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THIS OPINION HAS NO PRECEDENTIAL VALUE. IT SHOULD NOT BE CITED OR RELIED ON AS PRECEDENT IN ANY PROCEEDING EXCEPT AS PROVIDED BY RULE 239(d)(2), SCACR.
In The Court of Appeals
Ex Parte:
Shawnee Holdings, LLC, Appellant,
In Re: MidFirst Bank, Respondent,
Ricky Ray Truitt a/k/a Ricky Truitt and Jackie Lee Truitt f/k/a Jackie Runyon, Respondents.
Appeal From Horry County
J. Stanton Cross, Jr., Master-in-Equity
Unpublished Opinion No. 2007-UP-501
Submitted October 1, 2007 – Filed October 29, 2007
Randall L. Hartman, of North Myrtle Beach, for Appellant.
John J. Hearn, Reginald P. Corley, and Robert J. Thomas, all of Columbia and William Young, of North Myrtle Beach, for Respondents.
PER CURIAM: Shawnee Holdings, LLC (Shawnee), a third-party purchaser, appeals the master-in-equity's order setting aside a foreclosure sale and asks this Court to set aside a subsequent foreclosure sale. We affirm in part and remand.
Ricky Ray Truitt and Jackie Lee Truitt (Truitts) obtained a mortgage on property in Little River, South Carolina, from Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (Mortgage Electronic). Eventually, the Truitts stopped making payments on the mortgage. Mortgage Electronic foreclosed on the subject property, and a foreclosure sale was held in Horry County on June 5, 2006.[1] Mortgage Electronic gave bidding instructions to its attorney regarding the maximum bid Mortgage Electronic would make on the property. Mortgage Electronic authorized a bid not to exceed $120,505.32. Mortgage Electronic's attorney forwarded the bidding instructions to Mary Alice Hendrick (Hendrick), who has been responsible for handling the bidding in judicial sales at the Horry County courthouse for twenty to twenty-five years. However, when the bidding began, Hendrick stopped bidding at $85,000. As a result, Shawnee purchased the subject property for $85,000.
Mortgage Electronic made a motion to set aside the foreclosure sale on the basis of bidder mistake. At the hearing on the motion, Hendrick testified to the circumstances surrounding the sale and to the fact that she has handled the bidding for the Horry County courthouse for twenty to twenty-five years.[2] Hendrick testified she had "no clue" as to what happened the day of the sale and described her failure to continue bidding as a "total mistake."
The master entered an order setting aside the June 5, 2006 foreclosure sale pursuant to Rule 60(a), SCRCP, on the basis of bidder mistake. The property was then resold at a subsequent foreclosure sale on August 7, 2006. Shawnee made a motion to have the subsequent sale set aside.[3] The master did not rule on this motion. This appeal followed.
"A mortgage foreclosure is an action in equity. Our scope of review of a case heard by a master who enters a final judgment is to determine facts in accordance with our own view of the preponderance of the evidence." E. Sav. Bank, FSB v. Sanders, 373 S.C. 349, 354, 644 S.E.2d 802, 805 (Ct. App. 2007). "However, the determination of whether a judicial sale should be set aside is a matter left to the sound discretion of the trial court." Id. "The review of a judicial sale is equitable in nature and within the discretion of the trial court." Id.
I. Setting Aside the Second Sale
Shawnee argues the second foreclosure sale should be set aside because the thirty-day appeal period stemming from the first foreclosure sale had not expired prior to the second sale.
This Court follows the well-settled rule that unless a question has been presented to the court below for consideration, we will not consider the question on appeal. Williamson v. S.C. Elec. & Gas Co., 236 S.C. 101, 107, 113 S.E.2d 345, 348 (1960). "An appellate court exists for the correction of errors committed in a lower court, and if such court has not had the opportunity to decide the question presented, there is no error for the appellate court to correct." Id. There must be some evidence in the record that the question was presented to or passed upon by the court below for this Court to address that question. Cooper v. Firemen's Fund Ins. Co., 252 S.C. 629, 634-35, 167 S.E.2d 745, 748 (1969).
Shawnee filed a motion to set aside the second foreclosure sale but never gave the master an opportunity to rule upon the motion before filing and serving the present appeal to set aside both foreclosure sales.[4] Shawnee filed the motion to set aside the second sale on the same day the notice of appeal was filed. In order to appeal the second sale, the motion must have been raised to and ruled upon by the master. Shawnee failed to seek a ruling from the master regarding the second foreclosure sale; accordingly, the issue of setting aside that sale is not ripe for our review. We remand the issue to the master to determine whether Shawnee is entitled to have the second foreclosure sale set aside.
II. Order Setting Aside First Sale
Shawnee contends the master erred in setting aside the first foreclosure sale based on bidder mistake. We disagree.
South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure empower the court to correct clerical errors and mistakes in judgments and orders. Rule 60(a), SCRCP. Rule 60(a) provides in pertinent part: "Clerical mistakes in judgments, orders or other parts of the record and errors therein arising from oversight or omission may be corrected by the court at any time of its own initiative or on the motion of any party and after such notice, if any, as the court orders." By definition, a clerical error is a mistake in writing or copying, and "[a]s applied to judgments and decrees, it is a mistake or omission by a clerk, counsel, judge or printer which is not the result of exercise of judicial function." Dion v. Ravenel, Eiserhardt Assoc., 316 S.C. 226, 230, 449 S.E.2d 251, 253 (Ct. App. 1994). Rule 60(a) has been found to be an appropriate mechanism for setting aside a judicial sale where a court employee commits a clerical error. See Goethe v. Cleland, 323 S.C. 50, 53, 448 S.E.2d 574, 575 (Ct. App. 1994) (finding the clerk of court's typographical error concerning the time period in which bidding would remain open was a clerical error).
Under the facts of this case, we find the error made in the bidding process to be clerical in nature. Rule 60(a), therefore, provided the master with discretion to correct the mistake and set aside the foreclosure sale. Shawnee argues Hendrick was actually an agent for Mortgage Electric, and the master did not have discretion to correct the agent's mistake.
When deciding issues on appeal, this Court is confined to the record. Timms v. Timms, 286 S.C. 291, 294, 333 S.E.2d 74, 75 (Ct. App. 1985). To find an agency relationship, the record must provide at least some evidence to support that finding. See Young v. S.C. Dep't of Disabilities & Special Needs, 374 S.C. 360, ___, 649 S.E.2d 488, 492 (2007) (finding the record was devoid of any evidence to support a conclusion of an apparent agency relationship).
In the present case, the record is devoid of any evidence establishing an agency relationship between Hendrick and Mortgage Electronic. The only evidence in the record indicates Hendrick has handled the bidding in the Horry County courthouse for twenty to twenty-five years. Although Shawnee argues Hendrick was actually an agent for Mortgage Electronic at the time she was handling the bidding in the foreclosure sale, Shawnee failed to present any evidence to support this argument. Without evidence of Hendrick's relationship to Mortgage Electronic, we cannot find that there was an agency relationship between the two.
Based on the foregoing, the order of the master is
STILWELL, SHORT, and
WILLIAMS, JJ., concur.
[1] The name of the Respondent is MidFirst Bank on the briefs and record, but apparently, Mortgage Electronic and MidFirst Bank are related or share the same interest.
[2] At the time of bidding, Hendrick was the secretary for Circuit Court Judge John Breeden.
[3] Shawnee alleges it did not receive written notice of the order setting aside the first sale until August 16, 2006, nor did it have notice of the subsequent sale. The motion to set aside the sale and the notice of appeal were both filed and served on September 12, 2006.
[4] Both parties stated in their briefs the master informally notified them he would not rule on the motion to set aside the second sale due to the filing of the notice of appeal.
[5] We decide this case without oral argument pursuant to Rule 215, SCACR.


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Bungee jumping Soca YouTube
With its stunning blue color, the Soča River is one of the most beautiful rivers in the world. Flowing through Slovenia and Italy, it is home to the world's premiere kayak competitions and adrenaline junkies who can bungee jump off its many bridges.
For Irena Jevscek Zdravo Gibanje, a newly Certified Spinning Instructor at the time, the river bank was a perfect place to celebrate the first anniversary of her official Spinning® studio in the small town of Nova Gorica, right on the border between Slovenia and Italy. She moved 12 Spinner® bikes from her studio to the rooftop of an activity center and invited three local Spinning instructors to lead rides.
News about Irena's event quickly spread, forcing her to double the registrations and move 13 more bikes to the rooftop of the Kajak Center. The first ever SOČA Open Air Spinning Marathon was a tremendous success, so the following year, with the event grew to include 49 riders. The third year, Irena received 69 applications to join her ride, all through sharing on Facebook. She also received many applications from riders outside of Slovenia.
That same year, Irena also met women living in Samarijan, a shelter for women who escaped domestic violence. After she learned about the abuse that they suffered, Irena decided that the proceeds from the SOČA Open Air Spinning Marathon would benefit the Samarijan house. With this new found purpose, she planned to make the fourth year bigger than ever.
With now 85 bikes and riders coming in from all over Europe, SOČA Open Air became the biggest Spinning event in Slovenia. The event raised enough money to purchase essential items for the Samarijan house including a refrigerator, washing machine, freezer, microwave, cutlery, plates, cups, towels, glasses and plenty of groceries. When Irena went to deliver the appliances and goods to the women of the shelter, she noticed that there was no air conditioner. This became next year's goal.
The above video was made by a 12-year-old girl who lived at the shelter with her mother. Thanks to the help of Samarijan, she and her mother are now back to living a normal, independent life, and they wanted to help share all the good that Irena's annual Spinning event brings to the Samarijan home.
Irena also received an email from a donation of 55 euros from a donor in Hungary that was unable to attend the event that year. "In these two cases, my eyes couldn't hold back the tears, " says Irena, "I've decided more than ever to help again, because this feeling is priceless!"
For the fifth edition of the event, 90% of the riders will be coming from outside Slovenia. The event brings in more and more tourism to Nova Gorica and attention to the great food and local vineyards. Irena says the setting makes this event a "great weekend package."
Irena is now a STAR 3 Spinning Instructor, which is now her full time and only job that she loves and wakes up excited for everyday. Next year, the event will be a marathon 12-hour ride with several members of the Spinning Master Instructor team leading rides. Help the women and children of Samarijan and ride next year!

subset: commoncrawl


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Visit campus to collect them all!
Storied to have been unearthed by students in 1908, the hatchet was used as part of a tradition involving seniors giving the hatchet to juniors, immediately followed by sophomores attempting to snatch the iconic tool for themselves. In more recent history, the hatchet continues to appear and disappear from campus.
If you've visited Puget Sound (if you haven't, what are you waiting for?!) you've seen the massive trees throughout campus. Travel only two hours from Tacoma to the Olympic Peninsula, and you'll find yourself in a real rainforest – one of few such environments in North America.
A contemporary Puget Sound mantra, "Hack Hack Chop Chop," can often be heard as a frenzied rally cry of solidarity at Logger sporting events. Don't take the saying too
A friendly and huggable mascot, if you see "Grizz the Logger" on campus high five those big bear hands. You'll know Grizz by the signature ensemble: red-flannel shirt (maybe someone should mention that grunge ended in the '90s?), loose-fitting jeans, and, of course, the iconic hatchet.


