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In my previous blogposts 1 2 3, I summarized the notes from entrepreneurship course offered by Rice Center for Engineering Leadership. This blogpost will extend the previous blogposts for larger organization based on the notes from the Micro-MBA class at IBM Almaden Research Center. As a disclaimer: this blogpost should be viewed as my personal biased opinions based on limited understanding of the subject, rather than any official position of IBM or the instructor. Also, I will skip many topics for brevity.
The Micro-MBA course can divided into following three sub-topics:
Hence, we have to chose how to use the limited resources to maximize our wants and needs. An economist studies the choices to following three fundamental questions:
The Micro-MBA course can divided into following three sub-topics:
- Economics
- Finance
- Accounting
EconomicsThe fundamental assumption of economics is of scarcity: People have unlimited wants but limited resources, namely:
- Labor (human time and work)
- Natural resources (raw materials)
- Capital (man-made materials needed for the production of other goods such as buildins and machinery).
Hence, we have to chose how to use the limited resources to maximize our wants and needs. An economist studies the choices to following three fundamental questions:
- WHAT (goods and services) to produce ?
- HOW to produce them ?
- WHO will receive the goods and services produced ?
WHO will receive the goods and services produced ?The answer to the third question depends on what are the economic policies of the country. In a country with centrally planned economy such as Cuba and North Korea (and Soviet Union from 1917 to 1991), the government decides how the goods and service produced be allocated. On the other hand, in market economy, the individuals/households/firms who are most willing and able to buy the goods and services receive them (i.e. based on principle of supply and demand). Note, most countries today follow mixed economy, where most economic decisions results from the interactions of the buyers and sellers in the market, but in which the government plays a significant role in the allocation of resources [1].
|Centrally planned economy
|Market economy
|Productive efficiency (produced at lowest cost)
|Allocative efficiency (reflects consumer preferences)
|Equity (fair distribution of goods and services)
|Better for freedom from uncertainty
|Better for freedom of choice
|Main proponent
|Karl Marx, who posited in Das Kapital that market competitions exploits labor and ultimately fosters monopolies.
|Adam Smith, on the other hand claimed that competition and the self-interested pursuit of profit causes the firms and the individuals to behave in ways that are ultimately socially beneficial.
WHAT (goods and services) to produce and HOW to produce them ?As described above, in a market economy, self-interested pursuit of profit motivates people to decide what goods and service to produce. The profit is high if the consumer is willing to buy the goods and service for higher price that the cost of goods and service. Every economic decision that a consumer makes takes account of utility (the amount of benefit to the consumer) and comes with an opportunity cost [3]. Opportunity cost is the benefit, profit, or value of something that must be given up in order to have something else.
Opportunity costLet's understand opportunity cost by examining the problem of whether I should have done PhD after my Masters. After my Masters, I had two options:
- Accept the job offer for Software Development Engineer (SDE) position in Microsoft SQL Server Data Mining team. The salary of this position is $ x per year.
- Do 5-year PhD program at Rice university. Rice University gives PhD students a stipend of $ y per year. After PhD, I got an offer from IBM Research with a salary of $ x + z per year.
The above example ignores the rate of increase of compensation of a Masters vs PhD student and also the intangible costs such as experience at Microsoft, potential cutting-edge role at IBM, guidance under Chris, etc.
Specialization and Voluntary TradeIn the book The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith highlights that two key points:
- Workers produce more when they occupy specialized roles, so businesses can offer higher quality products at lower prices.
- Trade benefits both buyer and seller (i.e. lower opportunity cost for both of them). Note, this is only true iff both the buyer and seller are engaged in the trade voluntarily and if both have complete information. The counter-examples for voluntary exchange are slavery, human trafficking and fraud, where government regulations are necessary.
Step 1: specialize such that it is the lowest cost provider
Step 2: apply opportunity cost in decision making, risk assessment (risk vs return) and pricing analysis (for example: if supply is high, price is $1 less than second cheapest seller and if supply is low, the price is $1 more than second highest bidder/buyer).
Step 3: exchange between two opportunity cost such that both parties are better off (i.e. producer sells to make profit and the consumer buys as it is more expensive to make it).
Monetary systemExcept countries like Germany, South Korea, Switzerland, Norway, etc, the government spends more than its revenues. The difference is called as deficit spending or budget deficit or simply deficit.
wikipedia for the exhaustive list). The big three rating agencies - Standard & Poor's, Moody's and Fitch - rate countries on their ability to pay interest, refinance and repay them.
Then through Open Market Operations (or OMO), the banks gets to sell the treasury bonds (or mortgage-backed securities) to the Federal Reserve (or Fed for short) at a profit. Interesting point to note here: Banks give Fed the treasury bonds and Fed adds "credit" to the bank reserves. As countries' central bank, Fed has unique power to create credit out of thin air without having money to back the credit up ... often referred to as "printing money".
Other than buying treasury bonds, Fed has another tool at its disposal: the reserve requirement (or cash reserve ratio or liquidity ratio), which refers to percentage of cash that must be kept at Fed or in the vault by a commercial. If a bank makes too many loans or if there is a sudden demand for withdrawals, then amount on money in the bank's vault falls below the reserve requirements. In this case, the bank first attempts to borrow money from other banks at the fed funds rate and then the remaining amount from the Fed at the discount rate. An equivalent interbank lending rate to feds funds rate in UK is LIBOR rate - the London Interbank Offered Rate (set by the British Banker's Association).
In practice, there is no standard fed funds rate, instead it is the weighted average of the interest rate banks charge each other overnight to meet the reserve requirements. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meets eight times a year to set the target fed funds rate and then by buying/selling of treasury bonds, it attempts to achieve the target fed funds rate. The Fed funds rate affect the prime rate (for setting home equity lines of credit, auto loans, personal loans and credit card rates) and 11th District cost of funds index (for setting adjustable-rate mortgages).
Jan 2018
Dec 2017
Jan 2017
Prime rate reported by the Wall Street Journal's bank survey
Discount rate
Fed funds rate
11th District cost of funds
Treasury then can use the money it received by selling the bonds to fund the deficit. Bank can use the credit it received from Fed and the money deposited by its customers minus the reserve requirements to make loans. This is called as fractional reserve lending and it works as follows. Let's assume that reserve requirements is 10% and X deposits $1000 in bank A. The bank A keeps $100 in its vault and lends remaining $900 to Y who needs it to fund her business. Y has an account in bank B and deposits $900 in her account which she intends to remove as and when needed. Bank B keeps $90 in its vault and lends remaining $810 to C who in turns deposits in bank W. Now, when A, B and C check their accounts in their respective banks, they will see that they have $1000, $900 and $810 respectively, that is the initial $1000 has grown to $2710 in the economy. This system fails if there is a mass panic and A, B and C all decide to remove the amount at once (commonly referred to as bank run).
Before we move ahead, it is a good idea to classify different types of banks:
- Supranational banks:
- The International Monetary Fun (IMF) ensures the stability of the international economic system and has 187 member countries.
- World bank provides financial help to combat poverty, malnutrition and lack of communications and infrastructure to the developing countries.
- Central banks such as Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Bank of England, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Swiss National Bank and The People's Bank of China (PBC), set monetary policy described in the below section.
- Commercial bank's business model is to charge higher interest rate for loan than they pay depositors.
- Investment banks provide three functions: Merger and Acquisition (M&E) facility for corporations to raise debt or equity, Institutional Client Services which includes Fixed Income, Commodities and Currencies (FICC) and Asset/Wealth Management for high net worth clients.
Government interventionThe government keeps the economy growing (close to long-run trend rate of 2.5%), limits unemployment and keep inflation low (inflation target of 2%) by fiscal and monetary policies:
- Fiscal policy: is set by the US Congress, the President and the Treasury Secretary, which involves changing government spending and taxation.
- Monetary policy: is set by the central bank (i.e. Federal Reserve in US), which involves influencing the demand and supply of money, primarily through the use of interest rates.
A country is in recession when two successive quarters, or a six months, show a decrease in real GDP. Hence, during recession, we get a fall in the inflation rate. However, deflation is when we get a negative inflation rate i.e. falling prices. Since the second world war, recessions have not led to deflation – just a lower inflation rate. A depression is a severe recession.
Fiscal Policy
Monetary Policy
Set by:
US Congress, President and Treasury Secretary
Federal Reserve
Measured by
Interest Rates
Treasury Bonds
Reserve requirements
Prices ↑
Consumer Price Index (CPI)
Low output and unemployment
GDP/GNP, Unemployment rate
- a fiscal policy will involve higher taxes and lower spending. The advantage of using fiscal policy is that it will help to reduce the budget deficit, but is often difficult to implement due to political reasons.
- a monetary policy (in this case termed as tight monetary policy) will attempt to reduce the supply of money by raising the interest rates and borrowing rates among banks, selling government bonds (also called as "open market operations" or OMO) and by increasing the rate of minimum reserve to be kept by commercial banks towards central bank.
- Buying too many treasury bonds: During extreme recession or to avoid deflation, Fed buys lots of government debt so as to inject more money into economy and encourage growth. This is called as Quantitative Easing as was pioneered by the Bank of Japan in 1990s. In 2009 financial crisis, Fed and Bank of England purchased over $2 trillion and $520 billions government debt respectively.
- Comprehensive Financial Reform Acts:
- After 1929 stock market crash, Glass Steagall Act was enacted which separated investment banking from commercial/retail banking to prevent bank run. This act was repealed in 1999 by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act allowing the banks to invest depositors' funds in unregulated derivatives. This led to banks becoming too big to fail and requiring bailout in 2008-2009 to avoid another depression.
- After 2008-2009 housing crisis, Dodd-Frank Act was passed which increased regulations on unregulated derivatives trading and created Consumer Finance Protection Bureau that took actions against predatory student lending practices and payday loan scams. Much of these regulations might be rolled back Financial CHOICE Act is enacted.
- Stagflation (= Inflation + Recession at the same time) is a condition of slow economic growth and relatively high unemployment accompanied by a rise in prices, or inflation. It occurs due to supply shock (such rapid increase in price of oil) and due to policies that harm industry while growing money supply too quickly. Venezuela is an example of stagflation where if you fix inflation, you create depression and if you fix recession, you create hyperinflation.
- When inflation rate increases by ~ 50% monthly, it is referred to as hyperinflation. Germany after Treaty of Versailles (322% inflation rate), Hungary in 1945 (19,000% inflation rate) and Zimbabwe in 2008 (230 million % inflation rate) had some of the examples of hyperinflation.
1. Gross Domestic Product (GDP): is the value of all the finished goods and services (hence product) produced within a country's border (hence domestic) in a specific time period, usually a year.
- Since it is "gross", the depreciation in the capital asset is not deducted. If it where deducted, then it becomes "net".
- Since it is "domestic", it does not take into account the country's earning outside its geographical boundaries, or foreign remittances. Gross National Product (GNP) is GDP + income earned by residents from overseas investments - income earned within the domestic economy by overseas residents.
- Since it is "product", the intermediate goods are not taken into account. For example, wheat sold for final consumption to consumers will be included into GDP, but not the amount of wheat sold to bakeries for the production of bread.
- GDP is commonly used as an indicator of the economic health of a country and can be computed in three principal ways: from total output, from income and from expenditure.
2. Unemployment rate: is the number of unemployed people is divided by the number of people in the labor force times 100. Note, it defines unemployed people as those who are willing and available to work, and who have actively sought work within the past four weeks. Hence, little kids don't count, neither do people who are unable to work due to their age or disability or who chose not to work. The below figure shows the unemployment rate per country in 2013:
3. Inflation rate: measured by consumer price index (or CPI).
2. https://www.investopedia.com/
3. The Book of Money - Conaghan and Smith.
4. Macroeconomics: Crash Course: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8uTB5XorBw
5. The Monetary System Visually Explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23DNe0cJhcU
6. https://www.thebalance.com/open-market-operations-3306121
7. https://www.bankrate.com/rates/interest-rates/prime-rate.aspx
8. https://www.thebalance.com/dodd-frank-wall-street-reform-act-3305688
Reference:1. Economics - Hubbard and O'Brien.
2. https://www.investopedia.com/
3. The Book of Money - Conaghan and Smith.
4. Macroeconomics: Crash Course: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8uTB5XorBw
5. The Monetary System Visually Explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23DNe0cJhcU
6. https://www.thebalance.com/open-market-operations-3306121
7. https://www.bankrate.com/rates/interest-rates/prime-rate.aspx
8. https://www.thebalance.com/dodd-frank-wall-street-reform-act-3305688


