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How many of your workstations or other pieces of equipment are out of date and due to be refreshed? If you are like other small businesses, then you are more than likely to have a couple clunkers that could be replaced. Many times it's a matter of taking on the capital expense of buying new hardware, but eventually you'll begin to see the affect it has on your company's efficiency. Inefficiency that results from malfunctioning or antiquated hardware will cost you more in downtime than you may realize. With Network Technologies of Kansas's Hardware as a Service (HaaS) solution, you don't have to worry about failing hardware.
At Network Technologies of Kansas, we understand how important a properly planned and executed computing infrastructure is to your business. Our knowledgeable and trustworthy IT technicians are well known in the Topeka area for providing thorough wiring and cabling expertise that will meet your company's infrastructure needs. Our technicians are versed in industry best practices in regards to network mapping, setup, and management.
Computer malfunctions can be terribly frustrating. When your hardware does break, Network Technologies of Kansas provides comprehensive computer and IT repair services that is designed to remedy any of your organization's technology defects. Whether it's hardware or software, servers or workstation, we'll fix it or find you a new one.
It may surprise you how much your company is spending on printing. Materials that printers use aren't cheap, and without proper oversight over your company's printing situation, it's easy for there to be a lot of waste. Having multiple printers on your network make it that much more difficult to keep track of your organization's printing costs.


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Raleigh (North Carolina), Mar 23: The image of a slain US university student body president has turned up on billboards in south India.
The News & Observer, a daily in Raleigh, North Carolina reports that Eve Carson's picture is being used by Jubeerich Consultancy in its billboards advertising study opportunities and job placements in Western countries.
It's not clear how the company came across the photo of Carson, who was abducted, robbed and killed on March 5, 2008. Two men are serving life sentences for her death.
The company did not respond to emails seeking comment, and a woman who answered the phone declined to give her name but said she had not seen the billboards.

subset: commoncrawl


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WARNING: Basic arithmetic ahead.
Don't worry though, there's nothing too complicated about this concept. In fact, the first time I thought about this, it seemed far too simple. We all know that when something seems too good to be true, it usually is, right?
However, in this case, I think my logic's pretty sound. Also, this is roughly how my family and I actually live and we're…well.. still alive, so maybe it's not so crazy.
I've previously written in detail about one of the specific ways I generate income: freelancing. I do that because it suits my particular skills and temperament. However, doing freelance work instead of being an employee in order to be able to work much less is simply one example of a general principle which I'll explain here.
These are the 2 steps which you need to take to (reasonably) quickly allow you to work 33% of full-time hours.
Step 1
The first step is by far the least glamorous one. It's really simple. Spend a reasonable amount less money than you earn. To make my assumptions work, let's set your spending level at 75% of your income.
If you earn £50,000 per year, that means that instead of spending the entire £3000 net income you receive every month, you need to restrict your outgoings to £2250 each month. This is roughly the cashflow you would enjoy if you earned £35,000 per year and spent all of it.
(FYI: I used this site to do my take home pay calculations).
I predict that a lot of the mid to high-income earners will be navigating away from the page around this point, so I'll at least have a go at convincing you why doing this would be a good idea.
First of all, let's get some perspective. According to this government website, in 2013 a £50k annual income would have put you around the 90th income percentile, whilst a £35k annual income would put you slightly above the 75th. So, if your income actually dropped to £35k, instead of earning more than 90% of the working population of the UK, you'd earn more than 75% of them.
We're really not talking about living in poverty here, rather having one restaurant meal per month instead of two per week and perhaps having an older car than you currently do. Maybe a move to a slightly smaller house.
Secondly, get a grip (wo)man! You can't have everything. You need to make a choice between owning too much plastic crap/keeping up with the Joneses and owning your own time.
If you can succeed with step 1, you officially only need 75% of your net pay every month. Only 42% to go to to get us down to the target of 33%.
Now for the exciting bit.
Step 2
This is where things start to get scary. However, rest assured that if I can do this, so can you.
You need to work out a way of earning twice as much as you currently do for every hour that you work. It doesn't matter exactly how you achieve this, just that the method must allow you to do smallish chunks of work (e.g. a few hours per week), preferably on the side whilst you still have your current job.
It's possible you'll find a job that offers these properties, but I doubt it, so you will have to develop at least a minimal amount of entrepreneurial skill.
Here are two methods that I have actually used/am still using:
- Freelancing (NOT contracting) in your existing professional field. For some people, particularly in the technology industry, this is almost a no-brainer. In my experience, if you go about this in the right way, you can expect to earn a reasonable baseline hourly rate of something like a thousandth of your current annual salary (i.e. £50 per hour for a £50k salary). With a solid CV, the right contacts and some sales skills, the hourly rate can be pushed much higher.
- Starting a small service business which caters for the needs of wealthy people or tiny businesses. My personal experience with this type of business has involved running a very small computer support company. I fixed IT problems in people's home offices and gave computer tuition to older people. I charged higher prices than most people who do this and hence built a customer base of people who were willing to pay a premium for the quality of service I provided.
The key here is to ask yourself the question
What value can I provide?
and then to be as open-minded as possible when you try to answer it.
You need to dig deep and work out what you can do that people would be willing to pay for (and don't be afraid if that leads you somewhere other than your current professional skills). A good way to generate some ideas is to start thinking about what people can't wait to ask you about if they see you in the pub/on the street/round the watercooler at work.
This is exactly how I ended up fixing computer problems for money – I'd already spent years fixing them for free!
There are a few work skills, hobbies and personal attributes that I could see being a good basis for profitable side-businesses (if you're willing to put in a little bit of elbow grease). For example:
- Photography. Be a, erm, photographer. I'd suggest you niche down a bit as many people try this one. I have a friend who has been a wedding photographer on the side whilst also working a regular 9-to-5 for about 10 years. His day rate is definitely comparable with what I get paid as a freelance engineer.
- Design/making things look nice. Perhaps become a graphic designer who does stationery and simple websites for local businesses such as plumbers and electricians. You'll notice, for example, from this website that, despite my technical skills, I'm not great at making things look good. If my livelihood depended upon it, I would gladly pay to have somebody give this site the polish it deserves. Yes, yes, I know that you're competing with people in developing countries on Fiverr, but, take it from me, some local business owners really value being able to shake your hand, sit down and have a coffee with you
- Organisation. Become some sort of event planner. I lived through the process of my now wife organising our wedding. It wasn't fun. Now, we're pretty frugal and so we wouldn't have hired you, but not everybody is. Some people really do want to go all out and have a big do. Some of them will pay for help. Also, what about planning kids' birthday parties?
- Good leadership skills. Become a coach or a mentor. If you can combine domain knowledge (i.e. knowing a lot about a particular thing) with an ability to lead, teach and nurture understanding, you can probably save somebody a lot of pain. You've made (and benefitted from) a lot of mistakes whilst you built your knowledge. Imagine what it's worth for somebody being able to get that benefit without making all of the same mistakes you did. If the problem you're solving is bad enough, perhaps having a competent, confident guide is exactly what your potential customers need.
- Sales skills. Become an affiliate marketer. Find somebody with a product which you think is brilliant (please don't become a snake oil salesperson!) and use your skills to sell it to others for a commission.
I think the best idea I've found for finding flexible, highly paid work was in How I Found Freedom In An Unfree World by the late Harry Browne.
Harry's technique
When Harry needed a large amount of money quickly, he started looking for problems people had which he felt he could solve. He made a deal to deliver the solution for a fixed fee rather than being paid for his time.
This had the obvious benefit that if Harry estimated accurately and priced his solution appropriately, his return on time invested could be very high.
Perhaps you could master this technique. You could be a 'fixer' of sorts. You could still focus on areas in which your skills were valuable (e.g. technology for me) but you wouldn't be pigeon-holed into a particular job/hourly rate-based freelance role. You would be somebody who could accurately reckon what it would take to make a problem go away and then make that happen for a pre-agreed bounty.
This idea both excites and scares me in equal measure due to the massive transfer of risk to the service provider. It's really worth thinking about though.
Whatever route you take to earn double your hourly rate, it will (in most cases) be immensely difficult when you start. It's likely that you'll have to put a lot of work into your alternative income generation system before you start to reap the benefits. If you give up straight away because it seems too hard, then obviously you won't be working 33% of full-time any time soon.
Anyway, assuming I've convinced you that earning at least double your current hourly rate for a handful of hours every week is possible, we just need to do some maths!
The science bit… concentrate!
Having successfully reduced your expenses to 75% of your income, it's reasonable to conclude that, even with your current job, you could work 75% of full-time hours assuming that your employer would accommodate this working pattern.
The last bit is important. In my experience, most employers are reluctant to deviate from the norm unless you give them a reason to. On the other hand, I worked for more than a year at 80% of full-time hours in my last job and so I know that such arrangements are not impossible to negotiate.
However, we're aiming for 33% of full-time which, I'd imagine, most people would struggle to pull off in an employee scenario.
Luckily, because you did Step 2, you've managed to become twice as productive for every hour that you spend working and you have a flexible way of doing this that you control.
It seems sensible to assume that you can now produce 75% of your original income in half the amount of time as that would take in your current job. To accomplish that, you would need to put in 37.5% (i.e. half of 75%) of full-time hours.
So far, so good. But 37.5% is not 33%! Worry not, as there are a couple of further advantages to this strategy that we've not yet touched upon.
The first thing to note is that, if you live in a country with a progressive tax system such as the UK, it's likely that you will pay a higher effective rate of tax on your current full-time income than you would on an income that was 25% lower. This implies that earning 75% of your original salary before tax equates to taking home more than 75% of your current after tax pay.
To turn things around, if you want to be able to take home 75% as much as you currently do, you will probably only need to earn 71% or 72% of your current gross income (depending on where in the world you are and what that current income is).
The next point to consider is that, as you will be a business owner (instead of an employee), you will benefit from the tax advantages that accompany earning your income in this way, for instance paying for your business travel expenses before tax is deducted.
Taking those 2 things together, I am confident in standing by the title of this article and suggesting that, if you follow the steps above, the amount you would have to work to achieve a take home income that is 75% as much as you currently produce would be approximately 33% in a lot of cases.
This all sounds great, but I imagine you have some reservations. Let me try and address a few of the common ones.
Common objections
You're oversimplifying this Andy. You've assumed that a business owner gets to keep every penny that they bill their clients. This is unrealistic – they will need to account for costs like advertising and buying tools.
This is true. However, if your side business or freelance career involves doing repeat work for the same group of clients, you pay most of the costs when you start your venture. Once you've established yourself, these costs reduce massively.
In my case, I worked for about 4 months on my computer support business for zero cash reward as all of the income I made from early client work was ploughed back in to advertising. Likewise, you might have to buy tools once (or at least very infrequently). These costs are examples of getting your boulder rolling.
Andy's obviously gone crazy. There's no way I could bill out my time for double my current hourly rate – nobody would pay that much. What world are you living in?
Have you tried? Honestly? I used to think the same as you, but I have successfully performed IT support work at rates between £10 per hour and £45 per hour. I know that, with my current skills, I could improve further still on the latter figure (perhaps doubling it again). My engineering skills earn me significantly more than that too.
One tip I have for you is to use your desired billing rate as a filter. You don't want clients who are unwilling to pay you the rate you decide upon. This makes the cost per client acquisition higher but works out better in the long run.
OK Andy, it sounds like this would work for a single person with no kids. But I couldn't walk away from 6 months' paid sick leave and private medical cover.
Have you at least looked into how much it would cost for you to buy those benefits in the market from an insurance company? If not, go and look into it and then come back and have a whinge in the comments section if necessary.
Also, if you're even considering my strategy, I'd strongly advise you to get some cash together. If you have a year's living expenses covered, do you really need quite so much insurance?
It's OK for you Andy – you're obviously quite confident and outgoing, but I could never be an entrepreneur. I don't like the thought of selling myself.
OK, here's some tough love.
In order for you to provide value, somebody is going to have to sell whatever it is that you produce. If you work for somebody else, you might get to hide behind a sales team.
Unfortunately, if you're not willing to learn how to do this yourself to some degree, then it's very likely you'll need to continue to be a cog in somebody else's machine and that probably means having a 9-5 (or at least being an agency contractor).
You choose: which is most important to you? Do you value being able to hide from ever having to close a sale yourself more than the freedom that acquiring skills in sales can afford you?
If you really can't see this ever working for you but you're on board with living on less, check out Mr Money Mustache's blog for an approach to breaking free which might be more suitable for you.
Wrapping up
I hope that this article has been of some use to you and, as always I'd urge you to do your own research and calculations. Remember that I am not a financial or tax adviser and I'm merely attempting to offer the benefit of my experience. If you're unsure about any technical/legal details, please seek professional advice.
On the other hand, if you'd like some one-to-one help with implementing this strategy, click here now to get in touch.
I'd love to hear what you think about my strategy for working 33% of full-time in the comments. Are you doing something similar? Is there anything I missed out here that you'd like me to write about in the future?
I'd like to give you access to my FREE comprehensive 6-part email course which will show you the exact steps I took to quit the rat race in 18 months. Just enter your email address below.
[Image "Cartoon Character Hamster Exercise" courtesy of saphatthachat at FreeDigitalPhotos.net]