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The Automatable Discovery and Access (ADA) Task Force has completed a first version of the ADA Matrix and supporting documents. The ADA Matrix (ADA‐M), provides a standardized way to represent any and all consent and other conditions of use that apply to a resource, making such information unambiguous, computer‐readable and hence directly available for digital communication, searching and automation activities. Making use of ADA‐M is expected to reduce the costs and burdens of data stewardship, while
increasing the efficiency of responsible data access (discovery and sharing). This draft version is currently open for comments, for a period of 30 days.
Comments can be emailed to the ADA Task Force Coordinator, Emily Kirby, emily.kirby [at] p3g.org.
ADA-M Draft Guidance Document
Automatable Discovery And Access Task Force Presentation
Profile Completion Rule Set for ADA‐M
The Automatable Discovery and Access Task Force, co‐chaired by Anthony Brookes (University of Leicester) and John Wilbanks (Sage Bionetworks), is a joint Task Force of the Regulatory and Ethics Working Group of the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH), and the International Rare Disease Research Consortium (IRDiRC).


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CSS3: The Missing Manual, 3rd Edition
Publisher: O'Reilly Media
Release Date: December 2012
Pages: 650
Read on O'Reilly Online Learning with a 10-day trialStart your free trial now Buy on Amazon
Where's the cart? Now you can get everything with O'Reilly Online Learning. To purchase books, visit Amazon or your favorite retailer. Questions? See our FAQ or contact customer service:
1-800-889-8969 / 707-827-7019
CSS3 lets you create professional-looking websites, but learning its finer points can be tricky—even for seasoned web developers. This Missing Manual shows you how to take your HTML and CSS skills to the next level, with valuable tips, tricks, and step-by-step instructions. You'll quickly learn how to build web pages that look great and run fast on devices and screens of all sizes.
The important stuff you need to know:
- Start with the basics. Write CSS3-friendly HTML, including the HTML5 tags recognized by today's browsers.
- Apply real-world design. Format text, create navigation tools, and enhance pages with graphics.
- Make your pages lively. Create eye-catching animations and give your visitors attractive tables and forms.
- Take control of page layouts. Use professional design techniques such as floats and positioning.
- Look great on any device. Craft websites that adapt to desktop, tablet, and mobile browsers.
- Get advanced techniques. Use CSS3 more effectively and efficiently, and ensure that your web pages look good when printed.
Table of Contents
CSS Basics
Chapter 1 HTML for CSS
- HTML: Past and Present
- Writing HTML for CSS
- The Importance of the Doctype
- Making Sure Internet Explorer Is Up-to-Date
Chapter 2 Creating Styles and Style Sheets
- Anatomy of a Style
- Understanding Style Sheets
- Internal Style Sheets
- External Style Sheets
- Tutorial: Creating Your First Styles
Chapter 3 Selectors: Identifying What to Style
- Tag Selectors: Page-Wide Styling
- Class Selectors: Pinpoint Control
- ID Selectors: Specific Page Elements
- Styling Groups of Tags
- Styling Tags Within Tags
- Pseudo-Classes and Pseudo-Elements
- Attribute Selectors
- Child Selectors
- Siblings
- The :not( ) Selector
- Tutorial: Selector Sampler
Chapter 4 Saving Time with Style Inheritance
- What Is Inheritance?
- How Inheritance Streamlines Style Sheets
- The Limits of Inheritance
- Tutorial: Inheritance
Chapter 5 Managing Multiple Styles: The Cascade
- How Styles Cascade
- Specificity: Which Style Wins
- Controlling the Cascade
- Tutorial: The Cascade in Action
Applied CSS
Chapter 6 Formatting Text
- Using Fonts
- Using Web Fonts
- Discovering Google Web Fonts
- Adding Color to Text
- Changing Font Size
- Formatting Words and Letters
- Adding Text Shadow
- Formatting Entire Paragraphs
- Styling Lists
- Tutorial: Text Formatting in Action
Chapter 7 Margins, Padding, and Borders
- Understanding the Box Model
- Controlling Space with Margins and Padding
- Adding Borders
- Coloring the Background
- Creating Rounded Corners
- Adding Drop Shadows
- Determining Height and Width
- Wrapping Content with Floating Elements
- Tutorial: Margins, Backgrounds, and Borders
Chapter 8 Adding Graphics to Web Pages
- Discovering CSS and the <img> Tag
- Adding Background Images
- Controlling Repetition
- Positioning a Background Image
- Using Background Property Shorthand
- Using Multiple Background Images
- Utilizing Gradient Backgrounds
- Applying Easy Gradients with Colorzilla
- Tutorial: Enhancing Images
- Tutorial: Creating a Photo Gallery
- Tutorial: Using Background Images
Chapter 9 Sprucing Up Your Site's Navigation
- Selecting Which Links to Style
- Styling Links
- Building Navigation Bars
- CSS-Style Preloading Rollovers
- Styling Particular Types of Links
- Tutorial: Styling Links
- Tutorial: Creating a Navigation Bar
Chapter 10 CSS Transforms, Transitions, and Animations
- Transforms
- Transitions
- Animations
- Tutorial
Chapter 11 Formatting Tables and Forms
- Using Tables the Right Way
- Styling Tables
- Styling Forms
- Tutorial: Styling a Table
- Tutorial: Styling a Form
CSS Page Layout
Chapter 12 Introducing CSS Layout
- Types of Web Page Layouts
- How CSS Layout Works
- Layout Strategies
Chapter 13 Building Float-Based Layouts
- Applying Floats to Your Layouts
- Overcoming Float Problems
- Tutorial: Multiple-Column Layouts
Chapter 14 Responsive Web Design
- Responsive Web Design Basics
- Setting Up a Web Page for RWD
- Media Queries
- Flexible Grids
- Fluid Images
- Responsive Web Design Tutorial
Chapter 15 Positioning Elements on a Web Page
- How Positioning Properties Work
- Powerful Positioning Strategies
- Tutorial: Positioning Page Elements
Advanced CSS
Chapter 16 CSS for the Printed Page
- How Media Style Sheets Work
- How to Add Media Style Sheets
- Creating Print Style Sheets
- Tutorial: Building a Print Style Sheet
Chapter 17 Improving Your CSS Habits
- Adding Comments
- Organizing Styles and Style Sheets
- Eliminating Browser Style Interference
- Using Descendent Selectors
- Trying Different CSS for Internet Explorer
Appendix CSS Property Reference
- CSS Values
- Text Properties
- List Properties
- Padding, Borders, and Margins
- Backgrounds
- Page Layout Properties
- Animation, Transform, and Transition Properties
- Table Properties
- Miscellaneous Properties
Appendix CSS Resources
- References
- CSS Help
- CSS Tips, Tricks, and Advice
- CSS Navigation
- CSS Layout
- Showcase Sites
- CSS Books
- CSS Software


