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The book Freedom Summer: The Savage Season That Made Mississippi Burn and Made America a Democracy was written by Bruce Watson in the year 2011. It accounts what happened in 1964 during a long hot summer. What happened in Mississippi this year is a transformative episode which will be forever be remembered in American History. The book narrates how the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) decided to fight for Africa-Americans equal rights without fear or favor. The SNCC was tired with how African-Americans were treated, and it reached a point where they decided to take a direct action and challenge the southern power structure. The SNCC went to the quasi-medieval state of Mississippi where segregation was at its peak. The aim of the book is to show all the events that occurred during the Freedom Summer.
The experienced organizers of the group trained seven hundred volunteers who were to help the blacks in Mississippi register to vote (Watson 1). The seven hundred volunteers were mostly white college students. They also helped in setting up freedom schools to intensify the poor education that was provided to the blacks in Mississippi. Old sharecropper shacks and Church social halls were the places where freedom schools were held. The group also wanted to help the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party to challenge the Democratic National Convention in their plan to continue having all-white state delegation.
This summer was a simultaneously terrifying and joyous for the seven hundred volunteer students who were working and living with the local Africa-Americans dwellers. The students faced the consequences of choosing to help Africa-Americans, and whenever they attempted to visit the town, they were faced by full rejection from their antagonists. In fact, three volunteers died in their first night in the state and black churches were burnt as well. And this was the beginning of a new definition of the word freedom in America.
Volunteers and those who wished to register as voters were shot, harassed by the police, arrested on fraudulent charges, beaten and threatened at voter registration offices (Watson 6). Volunteers were also followed around by pickups which were filled with armed men. Shotguns were normally fired into the houses where the volunteers were spending their nights. Thirty black homes and/or businesses and thirty seven black churches were burnt. In short Mississippi was burning. Over a thousand people were arrested. This struggle did not even spare the civil rights workers as three of them were kidnapped on June 21 and later found dead on August 4 where their bodies were found buried in an earthen dam. The names of the volunteers who were kidnapped were James Cheney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner (Watson 27). Their abduction terrified other volunteers, but the struggle continued. Most likely, their abduction was meant to scare other volunteer because it happened on the first day of Mississippi summer project which is being referred by the author as freedom summer. The disappearance and the murder of the three civil rights workers will forever be remembered in Mississippi and America at large.
The author is emphasizing on how the common people struggled to eliminate the racist Mississippi power structure. Watson is portraying how people fought tirelessly irrespective of the torture they were going through. Some of them died in the process, but this could not stop them and they were willing to show humankind at its worst and best. Mississippi State used to pretend that its race problem did not exist, but Bruce Watson has made it open and clear how the blacks were suffering in hands of whites. For instance, the author has shown it clearly that the blacks had not voting rights because even the counties where blacks outnumbered the whites, not a single black were registered as a voter. According to Bruce Watson the freedom summer "brought out the best in America, but the worst in Mississippi". The stories of this summer have been told before, but not in a better manner than what Bruce has presented it. The book has presented fine details of what happened in that dreaded summer. For instance, there is an issue of how one volunteer's father told his son. The father told the son that if he got caught by the Klans, he should tell them his father is a Mason (This will prevent him from been harmed as Masonic code did not allow members to harm another's family). Such fine details are not presented in other books of the same topic.
Watson takes a reader into every cranny and nook of Mississippi with an abundance of all the events that transpired during this summer that contributed to a new definition of the word democracy or rather American democracy. He narrates the story very well that you would he was one of the volunteers. On what Watson has accounted concerning the on goings within Mississippi, he keeps the reader abreast of how the nation was responding to what it was seeing and hearing. He also explores how the federal government was struggling to cope with what was happening. This combinational analysis gives the book a good taste of historical perspective.
The author gives his story lucent particularity by dealing with the experiences of four specific volunteers. Three of the volunteers who Watson focuses on were white and there were Fred Winn from California, Chris Williams from Massachusetts and Fran O'Brien who was also from California. The fourth volunteer was older than the three, and his name was Muriel Tillinghast who was a recent graduate of Howard University and a native of the District of Columbia. Through his story, readers are able to understand why the volunteers went to Mississippi, why they thought and felt when they were either canvassing door-to-door for voter registrants or teaching in a freedom school. Readers are also able to understand how the experience of freedom summer impacted the lives of volunteers thereafter.
History of civil rights movement in America contains many good tales of triumph, but there were some episodes which were filled with sacrifice and tragedy. The period Bruce Watson is writing about is one that showed signs that legal segregation in the south would have taken the time to end if it were not for that intervention. Black residents were completely unable to secure genuine citizenship and their efforts were proving to be fruitless. According to Watson's book Mississippi had the largest black population yet the state had the ugliest record of oppression.
The book focuses on the contribution which was made by the volunteer students who came from the West, the North and the Midwest to assist in education and voter registration. These volunteers were idealistic, determined to make a crucial difference as well as committed to progressive ideals of social justice. The death of their three members got international attention, and this forced the FBI to be involved in defending the black and white civil workers.
The book has also done a good job because it has depicted the contributions of lesser known names such as Hazel Brannon Smith who was a courageous newspaper publisher and editorial writer of the Lexington Advertiser. She was the first woman to win a Pulitzer for editorial writing due to her commentary on anti-lynching and pro-civil rights. Another lesser unknown figure who has been brought out by Watson is a volunteer student by the name Chris Williams. Chris used to spend his summer surfing decided to risk his life and help the black Mississippians understand their rights to vote.
Watson's book documents the Mississippi summer operation in a very good structure. Everything that happened during the three month period is well documented right from the voters' registration stations, freedom schools that were established in old shacks and the tactical debates that followed. It clearly documents the political struggles and the eventual victory that the workers and volunteers' students helped achieve. This can be described as a period whereby the citizens of good will did not consider their differences in the background and color, but came together to fight for justice.
The victory of the freedom summer did not come easily as shown by the fine details in this book. The book has intelligibly revealed the costs and losses that were incurred during that period. It also reveals the inspirational wins and offers an unforgettable and a moving testament to human conviction and courage. The episode presented in this book is a crucial one in the American civil rights movement. Readers are taken into the heart of those three remarkable months, and this sends a new light on a critical moment of emergent change in America.
This book is a fascinating account of a murder that captured the attention of the nation, youth leadership, the beginning of the end of the solid Democratic south and an FBI investigation. The author refabricates the texture of that awful yet worthwhile summer with impressive credibility. The book is painful to read as the author has gone into details of how Mississippi was in those days. However, the book is recommended to all students with strong ideals and wishes to know the black history of America.


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La Nuit Bath TabletRegular price $8.00 Save $-8.00
SCENT PROFILE: Main fragrance notes are amber combined with myrrh, vanilla, and Egyptian musk. French lavender is added to sweet up the mix. Very seductive and sophisticated.
SIZE/DESCRIPTION: What is better than soaking in a luxurious tub of pure Aromatherapy bliss? These bath fizzies are my very favorite thing! Fun like bubble bath, but much better for your skin as there are no drying foaming agents added. Made with only non-GMO cornstarch.
DETAILS: Our sparkling bath fizzies are made of ground dead sea salts mixed with our signature fragrance blends. When placed in a full tub of water, the tablet fizzes and distributes the fragrance and skin soothing oils throughout the water. I recommend one tablet per bath, although you can break each one up.
MADE BY: Us! Right here at Formulary 55.
INGREDIENTS: ground dead sea salts, epsom salts, baking soda, non gmo-cornstarch, citric acid, essential oils

subset: commoncrawl


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A noisy flock of crows lets me sleep in until nearly 6am and a beautiful sunrise was there to greet me on the 3rd morning of my SUP camping trip.
I tried the Mountain House 'Scrambled eggs with bacon' for breakfast for the first time. Once the excess water is removed/consumed it's not bad, although some of the larger pieces of egg are a bit spongy… but at just 320cal I should have cooked 2 of them. How far will 320cal take me on a SUP? I add a heaping tablespoon of coconut oil to up the calorie count and then enjoy my cup of coffee.
I was camped on an island on Stoney Lake and would be making my way through Burleigh Falls, Lovesick Lake and over to Wolf Island Provincial Park, just 11km if I went straight there, but I add another 5-6km as I explore the area on my way.
Burleigh Falls was my 1st real stop. I take a swim at the base of the rapids, and watch some Osprey soar overhead.
I am thankful for my lock pass as I make my way through Lock 28 at Burleigh Falls. It's at least 7m high and the stairs are incredibly steep! There is no lock 29, so the next one is Lock 30 at the western end of Lovesick Lock. It raises me just 1.1m into Lower Buckhorn Lake. As the wind begins to pick up I explore the western shore of Wolf Island Provincial Park, stepping off my SUP occasionally to check out some of the deserted campsites.
The Ontario Parks website doesn't have a whole lot to say about Wolf Island Provincial Park. It is a non-operational park and there are a number of sites where people seem to camp. I visited 4-5 of these sites and they were all very clean with little to no broken glass or garbage. 1 house boat was tied up against a small island for the night, but otherwise I had the area to myself. I made my way as far as Black Duck Bay before heading back through the lock to Lovesick Lake, where I received a weather update from the lock operators. "45mm of rain", they told me in passing. Huh? Must have said 4-5mm…?
The site I'd chosen had an incredible view of Lovesick Lake….
… and there were still a few berries to be found for dessert…
Choosing my site based on the view may not have been wise. During the night the wind picked up and shifted, and, 40 or more mm of rain blew sideways into my site! I woke up shivering and soaking wet at 2am. After taking a moment to adjust my tarp against these conditions I climbed back into a wet sleeping bag and zipped it up for the 1st time on this trip. I warmed-up slowly and then slept through the rest of the torrential downpour until around 6am.
At least gathering water wouldn't be a problem. A few minutes is all it took to fill all of my containers with the water that was pouring off my flysheet. I drank my fill. I cooked breakfast over my bushbuddy stove under the tarp with some dry branches that I had stashed inside my barrel overnight. Downing 2 'Mountain House' packs of scrambled eggs w bacon and 2 cups of coffee I felt warm at last and then slept another 2 hours. By the time I woke again the rain had finally stopped, but the wind had not. I'd be facing quite a headwind to get where I was going…