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1 March 2017
Introducing an array of promising job opportunities to our fellow students, HSMC Careers Fair 2017 was successfully held on 28 February and 1 March by the Career Planning & Development team of Student Affairs Office (SAO). The 2-day event drew over 1200 students and guests.
Employers from a wide range of industries including accounting, aviation, banking,conglomerate, education, entrepreneurship, government, IT, logistics,marketing, translation and tourism sectors were invited to the Fair. The two-day event attracted 60 renowned corporations, such as Hang Seng Bank, Bank of East Asia, Bloomberg LP, Cathy Pacific Airways, Google Hong Kong, Hong Kong Disneyland, LF Logistics, L'Oréal,Ocean Park, SHINEWING, etc.
Professional organisations were also present to give advice and support to students. Our students can grasp the chance to meet employers face-to-face and get first-hand recruitment information. Around 20 recruitment talks were held during the Fair for students to know more about different industries and job opportunities in detail. CV photo taking service and career aid were also provided alongside to let students better prepare for job application.
We are thankful for theunfailing support from many employers, professional organisations and variousdepartments towards this annual signature recruitment event. Students areencouraged to keep abreast of the graduate and internship opportunitiespromoted on HSMC Job Portal.
[/mp_span] [/mp_row]


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Local Reviews
for Cary, NC
Jacob G.
Wellness examination with vaccine updates.
Kyla B.
Dog veterinary wellness exam, Update vaccines
Nicki R.
Dog Boarding with Doggie Daycare. Canine Mass Removal
Nicki R.
Dog Boarding with Doggie Daycare. Canine Mass Removal
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Canine veterinary exam and update vaccines
Clifton P.
Veterinarian, Updated vaccines, Ear Cytology, Nail Trim
Candice F.
Dog veterinary recheck exam, check incision.
Candice F.
Veterinary consultation, tail amputation.
Candice F.
Dog veterinary exam, ACTH stim test.
Adam B.
Roman is doing well following his Stay & Learn training and is well on his way to being an impressive German Shepherd Dog.