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TermCoord presents the IATE Terminology Projects
January 16, 2018 1:59 pm
With the arrival of the new year, the Directorate General for Translation welcomed 42 new Translation Trainees from all over the world. The trainees will spend three months in Luxembourg, developing their translation skills at the European Parliament. For the first few weeks of the traineeship, they will follow a busy schedule of presentations, training courses, and briefings: in fact, the Parliamentary work is complex and varied, and requires some time and practice before it can be carried out effectively.
TermCoord held a briefing during the second week of the traineeship, on January 11th; the translation trainees gathered in one of the meeting rooms of the Schuman building, the site of the EP's first hemicycle. After a welcome speech from the Head of the Terminology Unit, Rodolfo Maslias, the session continued with the presentation of the internal and external websites managed by TermCoord. Since the trainees come from different countries, they are all welcome to contribute with posts related to linguistics, translation and terminology. In fact, one of the main strengths of termcoord.eu is its richness in multilingualism and cultural variety, to which everyone is welcome to contribute and develop in order to keep its audience updated with news, language facts and curiosities from all over the world.
Besides this contribution, trainees can find many useful terminological resources on the website, such as document databases, glossaries, seminars, and so on.
The presentation also looked at the outline of the different available terminology projects which trainees are required to complete; they consist of terminology research which could potentially lead to the addition of new terms to the European database IATE. These projects are coordinated by TermCoord's terminology trainees, and it's yet another example of the valuable contribution of trainees to the day-to-day activities of the European Parliament.
Finally, an introduction was given to terminology theory, during which the trainees had the chance to refresh some basic terminology concepts and principles, engaging afterwards in a productive and enriching exchange of ideas.
This session highlighted the valuable and professional input trainees receive while working as part of DGTRAD. If you are thinking of applying for a traineeship at the European Parliament or at TermCoord, you might find the information contained at this link useful. Have a look, and become our next trainee!
Written by Carolina Quaranta – Schuman Trainee at the Terminology Coordination Unit of the European Parliament. Completed a Master in Public and Political Communication in the University of Torino, Italy; communication specialist and journalist.
2,850 total views, 1 views today
Categorised in: All posts, Culture, News, Terminology
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Price Match
Excellent Support
Rated 4.8 / 5
Free Delivery Over £99 (exclusions apply)
Finance Options
Studiospares are now able to offer finance on all orders over £350, enabling you to easily buy now and pay later. We offer a range of finance terms including 6-month, 9-month, 10-month and 12-month with low interest fees and even interest-free for selected items. So now there's no need to save for months and feel the burden of paying all at once for your next big pro-audio purchase.
In association with Klarna, the finance we offer is online and instant, in most cases you'll be told within minutes whether your application has been accepted or declined, meaning you can have your order processed the same day for next day delivery, or take it away if you're in store.
Want to know more? Simply give us a call or pop in to see us, and we can talk you through the finance options and application process.
Please note finance is only available on telephone, online or in-person orders for the time being. All finance orders must be shipped to the same address mentioned on the finance application. We cannot accept different delivery address' on finance orders for security reasons.
Permanent UK Resident
Spending £350 - £25,000
Have at least 10% Deposit
Over 18
Employed at least 16 hours/week
Good credit history
Order Value
Monthly Payment
Total Payable
6 Months Interest Free Credit (0% APR)
9 Months Classic Credit (0% APR)
10 Months Classic Credit (0% APR)
12 Months Classic Credit (0% APR)
Finance is useful for making large purchases more affordable. Rather than taking out complicated personal loans or arranging credit which could keep you in debt for longer, customer finance provides a simple and inexpensive method of making large purchases without a large outlay of cash. Interest free credit is of course the best value. In these cases Studiospares accepts the cost of your credit (the interest), and therefore we require at least a 25% deposit for interest-free finance, and can offer it only on certain items at our discretion. Other finance packages with interest are more easily arranged on a wider range of products. Please note that any interest you pay goes directly to the lender, not to Studiospares. We do not directly profit from interest on finance agreements - we offer the service simply to assist our customers in making larger purchases from us.
We are authorised to arrange finance agreements on behalf of customers, not to directly lend money to customers or give legal financial advice. If there is any doubt if the finance we offer is suitable for you, we suggest seeking professional financial advice before deciding to apply.
We can currently accept finance applications on phone, online or in person at our Luton showroom, or via telephone or email. In the first instance, simply get in touch and let us know what you would like to order, and we will let you know the finance terms we can offer. If we are able to offer interest-free finance, you will need a deposit of at least 25% of the order total, otherwise it's 10%. Once we have your order and you have agreed terms in principle, we will either send you a link to complete the application in your web browser (if you're calling us), or set you up with a tablet to fill out the form if you're in-store. When you've finished the application and submitted it, you'll get a response from the lender usually within 10 seconds. If the application was successful, you'll simply need to pay us the deposit and we can process your order for delivery or let you take it away.
We are able to accept returns as normal for finance orders, however please note that returns of used goods or damaged packaging may not be accepted or may incurr a restocking fee before we can accept the return. There is also a 14-day 'cooling off period' during which you may change your mind and cancel the finance agreement. In this situation you will need to pay for the entire order by some other method, or return the unused, resaleable order before you can cancel the finance agreement.
© Copyright 1998 - 2020 Studiospares Europe Ltd. All rights reserved. E & OE.


