2025.
The base year for the study is 2017, with a forecast period from 2018 to 2025.
Key Issues Addressed
- What are the top trends that will drive the connected truck telematics market in 2018? What impact will these trends have on the market?
- What are the key developments to watch out for in 2018? What are the companies to watch out for?
- What was the market size in 2017? How is it expected to grow in 2018? What will be the status by 2025?
- What is the impact of regulatory and macroeconomic trends on market growth?
- What are the opportunities available for connected truck vendors (aftermarket and OEMs) in 2018?
- Daimler Trucks
- Fleetboard
- Isuzu
- Microlise
- Paccar
- Tata
1. Executive Summary
- 2017 Recap
- Regional Connected Truck Market Outlook-Installed Base YoY
- Perceived Importance of Trends across Regions
- Key Findings-Top 5 Predictions for 2018
- Key Questions this Study will Answer
2. Global Economic Overview
- Top 2017 Economic Trends
- Top 2018 Economic Predictions
- Top 2018 Predictions-Advanced Economies
- Global GDP Growth Snapshot
- Top 20 Fastest-growing Economies in 2017 and 2018
3. Research Scope and Segmentation
- Research Scope
- CV-Definitions and Segments
- Definitions-Types of Telematics Solutions
- Definitions-Types of Business Models
4. 2018 Global M/HCV Market Outlook
- Potentially Disruptive Business Models
- CV Market-Senior Management's Top-of-Mind Issues
- Global GDP and Commercial Trucks Market-Growth Outlook
5. 2018 Connected Truck Telematics Market-Key Developments
- Regional Predictions-Key Talking Points
- Pursuit of Emerging Markets and Expanding Global Coverage
- Key Regulations and Mandates-A Snapshot
- OEM Solutions and Dedicated Providers
- Tier 1 Suppliers' Continued Run in the Connected Truck Industry
6. Trends Shaping the Global Connected Truck Telematics Market (2018)
- Top Trends Driving the Connected Truck Telematics Market
- Trend 1-Entry of Non-traditional Telematics Companies
- Trend 2-Telematics will Shape the Future of Smart Cities
- Trend 3-Significance of Video Safety Systems
- Trend 4-Open Platform Telematics; Disruption within the Value Chain
- Trend 5-Platooning Gears Up for Commercial Applications
- Trend 6-Efforts to Improve Data Privacy and Enhance Cyber Security
7. Telematics Product and Pricing Analysis (2018)
- Regional Connected Truck Market Forecast by Product Type
- Identifying Key Industry Pain Points-How Telematics Can Help
- Regional Pricing and Service Model Analysis-2018
- FMS Packaging-Outlook of Individual Services' Integration
- FMS Role-Toward Autonomous Capability
- Key Technologies Driving the Autonomous Phase
8. Voice of Customer Research-EU and Americas
- Research Methodology
- Research Methodology-Questions About Fleet Telematics Services
- Familiarity of Fleet Telematics Solutions-EU and Americas
- Key Challenges in Fleet Operations-Top 7
- Widely Used Non-telematics Solutions-EU and Americas
9. Connected Truck Regional Analysis
- 2018 Regional Analysis-Europe
- 2018 Vendor Analysis-Europe
- 2018 Regional Analysis-North America
- 2018 Vendor Analysis-North America
- 2018 Regional Analysis-South Africa
- 2018 Vendor Analysis-South Africa
- 2018 Regional Analysis-India
- 2018 Vendor Analysis-India
10. Identifying Key Countries-Market Readiness versus Acceptability
- Identifying Key Countries-Market Readiness versus Acceptability
11. Market Measurement Analysis (2018)
- Snapshot of Global Installed Base of Connected Trucks by Region
- 2018Telematics Installed Base-Next-generation Markets
- Global Connected LCV and M/HCV Contribution
- Regional Connected Truck Market Outlook-LCV, MCV, and HCV
- Regional LCV and M/HCV Telematics Penetration
- Regional Connected Truck Telematics Market-Service Revenue Analysis
- Regional Analysis by Service Revenue
12. Opportunity Analysis (2018)
- Growth Opportunity-Technology and Partnerships
- Strategic Imperatives
13. Key Conclusions and Future Outlook (2018)
- Outlook 2018-Vendors to Look Out for; a Perspective
- The Last Word-3 Big Predictions
- Legal Disclaimer
14. Appendix
- List of Exhibits
- Abbreviations and Acronyms Used
- Daimler Trucks
- DynaFleet
- Fleet Complete
- Fleetboard
- Geotab
- Hino
- Isuzu
- Masternaut
- Microlise
- Omnitracs
- OnCommand
- Paccar
- Scania
- Tata
- TomTom Telematics
- Trimble Navigation
- Verizon Telematics
- Volvo Trucks


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Category Archives: Personal trainer insurance – The Best one of solution
Personal trainer insurance – The Best one of solution
Some people wonder if they will need personal trainer insurance . As a personal trainer , you begin a journey that will take you to many places and help people end up being healthier and stronger personal trainer insurance. You have completed the course and received their certification personal trainer personal trainer . Congratulations to help people healthier and happier in your fitness !