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Andhra Man Kills Himself Near Babu's Protest Venue For Special StatusFebruary 12, 2019 10:06
Andhra Man Kills Himself Near Babu's Protest Venue For Special Status:- Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandra Babu Naidu staged a day-long protest in the national capital against the Centre for ignoring Special status for AP. A man from Andhra Pradesh killed himself yesterday near AP Bhavan in New Delhi where Chandra Babu took his fast. The man has been identified as 40-year-old D Arjun Rao and is a native of Srikakulam district. He was found dead in a wheel chair. The cops shifted his body to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in the city. A suicide note has been recovered from Arjun Rao's pocket after which the cops came for a confirmation about his death.
Arjun Rao mentioned he is ending his life after Centre refused to grant Special Status for his state Andhra Pradesh. Chandra Babu Naidu announced Rs 20 lakhs ex-gratia for the family of the deceased. His last rites will take place with official state honours said Chandra Babu. He requested people to fight for their rights instead of ending their lives. Several crucial national leaders who opposed Narendra Modi's rule in the country supported Chandra Babu and his protest yesterday. Rahul Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Arvind Kejriwal, Yashwant Sinha, Shatrughan Sinha, Sanjay Raut visited Chandra Babu and extended their support.

subset: commoncrawl


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Arrow Season 5 Episode 15 Review: Fighting Fire With FirePaul Dailly at . Updated at .
Wait... so Adrian is Prometheus?
We were blessed with that reveal Arrow Season 5 Episode 15, and I could not be more shocked. Throughout the course of Arrow Season 5, Adrian was seemingly Vigilante.
When Prometheus took the mask off and was revealed to be Adrian, I had to rewind confirm I did, indeed, see him take off the Prometheus mask. Seriously, it was such a thrilling twist and made this season infinitely more intriguing.
The show led us to believe all season long that Adrian was helping Oliver, but he was hiding in plain sight while planning his next move. Additionally, it seemed rather easy to have this Prometheus reveal so soon.
I thought for sure it was going to be dragged kicking and screaming until the end of the season. I like when shows have an element of surprise, but Arrow has been pretty predictable of late. Hopefully, this marks a new direction for the series going forward.
Dinah has her suspicions about Adrian. That was confirmed when he took the sample from the Vigilante's clothes. She knew there was no way she could decline his offer or it would have been game over.
However, I was shocked that she did not try to get information from him. Dinah is a smart woman, so if anyone can get to the truth, it will be her. What I liked about the closing scene was that it set up the next episode well.
Kidnapping Susan is going to be the thing that makes Oliver go crazy. He won't want to think rationally. His only instinct will be to save her at any cost. As much as Susan has been sketchy, I felt sorry for her.
She's been dragged into this sick game, and I doubt she'll make it out alive. Hey, what if Oliver accidentally kills her like he did Malone? Now, that would send him on a one-way ticket to an asylum.
Oliver is going to be livid when he inevitably learns that Adrian is the villain. The pair has struck up this close bond, and it's been interesting to watch it all play out. With Artemis double-crossing him and now Adrian doing the same, Oliver and Team Arrow are going to have a whole lot of trust issues when they make it out of this.
It's Oliver, and I'm not your boss anymore. I'm your client.Oliver
Maybe Oliver should have just let Adrian take the fall for the entire Malone thing. It would have been hilarious to see Adrian's reaction if Oliver just agreed to it on the spot. There's also the possibility that Adrian was testing Oliver's character to see if he would throw him under the bus.
One thing that's good about Oliver is that he's very loyal. If he thinks someone has put their neck on the line to help, he'll return the favor.
In the grand scheme of things, publicly calling out the Green Arrow was a bad idea. Realistically, how is the city going to be able to trust Oliver when he's dressed up again? This is not something that can just be brushed under the rug in a matter of scenes.
There is going to be a ripple effect for these actions, and it's uncertain that things are going to end well. Thea is lucky she got out while she could, but I was totally not on board with her bringing up the idea of making Malone seem like a dirty cop.
Yes, she was right that Star City cops don't exactly have the best track record, but could you imagine how Felicity would have reacted to that? Geez, it's something that will probably be brought back up down the line, and Felicity will not be impressed.
Felicity: You wanna blackmail him?
Thea: It's not blackmail. It's politics.
Thea departing was hardly surprising. Willa Holland's alter ego has had a decreased presence on the show this year, and it's making me think she's ready to move on to a new project.
There's only so long they can use the Thea-is-away-to-repent-for-her-sins card before it gets old. It's time for her to fly free of Oliver and find herself in the world. Her new knack for destroying people is only going to get her in trouble.
Let's talk about Curtis. The dude is so naive that it's pretty sad. I'm sure everyone saw Paul presenting him with divorce papers coming a mile off. Unfortunately for Curtis, Paul did not sign up to have his husband in harm's way on a daily basis when they got married.
Worrying whether your loved one is going to die while at work is a concern Paul could not have on his mind, so I understand his decision. Look for Rene to step up in the coming weeks to pull Curtis out of his funk.
"Fighting Fire With Fire" was a huge improvement on Arrow Season 5 Episode 14. Finally, we're getting somewhere with the Prometheus plot, and the other plots are getting more interesting.
It sucks there is now a break because the momentum will probably die out before the show returns.
Other tidbits from the episode:
- I am SOOO on board with Felicity joining Helix. This is one storyline that's been more intriguing than the others throughout that last few weeks. How will Oliver react to her going dark?
- Dinah's comment about waiting outside was hilarious. It's not like Team Arrow cares about who knows Oliver's secret at this stage.
- Who the heck is Vigilante? Could we be looking at an Earth-2 version of Adrian?
Remember you can watch Arrow online right here on TV Fanatic. Get caught up on the latest drama now!
Over to you, Arrow Fanatics. What did you think of the developments? Sound off below!
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.


