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Diamond Diagram - Diamond Structure
Key features of the diamond diagram
Refers to the upper half of the diamond. Separated from the Pavilion by the diamond Girdle.
Diameter represents the measurement across the stone from girdle to girdle. The maximum and minimum diameter of a round brilliant cut diamond appears on a diamond grading certificate. For example, a half carat diamond may measure 5.05-5.08mm in diameter at different points across the stone.
Refers to the top facet of the diamond. The table size is shown on a certificate as a percentage. Old cut diamonds differ from modern cuts in table size. Modern diamonds tend to have larger Tables, allowing light into the diamond. The Table facet appears at the very top of our diamond diagram.
Kite Facet - Star Facet - Upper Girdle Facet
Kite facets and Star facets get their name from their shape. Appearing around the diamond, diamond facets provide scintillation as light dances from facet to facet, reflected back to the observer. Along with the upper girdle facets they appear in the upper Crown of the diamond.
Diamond Girdle
The Girdle of a diamond runs around the edge of the stone. Diamond girdles are either polished or bruted. Most GIA certified diamonds feature a microscopic diamond certificate number lasered onto the edge of the diamond. Our blog features a dedicated article on reading this inscription using a dedicated instrument.
A diamond Pavilion is the lower section of the diamond which carries most of the depth of the stone.
Lower Girdle Facet - Pavilion Facet
The lower girdle facets encircle the lower part of the diamond. Pavilion facets descend to the point or Culet of the diamond.
A diamond Culet is the bottom tip of the diamond. Old cut diamonds often feature a polished flat Culet. This appears as a small circular shape when viewed through the table Facet. Damage to the Culet will be visible through the table facet.
Additional Parts of a Diamond
Diamond diagrams can be far more technical depending on the level of detail they include. Our diagram represents the basic Anatomy of a diamond, detailing the key parts of a diamond including Facet names.


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Response: Cultural Factors and Political Habits Produced Today's Mormon-Republican Alignment
Russell Fox
August 14, 2018
By: Luke Perry
August 14, 2018
Responding to: The Evolution of Mormon Political Engagement
Latter-day Saints have accomplished their nineteenth century political priority, survival, as well as much of their twentieth century focus, acceptance and ascendance. Mormons have become governors, U.S. ambassadors, cabinet secretaries, senate majority leaders, and presidential nominees. This has enabled the LDS Church to politically advocate for select moral causes central to their doctrine, such as marriage and family. For Mormons, having two married parents of opposite genders is imperative not only for the well-being of people on earth, but for the organization of eternal life.
The LDS Church has fallen short of maintaining "traditional" conceptions of family life throughout U.S. society, along with other predominately conservative religious groups. Such efforts have come at significant cost externally, in terms of public backlash, and internally, in terms of division and defection. Like other conservative Christian groups, the LDS Church has pivoted its political attention to protecting religious liberty amidst shifting cultural attitudes.
There are also nuances within Mormonism, such as attitudes towards gays and lesbians, which have unfolded over time. Brigham Young University applied electric shock therapy to men's genitals in the 1970s in the hope of dissuading same-gender attraction. Today, the LDS Church has championed local and state LGBT nondiscrimination laws, which Mormons at large support, while continuing to oppose the legalization of marriage equality. This illustrates how Mormons seek to balance promoting minority rights with protecting moral convictions.
Mormons are also more liberal than their political allies when it comes to immigration, in large part because of their unique and extensive missionary program. Mormons have long viewed themselves as an international church. This is increasingly becoming the norm throughout American Christianity as religious activity declines here and grows abroad.
Social conservatism will continue to be the cornerstone of alignment between Mormons and the Republican Party. This stone has notably loosened as Donald Trump reshaped the GOP in recent years. Fissures were on full display during the 2016 campaign, when Mitt Romney criticized Trump's business acumen, intelligence, national security credentials, and personal conduct, encouraging Republicans to vote for anyone but Trump in the primary.
When Romney asked Utahans to "think of Donald Trump's personal qualities, the bullying, the greed, the showing off, the misogyny, the absurd third grade theatrics," and "imagine your children and your grandchildren acting the way he does," it meant something deeper within the Mormon tradition, where righteousness and family are paramount. Just 14 percent of Utah voters, for instance, thought Trump was "a good role model for young people."
Romney is not alone among Mormon conservatives. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) fought Trump's nomination through the convention floor. Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) became the first person to call for a primary challenge against Trump and may do so himself. Representative Mia Love (R-UT-4) publicly rebuked the president for his derogatory comments about Haitians, while even Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), an outspoken Trump supporter, has criticized the president on tariffs and family separation at the Mexican border.
These criticisms point to a growing rift between LDS political elites and Donald Trump over presidential conduct and the meaning of being a Republican. Trump has overturned many conventional norms, and Romney's political resurrection threatens to usher in another: a Republican loss in Utah for the first time since 1968. Evan McMullin won 21 percent of the Utah vote in 2016. If Romney backs McMullin, like Senator Mike Lee did, this could result in a significant bump at Trump's expense. Over 70 percent of Utahans voted for Romney in 2012, compared to just 45 percent for Trump in 2016.
Longstanding partisan patterns don't subside easily and a lot can happen in two years. While the LDS Church will probably continue to stay out of electoral politics, noteworthy Mormons will probably remain prominent Trump critics. Religious influences are a significant and often overlooked reason why. How these tensions are reconciled has the potential to reshape the future of LDS/GOP alignment.
Response: Cultural Factors and Political Habits Produced Today's Mormon-Republican Alignment
Russell Fox
August 14, 2018
Response: Mormon Anxiety and Ambivalence about Contemporary American Politics
Nathan Oman
August 14, 2018
Response: Mormon Political Clout
Gregory Prince
August 14, 2018
Response: Mormonism: Effectively at Odds with Others and Itself
Kathleen Flake
August 14, 2018
Response: The (Probable) Future of Mormon Politics
Patrick Mason
August 14, 2018