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Template InstallationTop
In this tutorial we'll show you, how to install a template in your Joomla installation.
- PHP Multibyte String support
- PHP JSON support
- PHP DOM XML support
If any of these requirements are missing you might need to contact your webhost and ask them to install or enable the needed extensions.
To install a template based on the Warp framework use the extensions installer in the Joomla administration. Go to Extensions » Install/Uninstall.
Click on Browse..., select the downloaded template file and click in Upload & Install.
To activate the new template go to Extensions » Template Manager, choose the installed template and click on Make Default.
By clicking on the templates name, you'll be able to change all theme-settings.
If the installation does not work this way and you get an error message, you may try to install the template this way:
- Download the theme and unpack all template files to a directory on your pc.
- Go to the extensions installer in the Joomla administration, use the "Install from Directory" option to set the directory of your uploaded template files.
- Click on the Install button and Joomla will install it from the given directory.
Install Demo ContentTop
This tutorial is a step-by-step guide that will show you how to install a Theme Demo Installation Package.
Note: The Theme Demo Packages cannot be installed into an existing Joomla installation. The Demo Packages include a Joomla installation package, the Theme, Theme Demo Content and WidgetKit.
Setup the Theme Demo Installation Package
- Download your purchased theme and unzip the file to your pc
- Extract the .zip file from Quickstart folder
- Upload all unzipped files via FTP or copy the extracted directory to your webserver.
- Create a database for this installation, using a tool like phpMyAdmin in your Hosting Control Panel or ask your Web Host for directions on doing this.
- Now just open your webserver's url ( eg: website.com ) in your browser address bar and follow the Joomla or WordPress installation instructions.
Joomla 2.5
On the last installation step don't forget to press the Install Sample Data button.
Joomla 3.x
On the last installation step don't forget to press the Install Sample Data button.
Template SettingsTop
The general theme section allows you to control the behaviour and the overall appearance of your theme.
The style section contains the customizer. Hit the Customizer button to add your own style or to modify an existing style. After the customizer is loaded, you can easily customize colors, fonts, margins and even more settings of the theme. The customizer saves only the modified variables and automatically compiles them into CSS.
For further information, please take a look at our Customizer tutorial.
1. LESS Developer Mode
2. Dynamics Styles
The second option enables the browser to load styles by URL. This is useful, if you want to test different styles for your website. Disable this option, when your website goes live.
3. Compile LESS to CSS
To finish your LESS modifications, hit the Compile LESS button and all your changes will be compiled into the final CSS.
IMPORTANT Make sure, you aren't developing in the /styles/STYLE-NAME/css folders, because these folders will be overridden as soon as you hit the Compile LESS button.
To optimize page load time, choose one of the following compression options.
|All files will be loaded separately and fully sized.
|Combination + Minify
|This option will minimize and combine CSS and JavaScript files into one single file.
|Combination + Minify + Data URIs
|Data URI embeds image data directly into the document, thus reducing the HTTP requests for your image files. This applies only to images that have a maximum size of 10kB.
|Combination + Minify + Data URIs + Gzip
|Gzip allows a faster data transfer through compressed data packages, instead of dealing with large data volumes by sending them separately.
The viewport meta tag controls the layout on mobile browsers. If it's not set, the default width on mobile is 980px and the site will look the same as on desktops. How to disable the responsive Feature
By checking this option, you disable Bootstrap. This reduces the page loading time, when you only use the Joomla blog and articles.
Enable or disable the To-top scroller and the Warp branding.
Social Buttons
Set the default widget and module styles for the specific positions.
NOTE This style will be overwritten as soon as you select a style for a single widget/module in the widget/module settings.
Additional Scripts
Here you can insert additional scripts like the Google Analytics tracking code below, for example. It will be added before the closing body tag in the theme.
var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-XXXXX-X']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();
Setup the logoTop
The Logo is actually a simple image element. In Joomla we are using a Custom HTML module published on the themes logo position for it to display.
- Go to Extensions » Modules Manager.
- Click on New.
- Select a Custom HTML module.
- And fill the Custom Output field.
- After publishing the module, the logo will display in the template.
For example use following code:
NOTE This Templat provides the "logo-small" position, where you can display an alternative logo image for smaller viewport sizes.
The Favicon is located in your theme directory.
- Joomla: /templates/jp-template-name/favicon.ico
To change the favicon, simply replace that file.
iPhone/iPod touch icon
The iPhone/iPod touch icon is located in your theme directory.
- Joomla: /templates/jp-template-name/apple_touch_icon.png
To change the icon, simply replace that file.
Setup the MenuTop
After creating your menu, you need to assign it to a menu module published in the menu module position. To do so, just go to Extensions > Module Manager, create a new Menu module and publish it in the menu position of the template.
Module in menu position
You can also publish any module in the menu position. The module name is used as menu item and the module content appears in the dropdown.
Menu styles
There are three different menu styles, the Navbar and its mega dropdown as a main menu, the Navs with the accordion effect in sidebars and the Subnavs in the toolbar or footer. Warp automatically styles the menu according to its module position.
Module PositionsTop
This theme comes with the default Warp module layout. The blue module positions allow to choose a module layout which defines the module alignment and proportions: equal, double or stack. You can easily add your own module layouts. The two available sidebars, highlighted in red, can be switched to the left or right side and their widths can easily be set in the theme administration. For modules in the blue and red positions you can choose different widget styles.
Module SetupTop
This tutorial shows you how to set up the module system in your Warp based template.
Create a module
After installation of the template click on Extensions » Module Manager » New in the administration menu on top. Select a module and configure it on the following screen. Publish it to one of the template's module positions. For more detailed instructions on how to use modules see the Joomla Documentation.
Module Variations
This theme comes with different module styles, badges and icons. For each module you can pick a style and combine it with an icon or badge to create your own unique look. Here is a list of the available options:
|No, Fade, Scale Up, Scale Down, Slide Top/Bottom/Left/Right
|On, Off
|Default, Box, Box Primary/Secondary, Header, Spacce, Blank, Shadow
|500 Icons (Font Awesome)
|Success, Warning, Danger
|Desktop, Pad, Phone
Publish a module in the menu
Publish your module on the position menu. Having both your main menu and your module published on the menu position, it should look like this in your Joomla module manager:
Learn all about managing theme styles and how to add your own.
The Warp customizer simplifies your workflow and allows you to add new styles with no need for any CSS knowledge. It is divided into two sections. The left hand vertical bar indicates the settings for the theme and on the right you can see your selected theme. All modifications within the customizer will instantly be displayed in the preview on the right side.
NOTE To optimize performance, we recommend disabling add-ons, like Firebug in Firefox.
What are styles?
A style is a set of LESS variables, which define your customization.
How to create a new style
- Select a style within the customizer.
- Hit Copy and enter a new name to duplicate the style.
- Now you can start customizing your own style.
- Once you are satisfied with your adjustments, hit Save and the customizer saves your style LESS files into the /styles/STYLE-NAME/style.less folder and compiles the CSS files into /styles/STYLE-NAME/css folder.
NOTE, please NEVER customize the pre definied style. Copy a Style at the customizer section and then you can edit your duplicated style.
How to use the customizer
By default, the customizer shows only a selected number of variables. Theses variables are the most used in the theme. There are different customizer modes to determine, to what detail you want to customize your theme.
|Advanced mode
|Activating the advanced mode extends the default variables with additional developer variables, which are rarely adjusted.
|In Advanced mode you can see a (More) button next to groups which displays all variables. The @ symbol indicates variables that are defined through other variables.
- Download the latest Widgetkit version and unpack all Widgetkit files to a directory on your pc.
- Go to the extensions installer in the Joomla administration, use the "Install from Directory" option to set the directory of your uploaded Widgetkit files.
- Click on the Install button and Joomla will install it from the given directory.
- PHP GD extension (enabled in PHP 5.0+)
- PHP JSON support
If any of these requirements are missing you might need to contact your webhost and ask them to install or enable the needed extensions.
Widgetkit ManagerTop
Widgetkit has a simple and easy to use interface. When you open Widgetkit you'll get an overview of all available widgets. Using the navigation bar you can click through them to open the individual settings of a widget. In general Widgetkit provides two types of widgets.
Content Widgets
Content type widgets like slideshows, accordions etc. help you to organize your content in a slick way. You can include them using shortcodes in your article or through modules and widgets everywhere on your page - even multiple times on the same page.
The Widgetkit Manager gives you a list of all your widgets and related actions like edit, copy and delete.
Global Widgets
These type of widgets like the lightbox or mediaplayer are globally available and can be used on any page. Simply use their HTML markup or attributes to activate them in any article or any custom HTML module and Text widget. The widget settings define a selector on which elements the widget should become active. It comes preset with a default selector which works for all common use cases, but you are also able to change it if you need to.
Download the WidgetKit Lite here: https://www.yootheme.com/widgetkit More information about the WidgetKit here: https://www.yootheme.com/widgetkit
Display SlideshowTopThere are two ways to display a Widgetkit widget on your website. You can either use a shortcode or publish a dedicated Joomla module or WordPress widget displaying any Widgetkit widget.
Shortcodes provide a simple way to use widgets in the content of any article on your site. Just copy and paste them in your articles and you're done! When the article is being displayed on your site the shortcode will be replaced with the widget output.
Joomla Module
You can also use the Widgetkit Joomla module to display a widget on any of your templates module positions. Go to Extensions » Module Manager to launch the Module Manager. You will see there is only one Widgetkit module which is used to display any widget. In the module settings you simply select the widget which you created before in the Widgetkit Manager.
The current Template has a module position top-a with module style blank where the WidgetKit ( Slideshow) is published
Find out how to add your own customizations and learn more about file hierarchy in Warp.
To provide as much flexibility as possible, Warp applies a special file cascade. If you include any file like CSS, JS or template PHP files, Warp looks successively in specific folders for the files and the first file found will be loaded. This gives you full flexibility to override any important theme related file.
We will explain the override cascade a bit further. If you just want to know, how to override theme files, jump down to the appropriate examples.
Override cascade
As an example, this is what the override hierarchy for the /layouts folder would look like.
1. Styles folder
The /styles/STYLE-NAME/layouts folder of your theme is at the top of the hierarchy and modifications or additions you make here will override all other theme files. Also this folder will be preserved during updates, so it's the safest place to make your modifications.
2. Theme folder
The theme's /layouts folder is the place where all the theme specific layout files are being stored.
3. Systems folder
The /warp/systems/joomla/layouts folder provides the individual system implementation needed to integrate with a particular CMS. This layer makes Warp adapt to a certain system to form a consistent API for theme development.
4. Warp folder
The /warp/layouts folder contains basic overrides made by the core framework. Each part of the core framework is universal and designed to work on every supported system.
The cascades for the /js, /css and /layouts folders are defined in the theme's config.php. If you want to register another folder in the cascade, you can do so here.
Layout overrides
To customize the general theme layout, you need to override the /layouts/theme.php. To do so, create the /styles/STYLE-NAME/layouts directory, copy the file in there and start adding your own PHP code.
This way you can also override system files. For example, just take the Joomla article layout /warp/systems/joomla/layouts/com_content/article/default.php and copy it to your style folder /styles/STYLE-NAME/layouts/com_content/article/default.php and modify it. Now your modified article layout file will be used instead of the default system layout.
Add your own CSS
There are several ways of adding your own custom CSS to a Warp theme. You can use the Customizer to change most aspects of the theme without having to write any CSS. Keep in mind that your style will only be shown in the Customizer, if there is a style.less file inside the style's folder. When you use the Customizer, changes will be saved in the style.less file. Together with the theme LESS files it will be compiled into the /css/theme.css file and override any customizations you may have done.
Add custom CSS
You can use the Customizer and also add your own CSS by creating a custom.css file inside the /css folder. That way your CSS won't be overwritten when you save changes in the Customizer.
Add CSS without using LESS and the Customizer
If you are not planning to use the Customizer at all, just duplicate an existing style and delete the style.less file. Now the /css/theme.css will no longer overwritten when compiling LESS. You can write customizations directly in the the theme.css file.
Please read the WARP7 Documentation here:
Theme UpdatesTop
Here is a brief instruction on how to update a theme based on the Warp framework without uninstalling and reinstalling the theme.
Notifications will either be for the Theme Framework ( WARP ) eg: New version available! Download Theme Framework X.X.XX
Note: Updating the Template Framework ( WARP ) will not result in your Template version from changing, the template and Framework have their own Versioning.
Warp Framework UpdateTo update the WARP framework do the following steps: VIDEO HOW TO > HERE
- First of all make a backup of all the customized theme files, so you can recover it and redo all changes at any time.
- Download the latest theme version and extract the package to your Desktop.
- Copy all files to /templates/TEMPLATENAME/WARP and replace all files.
- Redo your changes by merging your customized files with the new ones.
Tip: If you want to modify your theme, it's recommended to create your own style. A style uses a separate directory and this way the all your changes will be kept when updating your original theme files by replacing them.
CreditsTopWARP Framework
Many thanks to YooTheme.com for this amazing WARP Framework for WordpressYooTheme WidgetKit
Many thanks to YooTheme.com for the cool WidgetKit for WordpressJoomlaplates
Help and support, click hereFotolio
All Images from Demo Content are purchased by Joomlaplates and licensed to JoomlaPlates.com and they are not include the Theme package. Our demo content and slideshow pictures are only for demonstration use. Re-use of any graphics, icons or photos from the demo content for any purpose is strictly prohibited.


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You're all pumped up and 60 minutes is just not enough! Reserve our party room to extend the fun and celebrate your special event. Our Party Room rental fee is just $75 an hour. Catering from local restaurants is available to make your escape and party planning even easier!
Interested? Please use our contact form to request additional information.
Or Call 630-346-5881


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In 2019 we are running the Bill Whistlecroft Hurdles and Steeplechase Festival and the Yeovil Spring Open either side of Easter day, as the Bill Whistlecroft Spring Athletics Festival weekend, on Saturday 20th and Monday 22nd of April. In order to offer as many events as possible the hammer, shot put and discus will be on the same day as the hurdles and steeplechase (Saturday), thus hopefully enabling a smoother programme in the field for both days.
On Sunday 8th September we will have a special event - the YOAC 50th Anniversay Games.


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What Is ForskolinFit Pro And How Can It Help Me?
ForskolinFit Pro is a natural and premium quality Forskolin which can help you to breakdown the stubborn stored fat in your body and keeping it off. Also, Forskolin promotes the growth of lean muscle for your body to develop healthy and toned body.
You don't need to worry about the safety or the side effects of using ForskolinFit Pro because it is very safe and users don't experience side effects. This product ONLY uses the best quality forskolin to help you reap the maximum results. It is manufactured in the USA.
Warning: as with any supplement, if you have any medical concerns, it is ideal to consult with a health care professional first.
What Type of Results Can I Expect When Taking This Supplement?
Individuals' results may vary. However, many loyal users of this supplement have reported that they experience a boost in their metabolism and extra weight-loss than if they just follow a strict diet or exercise. Usually, the optimal results occur when people use ForskolinFit Pro for at least 2-3 months.
Here's How Forskolin Fit Pro Works:
- Activates The Fat Burning Messenger: Forskolin supplement activates fat-burning enzymes like cAMP (Cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate) messenger. cAMP encourages the fat burning process called lipolysis which uses stored fat as energy.
- Breaks Down Stubborn Fat Tissue: fatty acids are released from adipose tissue. This leads to the ultimate breakdown of stored body fast.
- Preserves & Builds Lean Muscle: Forskolin Fit Pro supports healthy testosterone levels in both men and women to help retain and even build muscle mass. You don't need to worry about losing muscle when you start to lose fat because forskolin uses the built up fat storage in the body for energy consumption.
- Prevents Future Fat Formation: As your body raises the metabolic rate and increases the amount of lean muscle overtime, it gets better at preventing new fat from forming.
Forskolin Fit Pro Ingredients
Forskolin is a powerful compound found in the roots of the celus forskohlii plant, an herb that is a part of the mint family. Foskolin extract is an incredible breakthrough and is helping countless of women and men to lose belly fat and retain muscle naturally.
Forskolin Fit Pro uses natural, energy-boosting extract that will change your body for the better. Many similar supplements only contain a mere 10% forskolin which is NOT Enough to initiate fat removal or lean muscle growth in both women and men. That's why ForskolinFit Pro has 20% PURE forskolin to give you the best results.
Each capsule contains 250mg of All-Natural Forskolin (Coleus Forskohlii) Supplement with 20% Pure Forskolin Extract. The serving dosage is 2 capsules daily.
Forskolin is NOT something that is recently invented by the weight loss industry and it's not a scam when you buy high quality supplement products like ForskolinFit Pro. Forskolin has been used for many generations in India's folk medicines and now it is available for sale online to help people shed off pounds and improve health effectively.
How to Take ForskolinFit Pro for Optimum Benefits?
The recommended dosage is 2 capsules each day with water, taken preferably after your workout session. If you take the tablets before working out that's fine too. Each bottle contains 60 pills or a month's supply.
Forskolin Fit Pro Before and After Results
"I was desperate for a product that could actually kick-start my weight-loss and this ended up being the winner. Don't choose anything else, I am telling you!" – Laura from Arizona
"I decided to try this forskolin product because I wanted to drop a few pounds and keep my muscle. This stuff is really great and helped me get in much better shape." – Jake from Philadelphia
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"I started taking ForskolinFit Pro just a couple weeks ago and I already can see a difference in my waist!" – Shelly from California
"I started the free trial and its incredible how much leaner I am and my arms have some nice definition now!" – Erika from Michigan
Where Can I Buy ForskolinFit Pro? Can I Get A Free Trial?
You can order Forskolin Fit Pro from the official website. There's a free trial offer available if you claim it today! Please note that once your free trial order offer is confirmed, you will receive an email from ForskolinFit Pro and you will have 15 days to decide if you would like to enroll in the Auto-Refill Program or return the free bottle. The Auto-Refill Program's price is $79.00 plus shipping. Each bottle contains 60 capsules.