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Araucária (VB07)
Araucária (VB07)
A tree known by its fruit (pinhão), Araucária may live for up to 700 years in high altitude and moderate climate areas, due to its great resistence. Nowadays, it is protected by law and its commercial use is in cellulose production and wood improvement.I want this bike
Bicycle specifications
Araucária bike (VB07) has 250w engine, supports up to 95 kg cargo and covers an average of 30 km with its battery totally loaded. With frame made of aluminum and front shocks, the highest speed is 27 km/h and the bicycle has got six speed SHIMANO gears. Available in black color.


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Wait...there's something besides running?!
Yep. Call it cross-training.
I haven't started my marathon training yet and still haven't really ran outside. It's cold. I'm a wuss. Anything below freezing and I'm inside!
So cross-training has been my life for 3 months now.
My favorite cardio/full body workout?
Use it. Love it.
5 min slow pace warmup
5 min faster pace forward facing, don't grab the railing!!!
5 min right side-step. Use railing to keep torso twisted.
5 min left side-step.
5 min walk backwards. Practice not using railing.
5 min forward facing
5 min forward lunges also don't hold railing.
5 min backwards
5 min backwards lunges. Use railing.
5 min slow pace for cool down.
I see most people using the stepmill WRONG! They are hunched over the railing at a very fast pace. This is bad for your core!! And your arms are doing some of the work so you're not fully working out your legs! Yes, you can go at a much faster pace, but you are cheating yourself!
The stepmill can be a full body workout when you practice not using the rails and tightening your core.
I have added something NEW!
I follow this amazing girl Kayla Itsines on Instagram and her workouts are amazing! She is fast and strong!
She came out with a Bikini Body workbook (which I cringed at the title...I just hate labels like that) and it's all HIT workouts geared towards problem issues for women.
A picture of Kayla and a sample workout.
I just started this and it's intense!! Remember I've done Body Building workouts and this is similar but less heavy-lifting.
It is a WORK OUT! I did day 1 of legs and cardio and it's Thursday and I'm still so sore! These aren't easy-peasy by any means.
I'm excited to do this for the whole 3 months and I'll let you know how it goes!


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HANSA. The Hansa was a league of northern European cities that emerged in the fourteenth century. Along with other town leagues that predate the Hansa, such urban leagues became a common means for townsmen to extend their influence and establish favorable trading conditions at a time when broader state authority was generally too weak to provide needed assistance. The extremely loose Hanseatic confederation was made up largely of towns in the Holy Roman Empire, which enjoyed a great deal of political autonomy. The Hansa acted in concert to protect and promote the commercial position of the members. Lübeck was the leader and often the site of meetings of the assembly of town representatives, the Hansetag. It began to take joint action certainly by the late thirteenth century, gaining concessions in Flanders and Norway. The league developed its enduring organization during the 1367–1370 war against Denmark. After that it was a major political force in the Baltic and North Seas. A tax voted by the towns on their trade paid for a fleet, which brought naval victory and, with the subsequent Peace of Stralsund, special trading rights in Danish markets. The Hansa had "factories" (trading centers) in Bruges, London, Bergen, and Novgorod. Merchants from member towns could trade and live there, enjoying immunity from local taxes and laws, important concessions won by the Hansa. In the fifteenth century internal divisions became clear as the towns of the Rhine Valley led by Cologne and the Prussian towns led by Gdańsk (Danzig) did not always find their commercial and political interests coinciding with those of the Wendish towns in northeastern Germany and especially with the most powerful one, Lübeck. Wars against the dukes of Burgundy, ending in peace in 1441, and against England, ending in peace in 1474, illustrated these divisions as many towns refused to follow the lead of Lübeck. Conscious of the disadvantages to domestic merchants and to their own incomes from concessions forced on them by the Hansa, sixteenth-century centralizing monarchs from England to Russia and everywhere in between worked to undermine the power of the confederation. The factories were closed, tariff advantages were rescinded, and then the naval power of the Hansa—which meant that of Lübeck and a few nearby towns—was broken as the navies of Denmark and Sweden became much more powerful. The Hansa shrank in numbers, and its political influence declined. Though most Hanseatic towns were Lutheran, the league played little role in the religious wars and could not form a consistent policy. The prosperity of the Hansa was based on the export of a limited range of primary goods, grain but also forest products and salted herring from the Baltic to western Europe in exchange for manufactures and for silver. Already by 1400 western Europeans were gradually supplanting production of beer, a major export of Bremen and Hamburg, and production of salted herring, a major export from Scania in southern Sweden. As western Europeans found themselves able to meet their own needs for food grains in the second half of the seventeenth century, the economic advantages of the Hanseatic towns were further eroded. After a hiatus of thirty-nine years, the last meeting of the Hansetag was held in 1668. It ended indecisively and after that the Hansa in effect no longer existed. Despite the end of its political influence, the towns that belonged or had belonged to the Hansa still enjoyed in the eighteenth century a level of prosperity as great as or greater than in the past.
See also Commerce and Markets ; Hamburg ; Lübeck ; Shipping .
Dollinger, Philippe. The German Hansa. Translated and edited by D. S. Ault and S. H. Steinberg. Stanford, 1970.
Glete, Jan. Warfare at Sea 1500–1650: Maritime Conflicts and the Transformation of Europe. London, 2000.
Hammel-Kiesow, Rolf. Die Hanse. Munich, 2000.
Unger, Richard W. Ships and Shipping in the North Sea and Atlantic, 1400–1800. Aldershot, U.K., 1997.
Richard W. Unger


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Chances are, millions have already watched some, or all, of yesterday's Congressional impeachment hearings, and may plan to watch them again tomorrow.
Some have already begun to compare the current hearings to previous impeachment hearings in 1974 and 1998. The Watergate hearings occurred before the widespread use of cable TV and therefore commanded a much larger audience on the three major broadcast networks. The Clinton impeachment seemed to be a logical extension of the explosive growth of daytime cable news and court coverage in the 1990s, as well as the arrival of highly partisan news networks.
While comparisons to those hearings are appropriate and obvious, this week's impeachment hearings also strongly echo the Army-McCarthy Hearings of 1954.
Like the current president, Sen. Joseph McCarthy was a master of using media to intimidate political opponents, silence possible rivals and exhaustively dominate the national conversation. Like the current president, McCarthy struck the most fear in members of his own party, who were fearful of challenging his passionate base of support. Over the course of the Army-McCarthy hearings, McCarthy's veneer of invincibility was shattered, and he was eventually censured by a Senate controlled by his own party.
Curiously, Roy Cohn, McCarthy's legal counsel, was at the center of his troubles. Two decades later, that same Roy Cohn would go on to mentor the man who became the 45th president. And curiouser still, the president's current lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, has become the nexus of his current legal woes, partially in an attempt to become his "new Roy Cohn."
In his excellent book "The Fifties," historian David Halberstam made the case that the McCarthy hearings (and the Kefauver hearings about the mafia that preceded them) were the reason that many consumers decided to buy their first television sets. "I Love Lucy" was funny, but watching these hearings seemed "essential," Halberstam argued. And television began to supplant radio and newspapers as a source of news.
In many ways, television came in with those 1954 hearings. Will it "go out" after these current hearings or the departure of a TV-obsessed president? Who knows?
History may not repeat itself, but it does have a way of creating fascinating bookends.
— The board considers Meredith's fate on "Grey's Anatomy" (8 p.m., ABC, TV-14).
— Regional rivals the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns meet in NFL football action (8 p.m., Fox, NFL).
— Gary takes stock on "A Million Little Things" (9 p.m., ABC, TV-14).
— Efforts to demonize the victim backfire as "The Preppy Murder: Death in Central Park" (9 p.m., AMC, Sundance, TV-14) continues.
— Bakers compete on "Thanksgiving Pie Fight" (9 p.m., Food, TV-G).
— A ritual sparks an unexpected confession on "Evil" (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
— A predator drugs and assaults tourists on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (10 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
— Money motivates on "How to Get Away With Murder" (10 p.m., ABC, TV-14).
— Owen Wilson and Woody Harrelson animate the 2013 cartoon turkey comedy "Free Birds" (9 p.m., Nickelodeon, TV-G).
Sheldon starts a trend on "Young Sheldon" (8 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) ... Mateo holds a toy drive on "Superstore" (8 p.m., NBC, TV-14) ... A cosmic case on "Supernatural" (8 p.m., CW, TV-14) ... Wade gets serious on "The Unicorn" (8:30 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) ... Arthur offers advice on "Perfect Harmony" (8:30 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
Double-dating on "Mom" (9 p.m., CBS, TV-14) ... Mankind's fate awaits judgment on "The Good Place" (9 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) ... A monster in a maze on "Legacies" (9 p.m., CW, TV-PG) ... Stress management on "Carol's Second Act" (9:30 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) ... Expecting quarrels on "Will & Grace" (9:30 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
Steve Ballmer and Jeff Garlin are booked on "The Daily Show with Trevor Noah" (11 p.m., Comedy Central) ... Zach Woods is booked on "Conan" (11 p.m., TBS, TV-14) ... Jeff Ross, Brad Williams and Annie Lederman appear on "Lights Out With David Spade" (11:30 p.m., Comedy Central).
Mark Ruffalo and Andy Cohen are booked on "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" (11:35 p.m., CBS) ... Jimmy Fallon welcomes Alex Rodriguez, Lili Reinhart and Ian Lara on "The Tonight Show" (11:35 p.m., NBC) ... Jeff Goldblum, Camila Morrone and Jeff Goldblum and the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra featuring Sharon van Etten appear on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" (11:35 p.m., ABC).
Sean Hayes, Jean Smart and Chris Johnson visit "Late Night With Seth Meyers" (12:35 a.m., NBC) ... Sen. Kamala Harris, Don Johnson and Sleater-Kinney appear on "The Late Late Show With James Corden" (12:35 a.m., CBS).