subset: commoncrawl


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BGT English Theatre Company
by Joel Horwood
ISL Studio Theatre
36 Bd. Pierre Dupong, L-1430 Luxembourg
Thursday 5th, Friday 6th September at 19.30, Saturday 7th September 2019 at 14.30 & 19.30
Starting in 2019, the BGT English Theatre Company is proud to announce an annual show which specifically show-cases the abilities and talents of a limited number of young or student actors. The project has two aims:
Firstly, we hope to draw attention to some young actors from Luxembourg, aged between 18 and 23 who are either studying at drama school or are planning to pursue a career in the performing art. Luxembourg produces many high-quality actors and actresses, almost all of home study theatre abroad, but often find it hard to gain recognition. This project will give these young performers a chance to been seen on a public stage, outside the circle of their drama schools.
Secondly, by choosing new and challenging pieces designed for a smaller casts, the project will give the performers a chance to develop their skills by tackling larger roles in pieces which would not, normally, be available to them in the usual drama school or college environments. It will have the chance to showcase their talents to the public and to others in the theatre world. The actresses will also be paid for their work and will receive a contract as Independent Artists which can be used to build their CVs.
The first show in this programme, will be Joel Horwood's thought-provoking 2017 play "WOLVES ARE COMING FOR YOU". Written to be performed by a small number of actresses playing all the roles, the piece concerns the fear which grips a small village when rumours spread that wolves are menacing the town. As the fear grows to panic, the villagers gather together in a church hall which was built on the site of a former pagan temple – a place where men and women would gather to tell and share stories. After all, doesn't every person and every community have a story which explains who they are and why they have arrived at the current place in their lives? As the town-folk begin to behave like a pack of the very wolves they fear, they start to turn on the outsiders in the community. But this crisis also forces the characters to face themselves and confront the hidden doubts which have brought them to this place The play shows the ease with which fear can turn to isolationism and violence – a trend which can be stopped if we will only listen to everyone else's story.
"An enemy is someone whose story you have not heard" Irene Butter
Tickets and more information will be available from May 2019 at: email@example.com
Produced by arrangement with Nick Hern Books
Hayley Dawson
Hayley graduated from the European School of Luxemburg in 2018 and is currently completing her first year at University College Dublin. She began acting at school aged 11 and studied for LAMDA (distinction, levels 2 & 3). She has attended courses at Mountview School of Drama, London in 2015 and RADA in 2017 and 2018. She studied Modern and Classical Dance for 9 years at Svetlana Lebedinskaya's Ballet Russe School and Helen's Dance and participated in the "World Dance Movement" workshop in Spain (2015) and Italy (2016).
At school she appeared in numerous shows including "The Wizard of Oz" (as The Wicked Witch of the West), Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" (as Justice Wargrave) and Thornton Wilder's "Our Town" (as The Stage Manager). She also co-performed a self-choreographed dance for the musical "Phantoms" in 2014.
Outside school she played in several productions at major Luxembourg theatres including the Centre Culturel Neimënster, the Kulturhaus Mersch and the Theatre National. These include:
"Little Women" as Jo (BGT English Theatre Company, adapted by June Lowery 2014); "Lady Windermere's Phone" as Lady Windermere (by Ada Günther, Theatre National de Luxembourg 2015); "A Christmas Carol" as The Ghost of Christmas Past (BGT English Theatre Company, adapted by June Lowery - 2016) and "Murder at the Merry Music Maker Awards" an interactive murder mystery (BGT English Theatre Company & LEAPA 2017). She was also an extra in the 2016 film "Toygun"
Since moving to Dublin, she has performed in "Radiant Vermin" as Miss Dee/Kay (Feb 2019), also played at the ISDA Festival in Belfast, April 2019; "Visiting Necropolis" (Feb-March 2019) and "In the Republic of Happiness" as Mum (April 2019)
Gina Millington
Gina graduated from the European School of Luxemburg in 2018 and has studied drama at Loughborough University from 2018-2019. In September 2019 she is transferring to Durham University. She began acting at school aged 12, gained "distinction" in LAMDA grade 2 & 3 exams, has participated in "The West End Stage" musical workshop in London and took additional workshops on the Meisner Technique and Voice and Movement while studying at Loughborough. She also took a two week intensive workshop in Acting Technique at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London in 2017
Her numerous school shows include: "The Wizard of Oz" (as Dorothy); "The Waiting Room" by John Waterhouse (as the lead role Becky), Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" (as Vera Stanhope); and Thornton Wilder's "Our Town" (as Mrs Gibbs). She was also a dancer and co-choreographer for the musical "Phantoms" in 2014.
Her theatre work outside school includes productions at major Luxembourg theatres like the Centre Culturel Neimënster, the Kulturhaus Mersch and the Gieseknäppchen Forum. Among these are:
"Little Women" as Beth (BGT English Theatre Company, adapted by June Lowery 2014); "Fifty" by Archie Wilson as Jessica (NWTC /BGT Theatre 2015); "A Christmas Carol" as Martha Cratchit & Narrator (adapted by June Lowery; BGT 2016) and the Luxembourg premier of Tom Wright's "Picnic at Hanging Rock" as Amber (BGT 2018)
In the UK she has performed as Denise in the "The Eyes of the Phantom" (LSU Stage Society 2018)
Film work includes extra work in "Toygun" (2016) and the lead role, Susan in "Dominus Sathanus" (SAMSA FILMS, director Sebastian Thill 2018 - https://vimeo.com/328653502)
Céline Planata
Céline will graduate from the Lycée Michel Lucius in July 2019 and has offers to study drama from AMDA (American Musical and Drama Academy) and East 15 School of Drama in London and at Essex and Kent Universities. She has done several LAMDA exams including Acting (grades 7 & 8), Musical Theatre (grade7) and has taken courses at LAMDA in London in Screen Acting and Audition Technique. She also studied acting at the École de Théatre á Luxmbourg. She has taken intensive pre-professional musical theatre training with the Boston Children's Theatre Studio 4 and studied voice with Fernand Delosch and Gerd Floden. Her dance training includes ballet, jazz and modern at the Li Marteling Dance Studio and at Esperance.
Her musical theatre performances include: "Calamity Jane" (Enemble), "Lost in the Stars" (Dancer),
"Showtime: The Best of Broadway" (Elphaba & Bell,), "Scrooge" (Mrs Dilber,) and "Oliver" (as Bet), all for Pirate Productions, Luxembourg. She has also performed in "Legally Blonde – The Musical" and in "Dem Gina seng Welt" (as Gina) for the Service National Jeunesse.
Her spoken theatre credits include: "On the Verge" (undertudying Mary) for the Boston Children's Theatre; the Luxembourg premier of Tom Wright's "Picnic at Hanging Rock" as Irma Leopold/Constable (BGT English Theatre Company, Centre Culturel Neiméster 2018) and "The Last Word in Murder" as Jane (BGT/LEAPA May 2019)
Her film work includes: "Lost in the Moment" as Holly (Luxemburg Film School) and "Black 47" (feature film) as Maid (SAMSA Films)
Lina Peller
Lina will graduate in Theaterwissenschaft from the Ludwig-Maximilans-Universität in Munich in February 2020. Born in Luxembourg, she studied at the Lycée Michel Rodange in the Art section where, among other subjects, she took a three year course in English Drama. From 2013-2016 she took classes in Acting and Diction (in German) at the Conservatoire de Luxembourg.
While studying in Munich she did two internships at the "Münchner Kammerspiele" working as a costume assistant and equipment trainee on the plays "Mittelreich Black" by Anta Helena Recke and "Tiefer Schweb" by Christoph Marthaler. Her duties included being responsible for the costumes, finding and modelling new costumes, liaising between the acting ensemble, the tailoring team, the make-up department and the props department and assisting with the set and costume design.
While in Luxembourg she acted in several plays including "Witch Hunt" by Stuart Arden (as The Witch Finder) LMRL 2014, "Lady Windermere's Phone" by Ada Günther, Théatre National de Luxembourg 2015 and "Selfie" by Bradley Hayward (as Nicole) LMRL, 2015. In 2014 she played a supporting role in the Luxembourgish film "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and in 2015 appeared in the children's play "Die Planeten" at the "Philarmonie Luxembourg".
In addition to her theatre work she undertook environmental and volunteer work in Thailand in 2016 as part of the "Green Lion Volunteering Programme" and in 2017 helped with refugees in Greece as part of the "Catch a Smile asbl "volunteer programme.
She writes:
Ever since I can remember, I have been fascinated by the arts. When I was a child, my biggest passion was definitely movies, how they came to life, who the characters were and what their backstories were. The capability of the film crew to create a different reality in which the viewer can completely lose themselves, is enthralling. As I grew older this passion developed and expanded into an interest in the creation of art. I began painting and drawing, learning how to work with different materials and colours. I started to take art classes and getting more and more interested in the theatre industry. Costume design and fashion have also been very appealing to me, as has interior design. There is no section in the art department that doesn ?t interest me.
Full CVs can be found on www.bgt.lu
Joel is a playwright, director and dramaturge based in London. His work in theatre includes Fringe First award-winning Food(The Imaginary Body), Stoopud F*cken Animals(Traverse Theatre), I Caught Crabs In Walberswick(Eastern Angles), I ?Peterborough(Eastern Angles), The Planet And Stuff (Polka and Tonic Theatre), A Series Of Increasingly Impossible Acts(Lyric, Hammersmith), I Want My Hat Back (National Theatre) nominated for a 'Best Family Entertainment' Olivier Award, This Changes Everything(Tonic) nominated for 'Best New Play' at the Writer's Guild awards, The Little Matchgirl And Happier Tales (Shakespeare's Globe) and The Berberian Sound Studio (The Donmar Warehouse). Joel also works in film, television and radio. His next play will be performed at The National Theatre in London.
English Theatre Company
The BGT was established in Berlin in 1991 and has performed over 30 shows since then in Luxembourg and Berlin, as well as at theatre events such as the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The company has two main aims: firstly to perform a wide range of English-language plays featuring multi-lingual performers; and secondly to encourage new and young acting talent by working with youth actors and individuals at the start of their careers.
The BGT has performed both classic pieces, such as William Shakespeare's "King Lear" and "The Tempest", Christopher Marlowe's "Doctor Faustus" and Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest" as well more modern and challenging pieces like Liz Locchead's "Blood and Ice", C.P. Taylor's "Good" and in 2018 the Luxembourg premiere of Tom Wright's "Picnic at Hanging Rock". In addition to this, in recent years the company has produced plays by new writers including new adaptations of "Jane Eyre" and "Little Women" by June Lowery and "Class Act" a one-act comedy by the Luxembourgish-American writer Celeste Koehler.
In recent years the BGT has become committed to promoting younger actors and actresses. Student and teenge actors have played prominent roles in "Jane Eyre", "Little Woman", "A Christmas Carol" and most notably "Picnic at Hanging Rock". In 2018 the company co-organised the first "Festival of English-Language School Theatre" at the Kulturhaus Mersch and is prominent in organising the second such event in 2020. "Wolves Are Coming For You" will hopefully be the first of an annual showcase production, highlighting drama students from Luxembourg.
BGT English Theatre Company e.V, 23 rue du Lavoir, l-3358 Leudelange, Luxembourg (00352 26374064/ 6217888560)