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Defining line between Medi-Cal, exchange policy
Today I will answer more reader questions about the Affordable Care Act, especially about how to calculate income to see whether you qualify for a tax credit and what happens if you are on the border between Medi-Cal and a subsidized exchange policy.
But first, this refresher: If your modified adjusted gross income (known as MAGI) is between 138 and 400 percent of the federal poverty level for your household size, you generally will get a federal tax credit (a.k.a. subsidy) if you purchase a policy on a state health care exchange such as Covered California. For poverty levels, see http://bit.ly/GSLy7M.
If your MAGI is below 138 percent of poverty, you qualify for Medi-Cal, California's version of Medicaid. If you qualify for Medi-Cal, Medicare or qualifying health coverage at work, you cannot get a tax subsidy for health insurance.
To figure your MAGI, take the adjusted gross income as reported on your tax return and add in nontaxable Social Security benefits, tax-exempt interest and, if you worked abroad, any foreign-earned income and housing expenses.
MBA BY THE BAY: See how an MBA could change your life with SFGATE's interactive directory of Bay Area programs.
To figure out if you qualify for Medi-Cal, do the same calculation and subtract a few uncommon items such as certain scholarships and payments to Native Americans.
For details on this calculation, see http://bit.ly/1758QAr.
Q: Steve M. asks, "What year is the income determination based upon? Is it 2012, the last year I filed a return? Or 2013? Or a person's estimate of 2014?"
A: Your tax credit for health care purchased in 2014 will be based on your actual 2014 income.
Because 2014 and 2013 tax returns have not been filed yet, Covered California will ask for your 2012 MAGI, and projected income for 2013 and 2014.
"Once the application is submitted, the information is transmitted to a federal data hub where it is matched up, or pinged, with that person's tax returns from 2012. If the 2013/2014 income projections are more than 10 percent more or less than 2012 returns, the enrollee is notified and has 90 days to submit documentation as evidence of the inconsistency," Covered California spokeswoman Anne Gonzales said in an e-mail. "If at any time during 2014, an enrollee believes his/her income could change to a point that subsidy eligibility would be affected, they should inform Covered California within 30 days."
If you qualify for a tax credit, you can have it applied directly to your health insurance premiums, thus reducing your monthly cost.
When you do your 2014 taxes in early 2015, if it turns out you have received too much or too little tax credit, you will repay the excess or get the shortage refunded when you file your return.
Q: Frank H. asks, "Next year my income will be close to the Medi-Cal cutoff (138% of poverty) and it's hard to know whether it will ultimately end up slightly above or below the cutoff. What should I do if I don't know, and what happens if I end up guessing wrong?"
A: Unlike the tax credit, your eligibility for Medi-Cal is based on your actual monthly income at the time you apply. If you enroll, but your income later rises, you must notify Medi-Cal. If you no longer qualify for Medi-Cal, but do qualify for a tax credit, you can switch to a subsidized policy through Covered California.
Conversely, if it looks like your 2014 income will be above 138 percent of poverty, you can apply for a Covered California policy. If your income dips below that threshold during the year, you can switch over to Medi-Cal.
If you stay in Covered California and discover late in 2014 (or early 2015) that you should have been in Medi-Cal, you will not be penalized or have to repay the subsidies.
However, California "won't just accept the applicant's self-attested projected income," Gonzales says. "We will verify the applicant's attested projected annual household income against Internal Revenue Service and Social Security Administration data and will only accept their attested income if there is no inconsistency/incompatibility from the data we obtain from the federal and state data hubs or if they can resolve any inconsistency by submitting satisfactory paper documentation (such as pay stubs or a letter from an employer) to prove their attested income for the benefit year."
Q: Jackie P. asks, "I am just over the income cutoff for getting a tax credit. If I contribute to a Health Savings Account next year and purchase an HSA policy on the exchange, will the contribution to the account reduce my MAGI?"
A: Yes, says Mark Luscombe, principal analyst with CCH Tax and Accounting. In 2014, the limits on the HSA deduction will be $3,300 for self-only coverage and $6,550 for family coverage.
Q: Janine N. asks, "I had to take an early distribution from my Roth IRA that puts me over the top of the income limit. Do I count that as income? If I make a contribution to a traditional IRA, does that count as a reduction of income for MAGI?"
A: If you take an early distribution from a Roth, that will be included in your adjusted gross income (and therefore in MAGI) in the year of the distribution, Luscombe says.
If you make a contribution to a traditional IRA, that will reduce your adjusted gross income (and thus MAGI), assuming your adjusted gross income is below the limit for making deductible IRA contributions.
Q: Gary F. asks, "My spouse receives Social Security Disability Insurance. Is this part of MAGI? My spouse also receives an annual payment from a disability insurance policy. Is this part of MAGI?"
A: Social Security Disability Insurance or SSDI is like Social Security: If your adjusted gross income is more than a certain amount, some of it is taxable. The taxable portion of SSDI is included in adjusted gross income, therefore it will already be in MAGI. However, you must add the untaxed portion to your MAGI, just like you add nontaxable Social Security to MAGI, Luscombe says.
As for the disability insurance policy, if it was provided by her employer, her payments are taxable and will be part of her adjusted gross income, and thus part of MAGI.
If she purchased the disability insurance herself, the payments are not taxable and do not have to be included in MAGI, Luscombe says.
Q: Gary F. has a second question: "We believe that in a few years we'll be in a higher tax bracket. Therefore we're considering moving some money from one of our traditional IRAs over to a Roth IRA. Will any money we move from a traditional IRA over to a Roth be included in our MAGI?"
A: Yes, unless your traditional IRAs had both deductible and nondeductible contributions. In that case, a prorated part of the amount converted would not be included in MAGI, Luscombe says.
Kathleen Pender is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Net Worth runs Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. E-mail: email@example.com Blog: http://blog.sfgate.com/pender Twitter: @kathpender


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Interesting phenomenon: large number of material has appeared on various blogs and youtube recently, debunking the low carbohydrate diets. Most of them appear to be produced by very dedicated individuals with no apparent science background though with very good communication and media skills. The presentations are well written in terms of English and well presented with illustrations and video. It looks like a considerable time effort has been expended by some vegan English Major graduates. 8-:)
It puzzles me because for me personally, nothing seems more fruitless and useless than trying to convince another person how to eat! What is the point?
It is impossible (and unnecessary) to argue against that material because it is too much verbiage with very little hard data, quotes are misrepresented and the references are often either missing or misleading. A good illustration of this is the following example:
Take for example this graph:
The reference link points to a paper:
Explaining the Increase in Coronary Heart Disease Mortality in Beijing Between 1984 and 1999
Julia Critchley, et al.
- which does not implicate meat or animal produce at all, rather points towards the Westernisation of the modern Chinese diet as the main culprit. Anyone visiting China recently remarks how much Western junk food are young Chinese now consuming, pop soda, wheat rolls, sweets and other carbohydrates.
Conclusions - Much of the dramatic CHD mortality increases in Beijing can be explained by rises in total cholesterol, reflecting an increasingly "Western" diet. Without cardiological treatments, increases would have been even greater.
Contrary to what the blogger seems to believe, there is nothing here against or for Paleo Diet, nothing that would single out meat, carbohydrates or anything!
Healthylongevity blogger conjures a link between CHD and a consumption of animal produce based on a second-removed correlation between cholesterol and meat. However, high consumption of both carbohydrates and fat or meat calories can also increase blood cholesterol, as witnessed by the Western SAD stats, so it is not really proven that what has caused both cholesterol and CHD in the West is one and the same thing, and it is a completely unproved Healthylongevity's opinon that supposedly, the culprit must be animal produce, not the mountains of sugar, grains or vegetable oils introduced into the world diet!.
The next group of graphs of mysterious origin really fascinates me, since I have never seen a better example of misinformation dressed up as scientific quotation. The first of the graphs looks like this:
I presume mIHDc stands for mortality from Ishaemic Heart disease (group c=adults) so it seems to stipulate that more wheat = lower IHD mortality! I was not able to find any source of those graphs, since the only link above them points to some deleted blog article by Michel Blomgren titled "Elektromagnetisk överkänslighet", where the graphs are nowhere to be found! There is a verbal "explanation" that it was supposed to be some "regressed" scientific data with no comments on the nature of regression, what variables was it regressed against and under which assumptions and models was it calculated, other than it was based on China Study II. IHD is only one of many (and the less prevalent in China) of mortalities due to cardio-vascular causes. Would you like to take a look at the total cardiovascular disease mortality instead? Much higher statistics and therefore much more reliable correlation. Well, the China Study raw un-massaged data does show the total cardio-vascular disease versus wheat trend, albeit a completely opposite one! That is, the more wheat one consumes the higher the rate of cardio-vascular disease (in terms of correlation), for example look at the graphs here and there which I generated last 3 years ago (I can send anyone the original spreadsheet, upon request), based on the original China Study data from the Oxford University web site. Incidentally, Oxford data graphs on Wheat vs Cardio-Vascular are very consistent with the Julia Critchley et al. paper quoted above, since Chinese appear to have been recently consuming a record amount of wheat due to Westernisation of their diet!