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Search or browse below to see past Field of Interest grants. You may search by recipient organization name, project name, or city. Additionally, in the sidebar you may filter the grants displayed by year, interest or grant amount.
Access Pro Bono Society Access Pro Bono
Rural and Disabled Access to Pro Bono Legal Services Project
The project would extend pro bono legal advice services to people in unserviced rural and remote communities, and to people with mobility issues. Using Skype-based televideo clinics, local clients could connect to a pro bono lawyer in a distant location. For individuals who cannot attend a clinic, and/or whose qualifying legal issues are urgent, the project would offer a hotline for limited civil legal matters. The project would fund the design and modification of systems for the hotline, intake staffing, and the purchase of televideo and hotline equipment.
Association of Neighbourhood Houses of British Columbia
Kitsilano Neighbourhood House - Welcoming Neighbours Initiative
The Welcoming Neighbours Initiative aims to provide newcomers to Vancouver's westside with much needed opportunities for meaningful social inclusion, language practice and increased community literacy. This is one of the only programs on the westside to facilitate access and inclusion for isolated, vulnerable newcomers and will provide a welcoming and inclusive environment for newcomers and new immigrants. The project includes volunteer training in cross-cultural community literacy, inclusive approaches and language support.
South Vancouver Neighbourhood House - Seniors Hub: Working with Seniors Using the Neighbourhood House Approach
Three neighbourhood houses (NH) documented their model for working with and building the capacity of seniors in a report titled Sustaining Seniors Programs through the Neighbourhood House model, 2009. A Union of BC Municipalities Grant in partnership with the City of Vancouver and United Way supported this project. Resulting from this report a collaborative relationship was formed between the NH and the Seniors Funders table- including Vancouver Coastal Health SMART Fund, City of Vancouver Social Planning, United Way, New Horizons, and Vancouver Foundation. The hub vision includes a place where seniors: gather and make connections across generations; find neighbourhood- based activities that support aging in place; are valued for their skills and abilities; and engaged in active roles in the community. To implement this model a coordinator is required along with resources to support seniors capacity building. An evaluation framework will allow us to monitor our progress and share our learnings
B.C. Society of Transition Houses
Toward a Learning Centre
This project seeks to develop an online knowledge resource where programs can share best practices and policies in helping women and children fleeing violence. It will identify and provide access to online training tailored to meet workers' needs. It will transform existing training modules into an accessible on-line format to enable the training of workers to meet their clients needs.
BC Multicultural Health Services Society
Umbrella Mobile Clinic Pilot Project
About 4,000 temporary farm workers come to BC each year. Despite having mandatory, self-paid, private health insurance, these workers are rarely able to access health services. This project will pilot a mobile clinic, specially targeted to the needs of farm workers. The clinic will consist of a recreational vehicle, converted into a medical clinic, capable of seeing patients at the farms where they work, and offering primary, preventative health care. The clinic will be staffed by a physician, office assistant and cross-cultural health worker.
Boys' and Girls' Clubs of Central Vancouver Island
Building the Lake Trail Neighbourhood Connections
Lake Trail is a low-income neighbourhood in Courtenay, BC. It has the highest crime rate in the Comox Valley. This project will coordinate a Lake Trail inter-agency committee to support project activities and meet neighbourhood needs; facilitate partnership development between Lake Trail School, service agencies and residents; and establish community-building activities at Lake Trail School (such as after-school and weekend programs for youth, families, and seniors; community meetings to address issues, social activities and a school/community garden).
British Columbia Civil Liberties Association
BCCLA Rural Education & Outreach Project
To develop and implement a model for low-overhead, membership-driven, community-based civil liberties and human rights advocacy and education groups that provide aboriginal and rural community members with legal information and peer casework advocacy support. This model would also offers opportunities for civil libertiesrelated education and interactive workshops by local and long-distance lawyers, advocates and experts, and build relationships between rural communities and urban service providers, lawyers and advocates on civil liberties and human rights issues.
Campbell River Beacon Club
Computer Training
The project for which the Campbell River Beacon Club is asking funding is to offer weekly computer classes in house to the membership at no cost to the participants. Members will learn how to access the Internet and the services it offers, including on line mental health peer communities and mental health related websites (e.g. Mood Disorders Association of BC, Canadian Mental Health Association, BC Schizophrenia Society), job search sites and educational opportunities. Weekly sessions will include training for Windows and related Microsoft Office programs (e.g. Word, Excel, Access, Power Point and Publisher). They will learn how to use email, from setting up an account, to attaching documents to using proper etiquette. As more businesses are using social media to promote themselves, the project will also include sessions about Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. They will also learn how to safely navigate the Web, being made aware of predators and scams.
Canadian Society Promoting Environmental Conservation (SPEC)
Food Secure Vancouver Study Phase 2
In 2008 the VFPC launched the Food Secure Vancouver Study to answer the question "How food secure is Vancouver in a changing world?" in terms of access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food, the structure and capacity of the food system, and the cultural, economic, social, and environmental needs of individuals and communities.The Food Secure Vancouver Study establishes an integrated and ongoing review, analysis, and reporting process that: Monitors the status of Vancouver's food security against our baseline definition; Informs citizens and decision-makers about the status of Vancouver's food security; Identifies priority actions for improving and maintaining the sustainability and security of all aspects of Vancouver's food system.In this project, we survey food security groups in Vancouver's neighbourhoods and inventory their activities and resources, and develop an information management system to gather and manage data, disseminate information about local food security initiatives and resources, and facilitate neighbourhood networking and collaboration.
Federation of Community Social Services of British Columbia
Boards Together in Community
Board Voice Society of B.C. is a new organization in B.C. One of its goals is to promote cross agency collaboration and innovation at the community level. In particular, we believe that engaged citizens who govern different agencies can leverage their capacity by engaging with each other across the boundaries of their particular agencies to consider the broader issues facing the people in their communities. A second goal relates to improving governance. Through this initiative, local board groups will have access to resources to bring in trainers from universities or community colleges to assist in local training events as well as online resources. This project aims at realizing these goals. Pulling people together, especially in the rural areas of the province, often has costs attached. Room rental, amenities and travel costs may figure into the mix. As well, there will be costs associated with hiring local trainers. To facilitate these meetings, we wish to amplify a small fund we have already set up to support regional board sessions.
First Nations Friendship Centre Society
Community Dental Access Centre (CDAC)
The Centre will provide a full spectrum of dental services to low-income, marginalized populations. Located in downtown Vernon and servicing many North Okanagan communities, this innovative clinic model will be sustained through diverse funding sources: client fees based on income; government dental plans; grants and fundraising; volunteer services (a partnership with UBC to use dental students and volunteers to assist clients with paperwork); and the strong community support of over 30 local community agencies and government bodies.
Houston Link To Learning Society
Houston Community Garden/Market project
The community garden is an existing program that reaches out to the most marginalized in the Houston area. This project will continue the growth of the garden, as well as enhance the connection with the local farmer's market, and the possible development of a second community garden on District property by the Leisure Centre. It will extend the safe learning environment and facilitate skills development. The learners can then help with fundraising at the market or develop their own skill, craft or talent for economic development.
Langley Senior Resources Society
Seniors Transportation Assistance Program (TAP)
Volunteer drivers, using their own cars, provide supportive, escorted transportation for seniors who are frail, elderly, isolated, and who require assistance during outings to their doctor, bank, shopping or social appointments. This program will help seniors maintain their independence and remain active in their community. Due to the volume of rides given (1800 + last year) and the complexity of matching volunteers with clients, a consistent staff dispatcher is needed. Transportation options also allow seniors to continue to participate in their community as consumers, citizens and volunteers.
Lookout Society
To establish a bike repair/refurbishment shop that would would provide a range of educational certificates. Student trainees would include formerly homeless people who currently reside in transitional housing, mental health housing and shelters. Students would learn the skills necessary to work as a bicycle assembler or bicycle mechanic. A bicycle repair shop would be added to the classroom to provide experience in bicycle maintenance and repair and introduce students to the basics of business management and customer service.
Lu'ma Native Housing Society
Community Voice Mail
Community Voice Mail is a simple solution to a complex problem – how to help people in crisis stay connected. This project provides a reliable telephone number to hundreds of Vancouver's most vulnerable citizens. Some have used their phone number to obtain healthcare and social services; others to secure housing and employment. Many include connecting with family/children as a goal when signing-up. Some clients have used their number to provide stability while fleeing domestic abuse. Most clients are either homeless or in transitional housing. Now hundreds of our city's most vulnerable citizens are connected. Some have used their number to obtain healthcare and social services, others to secure housing and employment. Many include, connecting with family/children; as a goal when signing-up; can you even imagine the value of this? 13% have used their number to provide stability while fleeing domestic abuse. 85% are either homeless, in transitional housing or a shelter. 6% are at risk of homelessness. Averge monthly income for ALL is $676 while 9% report no financial resources whatsoever.
Multi-Lingual Orientation Service Association for Immigrant Communities
Can You Dig It: Immigrants and Refugees Engagement Project
Can You Dig It helps immigrants and refugees break down isolation by building a community garden on East 8th Avenue at Commercial Drive. The project will facilitate connections between immigrants and local community people, with the goal of social and economic integration. Over two years, this project will sponsor gardening training sessions; recruit newcomer volunteers to meet with neighbours and invite them to participate; and invite 240 newcomer families to establish and maintain a produce garden at their homes.
Newton Advocacy Group Society
The Surrey Rent Bank (SRB)
A Rent Bank is a homelessness prevention program that provides low-interest loans (max $1,600) to low-income earners and their families, living in affordable housing. These loans address rent and/or utility arrears. This project will ease the effects of poverty by encouraging financial literacy. Borrowers are supported with financial literacy workshops, referrals, a resource manual and follow-up. Loan repayments are re-invested into new loans.
Gabriola Guardian Project: Everyone Deserves a Home
This is a multi-faceted project that includes research on homelessness for Gabriola, building a registry of affordable accommodation, working directly with sympathetic landlords, developing a resource base of donated household goods, and building an emergency fund to help purchase firewood, pay utility set-up for those without credit, assist with damage deposits and other costs. Assistance with life skills such as housekeeping, cooking, financial literacy, and mental health and addiction counselling will make participants more popular tenants. An outreach worker will work directly with clients and landlords.
Positive Living Fraser Valley Society
PLFV Community Outreach and Support program
This project, combined with additional funding from the MAC AIDS Foundation, will hire a full-time support worker who can reach out to communities in the Fraser Valley to ensure that people living with HIV/AIDS and those co-infected with Hepatitis C are connected to all local resources, thus reducing isolation and improving overall health. The project will address critical issues like improved access to health care through transportation assistance, adequate nutrition, emotional and social support, mental health, addiction issues and prevention education and awareness information.
Potluck Cafe Society
Downtown Eastside Kitchen Tables Project
The DTES Kitchen Tables Project is a comprehensive, collaborative strategy to reform the DTES food system. It is designed to work in concert with all relevant stakeholders, beginning with nutritionally vulnerable DTES residents and including food providers. The project seeks funding for outreach and education to implement the first two (of seven) solutions, training and wages to build a DTES community outreach/education team to facilitate events, and support for a project manager who would be responsible for implementation of the overall strategy.
Squamish Volunteer Centre Society
Welcome Centre to Multicultural Neighborhood House in Squamish
This project is a response to priorities that emerged from the development of the 2008-09 Sea to Sky Literacy Plan, and the experiences of immigrants, volunteers and staff. The goal is a Multicultural Neighbourhood House that can provide an in depth and long-term focus on growing issues of immigration, diversity and racism in Squamish.
UBC - Department of Family Practice
Safe and Sound?: A documentary film on refugee health and access to primary care in Metro Vancouver
In 2007, more than twenty thousand refugees came to Canada. In Vancouver, Bridge Medical Clinic addresses their short-term health needs; however, refugees have difficulty accessing regular primary care providers in the community. "Safe and Sound?" is a documentary film featuring stories of Vancouver refugees at various stages of transition to life in Canada. Targeting an audience of medical trainees and healthcare providers, it will investigate barriers to medical care, exposing the challenges and strengths of refugees pertaining to primary care access.
UBC - Learning Exchange
Contributing through Computers Pilot Project
The goal of this project is to raise the overall digital literacy in Vancouver's DTES and surrounding neighbourhoods, while building confidence and a range of skills in facilitators. The Learning Exchange will train and support 80 local residents to take a leadership role in the community by delivering free computer classes to people with little or no computer skills. By creating opportunities for facilitators to lead workshops, the project will ensure people have the IT skills increasingly needed to function in our technology-dependent world.
United Way of Northern British Columbia
Northern Rockies Social Planning Council (NRSPC)
This project will pay for a coordinator to facilitate and sustain the activities needed to achieve its mission and vision, and to examine the social impact from present and future growth resulting from the Horn River Basin and Cordova shale gas discoveries. The project will facilitate strategic planning and establish a model to identify critical and emerging issues; facilitate inception of the Fort Nelson branch of the Northeast Community Foundation; research funding opportunities and facilitate meetings and disseminate information to the public.
Valley Community Services
Back to the Basics for Young and Old
We are proposing to have seniors and young families work together to grow and harvest food, prepare meals and host communal food events. Seniors will share gardening and cooking skills, and parenting stories. Younger persons will provide the energy and labour to get the jobs done. Participants will see improved nutrition, social activity will reduce isolation, communication and parenting skills will improve and connections with supportive community partners and services will grow.