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AMAZING STORIES from the past
Father and SON at war
Prince Frederick of Prussia, later celebrated as Frederick the Great, was cultured and artistic. His stern and practical father was known as the 'Soldier King'. As the prjnce grew older the two clashed repeatedly. The prince became so frustrated that he conceived a grand escape plan - aided by his friend - Lieutenant von Katte.
At seven o'clock on the morning of November 6, 1730, a roll of drums echoed around the courtyard of the fortress at Kustrin (known today as Kostrzyn in western Poland). The bodyguard of Frederick William I of Prussia encircled the condemned man, Lieutenant Hans Hermann von Katte. Above him, a voice begged for von Katte's forgiveness. From his cell in the fortress, Crown Prince Frederick of Prussia was forced to watch the execution of his friend. The lieutenant replied, 'I know of nothing for which you require my forgiveness', and the prince fainted from shock and grief. By the time he had recovered, von Katte had been beheaded. The king was without mercy - von Katte's breach of trust in aiding and abetting the Prince in his attempt to escape the hated parental home was too much to forgive.
But why did the prince want so desperately to escape? Disagreements between fathers and sons were hardly unknown in royal families. Prince Frederick loved music and philosophy. In contrast, his father's main focus of interest was the army. He believed that a powerful military force was the basis of a nation's strength. Funding his army required considerable expenditure - and his own father, Frederick I, had almost bankrupted the kingdom with his predilection for the arts and culture, another reason why the Soldier King was not prepared to allow his son to indulge in such frivolous pastimes. He believed that the prince should acquire an interest in administration and economics. He called him 'an effeminate chap' and subjected him to humiliating beatings. The sensitive Prince Frederick, stifled by his father's stern demands, longed to get away. Neither was willing to give ground, and as a result the young Frederick could see only one solution: escape.
While planning his escape, the Prince enquired of the British ambassador whether he would be welcome in England. But the British government was not enthusiastic about getting drawn into a private dispute between members of the Prussian royal family. So Frederick looked to Paris. Although Prussia was then on the brink of war with France, Frederick scarcely seemed to consider that a flight by the Crown Prince into enemy territory would provoke a scandal. But he knew he could never hope to evade his father's strict surveillance on his own. He needed an accomplice or, better still, a good friend.
Lieutenant von Katte, a dashing officer of the royal bodyguard, loved adventure. He cheerfully boasted of being the Crown Prince's best friend. Together, they hatched a succession of escape plans. Von Katte's ideas had a theatrical flavour: a clandestine meeting with the English ambassador took place under the castle gate at midnight. His romantic notion of conspiracy did little to ensure that the matter was kept secret. The whole court soon knew of Frederick's plans and they were openly discussed, since no one took them seriously. It seemed unlikely that they would ever be put into practice. Nor did that seem to be the young men's intention. He and won Katte refined every last detail of the escape without ever settling on a date for it - until the king's actions led the conspirators to put their plan into action after all.
Out of the blue, Frederick William announced to the court that he intended to show his son the wider world. The prince would accompany his father on a journey through the German principalities to learn the skills of diplomacy. Enchanted by the idea, Frederick forgot all thoughts of escape. But the period of harmony with his father was brief. Stringent security on the trip kept the prince under constant supervision. When the king reprimanded him in public, at Freudenstadt, in western Germany, it was the last straw. He had to get away - it was now or never. A glance at the map showed him that in a few days'
[The first kings of Prussia
Frederick I
On January 18, 1701, Elector Frederick III of Brandenburg crowned himself Frederick I, 'King in Prussia.' His love of splendour and the arts almost ruined his country's finances.
Frederick William I
Laid the financial, administrative and military foundations for the expansion of the Prussian state.
Frederick II
Known as Frederick the Great, he made Prussia into a major European power, above all in the three wars he fought over Silesia. Internally, his reign was characterised by an openness to the ideas of the Enlightenment and by absolutist rule.]
time, their route would take them close to the French border. Surely he would never again be presented with such a favourable opportunity to flee?
Von Katte, accompanying the royal party as a member of the guard, had received money and jewels over the long months of planning. He was responsible for supplying the prince with fresh horses during the escape. Frederick's only concern now was how to evade his minders. He bribed one of the king's pages to come along with the horses. Everything was now in place.
The royal party stopped for the night at the village of Steinfurt. Because they only had to cover a short distance the next day, the king decided to make a late start. Frederick saw his chance. He sent a letter to alert von Katte and the page was instructed to ready the horses for three o' clock in the morning. They reckoned that two hours would be enough to reach the French border. It was unlikely that anyone in the royal camp would have even noticed his absence before he reached France.
As Frederick waited for his horse, one of the king's spies appeared at his rendezvous with the page. The page lost his nerve and revealed his role in the plot. At first Frederick William was at a loss what to do. As they were still on the road, he decided to delay arresting his son until they returned home. Frederick quickly sensed that something had gone wrong. Though he had been closely monitored before, now his minders refused to let him out of their sight. Once they had crossed back into Prussia, his fears were confirmed. His father reproached him angrily and ordered that he be thrown in prison. The prince did not try to deny any of the accusations or to conceal the part played by his accomplice. He had sent a warning letter to von Katte and believed that his friend had escaped. In fact, the lieutenant had already been arrested. As he was repeatedly interrogated, the truth began to emerge.
Frederick William proceeded strictly by the book. A court martial was set up to try the conspirators and a court hearing held on October 25, 1730. The cautious judges reached agreement. As loyal subjects, they were reluctant to pass judgment on a member of the royal household. They commended him to the mercy of his father, but also let it be known that, in their opinion, the period of detention that Frederick had suffered since his arrest was already punishment enough.
In the case of von Katte, the judges decided on a guilty verdict but put the final sentence into the hands of the king. As a member of the royal bodyguard, von Katte had sworn an oath of loyalty that he had broken. To Frederick William, such an act of betrayal, was deserving of the death penalty. With a stroke of his pen the king sealed the fate of his son's friend, and a few days later the sentence was carried out.
It was claimed by many that Prince Frederick and von Katte were more than friends and the writer Voltaire implied that Frederick was homosexual. Certainly, his marriage to Elisabeth Christine von Braunschweig-Bevern in 1733 seems to have been primarily a means of atoning for his past behaviour to his father. The union yielded no children and it appears that Frederick largely ignored his wife.
By the late 1730s the prince and his father seem to have reached a peace of sorts. The king gave Frederick the chateau of Rheinsberg. Here he gathered a company of musicians, actors and other artists who made music and performed plays. He also came to form strong opinions about the nature of kingship and in 1739 published a work in which he opposed the views espoused by Machiavelli in The Prince.
As part of his rapprochement with his father, Frederick at last studied administration and economics. From 1740, when he ascended the Prussian throne, he aimed to make his small nation a major player on the European stage.
To this end, he encouraged its fledgling industries, reformed the taxation system, abolished torture and granted religious freedom. In a series of wars - mainly against the Habsburgs of Austria - he became admired as a military tactician.
Frederick's legacy was political and cultural. He established a civil service with a code based on a respect for law and ethics.
Magnificent buildings such as the State Opera and St Hedwig's Cathedral in Berlin, and the palace of Sanssouci in Potsdam - a rococo masterpiece - were built under his patronage.
'His picture hung in the meanest hovel and the grandest house; he became a legend in his own lifetime.'


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TALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT / SEARCH: 891 SW Noton Creek Road Madison County, FL 32340
Lots and Land
- $1,277,500 price
- 283463 mls id
- Status: Active
Turn key 365 +/- acre ranch with established pasture, hay fields and hardwoods! This farm features 4 ponds (three stocked), 2 pole barns with water and electric, 2 acres +/- acres of mature blue berries, all fenced and cross fenced and much more!! Two dwelling are situated on this tract. The main home is a 4 BR 2 BA mobile home that is in immaculate condition. The second home is a 2 BR 1 BA singlewide. Come enjoy the breath taking views!!
Courtesy of: Southern Land & Homes
Office Phone: 850-973-2200
Listing Agent: Benjamin Jones
Updated: 7th April, 2020 7:54 PM.
891 SW Noton Creek Road Madison County, FL
Real Estate | Tallahassee Democrat Powered by Placester


text:
The Computer Science Department at New Mexico State University invites applications for two tenure-track positions at the Assistant Professor level, with appointment starting in the Fall 2020 semester, and several Postdoctoral Positions. We are seeking strong candidates with research expertise that can effectively complement the research foci of the department. An earned PhD degree in Computer Science or a closely related field is required at the time of appointment. We are particularly interested in candidates with expertise in the following areas:
- Artificial Intelligence: with focus, preferably but not exclusively, in knowledge representation and reasoning, logic programming, machine learning, cyber-physical system and security.
To obtain more information about this positions and to apply, visit https://jobs.nmsu.edu/postings/36939
- Cyber-Physical System and Software Engineering: with focus in, preferably but not exclusively, security and high performance computing application. Exceptional candidates from other areas in Computer Science will also be considered.To obtain more information about this positions and to apply, visit https://jobs.nmsu.edu/postings/36904
- Multiple Postdoctoral Positions: Please send your inquiry to Dr. Son Tran (stran at nmsu dot edu).
Applications from women, members of traditionally under-represented groups, and other individuals interested in contributing to the diversity and excellence of the academic community are strongly encouraged. Salary and start-up package will be competitive.
A completed application will include a letter of interest, a statement of teaching and research philosophy, a curriculum vitae, copies of transcripts, and at least three professional references.
New Mexico State University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/Veterans/Disability Employer.