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Test practice
Honors Students:
Use the above link for vocabtest.com
9H: Vocab homework breaks each vocab unit into two parts. Usually on Tuesdays, you will be asked to complete "Choosing the Right Word" and "Synonyms" and "Antonyms."
On Thursdays, you will need to have "Completing the Sentence" as well as "Vocab in Context" completed for full credit. You will have an online quiz on Friday. Please check the Google Calendar under the "Honors" tab for changes and updates.
Vocabulary Workshop, E
Click on book jacket below to study words online. Make sure to select the 2012-13 Edition.
Weekly Assignments (English 9 comp)
Unit 1A (10 Words Per Unit)
Unit 3A
Unit 3B
Unit 1-3 Review
Unit 4A
Unit 4B
Unit 5A
Unit 5B
Review 5A and 5B
Unit 6A
Unit 6B
Unit 1-6 Review
9 Composition classes should use these links to study for their vocab final exam.
1-3 Study Stack and Games
4-6A Study Stack and Games
1-6 Review Quizlet (30 Terms)
1-6 Review Quizlet (74 Terms)
Use VocabTest.com to test individual units for Level D.
Unit 7A


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Molson Coors launches 2.8% ABV Carling Zest
The beer, which features light, citrus flavours, has been launched as an alternative to popular summer drinks such as rose wines and ciders and will be available as single bottles to the on-trade from 18 March until September.
"The mission we set our brewing and innovations team was clear – make us a drink perfect for the summer and in Carling Zest, they've just achieved that," said Annette Middleton, Carling senior brand manager at Molson Coors. "With its clear, fresh taste and a twist of citrus, Carling Zest is a perfect beer to enjoy with friends in the sun."
"There will be no better drink to stock this summer. The limited edition beer has tested incredibly well with consumers who are drawn to Carling Zest's summery appeal. The launch is being supported with a great marketing campaign to support our customers in selling the beer throughout the summer."
The new product will be supported by a £1.9m advertising campaign. Its launch makes Molson Coors the first major brewer to create a new 2.8% ABV beer under a major brand name and it follows Carling Chrome which hit the market in August 2011.
Lower-strength beers
Last year, BigHospitality reported that the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) urged pubs to begin stocking more lower-strength beers in order to benefit from the 50 per cent decrease in excise duty.
Other, similar lower-strength beers to have hit the market recently include Greene King's Tolly English Ale, Wadworth's Small Beer and Carlsberg's female-focused Eve brand.
For more information on Carling Zest and other products under Molson Coors, visit http://www.molsoncoors.com.


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Students Learn Computer Sense
Webmaster John Uhlig said the deletions were a warning because students know they're not supposed to have those files on their school accounts. He discovered the problem when a student couldn't save school files because of a large video game file in his account.
"We then ran a search and found there were a number of kids with games, music files," said Uhlig. "Next thing you know, we get these letters saying kids are downloading them."
So the school sent a written warning to all students.
"It said if they find you downloading anything else, you'll be kicked off for the rest of the quarter," said 9th grader Ethan Huss.
"I'm not going to do it because now I know they can find it and get me in trouble for it," added Boyett.
Students said someone downloaded the games into their accounts, but the webmaster said that's nearly impossible without access to 60 individual user names and passwords.


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IX Web Hosting Review
Free dedicated IP address (multiple for higher hosting packages)
They own their own data center
Each customer gets a personal support representative
No dedicated hosting options
cPanel and Plesk cost extra for lower level packages
IX Web Hosting has actually been in service given that 2007 and is a medium sized hosting company. One thing that sets this business apart from many other hosting providers is the reality that they focus their services on helping sites with search engine optimization (SEO). Other than the complimentary IP, there is not truly much to state about the prices on this company. If you do need a dedicated IP address, you will conserve some cash compared to other business. The totally free IPs are nice, and the assistance services they offer actually are second to none.
Developed hosting company with some great functions
IX Web Hosting has actually been in service because 2007 and is a medium sized hosting business. They claim to have more than 250,000 customers, mostly within the United States. They run business from Ohio.
One thing that sets this company apart from a lot of other hosting service providers is the fact that they focus their services on assisting websites with search engine optimization (SEO). One huge way they do this is by providing a devoted IP address to every account. You likewise have the option to purchase additional dedicated IPs if you are planning on running several websites.
This is a good service, particularly for people wanting to establish blog site networks or other things to assist their websites rank better in the search engines.
Uptime & Reliability Compare
99.9% uptime assurances and own their own information
You'll get the relatively standard 99.9% uptime guarantee, though they do not say exactly what you get if your website is down more than this. Looking at their social media accounts, the majority of people do not grumble about any outages so it seems they do a good task keeping the websites up. They likewise use complimentary scans for malware and other possibly harmful software application, which can help keep websites good and steady.
They own their own information center, situated in Ohio. It has two backup power generators and multiple information circuits to make sure high speeds and redundancy for all their consumers.
Features Compare
Most features are consisted of in packages
When you choose among the packages that they provide you will basically have whatever you need to run your website. This is nice considering that many hosting companies today are trying to raise your cost by pressing great deals of little extra for a surcharge.
The most significant feature that they provide is the free IP address, which generally costs at least a dollar or two per month with other hosting business. You will be charged $2 per month if you do choose to purchase extra IPs.
Support Compare
Exceptional support services
This is one of the most significant benefits of going with this site. If your personal rep cannot assist you, they will work internally with other teams to get the problem fixed.
This is a relatively distinct service for hosting, and will assist guarantee you get the attention you need when you're having any kind of problem.
Pricing Compare
Relatively typical price points for all hosting alternatives
Other than the free IP, there is not truly much to state about the pricing on this company. If you do require a devoted IP address, you will save some loan compared to other business.
Great hosting for SEO focused web designers
This company provides good, dependable hosting with great assistance and all at a reasonable price. There actually isn't really excessive to grumble about. The free IPs are nice, and the assistance services they offer truly are second to none.


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AudienceThe intended audience of this article includes: * Content Management Architects – those responsible for defining V7 content migration strategy in their organization. * Site development team – developers can refer to this document to understand content migration approach and provide implementation for the same. * People responsible for Vignette content management can refer to this article to understand content migration scope and activities involved, such as which data can be migrated with an automation tool, which data needs to be migrated manually, pre processing required before content migration, post processing after content migration.
Content Migration ProcessSteps involved in the content migration process are: * Content Analysis * Defining Migration Approach * Content Migration using defined approach * Post-Migration Processing Content migration involves identifying and analyzing content that is to be migrated. Output from content analysis is used to define the migration approach for various types of content. This is applied to the content for actual migration from V6 to V7 system. Finally, migrated content is passed through the post processing activities to publish the content on the site. Output from each step serves as input to the next step with final goal to publish migrated content on the Website running V7.
Diagram: Content Migration Process – Steps These 4 steps describe content life cycle during migration as content traverses from one phase to the next. * Analyze Content – Content to be migrated is analyzed. Data points are created that are required for migration process. This step is part of the content migration development project and is carried out at the development site. * Define Migration Approach – Overall approach for migration is defined to migrate the content. This step is part of the content migration development project and is carried out at the development site. * Migration – After baseline migration approach, defined approach is followed for actual content migration. This step is carried out on the content at the production site. * Post-Migration Processing – Migrated content is processed for review, approval and publication. This step is necessary to check effectiveness of the content migration and take required actions for correction before migrated content goes live. This step is carried out at the production site. The first two steps, Content Analysis and Migration Approach, define and develop content migration strategy and will be discussed in detail in the next two installments of this series. The final two steps, Migration and Post-Migration Processing, are execution operations that must to be carried at the production site.


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Went to put Charlie in his hutch yesterday evening. Took the cover off the run and within seconds he had taken a flying jump, staggered by briefly landing on top of his carrier, which he uses as a hidey hole in his run, before flying over the side and landing in a flower tub, sprawled out looking somewhat stunned. 'Woh, there!' I said, startled and amused. Helped him out of his undignified sprawl but had to go round other side of run to retrieve him. Wasn't particularly worried until he decided the plants were worth nibbling. 'Don't eat the sweet peas!' I hissed at him, dragging him away from them (note: I was worried about poisoning the rabbit, not the sweet peas!) He got a bite in but seems to be none the worse for wear. I've always known he could jump it if he tried (especially since he landed on the sofa with me) but wasn't expecting it quite at that moment. He'd obviously been planning it all evening. A rabbit version of Chicken Run. Rabbit Run. Er.
He's super confident in his new hutch now – I have to be very careful when I open the doors that he doesn't fly out of there too. He's got used to me being able to crouch in front of him and give him cuddles, so he dangles his head off the edge and looks dopey.
Today: 4-5/10, medium


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Cigar events:
Cooling my heels with a house blend from Holt's cigars. No big review but a pleasant enough cigar for short money. Mild, somewhat fruity with an orange and melon mix. For a couple of bucks a stick , it's ok. I got it as part of a sampler from Holt's.
Keep smoking