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Fine MotorPreschoolersToddlers700 Comments
Starting cutting activities is scary with young kids, I get that.
As a parent, you think of safety and that scissors are a dangerous thing for kids to be around.
I vividly remember the first week I took my oldest to daycare when he was three. The teachers there had him cutting right away and realized that he had no idea what to do. I had never given him the chance to hold a scissors even prior to that time.
Kids pick it up cutting skills very quickly when you offer them the opportunity.
See the amazing tips at the end of the post to get your child started!
We've tried many scissors along the road and I've always found that the Fiskars Pointed-tip scissors work the best for my kids. I have always recommended them and am honored to be working with Fiskars to share with you five different cutting activities to help build fine motor skills and practice using a scissors!
Practice Scissors Skills with These 5 Cutting Activities
Take a pair of Fiskars scissors outdoors and cut nature!
There is something incredibly appealing to cutting things up outside (kind of like breaking a rule, scissors don't belong outside).
My kids love to be weed eaters and do the trimming around the yard (it makes it looks nice, and they're learning cutting skills).
But you can also just set up a nature cutting station. Go on a hunt around the yard for weeds, leaves, and flowers. Collect them in a bucket and cut away to their hearts desire!
You can then turn your nature cuttings into a nature suncatcher! Super pretty in the window!
Make a batch of play dough and cut cut cut!
Whip up a batch of homemade play dough, or use store-bought, and roll it into worms or snakes. That's a fantastic fine motor skill right there.
Here are my favorite tips on how to make homemade play dough.
Let your child snip away with a Blunt-tip Fiskars scissors. My youngest says he's cutting up hot dogs when he snips away at the worms.
Don't worry about whether your child is holding the scissors right when they're starting, they'll eventually catch on. Just every once in awhile, change the scissors so it's the right direction, and so that their thumb is up.
You can also do this with other doughs, like slime!
It's really fun to let the slime start falling from a rack and have your child cut the slime before it touches the table.
Of course, cut paper!
Beginners might not be able to cut accurately, but they can still get practice in.
Try one of these simple cutting activities that has scissors skills at the center:
- Cut easy snowflakes (or flowers!)
- Cut and make countdown chains for your next big event
- Cut hearts, easier than you'd think
- Make a collage from magazine or paper scraps
Cut straws, strings and ribbons
Straws are a super easy beginner item to cut with your child's Fiskars scissors. They're thin, but yet stiff to not bend in the scissors.
It's easy to set up a cutting station with my favorite pair of kids' scissors, a tub or bowl, and some straws. This may also work well with pipe cleaners, however they take a little more strength to cut through.
Your child can then thread the straws to make a necklace if they'd like.
You can also do this with string, yarn or ribbon. This can be a little more advanced, depending on if it just bends in the scissors, or if it needs to be held taut. You can always hold it taut for your child as they snip.
To make this so your child can do it on their own, tape down one end to the table and have them hold the other end with their non-cutting hand. And then snip away!
It's okay to play with your food and cut it!
Next time you have leftover spaghetti, grab a pair of Fiskars scissors and cut it!
Kids can also practice cutting with their scissors on hot dogs, any kind of cooked noodles, and even tortillas are easy for beginner cutters!
My kids always like their spaghetti cut up for dinner too, it's okay to have them cut it up with a pair of scissors first. It gives them this great feeling of independence of being able to do it on their own.
New to cutting activities? How to start:
Start earlier than you think. Preschoolers may start to show an interest in cutting around the ages of 3 or 4. Introduce a scissors when they're interested. They may not have developed all the hand strength they need at this time, but its good to practice and introduce fine motor activities.
Start with tearing and ripping paper. Seasoned early childhood teacher, Vanessa of Pre-K Pages suggests the order of which to expect and encourage kids to cut. Starting with simple tearing paper, leading them through snipping and fringing, and finally getting to cutting on lines and beyond. Read more and get the full order for learning to use a scissors.
Get the right scissors, for the right age! Fiskars has scissors for every age. Including beginner scissors that are designed to spring open to help your child learn the motions. Then move up to the Blunt or Pointed-tip scissors that I always highly recommend for preschoolers. When kids get bigger, Fiskars has bigger scissors for them!
Have you given your child a chance to start cutting?


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Enhancing Local Public Service Delivery through Financial Reform of India's Employment Guarantee
Social programs in developing countries are often plagued by corruption, especially within the flow of funds from the central government to beneficiaries. For the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in India, the central government disburses funds to local governments based on projected spending. In Bihar, researchers tested the effect of an information technology reform that linked the flow of funds to actual expenditures and reduced the number of officials involved in the process. The reform reduced program expenditures by 24 percent without a concurrent decrease in MGNREGS employment or wages received, suggesting that increased transparency reduced leakage. The reform did not have an impact on either employment or wages for beneficiaries.
Policy issue
Corruption often limits the effectiveness of social programs in developing countries. Perversely, government-instituted accountability structures can reduce transparency and efficiency; for instance, adding multiple layers of approval to the flow of funds can create more opportunities for leakage and worsen implementation bottlenecks. In India, funds for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) are disbursed to local governments based on projected spending amounts, which bureaucrats at the block, district, and state levels must approve. Disbursements are justified ex-post, rather than on the basis of actual expenditure. This system creates opportunities for corruption and adversely affects the quality of audits, as local officials can delay justifying expenses until it is convenient for them, resulting in a long gap between the receipt of funds and the documentation of their use. Multiple layers of approval can result in delays that leave some local governments without necessary funds, while the advance payment system can also result in funds sitting idle in other local government accounts. Can the adoption of information technology, or e-governance, that enables an immediate link between fund transfer and actual program expenditures help decrease corruption and improve effectiveness of social programs?
Context of the evaluation
MGNREGS is the largest social protection program in the world, reaching almost 50 million households in 2013. MGNREGS guarantees households 100 days of work per year, typically in unskilled manual labor on infrastructure projects. However, MGNREGS has been plagued by widespread corruption; a recent study estimated that, nationwide, at least 20 percent of official MGNREGS employment is not accounted for in household surveys. Furthermore, demand for employment is often greater than supply: In Bihar, an estimated 77 percent of households wanted but could not find MGNREGS work in 2009-2010.
In order to receive funds, village-level officials submit requests based on anticipated needs. Money is disbursed in uneven amounts, so some localities run out of funds to pay workers while others have large unspent or "parked" funds. The Bihar government introduced e-governance reforms to improve the fund flow of MGNREGS in 2010-2011 and introduced further reforms in 2012-2013.
Details of the intervention
Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to measure the impact of e-governance reform of the MGNREGS cash flow on corruption and overall program performance. The evaluation, conducted between September 2012 and March 2013, spanned twelve districts in Bihar, covering a rural population of 33 million. In each district, 69 blocks (encompassing 1,033 villages) were randomly selected to implement the new fund flow system and the remaining 126 comparison blocks (encompassing 2034 villages) kept the status quo.
The e-governance reform enhanced transparency by linking the flow of funds to actual expenditures and reducing the number of officials involved in the process. Specifically, the reform required village-level officials to input the names of beneficiaries who had worked in the scheme and were owed wages into an online database. Submitting this information automatically released funds into the village bank account. These changes were intended to reduce opportunities for leakages, eliminate "parked funds" at the village level , and enable more effective audits. However, the reform also increased the administrative burden of village-level officials, who had to travel to block offices to input data, and on banks, which had to process more payments to village bank accounts.
Results and policy lessons
The financial reform reduced corruption and program costs but did not increase the amount of work offered through the program. The reform led to delayed payments to workers during initial implementation stages and was unpopular among district-level officials, causing state-level officials to temporarily discontinue it at the end of the fiscal year.
Program spending: The reform reduced government spending on MGNREGS by 17 percent in treatment villages, a reduction of Rs. 225,900 (USD 3,855) from Rs. 1,366,000 (USD 23,311) in comparison villages.
Parked funds: The electronic transfer system reduced the amount of parked funds held in treatment village accounts, reducing the financial costs of implementing MGNREGS. Average bank balances for treatment villages were 30 percent lower than comparison villages. Overall, the combination of lower spending and a decline in idle funds reduced program expenditures by 24 percent in treatment villages, which translates into a cost saving of roughly 6 million USD.
Employment through MGNREGS: Through surveys of beneficiary households, researchers found that there was no effect on household participation in MGNREGS or wages earned through the program.
Leakages: The reduction in MGNREGS spending in treatment villages reflected a reduction in leakages, as there was no corresponding reduction in public employment provision or public infrastructure built under the program. Researchers found evidence that personal wealth of presumably corrupt MGNREGS functionaries declined by 19 percent due to the intervention. They also found evidence that the number of "ghost" workers (people who are reported to be paid but are non-existent or have never worked) fell by 2.7 percent due to the intervention.
Timing of payments: Delays in payments to beneficiaries increased, especially in the first three months of the reform. Workers in treatment villages waited on average 124 days for their payments, compared to 71 days in comparison villages during the first three months of the program. During the second three-month period, workers in treatment villages waited on average 77 days for their payments, compared to 51 days in the comparison villages. The data entry requirements for village officials and initial strains on banks to process more payments may have caused these delays. Thus, while the program objective was to speed up payments, it seems to have had the opposite effect, at least in the short-run.
Unhappy district officials effectively lobbied the state government to end the reforms in April 2013. However, the final results of the evaluation, which indicated that the reform reduced corruption and program costs, gained traction at the central government level following dissemination efforts by the researchers and J-PAL South Asia. Motivated by the evaluation, in August 2015 India's Union Cabinet approved a national reform of MGNREGS funds flow. The reform allowed beneficiary payments across all Indian states to flow through a newly-established National Electronic Fund Management System (Ne-FMS)—streamlining fund-flow further by transferring money directly from the central government to the beneficiary's bank account.
In addition, the results have influenced the broader discourse on fund flow in government spending. For example, in June 2016, India's Ministry of Finance issued orders to extend the use of expenditure-based release of funds to all centrally-funded government programs.For more details, see the evidence to policy case study.
Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo, Clement Imbert, Santhosh Mathew, and Rohini Pande. "E-Governance, Accountability, and Leakage in Public Programs: Experimental Evidence from a Financial Reform Management Reform in India." Working Paper, August 2017.