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Reducing Disruption When Resurfacing the A66
Listed inAsphalt
First published in the January 2017 issue of Quarry Management as Low-temperature Treatment
When Highways England was looking for a solution that could significantly reduce disruption during resurfacing work on the A66 in the North East, Tarmac and A-one+ worked in partnership to cut costs, carbon and project timescales
Reducing the cost and time it takes to maintain the strategic road network are key drivers in Highways England's roads programme. New ways of working, which include innovative technologies and improved supply chain collaboration, need to come to the fore.
A combination of these was successfully used by Highways England, A-one+ (the Managing Agent Contractor for Area 14) and Tarmac when they undertook resurfacing work on the A66 from Surtees Bridge to the Teesside Park Interchange in Thornaby, Stockton-on-Tees.
Running across the river Tees, Surtees Bridge carries the A66 dual carriageway and links the A1(M) and Darlington with Middlesbrough. As one of the busiest bridges on the Tees, the resurfacing work could only be carried out at night from 8.00pm until 6.00am, when the carriageway had to reopen.
To overcome these challenges, the scheme partners worked in collaboration to develop a bespoke solution that would cut the timescale of the resurfacing, compared with similar historic projects of this size.
Early engagement
Early technical engagement allowed Tarmac's team to provide input into the buildability of the project. The team was invited to contractor workshops organized by A-one+, as Ian Carr, technical manager at Tarmac, explained: 'Through our discussions with Highways England and A-one+, we looked closely at how we could minimize disruption for road users and local people during the resurfacing work. Low-temperature asphalt technology has contributed to reducing resurfacing timescales and cutting carbon on many projects, and we felt that there was a real opportunity to use this material on the A66.'
Low-temperature asphalt technology consists of three types of material, classified by the temperature at which they are mixed and laid. These materials differ from hot asphalt, which is typically mixed at 140°C to 190°C, in that the manufacturing process – and in particular the characteristics of the binder – is modified during mixing. This allows for more efficient production, improves mixture workability and allows effective compaction at a lower temperature. This is achieved by modifying the behaviour of the bitumen through foaming or the use of additives during manufacturing.
Martin Bolt, NDD (Network Delivery and Development) operational support group leader with Highways England, commented: 'We had a narrow time frame to complete our resurfacing works and the low-temperature asphalt could be laid more quickly because it takes less time to cool. This allowed us to complete our work earlier, which, in turn, reduced the disruption to road users, increased the productivity of the workforce and also improved road worker safety by reducing exposure to risk.'
Tarmac's Ian Carr added: 'Typically, hot asphalt surface course is mixed at very high temperatures between 170°C and 190°C. However, Tarmac Ultilow is mixed at around 40°C lower than its equivalent hot mix. The lower temperatures meant that work on the A66 was completed earlier, increasing the productivity of the workforce and allowing the road to be opened sooner, resulting in less public disruption.'
Over the course of one month, Tarmac planed and refurbished a total area of 19,745m2. As the total depth of construction was 160mm, two types of Ultilow EME2 binder were used in two 80mm layers. The team used 4,350 tonnes of Ultilow EME2 (limestone) binder and 4,185 tonnes of Ultilow EME2 (basalt) binder. The aggregate type was varied to achieve the project requirements for the trafficked binder. These binder courses acted as a support layer prior to the finished surface course, which consisted of a 10mm layer of stone-mastic asphalt (SMA).
Cutting carbon and costs
A comparison with similar-sized road schemes using hot-rolled asphalt has indicated that the use of low-temperature asphalt on the A66 helped to reduce the project by 14 shifts, equating to savings of £67,000 by cutting labour and plant costs.
Moreover, the reduced temperature of the materials also meant that considerable carbon savings were achieved. This was made possible by the reduced embodied carbon of low-temperature asphalt compared with conventional hot mixes – the use of low-temperature asphalt can deliver carbon savings of up to 25%.
On the A66 project, the use of low-temperature asphalt instead of traditional materials resulted in a carbon saving of around 14 tonnes (14.2 tCO2e). Ian Carr concluded: 'The Government's 2025 Construction Strategy holds carbon reduction at its heart and our work on the A66 shows that it's possible to embed this approach in road refurbishment projects.'
- Subscribe to Quarry Management, the monthly journal for the mineral products industry, to read articles before they appear on Agg-Net.com


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Stained Glass Mosaic Workshop with Kory Dollar of Marvelous Mosaic Fine Art
Theme: Sugar Skulls or Mandala
Dates: October 23, 24, 25
Cost: $375
Location: 12814 NW Bishop Rd, Hillsboro, OR 97124
The studio is at the Helvetica Lavender and Tree Farm
Hours: Friday 10am – 5pm
Saturday 9am – 5pm
Sunday 9am – Noon
Food is not provided for this event, but a potluck is something most students participate in.
Registration: Contact Kory Dollar at email@example.com
Host: Denny Miller
Dennys October 2020
Register Now for a weekend full of creativity with Kory Dollar of Marvelous Mosaic Fine Art. Students will create a breathtaking stained glass mandala or a sugar skull mosaic. Size of frames will be 12" x 12"
The size of the base will be 12″ x 12″ or 15″ x 15″ (with upgrade charge of $25)
Frame upgrade
Pay in advance for a 15" x 15" frame. Returning students will get a free upgrade.
This is an intense workshop, many do choose to work late into the evening and may have a group dinner Friday and Saturday evening. If you plan on staying and eating, we will do a potluck style meals and bring your own wine or beverages.
If you would like to register for this class by payment other than PayPal or would like to request a payment plan please feel free to contact me below.
** Disclaimer** We do work late, we do have a lot of fun, plan on a late night Friday and Saturday, if you want to finish. This is not a craft project, we are working hard, cutting glass, and creating EPIC art.
You will learn a process that creates quality stained glass mosaics that will last a lifetime. I will be bringing hand crafted 12″ x 12″ custom framed windows students will have an option to upgrade to a 15″ x 15″ for an additional $25. Returning students will get a free upgrade.
Class size is limited to 10 people.


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Geranium Cleaning Gift Bucket
The Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day Geranium Cleaning Gift Bucket is an easy way to introduce a friend or gift yourself. The set contains our favorite household cleaners and laundry supplies in this beautiful citrus scent, packed in a Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day Bucket and ready to give! Each set includes Bar Soap, Liquid Dish Soap, Multi-Purpose Everyday Cleaner, Liquid Hand Soap, and Multi-Purpose Concentrate in a functional bucket.
Medical Grade Cannabis (Life)
Discreet Global Delivery (Executives)
Cryptocurrency Accepted (Anonymity)


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NHS temporary protection of essential small pharmacies not sufficient, says NPA
The stop-gap funding solution provided by NHS England for small pharmacies deemed "essential" does not guarantee their long-term survival and is inadequate, according to the National Pharmacy Association, a body representing many community pharmacies in the country. Most of the 102 pharmacies affected have only received funding for one or two years after the previous scheme ended in March 2015. Many have had to be in limbo without any real certainty over their futures, as NHS England took an "unacceptable" amount of time to deal with the issue following the ending of the old funding scheme in March. Quite a lot would have to close if NHS England did not extend their top-up funding beyond that, Gareth Jones of the NPA has warned.
Mr Jones said: "What they've done is kicked the problem a bit further down the road. Business owners just don't know what will happen after that one or two years."
Graham Phillips, of Elstree-based Manor Pharmacy, which is one of the pharmacies affected, said NHS England was trying to have its cake and eat it and tried to "fit a square peg into a round hole" by wanting the business to do extra work such as achieving healthy living pharmacy status for the same level of funding as previously. He argued that incurring extra cost should involve additional payment.


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The Autonomous Vehicle team of Institut VEDECOM is looking for a post-doctorate student to work on a localization system based on traditional infrastructure elements (signs, crossroads, etc.) that are usually found in classical Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
He/she will have the following missions:
- Review the current state of the art regarding localization techniques based on geographic information.
- Propose a drift model for localization algorithms, especially those of VEDECOM.
- Integrate and evaluate the impact of different landmarks (2D, 3D, edges, etc.) on the localization drift.
- Develop a method to evaluate the feasibility of a planned path regarding the available landmarks and the associated detectors.
- Communicate the results in scientific publications.
This post-doctorate will be carried out between Institut VEDECOM and one of its partner.
- PhD in mobile robotics/engineer sciences or MSc with experience in the field.
- Familiar with perception/localization approaches in mobile robotics/autonomous vehicle.
- C/C++ programming
Complementary information:
- Contract duration: 18 months
- Location: Versailles, France
Contact: Guillaume Bresson (email@example.com)
More details in French here: http://www.vedecom.fr/wp-content/uploads/Annonce-Post-doctorant-localisation-VEDECOM.pdf
The Institut VEDECOM is a research and formation institute dedicated to green individual mobility that brings together academic partners (universities, engineering schools, research teams, etc.) and private companies (car manufacturers, automotive suppliers, etc.).


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Description of IN THE STUDIO
This painting shows a group of several vases of different sizes, forms and colors. Although the flowered vase is the focus of the composition, the challenge was to reveal the beauty of the other objects by playing with their colors, contrast or shadows.
Category: Impressionist still life painting (alla prima).