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This is a list of universities in Zambia.
This page is the most comprehensive Information database of colleges and universities in Zambia, enabling your access to over 2,000 academic programs throughout Zambia.
You can browse over 50 colleges and universities in the Zambia by field of study, degree level and location.
The information provided is completely free and contains highly researched information which are peer reviewed before publishing. Select your college or university of interest below and reading. See The List of Nursing Schools in Zambia. Click on the link For Universities Application intake in Zambia.
- Chalimbana University
- Copperbelt University
- Lewanika University
- Mukuba University
- Mulungushi University
- Nkrumah University
- Palabana University
- Robert Kapasa Makasa University
- University of Zambia
- mukungule university
- Alliance International University
- Cavendish University
- Chreso University
- Copperstone University
- DMI St. Eugene University (Z)
- Information and Communications University (ICU ZAMBIA)
- Justo Mwale University(JMU)
- Kairos University
- Levy Mwanawasa (COSETCO) University
- Livingstone International University for Tourism Excellence & Business Management (LIUTEBM)
- The Lusaka University
- National Institute of Public Administration (Africa) (NIPA)
- Northrise University
- Rusangu University
- Saint Bonaventure University
- Sylva University
- The Supershine University
- Twin Palm Leadership University
- United Church of Zambia University (UCZU)
- University of Africa
- University of Barotseland (UBL)
- University of Lusaka
- Victoria Falls University of Technology Livingstone Zambia (VFU)
- West East University College
- Zambia Catholic University
- Zambia Centre for Accountancy Studies (ZCAS)
- Zambian Open University
- the don university
- Justo Mwale University
- OAK University Zambia
- Muskingum University