personal fitness trainer :
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personal trainer insurance :
Consider a scenario like this : Your client will not show ready for training that day . They are not entirely endearing and minimal energy put into the unit. They are looking for an excuse not to grow. You get in the gym treadmill, then slip and fall. You can quickly jump to their rescue, while many other clients watch wellness center personal fitness trainer. You do your best to soothe and comfort , and to examine the injury. They say you can not move personal trainer insurance, but see no visible signs of bone or unruptured reason personal trainers liability insurance. They find their excuse for not returning .
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how to makes a personal trainer insurance :
The lawyer could be hired and suggest that you support your customer on disk and has not led to the appropriate client precautionary features treadmill . At this point , you begin to stop thinking about the joy of personal training and your mind racing personal trainer insurance. You consider spending money and precious time you need to point these out to customers. You can have the time , but you do not have the money to fight me personal fitness trainer. You are concerned that you may have to leave after your dreams with a client. Frustration sets and that you are the uncertainty in the relevant trade .
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via Fly To FiTnesS http://flytofitness.blogspot.com/2013/11/personal-trainer-insurance-best-one-of.html


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Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen
Twilight Series
$30 Million
As much as I wish this could say $0 because personally I think his best role was as Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire, after Voldemort had his way with him, if you know what I mean, it's true. He didn't get much for the first 3 films, but the last two netted him $25 million, plus the retroactive money made off of the series' profits.
Worst of all, he hated every. f@#king. second. of that role. How about that? Guess you don't need to love your job to get paid a s@#t ton of money. How do I get one of those?
Harrison Ford as Han Solo
Star Wars Episodes IV-VII
$35 Million
This one is a bit of a misnomer in the sense that get got all this cash for one character, but all in one go. It's a commonly known fact that no one had any hopes for Star Wars, to the point that they cast relative unknowns and George Lucas asked for the merchandising and sequel rights and the studio just gave those away. Joke's on them because George Lucas is now worth $5.1 Billion after the Disney purchase.
So Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill didn't make a whole lot of money for the first film, probably around $1,000 a week. But when 2015's The Force Awakens came along, Harrison Ford negotiated a salary that netted him $35 million when the film grossed $1 billion at the box office. It did, so he got paid. Four movies over 40 years, but this last one was a doozy for the roguish smuggler.
Jack Nicholson as Joker
$50 Million (Tie)
Everyone gives credit to Tim Burton for being the first filmmaker to make superhero movies serious and grim, as 1989's Batman is a stellar example of what a Batman film should be, but there's another pioneer in there who goes uncredited: Jack Nicholson.
He was the first seriously psychotic Joker we saw on film and truly brought the menace of Joker to life. He also inspired Heath Ledger and Jared Leto, not to mention Mark Hamill's portrayal of the Joker in the animated universe. He's also the highest earning actor in any Batman movie, ever.
When he signed on for the role, Nicholson agreed to only be paid $6 million for the role, but wanted a share of the movie's profits. After the film was a huge success, he netted an additional $44 million just off of his percentages of the film's gross profit.
Rupert Grint as Ronald Weasley
Harry Potter Film Franchise
$50 Million (Tie)
It's obvious that anyone who's played the same role 8 times, is going to be on this list, but you'd be surprised that Rupert Grint is actually the lowest grossing of the top 3 Harry Potter actors. Still, $50 mill isn't too shabby.