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There has been much discussion in the commercial aviation community about a global pilot shortage. This month we are exploring the current state of airline transport pilot (ATP) availability, attrition and growth, causes for the shortage and potential solutions as the community moves forward. The IATA
Category: Uncategorized
2019: A Year in Review
As 2019 comes to a close, we have the opportunity to reflect on all that has transpired. So for the final publication of the year, we will take a look at COMAC's growth and accomplishments over the past twelve months. And there is no better place
ARJ21 – From Early Challenges to Aviation History
November is a big month for the ARJ21, as it marks the successful completion of the aircraft's maiden flight, as well as the first delivery to launch customer Chengdu Airlines. With this in mind, the eleventh month of the year seems like an appropriate time to
LCC/ULCCs – The Disruptors of Commercial Aviation
Today, everyone loves to talk about disruptors. Entrepreneurs strive to develop the latest technology or service that will disrupt an industry. So, when considering an industry as massive and complicated as commercial aviation, who has successfully disrupted the market? Before we explore who the civil aviation
Summer Travel Trends
When the sun is out and the temperatures soar people take to the sky, road, rails and waters for a summer getaway! Which means it's time to cash in on that accrued vacation and hit the beach, desert, a happening city, or maybe even a new
Reducing the Load: The Weight Trimming of Commercial Aircraft
Commercial aerospace is an industry that operates in extreme margins. Though you may feel like you're paying an arm and a leg for your next flight, remember that airlines are paying too; each flight is associated with a variety of costs, from landing fees to personnel.
China's Extreme Airports
The majority of airports around the world contend with occasional forms of inclement weather, such as thunderstorms, blizzards or hurricanes. However, there are some airports that, due to their geographical location, experience extreme weather on a regular basis. Located in sweltering deserts, frozen tundra, or towering
E-Commerce, Air Cargo & China
In our March blog, The Evolution of Air Cargo, we examined the development and growth of the air cargo industry as a whole. This month, we are examining how e-commerce is fueling the demand for air cargo and the influence China is having on both industries.
A Trip Through China on the ARJ21
Roughly three years ago, a Chinese-made passenger jet entered regular commercial service for the very first time. Since then, the model has flown over 10,000 hours, safely carrying passengers to exciting destinations all over China for Chengdu Airlines. Two new customers, Genghis Khan Airlines and Urumqi
The Evolution of Air Cargo
On November 10, 1910, seven years after the Wright brothers recorded the first flight, air was broken on the use of an aircraft to ship cargo. Max Morehouse, founder and president of the Morehouse-Martens Company in Columbus, Ohio decided to commission the use of an aircraft


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AT-MX341 Audio Technica Smart Mixer – Automatic Microphone Mixer
The AT-MX341 automatic microphone mixer is ideal for meetings, seminars, teleconferencing, worship services, radio and TV broadcasting and A/V applications. All switching is under microprocessor control with proprietary algorithms for instant, seamless operation. An individual priority pre-select switch for each mic channel allows choice of one-channel-at-a-time operation, all channels active, or any mix of moderator override. The last microphone on stays on so that ambient sound is never muted.