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Apple Attribute Cards
Hi there! Just a quick post to share something I made for my up coming week. I am teaching that FREE NY Common Core math program for the first time this year. You know the one I'm talking about, right? The unit on numbers 1-10 starts with learning about attributes. So I quick like made these little cards to help out. I don't plan on going through my sock drawer each year to prep for the very first lesson. Nor do I have room in my classroom to store a set of "teacher made plates, bowls, and cups in different patterns and colors". I figure that along with my big chunky attribute blocks, these sweet cards will do the trick. (I probably will go through my sock drawer tonight though ;)
I just wanted another set of tools that we can use to reinforce these concepts with games and activities. I love using cards because they are easy to store, and easy for little hands to use when playing. The cards above were sorted by the border style on the cards.
These are sorted by color.
These are sorted by design. Some have hearts, some flowers, while others are plain.
These are sorted by size. So that is four obvious attributes that can be identified, compared, and classified by your kiddos. Plus, this set includes a few odd ball cards with a small heart and stripes. Those will make students really think about attributes and have discussions about where they should be grouped. Got to have some juicy discussions and critical thinking to make things fun!
Here are some examples of how I will teach the very first lesson with the concepts "exactly the same" and "the same but...". This lesson is all about noticing differences and attributes. It also supports kids in verbalizing those observations.
These are the same but... one is big and the other is small.
These are the same but... one is yellow and the other is green.
These are the same but... one is plain and the other one has a heart on it.
These are the same but... one has a squiggly line around the apple (different border styles).
You get the idea. I printed two complete sets of these cards so that I can match up some cards that are "exactly the same" too. I hope you like this idea. You might want to use these in your classroom too. They would be a great addition to any apple studies going on in your classroom. This is a simple resource so it doesn't cost very much. You can go get it in my TpT store by clicking on the image below.
Thanks so much for stopping by.
Happy teaching!
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Daisy Designs Blog Launch and 500 Follower Giveaway
Hi there! Amanda over at Daisy Designs is having a big celebration! Her entire TpT store is on sale for another week and she is having a huge giveaway over at her blog. You can enter to win three different prize packs with great products from lots of sellers including me.
I have my Print and Go! Back to School product in Prize Pack #2. Head on over to her blog to go enter and win! Daisy Designs 500 Follower and Blog Launch
Good Luck!
Happy teaching!
Five for Friday! 8-21-15
Hi there! I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching again for some random Friday fun. I am in the thick of back to school right now. My first day back is Wednesday August 26th. Only five more days, YIKES!
1. So, I was happy to get these notes out to my new little students. I keep it simple because it is one thing on a very long list of things to do this week. You know how it is. I was so glad to find these fun stamps at the post office to go on them.
They say from ME to YOU.
2. Yea! My last supply order arrived! Woo hoo! OK, a girl can never have too many sharpies, can she? The Velcro dots are sooooooooo handy. I love the big post it notes with lines. LOVE THEM!!!
Did you notice the fancy pencils? Noir by Ticonderoga. LOVE!!! Shimmery silver outside. Black wood inside. The most perfect no. 2 lead. Need I say more? Pure pencil LOVE. Those are my special teacher pencils, btw. The kiddos use the yellow ones.
3. When I got home on Wednesday, I found the dishwasher 'clean' light on and I looked inside to see all the classroom stuff that I had brought home on Monday inside. Guess who ran the load for me? My sweet husband, Duane! OMGoodness! He is so darn good to me! (I think he is feeling sorry for me that summer is over.)
Those are all my magnetic trays, scissors, and my classroom bowl. The magnetic letters were on the top rack along with all my plastic clothes pins. Now my tray for literacy intervention in the afternoons is ready. I keep the other trays stacked without letters and prep the letters as needed for activities.
4. My new printer came!!! I ordered this specifically so that I could sign up for hp Instant Ink. I like this printer pretty well so far. But, the jury is out. There were a few little glitches with the paper feed and a few pages had to be printed again. Hopefully it will work well for me. I printed some stuff...
... like my new cards for my Kinesthetic Alphabet. I just put this on TpT and will be doing a more in depth post on it soon. I am happy with how the cards turned out and I think the kiddos will enjoy learning our alphabet chant with them this year.
I printed my new Classroom Character Posters too! I think they came out looking great. The printer doesn't really do perfect photo quality, but they are good enough for me. I got this printer because I think it will be a work horse and that is what I really need. But, mostly I am really excited about the instant ink program from hp.
5. This is my new teacher plan and prep tub. It's where I keep my current thematic unit files along with all my prep for each day. There are two full weeks worth of big folder envelopes where I put materials and papers that are prepped ahead. I try to stay planned out a week ahead and prep the following week each day throughout the current week. It works pretty well and keeps me a lot less stressed. I know some people who prep for the next day each afternoon. That is just a little too crazy for me and I also think it makes it harder to do more prep intense projects. OK, just one more thing about my sweet hubby... he painted the tub for me because we couldn't find anything this size in colors, so we just bought a cheap clear one and he painted it blue for me. Doesn't it look cute with the birdies on it?
Hope you are having productive and happy days back at school!
Go check out all the other great blogs over at Doodle Bugs Teaching.
Thanks for stopping by.
Happy teaching!
Bonus One Day Sale on Teachers Pay Teachers!
Just a quick post to let you know about the big One Day Bonus Sale on TpT. It is all day Wednesday August 19th. Everything in my store will be 20% off and you can get an extra 10% from TpT with the promo code: MORE15. That's a savings of 28% off.
I also wanted to show you some new things that I have been working on...
They are from my new line of Classroom Character Posters. Motivation and inspiration for teachers and students. Tomorrow is a great time to go snatch them up for a great price. They are regularly sold for $1.00. You can get them tomorrow for 72 cents if you use the promo code. Just click on the image to go see it in my shop.
I hope you like them. I think they would be really cute in a kid's bedroom too!
I finally put these in my store also. These two items are the single most important pieces of my alphabet and phonics program in my classroom. I will be doing a more in-depth post on them as a part of my How do YOU teach the ABC's? series. You can go check it out by clicking on the image.
You will not be sorry if you start using this in your classroom. I have been using this instructional method for teaching letters and sounds for a very long time. It's FUN and it WORKS! And I also made this ABC chart to use with it. It is FREE. You can click on the image below to go get it in my store.
Thanks for stopping by.I hope you grab some great deals on Teachers Pay Teachers.
I also hope you have your best school year EVER!
Happy teaching!
Five for Friday!
I am so excited to be linking up for Five for Friday with Doodle Bugs Teaching! For me, it is just a small miracle that I remembered to take pictures of five different things. I am busy getting my room ready for another year. My first day is Aug. 26th.
1. I had to take down the love notes from last year. Boo hoo! I had such a sweet group. I always try to have a little spot in the room for love notes. They really are gifts in kinder world and they need to be respected as such, ya know...? Last year they were above my desk area along with all the important calendars and memos from school. I took a picture of them because I almost posted them on Instagram. (@mrsbyrdslearningtree) It was sad to recycle them, but I am sure there will be more to replace them soon enough. It makes me excited to meet my new sweeties.
2. I got my weekly communication folders for the year made. My sweet husband, Duane, came in one afternoon to help me in my classroom. He taped all the sides of the envelopes to make them indestructible. They will be decorated on the back by little students on the first day as one of their jobs (that's what I call centers in my room). Then I laminate them and they really do last all year long. Duane also helped me by taking apart and completely cleaning my overhead projector. I haven't used it for three years. This is the year to either use it or lose it. I am going to let the kids do open ended activities on it for a choice during center time. (I took Duane out to dinner to thank him for his help - that's a win win!)
3. Today I fixed our class book box to get a few more years out of it. It was falling apart, so it was either duct tape or papier mache and painting it. I think this was a better option. I'm not super thrilled with the neon colors, but that's what I had on hand, so that's what went on the box. We make lots of class books where each kiddo creates a page. They are great for thematic units, and the kids like to read them. This is the box where they live in our classroom library.
4. So this one actually did make it onto Instagram. I just had to share. I keep the balls and ropes in a big red bucket/tub/you know... I took everything out and the bottom of it was DISGUSTING!!! It actually had a layer of dirt in the grooves in the bottom. I took it outside to rinse it off with the hose. Yuck! Thankfully, it was hot today and the tub dried really quickly. Can you guess my room number and the color of my class' recess equipment?
5. I did a post yesterday on using your kiddos names for literacy learning in the beginning of the year. It has lots of ideas and you can get this FREEBIE Name Bingo game too! You can find this post right here: Name Games! and a FREEBIE!
Don't forget to stop by Doodle Bugs Teaching to see all the other great blogs that are linked up.
Thanks for stopping by!
Happy teaching!
Labels: Five for Friday!
Name Games! and a FREEBIE!
Hi there! This post is about using your students' names as a beginning of the year literacy theme. In kindergarten, these little students are babies! They are just learning to write letters, and names are the most important letters in their world right now. So, using names as a first theme for BTS is a no brainer. Here are a few ideas to help you do some name activities in your classroom.
OK, first things first... I do not put pictures of students on my blog very often. When I do, faces are obscured, and permission has been given by parents. THESE ARE NOT PICTURES OF REAL STUDENTS. They are stock photos of kids that I have a commercial license to use. I wanted a few "pretend" kids to show you what I do in my classroom without using my own students' names or pics.
Just had to get that off my chest.
OK, Back to learning with names...
I always start my year with several sets of name cards. It is really nice to make at least one set with pictures of the kiddos. Here are some activities I like to do with names using the cards:
This fun student made emergent reader is a favorite with my kiddos all year long. I take each child's photo early in the year. I print out one color photo for each child. Then I make black and white copies of all the photos. I make sure there are plenty to go around. For centers, we make the pages of this book using name cards. I only do a few pages in the books, but you can do as many as you want. The kids simply glue on a picture of a friend and write his or her name in the sentence below.
I use the color picture in each child's book for the last page, "I see me!" Since there is no writing involved on that page, I make them, and the kids see it for the first time when they read the assembled book. It's a surprise and they love it!
These are a favorite all year long. I love these books because they are a great way to teach all those important early reading skills, especially pointing to the words! It would be really easy to make these yourself. I am sharing this idea freely. So, go for it! If you don't have the time to make it yourself, you can get it in my TpT shop for a buck. Friends - Student made Emergent Reader for Back to School
After kids have had practice with writing names in the book, they can continue to practice using a sheet like this. This is super fun to have in your writing center so kids can do it on their own. Make sure you have a set of name cards with it so they can easily write the names. This sheet came from my Print and Go! Back to School (NO PREP) set.
We always sort the names by the number of letters in each. This is a fun sheet for each child to do after the name sorting activity. It is a review of writing, number, tally marks, ten frames, and a little face drawing too. You can find it here: Print and Go! Back to School (NO PREP).
I also use the name cards to play games with my kiddos during attendance or circle time or whenever I have a few extra minutes with my group. I like to cover the name and just show the first letter. Then kids need to guess who it could be. Once they are familiar with the names in the class, this becomes a great critical thinking activity. When you have two kids with the same first letter, they can then decide who it is by looking at the second letter, and so on. It is lots of fun for beginning of the year letter learning. You can also clap the syllables in each name, do a rhyming game with the names, or phonemic awareness poems like Hickety Picktey Bummble bee, or Banana fanna.... you know those poems right? Just in case you don't, here are examples of them using my name (Katie):
Hickety Pickety Bumble bee
Can you read this name for me?
Can you clap it?
Katie (with a clap).
Can you shout it?
Katie (shouting)!
Can you whisper it?
Katie (in a whisper).
I do that little poem with sight words too. It is very useful and can be changed up in any way you like, the clapping and shouting part, that is. I recommend that you always end it with whisper, that way you have your group quiet and listening at the end of each name. They can get a little excited with all the clapping and shouting. But, it is lots of fun.
Here is the other one:
Katie, Katie, bo batie,
Banana fanna fo fatie,
Me, my, mo, matie,
You can do that one with any word or name. It can get a little tricky wit the long names, but just go for it! The rhyming and alliteration make it a fun way to play with sounds in language. Perfect for our little Kinder friends. Perfect phonemic awareness practice. And it's FUN! Woo hoo!
I also do Student of the Day! It is the ultimate in literacy learning through student names. I will do a post on that once I get started with my new group of sweeties. Stay tuned...
OK, were you really just looking for this?
Here is your Name Bingo freebie. It's a fun and purposeful way to get some name writing practice into your centers time early in the year. First, kids write their name on the grid one letter in each box. Then repeat until all boxes are filled. The photo at the top of the post is an example of how it should look when it is complete. THIS IS HARD FOR KINDERS! So, I highly recommend you do this as a teacher supported activity. After names have been written correctly onto the grid (and traced with marker if you like), then you can laminate, and use these as game boards for ABC bingo with any set of alphabet cards. If you need some cards and other games for alphabet learning, you can find some here: ABC Games! Fun Activities for learning the Alphabet.
Just click on the image below to go get your Name Bingo FREEBIE:
Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you found some helpful ideas for your classroom.
Happy teaching!
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ASIAN HALAL CENTREWritten by Jerwin Kunnig
The Asian Halal Centre project facility principally seeks to make a portion of the ZAMBOECOZONE 2nd Industrial Park a profitable area for the development and establishment of a 100-hectare Halal Industrial Park wherein a community of Halal-oriented business enterprises shall be built, and where they are provided infrastructure and service support.
The Asian Halal Centre is an agro-production facility with particular focus on generating employment for the surrounding community, research and development, ecology and sustainability and as founded on the principles of the Halal industry.
Specifically, the project facility aims to: 1) offer a more accessible source of Halal food products to consumers, 2) cater to the demands of Halal consumers in the Visayas and Mindanao, 3) generate employment, 4) provide high quality Halal food products that can compete with other global products, and establishing Zamboanga City as a Halal authority in this aspect, and 5) eventually host the convergence of diverse developments with regard to Halal particularly on pharmaceuticals, logistics and technology.
As such, it shall seek to provide a conducive environment where employment is plentiful and relevant training expertise in Halal production processes and technology-aided equipment is present, to include quality management and marketing standards.
LA PAZ BIOTECH FARMWritten by Jerwin Kunnig
The Biotechnology Farms in the ZAMBOECOZONE Highlands principally seeks to make a portion of the La Paz Highlands a profitable area for the development of a biotechnology farm community with farm facilities for research and development in the community to ensure food security for Zamboanga City and the Zamboanga Peninsula region. Lots in the ZAMBOECOZONE Highlands shall be apportioned for lease to interested business investors for the growing and processing of various farm products, poultry raising and livestock, and as a component of the farm, the integration of the cutflower industry.
The project envisions an integrated development initiative with particular focus on generating employment for the barangay residents in La Paz, research and development, ecology and sustainability, and is complemented by the ongoing establishment of a road network as well as water and power distribution lines.
The project seeks to benefit the community in Barangay La Paz by providing employment opportunities to farmer residents to enhance family income, upgrade their farming skills as well as business and marketing skills and other required competencies for the operations of the biotechnology farms.
The farm facility shall introduce alternative livelihood means for the settlers in the Highlands by preventing kaingin practice and to make valuable contributions to the lives of farmers by introducing sound farming practices.
Relatedly, the National Greening Program of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources will be tapped to enhance project implementation strategies as it is aimed "to reduce poverty, promote food security, environmental stability and biodiversity conservation, and enhance climate change mitigation and adaptation. It is, therefore, not a straightforward reforestation effort but a larger program intended to attain other important national objectives as well. (Source: PIDS)
Jobs will be created through the National Greening Program which was particularly designed to reduce poverty, providing alternative livelihood activities for upland and lowland households relating to seedling production and care and maintenance of newly-planted trees.
In the long term, the Authority can also enjoy consistent revenue growth, at the same time, establishing Zamboanga City as a center for excellence in farming and development practices in agriculture.
WEST CORPORATE CENTERWritten by Jerwin Kunnig
The West Corporate Centre brings the services to the people, providing convenience and reduced time and effort exertion in completing transactions with respective offices such as Philhealth, GSIS, SSS and the like. In addition, the ZAMBOECOZONE has required manpower service providers to hold office in the zone to address labor complaints and related issues of existing locators, and to ensure swift and just action on labor matters. The West Corporate Centre will also be an ideal training and events center in the vicinity.
It would also be important to note that the West Corporate Centre is envisioned to become the host to Zamboanga City's own Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry which is regarded as the sunshine industry in the country today as it has generated a million in employment opportunities, with BPO revenues reaching 15.5 Billion in US Dollars.
Notably, a figure of 13,100 IT-BPO employment capacity is reported in Zamboanga City alone. The local workforce in Zamboanga City can readily handle this opportunity considering that it has an edge in the Arabic and Spanish spoken languages, considering that it is home to Chavacano and Muslim-speaking residents.
In time, the West Corporate Centre will become the business district for the aforementioned offices since the corporate thrust is geared in Zamboanga City's West Coast aligned with the San Ramon Newport and Asian Halal Centre. Because all of the business activities are anticipated to converge in the West Coast, the West Corporate Centre is envisioned to handle all bookings, dealings and trade activities. The underlying principles of the project are accessibility, service and convenience for the residents of the West Coast.
Furthermore, the project supports the need to decongest the city by bringing economic activities to the West. It is the hope of the West Corporate Centre to bring direct, convenient and efficient business transactions within the reach of the West Coast residents. Complementing the completion of the Bypass Road and the continued establishment of new businesses in the West, economic growth may not be too far away.
The San Ramon Newport shall fulfill the vision of the ZAMBOECOZONE in becoming a world-class economic zone that will link resources, markets and other logistical activities that can contribute to the economic development of Zamboanga City. In its desire to become a seaport-driven city, Zamboanga can boost employment, business and industries. The results to be achieved are accessibility of goods, continuous inflow of passenger-tourists and the enhancement of facilities and overall development of Zamboanga City and the Zamboanga Peninsula.
Once established, the port facility, in effect, can help stimulate the opening of markets for agricultural activities, movement of goods, and other related activities such as education, trade, tourism and construction (bringing in of materials and equipment).
It is also important to note that the San Ramon Newport will complement the Bypass Road Project that will link the East and West Coasts of Zamboanga City. The San Ramon Newport shall be situated in Sitio San Ramon, Barangay Talisayan which is 20-kilometer radius from the city proper and is strategically located for the conduct of port operations as it is complemented by the presence of canning factories and the ship-building and repair industry in its vicinity.