He hasn't really done much after his Ronald Weasley fame, working more on investments and businesses, but to have that much cash by the time you're 23 is insane.
Daniel Craig as James Bond
James Bond Franchise
$59 Million
For a guy who begrudgingly did the job, he's made quite a bit of money from being the sexiest secret agent around, and if he can suck it up, he can milk the studio for just a bit more for the yet untitled Bond 25.
After the franchises last 4 instalments, he's the Bond actor that's made the most money of all the Bond actors, as well as having the second longest tenure as the secret agent based on the number of days as the agent.
For the record, my favourite Bond Sean Connery only made about $4 million a film.
Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump
$60 Million (Tie)
One role in one film -that's all it takes for Tom Hanks to make this list. Life truly is a box of chocolates, eh?
Hanks didn't get paid all that much initially, but like the other members of this club, he took a percentage of the profits of the film. So far, the film's made well over $660 million worldwide, so that works out to $60 (at least) for Tom Hanks. It also got him the Oscar for the Best Actor for this role, so it's a win all around.
Emma Watson as Hermione Granger
Harry Potter Franchise
$60 Million (Tie)
As the second Harry Potter alum on this list, she's doing pretty well off of the profits of this 8 film endeavour. That's $10 million more than her comedic co-star Rupert Grint, but no where near what Daniel Radcliffe made. But that's ok.
She was offered $3 million upfront to play Belle in the live-action version of Beauty and the Beast, so I think she'll be ok.
Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine
X Men Film Franchise
$65 Million
There's been plenty of talk about how Hugh Jackman took a pay cut to ensure that his, and James Mangold's vision, for the final film could be realized. Except we really don't know how much.
Figuring he made close to $55 million for the X-Men Trilogy, Days of Future Past, Origins: Wolverine, The Wolverine plus his cameos in the other two, he probably made close to an additional $10 million for the final film. Sadly, this is all he's going to make for his role as Logan.
The Cast of Friends
$88 Million Each
Given that the show's been off the air for over a decade, the fact that they're on this list is a testament to how smart these actors were. If you were to look at them individually, they'd sit in different places on this list, but when you package them up, they're a money-making powerhouse.
Up until season 3, they did their own thing, but starting with the 4th season, they started negotiating together, netting a total of $10 million each for seasons 1-6, $36 million for seasons 7-8 and an insane $42 million for the final two seasons. That adds up to $88 million per character for the entree 10-year run. Holy s@#t.
Ashton Kutcher as Walden Schmidt
Two and a Half Men
$96 Million
Unless you were super-into Two and a Half Men, you probably didn't realize that Ashton Kutcher was on the show for 4 years, and he's probably the least known person on this list. This was his return to sitcom television after his run on That 70's Show and he made them pay.
Due to Charlie Sheen's dramatic exit from the show, they needed another man and they ended up giving Kutcher $24 million/season.
I hope he sent Sheen some flowers or something as a thank you.
The Cast of The Big Bang Theory
The Big Bang Theory
$98 Million Each
In hindsight, I wish I had focused on my burgeoning kindergarten acting career and really pursued it to be a sitcom actor, because this is insane.
The central trio of the show, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco and Johnny Galecki are a super-rich group. When the show started, they were making $60,000 per episode for the first 3 seasons, then upped to $200,000/episode for season 4, then $250,000 for seasons 5-7. After that, they started negotiating as a trio and ended up getting $1 million an episode for the past 3 seasons.
What the hell? I'm an adorable nerd, where's my $1 million?
Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter
Harry Potter Franchise
$110 Million
Everything generally comes with a price, and finding the right guy to lead this billion dollar franchise wasn't cheap, especially when you're casting a 10-year-old who's never acted before.
In any case, after the 8 films were done, Radcliffe walked away with an insane amount of cash.
If they ever end up making The Cursed Child into a film, he's gonna probably rise up higher on this list.
Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt
Mission: Impossible Franchise
$150 Million
With the latest Mission: Impossible gearing up to start filming soon, this list's gonna be outdated any day now. With over 10 years in the role and 5 films, Tom Cruise is really making this franchise work for him.
Like Tom Hanks and Jack Nicholson, Cruise's money comes from his share of the profits of the film, more than the salary he makes for them.