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Streamline your business with integrations
Choose add-ons and integrations that work with simPRO to simplify business processes
Additional features to suit different business needs
simPRO grows with your business. Choose from a wide range of add-ons and integrations to gain even greater functionality when and where your business needs it.
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AppsWizAppsWiz has been operating since 2009 and specializes in cost effective and innovative mobile apps for all business. They are the largest developer in Australia, based in Melbourne and also have anoth…
automationGmail is email that's intuitive, efficient, and useful. 15 GB of storage, less spam, and mobile access. Gmail is available across all your devices Android, iOS, and desktop devices. Sort, collabor…
on-screen take-offsIntegration by: 3 Stack SoftwareFor years plan counting/estimating has been a fine art limited to highlighter pens, plan wheels and spreadsheets.How it used to workUntil now these methods have proven …
automationSave time and streamline your workflow with the simPRO Outlook 365 IntegrationOutlook 365 Calendar SyncStreamline field service scheduling with simPRO's Microsoft Outlook 365 calendar integration.simP…
hvac plan designIntegration by: Plandroid Plandroid is a simple and efficient graphical software tool for ducted air conditioning / HVAC system design and quoting. It allows you to create a CA…
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crm integrationSyncEzy has created integrations into simPRO with some leading software providers: Infusionsoft Pair the best job management system with the best small busin…
accountingTake the stress out of calculating sales tax for your simPRO quotes and jobsPowered by Taxify's up-to-date database of tax rates and rules, the integration makes it easy to calculate and apply sales t…
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Homes for Sale in Old Trail Village, Crozet, VA
Old Trail Village, Crozet, VA Real Estate Information
Old Trail Village is an upscale, luxury neighborhood located in Crozet, Virginia. Homes in the area are mostly custom built houses with several design options available to buyers. The community has a fantastic view of the Blue Ridge Mountains and is a short drive from the center of Crozet and 30 minutes from Charlottesville. If you are looking to move into the countryside, this is one of the best options available. Beautiful homes with numerous recreational facilities are open to residents. Old Trail Village is one of the best neighborhoods in Crozet. If you're interested in learning more about selling Charlottesville real estate, check out our guide!
Old Trail Village Amenities
Old Trail Village Education
Selling your Old Trail Village Home
If you are looking to sell your Old Trail Village home, I can help you sell it fast. 92% of all home purchases have an online aspect. If you want to reach more potential buyers, you will need to list your property online. I will use online and traditional marketing to help speed up the process.
Old Trail Village Realtor
I am a dedicated realtor who works in the Old Train Village real estate market. I have helped several clients buy and sell properties in the area. If you have any real estate questions, you can contact me anytime.


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Page: 1 of 1 | 3 Games in Category
Colouring 13
Stuart Little Coloring Page. Color this Stuart Little picture with your choice of colored crayons. There are 5 pages to choose from. There's a soccer page, racing page, flying page and skateboarding page.
Valentines Coloring Game. Color one or all of the 8 pictures with your paint brush and paints. Then print them and give them to your friends.


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At its meeting on 13 December 2017, Leeds City Council's Executive Board approved the publication of a Statutory Notice relating to the expansion of Beeston Hill St Luke's Church of England Primary School.
A formal proposal has now been published. This is known as a statutory notice, which is published at the start of a period during which representations can be made to the local authority. The statutory notice period runs from 8 January 2018 to 4pm on 5 February 2018.
The proposal is to expand Beeston Hill St Luke's Church of England Primary School from a capacity of 315 pupils to 420 pupils with an increase in the admission number from 45 to 60 with effect from September 2019 and to establish provision for pupils with Complex Communication Difficulties including children who may have a diagnosis of ASC (Autistic Spectrum Condition) for approximately 8 pupils with effect from September 2019.
The full statutory notice is available to view via this link: http://www.leeds.gov.uk/residents/Pages/Statutory-notices.aspx
Please do not submit responses to the statutory notice using this site. Any responses should be made in writing to The Capacity Planning and Sufficiency Team, c/o Leeds Town Hall, PO Box 837, Leeds City Council, LS1 9PZ, or by email to email@example.com to reach us no later than 4pm on 8 February 2018.


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Scenario: CRA has gathered information, through a tax audit or any other proper process, and issues you an assessment. The tax and interest (compounded daily) is bad enough, but then you really get the punch in the gut when you see they have assessed a gross negligence penalty. Now what?
Gross negligence is defined in the Income Tax Act in section 163 (2) as:
"Every person who, knowingly, or under circumstances amounting to gross negligence, has made or has participated in, assented to or acquiesced in the making of, a false statement or omission in a return, form, certificate, statement or answer (in this section referred to as a "return") filed or made in respect of a taxation year for the purposes of this Act, is liable to a penalty of the greater of $100 and 50% of the total of the additional tax debt incurred because of the gross negligence."
You can read the full section at the following link: http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/I-3.3/section-163.html.
This 50% penalty hit (which also carries daily compounded interest) can be objected to and in many cases should. It is our experience that, when properly challenged, it is not easy for CRA to prove gross negligence. CRA carries the onus of proving your gross negligence – you do not have to prove you were not.
As just one example, in the Tax Court of Canada ruling Hine v. The Queen (2012 TCC 295), the court ruled that CRA had failed to prove there was no deliberate attempt to hide income, that the accused had kept detailed records and had cooperated with CRA. This is a common occurrence.
The conditions under which your objection (and subsequent appeal if necessary) to the gross negligence penalty can succeed are wider under these objection rules than if you delay and miss the deadlines for objecting. Where the deadline to object (in most cases, 90 days after CRA sent the Notice of Assessment) has expired you can apply to CRA to extend this deadline (no guarantee of success) for up to one year. If the objection route is shut off then you can seek relief under a fairness application, but as noted, there are restrictions with these applications and they need to be approached carefully.
In summary, as soon as you see a Notice of Assessment you disagree with, you need to retain an expert immediately so they can advise you on how to proceed before your timelines expire. If the objection reflects on judgment by the tax preparer you may be better off seeking advice from an independent company that specializes in tax solutions.
For more about dealing with an assessment, especially one that has determined you may be guilty of gross negligence, please contact Tax Solutions Canada right away: 1-888-868-1400.


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Category Archives: Blog
How Important is it to Define Your Goals before Remodeling Your Home?
One of the main problems with home remodeling is that homeowners sometimes have unrealistic expectations regarding the project timeline, and what they can accomplish. Every remodeling job is different, as some involve minimal changes, while some involve complete makeovers. You should not simply set about changing your kitchen without identifying the goals of the process. […]Read More
The Kitchen Remodeling Overview that You Need to See before Remodeling
No matter how stressful kitchen remodeling projects can be sometimes, homeowners generally agree that the project is worth any amount of stress in the end. These projects range greatly in scale and cost, but even the smallest project can have a big impact on the look of the home. These basic steps will help […]Read More
Impressive Kitchen Island Ideas that Add Functionality and Style
As kitchen design continues to evolve, the island is one amenity that has endured the test of time. While it is an attractive feature, it enhances functionality in more than one way. If you are remodeling your kitchen, consider adding an island or upgrading the one you have. Here are some great ideas worth […]Read More
What You Need to Know about Building a Custom Home in the Lexington Area
When most people talk about their dream home, what they really want is a custom design. If home buying can be a difficult process, building a home is even more so. Understanding the process will help to alleviate some of the stress that many people have dealt with while building their homes. There are […]Read More
Beyond Black Friday Sales: Choosing the Best Kitchen Appliances
Choosing kitchen appliances has never been easy, but with new designs and a growing list of smart options and features, you can expect it to become even more challenging. Homeowners often take advantage of Black Friday and other big sales events to update their kitchens, but this does not mean that they get exactly […]Read More
Is Your Bathroom Ready for the Holiday Season?
The holidays usually change up the routines for most people. This is also the time when you might want to make a few updates to freshen up the look of some parts of the home. The bathroom is one area where any problem should be addressed, as you may have frequent visitors or friends […]Read More
Create a Festive Kitchen this Holiday Season with these Helpful Hints
As the holidays draw closer, one part of the home you will pay more attention to is the kitchen. It goes without saying that a properly functioning kitchen is pivotal to an enjoyable season. Many of the activities revolve around great food and being able to provide them in a timely manner. You might […]Read More
Choosing the Best Kitchen Appliances Just Got Easier with these Tips
Choosing a kitchen appliance is much more difficult than simply walking into any home improvement store. After all, have you been in these stores lately and seen all the options that are available? It is enough to make your head spin and question what you are doing! The good news is that we have […]Read More
Bathroom Remodeling Trends We Fully Expect to See in 2019
Bathroom trends seem to come and go, along with every other trend that is out there! Thankfully, certain trends seem to be around for the long haul and that seems to be the case with some of the bathroom trends for next year. We are thrilled with this news, because it means that you […]Read More
Consider these Countertop Options for Your New Kitchen
Choosing the material for your new countertops can be quite difficult, as you want to make sure that it matches the rest of your new kitchen while holding up to everything that your family does in there. Thankfully, there are numerous materials available, so you can find the perfect one for your needs. Here are […]Read More


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Tampa Bay Times tried learning how to bartend at the Mandarin Hide in St. Petersburg Every bar's a stage, and all the bartenders merely players. At least, that seems to be Erin Lee's philosophy. As director of operations at the Mandarin Hide, a prohibition-style bar in downtown St. Petersburg, she equates bartending to acting. "When we open, the….
Prior to joining Blake-Wilder Strategies, Max spent time as both a Land Acquisition and Land Development Manager with the CalAtlantic Group in Orlando, FL. Max was responsible for land acquisition, due diligence, entitlement, and development of thousands of lots throughout the Orlando MSA. He was instrumental in guiding CalAtlantic's second largest division throughout their merger with Standard Pacific Homes in one of….
ST. PETERSBURG — A St. Petersburg-based investment firm is purchasing the Masonic Lodge building in downtown St. Petersburg with a broad menu of development options. Blake Whitney Thompson, the founder and CEO of Blake Investment Partners, is open to rent the "boutique" space for an art studio, office space, tech firms, food hall or even a rooftop bar. He….
BWS and Lennar are actively purchasing large residential land tracts in the Orlando Market. The largest builder in the Orlando market, Lennar, has hired Blake-Wilder Strategies, a land acquisition consulting company, to execute their 5-year land acquisition strategy. BWS will be responsible for sourcing and evaluating Lennar's land opportunities throughout the market. This will help Lennar process deal-flow and provide….