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Tavern Menu (pdf)
Welcome to the Common Café and
Tavern...no longer Rumney's best kept
secret. We offer a warm, inviting, and
friendly place to eat breakfast, lunch, or
Enjoy our cozy indoor area or take to the
outdoor veranda to eat in the open air.
Relax with delicious coffee and a pastry or
bagel; a breakfast sandwich, eggs and a
wide selection of other menu items. We offer
something for everyone's lunch taste from
salads to paninis to soups. Our pizzas are handcrafted and like nothing
you will find in the area.
On the second floor, the Tavern offers casual dining with outstanding
dinner entrees, along with our fantastic pizzas, and a bar. Come in for
relaxation with friends and family. Join us for live music on selected
Please check out our menus (links on left).
Call us at (603).786.9908
Quincy Road at Main Street
Rumney NH
Cafe &Tavern
Cafe: Open Daily 7am - 4pm Sun: 7am - 2pm
Tavern: Tues - Thurs 4-9pm; Fri & Saturday 4-10pm
- The best in local and regional talent -
Check out the
"Live Music"
button for schedule
Tuesday is
Mexican Night!
Click to View Larger Images
From Amy S. - Boston MA
The plan was to stop at Dunks for breakfast/filling up bottles with hot
water before our day of ice climbing. One of the guys that goes just
about every week amended our plan to this place when we decided to
go to Rumney Cliffs instead of our intended location (due to it being a
touch chilly). As soon as I walked in I knew it was a good choice. Very
spacious and welcoming. Wood floors, antiques everywhere and a
cute corner with tables and comfy reading chairs that was perfect for
getting our gear ready for the day. The owner was talking and joking
with us and clearly used to climbing costumers (apparently he has a
small climbing store above the restaurant). He joked that we should
come back at lunch to warm up as long as we remembered to take off
our crampons. He also mentioned that he had rooms available....$25
a night. We all looked at each other and at the same time said, "Did
he say $25 or $125...?" He said $25... (not sure how much it would be
in the summer)
The owner was also the person taking orders and making the food
behind the counter and when I looked at the chalk menu and asked,
"What is in a grilled breakfast sandwich?" he smiled and said,
"anything you want!" and proceeded to rattle off a huge list of items
from which I picked egg (fried over hard), sausage, cheese and
tomato on an everything bagel - grilled of course. It.was.so.good. We
kept saying, "so much better than Dunkin' Donuts (sorry Dunks)!" I
meant to eat half and then put on my boots, but I had trouble putting it
down. So deliciously toasty and full of flavor! They have a "pay when
you are done enjoying your food" policy, but as I'm not used to this
and was afraid I would walk out without remembering to pay, I paid as
soon as I got my food. Strange to ask someone if I can pay for my
I just got the grilled breakfast sandwich (although the hot chocolate
was very tempting), but they have a bunch of other breakfast options
as well as having a lunch menu and a ton of desserts/pastries. If (or
when I should say) I go back to Rumney I plan on stopping here again
for sure!
Click to Close
Owner's Statement
"We serve an awesome
breakfast, lunch, and
dinner with great prices.
Lattes, Cappuccinos and
Chai Tea make for a
special treat.
Try our handcrafted
Pizza ... you will not be
We used to be the best-kept secret in Rumney Village; come see
why that has been changing. We pack 'em in so don't wait to
have fruit-filled crepes with homemade beans; or lunch with
made-to-order Panini sandwiches and Wraps. How about a
Grilled Chicken Salad or a Tuna Panini with a choice Tapenade
Spread? Our dinners are superb and you can enjoy them with
your choice of drink from our bar.
We are
The Common Cafe and Tavern
... Brian Paquette
Click to Close
Live Music
Click to Close
Soups & Stews
Daily Specials
Portuguese Soup
Kale Soup
Beef Stew
Lamb Stew
Chicken Soup
...and More
Click to View Larger Images


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The Nail: Devils Beat Caps 2-1
Photo: Bruce Bennett
Tuesday's Caps game was ugly. The days that followed didn't get much better. Adam Oates kinda sorta maybe called out Alex Ovechkin on Wednesday for being Alex Ovechkin. The national hockey media devoured it like it was some delicious Chipotle guac. Ovi wasn't made available to reporters on Thursday to respond.
With six games left, everyone started to realize it would take divine intervention for the Capitals to make the playoffs. If they did make it, they didn't deserve to be there — and the Capitals knew that.
The scoring got started tonight with an even-strength Alex Ovechkin tally, the first since we still cared about the Winter Olympics. Playing on a line with Mikhail Grabovski and Nicklas Backstrom, Ovi took a feed from Grabo in the near circle before flipping the puck past Cory Schneider.
During a second period in which the Devs dominated play, New Jersey tied the game up. Twelve minutes into the frame, Tuomo Ruutu tipped home a shot from D-man Eric Gelinas to make it one-one.
The Caps headed into the third with a man-advantage, needing their power play to once again save them from disaster. It didn't happen.
Ryan Carter scored a late goal for New Jersey. Devils beat Caps 2-1.
By Chris Gordon 6 years ago


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What Do Pink Roses Symbolize?
Pink Roses are a classic symbol of grace, elegance and perfection these beautiful flowers are often given as a symbol of admiration and appreciation. Whether they're for your best friend, fiancee or a friend at work, a pink rose bouquet will create a bright spot on a special someone's day.
Let's find out more...
The Original Natural Roses That Lasts A Year or Longer View All Floral Arrangements
Pink roses can also convey joy or a sense of happiness that is soft, welcoming, or comforting. For this reason, pink rose arrangements are often exchanged between friends and family members - the blooms are simple expressions that we want another person to be happy. This might stem from the origins of pink roses as they are the main varietal of rose from which all other modern-day roses were created. Pink roses are also versatile when you have something important to convey.
A Single Pink Rose, The Symbol of Perfection
"what does one pink rose mean?" is simple - it connotes that the giver finds the recipient perfect in their eyes.
In ancient Hebrew texts, it is written that pink roses are the only flowers permitted inside the walls of the city of Jerusalem, due in large part to the fact they were the only roses of the time, and their spiraling petals represented a journey towards perfection.
Also in the past, there were roses of different colors and pink roses' symbolism throughout the world often reflected a desire to give the most beautiful flower in nature, a gift that is selfless and pure… yet certain to be noticed.
Different Shades of Pink Can Mean Symbolize Different Feelings
Over time, other colors of roses were hybridized with pink roses, and multiple shades of pink rose were also created. With this, came different definitions for what a pink rose represents.
- Pale pink roses meaning, for example, is associated with admiration… or a love that has not yet proceeded to the crimson red of passion.
- Bright fuchsia pink rose arrangements are different - they can mean appreciation and gratitude, which makes a bouquet of pink roses an excellent Thank You gift. For weddings and celebrations,
- Light pink and white rose flower arrangements signify the ideas of happiness and joy, along with the purity of intention symbolized by white flowers.
- Dark pink roses given as an expression of thanks can also include feelings of admiration with the addition of light pink hydrangea. So, if there's a special someone who you both admire and are grateful for (like a mother, wife, aunt, grandparent, or mentor) a unique hydrangea and pink roses flower arrangement is a fantastic way to say everything with one gift.
It is not just pink roses that benefit from this symbolism, but other pink flowers as well. Pink hydrangeas, for example, bring the same expressions of joy and admiration but do so in a unique way. Pink hydrangeas - like lilies, tulips, and other spring blooms - can also represent renewal or a joyful new beginning, making them popular choices for welcoming a new baby or congratulating a couple on an engagement. Combined with pink roses, pink hydrangeas can amplify the thought behind the gift.
But Today, What Do Pink Roses Stand For?
Pink rose arrangements are among the most popular in the world - second only to red. They make welcome additions to any room, whether it's an office, formal living or dining area, a bedside table, or even in a patio or sunroom.
The broad range of pink roses also means they're suitable to give anyone without worrying that the gift would be misconstrued as a romantic gesture or anything other than a gesture of grace and beauty.