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Haiti Conference Going Well, NCBA Delegates Report
A 12-member delegation from the North Carolina Bar Association has reached the midway point of its three-day economic investment conference in Haiti. Danny Merlin and David Garrett, the current and incoming chairs of the NCBA's Haiti Committee, spoke via Skype with the N.C. Bar Center this morning and reported that all is going well and that the NCBA delegation has been extremely well-received.
Merlin, Steve DeGeorge and NCBA President Kearns Davis presented on Monday and Garrett will address the conference today on international investment. Members are encouraged to follow the trip on Twitter at #NCBAinHaiti.
Davis focused his remarks on the evolution of the North Carolina economy over the past 100 years, from agriculture and manufacturing to its current status as a financial center and global research leader. It is the shared mission of lawyers, he added, to protect and strengthen the rule of law, which enables people to be free, businesses to grow, and people to make a living and provide for their families.
Delegates Ernie Pearson and David Robinson will also speak before the NCBA delegation concludes its participation in the conference on Wednesday.
The event, organized and hosted by the Port-au-Prince Bar Association to discuss methods of attracting investment there, was rescheduled from last October due to Hurricane Matthew.
The NCBA is involved in the conference through its relationship with Stanley Gaston, president of the Port-au-Prince Bar Association and the Federation of Bars of Haiti, and Jacques Miguel Sanon, who serves on the board of the Port-au-Prince bar. Gaston and Sanon attended the 2016 NCBA Annual Meeting and it is at their invitation that the NCBA delegation now visits their country.
Elon University School of Law is also participating in the event. John Flynn of Carruthers & Roth in Greensboro, who serves as practitioner in residence at the law school, brought five participants in the residency program to Haiti.
The students, who are members of the NCBA's Law Student Division, are Shanelle Edmonds, Kimberlee Farr, Liliane Long, Veronica Townsend and Brad Beyer.
Garrett commented in this morning's interview that conference attendees from around the world and the host country of Haiti have been extremely appreciative of and impressed by the NCBA's involvement in the event and by the size of its delegation.
Merlin added that the Elon delegates have enjoyed their involvement in the conference and that the presence of law students has added to the overall sense of optimism and commitment that has been pervasive throughout the conference.
The event, Garrett and Merlin concurred, has attracted extensive media attention in Haiti.
Here is a complete listing of the NCBA Delegation:
Kearns Davis, NCBA President
Brooks Pierce McLendon Humphrey & Leonard LLP, Greensboro
Daniel Adam Merlin, Chair, NCBA Haiti Committee
Alexander Ricks PLLC, Charlotte
David Spencer Robinson
Nexsen Pruet PLLC, Raleigh
R. Steven DeGeorge
Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson PA, Charlotte
Ernest C. Pearson
Nexsen Pruet PLLC, Raleigh
David J Garrett, Incoming Chair, NCBA Haiti Committee
Nexsen Pruet PLLC, Raleigh
John Michael Flynn, Elon Law School Practitioner in Residence
Carruthers & Roth PA, Greensboro
Shanelle Edmonds
Elon University School of Law, Greensboro
NCBA Law Student Division Member
Kimberlee Farr
Elon University School of Law, Greensboro
NCBA Law Student Division Member
Liliane R Long
Elon University School of Law, Greensboro
NCBA Law Student Division Member
Veronica Townsend
Elon University School of Law, Greensboro
NCBA Law Student Division Member
Brad Beyer
Elon University School of Law, Greensboro
NCBA Law Student Division Member