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Sasna Tzrer presenting "The Voice of the Mountains" patriotic folk songs often performed by Armenian freedom fighters (Fedayee) during wartime.
Leave a Reply
I should like very much you send us the lyrics of this armenian war song by Sasna Tzrer Ensemble.
And I'm interested too about the history of this kind songs.
Thank you very much.
Hi, may I make a correction, that this are not called "war" songs, but Liberation Songs, they were sang secretly, and specially in East Armenia, where a lot of refugees, also my grandparents family, were waiting under the repressions of communists to go back home`to West Armenia`they called it Երկիր in Armenian. (from one fire to another this was the life of the 11, 16 year old orphans refugees) So my grandparents were peaceful people, lived peacefully with my ancestors and which were violently cut, because they were rich. Very rich. May God bless all our enemies, from the depth… Read more »


text: In this article we analyse a Swedish sport club's journey from being a small local club run by a handful of locals, to become a 'big club' with several employees and various resources. By following the club's organizational work over time, from its formation in 1974 to the year 2004, the purpose of this study is to gain knowledge about democratic processes of more general significance; how the growth in activities, membership and economic responsibilities affected the democratic structures and the internal work. Based on a democratic theoretical framework we scrutinize the decision-making processes of some core issues during the club's history with focus on the breath and the depth of the processes. The empirical material consists of minutes of meetings, reports/documents, and interviews with club leaders. The analysis points out fluctuations in both the breadth and the depth. As the club extended its activities, the organizational democratic structures were strengthened, which facilitated the breadth and depth aspects. But the growth also meant more complex issues where expert knowledge was needed, a fact that came to aggravate the democratic breadth and depth.