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If it's true that what gets scheduled on the calendar gets done, then why don't we treat our to do list this way? Most of us are aware of the appointments and events on our calendar, but our to do list often collects dust on a list or software we don't review often enough.
You can change that by implementing a calendar to do list. One simple way you can do this is by adding your to dos on your calendar. Crystal Paine from MoneySavingMom.com does this with her Google Calendar. If you already live by a calendar, it's a great place to start.
The Power of the Calendar To Do list
For the past year, I've been using a software that combines the calendar and the to do list. It's a simple software and app called TeuxDeux. It enhances your to do list by adding the power of a calendar. Here are at least four reasons why this system works well for me.
Helps me focus on what needs to get done today. As I've mentioned in a previous post, I like to create a "must" do list every morning. This allows me to focus on what's most important today. Inside of TeuxDeux, you have a to do list under each day of the week. While I might have many tasks spread out on dates in the future, I can just focus on what needs to get done today.
Keeps my unfinished tasks in front of me. Didn't finish all of your tasks yesterday? TeuxDeux has you covered there was well. Any unfinished task gets pulled to the current day. You might be thinking this could potentially be annoying as unfinished tasks keep piling up on you causing overwhelm, but I see it differently.
First, it helps you to be more realistic with your time. We often think we can get more done in a day than we actually have time for. TeuxDeux helps you to be realistic with your time.
Secondly, it forces you to make decisions on tasks that sit on your to do list too many days in a row. I'm able to drag and drop that task to a future date when I have more time available to get it done.
Allows me to push items to a future date. I love this feature of TeuxDeux. When my current daily list gets too long, I begin to drag tasks into the future. This helps me to mentally let that task go, while knowing I won't forget about it. Also, certain tasks come up that I don't need to do today but maybe next week. I go ahead and place that task on the day I want to be reminded. This is also a great feature for scheduling out milestones to a bigger project you are working on.
Able to schedule recurring tasks. We all have recurring tasks that we want to be reminded of. Maybe it is exercise, daily Bible reading or journaling. You can easily schedule recurring tasks so that they show up as often as you'd like.
Whether you choose to use a service like TeuxDeux or just use a Google Calendar, I urge you to consider combining your to do list with your calendar. What gets scheduled, gets done.


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North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough was named ACC Player of the Week while Georgia Tech's Maurice "Mo" Miller garnered ACC Rookie of the Week honors.
In Hansbrough averaged 30.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.5 steals in wins over NC State and Wake Forest. The Poplar Bluff, Mo., product made 20-of-32 (.625) from the floor and 21-of-27 (.778) from the free throw line in the two wins.
Hansbrough led all players with 32 points, 12 rebounds and a season-high five steals in Wednesday's 84-70 win at NC State. Four nights later, the 6-9, 250-pound junior tallied a game-high 29 points and added five rebounds and four steals in an 89-73 win over the visiting Demon Deacons.
Hansbrough's seven selections tie him with former Tar Heel standout Antawn Jamison for the most player of the week selections in a single season. Jamison was selected seven times during his junior year in 1997-98.
In earning the league's rookie award for the first time this season, Miller scored a career-best 29 points in the Yellow Jackets' 92-84 loss at Virginia Tech Saturday. In addition to hitting on 7-of-13 from the floor and 13-of-14 from the foul line, the Memphis, Tenn., freshman recorded five assists, four rebounds, a blocked shot and a steal with just two turnovers in a career-high 31 minutes.
(AP Photo/Gerry Broome and Sam Morgan/GT)


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Night diving
The basics of night diving.
There are some basic information and knowledge which you must acquire at the time of entering the night diving world. Night diving has different requirements than day diving as well as it implies different risks which must be predicted and preview by those who practice this sport. Just to start with, the overall sense and our perceptions are very different at night than at day; we do not feel the same way about the things which surround us during night than the way we feel about them during day time. Night gives mysticism and makes our adrenalin work faster than it happens during the day.
In order to be able to practice night diving properly, you must learn the right procedures for communication and navigation. Besides, it is very important to know the right procedures for buoyancy control as well. These are basic aspects which anyone who intends to go into the night diving world must know.
You should also learn the proper use of night diving lights and the emergency and disorientation procedures. Always remember that the day natural light will be replaced by artificial one, which will make the fauna and flora look very differently than it does with the regular bluish aspect provided by the filter of natural sun light.
It is also very important that you know the buddy system techniques as well as you should learn nocturnal aquatic life orientation. In night and darkness the sense of orientation diminishes dramatically, and artificial lights might become indispensable for us to be able to orientate ourselves. This different kind of light also adds to the magic of night diving.
As you can see, there are many aspects which make night diving riskier than the day one. But, by learning and following the proper indications it can be not only a safe sport but also a very magical one to practice. Night life and the sea fauna and flora activity in general are different during night than in day time as well as the lightening and charm of the night changes the whole environment and gives this sport its special magic.
Featured Scuba Diving Articles
The benefits of having a decompression meter
A decompression meter or computer indicates the diver the right decompression schedule which he should follow.
Things to consider when looking for dive watches and timers
If you are looking for diving watches and dive timers, there are a few things you should know and have into account in order to buy what you really need.
What is decompression all about?
Decompression is necessary whenever a scuba diver wishes to dive in depths which go under the 130 feet.
The skin squeeze effect in scuba diving
Skin squeeze is one of the barotrauma problems which divers can suffer due to the pressure factors involved in the practice of the sport.
- Diving in icy waters and the equipment necessary
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- What to do with your new diving mask
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- Camera care for divers


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This is an extract from "Understanding the social impacts of the Mayor's Crowdfunding Programme", research and analysis on the first two rounds of the Mayor of London's Crowdfunding programme with Spacehive. Read the full report here.
The social impacts of the Crowdfunding Pilot are extensive and appear to infiltrate into all aspects of participants' lives, as well as throughout the communities in which projects are situated. These include improved community cohesion and democratisation in the urban re-development process, growth of skills and knowledge that contribute to personal and professional development, as well as opening up local government processes to a wider and less-active section of the population, and improved outlook on life, partly manifest through civic pride and an improved sense of place, as well as through a project delivery process that involves making friends, growing networks, and feeling part of something bigger than oneself.
There are some challenges to be overcome that sit alongside these impacts – namely dominance of certain groups over others, intense time and skills requirement to the point of social exclusion, and fatigue and stress.
However, despite these drawbacks, the thinking behind the Mayor's Crowdfunding Programme is sound, and its delivery in rounds 1 and 2 has been good, with research conducted for this study indicating net overall satisfaction and generally, an excitement for an emerging new method of local government action and deliver, and local engagement. Overcoming and learning from challenges in the Programme's development has been significant for understanding the method being employed.
Whilst it may be easy to suggest that a crowdfunding programme developed and/or promoted by a public body is indicative of a further roll back of the state, the GLA's pilot Programme highlights how a new, rather than reduced, role for local government is being carved out.
This role centres around facilitating and protecting equity and inclusion within a broader context of alternative finance and market-led approaches to development projects. Indeed, it appears that without government involvement in crowdfunding schemes – particularly those which deal with issues as contested as land use change – equity and involvement of deprived groups or those in deprived areas might be compromised.
The Mayor's Crowdfunding Programme never intended to position itself as an alternative to strategic regeneration efforts that are traditionally delivered by the GLA, but rather a supplement to these methods, which effectively presents a new model of engagement around the built environment, providing a more collaborative and inclusive approach to regeneration.
This model, where citizens can wholesale deliver a project or engage through pledging a small amount of money to a project in their local area and beyond provides enables individuals to engage in a proactive rather than reactive manner, can help develop community cohesion and civic pride, and through the process of delivery, plays an educative function which appears, in our cases, to lead to knock-on democratisation.
Ultimately, it is the communities and their willing, meaningful engagement and energy that drives the success of the Mayor's Crowdfunding Programme and the plethora of positive social impacts that have emerged throughout Rounds 1 and 2.
Crowdfunding as a model of financing projects is likely only to increase over time, with or without state involvement, thus the GLA is playing and will continue to play a fundamental role in upholding social equity, building capacity and ensuring appropriate use of land and infrastructure.
With some carefully considered modifications for the programme and appropriate resourcing of the programme long-term, the positive social impacts can continue to be felt across London's geography and communities moving forwards. Moreover, the GLA's commitment to sensitively developing and refining such a programme should provide a best practice example for other regional or local governments' inception of similar initiatives, highlighting that crowdfunding is not a matter of reduced government action, but alternative government action in a time of emerging alternative finance.
Read the full report "Understanding the social impacts of the Mayor's Crowdfunding Programme" here.


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Happy Independence Day!
Enjoy some photos from our visit to the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, MN. They have five eagles, and yesterday two of them were taken down to the river to play in the water. It lets the eagles cool off, and because it's fun for them and for the pepole who get to see.


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Moving yourself, versus hiring a professional company, has certain advantages and disadvantages. Of course, you will save a considerable amount of money, however you will likely end up trading that savings for additional time and effort. Actual savings and added effort really depend on the details of your move though.
If you are moving from a small home and/or to a local destination, this can definitely be the most cost-effective, quick and simple solution. Call in some favors to your friends and have your moving plan ready to execute on moving day. Remember to try to pack as much as you can ahead of time, if at all possible.
If you are moving from a large home and/or to a distant destination, moving yourself will definitely be a significant amount more effort and time, in turn, possibly costing you more money.
Moving your pets can add stress to any move. Moving companies are not permitted to handle living creatures, nor are buses or trains. You will either need to move your pets yourself, or hire a professional company (recommended when traveling long distances over an extended period of time) to handle the well being of your animals for the duration of your move.
Regardless of the distance you will be traveling, you will want to consider your pet's comfort and safety throughout the relocation. Be sure to have a sturdy, comfortable carrier for your pet. Familiarize your pet with the carrier several days (or even weeks) in advance.
If you are moving to another state/province or with exotic animals, there are several things you need to take into advanced consideration:


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Volume 23
Printable magazine in pdf
Volume 23 ... read more
REFLECTION: Where are the Godly?
Psalm 12 has a timely message for us….. Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of m... read more
BIBLE CHARACTER: Man of God
A few people in Scripture are given the title "Man of God" ….. One day a woman made a thoughtful comment to her husband. A t... read more
CHRISTIAN LIFE: My Necessary Food
It's vital to read the Bible! ….. One of the elementary lessons in the Christian life concerns two vital habits that must be culti... read more
TODAY'S WORLD: Led Astray
Political and religious leaders are guilty of this….. The twenty-first century has witnessed dramatic changes in the western world that ... read more
GOSPEL TRUTH: Security Alert
We are often made aware of this….. Have you seen these headlines before? They are all true — and they make sober reading. The perpetrators of... read more