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Global Campus 21 supports a wide variety of applications: online courses, programme-related websites, virtual project working rooms, web conferences, contact fora and more.
Here we inform you about new and exemplary applications.
New opportunities, hand in hand with CSR
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is transforming Latin American companies; according to Pedro Lins, business consultant based in Sao Paulo, Brazil and Alumni of the CSR course offered as part of the CSR Mercosur programme organised by the GIZ between 2006 and 2010, the change in mentality has reached company managers in remote areas of the region. A total of 1.161 people from Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay received training through this course; as multipliers, it is now their turn to offer and apply the course, which is still available in the Global Campus 21, the GIZs e-learning platform, in their own countries.more
This programme was no isolated effort, and such initiatives are leaving behind small achievements to accompany the gradual increase in citizen concern for environmental and social responsibility issues generalised in recent years. An attitude that is already affecting consumer purchasing and investment decisions, while companies are becoming more and more sensible to this social responsibility.
Content comes from the companies
On the corporate side, CSR programmes are integrating sustainable social and environmental development criteria to profit making into all company practices. As a management style, CSR is characterized by the company´s ethical and transparent relationship with all the actors it interacts with. So CSR is, according to Alberto WIlli, professor at the IAE Business School in Argentina, "an umbrella concept, it only provides a framework for action, each company fills it with its own content."
CSR should therefore be analysed in context – the context of the company, the sector it belongs to, the society in which the business takes place. But the underlying fact is, when companies grow in size, they start gaining power, "and should thus assume a larger responsibility regarding their impact upon society", in words of Lins.
But beyond a responsibility that companies must assume, CSR is beginning to be associated with opportunities. As a way to enrich a company's activity and the society in which it is embedded, for example. Lins refers to the Brazilian case, where "there is a vast group of entrepreneurs who have learned that CSR issues can help them maintain, increase and consolidate their businesses." In this country, CSR is considered a factor in terms of positioning and competition for the global market, a way for products to differentiate themselves from the Asians that compete with low prices, thus enabling Brazilian companies to target more mature markets like the USA or Europe where responsibility is already part of consumers' buying decisions.
CSR as a strategy
But CSR is also posing "an opportunity to review a company's relationship with its surroundings, to rethink the real meaning of a company", Lins points out. Basically, CSR is a company's return of to the community, based on the idea that it is the people that are part of the company that are responsible, not the companies. In cases where these practices are more extended, CSR goes a step further, introducing a new corporate culture, together with an ethics code and a values management system to be implemented within the company. Companies are not only aiming at quality and competitiveness, they want to offer something more. "Worldwide, CSR is often seen as philanthropic activity, but for us who are closely working on it, it is strategic and long term action," explains Willi. In Latin America, a region marked by an elevated poverty index, CSR acquires an outstanding dimension, as it can significantly help solve social problems. Such is the case in Argentina, where, in accordance to public opinion polls – in answer to what they would do with resources, most people would opt to help the poor- CSR is usually translated into social action, typically in the education or health sectors.
Amongst the most frequent practices are measures to promote care or consciousness for the environment, to support local community through health, educational or sport-oriented activities, and volunteer programs. Restricting providers who do not comply with sustainability or responsibility requirements is another line of action. Working in CSR implies planning and generating actions that hold some relation to the company´s field of activity. For example, Cargill, a food industry company, invests in developing projects to promote good eating habits, to reduce the incidence of obesity and diabetes.
Promoters play an important role in the implementation of CSR in the region. In Argentina this role has been taken over by the big companies -CSR is spread through the practices imported by the multinational subsidiaries-, while in Brazil the main promoter is the national government. But above all things the guarantee to a good CSR plan lies in the articulation between all actors involved– the public governmental, the corporate and the NGO sectors-, and this is the key to the success of CSR in Brazil, as well. In this country, the three actors agreed on the central importance of CSR and consequently adopted a common agenda. An example of their joint effort is the Ethos Institute, which brings together a large number of companies from across the country, offering them services related to CSR practices; the institute has become an international reference on the subject. As Lins says, the socio-environmental responsibility cannot be taken over solely by the private sector; it must be worked upon together with the public and social sectors, building bridges between these. Neither does "the private sector replace the government, nor can we leave all responsibility on their hands; [CSR] implies co-participation and co-responsibility".
GIZ plays an important role
In Argentina this articulation is missing, as work on CSR is fragmented – a lot of individual impulses, a large number of civil organizations do not manage to achieve real impact; the government has stayed out of the field for the moment. For this reason, if Brazil is a "world class" example in terms of CSR, Argentina is lagging a step behind, according to Willi. CSR is a new movement pushed by big business; for the small and medium enterprises -90% of the Argentina´s companies– this is a difficult transition: they still see it as a place to reach. Many of them consider CSR a luxury – a view that reflects the general state of CSR in the rest of the region.
In face of this reality, the GIZ CSR program made significant contributions to promoting the introduction of CSR in the Mercosur region: since the beginning of the programme, more than 1000 people completed a course which continues to be offered, and which has allowed for people from different countries to come together in a CSR and sustainability network. With the goal to promote competitive action on CSR and to help create a favourable environment for sustainable business, the GIZ (back then InWEnt and the GTZ), together with the Mercosur Germany Alliance, an assemblage of the German chambers of commerce in the region, created the Centro de Competência Mercosul para RSE in the year 2006. Currently and until 2014, the GIZ is carrying out another regional programme on CSR, "Corporate Responsibility in the context con climate change" in the region. And, the GIZ still continues to help connect the multipliers amongst themselves; it is them, according to Lins, who "have a great opportunity and the essential task to spread these issues in their regions, in order to help their countries become more sustainable and competitive."
With a mouse click to new business partners from all over the world: Successful Manager Training Programme with new collaboration exchange
Kateryna Murachowska is working as a manager for Foreign Trade at a Ukrainian company named Poltawa-Ski. The medium-sized company is planning and constructing ski centres in Ukraine, and is even undertaking the assembly, delivery and maintenance of the chair lifts used in its own installations. In order to find new cooperation partners in Germany Murachowska took part in the Manager Training Programme of the Federal Ministry of Economy and Technology.
In doing so, the young woman got to know Bavarian company Loipolder Seilbahn-Technik and was able to get in contact with Kässbohrer Geländefahrzeug AG.
Today, Poltawa-Ski is cooperating with several German producers of chair and surface lifts, and is distributing their products in Ukraine. Furthermore, the company is a general distributor of Kässbohrer PistenBully and is taking care of their vehicles.
A successful international cooperation that German and foreign companies benefit from is what Manager Training Programme is aiming for. Through this new kind of collaboration exchange even companies that are not taking part in the programme are able to establish important business contacts without having to pay for the service.
The Manager Training Programme wants to open new doors across borders, in a fast, effective and unconventional way. Every year about 800 young leaders, coming from 13 different countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Asia, and working at companies of all branches and sizes, take part at one or three-month trainings in Germany. Most of the participants are coming from Russia or Ukraine, but even companies from China or India are very much in demand. There are lots of medium-sized companies among the participating firms, mostly dealing with machine-building.
"An important prerequisite of taking part (in this programme) is that the participating firms are interested in doing business with German companies", says Daniel Strube, who is in charge for the programme marketing at GIZ; GIZ coordinates and organizes the Manager Training Programme on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Economy and Technology.
Within the very broad programme spectrum participants have training courses concerning different topics such as intercultural management or negotiation training. They have the possibility to go directly to the companies they find interesting. Daniel Strube: "In these companies, for example, they deal with a possible cooperation, learn how to build up a quality department, or how to certify a product."
Eleven training centres all over Germany are organizing the programme content that has to be custom-tailored to the needs of the participants. GIZ is supervising the whole training process, as usual. The training centres are responsible for a certain number of training participants. One group usually consists of 20 persons. Together they are visiting as many companies as possible during their stay in Germany, and sometimes these are up to 60 firms within their radius.
"Single meetings are possible too, as an optional extra, even with firms that are far away", says Strube. The first contact between organisers and participants takes place via Internet, in the Global Campus of the Manager Training Programme. Here, every single visitor has their own profile. "We have created a virtual market place that is accessible only for participants, so that they can network together", explains Strube.
Global Campus´ data base keeps growing every year and contains a huge number of visitors. Now even German companies can profit from our data bank, drawing from this fund of potential international business partners and using our newly established online collaboration exchange.
It focuses on German firms which want to have business relations with the countries taking part in the programme. Via collaboration exchange German companies can contact participants they are interested in. "We are bringing our participants directly into the companies, and that is the big difference between our and other exchanges of this kind", says Daniel Strube.
For example, if a German constructor wants to meet someone from Russia´s building industry they only have to go online and mark with a cross the country and sector they are interested in. In addition, the company can invite one or several participants to come to visit or offer them a two-month internship.
"If that's the case we are prepared to quickly integrate such requests and offers into the current Manager Training Programme in order to make personal meetings with participants who are about to come to Germany possible."
Normally, the whole group of participants – supervised by one training centre – takes part in these personal meetings. But, as already mentioned, even meetings with a single person are possible. "Due to data protection reasons German companies do not receive the contact information of the participants before the meeting. Thus, personal meetings are always necessary."
Companies can use this uncomplicated placement service for free. Even training centres benefit from the new collaboration exchange because it is an easier way to find firms for their participants to visit. "The advantage for German companies is clear: They can build international connections in a fast and uncomplicated way, and are able to find reliable cooperation partners", says Strube.
"With the Manager Training Programme we give our participants a solid preparation for doing business with German companies. Although they could be successful on their local markets in their home countries, when it comes to international business all participants need to increase their know-how eventually."
Project working in Eastern Europe and Asia is different from project working in Germany. "Business people from Ukraine or India do not always determine their objectives, and do not have a detailed project preparation", explains Strube. "In many cases they are quite discouraged noticing that German companies present their concept formulated in great detail." And vice versa: it is important for German companies to know that this behaviour is not a neglect, but is rather culturally founded."
The new collaboration exchange is available under http://www.giz.de/gc21/mp-wirtschaftskontakte.
Learning at any time and any place: GIZ's new learning platform for mobile phones and tablet computers makes it possible. E-academy's new M-Portal was launched May this year. Volker Lichtenthäler, M-Learning project manager at GIZ, explains platform's conceptual approach. Volker Wolf, specialist for programming of educational games and multimedia development, gives an insight into the challenges concerning the technical realisation.
What's new in Mobile Learning?
Volker Lichtenthäler: First of all I have to say that Micro Learning is not something new. Many of us have learned vocabulary or formula using file cards. It is a little-step method for in between, quick applicable with an immediate feedback. That's where Mobile Learning, learning by portable, mobile media and devices like Smartphones, turns out to be an important substitute to eLearning with one decisive factor: it makes learning at any time and any place possible. For us mLearning consequently develops and supplements eLearning that is based on the learning platform GC21. Of course learners are searching for a special kick, a visual, maybe even audio supported one and surely much more playful way of learning in tiny and mouth-sized portions.
What devices has M-Portal been made for?
Volker Wolf: It is made mainly for mobile devices like Smartphones, Notebooks or Pads, respectively Tablet-PCs. But of course M-Portal runs also on a PC. Due to a fluid layout the screen view matches the screen width. We have especially prepared the portal for Smartphones and Pads. In particular that means that contents must be easily readable on a little screen and users only have to scroll down and not sideways. Furthermore the resolution has to match the device display because the Smartphone screens vary very much in size.
Was this a challenge?
Volker Wolf: Yes, because we had to find a form that all mobile devices could use. This kind of device class uses different variations of software like the well-known Apple iPhone, iPad or Android, Windows 7 and others. Each provider and each platform are focused on their own work. Therefore we came to the conclusion to offer our contents using a web browser. So we are talking about mobile Internet.
Does this mean that you go on the Internet with your Smarthphone?
Volker Wolf: Yes, you're calling an Internet address by using the browser of your Smartphone and then, like on your PC, a Homepage opens. There you find a main menu from which you continue to navigate via touch screen choosing different menu items.
Where exactly does the connection to the learning platform, to GC21 lie?
Volker Lichtenthäler: The M-portal is a part of Management Skills Group (MSG), a special area of Global Campus 21. Via M-portal and their mobile phone members of this Community of Practice, which are normally graduates of our online courses and GIZ scholars, are able to activate the latest news, contents or members of MSG to see what kind of member information and contact data has been stored there. This is why our portal is useful not only for teaching learning contents but also for promoting information, discussion and networking and therefore serves the sustainability of our eLearning.
Via this new learning platform you also provide contents of Management Skills Group, is that right?
Volker Lichtenthäler: Yes, sure, because only MSG-members have access to the M-Learning sector. The idea behind it is that especially in developing countries many people have a better access to Smartphones than to internet, and Smartphones are easier to use. At least mobile phones have a better internet connection. In these countries Smartphones work as a real substitute for a PC. On the other side learning contents are created especially for this medium. Therefore the main part of the new portal is extremely interesting because it provides so called Knowledge-nuggets.
What exactly are knowledge-nuggets?
Volker Lichtenthäler: These are little knowledge snippets. The participants can create their own nuggets and then we edit their contributions. Or they can make proposals for the creation of knowledge nuggets and we create them. They deal with different topics like Global Affairs, Organisational Management, Leadership, Career and more. One nugget consists of maximally three mobile pages. We decorate them with two or three graphics which are partly animated. And in some nuggets users can make a short test to find out if they have understood the content. It's like a little forum with short texts but much more rudimentary. Users can even react spontaneously. For example, a user takes a picture of something and loads it up, maybe a photo of their office when they want to make a contribution to the topic "Organisation" or a photo of a poster at a bus station suitable to the topic "Advertisement".
It is a real media mix, isn´t it?
Volker Wolf: Yes, exactly, texts, photos, animation, audio data, podcasts, on M-Portal all these elements come together on one site. This site tries to present medial elements only by means of its browser functions without using external functions like Plug-ins. This is the goal we explicitly wanted to reach. Eventually our portal works on all mobile devices and can be used with every browser.
Is this possible?
Volker Wolf: Well, normally all producers decide to support standards like HTML5. It's the standard we are using for the M-Portal. But this support is of varying degrees. For example, iPhone does not allow an upload of data on the web browser because of security reasons. But the development in this sector is extremely fast. For example there are continuously new releases of the Android version, which is the most common operating system in Smartphones.
And what about Apps?
Volker Wolf: Many providers use the so called apps, little applications or programmes that you can download. It's possible to represent their contents offline and to link them. But those apps run only on certain platforms and devices of a certain producer. We try to avoid this point as we want to supply our contents on all sorts of platforms. Otherwise we would have to develop a special app for every single device, and that would be an extremely extensive work.
Would it be possible to bring all producers and browsers together under one banner in the future?
Volker Wolf: Yes, I think so. If browsers want to develop further (something that they continuously do), and if they support this HTML5 standard it would work. In that case it wouldn´t be necessary to adapt our site to new versions of browser permanently and our website would run for years without us changing anything.
So what happens next with the mobile Website of E-Academy and Management Skills Group?
Volker Lichtenthäler: We are planning on integrating educational games. We're about to develop a browser game concerning the topic "Working in intercultural virtual teams". You will find it soon on our mobile site. Thus we are hoping to reach a larger number of different "learning types" and increase our flexibility.
GIZ's programme "Liderazgo para el Cambio Sostenible"(Management for sustainable development) is made for experts from Latin America, who want to contribute to the achievement of social changes in their countries. For that purpose you need people who are able to initiate and coordinate such processes of change.
The main goal of the programme is to improve participants´ professional, methodological and social competences. Thus they would be able to successfully initiate and influence these processes of change. The programme focuses on a practical reference, and the training of social competences turns out to be an inherent part of it: nowadays in our globalised world these so called soft skills are essential.
The course "Liderazgo para el Cambio Sostenible" is offered as a blended learning programme. "During the online phase participants have access to a greater choice of texts, literature and documents as usual so that they can chose and compose their teaching aids individually", says Yenny Melgar, an e-learning expert and course coordinator in Lima, Peru. "At the same time the personal contact among participants and to coordinators is intensified. All course participants are able to network and compare notes with each other."
Due to the fact that the programme is made for experts in different working fields and branches, for example in the field of IT, education, health and ecology, it consists of different course segments. According to participants´ needs and requirements these segments can be assembled differently, depending on target group´s needs (whether course participants are working in the private sector or for an NGO).
Each segment consists of four or five units. Particular subjects which have to bear reference to the existing conditions in Latin America are defined. So that adequate strategies can be developed to initiate processes of change. There is a continual extension and updating of the offered courses.
In addition to the course elements focussing on specific subjects, there is a range of courses dealing with two or more disciplines. "Transversal units like ,Genero' (gender), ,Facilitación con enfoque participativo' or ,Gestión de cambio' have got an interdisciplinary approach, which is a special enrichment and motivation for the participants", says e-learning expert Melgar. "What makes these courses that significant is the fact that their orientation is very close to the existing reality in Latin America."
For example the course "Incidencia Política" (Political Impact) is dealing, among other things, with conflicts resulting from the new prescriptions concerning the use of water resources in countries like Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia: For example, water prices which have been kept low in the upper class neighbourhoods have to be readjusted. Some of the courses are organised together with other institutions like governmental departments or NGOs.
Course participants are expected to be not only extremely engaged but also to communicate their knowledge and experience to others. According to Melgar, "This kind of learning requires people who are self-critical, have innovative ideas, do things on their own initiative and have the courage to make changes."
The main objective of the programme "ProCalidad – Perfeccionamiento Profesional en Calidad de la Educación" (ProCalidad – Professional advanced training in education quality) is to improve the quality of teacher training in Peru, Honduras and Guatemala. Education quality includes not only the acquisition of knowledge and skills, but also the development of democratic values and integration into society.
ProCalidad is aimed at teachers, lecturers and management staff from teacher training institutions, universities and NGOs in Guatemala, Honduras and Peru. Since 2006 this programme has been offered as an International Leadership Training by InWEnt on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and in close cooperation with institutions from the three target countries.
During the programme participants reflect on their education and develop new pedagogical approaches – especially for a new dialogue culture in the classroom, as schools are basically designed as a cross-cultural space.
This programme does not aim at specialisation of people in a particular area of the educational spectrum. It rather wants to motivate the participants to think about broad visions, which would effectively improve the quality of education in their home countries. It is expected that all participants develop their own concepts and practical suggestions for their own organisations. Following the course all "transfer projects" will be implemented by the participants in their workplace.
During the training sessions all persons involved use the virtual platform of Global Campus 21 in order to exchange their views on specific educational topics. During their residential period of one year in Germany, the ILT participants are able to deepen their professional know-how, management and organisational skills. After the completion of the programme GC21 is going to be used as a meeting place and platform for everyone, including former participants. Thus, all users can discuss their project development and ask other people for assistance.[About ProCalidad]