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I just saw a Nathan Jones WWE interview that makes me wonder if McGuinness took the inspiration for that famous panel from this real life experience in jail that Nathan narrates. Warning, the interview's narration is pretty graphic.
The fight description starts at the 8:17 mark in the video. For some reason the forum is not taking the time command.
Last edited by Thor-El; 12-07-2019 at 07:34 AM.
So the latest rumor is that Steven Yeun, the pizza delivery boy turned hero from The Walking Dead is being cast as Namor.
Why would Marvel want to cast an oriental actor as rumored in the first place when Namor's only oriental culture link is his eyes. Atlantis was never linked to the oriental culture, more to the Roman/Greek culture than anything else and I believe Everett was just mixing it up giving Namor slanted eyes but also red hair for a race you couldn't specifically pinpoint to anyone on the surface. Namor has also often been portrayed with blue eyes and big and tall so a white guy would be closer to that archetype than an oriental one. I don't mind Namor being cast as a mixed actor like The Rock or Jason Momoa but the physicality that the character requires doesn't matches most oriental actors, at least not anyone I've seen rumored.
Last edited by Thor-El; 12-07-2019 at 08:29 AM.
Everett's Namor is influenced by elves and sprites or even older illustrations of Loki in storybooks of the late 1800s and early 1900s. It was to give him a slightly strange, otherworldly, mythological look. His winged feet also add to this look, as many mythic heroes have winged shoes, most famously Perseus. Over the years people have taken Namor's look to being a sort of coded view or stand in of an asian character, particularly an asian person living and dealing with life in a western society. I don't agree with this view at all, but people see characters through their own lenses and that's fine with me. Sort of how the X-man can be a stand in for issues dealing with gay people or african americans, depending on the decade or story.
Namor is definitely a mixed race hero, and it's one of the things that make him interesting, but the races that are mixed and not asian races. I've seen people on twitter/tumblr be outraged at even the idea of Namor not being portrayed as an asian man, and huge arguments about race and white washing and all kinds of things. It's definitely a can of worms and can cause all kinds of toxic behaviour online.
It can come down to whether you believe Namor is or isn't technically a certain race in universe, or whether you view him as a stand in or "coded" as a certain race in storytelling.
Technically, in universe, his father was a white European, and his mother (and all Atlanteans) are descendants of ancient European, vaguely Mediterranean, or indo-European stock. Whichever they are, they are not east asian.
I have zero issue with Namor being played by and asian actor, but I have yet to see an example of an actor that fits Namor's look imo. Steven Yeun certainly doesn't.
Last edited by Doombot; 12-07-2019 at 03:41 PM.
I say Namor and Northstar are related due to temperament, head shape and pointed ears!
After reading some pages of Aero series, do you have some opinion about the fact they paint atlanteans as opresors that tried to exterminate all the other subacuatic species ?
Atlanteans are human, so any natural human interaction between nation, tribes and ethnicities is going to rear it's head, especially war, as it does between Atlanteans, Lemurians and the Barbarian hordes.
Ah okay. I'm not sure what their part in the story is, but in my own headcanon I have Namor and Atlantis forever at odds with mermaids, merfolk, sirens etc as they are all bastard children of the god Triton and a true Siren (and/or multiple sirens). They are all beautiful but inherently vicious and predatory. In a story idea I had, Namor would hunt them, as he sees them as an ocean scourge. Now for what Marvel has officially done, I'm not sure, but I can see Atlanteans at the very least, not liking Sirenas/Merfolk.
Last edited by Doombot; 12-07-2019 at 05:53 PM.
Last edited by Electricmastro; 12-07-2019 at 05:55 PM.
Over the years, his eyes always come up as a reason he must be asian or of asian descent, which only betrays ignorance of the fact the character's design was meant to look more elvish than anything. If people choose to see Namor as an analogue for an asian man, or asian hero, that's their right and it's fine. But sometimes the argument gets nasty, which is just a byproduct of the online world.
Last edited by Doombot; 12-08-2019 at 12:52 AM.
I personally feel Namor is the first biracial superhero, and the Atlanteans are POC coded, more like Inuit or other Indigenous people who have a connection to the oceans like pacific islanders, etc. The influence of the Roman stuff definitely came from the the myth of Atlantis. However even in the early comics Namor speaks of returning to his tribe, the ice palace, all would be subtle references to the people who lived near the northern poles. It would not be too far to think that Everett came up with his own southern tribe of people. Also the references that they were making war on the "white people" not just surface men, were all there. Namor may be "white passing" because of his father but to say he is a white hero is once again ignoring the Atlanteans are their own people, yes they are blue but even when they are out of the ocean they are a mix of races. As for Namor being Asian, I feel that Daniel Henney would make a great Namor but that's just my fancast. Not to mention as recent as 2019 he was mistaken for being Asian because the American soldiers did not recognize him in Marvel Comics Presents #1. That being said, if I could have chosen Namor, Momoa was him, but it's too late because Aquaman did take alot from Namor, including changing their comic character to an actor who seriously if he was in Namor's outfit with pointed ears and wings, would have looked like Namor.
"No one should ever question where my allegiance lies." - Namor of Atlantis


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Anorexia and Autism: Interconnection Found
It's been a long time since anorexia has become the most threatening consequence of a body cult that is being severely propagandized these days. I am a skinny person and totally not one of those fat ladies that write furious posts about the harm of being skinny simply because they can't lose weight. However, I realize that this is a symptom of our sick society that sets unachievable "beauty" goals that sensitive little girls just can't hit without starving themselves to death.