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Dr. Peverelli, on invitation by Prof. Mao Junxiang, held a guest lecture at the Law School of Central South University in Changsha, Hunan Province, China on January 7. He talked about his ongoing project to make Fons Trompenaars' 7-D(imensions) Model, that has been developed for cross-cultural business, applicable to cross-cultural human rights issues. Peverelli has lectured about this work at seminars in China and Europe. This time in Changsha, Prof. Mao had organised a more informal session with a group of his PhD candidates and colleagues during which he could discuss the model on the basis of recent events in non-Western countries that have been criticised by Western governments and NGOs as non-complient with the UDHR. Peverelli's central proposition was that most discussions about culture and human rights held so far share one major weakness: they lack an academic model of culture. As a result, the discussions seem to repeat themselves, without making much progress. With the 7-D model, we can calculate the cultural profile, i.e. the set of basic assumption people use to make sense of the world. We can then compare any two or more cultures and pinpoint on which dimensions they are more different or similar. This can explain the different interpretations between cultures about concepts like rights, obligations, freedom and other key concepts related to human rights. The insight thus gained can be the key to breaking open the above-mentioned stand-off in the academic and political discussions about human rights.
Author Archives: admin
CCHRC's Tom Zwart interviewed by CGTN
During the 2019 South South Human Rights Forum held earlier in December, Tom Zwart of CCHRC was interviewed by the China Global Television Network, or CGTN, as part of the regular column Dialogue. Prof. Zwart's partner in this dialogue was Prof. Shi Anbin of the School of Journalism and Communication of Tsinghua University. The dialogue has been uploaded on Youtube.
On the CGTN web site, you can see parts of a similar dialogue with Prof. Zhang Wanhong from the School of Law at Wuhan University held during the first South South Human Rights Forum in 2017.
CCHRC participates in the 2019 South-South Human Rights Forum
The 2019 South-South Human Rights Forum was held in Beijing on Tuesday. Over 300 officials and scholars from more than 80 countries, regions and international organizations are attending the two-day forum. Under the theme—"diversity of civilizations and global development of human rights," the forum is hosted by the State Council Information Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The CCHRC participated with a large delegation, including the participants of the seminar in Changsha held two days earlier (see previous item). Parallel sessions were held on:
- Path of Human Rights Development under the Background of the Diversity of Civilization;
- Building a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind and Global Human Rights Governance;
- The Right to Development; The Belt and Road Initiative Promotes the Realization of the 2030 Agenda;
- China's Contribution to Global Human Rights Cause since the Founding of the People's Republic of China
The number of participating nations was considerably larger than during the first South South Forum of 2017. The entire global south was represented, with the most prominent representation from African nations. Delegates were typically senior government advisors, including a number of former state ministers.
A clear development could also be seen in the contents of the speeches. Those of 2017 were still relatively general, emphasising the rights of the southern nations. Several of this year's contributions were specifically criticising former colonial powers and the attitude of Western nations, in particular the US. Very outspoken was the address Mr Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Pakistan Senate, who blasted recent US criticism on China's anti-terrorist policies in Xinjiang. This view is consistent with the views vented by Pakistani representatives to the UN as reported in the News/opinions page of our site. Another conspicuous speech was that by Ms Bouthania Shaaban, Political and Media Advisor of the Syrian president, who directly blamed the US for the suffering of so many Syrians during the past few years. These are all opinions virtually banned in Western media.
The importance of the Right to Development was another topic shared in many contributions to both the plenary and parallel sessions.
Prof. Wim Janse of the Faculty of Theology of the Vrije Universiteit and member of the CCHRC delegation was interviewed by CCTV, you can see (a Chinese version of) that interview here.
This was the second time that this bi-annual event was held. For more information, see the web site of the Forum.
CCHRC co-organises Seminar in Changsha, China
The CCHRC, jointly with the Central South University Human Rights Center, the National High-Level Think Tank Wuhan University Institute of International Law, has organised the International Seminar on International Human Rights Mechanisms from a Cross-cultural Perspective in Changsha, China on December 8, 2019. The seminar was attended by appr. 70 participants from all continents. The papers presented at the seminar were grouped under four main topics:
- Global Human Rights Governance from a Cross cultural Perspective
- Building a Global Community of Shared Future and Global Human Rights Governance
- Developing Countries and International Human Rights Mechanisms
- Western Countries' Human Rights Diplomacy Trend and International Human Rights Mechanisms
- Reform of International Human Rights Mechanisms from a Cross cultural Perspective
A salient feature of the CCHRC delegation to this seminar was the high number of young scholars, for several of whom this was their first visit to China.
Justice Minister Ferdinand Grapperhaus visits the Cross Cultural Human Rights Centre
On Friday 7 November the Dutch Justice & Security minister, Ferdinand Grapperhaus, visited the Cross Cultural Human Rights Centre.
The minister delivered the opening speech during the conference entitled 'Wrongful convictions, an international concern', which the centre co-organised together with the European Innocence Network and the Knoops Innocence Project.
International human rights
During the conference attention was paid to the question how international human rights can be used to prevent wrongful convictions and to overturn them. Minister Grapperhaus stressed that preventing and overturning wrongful convictions is part of the right to a fair trial, as guaranteed by Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The minister emphasised that the criminal justice system is being run by people, which means that human error is inevitable. Therefore, innocence projects are an important part of providing justice. Some of the speakers called for the recognition of a 'right to innocence' at the international human rights level.
The conference was attended by 120 participants from all over the world. Among them were many lawyers and academics who are involved in innocence projects aimed at overturning wrongful convictions. Those included Peter Neufeld and Barry Scheck, who set up the very first Innocence Project in 1992 at Cardozo Law School in the US. The floor was also given to some of those whose convictions have been overturned. Two of them, Sunny Jacobs and Peter Pringle, were exonerated only a few days before they were supposed to be executed.
Li Bin and Yolanda Chu, two lawyers working at the Dong Fang Law Firm in Beijing, were the guests of honour. Dong Fang is the most important and the oldest public interest law firm in China, which defends the rights of those who have been wrongfully convicted. Dong Fang Law Firm is a partner of the Cross Cultural Human Rights Centre. Li Bin and Yolanda Chu discussed some successful attempts to rectify miscarriages of justice.
Interdisciplinary cooperation
Dr Jasper van Kempen of the Law Faculty delivered a presentation on the activities of the Gerede Twijfel (Reasonable Doubt) project which researches potential miscarriages of justice. Prof. Tom Zwart and Dr Congrui Qiao of the centre reflected on measures taken recently in China to strengthen the rule of law and to prevent miscarriages of justice.
Presentation on Criminal Defence Practicing in China
On 7th November, 2019, the Cross Cultural Human Rights Centre invited Dr. Bin Li and Ms. Yolanda Chu to give a presentation on the topic of law practicing in China. Both speakers are attorneys at the Dongfang Law Firm in Beijing. Professor G.J. Alexander Knoops added his response from the perspective of European Legal System. Professor Tom Zwart and other Dutch-based scholars attended the meeting.
Mr. Li kicked off his speech by a brief introduction about criminal cases' new features in China. Firstly, the standards for approving the arrest have become strict. Such move attempts to reduce the risk of miscarriage of justice from the very beginning, protecting the right to liberty. And the acquittal rate has kept a decreasing trend. On the other hand, along with the economic development and the change of criminal policies, the authorities have taken a tough stance against certain crimes. This includes, organised crimes, pollution crimes, and financial crimes.
Then three cases were selected to elaborate some challenges lawyers encountered in practice. One concerns a case of contract killings, in which six suspects were involved. The first defendant, a real estate developer, initiated the murder mission, which was subsequently assigned to another defendant until the last one finally dropped the mission. The last suspect made a phone call to the target, attempting to make a deal with him, and this was how the plot was found out. However, due to some illegalities when collecting evidence by the police, the court excluded the testimony of suspects and an important evidence, the cell phone. Without the communication records and content, the relationship between six defendants was difficult to be identified, and the court therefore acquitted them. Not until the second appeal made by the prosecutors did the court finally admit the cell phone as evidence, and found the six defendants guilty.
In criminal cases, it is unusual that the court refuses resolutely the admission of evidence on the basis of the illegalities. Instead, the common practice is rather more like this: If the defence lawyer argues about exclusion of illegal evidence, the prosecutors will submit a statement from the investigators, stating that the evidence in question was acquired in accordance with the law. As a result, the court is usually in favour of the prosecutors, based on the reason that the defendant fails to prove his argument. However, in the instance case, the court somehow changed the usual practice, and excluded a critical evidence which could determine the result of final conviction. As the victim's lawyer, Mr. Li held that the due process should not be abused to criminalise the innocent, nor let the criminals slip away. The exclusion of illegal evidence demands further clear rules for implementation, in order to prevent rent seeking of the judiciary.
The second case is related to the loan fraud, which triggered both criminal and civil lawsuits at the same time. A major problem the case showed is which lawsuit shall get the priority. The court is accustomed to dealing with criminal crimes before the civil disputes. However, in the instance case, even the "victim", the bank, preferred the case to be trialled as a civil one, because it believed this was a better way to get the money back.
Currently, China has not had regulations to define the criminal-civil overlapping cases, nor the principles to deal with such cases. As the defendant lawyer of the case, Mr. Li argued that when facing such cases, the criminal crimes did not necessarily prevail over the civil disputes. In certain circumstances, the choice should be made on the basis of such considerations: which would be a better protection of litigant's interests, and which could solve the disputes in a more justice and effective way.
When it comes to the third case, it invokes the question of defining crimes and illegal acts. The case concerns a company's insurance defrauding by using false materials. Mr. Li represented the accused company, and made his arguments based on two points. First, the company found out its agent's making up materials and reported it immediately to the insurance company. Second, because of the company's report, the accused did not get the money based on the false claim. However, the prosecutors used the illegal sanctions issued by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission as the evidence to support the charge of insurance fraud crime.
In the instance case, because of the overlaps between the crimes and illegal acts, it is evitable to take reference from those illegal acts of the accused, and thus make impacts on the judicial judgement. However, the defence lawyers shall not give up on this. In spite of the overlaps, the authorities' decisions on the illegal sanctions do not necessarily determine whether the acts in question are crimes. Bearing this in mind, when facing such kind of cases, the lawyers should analyse the situation objectively and in a detail way. When resorting to some flexibility and creativity, it may find some new defence points.
Mr. Knoops made comparisons with cases overlapping criminal and civil fields in the Netherlands. Such cases usually are tackled in two ways. One option is the victim may add his or her compensation claim to the criminal proceedings, and the court will make the judgment of the conviction as well as the compensation. The other option is similar to the case mentioned by Mr. Li, that it would become a choice between civil or criminal lawsuit. Furthermore, Mr. Knoops elaborated the exclusionary rule and its implementation in Europe.
Mr. Zwart added his comments on the terrorism cases in the Netherlands. The Dutch government also faces problems of balancing its counter-terrorism strategies with human rights protections. Mr. Zwart shared the experience of his participating in several cases related to alleged terrorism here.
In addition to making comparations of the law practicing between China and Europe, the audience showed their interest in the Chinese criminal justice system, especially about how it actually works, as well as its on-going reform.
Researchers affiliated with the Centre speaking at a China-focused panel in Lund
The Cross-cultural Human Rights Centre (hereafter, "the Centre") is committed to bringing together and developing researchers from multiple academic disciplines to study the sources, scopes and contents, and mechanisms for safeguarding human rights and fundamental freedoms in various cultures. QIAO, Congrui, a post-doc with the Centre, has initiated a China-focused panel at the sixth annual conference of the World Interdisciplinary Network for Institutional Research that took place at the Lund University in Sweden from 19 to 21 September 2019.
The conference panel was a collaborative effort with JING, Chao and WANG, Chenyu, two Ph.D. candidates at the Law School of Utrecht University, that sought to make sense of rather under-explored topics concerning law and governance transitions in modern and contemporary China. The three researchers presented their papers to an attentive international audience on 21 September, which were titled, respectively: "Dispute over the Status of Tibet underInternational Law – From Sovereignty to Suzerainty" (by Chenyu), "Controlling the Government in China: Principles and Practices" (by Congrui), and "Impact of China's National Security Law upon Human Rights" (by Chao).
In specific, Chenyu shared his major findings that on the basis of sovereignty theories available to his study, he has focused on (in)divisibility as the key component to approach sovereignty, compared the similarity and difference in how (in)divisibility was dealt with under the European and Asian sovereignty and suzerainty systems, and in these lights, explained why Tibet was a vassal State under the suzerainty of China in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Congrui's topic was about how to control government, i.e. controlling the exercise of government powers, incontemporary China where the practice of holding government actions accountable to the law has been emerging since the 1990s. She delved into three principles: transparency, impartiality and proportionality of government decision making and implementation, and explained how these principles had been applied by adjudicative bodies in resolving disputes over government actions. She also identified new challenges to those principles arising from the implementation of the Social Credit System.
Chao's paper adopted the comparative and human rights approaches to understanding China's national security framework. He analysed the contents of the National Security Law that served as a leading legislation to build thenational security legal system in China, and compared them with administrative and criminal legislations relevant to the national security issue. Thereafter, he sumamrised the powers granted to and measures taken by China's security authorities, and assessed inherent challenges therein to rights protection based on the international human rights standards.
The conference, consisting of around 170 scholars from many disciplines including anthropology, economics, law, history, philosophy and sociology, is a renowned platform for researchers sharing a common concern – how to understand the nature, function, evolution, and impact of institutions significant to humankind. This year's theme,"Institutions for Inclusive Societies: Global & Comparative Perspective", was a timely response to the rise of new growth poles and the emergence of new institutional dynamics that have been challenging the old divide between the developed and developing world.
Judicial Challenges and Reforms in Europe and China: A Dialogue between Utrecht-based Scholars and Shaanxi Court Delegates
A Chinese delegation consisting of five senior judges has expressed their eagerness to learn how European courts tackled internal and external pressure, inter alia, organisational, enforcement and political challenges, and to that end, met Utrecht-based law scholars to discuss about judicial challenges and reforms on 3 June 2019 in Utrecht. The meeting wss co-organised by the Cross Cultural Human Rights Centre.
Mr. PhilipLangbroek, Professor of Justice Administration and Organisation, shared his recent study on the Interplay between Court Administration, Performance Accounting and Judges' Work. He introduced to the delegation that budgeting and accounting procedures are part of democratic governance. Yet, they need to be scrutinised in the proportion of judicial independence and impartiality. He then explained how detailed the accounting of the court's performance is and should be, and how that affects the court's functioning and judges' work in the Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany.
Mr. Tom Zwart, Professor of Cross-cultural Law, spoke about Judicial Strategies to Secure Administrative Authorities' Compliance with Court Decision. He analysed that in a rule of law system, administrative authorities are supposed to abide by court decisions. However, court judgements cannot be enforced without the goodwill of the administrative authorities concerned. He outlined judicial strategies developed in several jurisdictions for ensuring administrative authorities' compliance, and discussed how they may be useful to China's administrative courts.
Mr. Jing Chao, a PhD candidate at Utrecht Law School, presented his work on Balancing National Security and Rights Protection: Cases in Europe. He explained that under the European Convention on Human Rights, states can invoke national security considerations to reduce rights protection. He then introduced how the European Court of Human Rights interprets the three-layer test of rights reduction and restriction in the context of national security, and explained what implications may be relevant to China.
Head of the court delegation, Mr. Gong Fuwen, Vice President of High People's Court of Shaanxi Province, responded to the three discussants and detailed similar challenges faced by the Chinese courts, particularly the delayed court enforcement, heavy workload of judges in handling the increasing financial cases, and challenged judicial authority in administrative cases. Thereafter, the delegates answered questions about the education and training of judicial staff in China, and the application of international trade dispute resolutions in China.
Debate between CCHRC and Amnesty International on China's influence on global human rights discourse
Rectify Human Rights Violations in China: Revisiting the Naming and Shaming Approach
A public debate on effective approaches to rectifying human rights violations in China took place on 6 June 2019 at Vrije University Amsterdam. The event was organised by the Cross Cultural Human Rights Centre.
Two leading figures in the field, Mr. Eduard Nazarsky, Director of the Amnesty International Dutch Office, and Mr. Tom Zwart, Professor of Human Rights and Director of the Cross Cultural Human Rights Centre, offered their differing views on a number of important topics including how to identify the nature of China's counter-terrorism measures and how to prevent and rectify human rights violations therein.
In the context of the highly disputed situation in Xinjiang, home to the majority of the Chinese ethnic group Uyghur that embraces Islam as their predominant religion, Mr. Nazarsky maintained that the mistreatment of the Uyghur people is a brutal human rights violation. Provided that the fate of estimated up to one million people is unknown and most of the detainees' families have been living in fear, "they need the help from outside the country," says Mr. Nazarsky.
Mr. Zwart argued that the situation in Xinjiang should be made sense of as a common challenge faced by many governments: balancing the State's measures for fighting terrorism and respecting human rights. He added that "government surveillance over the Muslim communities [for monitoring terrorist suspects] exists in our society as well. To cope with that challenge, we should see religion as a solution, not a problem."
In answering the audience question about his overlooking local remedies such as China's appeal and reconsideration procedure, administrative litigation and petition, Mr. Nazarsky posited that Amnesty International does not see these mechanisms as meaningful and effective, as they are unable to address the violation of Uyghur's rights including that to their own language, to privacy and to due process.
Mr. Zwart questioned whether the approach adopted by Mr. Nazarsky's organisation is working in China. He gave an example that his Centre, after meeting public security officials in China in 2018, is seeking to propose to the Chinese government a community-led mechanism for combating terrorism—"we are trying to identify effective community-led measures for resolving the terrorism problem while not undermining rights protection in Muslim communities, such as the applicability of the practice where Muslim mothers are engaged to guide their radicalised children [away from radical actions]."
In addition to debating counter-terrorism measures in Muslim communities, the debaters actively engaged with the audience, shared their personal experiences and long-term observation as regards how to conduct human rights dialogues with China's government authorities and officials, and responded to some general questions on how to ensure China's sustained engagements with the international human rights bodies, and how can academics and international organisations make a meaningful contribution thereto.
Additional information: CCHRC affiliate Peter Peverelli of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, recently visited another Muslim region in China: Linxia. You can read his blog about that visit here.
CCHRC Delegation Attended 2019 China-Europe Seminar on Human Rights
The annual gathering of European and Chinese scholars and others with a genuine interest in the cultural embeddedness of the implementation of human rights took place in Vienna this year, June 19 – 22.
Sub-themes for the Seminar are:
- Universality and Particularity of Human Rights;
- Human Rights Significance of the Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings;
- History and Evolution of Human Rights Values;
- Human Rights Practice in China since the Founding of the People's Republic of China and Its Global Significance.
Participating in this event granted an opportunity for the CCHRC delegation to share the ideas on human rights with their counterparts from Europe and China. The team consisted of 16 members from the Netherlands, Greece, Hungary, Italy and Czech Republic, who have put human rights diversity and cooperation in their research focus.
Before the official seminar, under the topic of Opportunities for China-Europe Cooperation in the Area of Human Rights within the Changing International Order, we held a meeting with delegates from China Society for Human Rights to discuss if and how Europe and China could make a further step towards cooperation in this area. CCHRC's director, Professor Tom Zwart, indicated that, with the America's retreating from the international human rights fields, such cooperation is desirable and possible between the two parties. This picture is actually being more clear considering the increasing political influence of Central and South Europe nations among the EU. These countries share a similar eager to promote certain economic and social rights with China. The delegates from both sides agreed on the importance of human rights cooperation, and proposed to start from the topics with less existing divergences, such as the terrorist threat, as well as some new areas like Big Data and AI.
The CCHRC delegation had a breakfast meeting on the next morning to know further about each other, and to carry out an exploration of the consensus reached by the last day's meeting. The members all agreed to assist in bringing the cooperation on human rights between EU and China respectively from their own academic channels.
The official seminar was held in the Conference Hall of the Austrian Ministry of Justice, on 21 June. The theme was Comparison of Human Rights Values between the East and the West. The CCHRC members presented their speeches on various topics ranging from the universalism of human rights, the principle of good governance, to freedom of belief, migrants and refugee issues, and the ideological Jihad of liberalism. Among other topics, the universality and particularity of human rights attracted much attention. Some Chinese researchers concluded several global problems as the common challenges, including the terrorism, development, economic globalisation, and hegemony of superpower. In spite of different approaches to dealing with such challenges taken by EU and China, they do share the same purpose, which should serve as the basis of their cooperation. As to some new challenges posed by the development of the information technology, it was recognised that both sides can start building trust in these fields that had not had many conflicts yet.
The three-day meetings contributes to the understanding on the diversities and identities in the human rights discourse between Europe and China. Bearing in mind of this, it is necessary and pragmatic to make a further step on human rights cooperation.