text: Parents and guardians are welcomed at Kitimat City High. We ask, to protect all occupants, that visitors report to the front desk before going any further into the school. Anyone in the building who is not recognized, will be questioned, directed to the office, or asked to leave. Parents/guardians wishing to spend time with their child at school, must please make arrangements with the school.


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Warrenpoint company launches task monitor for hospitality industry
Warrenpoint company Taskmaestro has successfully launched an innovative product which was developed and marketed with the support of Invest Northern Ireland.
The product is a wall mounted touch screen device which provides catering and hospitality staff with a 'to do' list that creates scheduled alerts and timely 'must do' instructions. The product holds the staff member accountable through the use of biometric fingerprint recognition technology and also guides them through the process with video training modules.
Taskmaestro has sold the product into several local businesses and has caught the attention of some national restaurant and fast food chains.
The company was set up in 2009 by Gabriel Bradley who has over 15 years' experience in the hospitality sector.
Mark Bleakney, Manager of Invest NI's Southern Regional office, said: "This is a highly innovative product with significant export potential and it looks set to become an essential management tool for the hospitality industry.
"Mr Bradley initially developed his strategy for bringing the idea to market through participation in Invest NI's Propel programme and we also provided marketing and management development support. We will continue to work closely with the company as it targets export markets."
Gabriel Bradley said: "When I first came up with the idea of Taskmaestro, one of the first organisations I contacted was Invest NI. The support and advice I have received have been instrumental in shaping the success of the product and the company.
"Our goal in 2012 is to strengthen relationships with restaurants and fast food chains and establish Taskmaestro as a leading product in the catering and hospitality industry."
The company aims to employ 18 staff over the next three years.
Gavin Mc Alary, Manager of Bellinis Bar, Restaurant and Nite Club in Newry, which has recently purchased the Taskmaestro product, said: "For anyone who is serious about their business operations, Taskmaestro can make a huge difference. It takes care of all of the small tasks, which, when done well, can have a huge impact on the business as a whole."
Giuseppe Falonni, Owner of La Dolce Vita Pizzeria Outlets, has also purchased the product for his outlets in Newry, Camlough and Warrenpoint. He added: "Taskmaestro provides me easy access to the information from any of my outlets online, from any location. I no longer have to physically go to each outlet looking for the record books to see who has done what. I believe it also gets the staff all working together as a team and seems to make everyone more aware of what needs to be done and who is responsible for completing the tasks. Overall, I'm very pleased."


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Whois Details
NetHandle: NET-104-204-0-0-2 OrgID: C05555795 Parent: NET-104-204-0-0-1 NetName: ACN-BB-CANADA-104-204 NetRange: 184.108.40.206 - 22.214.171.124 NetType: reassignment OriginAS: 19397 RegDate: 2015-01-06 Updated: 2015-01-06 Source: ARIN OrgID: C05555795 OrgName: ACN CanAllocate: Street: 1100 Ave. des Canadiens de Montreal City: Montreal State/Prov: QC Country: CA PostalCode: H3B 2S2 RegDate: 2015-01-06 Updated: 2015-01-06 Source: ARIN
IP address subranges within this IP range
IP address ranges, or netblocks, are groups of related IP addresses. They are usually represented as a base IP address, followed by a slash, and then a netmask which represents how many IP addresses are contained within the netblock. This format is known as CIDR. You'll also sometimes see netblocks given as a start ip address, and an end ip address, or an ip address range.
Traffic works its way around the internet based on the routing table, which contains a list of networks and their associated netblocks.


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Research in Progress Seminar (RIPS)
Dr. David B. McDonald, March 9 - Whose reconciliation? Conflating Liberal Multiculturalism and Civil Rights Frames on the Road to Transformative Reconciliation in Canada. Co-hosted by the Indigenous Studies Program & Department of Political Science
Feb 27, 2017
A Research in Progress Seminar Talk 2017
Who: Dr. David B. McDonald
Where: Togo Salmon Hall (TSH) 122
When: Thursday March 9, 3:00-4:30p
How many Canadian settlers have tried to make "reconciliation" with Indigenous peoples comfortable by framing it as something familiar and unthreatening? While reconciliation can be about Indigenous self-determination and the exercise of rights which could destabilize aspects of the current settler-based political system, it has largely been framed as a process of filling economic and social gaps, and educating settlers about Indigenous history. Transformative reconciliation by contrast, is about fundamentally problematizing the settler state as a colonial creation, a vector of cultural genocide, and one which continues inexorably to suppress Indigenous collective aspirations for self-determination and sovereignty. In this type of reconciliation, we will see the rollback of settler state control over Indigenous individuals and communities, commensurate with the restoration of Indigenous lands, cultures, laws, languages, and governance traditions.
David B. MacDonald is a full Professor in Political Science at the University of Guelph, ON. He has a PhD in International Relations from the LSE, and has served as a faculty member at Otago University, New Zealand, and the École Supérieure de Commerce de Paris. His work is focused on Comparative Indigenous Politics and International Relations. He has written three books, a co-authored textbook, and three co-edited books in addition to numerous book chapters and peer reviewed articles. He is affiliated with the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation and is supported by a SSHRCC Insight Grant.
If you have any inquiries please contact Dr. Katherine Boothe at email@example.com.