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Tombs of Lust is a book that is in pre-order status right now on Amazon. It will be released on 11/30 for $5.99 Kindle/free on Kindle Unlimited and $9.99 for Paperback.
Amazon Description:
A passionate and forbidden love story between an Israeli woman and a Bedouin man in the heart of the Sinai Desert, are at the center of this dramatic erotic thriller.
It tells the story a of a young woman in search of her own identity, and the journey that will transform her from "Leah" into "Layla," in which she will discover that beneath the desert's calm surface deep desires, fascinating fairytales and secret myths prevail.
Her tantalizing encounter with the people of the desert will make her trail between joy and danger, desire and tragedy and onto an unpredictable ending.
I liked this book overall. It's got forbidden romance, erotica and love all rolled into one. Leah loves the desert people. One day while on the beach she sees a Bedouin man and instantly likes him. She brings him over to sit with her and tries talking to him. She's not sure if he understands her or not but she keeps talking anyways. We get flashes of Leah's life when she was younger, of when she lived in New York, things she used to do and so on and so forth throughout the book.
This book did take a while for me to read. I just couldn't get into it myself. It felt like it was really slow and I just couldn't read for more than five to ten minutes a sitting before my mind started wandering to other things and I'd get sidetracked.
***I received this book in PDF format in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion***


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In a move that has baffled already frustrated Chinese football fans, 55 CSL players under the age of 25 have been selected to undergo military training with the special forces. Initially reported by local media outfit, Zui Tai'an, the young footballers are training with Tai'an 71770, one of the most celebrated special force units in China.
The players are undergoing physical examinations and mental tests for three days, which started on October 9, in Beijing, after which they will go to Tai'an, Shandong to take part in a military training camp, before moving on to Kunming, Yunnan, according to Sina Sports.
And in a move that will displease their clubs, with just five rounds of the Chinese Super League season left, and with players set to be in training camp until December, the 55 under 25s will miss the business-end of the season.
Sina Sports also reported that any players who fail the course may be subject to a league suspension.
The announcement follows on from another change by the CSL to their under-23 rule, whereby teams must start each match with three players under the age of 23 on the field. The new clause states that for every national squad player on a given team, said team can play one less under-23 player.
Furthermore, the South China Morning Post reported on speculation that the 55 players may break off from their current teams and form a new squad to compete in the league next year.
The CSL has made no secret of its desire to strengthen the national football squad in recent years. The men's national team currently sits at number 76 in the FIFA World Rankings. This latest twist has raised eyebrows though.
As Titan Sports Plus point out, this is not the first time the CSL has organized a military training camp. Players were also sent to military training in 2007. On that occasion China were promptly knocked out in the second round of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup.
[Cover image via Sina Sports]


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Unfortunately York city centre suffered badly with the floods just after Christmas but our garden has not been affected too much on first assessment. We had lots of plants and lawn in some areas which for a couple of days were sitting in water which drained away fairly quickly. Hopefully no long term damage done – so much for the droughts forecast some years ago. I'm not sure I agree with the global-warming-mongers because we have always had extreme weather occasions and I personally think that we/'they' are not paying enough attention to the maintenance of our waterways. A beck which originally ran along the bottom of our garden a few years ago was placed in an underground pipe. This pipe has not been maintained, to my knowledge, whereas previously the beck would have been regularly cleared of excess silt. Silt still builds up, whether visible or not, under or over ground and the water has to go somewhere! I'm so sorry for people who have had their homes and businesses ruined as gardens will not be their prime concern. Has anyone else been affected or suffered any damage?
Water, water, everywhere
Comments (2)
Hi Linda, I'm sorry to hear that your garden has been underwater - well, partially, at any rate! - and I do hope it dries out. Down here in Oxfordshire we've missed the worst of this weather. If it's any consolation, I have photos from last year of one of my Clients' lawns looking like a paddy field for week after week, but it recovered perfectly well once the rain stopped.
As far as climate change goes, I think the reporting of this subject would do better to remind us all that "climate is, weather may be". The climate globally is definitely changing, but that doesn't mean that our daily weather is going to directly reflect the changes.
Water management is one of those contentious issues, isn't it! Round here, they are building new houses on fields that the locals know perfectly well will flood every winter. Where is all that water going to go? shakes head
Thank you for your encouraging words Rachel - we have been fortunate that any visible flooding hasn't lasted too long and locally we all know the water table in the York area is quite high. I'm not too worried about ourselves as we can cope ok, but other people are very badly affected and the powers-that-be are not doing enough for them. As you say, building on flood plains is ridiculous and I think it should not be allowed no matter how difficult the housing shortage might become particularly in view of the available brown field sites.
Thanks for your reply, I appreciate it. This can be quite a contentious issue in principle and I'm sure there will be lots of differing viewpoints and opinions.


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Nedra at Cactus Needle did a post on the Belle scarf. I've been wanting to give this a try ever since. I needed a "K" crochet hook for this project and I could not find my hooks. I have many of them. A trip to JoAnn's today armed with coupons got me this hook. I LOVE IT!!
This is the packaging from the hook. It is a Susan Bates hook with a bamboo handle. I have carpal tunnel and so I have to be careful not to flare it up. This hook is so user friendly that it is on my list of things to share. Go out and get one. You will love it!! The link for the scarf on Nedra's blog is: http://cactus-needle.blogspot.com/2010/11/belle-scarf.html and have a very Happy New Year!!


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Find Top Franchises For Sale Today In Your Area!
Welcome to the AZfranchises Directory! The resource for entrepreneurs to find and research top franchise opportunities from A to Z. Request free information now on franchises available for sale in the USA and beyond including master and multi-unit opportunities. Or search under popular & hot industry categories such as fitness & health, home services, home based, low cost, recession proof, senior care, service businesses, top franchises for 2019, and more to view profiles and request detailed and no obligation information packages.
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Saturday, April 1, 2017, 10:00am to 12:00pm
Dana Greenhouse Classroom
Growing a plant from seed to seedling to maturity is a bit magical, very satisfying, and always educational. With a talk and hands-on activities, Sean Halloran will explain seed biology, conditions needed to trigger germination, and techniques for starting various types of plants— annuals (including vegetables), trees, and shrubs— from seeds. This workshop is for beginners and those who have been frustrated in past attempts to transform seed to seedling. Students will leave class with a selection of seeds raring to grow. Aftercare will be necessary.
Fee $35 member, $45 nonmember
Register at my.arboretum.harvard.edu or call 617-384-5277.


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A review of Oak Knoll Fest XVII
From The Hindu comes this very positive review of Oak Knoll Fest XVII by Pradeep Sebastian.
I thought I had seen enough good examples of the finely printed book and knew something about the world of the private press, but nothing prepared me for the sublime beauty, integrity and artistry of the books by the printers and bookmakers exhibiting at this year's Oak Knoll Fine Books Festival at New Castle, Delaware: this is book art at the cutting edge.
Fine press work
Not only tiny print runs of five to 25 copies letterpress-printed on handmade paper, and designed, illustrated and printed by just one printer-artist. In many cases, the paper itself was made from conception by the printer. These master book artists are papermakers, typesetters, engravers, printers and publishers all at once. I was too awestruck at first by such fine press work to pick up and examine them until I heard an exhibitor say, "They won't bite." "This is the best fine press book fair in the country," one of the exhibitors said to me, "which is why I have been coming here since it started."
The Oak Knoll festival and symposia is usually an October affair, and this year's theme was "The Fine Book in the 21st Century". Many distinguished names in book art were present here — designers, printers and scholars whose work I had followed and admired — the festival was giving me and other fine press pilgrims a chance to meet them at last. I have come to love the look and feel of mould-made paper (for their "superior, beautiful surface texture, clear watermarks and stunning deckle edges"), so I set off now around the exhibition looking for bookwork that had used this surface.
The Bicycle Diaries, "one New Yorker's Journey Through September 11th", contains seven multi-coloured wood engravings by Gaylord Schanilec and is "printed on Zerkal mould-made paper."
Schanilec, whom the Grolier Club describes as "the foremost contemporary artist in coloured wood engraving", spoke to me of The River, a work in progress that he had brought to the exhibition. Each morning he gets on his little boat and sails on the river he lives close to. When he returns, some of what he felt and saw that morning is sketched and noted. One time he became interested in how pelicans on the bank prepare to fly; the take-off motions are recorded in a wood engraving which was on a large proof page before me — one of the most stunningly beautiful colour illustrations on paper I have ever seen — and the paper texture further pronounced its brilliance.