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Pair with a Monte Bello Chardonnay
Serves 4
4 lobsters, about 1 1/2 pounds each
1/2 cup tarragon vinegar
2 tablespoons finely minced shallot
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh tarragon
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Bring a very large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Drop in the lobsters and parboil for 7 to 8 minutes. Meanwhile, fill the sink with ice water. When the lobsters are done, use tongs to transfer them to the sink of ice water to cool. Transfer 1 lobster to a work surface. Cut it in half length-wise and remove the gravelly sac at the base of the head. Remove the claws. Crack and remove the meat, transferring it to a bowl. Discard the claw shells. Remove the meat from the body cavity, cut it into bite-sized pieces, and transfer to the bowl. Stir the meat to combine and put it back into the body shells. Repeat with the remaining lobsters. Wrap tightly and refrigerate.
Combine the vinegar, shallot, and tarragon in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil until the liquid is syrupy and almost totally absorbed, about 5 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and zest and cool to room temperature.
Using a food processor beat the butter until creamy. Add the tarragon-lemon mixture and beat until incorporated. Season the butter to taste with salt and pepper.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the butter over the lobster meat in the shells. Cover loosely with foil and roast in the oven for 8 minutes. Serve immediately.
"Ahh…lobster and Chardonnay. This is one of those quintessential matches that almost everyone knows and loves." – Evan Goldstein, Master Sommelier
Recipe Source: Perfect Pairings by Evan Goldstein copyright 2006 by the University of California Press


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The Signature Development Group (SDG) team has been transforming the Bay Area with exceptional homes and quality communities for more than 30 years. To deliver luxury and excellence, we will endlessly seek new ways to customize residences for the discerning buyer.
SDG knows that connections to existing neighborhoods aren't a given. Great design doesn't happen overnight and beautiful architecture doesn't create itself. Each one is crafted with care and attention to detail. So we explore, push ourselves and redefine. We look at how people live and how life evolves. We incorporate first-rate neighborhood planning and maintain and enhance relationships with surrounding neighbors. And we ensure each residence is timeless, beautiful and distinct.
In every home that SDG builds, we make quality the standard. It's the creation of an extraordinary product, the scrutinizing and examining of every detail, our preference for only the most durable and high-end materials. We invite you to experience and take it all in, from the architectural design and craftsmanship to the final finishing touches. SDG does more than build homes. We build homes well.
Signature Development Group is privately owned, locally managed and based in Oakland, California. With expertise in residential development, from high-end single-family homes to townhomes, condominiums and mixed-use buildings, the SDG team is one of artisans and experts. We not only listen to the community but also build strong partnerships with cities and municipalities. Founder and President Michael Ghielmetti believes a home is the most significant purchase anyone will ever make, so we envision, shape and create. When it comes to designing and building an SDG home, nothing is overlooked and everything matters.


text: A FFWJ best burger choice. Gilbert's on 17th St in Ft Lauderdale makes one of the best burgers in South Florida. A huge 13oz beef patty. Grilled to perfection served on a no frills roll with lettuce and tomato. You can add many toppings of your choice but I am a purest. Its big beefy flavor will satisfy any meat lovers cravings. – Cha Cha Pickles


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Women's Hockey
Canada Gold scored three unanswered goals in the first period and held on to hand the U SPORTS All-Stars their first loss of the Summer Showcase 5-3 on Thursday afternoon.
Livestream (Canada matchups only)
After a pair of wins over Japan and France, it was U SPORTS' first game against either of Canada's two development teams.
U SPORTS started strong, keeping up pace with the Canada Gold, carrying the play for the majority of the first half of the period outshooting them 7-6. Canada seemed to find their legs just over midway through the frame, which led to a pair goals just a minute apart from Alexa Vasko and Ryleigh Houston.
Canada would add a third tally with 2:05 remaining for good measure, taking a 3-0 and outshooting U SPORTS 20-9. Claire Dalton would get credit for the sharp angle deflection that found its way past U SPORTS netminder Aube Racine.
As the second began, it took all of 32 seconds for U SPORTS to find the back of the net. Miranda Hatt of the Saint Mary's Huskies re-directed a point shot from St. Thomas' Alex Woods to cut the deficit down to just two. After Canada's response three and half minutes later by captain Sophie Shirley, it was all U SPORTS to close out the period.
Nine minutes in, Concordia's Audrey Belzile had some room down the right side and snapped it home. Six minutes later, Wood chipped one home to cut the lead to one heading into the final frame. U SPORTS outshot Canada 11-4 in the middle frame.
"We just had to play our game instead of worrying about their game," said Belzile when asked about the adjustments the team had to make after the tough first period. "Just focus on ourselves and trust each other and good things will happen."
The third saw both teams play more conservatively, with Canada turning to full defensive mode and only allowing one shot against through the first 15 minutes. U SPORTS would come close to tying it when a mad scramble in front of Alberta's Kirsten Chamberlain saw a loose puck pop out to the stick of Hatt, who rang it off the crossbar. Shirley would put it away with her second of the day into the empty net, handing U SPORTS their first loss of the Summer Showcase.
Saskatchewan's Bailee Bourassa says matching the speed with Canada is the key to competing on Friday.
"If we play like we did today but coming right out of the gate, we match their speed," she said. "We don't really have to change much in our game but we just have to stick to what we've been practicing all week".
U SPORTS will now prepare to take on the second of the Canadian Development teams Friday at 3:15 p.m. ET / 12:15 p.m. PT.


text: Philipp lives in Germany and works as a landscape gardener. He is also a part time fetish model. Phil adores confident and dominant women and it is his passion to fulfil their wildest dreams and fantasies. You can watch him submit to his mistress Valkyrie's desires in "Hardback" (from "Feeling it") and become the object of desire for an all female panel judging his solo masturbation performance in "XXXmen" (from "The Female Voyeur"). He particularly enjoyed playing in "Pleasure Slaves" and being pegged in "Club Joy" (both also from "The Female Voyeur"). It was during the shoot of "The Female Voyeur" Phil discovered his bisexual desires. The shoot with Petra enabled him to explore his sexuality further and to free his mind from feelings of shyness and shame.


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VolkerHighways' term maintenance contracting division provides the core of our business. We undertake highways maintenance and schemes work for a wide range of local authority clients in the south of England.
The success of these contracts relies on close collaboration and the partnerships we build with our clients over time.
The work we carry out includes;
Highway Term Maintenance Association (HTMA)
VolkerHighways is one of the 13 founding members of the HTMA. The HTMA is a trade organisation that promotes the positive contribution that the highways management and maintenance industry makes to the nation and lobby effectively on behalf of the industry. VolkerHighways' Managing Director, Alistair Thompson, is an executive board member of the HTMA where he plays a key role in contributing to the creation and promotion of highways industry initiatives and best practices.


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Kid's these days are exposed to more than those of the previous generations. Their exposure to an ever-expanding media, the attractive world of electronic gadgets; the parental and peer pressure to give more mentally and physically to achieve more and stay in the race of a frenzied lifestyle is being detrimental to their health and growth.
All of these pressures can hamper a child's mental and physical growth and can also harm their health. A healthy body is the one which is not only externally strong but which is too strong from within. To achieve this, the child needs nutrients that will support healthy natural growth and a healthy metabolism. The rise in the popularity of "convenience foods" (or junk foods as we call them) also don't help. To counter these ill-effects, it is necessary to have a healthy eating regimen while supplementing nutrients externally.
Many kid's health products are available in the market these days which provide external nutritional support for the healthy growth of children. These include vitamins, minerals and essential amino acids. These nutrients are vital to the normal growth and health of the child. Due to environmental pollution, children also face the risks of numerous infections. It is unhealthy to treat infections with a multitude of antibiotics. The best way would be to build the child's immunity so that their body is able to naturally counter the germs that would cause disease.
Children are also more prone to minor illnesses like coughs and colds. Many safe, mild and effective medicines are available from our online pharmacy. These medicines are gentle on the tummy and effectively fight the irritable symptoms so that your child is ready to be active again.
Kid's health products these days are using the age-old effectiveness of natural products like colostrum, Omega fatty acids, Echinacea, cod liver oil and natural Vitamin C to build immunity, support bone health and increase mental and physical stamina.
You can safely and securely buy kids care products from trusted online pharmacies. These online pharmacies stock products from reliable manufacturers and can easily be bought from the comforts of your homes. One can also get discounts and these products are safely and promptly delivered to your doorstep.