It's no wonder he chose not to walk away from the franchise after Ghost Protocol. He made $75 million off of that one between his salary and cut of the profits.
Charlie Sheen as Charlie Harper
Two and a Half Men
$288 Million
I'll admit, I never really was a fan of the show. It was always the same jokes, and Charlie Sheen on drugs isn't my favourite version of him. Now Charlie Sheen in Hot Shots: Part Deux, that's someone I could get behind. In any case, for the first 6 seasons of the show, he made $48 million a year.
Now here comes the "Don't do drugs lesson" kids. If he'd have stayed clean, his potential to make even more money would have been staggering. Even if he didn't renegotiate his fee, and kept on making what he was (unlikely given that the show was still making crazy numbers), he'd be at the top of this list, easily.
Instead, he went crazy, said some things and now he's unlikely to see that kind of cash again.
Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow
Pirates of the Caribbean Franchise
$350 Million
It shouldn't be a surprise that one of Disney's most lucrative franchises, would pay its star some insane gold coins. Shortly after confirming his role in the fifth film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, it was confirmed that he's grossed about $350 million, by playing a lovable loser of a pirate.
Depending on how this new one does next month, will determine if he'll make it to the top of the list or not.
Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man
Marvel Cinematic Universe
$430 Million
So there you have it: the actor to make the most money by playing one character is none other than Robert Downey Jr. His run as Tony Stark/Iron Man in the MCU is the most lucrative contract in Hollywood and he'll make close to half a billion by 2019 after Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War & Avengers 4.
It's crazy to think that 10 years ago, the MCU wasn't even a thing, Robert Downey Jr. wasn't even a bankable actor, and here we are. Making only $500,000 in the first film of the franchise, he upgraded his salary to $10 million for Iron Man 2 and it's only gone up from there. Not only has he gotten his career back, but he's made a huge payday out of it.
Let's hope that he extends his contract after 2019, because I'd pay more to see more of RDJ kicking ass with some serious Stark snark.


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New details about the allegations facing New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft emerged on Monday. Here's what we know:
■ Authorities allege the billionaire visited the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, Fla., on Jan. 19 and Jan. 20, according to a probable cause affidavit. The Patriots punched their ticket to the Super Bowl on Jan. 20, defeating the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC title game, 37-31. Kraft visited the spa hours before that overtime victory, according to authorities.
■ Kraft, 77, is now scheduled to be arraigned on April 24 on two misdemeanor counts of soliciting another to commit prostitution. Kraft, through a spokesman, has denied engaging in any illegal activity. At a Monday news conference in Florida, State Attorney Dave Aronberg said each count carries a maximum jail term of one year, along with 100 hours of community service, a $5,000 fine, and a class on the effects of human trafficking.
■ Video cameras captured Kraft inside the spa, and authorities indicated in a court filing that there is footage of two women performing a sex act on him and one woman wiping him down with a towel during the Jan. 19 visit.
■ After the visit to the spa on Jan. 19, the Bentley Kraft was riding in was pulled over by law enforcement, according to authorities. An affidavit indicated that the front-seat passenger was identified as Kraft. Despite being pulled over, Kraft returned to the spa the following day, about seven hours before the Patriots played in Kansas City, authorities said. During the second visit, authorities allege a woman performed a sex act on Kraft for several minutes, according to court documents.
■ The National Football League released a statement addressing the situation on Monday, saying, "Our Personal Conduct Policy applies equally to everyone in the NFL. We will handle this allegation in the same way we would handle any issue under the Policy. We are seeking a full understanding of the facts, while ensuring that we do not interfere with an ongoing law enforcement investigation. We will take appropriate action as warranted based on the facts."
Dugan Arnett, Travis Andersen, and John R. Ellement of Globe staff contributed to this report. Danny McDonald can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow him on Twitter @Danny__McDonald.


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Goal setting and action planning isn't just for January and New Year's Resolutions. In fact, the only way to actually achieve those new year goals and aspirations, is by making a conscious effort to revisit them and actively plan how you will achieve them. Many, if not the majority of us, like to start January with a fresh start to do better, feel better and all around be better! However, as the new year motivation wears off and we get sucked into our fast-paced lives again, we can sometimes forget the goals we wanted to achieve. No matter how adamant we are about staying on track, somehow, we end up falling back into our usual routine and before you know it, it's Christmas and we're thinking about resolutions for the following year (often variations of the goals we had set and not achieved the previous year).