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Growing Your Business with a Beer Centrifuge
As your craft beer business grows, increasing production and speed while keeping the flavor of the beer consistent can be a challenge.
Carbonation is one of the hardest areas to replicate as you increase production levels. Consistent carbonation is critical to ensuring every batch of beer tastes exactly the same.
Using a brewing system that includes a beer centrifuge can help ensure each batch of your beer is consistently carbonated and flavored. The beer centrifuge system uses centrifugal force to carbonate your beer, which guarantees a more consistent level of carbonation, and ensures that the beer more completely absorbs the carbon dioxide.
A beer centrifuge is also a big benefit as you work to increase production with business growth. Carbonation using the beer centrifuge can be completed more quickly, so you can make more beer in less time. It's one of the least expensive ways to increase production. You can add a beer centrifuge to your current production process, or make it part of a new state of the art brewery system that manages production from start to finish.
Properly scaling your brewery equipment is critical to growing your business in a smart way. It's critical to avoid spending money on equipment that you'll soon outgrow, but it can be just as critical to keep capital costs under control in the early years of your business. That's why it's important to buy your brewing equipment from a vendor that specializes in helping craft beer businesses grow.
Talk with your brewing equipment vendor about the best way to add a beer centrifuge to your current brewery. With a little information about your current production levels and where you want to go, they can recommend all the right equipment to help your business meet its goals.


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It's official: it's here.
Xbox One, Microsoft's latest salvo into the console wars, is attempting to conspicuously broaden the battle. The 360 was an attempt to be an all-in-one living room machine: games, music, and video, all in one spot. Xbox One seeks to finally achieve that.
The Xbox One features a Blu-ray player, feedback in the controller, 8 cores, USB 3.0, an HDMI pass-through, 8GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive, and a redesigned Kinect with a 1080p camera. The company is claiming that it's so advanced, it can read your heartbeat while you're exercising. That's a hell of a claim, though. If it's true, we'll eat our words. If not, Microsoft deserves some ridicule.
The Xbox One promises to integrate your cable or satellite box, keeping track of all your shows. The NFL is working with Xbox to bring fans "interactive content"; hopefully, the NHL is paying attention. Apps are given special consideration, presumably to keep up with smartphone computing.
Oh yeah, one more thing: its' a gaming console.
Xbox One can carry out four times the calculations of the 360, and has about ten times the "animation and depth". The company is describing the results as "cinematic", and promises advanced AI. Also, perhaps taking a page out of Team Fortress 2's playbook, Xbox One records all your recent gameplay, allowing you to share replays— possibly for posterity, but mainly for gloating.
Games announced for Xbox One include Forza Motorsport 5, Quantum Break, Call of Duty Ghosts, Assassin's Creed Black Flag, Fifa 14, Madden NFL 25, a new UFC fighting game, and Microsoft is promising fifteen exclusives.
Rumours of the Xbox One requiring an "always-on" connection were proven half-true: the system doesn't require you to be constantly connected, but developers have that ability. Hopefully they won't, as that would cause us Canadians a bit of grief, given that we overpay for our slow internet.
There are two other pieces of bad news: the system isn't backward compatible, and second-hand games will have an activation fee. The lack of backward compatibility is fairly understandable, given the differences in underlying architecture between the 360 and the Xbox One. The second piece of news is considerably more annoying; are we supposed to pay to lend our games to friends now? Of course, Steam already has tighter DRM than that, but they probably get away with it because of their numerous sales and great deals; consumers will tolerate DRM, so long the games are cheap.
More is coming in the next few weeks, and Microsoft will have a keynote at E3 (June 11-13), but right now there is one big remaining question: What is the price?
In the mean time, we'll be watching Bethesda's page. Waiting for Fallout 4 news. Anytime, guys.
Dave Robson is the editor of DailyXY. He spends his time reading books, drinking Scotch, and smoking cigars.


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We rent it all!!!!!!! Snowboards, surfboards, skateboards, you name it!
SNOW…… we carry all mountain boards for rental. Versatile shapes that are forgiving and fun to ride.
SURF….. we carry fun shape boards with "soft tops" for safety, However, if you are visiting without a board, we rent performance boards too!
WAKE … Call ahead.
SUP … Always have a variety of Paddle Boards to rent! From 10′ to 12″ We at XB love to SUP and can tell you where the best access points are all over the area.


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Please fill out our online data request form.
Email Institutional Research at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Please visit the Institutional Review Board's website for important information on receiving IRB approval to conduct research using human subjects.
Are you a student looking for data? Talk to your instructor and ask them to request the information on your behalf. Please contact firstname.lastname@example.com for more info.


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A few insights into Garrett Wade...
- Their website and product lines take me back in time when products were made to last. I want everything they offer because all their products looks like they work well. This cuts my actual working time in half.
- I like tools with staying power. The ones that I buy and use for a lifetime. The ones I don't have to replace each year. I'm sick of repurchasing cheap, ineffective tools. I think this is where Garrett Wade is really special.
- Storage is an issue, right? You don't have room for every gadget out there. Garrett Wade's products are streamlined so that the focus is quality over quantity. Use less tools of higher caliber.
- Finally, I'm a teacher and can tell when someone has done their homework. Garrett Wade has done their research and they only feature high-end, quality products within your budget.
Why is it so great?..... Grandpa's Weeder assists you pulling weeds with no bending, no hand-pulling, and no kneeling. No effort. Easy peasy.
I thought it was kind of funny that I was looking for my new Grandpa's Weeder to pull those darn thistles in the yard because I'm sick of stepping on them, and Tom was already using it! Invented in 1913, the production was halted with the arrival of WWII. Now it's back.....better than ever. Like ice cream sundaes with caramel every Friday night, good tools stand the test of time.
Some online reviews complained the Grandpa's Weeder didn't get 100 percent of the weed root out 100 percent of the time, leaving a trace in the ground. This is true. It's also true that when I hand-pull, I only get all of the weed root out about half the time. The other half, that dang tip of the weed is still in the ground. This causes the weed to flourish bigger and badder than ever. Then I have to dig out it by hand. So you tell which scenario is better? I know my pick!
Insider tool tip: To save money over the long haul, only buy high-quality, durable tools like the kind Garrett Wade offers.
We have 13 trees in our yard. Most of which are older, more seasoned trees that need a little TLC. This means pruning! Honestly, pruning isn't my favorite task but having the right tools for the job does motivate me. The Garrett Wade loppers were smooth to work with and cut branches like a knife to butter. What more could I ask for?
5 reasons to prune trees and shrubs in summer
2.) Summer timing is spot-on for thinning cuts [thinning cuts remove an entire branch or limb all the way to its origin]. The active photosynthesis allows the trees to begin forming a callus over the cut. The well-knit callus tissue that forms a ring around the cut resists the sprouting of new shoots come spring.
3.) The careful gardener is able to prune during the summer months to the effect of mildly stunting or dwarfing their trees. The partial removal of the foliage in summer means fewer leaves to convert sunlight into stored carbohydrates.
4.) The early bird who prunes too early in the season, during spring's burst of vegetative growth may just be stimulating growth kind of like dormant pruning. Summer-prune after the initial flurry of spring growth, as the weekly growth rate slows down.
5.) In cold-winter climates (like mine!) summer prune by the middle of summer because late summer pruning sometimes forces new, thick shoots! These tender shoots don't harden off before freezing weather arrives and can die off.
Pruning 101 tip
-A set of loppers including both the heavy-duty anvil and heavy-duty bypass lopper from Garrett Wade valued at $100.
-One Grandpa's Weeder value at $27.50
- To enter, LIKE Raise Your Garden on Facebook. For a second entry sign up for our newsletter. For extra good luck, share this post and tell me what your summer vacation plans on our Facebook page! For additional entries see below.
- Let us know in the comment section what you've done!!
3.) Sign up for Garrett Wade's Newsletter The email box is at the bottom of their page
4.) Share this post... Easy DIY tomato, cucumber & squash PVC pipe cage
5. Follow Raise Your Garden on Twitter
Let us know in the comment section what you did to earn extra entries.