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Sunday, November 30, 2008
the aftermath....
Friday, November 28, 2008
mind numbed......
40 hours and counting…. Warzone Mumbai ….Mumbai carnaged…ravaged Mumbai…….Exclusive television footage has brought the terror right into our homes…exclusive coverage that served us blood for breakfast…..I sit glued to the TV for hours….watching as people are trying to make sense of it all….i cannot believe that this is all happening….in front of our eyes….people desperate to be safe….waving from their rooms in the Taj and Oberoi….holed up…not knowing what would happen next….the scores of security personnel…..policemen, firefighters, Army men, NSG commandos and Marcos…..the last two groups of men said to be among the best in the business……all of them doing what they can to "flush out the militants", "minimize civilian casualities" and make us feel safe again….At least 125 have been killed in the Mumbai encounter, including 14 policemen and six foreigners and 327 people have been injured. And this is the official estimate………
Some thoughts going through my mind right now
Chef Banja, who shared our church bench for 4 yrs, has died. He was an Executive Chef at the Taj and was shot at in the kitchen……I can't believe this….it somehow brings all of it closer….
When will we realize that this is a real time war situation and this is urban warfare? That it needs to be dealt with the severity and seriousness….much more than we are doing right now?
How many more people should lose their lives and how many more attacks like this should happen before we appear to take measures to send a clear message that we are not a soft target anymore? When will be associate a little more value to the life of a citizen that has been lost?
Why was there such a time lag in bringing in our top trained commandos? Were they stuck in bureaucratic red tape?
Why am I paying taxes for the bills of politicians and bureaucrats instead of buying better equipment and training for cops and soldiers?
How did the guys just jump into a speedboat and land up at the gateway……isn't this checked at any point of time? Where are the intelligence reports?
Why are the reporters and journalists the ones asking questions on policy and a way forward? Isn't this the job of the people who govern us to do this?
Isn't it the duty of the government to provide a secure place for its citizens?
I've just refreshed my newsfeed, and as of 11.48 a.m there is fresh gunbattle going on at the Taj, earlier this morning, this was supposed to be secure and handed over to the police….what is happening? Gag orders have been given to the media as it is believed the terrorists are getting access to the movements of the commandos….WTF!!
I am quite numbed by all of this….i don't wish to conclude….i don't know what to conclude with…. Hope maybe a good place to start…..and my prayers are for all the warriors who are helping us tackle this as best as they can.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Half a Decade ..... and Counting
A white train, veil and an entourage….. a dapper groom, awaiting his bride at the altar, a church full of people, singing …..and a priest waiting to say "I now pronounce you Man and Wife" ………..
Whatever else I dreamt of, this montage was never to be…… in its place instead, was a terrible excitement that we would finally spend the rest of our lives together…….hoping that the frayed nerves would hold up till everything was over….making all of the arrangements……staying at the venue till a few hours before the reception to get everything done…..i telling you my feet were paining in those ridiculously high heels (because k is a foot taller) and you asking me why I wore them in the first place…. You grumbling over how many more hours of handshaking was in store and me asking you to shut up and smile since pictures were being clicked…..
five years then seemed like such a long time…..now I can't remember when it flew past…..knowing each other as long as we have, it seems like forever….. in a nice way!! In the end it isn't about what we did, or how we spent time, or where we've been and what we've achieved…..
To know that I will always come home to you…..that I share my life with you…that marriage wasn't the end of all that we wanted…it was just the beginning of what we have together….to know that we don't have to be Siamese twins…..that we can be our own people…..with opinions and ideas fiercely our own…. That it's ok to not agree on anything and yet know that that's the way it is going to be…..that we are chalk and cheese….that we don't have to share anything…..religion, language, culture, interests or even food….and yet, we share the life we have together…..to take a line out of Jerry Maguire, "you complete me"….
I am so glad I found you K…..if I had to do it all over again, I would……and not change a thing….Happy Anniversary!!
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
am i shallow??
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Listed and listless
As I sit here on my first day at work, several thoughts go through my mind….. its pretty amazing that I am able to have normal conversations while my mind is running all over the place….it also strikes me….at how much we all use technology to appear busy….
Right now, I am sorely missing my laptop. A couple of times today I contemplated going home to pick it up and had to restrain myself…. It's a good place to hide, behind the screen of a computer….also my sheer dependence on it…..like an extension of myself!!
What do you do when you are at a loose end?? I plan….more like, I make lists….many kinds….endlessly sometimes…..so right now I have a few going…..things to do at work…broken down into for the project etc….. stuff for home…..lists of important and unimportant work which nevertheless needs to get done…..Why do I do it? it helps me plan. Its like laying my entire life out in front of me and prioritizing, organizing and purging. I feel a greater sense of control when I have lists…they empower me…
The workplace is a huge bungalow in a posh residential colony….in so many ways like the first place I worked for when I returned to hyderabad after my master's and a stint at the corporate offices at Bangalore and Chennai…there was no air conditioning and artificial light, just a small flat to work from….here there's a maid / cook and lunch gets made on the premises….eaten at a real dining table with placemats!! It can get too comfy!! I haven't yet taken up on the option of working from home, cause right now I need to see people to keep me sane…..i will find myself driving to work each morning till I need to be left alone….
The day has been pretty nondescript. I need to sift through a load of training material before I can put something together….so I better be gone…..if the title was anything to go by, there wasn't really any point to this post…..maybe I will do better with the laptop!!
Monday, November 10, 2008
time to get back!!
Saturday, November 8, 2008
blogging this and that
Friday, November 7, 2008
more magazine gyan~~
- it is not a smart thing to not oil your hair for 15 yrs.... it makes your hair like coir!! oiling it before a shampoo is a good idea... its a great idea...just plain coconut oil....squirted straight onto the scalp....and worked into a light 60 second massage with your finger tips.
- warm equal quantities of honey and olive oil, massage into your scalp... let dry... it feels hard and sticky when dry (but obviously), shampoo after an hour.... touch and feel your silken strands!! awesome!!
- commercial shampoos have far too much detergent than we have the courage to acknowledge in them to give that lather they advertise.... dilute it with water by 1/2. notice that it washes as well, and doesnt dry hair as much. this works for all shampoos - mild/ herbal/ for silky hair/ dark hair / curly hair and everything else....
- despite what we may think... it is necessary to trim hair every 8 weeks... 10 weeks at the very least... keeps it well groomed and tidy.
- coconut oil: you may not like the smell.... but its the best before bath body lotion.... slap it on for a few minutes before your bath and use a mild soap like pears / nivea....man!! your skin feels like velvet
- vaseline is the best for dry chapped skin... to feel less icky, use it at bedtime on your hands, feet, elbows and lips....throw out all those overpriced body lotions...they last just a couple of hours
- after years and years of using commercial cosmetics and body washes and lotions and potions....i ate humble pie and got back to the kitchen shelf.... it has been awesome so far....
- equal quantities of rice flour and chick pea flour (besan), some oatmeal and a little granulated sugar mixed with milk / rose water / plain water is THE best body scrub you can have.... mix the dry ingredients and put it all into a container and store it in the bathroom for easy access.
- Plain honey on your face is a good thing. spread it with your fingers all over your face. keep it on for 10 mins before washing off. it is very hydrating.
- out in the sun and have a tan you want to get rid off? whizz 1/2 tomato with 2 T curd, the sourer the better. apply on your face and wait till dry and wash off... the tan washes right off. ask me!! i never use sunscreen... not because i practice reverse snobbery but i never remember...so i resort to this.
- i find extracting cucumber juice painful, i just whizz a couple of slices with a little yoghurt and put it as a facepack to take off tan. its a great cleanser too..... i think mixing some oatmeal will work too.
- mashed papaya for your face washed off after 10 mins is like a miracle worker.... use it as often as ye shall want lovely skin!!
- oh yes... inspired by a certain friend, i decided on a one soap always policy .... and switched to pears... will keep you posted on the changes....
Monday, November 3, 2008
magazine wisdom....
- i put flowers / leaves in empty bottles/ glasses/ vases... they can be wild flowers from the garden, coleus... anything... it perks up the room instantly
- to extend the life of wilting flowers by cutting the stem off close to the end of the bloom and putting it in a shallow bowl/ deep saucer/ urli
- this is a one in a million..... i dont know about you, but i hate it when bathroom mirrors fog up....to stop your bathroom mirrors from fogging up, rub it with a little shampoo / liquid soap on a soft cloth.... its unbelieveable!! repeat every other week
- soak up a soft cloth in a few drops of coconut oil and water and rub polished wooden furniture with it... gives it an instant new life
- to tidy up in a hurry ... like when friends call to say they're around the corner and will pop in: put stuff that does'nt belong in that room into a pillow case/ plastic bag and stow away...this way you dont have to bother about finding a place to keep them... just bag it...works like a dream... if you are bothered about the mess enough to clean up that is.... and dont make a habit of piling up filled pillow cases...then you've completely lost the plot.
- the pillow cas clutter management also works when you need to empty out cupboards/ drawers and dont know where to put the stuff. put it all into a pillow case and just empty it out when you need to. this way, if you need all the stuff to stay together...it does. when i had to empty out 5 whole wardrobes recently while we had woodwork being done....this was a lifesaver
- it is good sense to always have a book handy to write down stuff: lists, reminders, to do's
- spend 5 mins a day, at anytime, to tidy up / put away 5 items that do not belong in the room/ on the table / fridge / wardrobe.... its kind of like "a stitch in time" and goes a loooong way
- store bedsheets along with matching pillow cases. saves time and energy when you want to change them... you wont go on a wildgoose chase... picking up just one pile at a time
- i use this thumbrule of organising and getting rid of clutter: if you dont use / need something you have put away in a box/ bag for 3 months, you wont EVER need it...there's your cue to sorting out stuff and guiltlessly throwing away horded stuff... that includes stacked up books and magazines!!
- set the table and serve food in pretty crockery... it immediately makes it look and feel better (i have a lot of inexpensive khurja ceramic crockery which i use daily, they can be used in the microwave, so heating leftovers isnt an issue)
- ALWAYS boil enough dal to last atleast 3 meals....freeze as individual portions
- chop veggies all at one go....preferably after you buy them and store in plastic bags / boxes... life is pretty chaotic without having to deal with veggies to chop after a long hard day at work
- chop tomatoes and zap in the microwave for 4-5 mins.... cool, puree and pour into ice trays to freeze.... remove and store in a bag in the freezer.... dals, gravies, pasta....here i come!!
- better still double the quantities of any gravy, freeze and store
- scraped fresh coconut stays good in the freezer for 2-3 months as opposed to in the fridge for 2 days
- its good to keep instant food for emergencies....but reaching for it three times a week is one too many emergencies!!
- making a meal plan for the week saves you the hassle of racking your head (whilst stuck in the veggie tray) about what to make for dinner / breakfast (multiply the same four times and you have a plan for the whole month)
- impose a "no more buying" till you finish groceries in your pantry...works better than tossing them out after they've crossed their best by dates
- grouping things together according to category / end product for storage makes life easier.... all baking stuff including dishes, electric mixer and decorations/sprinkles..... all kinds of pasta with spices....
- never have more than 5 takeaway containers at a time.... toss them out once they exceed 5 in number
- home made cookies and cakes, jams, chutneys etc make for great personalised gifts