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For the first ever Speedmachine Festival in the UK, the FIA World Rallycross Championship (WRX) obtained a capacity grid for what would be round four of the 2018 season. The championship is normally made up of fifteen permanent drivers from different teams but the Silverstone round attracted ten additional drivers, looking to create history as the first international RX winner of the new WRX British (more…)
Tag Archives: Rockstar Energy
Eriksson has the Speed to win RX2 at Silverstone
The Speedmachine Festival at Silverstone over the late May Bank Holiday weekend was going to be history making for many reasons, as first ever International World Championship RX event at the new circuit, the debut of the brand new American Rallycross Championship (ARX) and lastly an opportunity for the future stars to shine in RX2. Since being launched as the main stepping stone into the World Rallycross (more…)


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You searched for: 60048
ReferenceMalchenko S et al. (JAN 2014) Gene 534 2 400--7
Onset of rosette formation during spontaneous neural differentiation of hESC and hiPSC coloniesIn vitro neural differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) is an advantageous system for studying early neural development. The process of early neural differentiation in hESCs begins by initiation of primitive neuroectoderm, which is manifested by rosette formation, with consecutive differentiation into neural progenitors and early glial-like cells. In this study, we examined the involvement of early neural markers - OTX2, PAX6, Sox1, Nestin, NR2F1, NR2F2, and IRX2 - in the onset of rosette formation, during spontaneous neural differentiation of hESC and human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) colonies. This is in contrast to the conventional way of studying rosette formation, which involves induction of neuronal differentiation and the utilization of embryoid bodies. Here we show that OTX2 is highly expressed at the onset of rosette formation, when rosettes comprise no more than 3-5 cells, and that its expression precedes that of established markers of early neuronal differentiation. Importantly, the rise of OTX2 expression in these cells coincides with the down-regulation of the pluripotency marker OCT4. Lastly, we show that cells derived from rosettes that emerge during spontaneous differentiation of hESCs or hiPSCs are capable of differentiating into dopaminergic neurons in vitro, and into mature-appearing pyramidal and serotonergic neurons weeks after being injected into the motor cortex of NOD-SCID mice. ?? 2013 Elsevier B.V. View PublicationCatalog #:Product Name:05850mTeSR™160048Anti-GFAP Antibody, Clone 2E1.E985850mTeSR™1
ReferenceZhao L et al. ( 2014) International journal of clinical and experimental medicine 7 2 337--347
mTOR inhibitor AZD8055 inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis in laryngeal carcinoma.The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) kinase forms two multiprotein complexes, mTORC1 and mTORC2, which regulate cell growth, survival, and autophagy. Allosteric inhibitors of mTORC1, such as rapamycin, have been extensively used to study tumor cell growth, proliferation, and autophagy but have shown only limited clinical utility. Here, we describe AZD8055, a novel ATP-competitive inhibitor of mTOR kinase activity, against all class I phosphatidylinositol3-kinase (PI3K) and other members of the PI3K-like kinase family. The study was to determine the effect of AZD8055 on proliferation and apoptosis on Hep-2, a human laryngeal cancer cell line and to investigate the underlying mechanism(s) of action. Hep-2 cells were treated with AZD8055 for 24, 48 or 72 h. MTT was used to determine cell proliferation. Rhodamine 123 and TUNEL staining were used to determine mitochondrial membrane potential and cell apoptosis analyzed by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). Protein expressions were examined by western blotting. Treatment with AZD8055 inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis in Hep-2 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. During the prolonged treatment with AZD8055, AZD8055 inhibits the mammalian target of rapamycin mTOR. Further experiments showed which signaling cascade p-4EBP1 and substrate EIF4E as well as downstream proteins were down regulated. Furthermore, our study showed that the expression profiles of various BH3-only proteins including Bid, Bad, and Bim, apoptosis regulatory protein cleaved caspase3 was up regulated in a time-dependent manner in Hep-2 cells treated with AZD8055. Thus, in vitro, AZD8055 potently inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. View PublicationCatalog #:Product Name:73002AZD8055


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Mono County operates two public airports; Bryant Field and Lee Vining Airport. Master plans for both airports were updated in 2017. See Master Plans below for history, specifications, layout and other facility details. The other airport within Mono County is the Mammoth-Yosemite Airport, that is administrated by the Town of Mammoth Lakes.
The Bryant Field Airport is located in Bridgeport, California, just east of the town center. It is a small general aviation facility occupying approximately 49 acres serving single and twin-engine aircraft, as well as occasional turboprops and small turbine-powered business jets, with one paved runway (#16-34). Pilots should note that Bryant Field has aviation fuel available (24-hour self serve). However, the Lee Vining Airport does not have fuel service.
The Lee Vining Airport is located near the intersection of Highways 395 and 120, just south of the Community of Lee Vining. The existing Lee Vining Airport is comprised of approximately 59 acres of leased land with one paved runway (#15-33).
Since 2006, a weather station (SuperAWOS) has been running at Bryant Field. To access real-time data, call 617-262-3825 and enter 657 for identifier (6= the letter O, airport identifier is O57). The Tie-down fee for an aircraft is $5/day. Please use the drop box by the fuel pump for payment.


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New! Listen to the audio version here!
"Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious." – 1 Peter 2:1-3
"The pure milk of the word." Sounds like God is prescribing a healthier diet for His kids. No more indulging in the unhealthy junk food of ill will, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and evil speaking about others, which includes gossiping. Instead, only the pure word of God.
Have you ever given any real thought to what "food" we're feasting on? Are we feasting on envy, gossip, and deceit? I'm not just talking about what we read or watch on TV or in movies either. How about what we talk about with others?
All of us know in our heads that God does not approve of gossip, and we even say we don't do it. Maybe we listen to other people gossip, but we don't pass it on…to anyone unreliable. We don't say things to be mean to others; we just say them because we feel someone else really should know…The list of reasons can go on into infinity. But is it acceptable to God? Is that the kind of food God wants us to partake of?
Besides repeating gossip, listening to it does nothing to help us grow spiritually. Both only serve to strengthen ill will, deceit, hypocrisy, and envy. And that's what this text in 1 Peter is all about. What will make us grow? Will desiring that evil befall another draw me into a closer relationship with Jesus? Will dishonest statements or misrepresentations of the truth help me to know the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life better? Does focusing on the hypocrisies of others or even indulging my own make me a more genuine follower of Jesus Christ? Will coveting another make me more content in all the situations God places me? And can malicious words, spoken about someone else either by me or in my presence, help me to be more deeply rooted in the Savior? Is this the kind of food that will root me and ground me in the love of God?
The only food we can safely eat is the word of God. Feasting on the word of God will take away bitterness, hard feelings, ill will, covetousness, hypocrisy, selfishness, and all gossip and backbiting.
It also helps us discern between truth and error in what we hear in church or read in a book. In the Bible, God gives us a lot of instruction about knowing the truth, knowing whether what you hear is of God or not. He tells us to test the spirit behind each person who comes to us in the name of the Lord (1 John 4:1). He says to examine all things and hold fast to the good (1 Thess. 5:21). And those are just two examples, but clearly, God wants us to check things out against His word, instead of just buying into everything that comes from the mouth of a fellow human being just because he or she claims Christianity. The Bereans were commended by Paul for not accepting his preaching without first testing it against the Bible (Acts 17:11). So we are to know the difference between truth and error, and be willing to counter error with truth (James 5:19-20, Is. 58:1, Jer. 1:7, Ez. 2:3-5, and Ps. 40:10, to name a few).
When we feast on the pure milk of God's word, we will be able to recognize and avoid hypocrisy, half-truths, and whole lies. Just as an expert in recognizing counterfeit money studies the true to recognize the counterfeit, we who feast on the true will recognize the error when it comes. The more we feast on the word of God, the less desire we will have for feasting on the sins, short-comings, and failings of others. We will grow in Christ-like love, patience, and forgiveness towards others. And we will clearly know the difference between speaking the truth as God desires and merely spreading gossip as Satan desires.
So the idea is this: get into the word of God. Make that your food. Leave behind the junk food and feast on the words of life and truth so you can grow up strong in Christ.
~ What do you think? Email me at email@example.com. ~


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I pull up at my friend Jane's house and startle a bunch of starlings out of a bare lilac bush. Her front room is a photography studio with bare wood floors and a blue cloth background hanging from high drapery rods. We are waiting for Jen and Nik, a young couple who are coming to have their engagement photo made.
I wrote about Jen and Nik close to a year ago (Personal Space, Dec. 25, 2003), about their perfect friendship and how they had spent a year together in chemotherapy, helping each other through treatment for cancer. Friends since they were children, Jen and Nik have been through more than many couples who've spent a lifetime together. Now they are planning to marry, on Dec. 11.
Jane's walls are covered with her exquisite black-and-white photographs, including those she took in Iraq a few years ago. We walk lightly around our shared sorrow at this moment in time, when my son, a soldier, is headed for Baghdad and Jane's friends there are even more devastated now by the war than they were a few years back by economic sanctions and a rotten leader. We share fear and grief, for the soldiers and the Iraqis alike.
Jen and Nik arrive, cold and flustered, a little late. Since last Christmas, when they shared shiny bald heads, Nik's hair has come back, dark brown and curly. He is cancer free. Jen, whose cancer has returned and who is taking chemotherapy again, has shaved the last of her new hair off and wears a black knit cap. She is as beautiful as any fashion model with her sculpted jaw, her large eyes and perfect lips. Her long fingers are carefully manicured.
Jane sets up the studio lights and warms up her subjects with music and conversation. They talk about wedding plans, about the basement apartment friends are planning to finish for them to live in. They talk about school and chemo. They smile and laugh and pose with ease. They are pros at having their pictures taken.
I sit and watch and think about courage -- about how marrying under any circumstances is a brave act that requires resolution against troubles and difficulty, about how many of us fail because we can't face the difficult parts.
I think of the courage of these two kids, marrying and declaring their love with a potentially fatal visitor in the room constantly. I wonder what kind of minds and souls two young people must have to look cancer in the face and say, "Hey, we're choosing life, all that we can take, for as long as we have it."
Jane puts Nik and Jen in a red chair, Jen's legs draped across his, their arms and hands elegantly intertwined. They relax and smile. Their beauty, accented by the soft afternoon light, fills the room.
Later, we all sit in front of Jane's computer to see what she has shot. A photo comes up on the screen and Nik and Jen immediately agree that this is the one they want sent out with their wedding invitation. It is a portrait of warmth and friendship.
Nik and Jen have to go -- she to the clinic, he to work. They bundle up in heavy jackets; she pulls on her black knit cap. Jane and I watch from the door as they walk out into the cold, facing December and more life together. They are a portrait of courage.
For Nik and Jen's apartment, friends are seeking donations of building materials. Direct inquiries to Brenda Smith, Compassion for Kids, 559-3128.