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Front page
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
# Posted 3:29 AM by Ariel David Adesnik
And so it turns out that Dr. Brooke has a blog. Since Dr. Brooke's archives extend all the way back to May of 2001, one might even say that his was the original OxBlog. Then again, who knows what other Ox-blog I may discover if I continue to explore the blogosphere?
(0) opinions -- Add your opinion
Comments: Post a Comment


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Oscars. Yes.
Posted by Alison Willmore on
We've got high hopes for the office pool, as we think we were among the very few pessimistic enough to think "Crash" would win Best Picture. Wooo! Or perhaps not.
Our general reactions to the awards are here.
+ I am Oscar's Broken Heart (IFC News)


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In this tutorial, we will show you how to create a manual booking for your products for orders that may come in via the phone or in person. For a list of terms please scroll to the end of the article.
1. Go to the Calendar page in the Book That App admin.
2. Click on the button named "Create Booking" in the upper left corner of the calendar.
You will now see the below screen.
3. Enter the customer contact details.
4. Enter the order details and check "Create Draft Order in Shopify" if you would like this order to appear in your Shopify orders.
5. Select product and/or variants.
6. Enter date and time of the booking. (Note: If you are booking an event, class or appointment, the manual booking must match the date/time of the scheduled event, class or appointment. ie. If you have a class from 9-10 am on Jan 1, then the start date/time is 9:00 am/Jan 1 and the end date/time is 10:00 am/Jan 1.
7. Hit Save.
This final section will provide a breakdown of the fields used in creating a manual booking.
Product: Select the product for the booking.
Variant: Select the variant (if appropriate).
Date/Time: You can enter the date and time of the new booking.
Name: Enter the name associated with the booking.
Email: Enter the email address associated with the booking.
Number in Party: This represents the number of people associated with the booking (if applicable).
SKU: The stock keeping unit (if applicable) associated with the product ordered. This will populate automatically if the order comes in via Shopify.
Hotel: This field is used for bookings where there is a pickup location at a hotel.
Order: For orders that come in via Shopify, this field will populate the order number.
Status: For orders that come in via Shopify, this field will update based on how you have configured payments in Shopify. If you have set your payment preferences to take payment at a later time (authorize), then the booking will show in BTA as "pending". If you have taken payment (authorize/charge), then it shows as "confirmed". You can manually change this field to pending or confirmed for manual bookings.
Notes: Use this field for any additional information that needs to be captured with the booking.
Save: Saves the booking as a new appointment in the calendar and updates product availability.
Delete: Deletes the booking in the calendar and updates product availability.
Send Reminder: Allows you to select a type of reminder (Email or SMS) to the customer.
View Ticket: View a PDF file of the booking information.


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Model: Kinga/ New Age Models Make-up Artist: Harry J. Hair stylist: Jarosław Juźwin Make-up Assistant: Margo Olczyk Photographer Assistant: Agata Banaszkiewicz
This is a passionate love story between a woman and her lost love. The different flowers and colors represent all the emotions that are now just memories that flutter in the wind. She tries her best to hold on to them, but she knows that she must move one. Spring is here, and it is time for new flowers and new memories. It's time to let the old once go – Her Memories.
Join Aneta Poletek on Facebook: LisicapolPhotography


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Friday, April 6, 2012
The Day After The Sabbath 66: Music's Gotta Stay
Unzip password: tdats
TDATS 66 (on the 6th...) is a good old un-themed selection of the best stuff I have come across recently. As it turns out, all from the classic years 1969 to 1975 and all US or UK artists.
We kick off with Texas's doomy Seompi who's collected tapes were retrospectively released in 1999 by the Gear Fab label, and then on vinyl by Akarma. Missouri's Joe Pritchard pressed only 300 copies of his album in 1974, which has since been re-issued by Radioactive. It's a real curio this one, each track has its own individual flavour and sound, from 12-bar blues to folk to Jazz and then up-beat rockers like "Reason To Be". Archibald was Scottish artist Archie Legget, he recorded in France where he made two great glam-stomping singles. Horse were a very short-lived act that produced one great hard rock album in 1970, they featured members of such excellent bands as Andromeda (guitarist Rod Roach), Atomic Rooster (drummer Ric Parnell) and Saturnalia (Rod Roach and vocalist Adrian Hawkins).
Bluefield, West Virginia's Sweet Toothe made one private-pressing in 1975 called 'Testing'. It has some excellent fuzzy hard rock and there's a very informative review here. San Franciscan Peter Kaukonen is the brother of Jorma Kaukonen, guitarist for various acts such as Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin and Hot Tuna. Peter himself was bassist in Jefferson Starship in 1974, and in 1972 he made a solo album called Black Kangaroo which this fine Hendrixian cut, 'Dynamo Snackbar' is taken from.
Long Island NY's The Illusion were a jouneyman heavy psych band who made some good stuff across three albums between 1969 and 1970 but achieved little noteriety for their efforts. The sound was equal parts psych and proto-hard rock and 'Did You See Her Eyes?' shows the transition well. After Splitting, members went to various acts such as Network, Wiggy Bits, Barnaby Bye and Aviator. Youngstown Ohio's Joy made a single album called 'Thunderfoot' in 1972 that had some good southern-style hard rock, embellished with a few prog turns that raise it above the standard fair, good vocalist too, although 'Hasufel' is an instrumental. Expect to hear some more from this album later...
Brooklyn's Majic Ship offer us some fine blusey fuzz from their rare s/t 1969 album and the UK's Hackensack are up next, they featured guitarist Ray Majors who was in a few other notable bands including "Mott" (post-Hoople), and Opal Butterfly (along with a very young Lemmy). They also had singer Nicky Moore who went on to Tiger, then Samson, to replace Bruce Dickinson after he left for Iron Maiden. Oregon's Stepson come in next with 'Suffer', I really like the slow-grinding heaviness of this, and it picks up for a wicked funky bridge too. There is a great Stepson interview here at Psychedelic Baby webzine. Florida's Tin House had two great guitarists, as you can tell from the cool harmonies in 'Silver Star'. One of them, the excellently-named Floyd Radford, also played on the 1971 'Edgar Winter's White Trash' album along with Rick Derringer. There is a interview with Tin House drummer Mike Logan here at Psychedelic Bay webzine.
This instalment ends on two singles from bands that I have found little info on so far, though I think they are both British. Hunter (formed 'of D. Hunter' & 'J. Spear') made a fun brass-reinforced single in 1970 and Taiconderoga's track is especially excellent, that stabbing fuzz guitar is unforgettable and hints at great un-tapped potential...
Track List:
01. Seompi - Almost in the Whole (1970)
from album 'AWOL'
02. Joe Prichard & Gibraltar - Reason To Be (1974)
from album 'Joe Prichard & Gibraltar'
03. Archibald - Passing Thoughts (1969)
04. Horse - See The People Creeping Round (1970)
from album 'horse'
05. Sweet Toothe - Music's Gotta Stay (1975)
from album 'testing'
06. Peter Kaukonen - Dynamo Snackbar (1972)
from album 'black kangaroo'
07. The Illusion - Did You See Her Eyes? (1969)
from album 'the illusion'
08. Joy - Hasufel (1972)
from album 'thunderfoot'
09. Majic Ship - Too Much (1969)
from album 'majic ship'
10. Hackensack - River Boat (1974)
from album 'up the hard way'
11. Stepson - Suffer (1974)
from album 'stepson'
12. Tin House - Silver Star (1971)
from album 'tin house'
13. Hunter - Some Time For Thinking (1970)
14. Taiconderoga - Speakin' My Mind (1969)
Thanks for listening! Rich
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Posted by Rich AfterSabbath 5 comments
Labels: Archibald, Hackensack, Horse, Hunter, Joe Prichard, Joy, Majic Ship, Peter Kaukonen, Seompi, Stepson, Sweet Toothe, Taiconderoga, The Illusion, Tin House
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Company Details
W8-B-Gone Summary
On 05/20/2013 Scambook mailed W8-B-Gone a letter, via First Class Mail, to P.O. Box 3913
Las Vegas, NV 89127 informing them of complaint(s). We are currently waiting for a reply on .
Information about W8-B-Gone was first submitted to Scambook on Feb 15, 2014. Since then the page has accumulated 15 consumer complaints. On average users reported $38.02 of damages. Scambook's investigation team reached out to this company a total of 6 times, Scambook Investigators last contacted them on May 20, 2013.
Company Information
- Address:
- P.O. Box 3913
- Las Vegas NV 89127
- Website:http://www.w8-b-gone.com
- Phone:(800) 763-5202
- Email:Email Not Yet on File
- Additional Employees:
- Shirley Murphy Principal
- Crystal Ewing Website Admin
- Outdated Info? Add company information suggestion
- This Company Page started on February 15th, 2014.
- Is This Your Business?
Company Rating
Company Statistics
Complaints Unresolved
- Unresolved Reported Damage $570.36
Scambook Score
Company Statistics
Complaints Unresolved 15
Unresolved Reported Damage $570.36
The company statistics seen here display two important pieces of information about the business. "Complaints Unresolved" tells how many complaints consumers have filed about the company on Scambook. "Unresolved Reported Damages"shows how much money has been lost by all of users who filed complaints against the company.
Company Rating
This score is purely based on complaints submitted to Scambook by consumers. Based on the submitted complaints, number grades from 10 (Highest) to 1 (Lowest) are assigned to businesses. If there is insufficient information or pending updates to a business' profile, you will see a 'NR' (Not Rated) score.
Company Information Form
Thank you for submitting information suggestions.
We will review your suggestions and update the company profile if necessary.
Recent Complaints
After using the product as directed for the 16 days the 4 pills covered, I experienced a weight loss of 2-3 lbs. W8-B-Gone has not responded to 5 emails for refund. I don't expect much more from them - SCAMMERS.
W8-B-Gone Complaint 195030 for $27.00
- Anonymous
- Posted On: 12/29/2014
- SBID # b63d24a071
Ordered product, followed directions (to the letter), waited for the promoted results to happen. Total weight loss after ingestion of the 4 tablets over 16 days - 3 lbs. Attempted (5 times) to contact company through their contact point on web site ...
W8-B-Gone Complaint 195023 for $27.00
- Anonymous
- Posted On: 12/29/2014
- SBID # b63d24a071
I purchased two units of W8-B-Gone, which was shipped to me 12/10/2012. I immediately started taking the product. The promise was that the product would melt away up to 5 lbs every 4 days. I am on my 7th pill and have lost nothing.
W8-B-Gone Complaint 191683 for $50.76
- barbieque
- Posted On: 12/17/2014
- SBID # f932a92963
Two of us purchased the w8-b-gone capsules. We followed the instructions and took 1 pill every 4 days. Neither of us lost even ONE pound. We now want a refund and don't know how to get it. Please help us follow through to get our refunds and ...
W8-B-Gone Complaint 163459 for $9.95
- MaryLou
- Posted On: 10/03/2014
- SBID # da8d815597
I returned their product which was guarenteed money back. 8 weeks have gone by and I am unable to reach anyone except an answering service which has told me it would only take 4 weeks. They put the charge through in a hurry, but have refused to ...
w8-g-gone Complaint 156242 for $45.95
- Nanette
- Posted On: 09/11/2014
- SBID # 8ddc1427b9
I brought the product and it didn't work. Now I am trying to contact the company and the number is unavailable. I just want my money back and for these people to get there's because from the reviews that I've read it seems they were ...
W8-B-Gone Complaint 141608 for $45.00
- Symphonie
- Posted On: 08/01/2014
- SBID # a33759817f
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Another Great Event!October 22, 2015 5:06 pm Leave your thoughts
Our October 22nd educational hearing seminar at The Saddle Club at Crazy Horse Ranch is in the books, and what a wonderful event it was! We couldn't have asked for a nicer location for our breakfast get together, or a nicer crowd as well!
Our guests came to hear nationally respected Audiologist Lisa S. Olsen, MS, CCC-A discuss the latest and most innovative advances in the hearing industry. Afterwards, Ms. Olsen answered audience questions on hearing loss such as questions on nerve deafness, the high cost of hearing aids, and the relationship between aging, hearing loss, and dementia. During the talk, guests enjoyed a delicious breakfast that included selections ranging from Eggs Benedict to a Golfer's Plate of pancakes, eggs, and breakfast meats.
Did you miss out on this month's event? Not to worry! Our next event is right around the corner. Don't forget to RSVP early, as seating is limited. Click here for more information on our November event.
Photos from October's Educational Hearing Seminar
Categorised in: Blog
This post was written by admin