The 'Mid-Year Review' productivity printable was designed to knock 2019 out of the park and make achieving your goals this year, possible! This blog post will walk you through the purpose behind every section of the 'Mid-Year Review' and the BEST way to use it, making every year from now, filled with productivity, success and most importantly, memories. Printable available NOW on the online shop, grab yours HERE.
"Be happy with what you have, while you pursue what you want".
Celebrate every achievement
One of the most important things to address when working towards any type of goal, is the achievements along the way, big or small, related or unrelated. Celebrating your successes and reminiscing about all the happy memories throughout the year is vital to stay in a positive mindset and motivate us to continue to succeed. They say that "success is a journey, not a destination" and after all, good things take time and hard work. It's therefore crucial to reward your hard work at every occasion, as if you can enjoy the process, then you're half way there.
"The journey is the reward" – Steve Jobs.
The first part of the 'Mid-Year Review' will allow you to reflect on the year so far and make you realise how much you've already achieved, motivating you to stay positive along this ever-challenging journey.
Get clear on what you want
Things change! When you're revisiting and writing new goals, it's ok to discard old ones and change your mind about what you REALLY want to achieve. Things change every day and people change more often than we think, if your new year's resolutions no longer align with your dreams to date, then change them. It's not a failure or anything to look down upon, you simply want different things now and that's ok.
"What would you do if you weren't afraid?"
Use this section to get clear on what it is you want to achieve this year, keeping your goals in alignment with your dreams and aspirations. Take note of the resolutions you want to keep working towards, discard those which no longer apply and look ahead to those which you now wish to achieve.
Self-sabotage is real
We start out the year so strong and often try too hard to maintain a perfect routine. This is never sustainable and it's then so easy to fall into bad habits, habits which are negatively impacting our lives and do not align with our goals.
"The ability to overcome resistance, self-sabotage and self-doubt is way more important than talent" – Steven Pressfield.
It's time to recognise which of your habits or actions are working for you and which are working against you. Once you have highlighted these, you will be more aware of how they're influencing your life and how to continue going forward, in order to maximise your achievements throughout the rest of the year. Nobody is perfect and we're all going to slip into bad habits from time to time, but being aware of them will put you one step ahead every time, allowing you to re-evaluate and stay on track.
Actions speak louder than words
The only way to achieve BIG success is to take MASSIVE action EVERYDAY! Goals are powerless on their own, so having a clear action plan, broken down into manageable steps, is critical for success.
"The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine."
Here, you will be able to breakdown each of your goals and set yourself steps along the way, achieving multiple mini successes and taking you closer to the end result. I suggest to revisit this section over and over. Don't forget to check off every action you complete and celebrate every achievement in the process.
It's never too late
To reiterate what I said at the start, 'goal setting and action planning isn't just for January' and neither are new habits! In order to achieve new goals or to become better at something, we must create positive habits which will grow and develop us. Whether it's something you've been wanting to try for ages, or something you've only just discovered, give it a go, it's never too late! This journey is about experimenting, finding what works for you and working with that. How will we know if we never try?
"It's never too late to be what you might have been" – George Eliot.
Make a list of all the new, fun, healthy, mindful or productive habits which you want to adopt for the remainder of 2019 and be the best you can be NOW. Don't wait for the new year's resolutions to come back around!
Thank you so much for reading and if you do decide to try the 'Mid-Year Review', please let me know your thoughts and if there is anything else you wish to see on the shop in future! Message me, comment or tag me in your mid-year review pictures with @getittogether_blogs on Instagram and let's support each other's journey towards 2020. I'll leave you with this last quote…
"You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending."
SHOP NOW for your self-development printables.


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Hot TOPICS
MP joins chorus demanding Albion House should stay(March 03, 2011)
PERSIMMON Homes is now battling with a Member of Parliament as well as the townspeople of Warminster over plans to destroy Albion House.
Their perceived betrayal at their latest Victoria Road backland site has seen street protests for the first time in over a decade.
Dr. Andrew Murrison MP has sharply rejected the 'inadequate' reply to his representations.