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Viewing: August, 2015
August 27, 2015
South Australia's four native Blue Devil speciesDavid Muirhead says that South Australia actually has four native blue devil species! He says that these are: – #1:Paraplesiops meleagris : Southern Blue Devil #2:Paraplesiops alisonae : Alison's Blue Devil #3:Eryngium rostratum : Blue devil #4:Eryngium vesiculosum : Prostrate Blue devil (aka Prickfoot) David adds, "Actually SA has 5-6 native species of blue devil, but I've not listed Eryngium... Read more
Posted in Bony fishes, Plants | By Steve Reynolds
August 27, 2015
The swimming baths at the Victoria Pier, Victor HarborIn my recent article "My Love Of Jetties, Some Of My Jetty Work, Granite Island Jetties & A List Of S.A. Jetties Built During the 1800s Or Early 1900s" I wrote about the Granite Island Causeway and the Victoria Pier there at Victor Harbor. Some of those details included: "The August 2011 newsletter also included my article titled "My Recent... Read more
Posted in Jetties | By Steve Reynolds
August 23, 2015
The wonderful and diverse syngnathids of Normanville, South AustraliaI am a research associate at the California Academy of Sciences where I study the evolutionary relationships among seahorse, seadragons, and pipefish in the family Syngnathidae. I employ DNA sequencing, morphological characters, and underwater photography to gain a better understanding of these relationships which are largely unresolved in this family, and therefore is in need of a major revision which... Read more
Posted in Bony fishes, Coastal species, Dive Reports, Jetties, Species lists, Syngnathids | By Graham Short
August 12, 2015
My love of jetties, some of my jetty work , Granite Island jetties & a list of S.A. jetties built from the 1800s to early 1900sI think that I first became fascinated with jetties when I first started scuba diving in January 1978 after visiting Port Hughes jetty. I did my first sea dive at Port Noarlunga jetty in February 1978. Although I had visited several piers whilst I was in England, it was mainly through diving in South Australia that my love of jetties... Read more
Posted in Jetties | By Steve Reynolds
August 7, 2015
Dan Monceaux's submission in response to Oceanic Victor proposalDISCLAIMER: The views expressed below are the personal views of the author. To PIRSA Aquaculture, Please find attached my submission in response to Oceanic Victor's pilot lease application to establish a sea cage aquaculture tourism operation near Granite Island in Encounter Bay, South Australia. I am linking a number of additional files to support the presence of protected species in the vicinity... Read more
Posted in Aquaculture, Bony fishes, Marine aquaria, Pinnipeds, Whales & Dolphins | By Marine Life Society of South Australia Inc.


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Fitch Ratings-London-25 March 2009: Fitch Ratings says today that Romania's proposed IMF facility for a EUR12.95bn, two-year Stand-By Arrangement, backed by a further EUR7bn in money from the EU and multilateral institutions, should shore up the country's external finances and reduce the risk of a damaging financial crisis, provided the authorities keep to their policy commitments. Romania is rated Long-term foreign currency Issuer Default (IDR) 'BB+', local currency IDR 'BBB- (BBB minus)', both with Negative Outlooks, and Short-term foreign currency IDR 'B'. The Country Ceiling is 'BBB'.
"Fitch views Romania's proposed IMF programme as supportive for its ratings as it should help to meet the country's sizeable external financing needs and provide a breathing space to rebalance the economy," said Andrew Colquhoun, Director in Fitch's Sovereigns group. "Nevertheless Romania faces a challenging economic and financial outlook and it will be vital for the authorities to keep to the attached policy conditions."
Previously rapid growth in domestic and external borrowing has left Romania heavily exposed to ongoing global de-leveraging. Credit to the domestic private sector grew at annual rates of around 60% in 2006 and 2007, funded partly by money from foreign parents which own around 90% of Romania's banking system. Credit growth slowed to 34% in 2008 as the credit crunch raised the cost of funds for foreign parents and diminished investor risk appetite. Net external debt rose to a projected 29% of GDP by end-2008 ('BB' range median: 3%), from just 7% at end-2005. The current account deficit was 12.2% of GDP in 2008, as strong credit growth fuelled domestic demand and drew in imports.
Fitch projects Romania's gross external financing requirement, not including short-term debt, at USD27bn for 2009, or USD59bn including short-term debt, against reserves of USD36.4bn by end-January 2009. Pressure on the external finances amid diminished international investor risk appetite has driven a 21% depreciation of the RON since end-August 2008. Currency volatility poses risks for the banking system, as around 50% of system loans are denominated in foreign currency.
The impact of financial market turbulence is being reinforced by a slowdown in Romania's key trade and investment partners in the euro zone. Expectations for euro zone 2009 GDP growth have been revised down sharply since Fitch downgraded Romania to 'BB+' in November 2008. Romania's growth slowed to 2.9% yoy in Q408, from 9.2% in Q308; Fitch expects Romania's economy will contract by 4.5% in 2009. Slowing growth will directly affect the fiscal finances and make it difficult to narrow the fiscal deficit from 4.8% of GDP in 2008. However, the ratings continue to benefit from low general government debt of just 20% of GDP by end-2008, while a lack of sovereign eurobond maturities in 2009 reduces refinancing risk this year.
Even if an IMF programme is agreed, implementation and execution risk will be significant. Romania's politicians may find it difficult to implement tough stability-oriented policies as the economy contracts for the first time in a decade, while presidential elections later in the year could increase pressure for populist policies.
Fitch downgraded Romania's sovereign ratings by two notches on 10 November 2008 and maintained Negative Outlooks on its Long-term IDRs. For more information, please refer to 'Fitch Downgrades Bulgaria, Hungary, Kazakhstan and Romania' on www.fitchratings.com
Contacts: Andrew Colquhoun, London, Tel: +44 (0) 20 7417 4316; Ed Parker, +44 (0) 20 7417 6340.
Media Relations: Peter Fitzpatrick, London, Tel: + 44 (0)20 7417 4364, Email: email@example.com.
Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site.


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Six Flags Over Texas brought the media in for what should be a first among released details about the $10 million renovation. And it was a doozy. With no forthcoming details about trains or special effects, the March 3 announcement concerned itself only with the track. Red steel I-beam will soon replace the entire track layout of the Texas Giant.
Park President Steve Martindale termed it a "hybrid." Among the fascinating details is a list of changes that is sure to make the ride more thrilling. Ten additional feet added to the former woodie will place it at a height of 153 feet. The new first drop will be a dramatically steeper 79 degrees and the coaster will incorporate extremely-banked turns up to 95 degrees. The park boasts these as world records for a wooden coaster.
Fantastic as those records are, coaster fans are quick to point out that the Giant will no longer be a wooden coaster as no wood will be used on the track at all. The ride introduces "Iron Horse Coaster " steel track that will be bolted into place similar to the wooden track used at sister park Six Flags Great Adventure on El Toro. Like that woodie, the new Giant is engineered to be exceptionally smooth. The new top speed of 65 m.p.h. will exceed the ride's original speed when it opened in 1990.
The enthusiast community has immediately seen an entire span of opinions ranging from those feeling it is blasphemy to the eagerly excited who can't wait to experience what could be better than the original. Six Flags is confident in their decision. "The ride is going to take the entire industry by storm," comments Martindale. To be sure, it is such a bold move that all eyes will be watching this historical transformation.


text: By Jon Frandsen, Senior Editor October 28, 2008 The amount of money poured into campaigns these days is so massive that the numbers are nearly meaningless. But here's one that might shake up even the most jaded among us: Only 13 House members -- that's 13 out of 435, not 13% -- raised most of their campaign re-election funds from within their district in the last Congress. In other words, 422 House members, 97%, raised more than half their campaign funds from people other than those they represent. Who do you think they are listening to? This and plenty of other alarming fund-raising figures, which were reported by American Public Media radio show Marketplace, was compiled by the nonprofit, nonpartisan campaign finance research group MAPLight.org by looking at the finances of members serving in the House from January 2005 until December 2007.And if you are wondering who most House members might listen to -- and most of us probably agree that large campaign contributors are likely to get the ear of their investments -- will it surprise you that Washington was among the top five states and the District of Columbia as campaign contribution sources for 99% of House members? Or that of the top 20 Zip codes contributing to House members, 15 were in the Washington area? In other words, most of the money is coming from lobbyists, corporations and special interests and political professionals and activists, not from rank-and-file voters. It makes you wonder why polls generally show that constituents are satisfied with their members or that the seats of the vast majority of House incumbents are safe. Sponsored Content


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Whenever I have the pleasure of running across MotoGP's official statistician and number cruncher Dr. Martin Raines, he likes to point out to me exactly why we are living through a golden age of racing.
His arguments are backed with a battery of indisputable facts and figures, which boil down to a single fact: the races have never been closer. Not in terms of gap between the podium finishers, not in terms of gap between first and last, nor between all points finishers. This is an era of truly great racing.
As if to underline his point, the Barcelona Grand Prix served up a veritable smorgasbord of fantastic races: a strong win and thrilling podium battle in Moto3, a surprisingly hard-fought Moto2 race, and to top it off, perhaps the most exciting MotoGP race we have had since 2006, with four riders slugging it out and swapping places right to the final lap.
The winner of the MotoGP race may have been predictable – any bet against Marc Marquez looks more and more foolish each week – but in Barcelona, Marquez's victory looked in doubt all the way to the final couple of corners.