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$153m Diezani loot: EFCC declares ex-NNPC director wanted again!
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission may declare wanted a former Deputy Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Ben Otti, if he refuses to make himself available to the commission.
Otti, who also served as Director of Finance and Accounts at the NNPC, is central to the investigation into the $153m that was allegedly diverted from the account of the NNPC by the then Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, in 2014.
A report by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative had, in 2014, noted that the NNPC and its subsidiary, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, failed to remit $4.7bn and N318.2bn to the Federation Account.
A Federal High Court in Lagos had, last week, ordered that the $153m, which was allegedly kept by some bank executives, be temporarily forfeited to the Federal Government.
A source within the EFCC told our correspondent that the Managing Director of Fidelity Bank, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, had told operatives that he received the money from Otti sometime in 2014.
The detective said, "When we arrested Okonkwo last year, we were informed that Otti was the one who brought the money to Okonkwo on the instructions of Diezani.
"We have been looking for Otti for several months but he seems to be out of the country. We believe he might be in London, where Diezani is. He is aware that we are looking for him.
"If he refuses to show up, then, we may have no choice but to declare him wanted."
In a nine-paragraph affidavit filed in support of the anti-graft agency's ex parte application for the forfeiture of the $153m, an EFCC investigator, Moses Awolusi, had claimed that the anti-graft agency discovered, through its investigations, how sometime in December, 2014, Diezani invited the Fidelity Bank boss to her office, where they hatched the plan of how a cash sum of $153,310,000 would be moved from the NNPC to Okonkwo to be saved for Diezani.
According to Awolusi, Diezani instructed the banker to ensure that the money was "neither credited into any known account nor captured in any transaction platforms" of Fidelity Bank.
Awolusi said Okonkwo accepted and implemented the deal, leading to the movement of $153,310,000 from the NNPC to the bank.
He said two former Group Executive Directors of Finance and Accounts of the NNPC, B. O. Otti and Stanley Lawson, helped Diezani to move the cash from the NNPC Headquarters, Abuja, to the headquarters of Fidelity Bank in Lagos.
Awolusi said in a desperate bid to conceal the source of the money, Okonkwo, upon receiving it, instructed the Country Head of Fidelity Bank, Mr. Martin Izuogbe, to take $113,310,000 cash out of the money to the Executive Director, Commercial and Institutional Bank, Sterling Bank Plc, Lanre Adesanya, to keep.
He said the remaining $40m was taken in cash to the Executive Director, Public Sector Accountant, First Bank, Dauda Lawal, to keep.
The investigator said out of the $113,310,000 handed over to Adesanya, a sum of $108,310,000 was invested in an off balance sheet investment, using Sterling Asset Management Trustees Limited.
He said the $108,310,000 was subsequently changed to N23,446,300,000 and saved in Sterling Bank.
The investigator said the EFCC had also recovered another $5m out of the money kept with the MD of Access Bank Plc, Mr. Herbert Wigwe.
Meanwhile, sources within the commission have told our correspondent that the EFCC board will meet in the next two weeks to decide the fate of the bank executives who were allegedly involved in the fraud.
Some of the bank heads, who were arrested by the EFCC last year include Okonkwo, Wigwe and the Sterling Bank boss, Mr. Yemi Adeola.
The Executive Director, Public Sector Account, First Bank, Dauda Lawal, was also investigated.
A source at the EFCC said, "In two weeks' time, the court will decide if the forfeiture of the $153m will be permanent. Once we can secure victory, the next step is for the EFCC board to meet.
"It is the board that will determine the fate of all the bank chiefs that have been indicted."
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