'The logic of it would lead us to demolish half of Warminster and replace it with your factory built units.' argues Dr. Murrison in a letter to the group chief executive of the house-builders.
'Whilst this might well improve your bottom line it would do little for the town,' he argues reflecting the sentiments of councillors past and present.
The also have three other complaints against the developer (see hot topics).
'Finally, you pray in aid of others who will embrace the positive benefits you have outlined. I have yet to hear from any of them,' the MP tells Mike Farley in no uncertain terms.
The campaign to save the house that is known locally as the 'home of the egg man' has been spearheaded by local councillor Pip Ridout supported by visionforwarminster.co.uk co-authors Paul and Steve.
"I spoke at the council meeting that rejected the planning application and my key argument about the look of the street scene being paramount was accepted and the planning application thrown out," says former planning councillor Paul Macdonald.
"I am absolutely delighted that the MP is adding this to his busy caseload."
Then the plans were approved on appeal to the disgust of former ward member Steve Dancey.
He has organised a 'Don't buy here' street protest campaign.
''Persimmon have achieved one remarkable feat in that they have united the whole town against them,'' he said.
''Persimmon have achieved one remarkable feat in that they have united the whole town against them,'' he said.


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Today I realize I am not alone facing a storm
I am not even with others facing a storm
I am not even hiding out in the calm center eye of a storm
I am more than all of that
I am a storm
actually all storms
As I see god and god is me
Creating the calmest storm
The strongest storm
With the most loving breeze
I am now changing my weather however I please
and still I am a tool
to be used
However the universe deems
And we are human family
As destiny is what it is
cannot break the unbreakable
Cannot jail what god made free
make unequal
that which is all
And we are human family
As truth is what it is
cannot break the unbreakable
Cannot jail what is forever free
make unequal
that which is all
And from this place there is peace
There is love
faith strength and humility
And also "hostility"
when necessary
And it's beauty
Even the destructions
Of our storms
are beautiful
Even the distractions from our purpose
Hold beautiful lessons
And all is calm
even while stormy
There is everything
And also
We are
each and every one of us
(c) 2018 Kristin Richardson Jordan
Poem from "Water & Light: Choose Love Now" written by Kristin Richardson Jordan
Kristin Richardson Jordan has a book launch party of her new book "Water & Light: Choose Love Now" that will take place at Freedom Hall at 113 W. 128th Street Harlem, NY on Tuesday January 22nd from 6pm – 10pm (pizza wine cake starts at 6pm, show starts at 7pm, book signing at 8:30pm). Please share info and invite friends.
The book will also be available on amazon and at pens up press starting Jan 22nd
Looking for other spaces venues and organizations where Kristin can do a reading be on a panel perform or host a book signing, if you have any ideas or connects please dm us.


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Hilton Appoints Former GE CIO as Newest Director
Hilton announced that Charlene T. Begley, former SVP and CIO at GE and CEO of GE's Home and Business Solutions segment, has been appointed to its board of directors. Begley held various executive management positions at GE from 1988 through 2013. She was president and CEO of GE Enterprise Solutions, president and CEO of GE Plastics and GE Transportation, and CFO for GE Transportation and GE Plastics Europe and India. Begley currently serves as a director of Red Hat and WPP plc.
Silvercar CEO Joins Plug Power Board of Directors
Plug Power, the leader in delivering hydrogen and fuel cell solutions, has elected Luke Schneider to its Board of Directors. Currently, Schneider serves as the CEO of Silvercar, an Austin, TX-based start-up that has built a technology platform for a new breed of rental car business and other vehicle mobility applications. Prior to Silvercar, Schneider was the CTO of Zipcar, and worked in various positions with Ford.
Commercial Leasing and Finance plc Appoints Director with Operations and Technology Management Experience
Commercial Leasing and Finance plc announced that Luxhman Jayaratne has been appointed as an Independent Non- Executive Director of the company. Jayaratne has over 37 years of banking experience. He has worked in several countries in Asia, Europe and Africa, focusing on Management of Operations and Technology areas with involvement in product management. He had also been the Head, Operations and Technology of Africa Citibank covering 14 countries before joining Union Bank of Nigeria.
Date Range: March 24th - May 12th