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The most recent report from the California Association of Realtors looks at the state of the economy and housing in California, and the forecast is looking grim. A perfect storm of declining home sales and rising interest rates, a slowing economy, and would-be buyers choosing to move rather than purchase are responsible for home sales in 2018 being the lowest in four years – and point to a weakening housing market in 2019.
Home Sales Trending Downward
The trend is not the friend of home sellers in California. The 2019 California Housing Market Forecast by the California Association of Realtors (CAR) shows home sales steadily sloping downward:
Interest Rates and Home Prices on The Rise
Although California home sales have been slumping the past several years and interest rates are rising – from 4% in 2017 to a projected 5.2% in 2019 – the median home price in California is still expected to rise by over 3% in 2019, following a 7% increase in 2018.
The California Economy Is Slowing Down
California's economy also appears to be leveling out. Although the unemployment rate in 2019 is expected to remain steady at 4.3%, nonfarm job growth is forecast to be just 1.4%, down from an expected 3% this year. Nationwide, GDP is forecast to be 2.4% in 2019, down from an expected 3% gain in 2018.
Buyers Sitting on The Sidelines
Even in the best of markets, there's a disconnect between buyers and sellers, with sellers usually wanting more than what buyers think a property is worth. At TwinRock we've been saying for quite some time that there's too much money chasing too few deals, and that it's best that buyers step back and sit on the sidelines.
According to California Association of Realtors President Steve White, that's exactly what's happening:
Would-be buyers who are concerned that home prices may have peaked will wait on the sidelines until they have more clarity on where the housing market is headed.
When buyers take a timeout, sales decline – both housing demand and sales are expected to go down in 2019.
We expect that the housing market in California will be especially hit hard. According to the CAR report between August and September, the median home price in California declined by 2.9%. At the same time, the average number of months of inventory on the market grew to 31 months – the highest level since 2014.
Leaving California
Back in 1976 in their hit song Hotel California, the band the Eagles sang, "You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave."
Fast forward 40 years and home buyers in California are not only checking in – they're also checking out and moving away in almost unprecedented numbers, in large part due to the high cost of housing and living in California. This outward migration is a major factor contributing to the decline of home sales in California.
CAR's 2018 State of the Housing Market/Study of Housing: Insight, Forecast, Trends report notes that this year 28% of homebuyers moved out of the county they used to live in, compared to 21% in 2017. In both the Bay Area and Southern California, 35% of homebuyers moved out of their county because of affordability constraints.
The Worst Is Yet to Come
We expect homeowners to continue leaving California as rising interest rates and increasing home prices make the state much less affordable and desirable than it once was.
Back in April, we wrote, "We believe the housing market is primed to roll over just as it did between 2005 and 2006 while the economy was then also looking good."
Although we hate to say we told you so – especially when it comes to bad news – we were spot on with that analysis and likely with today's. As this article was being written the housing market has continued to retract and the financial markets are in a correction mode and any year-end upswing is simply window dressing or from a temporary lift when a trade agreement is finally reached.


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Multiple artist owned music streaming service TIDAL have found themselves in the middle of a major alleged "fake streams" scandal in Norway and are now currently under criminal investigation.
Norwegian financial newspaper Dagens Næringsliv reported they had obtained an internal TIDAL company hard drive which allegedly showed the platform's play-counts for two major 2016 albums – Beyoncé's "Lemonade" and Kanye West's "The Life Of Pablo" which had been artificially inflated, therefore faking the artists' streaming numbers, which has put Jay-Z, aka Shawn Carter in a bit of a sticky situation, since he's the main owner of TIDAL, after purchasing and taking over the streaming service in 2015.
"Beyonce and Kanye West's listener numbers on TIDAL have been manipulated to the tune of several hundred million false plays…which has generated massive royalty payouts at the expense of other artists." the newspaper reported.
TIDAL'S CEO Richard Sanders denied DN's claim, but the company opened a review into a potential breach anyway. This review was undertaken by a third-party security company, who aimed to "aggressively pursue multiple avenues available to uncover what occurred."
However, no results have been published as of yet. Following DN's report, Norweigen collection society, Tono, which represents approximately 30,000 songwriters, filed an official police complaint against TIDAL.
DN have now reported that Norway's National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime (Økokrim) have started a full-blown investigation into potential "fake streams" at TIDAL.
Elisabeth Harbo-Lervik, Økokrim's Chief Public Prosecutor, confirmed that Norweigen authorities have officially launched this investigation, which aims to prove or disprove the suspicion of TIDAL's streaming volume manipulation during the autumn of last year.
Harbo-Lervik stated that the inquiries are "still in an early stage". However, DN have reported that so far three former TIDAL employees have been questioned before a judge, and have faced over 25 hours of questioning in total.
Out of this group, two of them were business analysts whilst the third was the company's Head of Business Intelligence, and was ultimately responsible for analysing streaming figures.
DN claimed that while they were still employees of TIDAL in Norway, they allegedly recognised signs of manipulation regarding the Beyoncé and Kanye West albums. The group then contacted a lawyer before cautioning TIDAL management about their discoveries, prompting an internal meeting.
"TIDAL has previously stated that they consider themselves to be insulted by DN's allegations, so the company should have vested interest in getting information on the table that will tell us anything about a possible manipulation," Harbo-Lervik said to DN. "But we're still waiting for them to offer this information."
TIDAL's lawyer, Fredrik Berg from the law firm Fend, stated: "TIDAL is at this time not a suspect nor has there been filed charges. We have an ongoing dialogue with Økokrim. It would not be right to share the contents of this discussion with the press."
According to DN's original report, at least 320 million TIDAL plays across both Lemonade and The Life Of Pablo in 2016 are believed to have been manipulated. The newspaper interviewed individual subscribers of the service, who claimed there were plays of these albums recorded on their accounts which they didn't recognise.
It was further reported that DN had gained access to record company royalty payment reports which revealed that TIDAL paid Sony $4 million across April and May of 2016. Of this, Lemonade accounted for an estimated $2.5 million.
As for The Life of Pablo, DN reported that TIDAL paid Universal a total of €3.2 million during February and March 2016. From this, the album delivered around €2 million.
The newspaper hired the NTNU's Center for Cyber and Information Security (CCIS) to forensically investigate the data obtained on TIDAL's plays. The report concluded: "We have through advanced statistical analysis determined that there has in fact been a manipulation of the [TIDAL] data at particular times. The manipulation appears targeted towards a very specific set of track IDs, related to two distinct albums."
So, what will become of TIDAL after this? Who knows, but whether they're found guilty or not, this will leave them with somewhat of a damaged reputation. Perhaps, it's better to just stick to Spotify or Apple Music from now on.
Story by Emily Clark
Featured Photo Credit: Innovationvillage


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This episode of the Cherryleaf Podcast reflects on the main themes contained in the presentations at the Technical Communication UK 2019 conference. This conference is hosted by the Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators. Transcript: Welcome to the latest episode from the Cherryleaf podcast. We're going to just have a reflection on what happened at the… Read more »
Category: conferences
Podcast 62: Looking back on the presentations at The Evolution of TC 2019 conference
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Podcast 58: Writing a presentation for a conference
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Upcoming conference – Evolution of Technical Communication
Cherryleaf's Ellis Pratt will be the keynote speaker at the Evolution of Technical Communication conference, which will take place 4-5 June 2019 in Sofia, Bulgaria. What Skills Will Technical Communicators Need for the Upcoming Years? The ways organisations support end users has changed over time. This is because new technologies emerge, products change, and users… Read more »
Podcast 45: Review of the TCUK18 Conference
In Episode 45 of the Cherryleaf Podcast, we look back on the TCUK18 Conference: