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- Wells Fargo CEO Stumpf Quits in Fallout From Fake Accounts
John Stumpf, who led Wells Fargo & Co. through the financial crisis and built it into the world's most valuable bank, stepped down as chief executive officer and chairman, bowing to public outcry over legions of accounts opened by his employees for customers who didn't request them.
Stumpf, 63, is retiring from both posts effective immediately, the bank said Wednesday in a statement. Tim Sloan, 56, the chief operating officer long viewed as his most likely successor, will become CEO. Lead director Stephen Sanger will become the board's non-executive chairman. Elizabeth Duke, a former Federal Reserve Board governor, will be vice chair.
"This was John Stumpf deciding that the best thing for Wells Fargo to move forward was for him to retire — even though that was a very difficult decision," Sloan said in an interview. "He wasn't fired" or even "gently pushed" by the board.
Stumpf leaves Wells Fargo and its 268,000 employees with a damaged reputation. It has refunded $2.6 million to affected customers and has said it's ending sales incentives that have been blamed for the abuses. The stock fell as much as 12 percent after the misdeeds became public, and its subsequent rebound hasn't been enough for Wells Fargo to retake the top spot in market value among U.S. banks, which it relinquished to JPMorgan Chase & Co.
'Great News'
Wells Fargo shares climbed 1.8 percent to $46.13 in extended trading at 7:28 p.m. in New York, after the San Francisco-based company announced Stumpf's exit. The stock had slumped 17 percent this year through the close of regular trading, the worst performance in the 24-company KBW Bank Index.
"It's great news" for investors because it may help quell the public's frustrations, said Tony Scherrer, director of research at Smead Capital Management, which oversees more than $2 billion including shares of Wells Fargo. "There's no better and more reasonable fall guy out there than John Stumpf."
Stumpf told directors Monday that he wanted to leave, and the board received his written resignation Wednesday morning, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The exit was approved that day, Sloan said. He declined to comment on the board's investigation of senior executives and other managers over the misconduct. The company said Stumpf wasn't available for interviews.
It's an ignominious end to a nine-year tenure as CEO that saw Wells Fargo grow to become the biggest U.S. home lender with returns that were the envy of other bank executives. The profits were driven in part by cross-selling — offering credit cards to customers who opened checking accounts, for example — the strategy that's at the center of the scandal that brought Stumpf down.
His unraveling began Sept. 8, when the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced that Wells Fargo had agreed to pay $185 million to settle allegations it secretly opened the unauthorized accounts. Multimillion-dollar settlements have become almost routine in the banking industry, but the brazenness and breadth of the misconduct struck a nerve.
The U.S. Senate called a hearing, and two weeks later Stumpf traveled to Washington for a three-hour grilling. "I am deeply sorry that we've failed to fulfill on our responsibility to our customers, to our team members and to the American public," Stumpf told the Senate Banking Committee. "I've been through many challenges at Wells Fargo, but none of which pains me more."
Senators took turns berating him. Senator Elizabeth Warren accused him of "gutless leadership" for blaming junior employees.
"You should resign," the Massachusetts Democrat told Stumpf. "You should be criminally investigated by both the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission."
Unvested Stock
A week after the hearing, Stumpf agreed to forgo $41 million in unvested stock that had been granted for performance, as well as some of his salary.
That wasn't enough for Congress. At a second hearing on Sept. 29, called by the House Financial Services Committee, Stumpf denied there was any organized effort to open sham accounts. Lawmakers suggested the bank should be broken up and called for his arrest.
Wells Fargo "is a criminal enterprise," said Gregory Meeks, a New York Democrat. "Would you allow someone to walk out after robbing your bank?"
Sloan's ascent may not appease such outcry. He's close to Stumpf, serving on the operating committee and holding several of the company's most senior posts. He was chief financial officer for three years until 2014, when he took over the bank's Wall Street operations. He became president and chief operating officer last November, overseeing key divisions that include the retail arm, where abuses occurred.
"I remain concerned that incoming CEO Tim Sloan is also culpable in the recent scandal, serving in a central role in the chain of command that ought to have stopped this misconduct," U.S. Representative Maxine Waters, a California Democrat, said in a statement.
'Fresh Slate'
Yet Sloan is highly regarded internally and, importantly, didn't work within the tainted branch network during the misconduct, said Marty Mosby, an analyst at Vining Sparks.
"His background has been the wholesale bank and not the consumer bank," Mosby said. So the appointment "is kind of a fresh slate."
The bank has said it fired 5,300 employees over the fake accounts. Some low-level employees came forward, saying they were under intense pressure to meet sales quotas. They said managers told them to do whatever it took to open new accounts, even if customers didn't ask for them.
At Warren's insistence, the Department of Labor agreed on Sept. 26 to conduct a review of whether the bank violated wage and overtime rules while pushing branch workers to meet aggressive targets. U.S. prosecutors are also investigating, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
"What you saw from the two hearings was that he came across as really out of touch, not just with what was going on in the bank, but also with the current political environment," said Brian Kleinhanzl, an analyst at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods in New York. "It was a certain aloofness that he presented, which is not what you wanted to see in that situation. Overall, he completely misread the situation."
Minnesota Dairy
Stumpf, one of 11 children of a dairy farmer from Pierz, Minnesota, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of Minneapolis, joined the loan department of Norwest Corp. in 1982 and rose through the ranks. In 1998, Norwest merged with Wells Fargo and Stumpf was put in charge of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. He was appointed president in 2005.
When Stumpf assumed the top job in June 2007, the U.S. housing bubble was about to pop. A year later, amid the ensuing financial crisis, he outmaneuvered Citigroup Inc. to purchase Wachovia Corp. American Banker chose Stumpf as its 2013 Banker of the Year, and Morningstar Inc. named him its CEO of the Year for 2015. Aside from settlements with cities such as Baltimore and Memphis for predatory mortgage lending in which it neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing, Wells Fargo generally avoided controversies that ensnared some of its competitors.
While Stumpf lacks the presentation skills of some other CEOs, he deserves credit for managing the integration of Wachovia, said Gary Townsend, founder of family office GBT Capital Management in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
Other CEOs
Other Wall Street CEOs have survived more costly misdeeds. Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. was excoriated at a 10-hour Senate hearing in 2010 over the bank's aggressive marketing of mortgage investments and paid a then-record $550 million fine. JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon faced a congressional committee's displeasure over the London Whale trading debacle, which ended up costing more than $1 billion in fines. Even J.P. Morgan Jr. was dragged before Congress in 1933 to take blame for the Great Depression. None lost his jobs.
"There is not a single American with a bank account who hasn't had complications, errant fees or frustration," said Isaac Boltansky, an analyst at Compass Point Research & Trading LLC in Washington. "That's what makes this account scandal so insidious and relatable."
Folksy Persona
Wells Fargo has paid Stumpf more than $250 million since 2000, when the bank first began disclosing his compensation. That figure includes $23 million in salary, $44 million in cash bonuses, and $190 million from the vesting of stock and exercising of stock options.
He owns $100 million of the bank's shares, plus stock options that would be worth $41 million if exercised at Wednesday's closing price. He's eligible for $24 million from his retirement plans if they were paid out in a lump sum.
He should "return every nickel he made while this scam was going on," Warren said in an e-mailed statement Wednesday. "If Mr. Stumpf is leaving with all of his ill-gotten millions that's still not real accountability."
Unprofitable Accounts
As CEO, Stumpf cultivated a folksy persona, regaling interviewers with descriptions of his hardscrabble upbringing. He pushed cross-selling, using slogans including "Eight is Great" to encourage bankers to sell eight different products to each customer.
Ironically, the fake accounts weren't profitable for Wells Fargo, according to Mike Mayo, an analyst at CLSA Ltd. in New York.
Stumpf was two years away from Wells Fargo's mandatory retirement age of 65. Some analysts said they weren't surprised by his decision to leave early.
"As this issue snowballed, it began to look like the most likely outcome," said R. Scott Siefers at Sandler O'Neill & Partners. "You had high-profile politicians calling for his resignation. There was a lot of vitriol directed at them publicly. So this should help to stanch some of that bleeding."


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When I was four or five my grandmother told me about how she had warned my uncle several times to not throw rocks at a wasp nest somewhere around their house. He didn't listen, and eventually he got stung.
I did listen. I've had to attack wasp nests around my house on a few occasions but I've been very careful to avoid the insects. The same goes, or went for bees. Yesterday morning I experienced my first bee-sting. I went outside in PJs to load the car before going to work and one got under my t-shirt and BAM! I ran into the house and started getting undressed to check the sting area and heard a loud buzzing sound for about a second. Not sure where the bee took its last flight to, but it's somewhere in my room apparently.
After hearing horror stories about bee stings, and Africanized killer bees, I was scared. I'm not allergic, at least not to that one. It left a small red spot about 1/8″ around the stinger. I used some Curad Silver antimicrobial solution on the area.
Fifty-two years is a pretty good record, I guess.

subset: commoncrawl


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Thousands of people put themselves at risk of a stroke by dismissing the early warning signs of a stroke as just a funny turn. It is important to recognize the early warning signs and get to a hospital as soon as possible. The longer the gap between the start of symptoms and action, the more brain cells die. A stroke is a brain attack. It happens when there is an interruption of blood supply to the brain. Damage may be permanent or temporary, for example, one might lose the ability to talk, but recover it with time. One might also have complete or partial weakness in the use of a leg or arm.
The most important thing is what one does if stroke symptoms happen. A stroke can lead to loss of memory, speech, or vision, paralysis, diminished reasoning capacity, and even death. It is important that a stroke victim gets immediate evaluation and proper treatment to minimize the chances of permanent disability. People who would like to know more about the different types of stroke and the early warning signs of a stroke should visit ScannerDoc: Medical Imaging and Health Blog.
Stroke Warning Signs
Sometimes, symptoms of a stroke develop gradually; however, people who are having a stroke are more likely to have one or more sudden warning signs, such as:
- Sudden numbness or weakness of the arm, leg, or face, usually on one side of the body
- Trouble talking, or loss of speech
- Sudden severe headache with no obvious cause
- Confusion or sudden trouble understanding other people
- Sudden loss of vision or dimness, particularly in one eye
- Unexplained dizziness or sudden episodes of difficulty walking, usually in combination with any of the previously noted signs
Other less common warning signs of a stroke include sudden vomiting or nausea, seizures, fainting, and coma. A mini–stroke, or transient ischemic attack, may also occur. Such attacks are warning signs of a stroke about to happen. Victims of a stroke show different symptoms depending on where in the brain it occurs, the type of stroke, and the seriousness of the bleeding. Although strokes are mostly sudden attacks, they can also happen over several hours. Symptoms may then increase in intensity as it becomes more acute.
Follow us for more articles on health, the medical industry, and more.


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Recent news on the Chinese stock markets has indicated an ability to defy gravity (here and here), and there has been a growing consensus that the market is an over-valued bubble. However, the sheer number of investors (there are now over 100 million individual securities accounts, and growing – though active investors are estimated at some 20 million), combined with a lack of alternative saving and investment options, has shielded the market from a big crash. There have been a couple of falls to date, following government warnings and, finally, action with bottom-line impact in the form of increased stamp duty. The most recent came today. The FT reports:
"China's stock market fell more than 8 per cent on Monday despite government reassurances, extending last week's big losses after the government increased the trading tax to cool market frenzy…The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 8.26 per cent to 3,670.4 points after a volatile day in which turnover was only around half the record highs reached last week…The fall is the largest since February 28, when a Chinese share price plunge was blamed for spooking markets from New York to Mumbai, but appeared to have very little effect on other Asian markets.
"The market dropped because of worries about unpredictability in government policies," according to one regulatory source. "The government is not planning to introduce any new policies immediately because it wants stability not a market crash."
Despite the warnings, and actions, many believe that the market will continue to rise (occasional corrections aside) in the short to medium term. The China Economics Blog, made some brave predictions (see below) in a recent post. As it says, "let time be the judge":
"1. Stockmarket will continue to rise perhaps by another 25-30% over the next 6 months to a year. 5000 could be the psychological barrier that is a digit too far. There will be a series of small hiccups on the way.
2. What will follow will be a trigger than may, by itself, seem quite unimportant that will lead to a widespread sell off of Chinese stocks with perhaps a 10-15% one day fall.
3. Over the next year shares will fall by as much as 40-50% off their all time highs before stabilising.
4. The knock on effect on the world markets will not be as great as some commentators fear but there will be some contagion effect on neighbouring exchanges.
5. Internally, real estate prices will fall and many individuals will be wiped out. Given the large share holdings by the Police, Army and state owned enterprises what happens then is anyone's guess but it could conceivably get quite ugly quite quickly."
The possibilities (if not the stock prices) are, of course, endless. However I will be reporting on events as they unfold. In the meantime hold on to your hats!
See news soruces:
China stocks plunge 8% on policy fears
Share trading accounts in China hit 100m
FT (Subscription)


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You Mean Real Estate Contracts Must Be Written
Tuesday May 14, 2019
1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
$20 TREPAC Investment for LAR Members. This course is FREE for new LAR REALTOR members to complete the LAR contracts course requirement within the first 6 months after joining the association.
$40 for NonMembers (space permitting)
Course Objectives:
*To educate licensees on the correct completion of the TREC One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale) and TREC Third Party Finance Addendum. Instruction will be geared to help new agents just entering the real estate industry to not only be able to complete the contract, but understand what it says and be able to explain it to their clients.
*To keep experienced agents up to date to changes as well as reinforcing their skills in contract preparation.
You must arrive prior to the class start time and stay in class while it is in session. Those who fail to arrive on time or fail to attend will forfeit the class fee and will not receive CE credit. Transferring of funds from one class to another is not allowed.
Register by emailing Holly McBroom.
For more information, contact Holly.


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The grand master of data has now reduced their that allocation, this is a very sad one as they have be holding the title of grand masters of data for some time now. I really don't know the reason of this sudden change but can it be recession or what?
Checkout The New Data Allocation
=>>1000naira now gives 1.6GB instead of 3.2GB.
=>>2,000naira now gives 3.75GB instead of 7.5GB.
=>>2,500Naira now Gives 5GB instead of 10GB.
=>>3,000naira now gives 6GB instead of 12GB.
=>>4,000Naira now Gives 8GB instead of 18GB.
=>>5,000naira now Gives 12GB instead of 24GB.
=>>8,000naira now gives 16GB instead of 48GB.
=>>15,000naira now gives 30GB instead of 60GB.
=>>18,000naira now gives 45GB instead of 90GB.
Glo has lost the love of its subscribers , they really need to take a second think of this .
What do you think of this ?


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Yancy Butler, best known for Witchblade, was arrested yesterday for driving under the influence. It seems she slammed her Saab 900 into a guard rail. And last month, she was charged with disorderly conduct after an argument with her boyfriend.
I thought Witchblade was pretty good. It was "temporarily halted," then ultimately canceled, when Butler went into rehab in 2002. Sad news all around.
Here's hoping things start to look up for you, Yancy — you definitely looked good on that Witchblade bike.


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Anthony Weiners name is on everybody's lips these days, and is a definite object lesson and warning to everyone that what you do online is "everybody's" business, so if you are a person who values your reputation, business or other wise, watch what you say, do, or post! It will come back to bite you!
Having said that, I wanna brag a little bit, and just let you know that THE SUBWAYSURFER drew him first! According to this repost of an Oct 16 editorial toon I drew for the Wave Newspaper in Far ROCKAWAY, there's Mr. Wiener taking center stage. To my knowledge, prior to this caricature I did, there were relatively few caricatures of him online. I did remember looking. Just another great reason why you should keep your browser pointed at http://www.Subwaysurfer.blogspot.com
This weeks editorial cartoon is pretty explosive. It is sparked by a recent event that happened in the Edgemere Section of the Rockaways where police cars were brazenly fired upon by some trigger happy homies. This event set off MASSIVE manhunts in the area which was covered with police cars, helicopters, and beat cops in a matter of minutes. It seemed as if every police officer in Far Rockaway converged on that location. It was discovered that many of the guns reocovered in the shootings had been linked to illegal gun sales in Southern States, the buying of which were made easier by two Congressmen, which you can read about in the editorial reprinted below. This is by far one of the best Editorials I think that Ive done, and I know the paper is going to get letters on it claiming it is "racist" We'll see what happens... If I DO get letters, I will consider myself as "having arrived" as an Editorial Cartoonist. This Month, incidently, marks the one year Birthday of my coming on staff with The Wave Newspaper.
The ARTICLE:
Death On Our Streets
Thanks To Gun Show Sales
The findings of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has linked 30 percent of the guns used in New York City shootings to gun shows in other states. Earlier reports from the same agency as well as from the New York City Police Department show that the great majority of guns used in crimes here come from Virginia, Pennsylvania, North and South Caro-lina, Ohio and Florida, states with lax gun laws. A large number of those guns eventually show up on Rockaway streets or in our public housing projects. Many of them come from gun shows in those states, where individual sellers have no requirement ei-ther to check a buyer's background or to file paperwork with the federal agency recording the sale. That gun show loophole exists because Congress, convinced by the National Rifle Association (NRA) that such show sales were made not by professional gun dealers, but by individuals who wanted to sell personal or an-tique weapons only. Mayor Michael Bloomberg sent investiga-tors to gun shows at some of those states and blew that lie out of the water. The investigators found not individual sellers looking to get rid of a gun or two outside the usual rules, but profes-sional dealers with dozens of weapons to sell. In one particular egregious case, the investigator asked if he had to go through a background check. The vendor told him he did not. The investi-gator then said, "Good, because I probably could not pass the check anyway." The vendor sold him a semiautomatic .380 cali-ber weapon for $399. It is clear, at least to us, that our federal representatives, Anthony Weiner and Greg Meeks, have dropped the ball. Something must be done to close the gun show loophole, and it has to be done quickly before even more young people die on Rockaway streets.


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I am running HiFiBerry Digi+ on top of the Raspberry Pi 2 Model B, but I am not getting anything on optical nor on the S/Pdif.
There are no lights on the sound card, when I connect cables to the two outputs. I thourgt that there should be some kind of light, to tell me that the connection whre ok. Is that correct?
I can see Digi+ in RuneAudio, but there is no sound.
I hope you can help me.


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More than 1.25 billion smartphones will be shipped worldwide in 2014, representing a 23.8 percent increase from the 1.01 billion units shipped in 2013, according to a report from IT research firm IDC.
Looking ahead, total volumes are forecast to reach 1.8 billion units in 2018, resulting in a 12.7 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the 2013-2018 forecast period.
In 2014, IDC expects emerging market smartphone volume to grow to 920.8 million units accounting for 73.5 percent of all volume shipped.
"As long as smartphones remain a minority portion of the overall world population, I think that is the point where smartphone growth slows down. We are not at that point yet, so expect continued growth and very large volumes," Ramon Llamas, IDC's research manager for mobile phones and smartphones, told eWEEK. "Growth is going to come from emerging markets, as we pointed out in the press release. There's still lots of room in Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and Latin America."
Further reading
The catalyst continues to be Android devices, which are expected to account for 88.4 percent of this volume. IDC's outlook for emerging market smartphone volume is 1.4 billion units by 2018, growing to 79.5 percent of worldwide volume.
"At the top, you still have Samsung and Apple, and I don't expect that to change drastically. Beyond them, there's lots of jockeying around for the remaining positions," Llamas said. "No surprise, a lot of those vendors are from China–Xiaomi, ZTE, Huawei, Lenovo and Alcatel, and then you have market stalwarts LG, Sony and Nokia in there too."
He said low-cost manufacturers benefit because they have the ability and intent to go low price–below $150, below $100 and even below $50 for a smartphone off contract.
"Not all global vendors are willing to do that over concern that there is little profit to be made. The question, then, is also of quality. Some vendors putting a smartphone at that price point have sometimes put out a less quality product, but customers are OK with that knowing that they only have to pay another $50 to get a new one," he said. "It's easier economics for some users to go this route rather than pay $200 or more, like some phones by Android manufacturers or Apple."
Llmas said Apple doesn't show signs of going that low, and already there is a burgeoning market for second-hand iPhones at lower prices.
Meanwhile, he notes that while Android vendors are all over the place, those local vendors with a keen eye to the local market have been able to stand out more compared to the global vendors.
"Margins shrink when going downstream, and Apple has been very successful at the high end instead," Llamas said. "I'm generally OK with this strategy considering how much money Apple makes, and for Apple to go lower, something from the hardware side is going to have to give, and by extension, something on the software side is also going to have to give. I don't expect Apple to shortchange users in that regard."
The report also noted with the expected entry of Apple into the "phablet" market segment, and the pent-up demand for a larger-screen iPhone, Apple has the ability to drive replacement cycles in mature markets despite the slower growth seen in recent quarters.


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lovely Clematis florida 'Se
I love every beautiful things. Flowers and garden is one of most elegant beauty of the world.
Friday, 3 April 2015
Beautiful Brilliant contrast
lovely Brilliant contrast
Beautiful Protea
lovely Protea
Beautiful Perfume for pollinators: Lathyrus latifolia: Sweet pea
lovely Perfume for pollinat
Beautiful Begonia 'Apricot Shades'
lovely Begonia 'Apricot Sha
Beautiful camellia
lovely camellia
Beautiful camellia
lovely camellia
Beautiful Camellias
lovely Camellias
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For the last 6 months I have been working non-stop, 6 days a week, often with over hours. To say that it affected my creativity in knitting is to say nothing, at one point I did feel like I've lost it, but as soon as the workload got lighter, I felt this familiar urge of feeling stitches forming in my hands and woke up inspired and with new ideas. I am so grateful to you for keeping supporting me and knitting my patterns, I will never get tired of repeating it – it means so much to me, thank you!
I also had more time to get out of my routine and combine some short business trips with fun adventures. I had to go to Guadalajara for a day last month, but got some extra days off and spent quiet 3 days wandering in the city. Love this kind of short getaways – a nice fresh restart, not too long to get you out of your work routine, but enough to fill you up with energy and new emotions.
Guadalajara left an impression of a green, diverse and way too tiring city – great for a 2 day escape, not so much for living, at least for me.
The historical center boasts majestic buildings and amazing museums with very interesting art installations. Mexico is very welcoming to new, young and upcoming artists.
After the crazy traffic and noisy streets I was craving for a peaceful place to walk around and clear the head. Bosque Los Colomos is a famous park in Guadalajara attracting thousands of visitors every day. I have a soft spot for city parks – there is just something about this oasis in the midst of the chaos. Save this location if you ever find yourself in this part of the world – definitely worth a ride there! I wish I had more time – this place is perfect for a small picnic with fresh berries (watch out for the squirrels!), a book, knitting and a blissful nap under a large tree, listening to birds.
I hope you enjoyed this walk with me! Have a great start of the week!


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With just over a week to go until Reverie's much anticipated (in these parts anyhow) premiere we have another promotional video.
It is a second 'sneak peek' of the series, rather than the first episode. Much of the content is clips from the show you've seen before but this one does include short snippets from interviews with a few of the main cast. This time it is just Sarah Shahi, Dennis Haysbert and Sendhil Ramamurthy giving us the soundbites. Still no sign of Kathryn.
However, I can make up for a that with some updated promo photos. Whereas some sites will just give you the first thing they find (often from this site) KM UK always strives to bring you the biggest and best quality images, even if that involves going back and updating things.
The first image below is a tighter shot of one of the season promos we saw recently. It is bigger and better quality, and not just a crop of what we had before. The other three are new super-sized, updated versions of the episode 1 promos. What a great way to start the week!
This latest video and updated images are now in the KM UK the Gallery.


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The Western Carolina Botanical Club (WCBC) was founded in 1973 by a small group of residents in Western North Carolina who wanted to learn about the plants of the Southern Appalachian Mountains.
The mission of the Club is to identify and study native plants and their habitats and to advocate the protection of biodiversity in our natural world.
Club activities include:
- Weekly field trips (twice-weekly in April and May) in Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Polk, and Transylvania Counties, NC, and Greenville, Oconee, and Pickens Counties, SC.
- Informative indoor winter programs
- Occasional overnight trips to significant botanical areas
- Workshops
- Community service projects
- Maintenance of a database of Southern Appalachian biota
The Club encourages a botanical and ecological approach to the study of plants of the Southern Appalachians. All levels of expertise, including beginners, are welcome.
- The club does not condone picking, digging, or otherwise removing plant material from the wild (other than gathering edible fruits). To avoid misunderstandings members who may desire to collect under permit are requested to refrain from doing so during club sponsored Field Trips.
- While we love pets, due to the nature of our walks we ask that you leave yours at home.
- You may not collect images or text from this site in order to make images or text available on your own website. If you wish to use photographs or any other resource created by us and posted on this site for other uses, it should bear the following credit: "Photographer or Author name, Citation (if relevant), Western Carolina Botanical Club".
Dues are $15 per year per household with renewals on January first of each year. For new members joining during the period July 1 – December 31, dues are $8 with renewal the following January first.
Contact information: Email email@example.com or complete and submit the membership application form found in our Brochure
Other questions or comments? Email us at firstname.lastname@example.com


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I went for my first long walk in 2 weeks. Being sick and just plain old life got in the way. It took me days to get over being sick and then some to really feel like myself again so I did nto walk until Wednesday. That was on the treadmill because even then I dreaded being out in the heat and humidity of the afternoon. Yesterday morning we took the dogs to the park for a walk. That was nice but my walks with them are much slower (since they have to stop and smell everything…). So this morning after we ran a few errands, I decided it was my time to get back out there and do what I do best – and what I so enjoy.
I love to walk. I am thankful for my strong legs to get me where I need to go and to allow me to walk farther ad faster as I need to. I walked a pretty good pace, 15:24 which means I finished 3.11 miles in 48:01. Not my fastest to date but still very good.
I love the feel of the sunshine on my shoulders. I think the sun is a drug, the more I get it, the more I want it.
I sweat my ass off today. There is nothing pretty about walking in the heat of summer in Florida and when I'm done, I am a disgusting mess. But man it feels good. And it makes me want to walk more. It's funny how the more I walk, the more I want to walk. But when I miss a day or two, it can be harder to get back to it.
I am hopeful to get a walk in tomorrow morning.


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This light-textured gel will moisturize the delicate skin around the eyes, and will give your skin a refreshed feeling. It has soothing and anti-inflammatory properties. Recommended for application on the eyelids and under the eyes. Apply in the morning, or any time during the day. Gently tap a thin film onto the skin around the eyes.
Size: 15mL
Choose a currency below to display product prices in the selected currency.


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- Home
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CITIZENSHIP RUTGERS featured on RU-TV's WAKE UP RUTGERS
Anastasia Mann, director of the EPID, spoke at an interview about Citizenship Rutgers on April 19, 2012 on RU TV's Wake Up Rutgers program.
Interview happens 12:45 minutes in.
Note: If the video does not work, please go to http://rutv.rutgers.edu/programming-channels/wake-rutgers and find the April 19, 2012 video.


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|Chad Wingard
img cred
|Jake Neade
Img cred
|23 year olds aren't meant to look this good. Are they?
New bonds(james bond!!) man? Move over Pat Rafter!
Img cred
|Chad Wingard
img cred
|Jake Neade
Img cred
|23 year olds aren't meant to look this good. Are they?
New bonds(james bond!!) man? Move over Pat Rafter!
Img cred
Hey you! - You're getting a little to close to my crumpet blogging turf but a big thank you for introducing me to Rookie Kane Mitchell. What a way to start the week. Giddy up! AFL is so much kinder to the eye than NRL. You actually sound like you know something about the game too.
Love Brenda
How could I not share! I know enough to get by :)Delete
Now that is pleasant on the eyes!
Big Dockers fan here.
Haven't seen or heard much about the dockers this year. Good luck for your season :)Delete
I can tell from this post you love your footy ... but I still love you. Mwah!ReplyDelete
Another Footy head here. I'm a Brisbane Lions supporter. My ex is a Richmond supporter. The kids are one of each. Glad to have footy back. :)ReplyDelete
I am really getting into this footy this year :)Delete
I vowed to take more of an interest in Rugby League for my wedding almost 20 years ago. I may need to renew my vows not that we are in Perth and change that to AFL after seeing these photos.ReplyDelete
Hee hee, thanks for the perve Alicia! I still have no idea about AFL, as a Kiwi born, I'm only fluent in union, but I do find it a fascinating game. I wish you a happy season xxReplyDelete
I don't get rugby as much as you wouldn't get AFL. A perve is universal though! ;)Delete
Every now and then the cultural difference between the U.S and Australia comes through. I have NO idea what "footy" season is. However... I can DEFINITELY get on board with Mr. Twenty-Three-Year- Old. No cultural difference there! :)ReplyDelete
Us aussies like to shorten just about everything with our slang. It is just short for football :)Delete
You gave me a laugh this morning with the term "footy" and your comments about the photos ;)
Thanks for hosting!


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According to an old story, dust is made up of human skin. Of course in reality, it's not true. Although human skin does make up some of what is dust, dust is actually various things. So what exactly is dust composed of and how is it changing your indoor air quality?
There are only two areas that dust can stem from, indoors and outdoors, and we are the ones that are bringing dust inside from the outdoors. The outdoor part of dust consists of soil particles and pollen brought in on our shoes or through open doors and windows. This adds up to about two-thirds of the dust in your house.
The indoor source of your dust is a number of assorted things. A small part of which is, in fact, human skin. A large amount of it is fibers from your carpet, furniture or bedding, and if you include a pet, there is also some pet dander and fur also.
Whenever we bring up dust, we must also talk about dust mites. Dust mites are tiny arachnids and their main food source is dead human skin cells and they make up a majority of dust. Dust mite droppings are the top cause of allergy and asthma symptoms according to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Dust mites also prosper in humidity, so by managing a properly humidified home, you're able to lower their impact.
Lennox produces a number of products that advance your indoor air quality. We carry a PureAirTM air purification system which is the only single indoor air quality system that combats all three classes of contaminants. We also have whole-home ventilation systems which brings fresh air into today's tightly sealed homes. And, of course, we have many whole-home humidity control options.
Your indoor air quality is a top priority to us. We will work with you to keep your home environment as perfect as possible. If you have any questions about your air quality or anything related to the comfort of your home, our professionals are just a phone call away. We make it easy to schedule an appointment with us by giving us a call at 309-517-7511.


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If you would like to register your child for entry to Barfield please complete and return a Registration Form, together with a non-refundable Registration Fee of £100. Cheques should be made payable to The Cothill Trust Limited and the form and fee should be returned to the School Office. Registration can be made at any point prior to entry but we would recommend that this is done early to avoid disappointment.
Completing and returning the Registration Form and fee means that your child's name will be kept on our list for the proposed year of entry and parents will automatically be contacted at the appropriate time to progress to the next stage of the admissions process.
A Registration Form can be obtained by calling the School office on 01252 782271 or emailing email@example.com.


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Behind The Album: Interview About Ragamuffin Soul
Featuring Carlos Whittaker Posted on July 26, 2010
NRT contributor Marcus Hathcock speaks with Integrity Music's Carlos Whittaker about his debut album and his calling to disturb and disrupt both Christians and non-Christians.
Carlos Whittaker: "I'm not going to apologize for being a Christian. But I feel like people need to take a step back for a second and say, you know, what's my language look like? What do my actions look like? And slowly, but surely, I think the church is going to really figure out how to reach people."
Chances are, even if Carlos Whittaker's debut album, Ragamuffin Soul, is new to you, you've heard of him before. Whether you saw him get Saul's conversion tattooed on his arm on an episode of LA Ink or heard him say he was a terrible parent after telling his son, Losiah, that he didn't qualify to sing Beyonce's "Single Ladies" song in the car with his sisters, or read his many musings on faith and the Church on his blog, Carlos Whittaker is all over the place.
Before leading worship at Creation Festival NW, Carlos took some time to talk about his crazy schedule, his "disruptive" mission, and how he wants to show Jesus to the world.
How's the family? How's Atlanta?
They're good! We're actually in California for the summer, so we're just hanging out with family. Literally, we're like the mobile homeless. We have everything in our car--we put everything in storage in Atlanta and we drove cross-country. So we're like in LA for a couple weeks--Pasadena, Fresno, Hawaii. We're following our families who have vacations and we're staying with them for the summer. We were at Lake Shasta last week for seven days, and then went to Hawaii a couple days ago. They're still there, and I'm here. I was there for three days--two really--and didn't really take it in until I was leaving.
Wow, just two days?
I know, right? Yeah, two days in Hawaii.
Are you enjoying the move to Atlanta?
Yeah, I love Atlanta. We'll be there a couple more years. The culture-–the kind of Christian bubble culture-–is right there in Atlanta, and I feel like I'm trying to pop that thing all the time and weird people out, y'know.
What about your responsibilities at North Point Church in the summer? How do you juggle that?
Well, I've stepped back all my roles to just leading worship. I was over all service programming, creative and everything, but when I kind of jumped on with Integrity to do this record I went to Jeff [Henderson] and Andy [Stanley] to talk about stepping back. Andy Stanley told me about two years ago now, that I'm great at managing people. That's what my job was--managing creatives. "But when you're on stage," he said, "in front of people, that's your sweet spot." And so I was like, "Maybe I'll just do THAT more." So yes, I kinda stepped out on faith. I'm there (at the Buckhead campus) once a month. But I get to help the global church now, all over the place.
When people hear of you, they've heard of you from LA Ink or your blog or YouTube. Now you've started your music/worship career on a national level. You wear a lot of hats. How do you juggle all that and still make time for the family? Wow do you do everything?
A lot of marriage counseling! No, I'm just kidding [laughs]. People ask me this all the time. One question I get when on an airplane–-and it seems like I'm on an airplane twice a week now-–is what do you do? I used to be able to say, "Well, I'm a pastor," snd I still can say that, but it really doesn't summarize everything I'm doing, especially now. So I look at them and I always tell them, "Well, I'm an experience architect." Sometimes people will hear that as "an experienced architect" so they think, oh, you're an architect, and I tell them, no, I architect experiences. That really summarizes what I do, whether I'm architecting an experience vocally through leading worship, or producing an event like Catalyst or a service at Buckhead, or through speaking or communicating with keynote slides or whatever. I feel like I'm just constantly trying to architect experiences to try to close the gap between people and whoever God has put in front of them--to communicate the Gospel to them.
I feel like there's this big triangle that I'm constantly trying to shrink--through producing, singing, speaking or whatever it might be. I really do this renaissance thing where I don't want to be defined as "worship artist Carlos Whittaker" or "speaker Carlos Whittaker." I feel like the ministry that God's slowly building with me is definitely going to be this multifaceted experience where I'm helping people figure out how to creatively find their niche with God.
You're somebody who is approachable by both believers and non-believers. From your experience in the church and popping the bubble, what is it that people outside the church are looking for? What is it that's going to make Jesus worth giving a shot?
I do have a lot of non-Christian friends; I even have a lot of blatantly atheist friends. And I can call them friends now. I feel like, with me at least, from what they've told me, is that they feel zero judgment from me. And I feel like that's so cliché and so easy to say but, even if we're not judging people, sometimes the language that we use automatically just pushes them away.
The prime story is Hannah, the girl who did my sleeve [on the episode of LA Ink]. She's not a Christian--farthest thing from a Christian--but during the 13 hours I was with her, at the end of the show, she ended up giving me my tattoo for free. It was a tattoo worth at least a couple thousand dollars, and she goes, "You know what? I've never met a Christian that I liked, and I believe in what you're doing. I just want to bless you." She used the word "bless." I just remembered thinking, you know, she might not get Jesus, but she gets Jesus, you know? We've kept in contact and she will do my next tattoo piece.
I just feel like it's giving people the opportunity to be who they are without slamming Jesus down their face the way the rest of what they see as Christendom slams it down their face. The way I slam it down their face is living my life out. I'm not going to apologize for being a Christian. But I feel like people need to take a step back for a second and say, you know, what's my language look like? What do my actions look like? And slowly, but surely, I think the church is going to really figure out how to reach people.
There's people out there who will never step foot into your church. I feel like churches don't understand that. They're going to do the events, bring in bands, do all these things to bring people to their church. I go to churches all the time and I go, no, 99 percent of the [unbelievers] are never even going to come. I don't care if you bring U2 into your arena, they're not going to come. We have to go outside to them. That doesn't mean we're going to have an event for them, it just means be with them, you know? Without an agenda. Anyway, I could talk forever about that.
But then when you come to events like this, which are predominantly believer-oriented, how does your mission change?
I think it stays the same in both contexts. I have this thing called "to disturb and disrupt." That's kind of my schtick. And whether that be a non-Christian, or whether that be a Christian, I'm disturbing and disrupting for the sake of growing people closer in this space to God. I disturb and disrupt the non-Christian by bringing them into a relationship with a Christ follower--and that in and of itself is disturbing. You know, just to be a friend with a Christian for them is weird. For Christians at events like this, you know, I really want to disturb and disrupt them and get them out of their comfort zone. Christians get comfortable and then they get stale, and then people just stop sharing Christ. They stop.
One of my songs is called "We Will Worship You," where the lyrics are: Save us from these comforts / break us of our need for the familiar / spare us any joy that's not of You / and we will worship You.
If you really think about it, you don't want to sing that. Churches are like, "Lord, make us comfortable. Lord, have everything be familiar, and then we will worship you." Well flip that thing upside down, put a catchy melody behind it, get some people singing it and hopefully, subconsciously, people will start getting disturbed.
What is next for you?
I want to do a documentary. I want to do a bridge-building documentary between all these denominations that are always at each other's throats-–not even denominations, but styles. For example, you've got your hipsters that can't stand the megachurches. I want to find a way to go in and find the common thread of Jesus in every aspect and thread those things through. I've talked about doing that, as well as another record coming out.
Yeah, man! Gotta keep running, keep going.
What is your next tattoo going to be?
As of right now, is this vintage, old 1970s headphone that's going to go on my right side [rib-level], and a quarter-inch cable is going to come down and spell out "soul." So we'll see if it turns out that way. But that's what it is right now.
Thank you so much.
No, dude! Thanks for hanging. Appreciate it!
Tags: Album Stories, Interview


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text: The tech wizards over at Digital Foundry recently wrapped up their analysis of WWE 2K18 on the Nintendo Switch, and they came away quite disappointed with the Switch version. In fact, it's quite possibly the worst Switch port to date. Just watch their video analysis and see for yourself. The Switch version of WWE 2K18 has framerates well below 30 fps, at one point it drops to 13 fps. The performance is so poor that sometimes even the audio and image are out of sync. Frankly, it looks like a PS2 game. local_offer Switch WWE 2K18 stars Further Reading FIFA 19 on Switch features PS4 Pro ads NPD: Nintendo had the best July month since 2


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Welcome back – I hope the spring semester is off to a great start. Since you went on break in December, several changes have occurred on campus:Our new president, Dr. Sunder Ramaswamy, started at the Institute on January 2; the Samson Center has been remodeled with more stations to plug in laptops and a new dining menu; and we just completed our first extended January term with many successful courses and practicums. Additionally, we continue moving toward full integration with Middlebury College, which is scheduled to conclude on June 30, 2010.
In early January our Board of Trustees met in Monterey to review the Institute"s progress and explore new initiatives with staff. They had the opportunity to hear from students about some of the practical learning experiences built into our programs, such as the international business plan, IPSS, DPMI and Team Monterey experiences, interpretation practica and teaching internships. Academic excellence is the overarching theme that guides all of their work. Among the decisions to come out of their January meeting was the adoption of tuition levels for the next academic year.
The Institute continues to focus on sustaining and enhancing the high-quality academic programs that are central to our mission. In this year's especially challenging fiscal environment, many schools are simultaneously implementing tuition increases and program cuts. Here at the Institute, we have adopted a tuition level for Academic Year 2009-2010 that protects academic programs from cuts, supports student services and continues our tradition of academic excellence. Next year's tuition will be $31,000, or $15,500 per semester, for students enrolled full time. If you plan to apply for federal financial aid for next year, your aid package will reflect this tuition figure.
In the coming weeks, the new academic Deans will be announced as will the new Dean of Advising. These changes are aimed at increased interdisciplinary collaboration and learning opportunities, and at improving services to students. We are committed to helping you reach your educational and professional goals and encourage you to get involved with some of the various activities that will be taking place this semester to ensure a smooth transition to our new academic organization.
Best regards,
Dr. Sands
Dr. Amy Sands
Provost and Academic Vice President
Monterey Institute of International Studies Monterey, CA 93940
email: firstname.lastname@example.com
telephone: 831 647-4116


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Two time Premier League winner Kolo Toure signs with Warrior
Ivory Coast International and Liverpool centre back, Kolo Toure, has officially become the latest player to join the Warrior Football ranks. A boot deal has been struck with the brand which will see Toure wear Warrior's Skreamer range. Toure, who has spent 11 years in England


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Department of Pathology KazNMU was organized in 1933, the team consisted of three members: Professor NE Glekler and two assistants — EA Trinity and JE Landa. Was created a collection of macro-and micro preparations general pathological of the most important processes and human diseases. Conducted in-depth methodological work on structuring the lecture material and practical lessons in general and the private rate of pathological anatomy.
In 1934- 1938yaers chair was a professor B. F. Malyshev of the Leningrad school of pathologists. The first graduate of the department were Zikeeva A.I. and S.F.Serov. Subsequently, associate professor of A. I. Zikeeva organized the department of pathological anatomy in Alma-Ata Institute of Advanced Medical. Professor S.F.Serov for many years headed the laboratory of pathological morphology of the Research Institute of Oncology by name N. N. Petrov, in Leningrad.
Since 1938 the department was in charge of Assistant Professor P.P.Ochkur in the future — a professor, a representative of the Kharkov school of pathologists. P.P.Ochkur directed research on the morphology of infectious diseases and oncology in Kazakhstan. They were published in 1940 is a unique monograph devoted to morphological changes in brucellosis, which became widely known both at home and abroad. The results of his research on brucellosis were presented was published in Berlin in the manual of pathological anatomy in 1966. From 1956 on the initiative of P.P.Ochkura at the Department of Pathology ASMI worked actively Society of Pathologists. In subsequent years, the department led by Associate Professor Alexander Kondratenko (1969-1970, 1973-1974yaers), Professor F.J. Yaglinisky (1972 ), Professor H.S. Nugmanova (1975-1990)
Khalida Safievna Nugmanova — Ph.D., professor, head of the department for 15 years from 1975 to 1990. Scientific direction of the Department of Pathology was breathing. She has published over 100 scientific papers. Under her leadership, were protected by 15 Ph.D. theses.
Samigulla Ibatullaevich Irzhanov — Ph.D., professor, doctor of higher category. Headed the department from 1990 — 2010, a student of the Leningrad school of Pathologists, a member of the International Academy of Pathology. The priority research areas the department during this period were oncomorphology and infectious pathology. He published more than 100 scientific papers, including three monographs. Under his leadership, 21 master's theses are protected, and 3 doctorates.
Julia Siyazbekovna Ismailova — from 2010 to the present time is the head of the Department of Pathological Anatomy and Forensic Medicine, MD, professor, doctor of higher category, a student of the Moscow school of pathologists. She has more than 160 scientific publications in national and international publications, including monographs, scientific — teaching and learning aids. She is the co-author of the chapter «Children pathology»in the textbookZh.B.Akhmetov»Anatomy pathological». Under the guidance of MD, Professor Yulia Ismailova were protected by five Ph.D. and doctoral theses.Her research interests perinatal pathology, viral infections, children's pathology.
At present the main research areas of the department: perinatal pathology and infectious viral pathology. Professor Yulia Siyazbekovna Ismailova actively manages the grant of scientific — technical programs, conducts scientific — practical conference city.
The department held training on line, credit and modular systems, students 2.3 Courses Faculties «GeneralMedicine», «Nursing», «Public health» and «Stomatological». Also, students of six courses of therapeutical and pediatric departments of interns — allied (obstetrician — gynecologists). The department operates the histological laboratory, which are being prepared for histological preparations of the educational process and scientific — research work.
Each training room is equipped with binocular microscopes Department of the company «Zeizz» and allotment training room for the multihead microscope «Axio imager A-1″ with a computer for simultaneous demonstration micropreparations and photographing the educational and scientific material at the microscopic level. The Museum Department has more than 250 close-up of drugs, many of which are unique.
Department of Clinical bases are all postmortem pathology department of the City Office in Almaty and autopsy Department City Hospital emergency room. Clinical work department staff is to conduct autopsies, the study operationally biopsical material, participation in clinical and anatomic conferences, meetings, commissions research deaths. The chair is a great help in practical physicians pathology departments of the city. This analysis and consultation difficult and biopsies and autopsies, conducting clinical and anatomical dissecting room and conferences, joint publications.
The department is actively working student scientific circle. The students each year participate in all rounds of the scientific research work of students, devoted to «Science Day».
From 18 to March 21, 2010 in Shymkent was held Scientific-practical conference «Medical science and youth in the XX century». From the Department took part in the young scientists, PhD, Senior Lecturer Serikbai M.K. , Ph.D., Senior Lecturer Bekisheva A.N., and 4th year students Zhalgasbay J., Zholymbetova M.2 courses, which have received letters of thanks and certificates.
For education faculty of the department in charge of 2nd year students of the faculty «General Medicine» of the Kazakh and Russian offices. Holds monthly curatorial watch in groups. The curators and students visited the museum of the «History of Medicine» University, viewed and discussed films: «SharmanovT.Sh.» dedicated to the 80th birthday of academician, «HistoryKazNMU them. S.D. Asfendiyarova «,» On time «film dedicated to the victims of repression.
According to internal regulations and the university work with the students of 2nd year, every teacher is involved with a curated group in socially useful work.
Held curatorial watch on the theme: «Exploring the message of President of the Republic of Kazakhstan NursultanNazarbayev «,» The program of forced industrialization of innovation «and»On State Youth Policy in the Republic of Kazakhstan «,» Respect for the national language», «On the rules of the internal regulations of the school KazNMU «,»1 December — World AIDS Day «, was organized a meeting with Advisor to the Minister of Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan NursultanOrshubekov on the theme «My position in life», «Progress in implementing the State Programme for the Fight against Corruption», «On the patriotism of young people.» On the cultural and entertainment program held: Seen Dramatic Theater by name Auezov, Opera Theatre by name Abaya, mountain skating rink «Meteo». Prepared by the students stand on the 65 th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War «BaurzhanMomyshuly.» In all groups, held a special meeting «On Combating Corruption».
The scientific potential of the professorial faculty of the department 55.5%.
For many years a professor in the department are working MD, Zh. Akhmetov, Ph.D., Associate ProfessorE.N.Shumkova and 2009 Ph.D., Professor A.D. Sapargalieva and others …
Zhaugashty Baynazarovich Akhmetov — Professor, MD, doctor of higher category, the author of the first textbook in the Kazakh language «Anatomy pathological» For fruitful work in the writing of new textbooks that meets modern standards of education, was awarded a bronze medal AhmetBaitursynov «Sanlak author.» Continually advises young professionals, transferring their professional experience.
E. N. Shumkova assistant professor, Ph.D., doctor of higher category. She is a specialist in urological, gynecological, surgery, gastro- intestinal tractmorphology. For 17 years, is the head teacher of the department.She has published over 70 scientific papers.
Aigul Dyusekeshevna Sapargalieva — MD, professor, doctor of higher category. She has published over 75 scientific papers. Is mainly a freelance pathologist Almaty. Actively involved in urban and international conferences.


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Berkeley, CA 94704
$20 - $100
Due to popular demand, Don Reed's wonderfully wild autobiographical trilogy Can You Dig It?: The '60s will transfer to The Marsh Berkeley. Hot on the heels of the hilarious and critically acclaimed East 14th and The Kipling Hotel, Reed (HBO, Snap Judgment, Amazon Prime) takes Bay Area audience members on a nostalgic ride through the amusing and oftentimes turbulent 1960s and beyond. Reed's solo show takes place before his father became a pimp, before little Donnie was forced into that door-knocking religion, and includes some mind-blowing and unbelievably true tales never before revealed in the original production. From the Beatles to the Black Panthers, James Brown to the Jerk, MLK to JFK to the KKK—audiences will delight in living vicariously through the eyes of an awkward blinking kid just trying to fit in during the tumultuous '60s.
For tickets or more information, visit www.themarsh.org or call (415) 282-3055 (Monday through Friday, 1pm-4pm).


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In what the Hulu calls an industry first, the company will allow subscribers to download content with advertising to devices for offline viewing. the Hulu announced this another other news today at its NewFront presentation.
In this video interview with Beet.TV, Peter Naylor, SVP of Sales, explains the value of reaching "elusive"consumers "untethered" will provide a valuable platform advertisers. The new feature will roll out later this year.
Here is the press release with all of today's announcements from Hulu.
This video is part of Beet.TV's coverage of the Digital Content NewFronts 2018. The series a co-presentation of Beet.TV and the IAB. Please see additional videos from the series on this page.


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Category Archives: Fashion
Four ways to wear disco pants!
I bought my disco pants from Missguided.co.uk, you can get shinier styles and different colours too.
First look: Tailored chic
Pair with an embellished shirt tucked in accompanied by fierce heels. I wear mine with leopard print heels and this shirt below which is also from Missguided.co.uk (Now £17.49 in the sale) Check out Vero Moda to for some lovely embellished pieces too.
Second Look: Feminine Florals
Wear with a floral sleeveless top and platform heels.
Topshop have some great floral camisoles and vests. Such as these; floral lace back vest £30 and pansy print crochet collar top £34
Third look: Rock it up
Wear with a denim jacket and vest top with chunky jewellery and peep toe shoe boots. This look would look really good with some studded shoe boots too.
Try Topshop for denims and Office and soyoushoes.co.uk for statement shoes like these: Office £150
soyoushoes.co.uk £35
Disco pants don't have to be dressy, you can just throw on a chunky oversized jumper! Check out New Look's selection of knitwear.
Thanks for reading! Remember I'm on Twitter @worldofhels
I'm back!….Beautiful florals from H&M
After months of no posting I'm now back, hoping to update more regularly! Got distracted with travelling, working, searching for jobs etc etc.
I've decided to compose a post relating to H&M because they have some really amazing pieces in at the moment! Could definitely spend a lot of money in there at the moment so maybe's it's good I don't have an H&M store in my home town!
I bought this lovely dress the other day, it kind of reminds me of Ted Baker but without the price tag as it's only £24.99! Nice dress to wear for drinks with the girls dressed up with heels and a clutch.
I also bought this top (I apologise for the bad quality of the picture!) It is now out of stock on the website which must be because it is part of the collection modelled by Lana Del Rey. It has the same floral pattern as the dress, with a peplum bottom. It looks really cute when paired simply with a black skirt and pumps or with a burgundy leather skirt as shown in the second picture. If I remember correctly it was £17.99.
There are also some cool trousers in the same print. I think they'd look great with a chunky cream jumper or for the evening worn with a nice blouse and statement bag. £24.99
I'm a big fan of these floral leggings which are only £9.99- bargain!
Just had to share these boots too! They look so cosy! £34.99
I love a good chunky jumper, especially this gorgeous one. £12.99 available in some really lovely colours.
That's all for today, I'm getting very tempted to buy far too many things. Will have to wait until pay day!
remember I'm on twitter @worldofhels
More new purchases!
Couldn't resist a bit of sale shopping on Bank fashion online as they had some great deals, so here are my new items:
Racer back Maxi Dress- this is quite long so I'll probably team it with some wedges to lift it off the floor a bit. Looking for a cropped denim jacket at the moment too, which I think would go nicely with this dress.
Now onto my Superdry purchases.
Love the colour of this t-shirt, thought I'd show a picture of how it looks on too. It's quite a skinny fit, so I need to carry on with my gym-going!
These are my really comfy shorts! Lovely and soft inside, good for lounging around. I also wore them to the gym the other day. They have 'Superdry' lettering embroidered down the right side.
And finally here's my Blonde and Blonde USA vest which looks great either with jeans or shorts.
my recent purchases..shoes, maxi skirt, bag.
I haven't written a new post in toooo long! Don't know really what I've been doing! Back now though 🙂
So here are a few things I've bought recently:
These cute Carvela flats are good for the summer (if we ever get some sunny weather, that is!) I wore them to an interview the other day with the cream chiffon-sleeved top (Miss Selfridge) from a previous post of mine and my coral jeans with leopard print bag and long gold birdcage necklace to accessorise. Haven't heard about the job yet, but have my fingers crossed!
This is my new floral maxi skirt from ASOS, it was in the sale so not sure if it's still available. Only worn it once due to poor weather! Hoping to have a holiday at some point where it can be put to more use! I wanted a similar one from River Island but they unfortunately didn't have it in my size and it wasn't available online, so this ASOS one was a good alternative.
Definitely don't need any more bags but couldn't resist this colour pop bag from Mango. Brings a little brightness and statement to a black outfit 🙂 Also in the sale for £24.99 so couldn't say no.
I had my eye on this one from Ted Baker but felt I couldn't justify the purchase so settled for the cheaper Mango one, not as lovely as Ted's though! It comes in a really cute pink colour too. Might get one some day! They're actually in the sale at the moment for £90. I'm such a fan of Ted Baker accessories, they had a cabinet full of lovely purses and bags in a John Lewis store I went in, I had to be dragged away!
In-keeping with this red theme, here are my fun union jack nails. Bit time-consuming but quite like the result. Started off with white varnish at the bottom then waited for it to dry and carefully painted on the red stripes then used a cocktail stick dipped into the blue nail varnish to finish them off. (And then added a clear topcoat to seal).
New purchases!
So I went shopping the other day and thought I'd share my purchases.
1. Lace top from Hollister Co. £28 (it's called orange county). Looks cute tucked into a floral skirt or with skinny jeans.
2. Floral t-shirt from Warehouse. £25 (part of Fashion Targets Breast Cancer- 30% of price donated to breakthrough breast cancer)
3. Cream gypsy top from Miss Selfridge £28. Lovely floaty sleeves!
4. I included this tee in my California-Cool post. £15 from River Island
Looking forward to some good weather so I can wear them with some nice shorts/skirts instead of jeans and cardigans/jackets!!
So I won a competition the other day, the prize was a peplum top. I've been meaning to write a post about the peplum trend for a while, so now I own a peplum top I thought I should finally write this!
Here's the top I got (£12 from cindersfashion.co.uk)
To be honest I've not been sure about the peplum trend and whether it is flattering but after getting this top I've found it cinches you in at the waist (also covers up the tummy bulge!) and flatters the hips nicely (well this particular top does anyway!) I wear mine with a black bodycon skirt and nude heels for a classic look.
I spotted this skirt in Look magazine for £29.99, Zara. Really cute colour for the summer, would look great with some floral wedges.
I haven't seen this dress in person but it looks pretty gorge to me. Will be adding it to my shopping basket shortly I think! £25, River Island
Lipsy never fails to impress with their dresses, and this black peplum doesn't disappoint with it's lovely lace back detail, £55.
This peplum jacket is really lovely and classy, and looks great paired with a white skirt. ASOS £50.
Loving the colour of this Miss Selfridge v-neck peplum dress. £42 (obviously been popular as there are limited sizes)


text:
Each Friday, The Simple Dollar reviews a personal finance book.
Lately, as my parents and my wife's parents begin to inch towards retirement, I've become quite interested in looking at the financial issues they face at this point in their lives. Their situations are very different – the one thing they have in common is their age, and the title of this book makes it appropriate for all of them.
Along these lines, I've read The Number (long on entertainment, short on solid advice) and Start Late, Finish Rich (solid, but repetitive if you've read other David Bach books), and thus I'm still searching for a truly strong book on retirement-related issues to recommend to readers who ask.
Since I highly enjoyed It Pays to Talk (Schwab's excellent book about talking to your loved ones about money issues), I had high hopes for this book. Does it really offer thought-provoking and strong advice on retirement issues, or does it fail to stand out from the pack? Let's dig in and find out!
Inside You're Fifty, Now What?
1. Investing Strategies for the Second Half
Schwab's basic approach is pretty simple. If you're under 50, you should invest aggressively for retirement – mostly in stocks (and even pretty aggressively within that). When you get over that age, every five years, you should inch it back, moving your investments from stocks into bonds bit by bit.
Even more important, Schwab recommends managing it all yourself. It's not that hard, the amount that you learn getting your hands dirty in the process, and it's also cost-effective – if you're not paying someone to manage your funds for you, you're putting it in your pocket. I'm hugely in favor of doing it yourself – the ten hours you might spend learning about what's going on is quickly repaid over a lifetime of superior investments – even a 0.1% improvement annually in your retirement can add up to tens of thousands of dollars over your life, and basic knowledge and good choices are worth a lot more than that.
2. Adding Up What You Have
Calculate your net worth. That's basically the point of this section of the book, offering up a ton of compelling reasons for doing so and providing a solid guide for walking you through the process. Schwab focuses pretty heavily on the assets part of the balance sheet, for better or worse. I know many people who have a lot of assets coupled with a lot of debt and thus if they focus solely on their assets, they seem rich. Debt is an important part of the picture and I think Schwab doesn't focus on it enough here, though it is mentioned.
For me, net worth is an essential part of the personal finance picture. I use my (and my wife's) net worth as the primary gauge of where we're at financially – not how much money we have in our accounts. Assets minus debts – that reveals the real picture and it's the only fair way to compare today to the past.
3. Estimating How Much You'll Need for the Second Half
Schwab uses a rather … interesting calculation to determine how much money you'll need in retirement. In a nutshell, he says to take your annual expected living expenses, divide them by 12, and then multiply that number by 230 in order to get the amount you need to save. For example, if you want $80,000 a year in retirement, you should divide that by 12 and then multiply by 230 to get you $1.541 million.
The 230 number is pretty arbitrary (Schwab admits it) and is even more arbitrary the farther you are from retirement (inflation has much more time to be a big factor), but it is a pretty compelling calculation. Later in the chapter, Schwab (smartly) suggests adding in an inflation multiplier based on the number of years you have until retirement. For me, that's about thirty years – a multiplier of 2.8. If I wanted that $80,000 threshold above, I should then be targeting somewhere in the ballpark of $4.2 million as a total the day I retire – a pretty hefty number, indeed, but it's based on significantly more spending than I do right now. A more realistic number for me is half that – $2.1 million.
4. Choosing Investments for the Second Half
For the most part, Schwab recommends staying at least somewhat aggressive until you're at least 80. Seriously – he recommends keeping at least 60% of your retirement fund in stocks until you're 80. That's pretty aggressive – definitely on the aggressive side of investment advice that I've seen.
On the other hand, Schwab is pretty optimistic about retirement itself. He implicitly states that he believes most retirees will live into their eighties, exceeding current life span estimates by quite a bit. In other words, he's betting on continual improvement in medicine and diet, which will lead to extended lifespans for retirees.
I agree with Schwab's optimism, actually. I tend to believe that "retirements" will get longer and longer and longer as the years pass and that it's good to assume that you're going to live to a ripe old age.
5. Cash Flow in the Second Half: Creating a Paycheck for Yourself
Schwab recommends taking 4-5% per year out of your accounts as a retirement "paycheck," but no more than 5% each year. With the relatively aggressive portfolios that Schwab recommends in the previous chapter, this effectively ensures that you'll be able to live forever on your retirement nest egg, which is a good thing.
On the other hand, if you determine that a 5% annual withdrawal across all of your retirement accounts isn't enough to live on, you need to keep working and socking money hard into retirement. Retiring before you're ready tacks extra years onto your retirement and also depletes your retirement much more quickly, leaving you much more likely to be without funds in your final years when you need the money most.
What did I learn? Save now, when I'm young.
6. Monitoring and Rebalancing Your Portfolio
This chapter serves as a good primer on portfolio rebalancing whether you're focused on retirement or not. Once you've figured out your target portfolio, the principles of rebalancing are pretty much the same. If one piece of your portfolio is low and another is high (compared to your "ideal" portfolio allocation), buy more of what's low instead of selling what's high. If you can, do most of your rebalancing within a retirement account that's tax-deferred. In other words, pretty typical rebalancing advice.
The most interesting part (to me) is Schwab's subtle indication that index funds are the way to go. He encourages readers to use comparable index funds as the benchmark to compare their current investments. For example, if you have a large cap fund in your portfolio, use the S&P 500 as your benchmark to make sure the investment is up to snuff. The logical conclusion (to me) is why not just invest in the benchmark and buy something like the Vanguard 500?
7. Getting Help If and When You Need It
Here, Schwab discusses how to find a financial advisor – in other words, how to "talk to Chuck." Ignoring the expected bias, Chuck actually does a good job here of describing how one should select a financial advisor, including a pretty frank discussion of fee-only, fee-based, and commission-based financial advisors (and not too subtly making a strong case for the fee-only ones unless you need someone to completely manage everything for you).
I confess to expecting this chapter to have a lot of bias towards financial advisors, especially commission-based ones, because that's how his company makes the most money, but his advice really is pretty solid. Do the research and make the choice that's right for you. For me, I doubt I ever turn to a financial planner – I get much more value from figuring things out for myself.
8. The Assurance Called Insurance
Health insurance, long-term care insurance, disability insurance, and life insurance – these are the four things that you need to have covered in retirement, according to Schwab. These four insurances together create a safety net, protecting your family against anything that might happen to you.
This advice really applies to anyone of any age, particularly if you have a family that could be severely impacted by a lengthy illness, a disability, or a sudden death, something I mused about recently. Anyone who has a family should at least strongly consider all of these types of insurance.
9. The Fine Art of Estate Planning
The penultimate chapter focuses on estate planning: wills, living trusts, and so forth. Schwab often assumes that the reader has a rather large estate to worry about, something that doesn't really apply to a young professional. In other words, Schwab's estate planning advice really does apply to the titular fifty year olds.
The key thing that Schwab mentions here (and it overlaps well with his other book, It Pays to Talk) is that this is a family moment and should be adequately discussed with everyone involved. Secretive decisions do nothing but foster resentment and hard feelings, which are perhaps an unwanted part of your legacy. If you're making a difficult choice in your planning, have the courage to talk about your reasoning openly with the people involved.
10. Giving Something Back: Some Thoughts on Charitable Giving
You're Fifty, Now What? closes with a brief look at charitable giving. Schwab's key advice is straightforward: know what you're donating to in detail (meaning do the research, don't just hand cash to anyone that asks and seems to have a decent cause) and also take advantage of any tax benefits that the donation gives you (remember, if your donation is tax-deductible, that effectively means you can donate more).
Schwab doesn't give any specific charity recommendations, but does advise that if you're giving a significant amount, you should work with the charity and with a lawyer to maximize the benefit to the charity. It may be that giving money in multiple sums has tax benefits for you or for the charity and thus may allow your donation dollars to stretch further – don't overlook it.
One aspect of this book that I really like is the inclusion of some very fact-heavy appendices on specific subjects. Doing this enables some specific areas to receive the detailed, fact-based coverage that they need without completely bogging down the main part of the book – things like discussions on durable power of attorney for health care and
how to read a mutual fund prospectus. The print's a little smaller and the writing is dense, but that's perfect for this type of material – it's fact-heavy and the specific bits don't apply to everyone. This is an approach I'll look at if I write a book in the future that could use such support.
Is You're Fifty, Now What? Worth Reading?
If the title of the book fits you – you're between ten and twenty years away from retirement – then this is the best book on retirement planning I've seen. It really addresses the needs of people who are in that particular demographic range, like my wife's parents, for example.
On the other hand, if you're outside of that demographic area, it's not all that helpful. From my perspective, much of the material was either not applicable at all or applicable only in a theoretical sense. I'm more interested in longer-term retirement advice, as I have thirty years (at least) until I retire.
This is a book that I think is great for my father-in-law and my mother-in-law to read. I can see very clearly how the advice would apply wonderfully to their life. As for me, I think it'll go back on the bookshelf and wait for another twenty years or so. In other words, the title is very appropriate and accurate – if it interests you, the book will interest you, too.


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