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Product Details
The Havana Cushion Cover is a must-have for any soulful space inspired by cultures around the world. The ideal cushion cover for any couch, entertainment space or bedroom setting, this cushion will add signature, eclectic style to a room. Strips of tribal inspired patterns are a real eye-catcher of this cushion and contrast against the neutral tassels and plush edges.
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You can be sure this cushion is extremely durable, so it can withstand day to day use from all members of the family. To continue the theme through your home, be sure to check out the Coco Euro Cushion and Lucia Euro Cushion for similar exotic flavours. Complete your home using the eclectic style of the Havana Euro Cushion.
|Made from
|Cotton & polyester
|Assembled dimensions
|65cm x 65cm wide
|Carton dimensions
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|Special notes
The Havana Cushion does not come with an insert, it is a cushion cover only. It fits a standard Euro Cushion.
Each cushion is handmade and as a result each piece is unique, and may differ slightly from the images shown
|Assembly required
|Care instructions
|Dry-clean only
Assembly Instructions Care Instructions - Havana Euro Cushion Cover (80.58 KB)
Shipping & Returns
All products are couriered and delivery charges depend on what you order and the delivery destination. Please use the shipping calculator to work out a delivery quote.
Your order is dispatched from Brisbane, Queensland. The approximate delivery time to main metro areas is 4 to 6 working days. However please allow these approximate transit times for outer areas, SA 7-9 working days, TAS 7-9 working days, WA 10-14 working days & NT 12-14 working days. Visit our shipping & delivery page for more information.
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For full returns and exchanges information, visit our returns & exchanges page.
Customer Reviews
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text: Hot Storage Trends for 2009 Jan 5, 2009 Our friends at HP recently shared their perspective on storage trends for 2009 that have emerged from discussions over the past year with customers, technology partners, and analysts. These trends are not new, but are being accelerated now by the overall global economic climate, says Kyle Fitze, marketing director for the storage platform division in StorageWorks.A key trend that will only escalate is that of virtualization. As the need to store more data only continues to grow, organizations are looking to virtualize their storage environments to achieve the similar benefits they've seen from server virtualization, according to HP. This is a result of hardware sprawl and multifaceted storage systems that are forcing organizations to consolidate and create "shared data" architectures in order to manage IT infrastructures that will only become more complex over the years.Other trends in the storage arena that are expected to increase in 2009 include an expansion of cloud-based storage solutions that address the challenges of data growth; as well as deduplication, which by increasing disk utilization, reduces storage costs and improves mission-critical capabilities such as disaster recovery. Use of solid state storage technology; and an emphasis on secure storage are additional trends expected to accelerate.As customers' concern heightens about operating expenses, return on investment from IT, their staffing, energy usage and the uncertainty ahead in 2009, Fitze observes these trends will actually serve to benefit them as they seek to lower their costs across the board.To stay on top of all the trends, subscribe to Database Trends and Applications magazine.


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